MerlinsMaster

So, I've been away for a bit. So there are no strut connectors anymore? What replaces them? That complicated winch system?

That is an interesting idea, which would be fine for a small ship, but the ship in question is huge, so like you said, it would be a violent docking to be sure. Yeah, Winchell Chung from the Atomic Rockets website had expressed the same concern with me on Twitter, which I agreed with. Of course, this is set in the 24th century, and it's not unreasonable to assume that they have much more advance reaction control technology. Yeah, I've read a few of her other books, so I'm more or less expecting that to be the case.

Well, before you say that, check this out. According to my research, Pell Station is about 3600 feet in diameter. I'm not sure exactly what size the Norway is. I'm guessing about the size of a container vessel. It probably doesn't matter that much, as I'm sure in the 24th century, they have sufficiently advanced reaction control technology that a large ship docked with the station wouldn't be a serious issue.

I had thought of that, but my concern was that they wouldn't be at the point of closest approach long enough (a couple of seconds) for the docking clamps to take hold (keep in mind, they would probably be pretty huge). But that's probably the best option, barring tractor beams or the earlier mentioned elevator option.

But in that situation, the docking port, while spinning, was only moving in one direction. Coop only had to match that direction, and then match the spin. In my scenario, the direction is continually changing. It is changing in a predictable manner, however, so it's conceivable that with a good enough RCS system and sufficient manueverability, that it could be done.

I like her too. I read the Chanur series first, and now I'm just starting the Union-Alliance books. As for the ships being able to perform that maneuver, the problem is that the lateral movement of the ring is pretty fast, and the direction is constantly changing. A smaller ship, like the Rocinante in the Expanse, for example, might be able to do it because it is so maneuverable. But the Norway, as best as I can tell, is roughly the size of a medium container vessel, and I have considerable doubts it would be possible. Also, I was just discussing this with Winchell Chung from Atomic Rockets, and he expressed a concern that the Norway docking with the station would put the station wildly off balance. He said it would be like putting a cinder block in a dryer and running it.

That's crazy, I was thinking that exact thing.

That's true, which is why I decided to make this post. It seemed silly to even ask, as I know already that there is no good way to dock on the ring, but I guess I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything.

Hey Guys, I'm currently reading Downbelow Station by C J Cherryh, and I thought it would be fun to recreate the titular space station in KSP. There is, however, a problem I'm running into. In the book, all of the docking ports on this space station are on the ring, not the hub. Given the diameter of the station and how fast it would have to spin to generate 1g, the surface of the ring is moving by at about 73 meters per second, way too fast to even hope to perform a successful docking. So to anyone here who has read the book or is even just familiar with the story, what am I missing here? Cherryh's work in science fiction is for the most part pretty well grounded in scientific accuracy, so how is it she did not think of this? If anyone has any insight into this subject, I would really love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Many thanks for that wonderful compliment! If you're serious when you say that this tutorial kept you from quitting KSP, then the hard work I put into this has been totally worth it! Happy space travelling! And don't forget to check out part two, in which you'll be able to unlock the remainder of the tech tree in only two missions!

Sorry about that. When I was designing it, I originally had it clipped in the Materials Bay, but then changed my mind and forgot about it. I'll update the craft file ASAP. The Mimnus tanker is intended to dock with the Transfer Module in LKO, refuel it and then undock. I designed it so it can be deorbited afterwards, but I like your idea of keeping it in LKO for use as part of a space station or fuel depot. You can jettison those before you leave LKO, if you like. The original intent for those was just to get the fuel tanker into orbit and rendezvoused with the ship, but there is plenty of fuel left in those and it seems silly to let it go to waste. And the extra thrust, while unnecessary, is always nice. The only downside is that once you decouple them, they will be forever in a large, highly elliptical orbit between Kerbin and the Mun.

djr5899 & Kesa: Thanks for the feedback. You made some good points. Some of those things were editing oversights, but others were things I didn't think of. I will address these tomorrow (it's pretty late, atm) and make the necessary changes.

