Wanderfound

As well as fixing the aero, the latest version of FAR nerfed the power output of the air breathing engines by 50% and added some reality to their altitude/speed thrust curves. You can still get to Mach 5 on a single non-airhogging turbojet if you do it right. There ain't a lot of drag at 30,000m.

Unfortunately, the KSC design team seem to have this bizarre idea that giving you the sort of minimal flight instrumentation that was routinely included in aircraft eighty years ago would somehow take the fun out of the game. Hence, the popularity of Mechjeb etc. I don't use Mechjeb as an autopilot, but instead as a customisable instrument panel.

Engineering: the art of using inaccurate approximations to achieve a solution that's good enough to get the job done. Science: the art of being good enough at academic politics to keep the research grants flowing.

Nope. Just use the tweakables to keep the TWR below 2 and make sure the solids burn out before you want to shut them down. With a bit of practice you can make an all-solid boost stage and save the throttleable engines for circularisation.

Keep in mind that not everyone uses timewarp heavily; I'll warp forwards an hour or so to get to a manoeuvre node, but I never warp days at a time. My Kerbals would get bored sitting around for all that time, and I like having a bunch of missions running in parallel. If I want to launch a mission to Duna and can't be bothered waiting for an optimum transfer window, I just stick more fuel on it.

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Category:Celestials

1) I don't think NASA will get a manned mission to Mars before they cease to exist. However: orbital docking isn't just about construction. Even with a single-piece spacecraft you can save a lot of launch weight if you send it up with empty tanks and then refuel it in orbit. 2) Look at the vacuum ISP stats; higher is better. In some circumstances TWR can compensate for inferior ISP, but that's mostly about ultralight probes, not heavy manned missions. You'll likely find this useful: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Parts#Liquid_Fuel_Engines 3) With this, it's all about whatever feels best for you. Nobody's done it yet, so nobody knows. More people gives more options, but also more chance for interpersonal conflict. See http://www.jamesoberg.com/04142000assualt_rus.html You would probably enjoy this book: http://www.maryroach.net/packing-for-mars.html You'd probably also enjoy this mod: http://www.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/221022-tac-life-support

Could be a bunch of things; if you can give us side and top screenshots in the SPH with the CoL/CoM/CoT indicators on, we'd have more chance of figuring it out. But for a few possibilities: * Yes, it could be a fuel use CoM shift. Try to cluster your fuel tanks as close as you can around CoM, and use fuel lines to control the order in which the tanks drain. Avoid putting tanks near the nose. In the SPH, always check to see how the CoM moves when the tanks empty; you can empty tanks by right clicking on them and adjusting the tweakables. You may also want to shift your CoL a bit further behind CoM to make the plane less sensitive to mass shift. * You may have problems the other way, with CoL too far behind CoM. Too far forward is unstable, but too far back makes it hard to keep the nose up. * You may have been climbing too steeply, leading you into a stall when levelling due to insufficient speed. This can be related to insufficient wing area; the less wing, the higher the stall speed. * You may have insufficient pitch authority. To control pitch, you want substantial control surfaces that are placed as far away from CoM as possible. Surfaces on mid-mounted wings are for roll; they're useless for pitch. ...and an assortment of other things that aren't coming to mind right now. Post the screenshots if you can.

And I had a few things to say there, too. If you're still having trouble, I'd suggest using the example plane I linked to over there (Kerbodyne Scattershot) and flying it to orbit following the hints I gave regarding ascent path. Once you get back down, go into the SPH and tear the plane to pieces so you can see how it was put together, then try and build your own one.

The low-paying test contracts often come with very tasty science rewards.

Yeah, that's how I do it. All my spaceplanes have a probe core stashed on 'em somewhere so they can be flown as unmanned drones. My issue is more "how do I get rid of all this cash?". So, whenever it gets too excessive, I start prototyping spaceplanes. You can burn through the funds pretty quick when you destroy a dozen √200,000 planes while sorting out problems (another reason for the probe cores...).

...and try to get the hang of SSTOs and accurate landing. It doesn't matter how much your ship costs if it's single stage and lands on the launchpad.

You don't even need to go that fancy. My standard "test while landed" rig is nothing but a couple of girders and a Stayputnik.

It takes some trickery, but it can be done. Basically, you build 'em like a tuning fork and then tie the back together with struts.

Quick and easy ways to accumulate vast amounts of √: * Stick a satellite in orbit with a probe core, a battery, a couple of solar panels, a thermometer and a radio. Whenever a "transmit science from orbit" contract comes up, switch to the satellite and send in a temperature scan. * Stick a satellite in orbit that consists of a dozen or so cheap "escape pods": probe core, one man capsule, battery, parachute, RCS fuel and thrusters. Whenever a "rescue a Kerbal" contract comes up, detach a pod and send it to get him. You only need a tiny amount of ÃŽâ€V to rendezvous and deorbit. * Leave a Kerbal sitting in a permanent base on the Mun. Whenever a "plant flag" contract comes up, get him to walk outside and add to his forest of flags.

I've been working on something similar, albeit on a slightly larger scale... It's pricey, but it should be 100% recoverable; it parachutes onto landing legs. As you can see in the second shot, the Rockomax 64 is the payload, not the lifter fuel. Whack the nose to 30° just after takeoff, wind it up to Mach 4.5 by 30,000m, then flick on the Vernors to hold it stable while the 20 RAPIERs take you to space. It's quite nippy. Surprisingly manoeuvrable too, so long as you keep the Vernors on. Bit noisy, though.

What was the problem with the Moho probe? Not enough ÃŽâ€V, or just missed the target?

It was a suggestion; the poster is free to do whatever they wish. And yeah, a Sepratron wouldn't cut it; you'd need an RT-10. Which is why I said "booster", not "Sepratron".

Tried using NRAP test weights? Indestructible, high density, tweakable size and weight, appropriate shape if you skinny them down from default. You'd need to strap a booster on the back or use them as deadfall bombs, but the weight should punch through nearly anything. Any time I crash a plane while testing its lifting limits, the resulting scene usually involves the NRAP smashing its way out of the cargo bay and sailing into the ocean.

Heh; hang around scientists long enough (ex-neuroscientist here) and you'll probably hear the phrase "rocket science isn't rocket science". But we are grateful for the engineers, despite the occasional teasing (ever hear Sheldon Cooper's description of engineers as "the semi-skilled Oompa-Loompas of science"?). Y'all make all the best toys. BTW:

Whatever you'd prefer to do is cool, of course, but: it's a single part parts pack that has zero impact on the game apart from adding the NRAP as an option on the science tab in the VAB. It's about as lightweight a mod as it's possible to get.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/76231-0-23-x-Kerbal-NRAP-adjustable-test-weight-for-rocket-building!-v1-4-11-04-14

Depends on what you want to do. If you're going out of low Kerbin orbit, you'll need solar panels. If you want to hurry through the tech tree, go for the science instruments (but you don't have to do this; you'll get there eventually anyway). If you care more about fun than rapid progression, grab whatever looks most amusing at the time. Personally, I'd spend some time enjoying the challenge of making basic rockets with limited ingredients before rushing on too much.

Incidentally: I've found that the NRAP test weights make very good kinetic bombs. Indestructible, concentrated mass, looks the part and can be tweaked to whatever size and weight you like.

I've just fired off a bunch of probes to Moho, Duna and Eve, all at the same time. You don't have to wait for transfer windows; just use more fuel. It's less efficient, but not impossibly so. I haven't had the "Explore Moho" contract come up yet, but I expect it will have by the time the probe arrives.