Angelo Kerman

Kerbucks Koffee!

OOO it also supports JNSQ! Woot!

Uh, that's hard for me to triage. What I'd do is start with a clean build of KSP, then install Blueshift, then Kerbal Flying Saucers (if you have that), then spacedust. Before installing Spacedust, make sure things are working.

Maybe this will help: https://github.com/Angel-125/WildBlueTools/releases/tag/v1.90.1

Maybe this will help: https://github.com/Angel-125/WildBlueTools/releases/tag/v1.90.1 Whoops, wrong thread!

Hey @Jason Kerman, this looks like a fun mod! I'm in the process of putting together some planet packs for me to explore in my next game and saw yours. I currently have Event Horizon, will the Kcalbeloh System work with it?

It works with either Classic Stock Resources or Community Resources Pack. Install either one of those. If that doesn't work then find the 000WildBlueTools/Templates/CRP/MM_SAFER.txt file and give it the .cfg extension.

I’m not understanding how symmetrical parts are being affected. Makes no sense. For now you might want to disable engine failures. Antennas should NOT have MTBF unless they have a generator, engine, converter, or another part module that can fail. In debug mode you can exclude the part from failures while in the editor.

What's the reliability of the engines? You can check by turning on Debug Mode.

EVA Repairs 1.4.3 is now available: Changes - Engines no longer check for failure whenever throttled up or down. - Engines can now optionally fail. - In Debug Mode (EDITOR ONLY!), you can now disable/enable part failures for individual part types in the Part Action Window. NOTE: If you right-click on, say, a Mainsail and disable it, then ALL Mainsails will be disabled, not just the one that you disabled. NOTE: A part that has been disabled persists across all saves. - You can permanently ban parts from being subjected to EVA Repairs. Check the BlacklistedPart.cfg file for details. Known Issue: symmetry parts won't notice that they've been disabled/enabled while in the editor.

Ok, it sounds like it's still too sensitive then. I'll change it back so that whenever you activate or shutdown an engine, then it'll require an activation check. Once it's running, it won't require a check.

