chicknblender

Thanks! I didn't use any add-on tools other than PreciseNode. I am going to make a video tutorial in the near-future about how I do this. It's a technique that I learned from our amazing colleague metaphor. It's actually stupidly simple to do but not easy to figure out on your own (at least, not for me). - - - Updated - - - Wow, such a kind review! Thank you! I'm glad that at least one person recognized the musical reference.

You have no idea how close I was to doing this. It's heartbreaking. Problem was, I couldn't get into stable orbit around Mun with more than 0.05 units of EVA propellant left. Sadly, that's just not enough to rendezvous. Even with near-perfect technique, the Kerbal wastes a decent amount of propellant on maintaining orientation. So I submit that this challenge is, indeed, impossible. If somebody can prove me wrong on this, I will be most impressed. HOWEVER, this mission could well be improved upon. If I was masochistic enough -- and I'm not -- I believe that I could complete the same mission with 1 less station in Kerbin orbit, 3 less stations in Eve orbit, no station in Duna orbit, and 1 less station in Dres orbit. That takes the number of lander cans from 22 down to 16. Any takers?

Hey, just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words. This is a great community compared to, well, just about everywhere else online. About two weeks of pre-mission planning (mostly flying a probe around with help from HyperEdit and MechJeb), then about a month on the actual mission, then another week putting the video together. It was enough work that I'm taking a little break from KSP now, but I'll be back eventually.

I am scared to admit. It is >100. I am a quicksave spammer.

I am the video's creator. Kerbals are automatically oriented in the normal axis while on EVA, so North/South burns are easiest to get right. For radial and prograde burns, I look at map view to find a visible target (usually the body I am orbiting). Early in the mission, I would try to either face the Kerbal toward the body or toward prograde before burning, but reorientation is an expensive waste of propellant so as I got better I would just approximate the burn from whatever direction I was already facing. Regarding burn magnitude: For big burns, I calculated out how much propellant it's going to take and/or how long the burn should last. (The full jetpack is 620 m/s and acceleration is about 3 m/s/s.) For small burns, I make very small inputs then switch back and forth to map view to see how I'm doing. Since the jetpack does not have a throttle, burns need to be at least 0.3 m/s or else you will overshoot the burn. For very tiny orbital burns, that means waiting until you are closer to your target in lots of cases. (There were a ton of deep space corrective burns not shown in this video because frankly they are boring.)

Apparently somebody has already revived these curves for vacuum. Not my work and would be happy to give credit where it is due.

I believe this is a bug: The Delta-V Stats for designs with drop tanks and fuel lines don't correctly separate the stats for before and after the tanks are empty. Example: MechJeb calculates the delta v for this rocket as if all the fuel will be burned in Stage 1 before the tanks are dropped, and therefore shows no delta v for Stage 0. Thank you to all of the MechJeb developers! You guys are incredible.

Anybody want to resurrect this project with 1.0 parameters? I will buy you cookies.

Launch 13: Humiliation! Launch 14: Equatorial Comsat Network Launch 15: Polar Comsat Network Animation of comsat network: http://www.gfycat.com/LikelyDelayedIbizanhound

Can anybody give me a quick idea of how to land an unmanned probe back on Kerbin? I have a good comsat network around Kerbin, but when I undergo atmospheric reentry I either have to retract my antenna or have it get ripped off, both of which kill my connection.

I appreciate the kind words, fellas. @acc: I am considering including some videos, but I am worried that the amount of time necessary for editing will slow me down too much. I can only dedicate at most 1-2 hours per day for KSP. But would you settle for some gifs here and there? @Fox62: You may want to see these next launches before you conclude that. Launch 8 Launch 9 Launch 10 Launch 11 Launch 12

Oh man, Is KerbSocial a thing? Other than this project, the biggest things on my wishlist are mods that (a) simulate physical health (KeepFit comes close but seems like a dead project), and ( simulate mental health (e.g. being alone in space for 2 years ain't good for ya, and spending five years alone with Billy-Bobman might just lead to murderous intentions).

Launch 3! - - - Updated - - - Launch 4! - - - Updated - - - Launch 5! - - - Updated - - - Launch 6! - - - Updated - - - Launch 7!