DunaRocketeer

I made my first (flyable) spaceplane last night! A lot of Kerbals were sacrificed, bu it was worth it! I've been playing KSP for about 3 or 4 months now, but getting the knack of spaceplanes has always been difficult for me. I went with a Dreamchaser style booster and mini shuttle combo, and I think I'll start using it for space station crew rotation. It's a lot of fun to be actively piloting a spacecraft from orbit to runway

I'm using four ion engines as a return transfer stage to my sub-25 ton Duna Science Expedition spacecraft. It allows me to launch the whole expedition on one very moderate sized rocket, and really the low thrust isn't that bad. I really like using the ion engines.

I wish I had more time to play the game! But when I do, I'm usually playing in my living room, with a space themed dvd playing in the background - lately I've been favouring From the Earth to the Moon and the Spacecraft Films Apollo 11 dvd's. I'm constantly writing mission objectives and debrief reports so even when I get the time, I don't get much flying done, it's really getting obsessive!

That's a nice design, I've been contemplating the idea of a Dreamchaser/Kliper/Hermes/ concept since my orbital taxi's are just a standard capsule design. This sort of thing really shakes up a launch vehicle inventory

Nice one! It's a heck of a thrill landing on a new body for the first time, isn't it? Any ideas for a follow-on mission?

Like a lot of people on here, I've been interested in spaceflight for many, many years. Recently, that interest started to wane along with NASA's budget. Even though there were still many exciting missions coming up, the gutting of the Science Mission Directorate and the underfunding of Manned Spaceflight got me down. I picked up the demo of KSP with admitedly mild interest, and very quickly it got me hooked - not just in the game, but spaceflight in general again. I've been devouring Von Karman lectures and documentaries, so I guess you could say I play KSP because it keeps me passionate about exploration. Also, the way I play is generally using small spacecraft, so the feeling I get when on the surface of some far off planet is one of isolation, like the world's longest solo camping trip! That's perfect for when a bit of escapism is in order