Angelo Kerman

@Puggonaut SHIELD hovercarrier for the win!

@vardicd, Well, at least something's working right today. KEI and xScience need to exclude the new experiments, then things will work properly. @shdwlrd I'm tracking down the resource converter issues you're having. Do you have BARIS installed along with KFS?

Should be fixed in the next update. Now I'm looking into the NREs...

Love the freighter! Having the acceleration ramp up sounds like an interesting idea, I'll have to think about that. Thanks for the suggestion. Engine acceleration isn't tied to ISP as there's no impulse being delivered. I wanted something that was both familiar and alien, and since the engine manipulates gravity, it's rated for the maximum acceleration that it can deliver. The more GravityWaves you feed it, the more mass you can accelerate. This kind of thing hasn't been done before so there's still some issues to sort through. I'm hoping to get it settled before starting in on the mothership..

Chapter One: What A View In their effort to reach the Mun, Minmus, Duna, and most recently, Eve, both the Kerman States’ Kerbal Space Program and their rival, the vonKerman Republic’s Kerbin Galactic, left trash in orbit- a lot of trash. The rival space programs were more concerned with out-achieving each other than cleaning up after themselves. Their expendable (in KSP’s case, sometimes reusable) launch vehicles pushed kerbals to greater heights but they also littered low-kerbin orbit in the process. When KSP’s Skybase and VKR’s Hause both suffered near misses and a Probodobodyne communications satellite took a catastrophic direct hit all in the same month, they realized that they had a problem. After a significant debate about salvage rights versus sovereignty versus who was ultimately responsible for cleaning up the space junk, the World Court finally decreed that any kerbal-made object marked as debris that orbited at least 70km above the surface was fair game regardless of its nation of origin. Anyone could de-orbit and/or salvage the orbiting scrap as long as it posed no danger to those on the ground or in orbit. And thanks to the Kerbal Space Program’s microgravity 3D printer and orbital recycling technologies, low-kerbin orbit held a treasure trove of junk just waiting to be turned into the next spaceship. Kerman Air Force Major Kelbin Kerman was in charge of KSP’s Orbital Debris Removal Project, known by the insiders as O-DeRP. He volunteered for the job, but not just because he believed in a trash free low orbit. Apparently, in a past life, he’d done this job before- or so he believed. When his final astronaut training took an unexpected and prolonged detour around the world in an airship, he’d had a lot of time on his hands. He contemplated many things including quitting the program (discovering an alien saucer crashed in the arctic changed his mind), but when he turned to meditation, things got interesting. When he cleared his mind, sometimes he had visions. Vivid visions. In one, he flew a space shuttle- a rocket plane that launched into space vertically, delivered its crew and cargo, and then flew back to the space center like an airplane. On his last mission in the kerbin shuttle orbiter, he learned that he got an orbital debris removal assignment very similar to the one he had now. The dreams were so real and so vivid, it was as if he’d been an astronaut in a past life. But were the visions real? He’d hoped that heading up O-DeRP would jog something loose in his mind, but that hadn’t happened. Instead, after the initial excitement wore off, he found himself stuck in yet another monotonous job. At least this time, he couldn’t beat the view. “Yo dude,” Dr. Munvan, the team’s scientist and his best friend called out over the wireless, “you coming back in or what?” “Just a minute, Munvan.” “Dude, if you don’t get back in here, we’ll miss our landing window. You know how Gene gets when that happens…” “Ok, ok,” he said sighing. He knew his friend was right. Kelbin tapped his jet pack thruster controls, spun around, and headed for Skybase’s airlock. He was going to miss the view for sure. With the introduction of the A-51 Flapjack, expendable capsules had become obsolete. As crews rotated between the various bases, their capsules were recovered and phased out in favor of the reusable single-stage-to-orbit rocket saucer. With Kapollo 6’s mission complete, it was Kelbin’s turn to retire the Kapollo program’s last craft. It was probably for the better; Kapollo was plagued by problems ranging from Kapollo 2’s unplanned service module separation while on orbit to the Duna I’s engine failures during Kapollo 3’s fatal ascent to Kapollo 5’s constantly failing fuel cells, not to mention autopilots that constantly broke down... Even Kapollo 6 had its share of difficulties, with its dead autopilot, broken RCS thruster, and an engine leaking hydraulic fluid. Kelbin was both happy to see the spacecraft phased out and also sad; Kapollo 6 was his first ship that transported him on his first mission to space. Kapollo 6 and her crew spent 200 days in orbit- nearly half a year! In that time, he, Samalla, and Munvan- all veterans of the Kerbin Elcano Exploration Project- accomplished a lot. First crew to dock with and activate Skybase. Completion of the Solar Activity Monitoring Experiment (with some odd results). First successful test of the Mk2 Scrapper Pod, which perfected on-orbit recycling technologies. They also received three resupply spacecraft, a prototype station hub, a new pressurized mating adapter, and even guests in the form of Loaner Kerman and his crew. Kelbin and his crew even set the Kerman States’ record for the longest duration in microgravity. Yes, it was sad to leave his home in space, but he also knew that he’d return soon enough. Once Skybase received new components and he retrained on the Flapjack, orbital salvage would begin in earnest. Once back inside, Kelbin found Munvan and Samalla already aboard Kapollo 6, warming up its systems and preparing to shove off from the space station. With Kelbin seated and strapped in, the spacecraft separated from Skybase and put some distance between it and the station. After lowering its orbit to 100km, Kapollo 6 lined up with the space center and performed its de-orbit maneuver. Despite is failing systems, the craft re-entered the atmosphere without incident. The last flight of Kapollo ended on a high note by setting