AlexinTokyo

Well, the orbital speed can be calculated (let's assume a nice circular orbit): μ = 48,828 km3s-2 : Standard gravitational parameter for Mars (from Wikipedia) r = 3,389.5 km + 21.229 km = 3,410.729 km : datum (mean) radius of Mars plus datum altitude of Olympus Mons' summit (also Wikipedia) Ov = √(μ(2/r - 1/a)) = √(μ/r) : a is the orbit's semi-major axis and is equal to r for circular orbits This works out to be 3.784 km/s, so still pretty fast ETA: That means a tank gun with KE ammo (up to ~1.7 km/s muzzle velocity) couldn't do it, but a light-gas gun (wow, up to ~8.5 km/s!!) could, in spades.

Everything you need to know about gravity assists but didn't know you needed to know about gravity assists. Including how to use alexmoon's transfer window planner to plan them.

Not to the best of my knowledge. Wheel repairs have always required a Kerbal present, and from 0.90.0 specifically an engineer. It's designed as a trade off, I think; unmanned is cheaper and safer, but manned gives you more options. That said, there may be a mod which enables unmanned repairs.

What 'class' of ship (ship, probe, station, etc.) is your new ship? Is the icon for that class of ship selected in the bar at the top of the map screen?

TBH, I use PreciseNode, so the limit can be controlled dynamically in game. Dropping a node is a nice stock workaround that I had't thought of, though.

Have you tried increasing the number of conic sections the game displays (the CONIC_PATCH_LIMIT in the settings.cfg file)? Increasing this number will allow you to see your projected path further into the future (past more SoI boundaries), so this might allow you to better figure out how to get out of the system between the moons (or at least let you know where you're going to end up ).

If the marker is actually moving over the surface of the Mun, then you probably have a bug. On the other hand, the surface of the Mun itself does move as the Mun rotates, meaning that if you're burning ½ or ¼ of an orbit away from the target, you'll have to lead the target in order to compensate. You can either do this by feel, or (more accurately) use the Trajectories mod in 'Body Fixed' mode to show your orbital path relative to the surface of the body in question. ETA: Also, the markers are not set on the surface, but at an altitude above the surface. You do get parallax between the markers and the surface, so you can think you're passing directly under the marker from one angle, but actually miss it by a fair margin.

Best advice: Look in the tutorials subforum for tutorials on how to get to orbit. If you're into videos, I'd recommend Scott Manley, or pebble_garden's 'Orbital Mechanics 101' (It's a sticky thread there). If you're not into videos, there are also written tutorials that explain it very well. As a basic summary, the most important thing is that getting to orbit is not about going 'up' as much as it is about going 'sideways' very fast. In stock aerodynamics, basically go vertically up to (about) 10,000 m, then make a turn to the east (90° heading) at an angle of about 45° above the horizon. Once your apoapsis reaches your target altitude, cut the engines and start to coast. In map mode, create a maneuver node on your apoapsis, and drag the prograde handle until the predicted periapsis is above 70,000 m. Execute that burn, and congratulations, you're in orbit. Note that this is not the most efficient ascent, even in pure stock. There are refinements to make. However, it's a pretty good starting point, to get used to what will get you to orbit and what won't. ETA: Also, getting to orbit really is about half-way to anywhere, so if you really are only burning half your fuel, you're not doing that badly at all

I tend to follow Claw's Rules of Thumb for Spaceplanes These have always proved to be a good starting point for my designs (not that I'm a great plane designer at all).

By default, the 'backspace' key. Also, 'tab' shifts one object forward, and IIRC 'shift-tab' shifts one object backwards (use with care, shift still controls your throttle).

You can see the responses to this thread for some ideas on how to go about this. Kasuha's post, in particular, is excellent.

For 1. try pressing 'f'. This should swap between 'Symmetry Relative to Vessel' and 'Symmetry Relative to Parent Part. For 2. have a look at the folders and files in the SQUAD subfolder of the GameData folder. You may see duplicates there, in which case deleting one set should fix it.