Chapter 4 Pathfinder, also known as OV-301, sat on the runway awaiting clearance to take off, and Drax Aerospace had a lot riding on Pathfinder’s next few test flights. In 64 days, Nautilus, the first Deep Space Exploration Vessel, would return to Kerbin. Drax had that much time to figure out the design issues before the International Space Consortium cancelled their contract to transport the crew of Nautilus back to Kerbin. They had a lot more riding on Pathfinder’s success; without a working orbiter, they’d lose the space tourism market to their competitors. OV-301 accelerated down the runway and into the air, quickly gaining speed as she climbed. Her twin CR-24 Longbow ThermalJet engines, powered by the LV-N209 Prometheum engine’s nuclear reactor, were the most advanced- the only- nuclear thermal scramjet engines ever created. They were among the most advanced engines around, short of Orbital Dynamics’ gravitic propulsion technology. Both engine designs were the brainchild of Jadzia Drax Kerman, Drax Kerman’s daughter. Jadzia’s mom wouldn’t let her father name his daughter after himself, so he compromised and provided her middle name. Jadzia grew up in her father’s shadow until she became a brilliant engineer in her own right. Then, while her father continued to take her for granted, her peers began to recognize and admire her skill, putting her on projects like the Sunraker. In fact, she designed Sunraker’s revolutionary J-61 “Starwasher” combined cycle scramjet engines, and they worked perfectly. After completing her work on Sunraker, she quietly began working on Pathfinder, the next-generation shuttle that used nuclear-powered engines. When Sunraker suffered a catastrophic failure, Jadzia’s dad gave her the green light to fully develop the new shuttle. And as his last act before being forced to resign as CEO of the company and being sent to prison, Drax convinced KSP to allow the aerospace company to use operate the nuclear engines. Pathfinder derived its design from the OV-200-series Drax Space Shuttle instead of the newer Sunraker. But unlike the OV-200-series, Pathfinder needed no solid rocket boosters or external tank to achieve orbit thanks to its atomic rockets. The Longbows used nuclear heat from the Promethium to heat the atmosphere to generate thrust and sipped promethium to provide extra oomph. At 15,000 meters, Pathfinder cleared Mach 3 and kept going. At 20,000 meters, she soared past mach 4.5 and continued accelerating, trailing fiery plasma behind her. At 30,000 meters, Pathfinder lit her LV-N209 Prometheum atomic rocket to provide the boost in the airless void where the Longbows couldn’t operate. Not long after, OV-301 achieved a 155km parking orbit. The engines weren’t the source of Pathfinder’s troubles, the wings were. To achieve SSTO, Drax’s engineers ballooned out the orbiter’s wings to hold propellium. That created a more rounded shape on the underside of the orbiter. Between that and the canted stabilizers on the wingtips, the orbiter tended to roll during ascent. It took a lot of config file editing redesign of the actuators and flight control software updates to stop the rolling. It still had pitch issues that would require more config file editing software redesign as well. Unfortunately, it took real flight experience to figure that out, and the test pilots had a rough ride home. Unlike Sunraker though, Pathfinder had a proven heat shield that was a step beyond the OV-200 series. She’d have no trouble handling the heat. So, after three orbits, OV-301 performed a deorbit maneuver and caressed the upper atmosphere seven minutes later. On the way down, Pathfinder bucked in the airstream and the test pilots complained about it loudly. Secretly, though, they loved every minute of it. Despite the difficulties, Pathfinder landed safely back at KSC… * Watching Pathfinder’s flight on the news gave Karbal an idea. In his alternate history, the Kerman States centered their activities on the Lindor rocket and Lindor Shuttle while rejecting the Drax shuttle orbiter. But what if somebody else adopted the design? Karbal sipped his Starfunds koffee once again began to write… (ALT) Keep Looking Up Part 3: Skybase International During the development flights, a K-20 remained on standby to rescue the Mariner’s crew and bring them home safely. With the Shuttle declared operational, the K-20s were freed up from that task. But rather than retire the last two civilian K-20s, KSP repurposed the KerbalSoars for a new role: interim lifeboat. The space agency wanted to move to a permanent presence in orbit but didn’t want to keep a Shuttle at the complex, so that required an alternate means to get home. KSP decided that the K-20 technology was too old to handle long-term exposure to space so they needed a new design to serve as a lifeboat. That would take time to develop, however. In the meantime, the space agency modified Sojourner and Viking, the two most recent K-20s, to serve as interim lifeboats. One K-20 would stay at Skybase while the other underwent refurbishment for its next stay at the station. KSP had to rotate the lifeboat every 120 days, but it enabled the space agency to keep a crew at Skybase without a Shuttle. So, once again Sojourner rocketed into orbit - though for the first time, without a crew aboard. For their role as interim lifeboats, KSP added automated autopilot systems that could handle the K-20 without a pilot. An earlier version of the autopilot operated the prototype K-20, Pathfinder, out to münar orbit and back, so the updated version only needed additional functions to dock with Skybase. A day after launch, Sojourner arrived at Skybase and docked with Unity node. After docking, Mission Control commanded Sojourner’s propellant and resource tanks to lock their transfer valves and directed its systems to hibernate until it was time to depart the station- ideally only when it was time to rotate back home… LSS-5 launched soon after, carrying Skybase’s new Lab