ThatGalaxyMan

I could not even image building something like that. I can't wait to see it in the water!

Tell me how it flies if you give it a go, I'd love feedback

Thanks haha! I'm partway through my robotics degree, so I'm working at GE Aviation for the summer. We make parts for the Turbojet

This seems fun! +20 points for having an account +10 points for taking part in this challenge +25 points for having an image for your account +9 point for forum posts +31 for posts per day +40 for my two threads +55 for my rep +22 for my page visits And the Greenhorn award, which is 212 points! Bahaha, I'll get there someday EDIT: Oh - I get the Kerbal Moonlighting award too! I work at GE Aviation

One of my goals is get Kerbals on every planet/moon in a permanent base AND the ability to get them back to Kerbin on location. This gets a little difficult for far away places like Eeloo or atmospheres like Eve's. I want each base to have a rover and science lab and habitat and everything.

Today I finished and posted my SSTOM3-R spaceplane "Zealous" and it's interplanetary ring

Thanks, I appreciate it! Yeah, the hyperdrive ring was absolutely an inspiration here. Even that way that you connect to it via the horizontal peice, haha

Introducing the SSTOM3-R "Zealous", an SSTO spaceplane with sleek interplanetary booster ring! The Zealous: The Zealous comes equipped with twin TurboJets and an Aerospike for your circulation burn, RCS, ladder, lights, 2 RTGs tucked into the wings, and an emergency escape setup to wrench the cockpit off of the plane. It has some pretty good handling; it can take off almost right away and landing is a breeze. Note: If you are a good pilot it might not matter, but I fly with SAS on almost always to keep movements balenced and smooth Now the glamour shot! The Ring: What's the problem with SSTOs? Not enough dV to get anywhere once you are up in orbit! Taking design inspiration from the Star Wars franchise's hyperdrive rings, my solution is a 6 engine nuclear tug that the Zealous docks in cleanly from the back. The ring has plenty of RCS and an array of solar panels to power the SAS, the Octo probe, and the intense blue lights. (maybe a little TOO blue) The docking section of the ring has some panels and pieces such that when you are trying to dock, it's as easy as lining up the Zealous straight behind the ring and pushing the nose down into the docking port. The leading edge of the wing lines up with the gap and provides a nice aligned single port docking. The ring also has extra torus tank to help distribute fuel between the two main tanks. It's important that the ship has balance, and the fuel moves so fast between them it is hard to perfect. You can use the little tank to move little bits of fuel at a time. Getting the ring up there is a little hard, because the lift effects of the winglets push it around on the ascent. I drain the fuel from the tanks and refuel from the lifter or an extra tug in orbit. Journey to Eve: This album displays my test journey to eve with the Zealous and it's ring. (I really should have gone to Laythe, but I had never flown an aircraft on Eve before and I wanted to give it a try.) Zealous Flight Profile: Pull up after launch at 45 degrees until you get up to about 10k (any angle really, you can pull in enough air to accelerate straight up if you like) Once you get up by 10k, start leveling out toward 5 degrees and keep burning to get your speed up. You can do 10 degrees, but it's less efficient and you are going to have to burn your Aerospike more to get orbit. I've gotten up to 30k at 1400m/s before flare-out. Note: When I'm up at the end of the atmosphere I often turn on RCS and let the TurboJets burn out. It puts me into a flat-spin, but within one rotation it can be stopped and the Aerospike engaged. Maybe it's just me, but I like to get everything out of the Turbos. dV: The Zealous by itself has something around 2k dV The ring by itself has 8.5k dV Docked together, fully fueled, the Zealous with the ring has 7.5k dV Action Groups (The Zealous): 1. Atmospheric Mode (Turbos on, Aerospike off) 2. Orbital Mode (Turbos off, Aerospike on) 3. Toggle Air intakes (I wish there where "open" and "close" options in stock KSP 4. Interstellar Mode (Turbos and Aerospike off, reaction wheels off) Note: Interstellar Mode is for when you are docked with the ring. Turning off the reactions wheels and engines stops scary twisting of the Zealous in the ring. Action Groups (The Ring): 9. Toggle solar panels Craft files: Ring: (as sub-assembly) https://www.dropbox.com/s/zel6ntvzthy9ncd/Booster%20Ring%20-%20Zealous.craft My hastily made launcher for the ring: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ol9pc83hwf6cm3j/Ring%20Launcher.craft (you can probably make something better easy) The SSTOM3-R: https://www.dropbox.com/s/abnd1oiuafw9wmk/Zealous.craft Feedback is greatly appreciated! I'm no expert, so give it a go and tell me how it flies! Thanks everyone,

I really like this method. A successful landing from inside is a fun accomplishment. Today, I made my first successful SSTO spaceplane

I have mostly played KSP with rockets, space stations, and landers, so I figured I should try spaceplanes next. After some experimentation and toil I have finally made a spaceplane capable of reaching orbit and returning with a bit of fuel to spare. Named after test pilot Bill Kerman's relentless bravery, I present 'Dauntless': Dauntless handles pretty well in low altitude, has plenty of RCS for docking maneuvers, a radially attached shield docking port on it's nadir/belly side for said docking, and a communications dish on it's tail. It's certainly not the most elegant craft, but I like it just the same. As soon as I can figure out a good way to post a craft file, I would love for some feedback on how it flies. I am just starting to get the hang of planes, so any design tips would be appreciated too. Thanks,

Me too. You think you've seen everything, but every day people come up with even more crazy and fantastic vessels. Thanks! I have a Minecraft account of the same name, and have used that symbol on various Minecraft forums. I've grown fond of it

Thanks for the recommendations! Infernal Robotics is exactly what I was thinking of. I wouldn't mind playing through Career mode with a little more realism like Deadly Re-entry and maybe FAR. I definitely like the Alarm Clock and Precise node, that will make any multiple-ship mission much easier to organize. As for the texture mods, they are beautiful, but I doubt my computer could handle them. - §

Hey everyone, I've been playing KSP for maybe a couple months or so now, and I love it! I wish I would have found it sooner, honestly. I'm currently a college student studying Robotics Engineering, and I was thrilled to find that terms like roll, pitch, and yaw along with much of what I know about physics and mechanical systems is extremely applicable here in the game. As much as I'd love a couple of extra parts features in the game (come on, please, one hinge is all I want) I prefer to play mostly vanilla. That being said, if anyone has any suggestions for any awesome non-gameplay changing mods, I wouldn't mind trying them out. I currently only have Kerbal Engineer installed. (Delta-V calculations were getting tedious, and it gives you lots of numbers without adding anything unnecessary) Anyway, I have lurked a bit on the forums, and have finally decided to join you all. Maybe my rovers and ships might be more appreciated here! (My roommates just don't get as excited about a stable VTOL rover as I do) As far as KSP experience, I have completed the science tree, and have been to every one of the inner planets and moons. (No Jool system or Eeloo yet) I have a decent handle on orbital rendezvous and docking, and can get lined up and dock in a couple orbits. I am not very good at spaceplanes, but I'm learning. Sorry about the wall of text, but I'm excited to be a part of the forums and share/receive knowledge and experience about KSP! - §