Oh, boy. My sincerest apologies. I was using Kerbal Engineer Redux when designing the craft for this tutorial, and I forgot to take the KER parts out before posting them. I will remove those parts and repost the craft files ASAP.

Did you download the craft file, or build it from the picture? I checked the craft file I posted, and the parachute is on there. I know the parachute is not visible in the picture, so if you built your own using that as reference, it's understandable if you didn't put one on. It's on the other side of the probe core. I probably should have posted a picture from a different angle.

Nice catch. I forgot about that one. I'll go ahead and put that in. Thanks.

In my previous tutorial, I showed how you can unlock the first five tiers of the stock tech tree in just six missions. Well, buckle up, because in this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to close out the remainder of the tech tree in two missions. However, there is a caveat: they are not short missions. You will go to Mimnus, and then the Mun. You will land at all of their biomes, get the Science and bring it back to Kerbin. Each of these two missions will take several hours. One thing I should mention is that in the previous tutorial, the craft designs I provided were very specific, and even though there were other ways you could go, it was a good idea to use those specific craft to get through the tutorial. In this tutorial however, the ships I provide are just one example. Feel free to design a ship you think might do the job more effectively. You really just need a lander that has the required science instruments and enough dV to land, hop to a couple other biomes, and get back into orbit to dock with the refueling/transfer module, and you need a transfer module that has enough fuel to get to the Mun or Mimnus, refuel the lander about five times, and get back to Kerbin. The Goal So how much Science do you need to unlock the remainder of the Tech Tree? Cost of unlocking Tier 6 = 13 x 160 = 2080 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 7 = 12 x 300 = 3600 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 8 = 11 x 550 = 6050 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 9 = 4 x 1000 = 4000 Science The Goal: Get 15730 Science Preparation Before you can start either one of these missions, you'll need to do a few other things first. Work contracts until you have $600k. Once you do, go ahead and upgrade R & D Complex to Level 2. Use satellite contracts to get some satellites in orbit of the Mun and Mimnus. Without satellites orbiting these two bodies, you are going to have long and frequent periods of time in which you'll be without a signal to KSC. Since a scientist will be piloting the lander, that means you will not be able to set or remove maneuver nodes, and you will also not have the ability to transmit Science back to Kerbin during these periods. Research Advanced Electrics for 160 Science. This will give you access to extendable solar panels, which may not seem that important, but it makes a big difference. During testing, there were hundreds of times that I was cursing myself as I had to keep the ship pointed a certain way to keep my fixed solar panels receiving sunlight, or when they were totally obstructed by something else when landed. Mission One: Mimnus step 1 Build and launch Mimnus Lander step 2 Build and launch Mimnus Transfer Module Rendezvous with Lander Dock with Lander step 3 Build and launch Fuel Tanker Rendezvous with Mimnus craft Dock with Mimnus craft Top up all fuel tanks on Mimnus craft After the Mimnus craft is completely fueled and ready to go, undock the Fuel Tanker. You can either deorbit the tanker, or you can leave it in LKO for use as the beginnings of a space station or fuel depot. step 4 Get in high orbit of Mimnus Take the following Science readings Get EVA Report, keep data Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data You should get about 169 Science step 5 Get in low orbit of Mimnus Take the following Science readings Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data You should get about 240 Science step 6 There are nine biomes to explore on Mimnus. Greater Flats Great Flats Flats Lesser Flats Poles Highlands Midlands Lowlands Slopes Take the Lander down to the surface, and hop from biome to biome, getting Science readings at each one. When you're low on fuel, get back into orbit, rendezvous with the Transfer Module to refuel. Repeat. Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data Go EVA Get EVA Report, keep data Right click command pod, store experiments Boost upward with RCS, get EVA Report, keep data Take Surface Sample, keep data Right click command pod, take data Right click thermometer, take data Right click pressure scanner, take data Right click Materials Bay, collect data, restore Right click Mystery Goo, collect data, restore Right click command pod, store experiments Board command pod Observe Materials Bay, transmit data Observe Mystery Goo, transmit data Right click Materials Bay, restore Right click Mystery Goo, restore Board command pod For every biome, you get 522 Science for the experiments that you keep, and another 82 for the ones you transmit, for a total of 604 per biome. 