Module, a Payload Pivot, and a Pressurized Mating Adapter. The PMA enabled the Lab Module to reside at its temporary location on Unity Node’s starboard docking port. Mariner also carried a crew of four; Roberta Kerman (PLT), Gertrude Kerman (ENG), Samantha Kerman (SCI), and Leon vonKerman (SCI). Leon was the first vonKerman astronaut to fly on a Kerman States’ spacecraft and represented the next phase of cooperation between the Kerman States and the vonKerman Republic that started with the joint Kerman States/vonKerman Republic Münflight 6 mission. Mariner lifted off thanks to the new Lindor first stage, L-9R-2, the second reusable Lindor first stage, while L-9R-1 enjoyed additional downtime for maintenance. The new reusable first stage performed flawlessly and landed at Welcome Island without incident. Meanwhile, Mariner arrived at Skybase half a day later. After she docked, Gertrude, Samantha, and Leon boarded the station while Roberta unlatched the Lab Module from its tiedown struts and pivoted it in the payload bay. Then she undocked the TMV, maneuvered it into place, and released the Lab Module from the Payload Pivot. Finally, she used the TMV to dock the lab to Unity Node’s starboard docking port. Gertrude then stepped outside to attach some struts to the new module. Once they finished their tasks, Roberta said goodbye to the new station crew and departed Skybase in Mariner. Once again, the orbiter landed at night… As OV-201 underwent refurbishment for her next flight, KSC rolled out a new prototype: The L-2R reusable second stage. Based on the venerable L-2, the L-2R sported a new set of landing legs, parachutes, grid fins and RCS thrusters for steering, and most importantly, a prototype KR-2200C Tyrannosaurus aerospike engine. Unlike traditional bell nozzle rocket motors, the KR-2200C used a conic shape that was ringed by four dozen thruster nozzles. The atmosphere itself held the rocket exhaust to the conic walls of the engine, and it significantly improved fuel consumption. But more importantly, the conic design doubled as a heat shield. KSP hoped to recover the second stage after a single orbit, but for this test, they simply wanted to test its maneuvering and navigation. The L-2R “Hopper” prototype had a simple mission: launch, reach a height of 2,000 meters, translate over to the landing pad, and then land safely. KSP would then analyze the flight results and apply lessons learned for the next Lindor Shuttle flight. Everything went as planned until the unexpected- Hopper ran out of electricity! With the throttle stuck, the engine continued to burn as the stage flew out of control. It easily missed the designated landing area, bounced on its landing gear a couple of times, and finally smashed into the ground and destroyed itself. KSC engineers quickly realized that the L-2R needed more batteries and electrical generators, so they added batteries, small solar panels, and some fuel cells to the next prototype- and the L-2R stacked atop L-9R-1 that awaited flight. Thirty-five days later, KSC tried again. This time, L-2R-2 worked perfectly. That success paved the way for LSS-6 to proceed with its mission… For this flight, Curiosity (OV-202) stood atop the L-2R-3 second stage along with the L-9R-1 reusable first stage. Both Curiosity and L-2R-3 were ready to make their maiden flights. The Lindor Shuttle launched without issues; the first stage dropped off on time and landed at Welcome Island, while the new L-2R continued to boost Curiosity into orbit. But unlike previous flights, where the second stage stopped just short of interesting with Kerbin, OV-202 separated from L-2R when the second stage would just barely skim the upper atmosphere. Just in case things went wrong, L-2R-3 would still eventually deorbit. As on-orbit tests of the second stage commenced, Curiosity made her way to Skybase while carrying the station’s new airlock module in her cargo bay. It didn’t take long for the crew to pivot the airlock module out of the bay, attach the TMV, and pilot it over to the end of the Lab Module for temporary storage. Curiosity returned home the next day… Then, after a day of testing in space, it was time to bring L-2R-3 home. KSC wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but that’s the point of flight testing. Right on time, the reusable second stage of Lindor unlocked its reserve propellant tanks and performed its deorbit burn. 13 minutes later, it entered Kerbin’s upper atmosphere. For this test, KSP decided to land the prototype at Welcome Island- just in case something went wrong. Thankfully, things went right. The engine withstood reentry despite some overheating warnings, and the stage was on course for landing. The only problem was that it descended too fast for the chutes to deploy, and the engine failed to ignite to slow it down. L-2R-3 slammed into the ground with no hope of recovery. But engineers gained a lot from the attempt, and next time they’d stick the landing for sure… The Kerman States were well on their way to achieving a fully reusable shuttle launch system, but they weren’t the only ones with such a lofty dream. A continent away, the vonKerman Republic had their own ambitions. While most wanted to cooperate with the Kerman States to explore space, some weren’t as trusting. They saw the Lindor Shuttle as a military craft capable of stealing satellites or dropping munitions from orbit, and they needed to achieve parity. Fortunately, Drax Aerospace provided the answer. When they lost the Shuttle Launch System contract, Drax Aerospace published the plans for their shuttle orbiter out of spite. vonKerman engineers knew a good opportunity when they saw one, so they quickly copied the plans. After analyzing the schematics, they realized that they could improve upon the design by moving the main engines to the external tank. That required a redesign of the orbiter, but it also meant that the vonKermans could build a super-heavy lift rocket of their own. The