pTrevTrevs

I realized that I had not shown the tug being moved back to its normal berth on the end of the truss after installing the solar arrays, so here it is now. The tug will remain here until it is required again, whether to rescue a dead ship or to install another station component. In the meantime though, the first Scipio Supply Tanker (ST) is being launched from KSC. Although the timing for the arrival of the solar truss allowed me to guide it directly from the station instead of relying on probe control, the conditions for rendezvous were actually quite bad, and I used all of the module's monopropellant attempting to complete the procedure. The Scipio the Expedition 1 crew arrived on it also short on fuel and monopropellant, so this ship will be delivering sorely needed propellant to both parts of the station. I'm not using any mods other than visual/sound mods, so the Scipio ST serves no other purpose than propellant deliveries, which will eventually be made unnecessary by ore shipments from the surface, but I think I'll keep one attached to the station at all times for looks. The Scipio ST uses the same service module as the other Scipio variants, with a new liquid supplies module in place of the descent module, intended to carry fuel/oxidizer, monopropellant, and xenon gas for when I begin using ion-powered flyers for the lunar base (because I really want to try that). The pressurized cargo module at the front is derived from the Scipio orbital module but has a few changes, namely the removal of an airlock hatch and the forward facing docking window. Arrival at the Mun. One rendezvous later the station is in sight. Typically what I do for docking is align the station along its prograde vector, so I can tell whether the incoming ship is properly aligned or not. Unfortunately, the addition of the solar truss has made the station very slow to maneuver, so I may have to stop doing this soon. ST-1 is now docked to the station, and will remain onboard for the next few weeks, while cargo is moved over, propellant is pumped onboard, and trash is loaded into the PM. Once the ship undocks it will be directed to crash onto the far side of the Mun, so any debris will not be a future hazard to any future landing sites on the near side. With that complete, Bill Kerman now performs the first spacewalk from the new station, egressing from the Scipio's orbital module due to the current lack of a dedicated airlock. The station currently has three external workstations (command seats); two on the core module and one on the solar truss. They are intended to provide rest areas for long EVAs and to allow spacewalking Kerbals to work on projects from a stationary position, without needing to worry about holding onto a ladder or floating around. (They serve no practical in-game purpose and are meant mostly for decoration and greeble)

You know, I've actually tried something like this once before, I wasn't able to get very deep into the atmosphere before the craft started to heat up and it fell out of orbit quite easily. If I tried it again I would put it in a hyperbolic orbit so that it has enough momentum at periapsis to fly through the atmosphere and return to space. The problem with that is that it necessitates a lot of fuel, not only to achieve the hyperbolic orbit but also to rendezvous with the orbiter afterward.

I think my first attempt at an interplanetary mission should be to Eve, it will take less time and is easier to reach, and also gives me an excuse to not actually have to land on the surface, since its hard to make a working crewed lander for Eve that also looks realistic. Also, Gilly's low gravity will be interesting to play in. For now though I'm going to concentrate on establishing a base on the Mun, it's the first step.

And here it is, for any who are interested.

Launch of the Utility Truss and its two Solar Arrays from KSC. The fairing is kind of big, but I suppose it could be worse... This launch vehicle is the same one used for the Scipio spacecraft on lunar missions and is likely to become a workhorse of this project. Keeping with my naming scheme of using Roman figures and terms, this rocket is named Princeps, after the type of soldier which filled the second line of the Polybian legion of the middle Republic. I really do hate to make such a big fairing for what really amounts to such a small craft, but I suppose I had no other choice besides using mods or launching the module with no fairing at all. Arrival in lunar orbit, approximately one day after launch. Thanks to an entirely coincidental timing, the station was close enough that I was able to use it as a communications link to maintain full control of the truss when passing behind the far side of the Mun. After orbital insertion, the station was still close enough that I could use the crew onboard to direct the rendezvous and docking rather than rely on the limited capabilities of the probe core on the Scipio Delivery Module. Upon arrival at the station, the truss is maneuvered away from the two solar arrays and attached to the Core Module's zenith docking port. The truss was launched with a small automated tug attached to its top docking port. This tug is to be used to install the panels on either side of the truss since neither panel has a probe core of its own. After the truss is installed, the tug disconnects and returns to the Delivery Module to pick up the first solar array and attach it to the side of the truss. Manhandling the second array into place. At this point, I was getting anxious because the station was about to pass into darkness, and with no lighting onboard sufficient to illuminate the truss, installing the second array was bound to be a much harder job, especially given the low levels of monopropellant and limited battery capacity of the tug. Fortunately, although my skills are rusty, they weren't that rusty, and I was able to secure the second panel in time to open the entire array before lunar sunset. I was inspired to place the panel here by the early configurations of the ISS, however, unlike the ISS, this is the only panel I plan to install, due to the complicated nature of assembling the truss section.