another record: Kapollo 6 touched down on KSC grounds! Kelbin handedly won the bet to see who could land a capsule closest to KSC. No other flight even came close. *** Gene took a deep breath and looked at the crowd. Here goes, he thought to himself. “When Jeb and Bob became stranded on the Mun during our first kermanned munar landing, we knew that we couldn’t build a rescue craft in time before they perished. So we sacrificed Enterprise, which had ample supplies, and deliberately grounded her on the Mun to form what would eventually become Munbase Enterprise. We rescued Bill, Bob, and Jeb, of course, and Enterprise continued her mission of testing the technologies needed for deep space missions. But the grounding of our first Deep Space Exploration Vessel left a hole in our plans. Until now. “Ladies, gentlekerbs, and distinguished guests, Enterprise was never intended to be the only deep space exploration vessel. Today, we begin construction of Enterprise’s successor, the DSEV-2 Protector! First of her class and named after the most famous fictional vessel in history, the Protector has many adventures ahead of her, just like her namesake. In fact, today I am honored to announce that Protector’s maiden voyage will be to Duna, the first kermanned spacecraft to do so! “Commanded by Navy Captain Valentina Kerman,” Gene said, pointing to Valentina, ”along with Air Force Colonel Jebediah Kerman, Air Force Major Bill Kerman, Dr. Bob Kerman, Bobus Kerman, and Payin Kerman, the Protector will have one of the finest crew that the Kerbal Space Program has to offer.” Jeb snorted with derision just loud enough for Gene to hear. The veteran astronaut fumed at the thought that he wasn’t in command of the first Duna mission. Gene ignored him and continued his speech. “And the crew will have some of the most advanced technology available to them including the new Estonian landing craft, the ability to live off the land, and even the ability to produce new craft as needed. This won’t be a ‘flags and footprints’ mission like other space companies do, Valentina and her crew will thoroughly explore the rusty planet just like the fictional Commander Quincy and his crew explore new worlds. And to talk more about how science fiction is becoming reality, I’d like to introduce our keynote speaker, the creator of Galaxy Trek, JJ Kerman!” The theme to Galaxy Trek played on the PA system as the audience clapped and JJ Kerman took the stage… *** “Actually, Major Kelbin,” JJ Kerman said, “if you have the time, I’d love to speak with you more about what it’s like being an astronaut and get your take on that around the world trip you had. Your experiences would really help enrich the show. I can even arrange a visit to the set of Galaxy Trek if you’d like, and even a cameo role if you’re interested.” “Absolutely,” Kelbin said, beaming. He was a big fan. He exchanged contact information with JJ, shook hands, and parted company. He saw Bobus and Payin and walked over. He hadn’t seen them since they left for Minmus. “Congratulations on getting the Duna mission,” Kelbin said, shaking Bobus and Payin’s hands, “it’s great to see that two of The Five New Guys are part of Duna One.” “Thanks,” Bobus replied. He stepped closer to Kelbin and spoke quietly. “I still think Jeb pulled strings to get the second team slot. If he hadn’t, all of the Five New Guys would be on the flight. Moho, we earned it after all the mulch they put us through.” “Maybe,” Kelbin said, trying not to sound too disappointed as his emotions stirred. “But there were a lot of qualified candidates.” “What will you be doing while we’re gone,” Payin asked, changing the subject. “Oh, training to fly the Flapjack, cleaning up low orbit, hopefully commanding a munbase, and with luck, getting to be a test pilot for the Cormorant,” Kelbin responded. “That new cargo shuttle under development?” “Yeah.” “That sounds like a lot of fun and variety,” Bobus said. “At least you won’t be stuck in a tin can for half a year.” “Yeah. But you’ll be one of the first to explore a whole new world.” Bobus conceded the point. “True. But we aren’t the first kerbals to do that... Don’t worry, Kelbin, you’ll get your chance.” That sounded a little condescending, he thought to himself. “Yeah,” is all Kelbin would say. Now he knew how Jeb felt. No doubt about it, he was jealous. *** After the commencement ceremony concluded, KSC got right to work. They had a launch window approaching and they did not want the vonKerman Republic to beat them to Duna. And with off-world vessel construction still in its infancy, it was up to the space center to ensure that DSEV-2 got its ride into orbit. To do that, they needed a big rocket. The Duna VII was a massive new booster with a large payload capacity. It needed it in order to deliver DSEV-2’s core into orbit as well as its support craft. It was also a controversial booster. The Kerbal Space Center had to guarantee that the expendable rocket would leave no orbital debris to clean up, and even with that promise they were only granted a handful of launches. Despite the sense of urgency, the massive booster lifted off the pad and delivered its cargo into orbit without incident. DSEV-2’s logistics and habitation modules quickly followed, flying on the smaller Ike booster. They too arrived into orbit and docked with the core without incident. KSC next lofted several large tankers to fuel the Protector. After completing their mission, KSC sent the spent tanks to Skybase to expand the station. With DSEV-2 assembled, fueled, and awaiting her crew, KSC focused on the Duna 1 mission’s support craft, including the Duna Drill Truck and transfer booster, a Buffalo Bulldozer, two Duna Reconnaissance Orbiters, a Duna Tanker, and an experimental Duna Flyer. KSC significantly depleted their funds to assemble the fleet. Fortunately, Munbase Enterprise’s vein of gemstones helped recoup their costs. The opening of the Duna transfer window was like the start of sea bug season off the northwest coast of the Kerman States. The fleet of vessels left their orbital harbor one by one, igniting their engine on the first leg of a long journey to the rusty planet. Seven ships from the Kerman States started their journey over the course of two hours. It was the largest fleet headed in history headed to another world. Two vessels flying the vonKerman Republic flag made the trek as well. And some theme music as the fleet sets sail...

