Sovnheim

Thanks for your feedback. I simulated some re-entries using HyperEdit at speeds up to 5km/s which worked without major problems. Considering the protection of the heatshield as a cone helped me improve my designs. I made shorter vehicles with a larger shield, and it works wonders. That said, I tried to enter Kerbin atmosphere by falling straight down (no horizontal velocity) to push the limits of the designs. It was a bit scary as the craft hit the thick layers of the atmosphere hard but definitely thrilling.

Thanks to you both for your answers. I'll use bigger shields for starters, but sometimes they tend to spin in the wrong direction, and my shield faces upwards, where it is useless. And yes, axial spins have proved to do the job, I noticed that !

Hello everybody. It so happens that every once in a while, my craft baaaaarely has enough fuel to make the trip to another body. I often end up having just enough fuel to enter the atmosphere of a body, but not enough to decelerate to orbit and then enter the atmosphere (which is usually the safer option for me). We are talking about entry speeds along the lines of 2.5km/s to 3.5km/s. Even with a heat shield, something always ends up overheating (often the airbrakes) then explodes. I have tried many techniques but none seem to work and my crafts dramatically explodes in the atmosphere. Any smart solutions that I might use ? Note, I usually have all the important stuff safely locked inside, such as MJ, batteries, antennas and so on. But there is always something outside (RCS engines, airbrakes) and it makes the crafts vulnerable. How do you people manage such situation ? Thanks for your time

Recently I stumbled on the following article from Wired : "If the Moon Were a Cube, What Would Its Phases Look Like?" This is a very interesting thought experiment, which I recommend, and it shouldn't be too hard for anyone playing KSP. However, it made me think : I would really really love to have a cubic moon in KSP. Yes, it is absolutely useless, but it would look awesome, it would be very interesting to try to orbit / land on it. I never found anything relating to a cubic moon mod on the internet, has anyone heard of that ?

Say what now ?

I actually really wish that KSP allowed for space elevator construction. Otherwise I think I'd like to build my own space center in low Kerbin Orbit.

While it is not per se the most efficient, after a few tries I highly recommend Red Iron Crown's approach. I tend to arrive at a medium orbit and perform successive burns at retrograde to reduce horizontal velocity. A well placed maneuver node will help time the second-to-last burn, the one that will kill the remaining horizontal velocity and the most of the vertical. For reference, that was more or less what was done in the Apollo missions.

This looks like you sent it in the wrong direction. I do it all the time. Check other possible issues in your requirements tab during flight : Which ones are not green lighted ? Often the contractors require a craft designed specifically for the purpose. It's annoying but it can be source of issues. If all else fails, alt-F12 will open the developer tab where you'll be able to complete it. I don't recommend that option though - this is likely to be a gameplay error rather than a game bug.

That would make sense. But what about approach ? Is there a way to use the Mun's gravitational force to pull the craft retrograde relatively from Kerbin's orbit ?

Hi all, I'm trying to have more fuel efficient Mun encounter trajectories. I can get there and back. But is there a better way to do it ? I tend to have my orbits in the same direction as the orbit of the Mun, but then I realized that maybe doing the opposite might be more fuel efficient (despite having to fight Kerbin's rotation) What do you guys think ? Thanks in advance !

I... I have been meaning to make that joke since I saw the movie. And I don't know about you guys but I really want to try the Endurance spin-docking while falling through the stratosphere as well.

I love the idea. I'll try to come up with something, I'll let you know EDIT: I found a picture of Jeb online but it made me laugh so I just added a caption. The link with the topic is limited, however.

Hi all, I seen some threads discussing the implementation of n-body physics (rather the conics-thingy what the system currently uses) to KSP. Out of curiosity, I have read part of the official thread for the N-Body Gravitation Mod for KSP, but I have a problem - it often looks like this : I have a degree in literature, not theoretical physics. I would be curious to understand the actual benefits in terms of gameplay would such implementation have ?

An after eight. A big, delicious, orbiting after eight.

I say stupid stuff about space all the time : "I'm fairly sure Jeb can make this 1000m fall without damage" "Hey, I'm sure this aerobraking with 200m periapsis will save me a lot of fuel and can not go wrong" "Jool can't be that far. How hard can it be ?" "Screw this rendez-vous, I'll just ram into the space station until something explodes"

Thanks, that's what I did I got bored of tweaking a broken craft so I restarted from scratch, added the parts without fuel far in front to create equilibrium, and tested it at various levels. Thanks a lot for the input - I didn't add any mods but I tested the plane's CoM with empty tanks and I made it work. Thanks to you guys, I now have a small unmanned shuttle that can get a small payload on a 120k orbit, with adequate control during the entire operation - I wanted to send some pictures but I am in class so it's rather complicated right now. I'm still a bit short on fuel and I frequently have to calculate additional orbits to make my rendez-vous without running out of gas, but it works. Also regarding the upcoming 1.0 obsolescence - I don't care The challenge in itself is rewarding enough. I've seen some inspiring designs on the forum so I look forward to new challenges - larger payloads, a SSTM or, maybe a spaceplane for interplanetar missions. That should prove interesting. Thanks again.