About a year ago I was quite an active poster on the forums, I regularly made new ships and uploaded them here, and I enjoyed the game quite a bit. However a combination of increased schoolwork and a poorly timed burnout caused me to slowly withdraw from activity here, and I dropped Kerbal Space Program in favor of other games that didn't require me to think quite as much. To me, there just wasn't anything I felt like doing in the game anymore. Having played the game since version 0.20, I had sent countless landing missions to the Mun, assembled several space stations, and built an endless fleet of aircraft and other miscellaneous ships. I had attempted interplanetary missions multiple times, but each one fizzles out, as I could not muster the concentration and persistence to follow through on any of them. But now I've finished the tough classes that consumed all my time, I've had plenty of time to enjoy other games, and now I feel that it's time to come back to KSP. This is partly due to the fact that I will be attending college to study aerospace engineering this coming August, and partly due to a realization that despite my many years of playing the game, I've never actually sent Kerbals beyond the orbit of Minmus. So, here I am, back after a year-long hiatus, with the intention of finally doing those things I've never done before. To give myself a little extra motivation I've decided to showcase my efforts here, for all of you to see. The main crewed spacecraft I'll be using is the Scipio, a three-seat ship with a Soyuz-like assembly, with an orbital module to add extra living space and serve as an airlock for spacewalks. It is capable of making the round trip to and from the Mun, and will likely be used for any other stations I establish in LKO, as well as for any interplanetary missions I undertake. The first part of my plan is the construction of a space station in lunar orbit, with the intention of using it to support a future series of bases on the surface. This station will have the ability to refine ore in orbit before being sent back to Kerbin, and will also be a waypoint for crews on the way to and from the surface of the Mun. It will house a minimum crew of three, with capability for up to six. This station is named Marius and currently consists of two modules, with more in development. At the left is the forward node, which has four docking ports to the fore, aft, zenith, and nadir. In the future, it will house a docking module to receive extra spacecraft and a storage module for minerals brought up from the surface. The center module is the station's core module, which currently serves as the main activity area for the crew. It has a set of engines for minor orbital adjustments, although with a Scipio docked at the station's rear the engines are rendered unusable. The four unoccupied docking ports around the Core Module's fore section will house a dedicated airlock, a truss section for the station's main solar arrays, a habitation module for temporary crewmembers on their way to or from the surface, and an observation module, which will also likely feature communications equipment for connecting with the surface. Most modules will be delivered to the station with a modified Scipio propulsion module, which will be crashed into the Mun afterwards. Smaller modules may use a smaller deliery vehicle, while bigger ones will usetheir own engines. I currently have no plans to publish any of these ships, however, if people want to download them, I wouldn't be against the idea, so let me know what's I should do in that regard. The next post will show the delivery and deployment of the solar arrays, and should be up shortly.