604 x 9 biomes = 5436 Science plus 169 Science for readings in high orbit plus 240 Science for readings in low orbit Total Science: 5845 Once you complete exploring every biome, return to Kerbin orbit. Since this Transfer Module is meant to be reusable and left in orbit, you'll need to launch a capsule into orbit to bring your Scientist home, and return all that juicy Science. If you have the funds, upgrade the R & D Complex to Level 3. If not, you will need to work contracts to raise the funds. The upgrade is necessary in order to unlock the GRAVMAX Negative Gravioli Detector, which is needed to get enough Science to unlock the rest of the Tech Tree. Heavier Rocketry Advanced Electrics (if you don't already have it) Precision Engineering Advanced Exploration Advanced Landing Electronics Scanning Tech Field Science Advanced Science Tech With the Science you have left, unlock whichever nodes you want. Mission Two: Mun step 1 Build and launch Mun Lander step 2 Build and launch Mun Transfer Module Rendezvous with Lander Dock with Lander step 3 Build and launch Fuel Tank Module Rendezvous with Mun craft Dock with Mun craft step 4 Build and launch a second Fuel Tank Module Rendezvous with Mun craft Dock with Mun craft Try to dock the Fuel Tank Modules as straight as possible. But if they're just a few degrees off, don't worry. The ship will fly straight, but it will slowly roll during burns. It has a calming effect. Once the Fuel Tank Modules are docked, you can decouple the launch stages (the section behind the decouplers) and deorbit them. However, if there's still a substantial amount of fuel in them, you have the option of using them for part of the transfer burn. It's always better to have more fuel and not need it than to need more fuel and not have it, after all. The only downside is that they will be a contribution the your growing collection of floating space debris. There are seventeen biomes to explore on the Mun. Poles Polar Lowlands Polar Crater Highlands Highland Craters Midlands Midland Craters Lowlands Northeast Basin Farside Basin Northwest Crater East Farside Crater Canyons Farside Crater East Crater Twin Craters Southwest Crater step 5 Get in high polar orbit of the Mun From Polar orbit, log gravity scan from high space for each biome You should get about 748 Science step 6 Get in low polar orbit of the Mun From Polar orbit, log gravity scan from space near each biome You should get about 1122 Science step 7 Again, take the Lander down to the surface, and hop from biome to biome, getting Science readings at each one. When you're low on fuel, get back into orbit, rendezvous with the Transfer Module to refuel. Repeat. Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Log seismic, keep data Log gravity scan, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data Go EVA Get EVA Report, keep data Right click command pod, store experiments Take Surface Sample, keep data Right click command pod, take data Right click thermometer, take data Right click pressure scanner, take data Right click Materials Bay, collect data, restore Right click Mystery Goo, collect data, restore Right click command pod, store experiments Board command pod Observe Materials Bay, transmit data Observe Mystery Goo, transmit data Right click Materials Bay, restore Right click Mystery Goo, restore Board command pod For every biome, you get 560 Science for the experiments that you keep, and another 65 for the ones you transmit, for a total of 625 per biome. 625 x 17 biomes = 10625 Science plus 748 Science for readings in high orbit plus 1122 Science for readings in low orbit Total Science: 12495 12495! Dayumm, son! If you're playing stock, you're not even going to need all that. But many of you play with lots of mods that add advanced technology to the game. Some of my personal favorites are DSEV, the Near Future mods, the Alcubierre Drive mod, and of course a mod that I have some small amount of direct involvement in, Deep Freeze. Mods like these will need large amounts of Science to unlock those parts. The tech node that contains the Alcubierre Drive alone costs a whopping 10000 Science. It's a good thing that there are many other planets and moons in KSP to explore and get Science from. And with everything from the stock tech tree unlocked, you can build really nice ships to take you there. You'll return the Science to kerbin the same way as before. Next, well, you know what's next. Unlock the rest of the tech tree. Feel free to let me know in the comments how this approach works out for you, or if I got anything wrong, or if you have an idea for how this approach can be improved. Example ships for all of the missions in this tutorial can be found here. 01 - Mimnus Explorer - Lander 02 - Mimnus Explorer - Transfer Module 03 - Mimnus Fuel Tanker 04 - Munraker Two - Lander 05 - Munraker Two - Transfer Module 06 - Mun Fuel Tanker

