BDelacroix

I tested enjoyed success on the newest version of the munar (minmus) standard transport vessel. This one is a vtol. Holds 4 kerbals in the cockpit and can have its payload altered for the mission, though usually I just send a science package. ... and after its return to Kerbin.

I have more to do but the big thing was that I landed my mun/minmus fuel transport vtol successfully. It is for draining my standalone drill/refineries and delivering the fuel to wherever. Not made for landing on high gravity bodies. This will let me refuel the Argo I as I continue to build a permanent base on the Mun. Here is a picture. Yea, I always end up in the dark on my tests for some reason. vtol transport in foreground, miner refinery in the background. Now I just hope the docking ports line up, they do on flat kerbin ground.

Didn't accomplish a lot. I am trying to design a transport method to link up with my individual ore pumps and transfer the goods into orbit about Mun and Minmus. The first munar vtol didn't make it. It had control problems and was lacking fine control for docking. I was able to dock it with the KIS Argo I for a fuel transfer before testing the landing procedure. It is a remote control vehicle so the pilot was transferred to the Argo. A good thing, too. I couldn't keep it under control while killing its horizontal velocity and couldn't coordinate the switch to vertical rockets very well. A new, better designed one was built at the VAB but I ran out of time today to try it out.

I'm not so good at making space planes and already have more than a few candidates that just need an engine that will work beyond 12k to get into OUTER SPACE!!!

No, I'm not in a rush either. But I'm usually more or less mellow about such things.

Added the science section to my permanent kerbal orbit station. Which fulfills all but having 6k fuel for a contract. Some day I'll get that up there, too. Attempted to land some base corridors for the mun base. Didn't work so well. I have one lying on its back 25km from the base tower. The other three are in orbit until I think of a way to get them down. We really need cranes.

I know that TeeJaye85 et. al. recommend tweak scale, but I have made up simplistic larger versions of this object (2.5m and 3.75m). I say simplistic because I just increased the resources and drag and cost etc. etc. by the same factor as the size change. I haven't uploaded it to anywhere as it isn't really my creation. I just made directory copies and changed the names/descriptions and variables so I didn't have to use tweakscale.

I was having the same issue with craft I made up that had just a probe as the control node. I finally went to github and downloaded the latest test build and it works again. Not a recommended solution but I was willing to see if this issue was just fixed somehow with a later version.

Redesigned the KIS Argo I. Maybe not the best picture of it. I placed it in orbit of Mun to await full refueling so it can make its five year mission to Jool to explore its moons. KIS = Kerbal Imperial Ship

Steam says 493 as I am starting it up this evening.

I haven't been everywhere, but I do all the experiments everywhere I go until I know I will squeeze no more science out.

Thought I posted this: yesterday I spent the evening rebuilding all the things that poofed the night before.

Ground out some more money. Then I noticed all my kerbals were back at the complex. Which is suprising since I know 6 of them were at Duna waiting to be rescued. So I looked in the tracking station. My station I have been building is gone. My tug is gone, my two duna stranded craft are gone. All kerbals back at HQ. This is not good. I don't like my hard work just vaporizing. I guess the Argo is just going to poof one day? This isn't the first time this has happened. My eve ship I couldn't bring back disappeared as well. All kerbals on it at HQ.

Today, the Kerbal Empire launched the Argo I. It received a bit of damage on the way up but nothing bad enough to scrub the mission. It is a huge craft. It now waits in orbit to be fueled (it was launched empty). It will then have science landers docked to it and a crew put on board before heading out to the outer planets. Will need to finish that mun and minmus fuel refinery I guess. Would certainly make it easier to fill up. In the meantime, I'll continue to collect ore for cash, rescue those poor sods that work for the other space agency, plant flags, etc. etc. etc. If I can figure out how, I may even have the argo fly by duna to pick up the shipload of poor fellas who have been stranded there for a long time.

Seen one for Eve and Duna. I don't have time to go save every kerbal, though. Now if we could have minor bases of operation at these other locations, it might be viable. Refueling might be fun. I've done more than one claw refueling maneuver on my own ships.

Added the hab module to the Kerbin permanent station. Pushed it back into its proper circular orbit that was messed up when the ship dropping of construction parts ignited the engines for retro burn thus tossing the parts spinning into prograde orbit. Landed the first part of a mun base in the polar crater. Found a fairly flat place there. Will need habitation, fuel and science portions of that to get paid for the contract. Cleaned up the mess of debris left from many launches around the local kerbin system. Did the ultimate kerbin 3 contract yesterday. The return landing was about as useful as that probe that crashed in the utah desert several years back, but it still counted.

Not today, but yesterday I had enough extra kerbal bucks to put up one piece of my permanent space station around Kerbin. One piece and the tug (with solar panels rather than rtg).

I have had multiple instances of the symmetry going farbot on me. Perhaps that is happening to you. The only fix I know of is to go back to the assembly bay and take off the parts and reattach hoping they don't mess up again.

Bob is at home. The others are stuck on two failed return vessels at Duna.

I stick the mat bay inside the service bay. It fits right in the center of the 2.5m one.

I haven't built one yet. I did build a drilling tower that refines ore to fuel, but it is just one of the 55gallon drum style tanks. I'd like to build a refinery that fills orange tanks or bigger. I'd probably use that to refill tankers that will provide local service to planetary systems.

Visit as many biomes as you can on each body you go to. You can get enough to get parts to go to Duna (and eve) just from kerbin, mun, minmus and surrounding space. Take as many science instruments as you have at any given time. It is tough to know what biome you may be on or if you visited it already until you are there. Do crew reports every chance you get. Do eva reports. Do collect surface sample. Whenever I do a rescue mission, I have the rescuee do an eva report, and crew report before boarding the rescue craft. Having a scientist along gives you a bonus on the science instrument results.

I was talking to a coworker about a Chriton-like rescue operation. My first mun landing had enough fuel to get there, land and only get part way back up. So when the rescue craft got there, I orbited at a low altitude to mun. I launched the anemic lander to about 13k altitude and had Valentina jump. She circularized with nothing but RCS and dead reckoning. I then swooped in with the rescue craft and took her home. I could hear the anemic rocket crash into the moon as I was doing my manual maneuver. If you listen really close, maybe you could hear her yell "yeeehaw".

Landed on the north pole of minmus (its full of stars). Rescued even more kerbals stranded by that "other" space agency, also at minmus. Took home 600+ science from that. Now that I have advanced jet engines, I built the starbird II. It reached 1k m/s very fast, I had to fly at low throttle to keep from falling apart in low atmosphere. Advanced engines won't take me to orbit but they get real close. So, I also was able to build my first ore scanner satellite. Stuck it over the mun. The information gained from it won't be very useful until I get much more science. Jeb and crew still stuck on Duna from their lander tipping over. I'll get there again some day. I have another ship waiting for a transfer window in a little over a cycle. It has a better wider based lander so it shouldn't tip over. If I didn't frell it up, it has a 4 kerbal cargo pod to take everyone home.

When you start using orbital mechanics to describe work events. Say like.... If we are going to change the requirements, it is cheaper and easier to change them now rather than wait until just before implementation is done. Just like orbit changes in space take less dV if you do them earlier rather than later.