resulting Koloss (“Colossus” in Kerman) booster core was powered by four Vektor engines- vonKerman copies of the KS-25 Rainbird engines proposed for SLS- while the twin side boosters each had a pair of KS-160 Orca motors. By moving the engines to the core, Koloss could lift heavy payloads other than the orbiter. Better yet, even with the orbiter, Koloss could lift payloads too wide to fit the orbiter’s cargo bay thanks to its hollow nosecone. Today though, Koloss carried Schneestrum (“Blizzard”) on its back. Though very similar to the Drax orbiter, the vonKerman orbiter had significant differences. Schneestrum moved its orbital maneuvering system engines and a single jet engine into the space that the main engines were on the Drax design. Additionally, they added air intakes where the jet engines were, and they added additional propellants in the orbiter’s wings. Plus, they shifted the nose gear further back. Finally, due to a lack of thermal blanket technology, the vonKerman engineers covered the entire orbiter in heat resistant tiles. Two astronauts, Hanse vonKerman and Sofia vonKerman, sat in Schneestrum’s cockpit, leaving eight other seats unoccupied. When the countdown reached zero, the engines on Koloss ignited and the launch vehicle leaped into the sky. Two minutes later, the side boosters dropped away and prepared for landing while the booster core and orbiter continued their climb into orbit. Once above the atmosphere, Koloss jettisoned its fairing to reduce mass. Six and a half minutes after liftoff, Schneestrum attained a 143km by 150km orbit. The crew pointed retrograde and discarded the core booster before pointing prograde and opening their payload doors. The two pilots extended the orbiter’s test instruments in the back of the payload bay, and then put some distance between themselves and the core booster. Next, the booster performed a deorbit burn, and then the propulsion module separated from the core tank. As the propulsion module deorbited safely, the core tank burned up upon reentry. Meanwhile, Schneestrum conducted several on-orbit tests including checking the maneuvering system, testing flight controls, and the like, before performing a plane-change maneuver. Next, the pilots steadied the orbiter before releasing their payload: Drakken Palast. Flying free of the orbiter’s payload bay, Drakken Palast deployed its antennae and began its automated systems checks. Once it delivered its payload, Schneestrum immediately began preparing to land by closing its payload bay doors and plotting its maneuvering burn. Half an hour later, the vonKerman orbiter landed safely back at Darude... Finally, after Schnesstrum landed, the vonKermans once again focused their efforts on Drakken Palast. A series of engine burns placed it on course with its desired destination: Skybase! Originally intended as the core of a new vonKerman space station, the goodwill created with Münflight 6 convinced the upper management of the vonKerman Space Agency to instead bring Drakken Palast to Skybase to form an international space station. Thus, on Montezu 31, 1992, Skybase International was born when Drakken Palast docked with Skybase. The station crew immediately got to work. Gertrude used the TMV to reposition the Docking Tunnel brought up on LSS-3 onto Drakken Palast’s forward docking port, and then repositioned the Airlock Module on Unity Node’s ventral docking port. Finally, she added some support struts to the airlock and Drakken Palast. The rest would have to wait a bit longer… The next day, Sofia vonKerman (PLT), Karl vonKerman (ENG), and Sara vonKerman (SCI) boarded an upgraded Drakken rocket for their trip to Skybase International. The vonKermans hedged their bets against their shuttle failing and made sure that they had an alternative access to space. By upgrading the venerable Drakken, they improved its performance while keeping its basic design. Instead of the older RK-7 Kodiak and RV-1 Cub motors used in the boosters as well as the first and second stages, the vonKermans upgraded the booster and first stage engines with more advanced KS-10J Walrus motors. For the second stage, they used a RE-L10 Poodle engine, and the Drakken service module replaced its four 48-8s Spark engines with a single LV-909 Terrier that the Kermans provided as part of the technology exchange. And though Drakken was still an expendable launch vehicle, the cost was less than recovery would be- and far less than a shuttle launch! The Drakken lifted off in pre-dawn hours, and everything went as planned. The boosters dropped away, followed by the first stage, and the second stage had plenty of delta-v to finish orbital insertion, match planes with Skybase, and even increase Drakken’s altitude for a more favorable phasing orbit before deorbiting- or it would have, had the second stage added a probe core! The vonKermans took note of the new space trash, and continued with their adventures… A few hours later, the Drakken spacecraft arrived at Skybase International, where Sofia, Karl, and Sara disembarked their capsule and entered Drakken Palast. As Karl and Sara began turning on the lights, Sofia met with Gertrude in the Docking Adapter Module. The kerbals celebrated the momentous occasion by sharing a salad made from vegetables grown in the DAM greenhouse. After sharing a meal, the astronauts got to work. After turning on Drakken Palast’s interior and exterior lights and deploying the solar arrays, Karl stepped outside to attach struts between the vonKerman station module and the Docking Tunnel. Next, Gertrude stepped out to attach struts to the solar observatory to stabilize it. Next, Sofia took remote control over the TMV, piloted it over to the Lab Module, and moved the Lab Module to its permanent location atop Drakken Palast’s dorsal docking port. Finally, she moved the Pressurized Mating Adapter to the Lab Module’s storage port, and Karl attached struts to the Lab. At last, Drakken International was open for business.