KFS has its own nodes but they shouldn't interfere with CTT. I set the science values up to be compatible with CTT as well.

KFS 0.2.2 is now available: - NRE fixes for turning on/off converters when BARIS isn't installed. - Fixed missing IntakeLqd on the Hydroscoop. - Removed RPM dependency - Thanks to MOARdv for updating MAS to support the ASET Avionics Hub! NOTE: You'll need MAS 0.16.0. I haven't been able to duplicate the issue with LFO appearing on the wing tank after setting up omni storage and duplicating the part.

I’m not sure how to fix the symmetry issue off hand, that’ll take some investigation. For the engine, it might be a side effect of how I am applying force to the parts. I might need to revisit that next week. Meanwhile I should have a patch to resolve the problems with the hydroscoop later today, so expect a patch for that followed by another one one I see what can be done with the engine. @DeltaDizzy There’s also the Close Encounters of The Third Kind translation...

I’ll see what I can do. The arm needs some refinement, but it definitely works better than it used to

Known issue, fix in progress.

It should only operate in close proximity to a UFO anomaly, but with mods like xScience and KEI, I can't guarantee that. @Puggonaut Those videos are amazing!

Thanks for the info. I've got most of these resolved except for the duplicated wing tank issue. That'll take a bit more..

The Saga continues! Looks like everybody is getting out of Dodge, so to speak. Love the visuals, that auditorium is really cool! Can't wait to see what happens next!

I think I know what's going on. When you load up Pristine mode, the resource definition for IntakeLqd is disabled. I should have a fix for that later this weekend.

VTOL being "not quite right" can be affected by a number of things including aerodynamics and insufficient SAS. Better torque will help. I'll remove my patches then. It sounds like xScience and KEI need to fix things on their end. Try the default Classic Stock mode, see if you have the problem then.

KFS 0.2.1 is now available: - Improved the gravitic engine's ability to propel asymmetric craft designs. Aero forces still apply. - Gravitic engine now bases "forward" on the vessel control point. As an example, forward could be respective to a cockpit or a docking port. VTOL lift is unaffected. - Excluded experiments from KEI. - Potentially excluded experiments from [x]Science! Needs testing... - Fixed issue with tool tip window appearing multiple times. - Added additional tool tips.

More improvements to the Gravitic Engine on the way...

What is in your WildBlueIndustries folder? There are two resources that come from ClassicStockResources that are missing: Lead and IntakeLqd. It looks like the parts are failing because of that.

GN Drive I think it was called. Anyway, I'm getting closer:

As I mentioned before, Kerbal Flying Saucers isn't done yet. I've released an alpha version, meaning it isn't done yet, the design is still in flux, and things are subject to change. One of those changes I'm working on is how gravitic hover mode works. My initial concept was to essentially hack gravity, but just for the saucer. The idea was that you'd turn on Hover Mode, and it would negate the planet's gravity, making the saucer weightless. That was a really tough nut to crack at first and I ended up applying a counter-force to the saucer. That led to all kinds of problems where a craft would flip as if on a pendulum as it raised above the ground. Today, thanks to a lot of research and a little help from @sarbian's Modular Flight Integrator, I did this: The concept is workable, now I just have to refine it...

@sarbian Is it possible to register a function with ModularVesselPrecalculate? The class doesn't appear to be public. Thanks!

xScience needs to exclude the K2 experiment. It is designed to take time to complete while standard experiments are run instantly. I think xScience already excludes other experiments..

Love the pics! For the Refinery in Sandbox, try opening the window and turning on timewarp. See if it accumulates.

More doodling:

New tutorial video: