GoSlash27

I'm not understanding the concept of a "cheap discardable plane". Wouldn't it make more sense (fiscally) to have a fully reusable plane? I'd imagine that'd be cheaper to build, get better performance with less parts, and be cheaper to operate.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what the units are, so long as you understand how they scale to each other. But of course, the units *are* given. When in doubt, consult the wiki. Finally, it would be helpful to know what you're trying to compute. Best, -Slashy

When + represents XOR? I have no idea for the others. Best, -Slashy

Aye. Six it is, then. Best, -Slashy

*Edit* Actually, scratch that. I just realized I have to run my entire mission before submitting for the award.

Normally I'd place myself around a 5, but lately I've been working exclusively with kraken drive and infinigliders. Kinda hard to gauge efficiency when you're exploiting the physics engine for unlimited DV... 100% reusability, no staging, no fuel and no dead weight on interplanetary hops measured in days instead of years. Where does that fit on a scale of 1-6? Best, -Slashy

second attempt, day 9: Flagged Eve. Approaching Duna... -Slashy

I tried to incorporate all of my cheaty stock glitch- exploit tech into a cheesy 1950s flying saucer design. Part count was too high. Best, -Slashy

My first attempt was a failure. I came into the Eve SOI going plaid on the second day and decided to try aerobraking. Bad idea! Firing up my next attempt tomorrow...

SDJ64 & EdFred, I can answer both of these at once: By "single vehicle", I mean exactly that. One vehicle launches from Kerbin surface. That lone vehicle will journey to the surface of each planet, return to orbit, and continue on to the next planet. There will be no detaching excursion vehicles, executing refueling rendezvous in orbit, or the like. Whatever arrives in orbit must land on the surface. I will not, however, force you to SSTO if you want to stage your launches, but I personally will SSTO all of them for my entry. The goal is to build a car George Jetson style. Just hop in it and do a poker run all over the system. Best, -Slashy

... Or: the "I broke KSP challenge" The task is straightforward (if technically "impossible" by conventional thinking): Using a single vehicle in a single mission, plant a flag on the surface of every landable body with an atmosphere and plant a flag, and return safely to KSC. The targets are Eve, Duna, and Laythe and winner will be the participant who achieves all of the objectives in the lowest elapsed time. The letter and spirit of the rules are simply this: You may not alter or interfere with the stock physics in any way, but you are free to take advantage of any loopholes that they present in stock form. Likewise, you may use any stock parts you choose, but you may not alter them in any way. Expanding on the rules... no mods that alter the physics and no non-stock parts allowed. You may not hyperedit, use debug menu cheats, use non-stock parts, alter the properties of stock parts or use mods that alter the stock physics. You may use ladder lifters, kraken drives, infinigliders, SAS copters, and anything else you can dream up... provided that they are composed of stock parts. Scoring The objective is to visit Eve, Duna, and Laythe and plant flags on each, then return to the KSC. This needs to be accomplished by a single ship in a single mission, and needs to be completed as quickly as possible. Your score will be calculated by total elapsed mission time with the following modifiers: Planted a flag on Laythe: Time/2 Planted a flag on Duna: Time/5 Planted a flag on Eve: Time /10 Planted a flag on any or all of the above and returned safely to KSC:Time/10 These multipliers are cumulative, so (as an example) planting flags on all 3 planets and returning safely will divide your total MET by 1000. Verification: You should document your journey through video or photos so that they clearly support your claimed time. A copy of your craft needs to be submitted for verification. Final thoughts: This challenge is laughably impossible on it's face... unless you "cheat" like crazy, and that's the idea. It can be done using known weaknesses in the KSP physics engine and stock parts. The objective is to be creative in exploiting these weaknesses as efficiently as possible. So go all Morpheus on this challenge and see how badly you can break the game! Leaderboard: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/75704-Reach-for-orbit-with-an-ion-glider%21 http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/89485-0-24-X-The-Easier-Ion-to-Orbit-Challenge http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/85728-Ion-glider-collier-trophy%21

The sidereal rotation also makes this impossible in KSP. The apogee would have to be readjusted eastward at each visit to perigee. Best, -Slashy

Successfully tested my all-stock kraken drive SSTO infiniglider on Eve, Kerbin, Duna, and Laythe.