Very odd. Can you turn on Debug Mode and see what's going on?

Please give 1.4.2 a try. It should reduce reliability checks to: - Activate/Deactivate engine - Throttle up from 0.

Ok, so, right now the engine reliability check is made each time you adjust the throttle. That's way too much, so I'm working on a way to reduce the checks.

I remember how the Kerbulans "negotiate" by bombing the crap out of each other...

Do you have an example of an antenna with part failure? I wasn't aware that they could fail, and they shouldn't be. For the failing engines, do you have the option to allow parts to fail during activation turned on? You can also turn on debugging and see what's going on.

Chapter 3 Karbal felt the familiar rush of creativity pouring in once more, bolstered by the positive feedback that he got from posting his story on alt.spacehistory.com. “MOAR boosters,” read one comment. That was a common way on the boards to signify that readers wanted more alt history space posts. Another comment read: “How ironic that IOTL-“ IOTL meant In Our Time Line- “the reusable Lindor L-9R was only used once when it launched Skybase.” Several posts from various forum users posted walls of text discussing technical aspects of the Lindor launch vehicle, the Lindor Shuttle, and so on. Karbal saw them as posters that wanted to appear “in the know” and as attempts to get readers to look to themselves as the experts on all things regarding space technology and history. Karbal just saw them as distractions to the story that he was writing. But a post by one user named “KSP Insider” stood out. It read, “Good technical accuracy. Your story is plausible. We were working on a reusable L-2 stage design before the budget ran out. We also had several applications lined up that would’ve needed Lindor. Keep up the good work.” A reusable Lindor second stage? More “applications” for Lindor? Interesting, Karbal thought to himself. He noticed that “KSP Insider” didn’t provide any technical details, almost as if the poster challenged him to find out more. “Challenge accepted,” Karbal said to himself. He’d do some digging. In the meantime, he began writing… (ALT) Keep Looking Up Part 2: Skybase Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) Despite the minor damage suffered during re-entry, Mariner proved capable of launching, orbiting, and landing back at KSC, just like her K-20 ancestor. Now she had to prove her reusability. OV-201 went back into the Orbiter Processing Facility for repairs and extended inspections, and engineers estimated that it would take up to 120 days to complete. Given the time required, Skyhawk stood down from her Shuttle rescue role and geared up for her next Air Force mission. Just past sunrise on Tizoc 5, 1991, Skyhawk (OV-106) blasted off into polar orbit atop an Edna Heavy rocket for a 30-day mission to Dolores Air Force Station. Four years ago, Air Force blasted Dolores into polar orbit at about the same time that KSP lofted Skybase. It took four Edna Heavy launches to place the core module, the Habitat Module, the Lab Module, and the DenEye Spy Module into orbit and connect them together 150 km above Kerbin. Over the years, Skyhawk and Corsair (OV-107) delivered 48 kerbals over 16 flights to the station to conduct military experiments and “Watch Kerbin” with their ground-pointing telescope, and the latest flight was no different. Though technically an Air Force station, the Kerman Navy also used the facility as well. This flight was an all-Navy crew- Captain Jonathan “Archer” Kerman (PLT), Commander Charles “Tripp” Kerman (ENG), and Doctor Phlox Kerman (SCI) rocketed towards the station and docked with it a half-day later. For their first task, “Tripp” performed an EVA to replace the aging struts connecting the three mission modules to the core. The struts ensured that the structures didn’t flex and cause problems like the issues that Mariner and Skybase experienced. The other 28 days of their mission was routine. Dr. Phlox performed experiments including life sciences and monitoring Kerbin’s oceans for evidence of climate change. After completing their mission, the trio boarded Skyhawk once more for the trip home, timing their departure to just before sunrise at KSC. Several minutes after its deorbit burn, OV-106 jettisoned its service module at let it burn up as the glider hit the atmosphere. A few S-turns later to slow down, Skyhawk went subsonic above KSC, approached the runway, and landed with little fanfare. OV-106 had a 30-day turnaround time, but that was plenty of time before Mariner’s next mission… At last, 120 days after Mariner landed, she was stacked atop the Lindor L-9R and a new L-2 upper stage and ready for her next mission. For LSS-2 (Lindor Shuttle System, mission 2), Mariner carried a Mini Logistics Module with several Refit Kits, the Unity Node, and the refurbished Teleoperated Maneuvering Vehicle. For this flight, Janet Bragg-Kerman (PLT) and Archimedes “Archy” Kerman (ENG) rode in OV-201’s cockpit. Once again, Mariner launched towards Skybase, arriving 3 hours later. After parking Mariner next to Skybase, Janet unlocked the TMV’s propellant tanks, switched on the lights, and separated it, Unity Node, and the Mini Logistics Module from OV-201’s payload bay. As the orbiter’s autopilot handled station keeping, Janet maneuvered the payload over to Skybase. She expertly docked Unity Node to the adapter module, and then moved Mariner in to dock. With practiced skill, she docked the orbiter to the MLM’s aft port. The two astronauts took their time securing the orbiter before transferring over to Skybase. Over the next five days, Archy and Janet worked hard to replace Skybase’s old equipment with the refit kits that they’d brought to the station. They removed the defunct science modules and replaced them with life support systems like a composter, soil dehydrator, and even a prototype OPAL processor that squeezed water out of rocks. With the internal refits completed, Archimedes stepped outside to attach struts between Skybase and the Docking Adapter Module. Once he completed that work, he moved to the DAM to attach struts between it and the Unity Node. With no more work, he went back inside Skybase. The next day, Mariner undocked from Skybase and headed back to KSC, landing once again with melted wingtip RCS thrusters. LSS-2 was nearly flawless; everything went to plan except for the heat mitigation efforts for the RCS thrusters. The engineers went back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, leaving the MLM and TMV behind at Skybase was not an oversight. After Mariner landed, Mission Control remotely undocked the TMV from Unity Node, maneuvered it to the free end of the MLM, and docked again. Next, the TMV undocked from Skybase, taking the MLM with it. After putting some distance between it and the station, the TMV’s four LV-1R Spider motors ignited and lowered its orbit to intersect with the atmosphere. The deorbit test worked perfectly… LSS-3 launched 95 days after Mariner landed from Pad B, and again had repairs for her damaged RCS thrusters. The engineers assured everyone that this time, they wouldn’t burn away. Mariner also lacked the small landing gear on the underside of her tail, which also burned away during the past two flights. Proper training ensured that pilots wouldn’t strike the tails during landing. Mariner once again carried a Mini Logistics Module and a new Teleoperated Maneuvering Vehicle to replace the one deliberately deorbited for testing. In place of the Unity node, OV-201 carried a docking tunnel. As with the previous two flights, LSS-3 continued to refurbish Skybase as part of its Service Life Extension Program. By adding new modules, replacing old equipment, and resupplying various consumables, KSP intended to double its original five-year expected lifetime. For this flight, Roberta Kerman- copilot on LSS-1, and rookie astronaut Sally Kerman (ENG), a new graduate of the Shuttle Class. Mariner’s ascent had some trouble as the orbiter skipped off the upper atmosphere during her launch into orbit, but thankfully Roberta was able to take over from the autopilot and correct their orbit. Nonetheless, Mariner rendezvoused with Skybase an hour after launch. After putting the orbiter into station-keeping mode, Roberta undocked TMV 2 and the Docking Tunnel, and then translated the craft over to the orbiter’s docking port. After that, she undocked TMV-2 and parked on the MLM. Next, she took control of Mariner from the autopilot and docked the shuttle to Skybase. Finally, she undocked the MLM/TMV-2 and translated it over to Unity Node’s forward docking port. With her work completed for now, she and Sally secured the orbiter and transferred to Skybase. Sally’s role in the mission took center stage at this point. She opened the transfer valves to shunt fresh air from the MLM while the two astronauts moved snacks and minerite from the MLM into Skybase. Once they finished with that work, they moved extra EVA gear into storage aboard the space station. On Flight Day 2, Sally stepped outside to remove the covers on Node 2 and attach a pair of