Thanks, much appreciated. Be sure to let us know how it all works out when you do.

When you first start a new career game in KSP, do you find yourself frustrated that you have to launch several rockets before you have one that's good enough to get into orbit. Do you dread the idea of having to grind through a bunch of boring survey or tourist contracts just to slowly progress to the point in the game in which you can consider going to the Mun or Mimnus? Do you think to yourself as you're testing an SRB on an escape trajectory out of Kerbin, "there has to be a better way"? The early part of a Career playthrough can be frustrating and grindy. It's the part of the game I like to refer to as the "Potato Phase". I don't know why I decided to call it that. I just heard someone else call it that once, and it stuck. Of course, you could bypass this altogether by just awarding yourself a bunch of Science and Funds in the difficulty settings when you first start a new game, but most people would, and rightly so, just consider that to be cheating. But there's good news: there is a better way. You can get through the Potato Phase in just six missions, if you play the right way. This tutorial will teach you how to complete the first five tiers of the tech tree quickly, and without having to grind or game the system in any way. Let's get started. For this tutorial, I am playing in the stock game set at the Normal difficulty level. On higher difficulties, there is a lower percentage in Science rewards and facility upgrades are much more expensive. You can still use this strategy, but you will have to work as many contracts as you can between these missions to save up funds for upgrades. 1 - First Mission First, you need to get some science to start unlocking the basics. Go to Mission Control and grab the following contracts: Gather scientific data from Kerbin Launch our first vessel Then, build this and click that Launch button like a boss. (In my games, this is the one and only time I EVER use an SRB.) Note: For best results, assign Bob to this mission. On the laundpad... Get a Crew Report Get an EVA Report Observe two of the Mystery Goos While you're outside of the craft, right-click on the capsule, select "Take Data" and then "Store Experiments". This will store the Crew Report you just took in the capsule, instead of on Bob's person. This will allow you to take additional Crew Reports in other biomes. Launch vessel. During ascent, observe two more Mystery Goos and another Crew Report After splashdown, do the remaining two Mystery Goos and get another EVA report and Crew Report (remember to store the previous Crew Report you took during ascent by right-clicking on the capsule, and selecting "Take Data" and then "Store Experiments"). Also, climb onto the top of the capsule and jump in the air, and while you're in the air, get an EVA report "flying over Kerbin's water". You'll want to right-click Bob before you jump, of course, so that you have time to click the EVE Report button during the fraction of a second he is in the air. This should net about 34 Science, plus 8 more Science for contract completion and various milestones, for a total of 42. Grab the following contracts: Escape the atmosphere Orbit Kerbin In R&D, research the following tech: Basic Rocketry General Rocketry Engineering 101 2 - First Orbit Build this It includes 11 FL-T200 tanks, a Swivel engine, a decoupler, a parachute, four basic fins, four Mystery Goos, and six 2HOT thermometers. Take the monopropellant out of the capsule to increase the dV just a little bit more. Something to keep in mind about this craft is that you have barely enough dV to make it into orbit, so you need to be very efficient in your ascent. This launch is the most difficult part of the entire tutorial. It's not uncommon for it to require a few attempts before doing it successfully. I recommend the following ascent profile: At 1000m, turn 5 degrees. Stay with the prograde marker and try to be at 45 degrees by the time you reach 10000m. After you reach 16000m, lower the throttle to 1/3. Cut the engines the second your Apoapsis reaches 72km. Wait until you're less than 20 seconds from apoapsis to circularize, taking your time and staying on the prograde marker. You need be as efficient as possible because you have no fuel to spare. If the apoapsis gets away from you, stop and coast until you reach it again before continuing your burn. Stop the moment your Pe goes above 70km. You'll probably need at least 3 units of fuel set aside to deorbit. During ascent, after you reach 18km, observe two Mystery Goos and log temperature. Once officially in orbit, do a Crew Report, observe two more Mystery Goos and get two temperature readings. To deorbit, set your Pe to 50k, for a shallow reentry. You don't want your science instruments to burn up. After you've lowered your Pe, feel free to decouple the launch stage. Or you can keep it on until after reentry to use as a heat shield. Just make sure you get rid of it while you still have plenty of altitude to open your chute. During reentry, get two temperature readings. After the parachute opens, before landing, get a temperature reading. Should get about 59 Science, plus another 30 in completion bonuses. In R&D, research the following tech: Survivability Advanced Rocketry Stability Upgrade... Mission Control to Level 2 Astronaut Complex to Level 2 Launchpad to Level 2 Grab seven contracts at Mission Control to get some advance funds. Make sure Explore Kerbin is one of them. Choose the ones with the largest advance amounts. You don't have to complete them. You can ditch them later on in the game when you can afford the penalties. 