Hili

Does the External Command Seat contain a ModuleTripLogger (I don't know how to check)? If it does not, I would assume by your explanation that returning to orbit from the surface of Eve with nothing more than an ECS strapped to a rocket would yield no vessel-recovery bonus. The ECS cannot be selected as a first part in the Vehicle Assembly Building. That leads me to believe that just because a part is able to control a craft does not mean per se that it has all the same properties as a command pod. Also, reports cannot be stored in an ECS, they stay with the kerbonaut. The way that I'm building the research convoy now is that the lander that visited Eve will connect with the lander that visited Gilly, both will attach to a return stage which bring everyone and hopefully every report back to Kerbin Orbit. In orbit they will seperate, enter the atmosphere and hopefully land safely. Since three crafts will be combined to form one, will one of the reports be overwritten by another? -Eve has a larger multiplier than Gilly and the trip log could be read as if one vessel has visited both places and thus the Gilly reports could be deleted? -The kerbonaut who visited Gilly will spend the return trip in the same command pod as the kerbonaut who visited Gilly. As I understand from the OP, reports from different places can be saved in one pod. I think this is a good exercise to determine how the game handles how reports are handled when combining differing ship-designs from multiple locations. Luckily I won't be further complicating the matter by bringing back the sattelites . Thanks

What is the exact requirement for receiving the 'recovery of a vessel that ...'? As in, what part of a vessel that visited a given location needs to return to kerbin? I'm planning of traveling to Eve with a space-station consisting of a base, two satellites, two landers (one for Gilly, one for Eve) and a return-stage. Considering Eve's dense atmosphere and strong gravity, the return vessel from Eve needs to be as light as possible to make it back to orbit and dock with the base space-station. I am planning on doing this in a similar way as Scott Manley does it in his 'Eve or Bust' series, there he returns four kerbonauts in External Command Seats. A command pod would be too heavy or require a too complex rocket design to combine it with my other equipment. I know I can store reports, surface samples and whatever else worth science in a kerbonaut's EVA suit or in a different command pod, but I would also like to receive the 'recovery of a vessel that visited Eve' report. So is the return of an External Command Seat satisfactory for Kerbal scientists?