HorusKol

The SCANsat contracts aren't unlocking for me. KSP 1.3.x SCANsat 18.0 I've also got ContractConfigurator installed There are 5 contracts available in the mission control building, but they have red x's and I can't accept any of them. I've unlocked the first radar scanner for the low resolution contract. The contract says all conditions are "met" - but no rewards are listed, and there is not accept/decline option.

I started naming my remote probes "Tian-can" (pronounced Tin-can)...

I was trying to not get overly technical. In any event - regardless of if the heat generated is from friction or compression, the outcome is the same: the faster your travel and the more dense the air you travel through will result in more heat being generated.

Here's a non-mathematical description of what's happening: First - heating is from moving through the air. The amount of heating is determined from the speed of your craft through the air, and also the thickness of the air it is travelling through. But if you're entering at the same angle and starting at the same speed, why does the heavier craft heat more? Because it takes longer for a heavier craft to slow down - it has more momentum, so needs more time or denser air to slow down. So, your heavier craft takes longer to slow down when you first start into the atmosphere - this means more time at high speed to heat up your shield. It also means you are going faster as you pass further down through the atmosphere, so you are hitting thicker air at higher speed. At the end of it all - more time to decelerate plus travelling faster through thicker air means more heat buildup over time.

Career with mods like ScanSat and RemoteTech, and contract packs for those and also space stations...

From my view - NASA isn't much of a leader... especially not these days. It has always been subject to the direction of the government, and has been reliant on contracts with the Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as private contracts, to bolster it's public funding. Even with things like Voyager and Pioneer - a lot of those projects had a huge amount of input from outside NASA proper. That said, you can play the career game how you say - for example, I have my own progression I want to follow - and I pick the contracts that support that, so I am setting my own agenda. I do use Remote Tech and ScanSat, and the contract packs - I just figure that contracts for setting up communications networks are more like the guvmint providing funds to advance the space program rather than a private contract. I've not read much about the stock inclusion of communication networks or scans - I'm not sure how they will differ from the mods, but I like these mods and their restrictions/caveats/behaviours.

But career doesn't force you to do any of that - it says "Move 3 kerbals, and get some funds and reputation for it" - it says "Click on this part there, and get some science for it". There is always the choice not to to do all the contracts offered. In fact, many of the contracts can be avoided (cue arguments of "well, what's the point"). Granted - I do feel there is something missing from career mode - that's why I use RemoteTech, and get contract packs, and the like. Maybe there needs to be a fourth mode added - either rename the current career mode to "contracts" or something, and bring in a new "space programme" mode... but then, that could easily end up being a highly restrictive sequence of launches and tests and missions... End of the day - there are many ways to play KSP - in fact, many ways to play each mode. The only wrong way to play KSP is to not have fun when doing so.

I killed Jeb... Going for a Mun landing, and I realised in Kerbin orbit that I had no batteries and no solar panels... so, the attempt was aborted, and Jeb deorbited the return vehicle. All seemed good, with a pretty standard reentry, when suddenly the lander yawed crazily and ended up nose first doing about 2000 m/s at 30,000 m. Kerblooey Val bravely stepped up - she's in MunLander II (with solar panels and batteries) and is ready to leave low Mun orbit with a stackful of science. On the other hand - I discovered that I can get science from analyzing my ScanSat data (full scans of Kerbin, Mun, and Minmus).

After much trial and error throughout the weekend, I finally got a Kerbin communications network running, and a dish pointing at Mun. I still haven't completed the contract for the communications network, though - because the 4th satellite is between the wrong ones (I thought between 1 and 3 - but the contract says between 2 and 3), so I'm having to wait for it to shift its apoapsis a bit before re-circularizing. It's taught me a lot about MechJeb, though - and I'm ready for getting networks around the Mun and Minmus. Meanwhile - Jeb's returning from a science-gathering flyby of Mun so I can unlock some more tech (like, bigger batteries and solar panels!)

You could go further - like, tag ships as "Duna" to show only those craft you are sending or have orbiting Duna...