3 - EVAs in LKO Next, send a rocket into a polar orbit with Bob and pick up EVA reports from as many different biomes as you can. This ship will do the trick. Be sure to include two Mystery Goos, two Thermometers, and two PresMats. Without a pilot, you have no SAS, so flying straight will be a challenge. Once in orbit, the workflow will be: Get EVA report. Store experiment in capsule. Get another EVA report when in a new biome. Repeat. You want to get an EVA report in space above the following biomes: Water Shores Grasslands Highlands Mountains Deserts Tundra Ice Caps Northern Ice Shelf Southern Ice Shelf Badlands Something that will make this mission a hundred times less tedious is a mod called [X] Science. It will not only let you know which biome you are currently in, but it will let you know all of the experiments you can perform at any given time, and even provide you with a button to perform them easily. And get a crew report, an EVA report, and two readings from high orbit (above 250 km) from each of your science instruments as well. After landing/splash down, get an EVA report. You can easily get about 155 Science from this mission, plus another 7 in completion bonuses. Once you have about 100 Science, go back to R&D and get the following: Basic Science Aviation Flight Control 4 - Tour the KSC Build this rover to get all the Science from the KSC (I got about 265 Science). You need a scientist on this mission. Get Science from the following biomes: Runway KSC Administration Astronaut Complex R&D Complex VAB SPH Tracking Station Mission Control Crawlerway Launch Pad Shores In each biome, do the following: Crew Report Log Temperature Log Pressure Observe two Mystery Goos Observe two Science Jr's EVA Report Take the data out of your science instruments Restore the Mystery Goos and Science Jr's Store your data in the Experiment Storage Unit Store your remaining data in the cockpit take data from cockpit and store it again (this allows you to store the crew report) Get back in the rover and move on to the next biome 5 - First Probe to the Mun Once you have about 300 Science, go back to R&D and get the following: General Construction Fuel Systems Electrics Upgrade the Tracking Station to Level 2 Build the following ship. All you need to do is get into the Mun's sphere of influence, get as much Science as you can, and get back to Kerbin. Keep the experiment from the Materials Bay and one of each of the other instruments. For your second 2Hot, PresMat, and Mystery Goo, transmit the data. When returning, get a Kerbin Pe of about 60km. That Materials Bay is very delicate and can easily overheat during reentry, so circularize and come in as shallow as you possibly can. And make sure you stay dead on that retrograde marker until the heating dies down. You should get about 188 Science for the experiments you brought back, plus another 32 from the data you transmitted. You'll also get about 9 in completion bonuses. It's not much, but it should be enough to unlock another two tech nodes. Go back to R&D and get the following: Miniaturization Heavy Rocketry Upgrade the VAB to Level 2 6 - First Kerbals to the Mun For the first manned Mun mission, build this You need a pilot and a scientist for this mission. You want to try for a polar orbit, so you can pass over all the biomes. In each biome, do the following: Observe the materials bay Bob goes EVA Collect data from materials bay Close doors and restore materials bay Store experiments in his pod Do an EVA report Observe the materials bay Collect data from materials bay Close doors and restore materials bay Right click Jeb's pod, and store experiments Bob gets back in Get all available science from LKO, if there's any left to get. Get all available science from High Orbit on the way to the Mun. Get all available science from Mun high orbit as you approach. Get EVA reports above all of the Mun's biomes. To return to Kerbin, make your Pe about 50km If you have the dV, circularize after aerobraking at just above 70km To land near KSC, place your Pe at 19km just above the large peninsula east of KSC You should get about 550 Science from this mission, depending on how many biomes you can get an EVA report of. At this point, you should have enough Science to close out tier 5 of the tech tree. In order to go any further in the tech tree, you will need to upgrade the R & D Complex, which costs about $450,000. Chances are that you currently only have roughly $150,000. Sadly, you will have to work some contracts to scrounge up some cash to make this needed upgrade. My first recommendation is to take any rescue contracts that are offered. It will hone your rendezvous skills, and not only will you not have to pay large sums of funds to hire additional Kerbals, you'll get paid for it. After a few of these missions, it will start to feel a bit repetitive, but adding roughly six to eight Kerbals to your program is going to be pretty helpful in the long run. My second recommendation is to take any contracts that ask you to do the things you were going to do anyway: space stations, satellites (if you're into that kind of thing), etc. Stay away from anything involving parts testing or high altitude surveys. They're garbage and a waste of your time. At this point, you have what you need to land on the Mun and Mimnus, and the Science you grab from fully exploring all of their biomes will easily net you enough Science to unlock everything up to and including Tier 7 of the tech tree. You will then have everything you need to start exploring other planets in style. KSP is fun again. Huzzah! Stay tuned for an upcoming tutorial on how to close out the rest of the entire stock tech tree in just six two more missions... I got the idea for this approach by watching Mark Thrimm's SSTO Space Program series on Youtube. I highly reccommend you check it out, because it's awesome. Feel free to let me know in the comments if I got anything incorrect, or how this approach can be improved. Example ships for all of the missions in this tutorial can be found here. 1 - The Angry Grasshopper.craft 2 - Orbiter One.craft 3 - Orbiter Two.craft 4 - KSC Research Rover.craft 5 - Mun Probe.craft 6 - Munraker One.craft

