GoSlash27

DMan969, If you're assuming an elliptical orbit with the parent body at a focus, then your question is one of geometry rather than orbital mechanics. Is it possible to have an ellipse that's asymmetrical about the major axis? No. Is it possible to have an ellipse where the closest and furthest points from a focus do not lie along the major axis? No. HTHs, -Slashy

Coffee every morning! I grind my beans fresh. That seems to make all the difference. Best, -Slashy

http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/slideshow/KerbiLab/Kerbilab4 Day 4: After staying overnight at the polar zone, we hit up the mountains. After doing workups in the mountains, highlands, and badlands, it was time to say goodbye to the Beagle. In truth, we probably had plenty of fuel to bring it back as well, but that is how the mission was designed. A triumphant return to KSC with all the science! 8/8 biomes covered and safe return to KSC. Best, -Slashy

If it's a thing, it's not universal. I nearly had a mission ruined 2 days ago due to solar panels being blocked by wing panels. This was on the surface of Kerbin. I was doing the biome hopper challenge with an airplane/ rover combo. Processing data in the lab had drained my batteries and I didn't want to wait all day for the airplane's panels to recharge the batteries, so I dropped the rover and proceeded to drive it out into the sunlight to deploy it's panels.... And it died right under the plane. Both of it's panels were blocked by the airplane's wings so I was unable to recharge or reconnect. Thankfully, I was able to coast it out into the open by releasing the airplane's parking brake. TL/DR; solar panels *do* get blocked on the surface. Best, -Slashy

I may as well throw this one in. http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/slideshow/KSP/WindWalkerIII The WindWalker was an experiment to see how much mass I could push into orbit using just a single turbojet and single short tank of jet fuel. The final craft weighs nearly 22 tonnes at launch and delivers 13.5 tonnes of LF&O to LKO at $27/ tonne. It's also the best looking and nicest flying spaceplane I've ever made. http://wikisend.com/download/513446/WindWalker3.craft Best, -Slashy

I'll be starting fresh. I have to relearn aerodynamics from the basics, so there's no point in carrying over ships that are built on the old assumptions. Best, -Slashy

Ah, okay then. I'm talking about something completely different. Please disregard Best, -Slashy

I must just be missing what the OP was asking or what you folks are talking about. I was under the impression that he was talking about estimating the slope of a curve at a point through interpolation. Is this not the case? Best, -Slashy

mekasha, your design looks like it should be fairly aerodynamically unstable, so your pitch problem is likely due to shifting CoM as the jet fuel tanks drain. Yes, I'd definitely get rid of the aerospike. It's just not worth it in the scale of your spaceplane. For that matter, a single turbojet is plenty for your needs, and easier to manage. Scope out my tutorial here for more tips. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/102182-So-you-want-to-build-a-space-plane-(-25-stock) Best, -Slashy *EDIT* A single turbojet is adequate to achieve a 70 km apoapsis at nearly orbital velocity for up to 21 tonnes of spaceplane and a pair of 48-7Ss is more than plenty to circularize. It's just a matter of flying the proper profile, which is basically squeezing everything you can out of the engine.

Well... if you could bear with me, under what circumstances would solving a differential equation be difficult or impossible? This hasn't been my experience. Best, -Slashy

Maybe you're thinking of integrals? Derivatives are pretty easy... Best, -Slashy

I used to do that myself when I was a kid! Much easier to come up with the first differential and solve for the precise answer, though. Best, -Slashy

The main problem is economic viability. Boeing isn't going to sink billions into a launch system that will never turn a profit. Best, -Slashy

Day 2 (actually day 3) We spent an extra day at the first stop. I was caught off- guard by the electrical requirements of processing all that data. We made it to the antarctic site without any problems and then nearly ruined the entire mission by getting the rover trapped under the KerbiLab with dead batteries. Thankfully, we were able to drift Beagle out into the sunlight. Unfortunately, this means spending the night out on the ice sheet, and Anrim was very adamant about getting out of there... 5 of 8 biomes covered. http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/slideshow/KerbiLab/Kerbilab3 Best, -Slashy

There's been a lot of crashes over the years where cargo has shifted, creating pitch moments that the elevators couldn't overcome. That was at much slower speeds, though... Best, -Slashy

Day 1: Desert, shoreland, and grassland biomes covered. Evening festivities include porkbeest roast and Jimmy Buffet. http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/slideshow/KerbiLab/Kerbilab2

We're ready to get this party started! Day zero. This slideshow shows how everything works and introduces the characters. http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/slideshow/KerbiLab/Kerbilab1 Our objective is to conduct complete scientific workups in every biome on Kerbin, and then return all the data to the KSC. Day 1: -Refueling the Kerbilab after a grueling series of field trials. -Photo ops -Flight crew boarding -Science crew stowing the Beagle -Science crew boarding -Flight plan -Taxi & Departure Best, -Slashy

http://wikisend.com/download/513446/WindWalker3.craft This craft didn't turn out like I'd hoped, but it is still very good at what it does, sharp- looking, and easy to fly. It will put 13.5 tonnes of fuel and oxidizer into LKO at about $26 per tonne. Best, -Slashy

Try as I might, I just can't squeeze enough efficiency out of this platform to bring 1 more tank without eating into the payload. What I ended up with matches the PeaceFrog in terms of efficiency, and is also the prettiest/ best flying spaceplane I've ever created. So just on that basis alone, I've decided to share it here. http://wikisend.com/download/513446/WindWalker3.craft Best, -Slashy

Well... I tried to push the limits a little bit further and failed. Apparently 25 tonnes is just too much to ask of one engine. I succeeded in building my most beautiful failure, but that's about it Best, -Slashy

Yeah, that'll probably be a bust in FAR. That's another problem with the Mk3 parts; the available wings have too little lift coefficient, so you wind up with silly wingspan requirements for the little real estate available. For example, a single Mk3 section weighs 14 tonnes but only has enough area to attach 1 large wing section, so you need a span that goes out at least 7 panels. Gets a bit unwieldy... Best, -Slashy

UnusualAttitude, This is how I worked around the structural problems inherent in Mk.3 structures: Triangulating the wing sections and tying them together makes the entire assembly rigid. I'm not going to bother with Mk3 until the new update, but feel free to take that and run with it! Best, -Slashy

After playing with the Mk3 parts, I have concluded that they're just plain not worth it if you're trying to build an efficient SSTO tanker. The tank sections are too draggy, the large wing panels are too inefficient, and the available control surfaces are too ineffective. I can make a functional SSTO out of these parts within the part limit, but it's not going to put fuel in orbit as cheaply as the Mk2 can. Best, -Slashy

*Snort* "Serenity Newt" Yer killin' me, Smalls... Either one of those is right in the ballpark of where I'm at in terms of efficiency. Time to see what we can make happen with multiengine Mk. 3 designs. I'm going to start conservative with a 90 tonne design; see if the low drag of the fuselage sections can make up for the god-awful wings. Best, -Slashy

I think the big problem is going to be the part limit. The biggest (and least efficient) wing panels only have a lift rating of 2. They will add up in a hurry. By the time it's all said and done, it's probably going to wind up in a weight range where the old Mk2 parts are preferable. I'll take a look at it in the next few days. Best, -Slashy