Did you use the 'offset' gizmo when placing the struts? The only thing I can think of is that the struts are actually connected to the upper tank, and have been offset down so they look connected to the bottom tank.

Always whack the "PhysicsSignificance = 1" from all the massless parts.

IMHO: There's at least something in KSP for any age group. My 4-year-old loves it, 'cause it's got cute little green guys running around, and 'cause when she hits the space bar stuff happens with (often) loud bangs. Does she have a clue how to 'play it properly'? Not one. Who cares? Not me (or her). My 8-year-old likes it 'cause it's got cool space ships and he can crash them and blow stuff up. He definitely loved the explodable buildings update. I love it because I've always liked simulations, and it's the first half-way-decent space sim I've ever seen. I love that I can do actual maths based on real-world calculations and have it work (generally, with a few limitations) in game.

I can say for certain that the KER parts do not drain power (unless you've added that config yourself or using MM). Hmm, it actually might be a nice restriction if they did... must go off and think about that. AFAIK (I've never used it), MechJeb does drain power, for at least some of its modules.

The display toggles on the right-click menu itself. This screenshot is from an older version ('cause I'm not on my KSP machine right now), but it was the best I could find in a hurry

Wheels in KSP only have proper collision mechanics when the base of the wheel (the opposite side to the suspension column) is in contact with the ground. In your design, you have rotated the wheels so the suspension points forwards; this is preventing them from interacting with the ground properly. If you rotate the wheels 90° they will work as expected.

Science instruments don't drain power to do experiments, but they do drain power when used as monitoring devices. Is it possible you hit 'Toggle Display' (I think that's the label) on the thermometer or barometer? If so, they will drain power until you toggle them off again.

Or, in stock, you can click on the waypoint in the map view and select "Activate Navigation". This will cause an icon to appear on the navball guiding you to the area. It only takes into account straight line paths, so you do have to be a little careful if the waypoint is on the other side of the planet.

Ninja edited while writing a response. For reference 1e6 is common engineering shorthand for 1 x 10^6 (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_notation for details if you really care)

This is (I believe) not quite true. If you accept multiple contracts before launching the station, it will have been 'built after accepting the contract' for all of those contracts, and will fulfill that requirement for all of them. Assuming that it also fulfills all other requirements, you should be able to complete all of those contracts with one station in the way manek22 describes. Given that, a limit on how many of a given type of contract are available simultaneously would make sense. I have no data to suggest an answer one way or the other, though.

There's no way to see the SoI boundaries in the stock game. There may be a mod which displays them, but I've not heard of one. KSP does display your trajectory after crossing the SoI, but there are a couple of settings that affect how. First is the conic patch limit, which controls how many future paths are displayed. Increasing this will show your path across more SoI boundaries. The second is the conic patch mode. This determines how the future trajectories are displayed. There is a tutorial explaining the different modes here. In the current game, the default mode is mode 3 (draws relative to the body you are orbiting now), switching automatically to mode 0 (draws relative to each body's current position) when you focus the map view on a body whose SoI you are going to enter. Unfortunately, there's no way to change these settings in game in stock. You can, however, edit the settings.cfg - the settings are PATCHED_CONIC_LIMIT and PATCHED_CONIC_MODE (I think, not at my KSP computer right now). Alternatively the PreciseNode mod allows you to change both settings in game from the map view, in addition to giving you very nice (I consider essential) maneuver editing options.

In stock, there are two reasons to use the more advanced antennae; aesthetics and speed. It appears (from the extended part display in the VAB/SPH), that the advanced antennae are slower. However, this is a bug. For things like Gravioli and Atmospheric Scan reports, the transmission time is significantly faster with the more advanced antennae. They are more expensive in terms of charge per packet, so if you're not worried about time, the Communotron 16 is still technically better.

To add to Master Tao's answer, upgrading the tracking station will get you the patched conics (blue trajectory lines, selectable apsides, and encounter/escape points). To get access to maneuver nodes, you will also have to upgrade the mission control building.