Oh, really. I'm not currently using one of those planet packs, but if I decide to use one in the future, do I need to start a new game?

What does that do, force KSP to generate a new SolarPanel.cfg?

I tried it on a fresh game, and the solar panels did work. In my normal install, I do have other mods besides Kopernicus, but at the suggestion of OhioBob, I tried a fresh install with just that to see what would happen.

Unfortunately, I have isolated it to Kopernicus for me, as after removing the mod, the solar panel was working normally again. But I would like to find a fix so I don't have to stop using it.

Hey guys, Has anyone heard of an issue where Kopernicus is causing solar panels not to work? My solar panels are getting zero exposure when in direct sunlight, and I just installed Kopernicus yesterday. I googled the problem and there was a link to a forum page talking about some kind of fix, but that link is dead. I'm happy to provide logs, etc, but I'm just trying to find out if this is a known issue or not first.

Hey Guys, When setting KSP to play in fullscreen windowed mode (where you add "- popupwindow" to the end of the target path in the shortcut), I was, on Windows 7, able to access my task bar if I clicked in the other screen (using two monitors). Now I am using Windows 10, and I am not able to do that. I can use other applications that are already up on the other screen, but the task bar does not become visible. I am assuming that it must be a difference in Windows 10, but I could be wrong. If so, is there a setting in Windows 10 that I can change to solve my problem? If not, is there any other solution?

KSP version is 1.4.1.2089 . Konstruction version is 0.5.0.0 .