Excalibur

I'm afraid that's classified...

The Munolith Excerpt from classified video footage filmed during an alleged 'Munar landing'. Cause of mission failure: Unknown. Fate of kerbonauts: Unknown. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick.

The DYJ crew tanks used actually contain fuel themselves, not too heavy either. I had versatility in mind when I decided to add two of them. There's plenty of scope for improvement in the design though - it tends to weathervane the wrong way when descending quickly through an atmosphere amongst other issues. I agree with Tim's earlier point that doing it stock will be the ultimate challenge though. Will deffo have to attempt that at some point!

Excellent mod. When 0.17 is released, this will be invaluable. I plan to explore the new system by launch a fleet of tankers to each major point of interest. Then simply send up my large SSTO lander.

Okay be prepared to download quite a large number of mods. I'll RAR my parts/plugins folder and upload to Dropbox if you like? EDIT: Uploading now, 450MB takes quite a while with a mighty upload speed of 53KB/s. The forum won't let me upload .craft files though - it says they're an invalid file type. Putting them on Dropbox for now, but does anyone know a way around this?

See here. As stated in the posted linked above I'm going to use the new Fuel Transfer plugin and launch tanker/probes as required. Not a stock approach granted, I prefer the variety over being locked in to just a few parts. The 200 ton tanker shown there is a little big to send on an interplanetary jaunt but I'm sure I can make something more suitable. If all goes according to plan, two launches should let my SSTO land on any of the planets, before refuelling for the trip home. One launch for the tanker and a second for the manned SSTO. Nice easy mission plan (hopefully). I've noticed that the Fuel Transfer plugin still has the odd bug. So there will be quite a risk involved as my intrepid Kerbonauts may discover the refuelling gear may suddenly go FUBAR. I look forward to interplanetary rescues!

With 0.17 not too far away I thought I'd start designing craft which will help me reach the new planets to be added. I found this new fuel transfer plugin, and it gave me an idea. After quite a bit of experimentation I finally managed to launch this tanker into a 125km LKO. At lift-off it masses over 1200 tons and can deliver over 200 tons to LKO (including a 30,000 litre fuel tank). Next I set about designing an efficient SSTO lander able to operate in a variety of different atmospheres with efficiency due to it's cluster of aerospike engines. Launching East from KSC, it can attain LKO with over 75% of it's total fuel remaining and complete almost any mission within Kerbin space. It also contains living quarters for thirteen Kerbonauts. However, only eight​ can use the woefully underpowered escape system! Mass approx. 80 tons fully fuelled. As a test for 0.17, I first launched the tanker into a 125km LKO. Then the Atlas Lander took to the skies for it's first test mission. Once in orbit the lander rendezvoused with the tanker and topped off it's fuel and RCS tanks before completing a direct injection to Minmus. You can't see in the screenshots, but sat there on the surface of Minmus it's tanks are still 90% full. I plan to launch a network of tankers around the upcoming Kerbol System and use this lander as my primary manned interplanetary craft. Post your preparations here and lets see what people come up with! EDIT: More than willing to post .craft files for these two, they do use a myriad of mods though be warned. EDIT II: Here's the link for the mods that I use. 460MB RAR file. EDIT III: After I discovered the fuel flow rate bug with a certain part used in the Atlas Lander I had to go back and redesign it so it was much more balanced. The result; two versatile SSTO rocket shuttles. I present; Using only four aerospike engines with small verniers in compliment, the MkII can attain LKO and return to KSC for a powered landing using only about 50% of it's total fuel load. Therefore I think it should be capable of visiting any planet in the Kerbol System with strategically placed tanker support. It has several airbrakes clustered around it's nose to ensure a tail-first final descent. Without these the drag and mass of the engines prevents assuming a retrograde attitude with hilarious results. The Titan isn't as efficient as the Atlas MkII; it can reach LKO and land at KSC with approximately 40% fuel remaining. Mainly a design exercise and for those who think 'bigger is better'. [ATTACH]31157[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]31159[/ATTACH]

Also don't forget to use the Retrograde Marker in the Navball (the yellow circle with the 'X' in the middle). Keep your nose pointed at this during final descent and you'll land with zero horizontal velocity. If you don't know already you can hit Caps Lock for precision control - this can be invaluable when trying to land a small and agile ship. Best of luck and feel free to PM me if you're still having problems.

I like the idea of this challenge. No video but I\'ve attached a screenshot of the first EVA on the surface of Kerbin The Mun. Had another vehicle landed 50 metres away to provide spotlighting. May have a go at a proper video...

Flying like a plane... Performing standard plane banked turn... Rough landing, but Desfurt is alive ! In helicopter mode, the craft is hardly controllable, so its basically 'trying to stay aloft until rotor has been rotated'. In plane mode it flies at ~25m/s, and is relatively stable. Landing is the real problem : helicopter mode is uncontrollable and impossible to land with this huge propeller blades. The best solution seems to be gliding unpowered in helicopter mode, but these huge blades made of wing parts disturb low speed gliding, often resulting in crash (but with the new explosion system in 0.16, and no fuel, the crew often survives ). I use a 300 rotation speed, but as I also needed low speed rotatrons for rotor tilting, so I duplicated the part and edited the copy (see attachement). Sometimes the craft seems to be stuck on the ground and won\'t take off, I don\'t know why, going back and forth to the hangar usually correct the problem. Enjoy it ! Had a good bash in your design mate. Updated the OP with you score. Impressive design and not as hard to control as you mentioned! Not easy though either. ;P Thanks for your entry!