Hi all, So I have decided to give a go at the SSTO construction. I am more or less able to build a plane that takes off and lands safely (by Kerbal standards). The one I have built (unmanned) works just fine until the Toroidal rocket engines kick in. At which point, the heavy fuel burn rate empties some tanks, imbalances my plane and it flips over. I made a small diagram explaining how physics interact with my SSTO : (╯°□°）╯︵ >==> I have read on the Internets that it was an issue of fuel imbalance in the craft, and all I had to do was transfer fuel to reestablish balance. Something that I have been able to do, thus stabilizing the craft and thus saving the day. Yet as soon as I start the rocket engines the fuel is used again, all hell breaks loose and I never reach space. How can I tackle this issue ? What am I missing here ? Thanks a lot for your help

This seems like a good idea - The problem is that if one of your reckon crafts is destroyed then you have an unbalanced mothership with reduced power. My advice : 1/ For your reckon crafts, make them as light as possible. I have had similar problems which I solved with very light reckon probes & manned crafts powered with monopropellant. They can perform rendez-vous easily to refuel. So far it has worked well for me, especially for missions at close range on small bodies (Mun & Minmus). 2/ Add a big badass engine on your mothership that is able to push your craft as far as you want. You'll have shorter and safer burns. A Rockomax Skipper (Mainsail might be overpowered for missions to the mun) 3/ Add some radial docking ports for refueling and return, but send them attached with decouplers. This will make your ship far more stable for the journey to the Mun. Remember that your ship will be lighter on the way back, therefore easier to maneuver. Last but not least, consider that it is much easier to return from the mun than to go there. A small manned craft (1-kerbal) with a medium sized monopropellant tank is enough to return home. You may want to leave the heavy mothership behind - especially if its gas tanks are almost empty. Hope that helps

That might imply a change of name, though. Like Kraken Sakrifice Mod or something

It does I'm going to go for the Kerbal Maps and try to go looking for them without additionnal guidance. That should make for some interesting challenges. And I may download ScanSat as well if you tell me it's a better alternative - thanks all for the advice.

I think I want to add an active volcano to the game for Kerbal sacrifices. *demonic laugh* Actually now you mention it it could have more uses than just resurrection. Praying the Kraken could get you some more Science or funds. (It will, inevitably, damage your reputation, though). I've always thought that the career mode missed some role-playing.

Hi everybody, I know there is a ton of easter eggs in the game and I want to discover at least a few of them. Basically I play Career Mode, with most of the tech I need for rovers / spaceplanes / probes right now. I don't really like ISA MapSat which I find buggy and somewhat boring despite its usefulness. I have also always kept myself away from all the spoilers & lists with GPS locations I I would like to have a chance to discover those a bit more organically, i.e. throughout the normal course of the game. Is there a way to discover these without using ISA MapSat and without simply looking them up on Kerbalpdia ? Thank you all for your help

I have actually never set foot near any of these places - so I never really thought about it - but that would be a very good idea.

Hi all, I started Career mode at the hardest difficulty I could - no reverting flights, no quickloads, no respawning of dead Kerbals. And needless to say, this has made my experience of the game quite interesting. It allows for intense, Interstellar-esque moments, where I have to do my best to save people when missions go catastrophically wrong. And sadly, I lost Jeb a few in-game months ago (he was the second casualty), and I miss the guy. That got me wondering, what if there were missions where it is possible to resurrect dead Kerbals ? (Pause for dramatic effect) If a Kerbal is killed in action, a mission appears in Mission Control, where you have to locate a specific location in the game, head there with a Kerbal to pray the Space Kraken for mercy and bring your fellow Kerbal back from the dead. And maybe, to make it a bit more gruesome, throw in a lesser-experienced Kerbal as a sacrifice. (This is why my mother thinks I have issues) The mod spawns the said landmark at random locations, preferably difficult to reach, and even more to return from - losing a pilot would remain a tragic experience while offering the opportunity of interesting missions. I have no knowledge of modding (although I have some knowledge of programming and have a vague idea of how Unity works) and I am curious of studying the feasibility of this mod. And, most importantly - would you be interested in downloading/using it ?

All my launches from Kerbal SpacePort are done using MechJeb's Ascent Guidance. Every single one of them.