Clamp-O-Tron Jr. ports to the exterior. Then she reduced part count cleaned up the launch lugs and other hardware that could potentially tear a spacesuit if it got caught on it. Finally, Sally attached a pair of struts to the new Docking Tunnel to provide additional stability. Flight Day 3 saw Sally assess what systems needed repairs- and quickly realized that she lacked the skills needed repair them. They’d have to be fixed on another flight. Meanwhile, Roberta undocked the MLM/TMV combo and parked the MLM in Mariner’s cargo bay before returning TMV-2 to Unity Node. With their on-orbit tasks completed, the two astronauts had some free time to enjoy the views. On Flight Day 4, the crew woke up, returned to Mariner, and prepped the orbiter for landing before departing Skybase. The deorbit went as planned, but a navigation error caused Mariner to overshoot KSC by a wide margin and she had to divert to Welcome Island. CNG really needed to refine their deorbit maneuvers! At least this time, her RCS thrusters survived reentry. At any rate, the orbiter landed safely and ferried itself back to KSC after taking on some extra jet fuel… Space Shuttle Mariner launched into orbit once more after 73 days of refurbishment and stacking with its Lindor launch vehicle. For this flight, John Kerman (PLT) and Archimedes Kerman (ENG) handled the mission’s tasks. On the fourth and final mission of the Skybase Service Life Extension Program, OV-201 brought the station’s new Power Module into orbit. Consisting of several battery sections, an auxiliary monopropellant power unit, two tank clusters of monopropellant, and a dual-axis solar array, the Power Module would significantly increase Skybase’s power supply once installed. After arriving at the station, over the course of three days, Archy took a spacewalk to perform repairs on Skybase, add some lights to the Docking Tunnel, and to retract two of the station’s “windmill” solar arrays to make room for the Power Module. With those tasks completed, the engineer retreated to the comfort of the station to prepare for the main event. Given the length of the module and the positioning of its docking ports, KSP needed a new way to deploy Mariner’s payload. For this mission, OV-201 carried a Payload Pivot that was designed to pivot the module out of the cargo bay far enough for the Teleoperated Maneuvering Vehicle to grab it. Once given the go ahead from Mission Control, Archy disconnected the payload struts and unlocked the Payload Pivot’s servomotor. Then, the Power Module majestically rotated up and away from Mariner’s cargo bay. Once fully extended, Archy locked the servomotor again for the next phase of operation. John took control over TMV-2, undocked it, and translated it over to the Power Module. After docking with the module, Archy undocked it from the Payload Pivot, and John flew the combo over to Unity Node’s dorsal docking port. As the orbiting complex reached orbital sundown, Archy stepped outside to add some struts to the new module and remove launch lugs. And once the complex emerged into sunlight once more, Archy deployed the station’s new solar arrays. At last, Skybase is able to generate electric charge from solar energy in all orientations. On the fourth day, John took a spacewalk from Mariner’s payload bay airlock- the first time someone did so. John immediately got to work performing an EVA experiment- spinning a wingnut in space and observing the results. It was quite fun! After making his observations, he boarded the Kerbal Maneuvering Unit- KMU- and powered it up. Carried into orbit during LSS-1, the KMU was like a mini spacecraft capable of transporting a single kerbal around in space. With the right connection, it could also be used for construction purposes. For the test flight, John piloted the KMU over to the KMU docking port on the Docking Adapter Module. Once it successfully docked, John left the seat and used his jetpack to return to Mariner. When Mariner left, the KMU would remain docked to Skybase and be exposed to space to test the long-term exposure effects. On Flight Day 5, John and Archy boarded Mariner for the trip home. It was the first nighttime landing for a Shuttle. After four development missions, KSP declared the Lindor Shuttle System operational. She was cleared to carry a full crew, freeing the last of K-20 KerbalSoars to retire. Her first “working test flights” not only proved the Shuttle design, but they also extended the life of Skybase by at least another five years. But SLEP wouldn’t be the end of Skybase’s expansion. ..