Wow, thread necro! We've worked for the better part of a year looking for an answer to this question. No, an Eve SSTO (stock parts, stock physics, no debug cheats) does not exist without exploiting glitches. But if you're cool with exploiting glitches, then yes. Ladder lifters can do the job, and so can infinigliders with kraken drive. We have successful examples of both here Best, -Slashy

Now OTOH if you want a "real" solution, here's the best that I've got: You'll need at least 3 of these http://wikisend.com/download/590830/TR5 SS stack.craft This is the shotput/ courier launch vehicle loaded with 5 tylo rover 5.0 ss rovers. These rovers are the core of the Eve surface logistics. Since you'll need to bring lots of fuel and supplies to the surface and join up with the launcher, these will be critical. Out them in orbit and mate them to a startrader mass mover. You'll need 4 of these: http://wikisend.com/download/362236/startrader.craft This is the startrader on a shotput launch vehicle. This is what gets things from Kerbin to Eve and back. You'll need one of these: http://wikisend.com/download/733008/Eve Model D test.craft This is your launch vehicle. It will land mostly empty, so you need to refuel it on the surface using the Tylo rovers. These are the core of the effort: Shotput/ Courier, Startrader, Tylo Rover 5.0 SS, and Eve Delta. Shotput/ Courier gets everything assembled and fueled in orbit. Startrader gets everything from LKO to LEO and back. Tylo rover 5.0 SS handles logistics from LEO to Eve surface and on the surface. Eve Delta gets the Kerbal and samples home. I've already tested all of this equipment for the role, so I know it works. Multi- million fund effort and a time scale measured in years. Or... I can hop in my glitch exploiter and bring you back a sample by next Tuesday Best, -Slashy

Laie, Actually, yes you do. The simplest solution to this problem is to exploit glitches like crazy. I can bring you back a surface sample from Eve in less than a week with no more difficulty than driving around the corner for a loaf of bread... but I'd need to hop into my kraken drive infiniglider to do it. Otherwise, we're talking a major production with a timescale measured in years. So yeah... I understand where you're coming from, but you do have to point out no glitch exploits. Best, -Slashy

Okay... this one is good enough to submit. k-2 testbed.craft Only particulars for flying this one are as follows: 1) There is an okto-2 controller between the capsule and kraken drive. Control it from there. 2) K-drive toggle is action group 1. 193 parts minus whatever bonuses apply. High part count, but it makes up for that in all- around utility and the ability to dock in orbit. Best, -Slashy

http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/library/KSP/krakelicious/Laythe%20Mission Nothing difficult about Laythe. Pretty much the same as flying on Kerbin. Best, -Slashy

http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/library/KSP/krakelicious/Duna%20Mission Duna is potentially hazardous, but I made it without any problems. The danger is in the low margin between orbital velocity and kraken drive minimum engage speed. If you set your apoapsis too high, your speed can easily drop below 800 m/sec before you have circularized. This one has been successful on Eve, Kerbin, and Duna. Laythe should be easy in comparison. -Slashy

I have also successfully landed on Eve, planted a flag, and reestablished orbit with a kraken drive infiniglider. http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission7_zps7d37e976.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission8_zps53b025ea.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission9_zps7d284647.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission10_zps36e2d936.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission11_zpsbe9a966a.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission12_zps97266301.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission13_zpsc80ce110.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/GoSlash27/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission/Evemission14_zps8d17b963.jpg It's called the Krakelicious Mk. 2 Best, -Slashy

http://s52.photobucket.com/user/GoSlash27/library/KSP/krakelicious/Eve%20mission I have successfully landed on Eve, planted a flag, and reestablished orbit. Now to see if this thing will work in the thin atmosphere and low orbital velocity of Duna. -Slashy

Mine also suffered from an unplanned spontaneous disassembly Infiniglide was too strong for Eve, and there was no way to stop it below 2.5 KM altitude. On final approach with controls set to soft, SAS off and SAS gyros disabled, and it started vibrating. Then WHAM!! it snapped into a spin and accelerated, and all the panels flew off like a turkey that got blasted with birdshot. It was pretty comical to watch. Back to the drawing board... -Slashy

Thanks for the kudos, but as always these accomplishments don't happen in a vacuum. The concept of mating an infiniglider to a kraken drive was goduranus' idea and FCISuperGuy designed the k-drive unit itself. I'm just the dumb monkey that slapped the plane together. Best, -Slashy

Mission update: Bob is in his final intercept retroburn for Eve SOI. Total elapsed time just over 2 days. -Slashy