Yeah - that's pretty much my tourist taxi design there - and your strategy of using body lift is something that I seem to have been honing in on by trial and error. Even when going at high-speed with the flames, I've angled my craft a little flatter than my retrograde velocity, and then more so as I start to slow down - this is all with SAS on, and Jeb seems to be able to hold it tight. Once I'm not longer supersonic, I turn SAS off and let the craft tumble a bit more - but maybe I should try and just flatten my trajectory even more to get more lift. Anyway - successful return last night, though it was close as I was at 2,000 metres before I'd slowed to 260 m/s. Might have more success now - thanks

So, I had yet another a ship break up in the water because I was still going too fast to deploy chutes almost right down to the surface. I was coming in from an AP of about 80 km, and a PE of about 35-40 km, which seems to have worked most of the time before (although, in hindsight, those successful attempts might have been anywhere up to 100km/30km AP/PE) - with pretty much the same ship (capsule, crew compartment with tourists, and a heatshield). So I'm wondering if there's a decent rule of thumb to follow for re-entry to make sure my vertical speed drops to below 250m/s with enough time (altitude) for my chutes to deploy and slow me to 6m/s.

ack - to late... oh well, I'm already in orbit and only one fly by the Mun needed to catch up to where I was...

Well - ended another career last night. I was getting impatient with Kerbal Construction Time delaying new parts from research (yeah, I know I can warp - but then, that's 180 days of game time with the Kerbonauts twiddling their thumbs) - so I removed the module. When I restarted, the research was not unlocked, but the science had still been spent... So, career 4 begins.

not as often as i'd like - my old gaming rig isn't doing well with KSP or some other games, and needs replacing. probably would get a launch in most nights, if I could

I think that's what it really is about - KSP gives three fairly different ways to play - and then there are mods - so, there's lots of ways to play the game the way you want to play.

Maybe it is because I'm still in Kerbin/Mun/Minmus system - and maybe because of selected mods - but I am getting a reasonably linear progression in my contracts: 1. various things to get to orbit 2. science and tourists in orbit 3. fly by Mun 4. setup commmunication satellite network around Kerbin 5. Scan Kerbin 6. point dish at Mun - flyby Minmus - land on Mun

Probably on my third serious career. Lost count of the actual number of times I've restarted, though - usually because I started with new mods, and then realised they were bugged/awful/not-for-me. First serious career ended when the new career mode was introduced and the contract system offered more direction than the original basic science mode. It wasn't too big a deal, because I'd only ever gotten as far as Minmus. The second serious career (this time I'd gotten probes to Duna and Eve) ended when the atmospheric physics changed, and I took a long break to forgot all my habits in building and flying rockets. This third career - I've taken advantage of Contract Configurator, and also parts/packs like RemoteTech and ScanSat to provide more depth and direction to my space programme. I haven't seen too much of a problem with direction that the stock contracts offer - but I heard that they get less directed once you get out beyond Minmus.

Jeb's getting fed up with tourist launches - but they're raking the funds in... Val has been busy sciencing out in space between Kerbin and Mun

Tweaked my SRB thrusts to increase burn times, and to try and stop friction heating on launch - but I think I set my first stage TWR too low (about 1.1)... The rocket slid across the pad and toppled when it hit the edge...

Valentina had a nice fly by of Mun - first trip there and back, with a nice free return orbit (gonna need a bigger rocket to get into orbit). The final return was a bit tedious - only had enough dV to get my PE at Kerbin down to 50 km, so Valentina had to aerobrake in 8 or so passes before finally slowing down enough to stay in Kerbin's atmosphere. Meanwhile, Jeb exploded a couple of launchers on the pad - trying to get enough science to unlock solar panels and the OCTO probe to start a communications network.

If you open the tracking station, those locations should be marked on the map.

I learnt that: setting SAS to retrograde during reentry eats your batteries parachutes can be staged without electrical power It was touch and go with Jeb and two tourists on their return from orbit

Yeah, you got to watch out for those gravy turns - otherwise, you'd end up spilling it and that would be a mis-steak

Forgot to put a decoupler below my final stage engine - managed to graze the edge of space before crashing into the ground because of a too steep descent profile...