Interplanetary/interstellar dust-form graviolium isn't supposed to be a staple crop; it's a supplemental thing that should take time to accumulate. You should find better pickings with asteroids as well as mining Dres and Eve.

Hard to believe that I did this a year ago but a lot has happened since then! Here is my first attempt at revamping the flying saucer: Originally I intended this for KSP2 but given the state of that game I may revisit it as a “KFS Mk2” mod instead…

I burned out on the mothership a few years ago. The IVAs were killing me. Since then, my license for 3DS MAX got too expensive to renew and my files for the mothership- and most of my other projects- are in MAX format. I have been learning Blender but that is slow going due to other commitments. At this point I would need to start over with a new mothership, but that depends on time and interest. The reality is that the saucer shape has limited utility. I did experiment with a new saucer shape based on the Mk2 form factor but that is more a replacement for the existing Flapjack design. The funny thing is that the Flapjack was originally a proof of concept for making saucer shapes fly in KSP but I also hedged my bets with it as being the only saucer design that I made in case I didn’t complete the mothership. It turned out to be the case. If I were to start over again today I would make a saucer design similar to to remade Jupiter 2 from the Netflix Lost In Space show, but one that had more configuration options.

KFS and Blueshift are intended to play well with each other. Next update will ensure that Blueshift's patches take precedence over KFS. Blueshift has no gravitic engines, that's a KFS thing. The closest is the contragravity device that I'm slowly working on.

Every now and then I post a bug fix, but KFS is dev complete.

You can thank Squad for some of that. Try a stock game, no mods, and try drilling an asteroid and see what happens.

EVA Repairs 1.4 is now available: Changes - EVA repairs-related events and displays have been moved to the PAW's EVA Repairs group. - Solar panels and radiators can now optionally fail. - Engines will reduce MTBF only when throttled up and running. - If the option is enabled (it's off by default), then when a part with crew capacity fails, it can be repaired from the inside. - Parts with less than 20% MTBF now have the option to Service the part to restore their MTBF before they fail. - Parts that have worn out now have the option to Overhaul the part to restore its maximum possible MTBF. See below for details. - You can now specify the default MTBF by part module. E.G. Engines have an MTBF of 1 (hour). See EVARepairs/BaselineConfig.cfg for details. - Removed default MTBF from settings menu. - In Settings, moved breakable part options to the new Breakable Things section. Bug Fixes - Fixed issue where MTBF would drain even when various modules weren't deployed, active, etc. - Fixed issue where MTBF would show "-1" in the part info view. Overhaul Game Mechanic When the "Parts can wear out" option is enabled, parts will lose 10% of their maximum possible MTBF each time they're repaired. The intent was to have stations and ships wear out over time and need replacement. This release introduces a new game mechanic: Overhaul. Overhauling a part requires a Level 3 engineer or above, 4 Repair Kits, and a mass of Ore equal to 20% of the part's dry mass. An Overhaul will restore the part's maximum possible MTBF.