Here\'s a rocket design that I made for you. The Munar Explorer uses a staged lander like amore555 suggested. Totally stock, it can land on Mun with it\'s descent tanks more than half-full. Although it\'s nice and stable to launch, you better have good control for the Munar landing as the lander does not have an ASAS. If you decide to add an ASAS to the top of the capsule (there\'s more than enough power in the design for this) be sure to use a few struts to secure it to the pod. Otherwise when you pop your parachute the ASAS and \'chute will detach from the pod.... Still, precision landings aren\'t impossible... .craft file attached.

It\'s fiendishly hard - partly why I copped out and made a simple whirly thing. Also to leave the road open for the challengers... What speed rotational values are you using in your .cfg edits? I found that anything too high would result in the problems you seem to be having. 500 worked well for the Infernal Machine but I had to strut the f**k out of it to keep that insane torque in check. If you watch carefully in the video I posted at around 1:23 you can see it very nearly tears itself apart!

You could actually use DYJ\'s crew pod for the future rescue attempt. It can hold up to five kerbals at once. Only one trip required.

Must admit I\'ve seen that craft before keptin. She\'s certainly a beauty! Must have taken quite a while to put her together!

My entry. Used one LT400 and one Turbojet with the rest being stock parts. Craft file is attached. Distance flown under power ~ 876km Managed to glide to a landing about 200km further on - however I agree with some of the previous comments that gliding should not be included in this challenge as that model is a bit shaky right now. Hence why my distance value relates to powered flight only. First design attempt at this so I\'m sure someone could beat me rather easily...

I\'ve updated the OP Tim. I think 500 is the fastest I\'ve gotten away with as far as rotate speed is concerned. Anything much more than that tends to twist and tear itself apart. These things seem to have basically infinite torque!

Don\'t worry fella, it\'s all good. Just enjoy Amsterdam you lucky b*****d!

http://youtu.be/0tAJGTaX25E Rotatron-Powered Aircraft Challenge Using only Damned Robotics\' rotatron create a flyable aircraft. Can be an aeroplane, helicopter, autogyro or anything you can dream of. There are two simple rules; Editing of .cfg files is allowed but only for the rotatron part itself. Thrust can be generated by utilising the rotatron part only. RCS is allowed, though solely for control. It cannot contribute a significant fraction of the vehicle\'s total thrust. Apart from that anything goes. Scoring Entries will be judged by myself in a subjective manner. Three categories contain seven points each, for a maximum of twenty-one. Control - How much influence the pilot has over the craft\'s direction and velocity. Agility is also taken into account. Style - How badass I judge the vehicle to be. Does it carry weaponry? Does it look cool? Danger - How close the vehicle is to ripping itself apart during operation, without actually doing so. Entries can be made by posting at least one screenshot and .craft file. Mods used must be listed in comprehensive detail as must the details of the .cfg edit. This is because I will fly the craft personally during the judging process. Entries: lereldarion\'s Tilt Rotor Not as difficult to fly as first expected, the Tilt Rotor actually has a good measure of control, especially during level flight. Landings are difficult however with roughly a 40% success rate. Also noted that this craft has a penchant for skimming the ground with it\'s rotor tips just inches above the ground - this coupled with the difficulties experienced during landing make for a decent danger rating. Overall an excellent craft, I discovered that if the tips of the rotors are removed (generally happens by trying to cut the KSC\'s grass) that the aircraft can accelerate well past 150m/s in level flight. Assume this is some manifestation of the infinite glide bug. Control: 5 Style: 4 Danger: 6 Total: 16 EDIT: As requested please find attached an example .cfg file for the rotatron. This is the configuration used in the video above. As you can see I\'ve increased the rotation speed from the stock 20 to 500. I also changed the angular drag value to 0.2, but to be honest I don\'t think this parameter is linked to the rotational action itself. Didn\'t seem to do anything.

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=16228.msg244271#msg244271

I think it\'s a little harder now that the bonuses aren\'t available. That said some research is cheaper now. I wonder how much I lost out on by not using explosive decoupling. Probably not a great deal at this stage. Cheers

I sat back for a while before I commenced turn one and the first thing I researched was booster tech, followed by salvage tech. I think it\'ll be parachute tech next to enable greater part recovery rates. I have been looking at the higher tier missions but I think you\'re right - it\'s probably better to save up some cash/do some research before attempting them.

That\'s an awesome truck dude. What\'s her top whack? I think I may go and attempt a sports car, see what speed I can get out of this kind of design. EDIT: As a suggestion, you could link front and rear steering together by flipping the rear hinges using and group them with the front hinges in the construction UI. This would remove the need to adjust them separately.

Would you believe someone did find it and handed it in at the pub that I\'d used to drink myself into oblivion. Said he\'d found it on the road as well. How he didn\'t find me is rather worrying... I\'m looking forward to reading about your accidental purchase.

Personally I\'d like to see the transition made as soon as possible. Being realistic though I\'m happy to wait and your idea will buy plenty of time to get everything set up properly. Go for it. On another note I just read your \'shower wake-up\' story. Didn\'t half make me chuckle as you sound quite a lot like me. I once woke up in a similar position. Except it was dark, pouring with rain and I was in the middle of the road face down. My wallet was a few metres away and my phone was nowhere to be seen. :-[ Thank you, I\'m rather good at missing the obvious at times!

I think they\'re rather busy getting rid of all the bugs - quite a few but I was surprised how most of them are/were relatively minor. By explosive decoupling I assume you mean attaching SRBs together longitudinally and using ignition to separate? I did try that with my very first campaign rocket and the two boosters remained stuck together.