I'll make one more quick post here regarding my efforts to get back in, and then any future posts about this station I'll make in Mission Reports, since it seems more appropriate there than here. The second module contains extra radiators and solar cells (modeled after the Scipio type), as well as four docking ports and a small set of ore tanks so I don't have to wait to send a dedicated storage module over before I can begin making ground bases. The delivery vehicle is just a modified Scipio service module, with the rendezvous radar (or what is intended to represent it) moved to the back and a protective collar in place of the connector to the descent module. Once it delivered the Forward Node to Marius it was sent back to Kerbin as a final test of the Scipio's ability to do so, as well as to see just how much reentry would tear it up, so I know if it's practical to send unneeded equipment (namely cargo tankers) back to Kerbin for disposal or simply wreck them on the far side of the Mun. The station's current state, with the new Node module docked on the left and Scipio 2 docked at the rear. Node 1 is intended to be a berth for a future docking module to house another Scipio or its upcoming cargo variant, and another module for an as-yet-undetermined purpose. The core module's unused ports will in the future house a truss section for a main solar array, as well as an airlock module and an observation/communications module, probably with a cupola. That's my plan, anyway. This makes my second manual rendezvous with the station, I believe I'm beginning to get the hang of it again.

I am (maybe) back from the abyss, after not playing this game for so long, for so many different reasons. I don't know if I can really count this post as a WIP craft since I don't know if I want to publish these craft or not, I really just made them in order to try and shake off this KSP burnout I've had for the last eight months or so, but all the same, I do want to try and get back into enjoying KSP to the same degree I used to, and that involves posting on the forums again, so here I am, and here this is... This is the core module of my new space station, named Marius, in orbit around the Mun. I've decided that the best thing to keep me interested is to do things that I've never done in the game before, and as embarrassing as it may be to admit, I've never actually made a Mun-orbiting space station or surface base. So hopefully I can get this station built up to a respectable level, and then begin construction of a base on the surface. My naming scheme for this new generation of craft is based on Roman historical figures, Marius being the general who first introduced the concept of a Roman professional army as opposed to the citizen-soldier based armies of before. This image shows Scipio, named after Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War at the Battle of Zama. It follows Soyuz's layout, with an orbital module at the front for extra living space and from which to conduct spacewalks, however, I think I've managed to keep it away from the general Russian aesthetic, which I don't really like quite so much as modern American and European designs (fight me, Korolev). I'm not using any mods other than Kerbal Engineer, Editor Extensions, and a few visual enhancement mods, but I used a storage bay (that's what they're called, yeah?) for the service module with the idea that I can leave empty space inside to install special equipment for certain missions or KIS storage boxes, should I ever decide to use the required mods. Here's the first mission to the station underway at last. Hopefully, the extra time I've had lately will continue to be forthcoming, and I'll have a chance in the next few days to install some more modules to the station which will allow it to support regular missions to the surface. Sorry for the long post. It feels good to be back, I just hope it will last.

Please no.

*trying to remember post from a year and a half ago* I... think it was the Sparviero, the three engined Italian bomber...

USS Theodore Roosevelt, of course.

There have been 45 US Presidents, but only 44 people have actually become President. This is because Grover Cleveland was elected to two nonconsecutive terms, the first in 1884 and the second in 1892, making him both the 22nd and the 24th President. While most presidents retire from politics after leaving office, William Howard Taft went on to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency, and it was actually that job that he had always aspired to, not the Presidency. The state of Maine was originally a part of Massachusetts (even though the two don't border each other) until 1820, when it entered into the Union under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Theodore Roosevelt kept numerous exotic animals in the White House during his Presidency, including a lion, a zebra, and a parrot. He actually wasn't the only president to keep strange pets, Herbert Hoover apparently had two alligators, and Abraham Lincoln had pigs, rabbits, and ponies. The reason the American capital is in Washington DC instead of a city that was already established in 1783 is due to a financial plan by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton believed that having the federal government assume the debts the states had collected during the war would give it an opportunity to build its credit, as well as give the states another reason to support the federal government. While the northern states did have considerable debt, the South had mostly paid off its debt, and thus wouldn't receive the same benefit from this deal. To balance this out, the capital was moved to the Potomac river, where both Virginia and Maryland (yes, both are Southern states) were to cede a certain amount of land to develop the capital on. Virginia's was never used and was eventually given back to the state. In 1835, an assassination attempt was made on President Andrew Jackson. Both of the assailant's pistols misfired and the president proceeded to beat the would-be assassin with his cane until others arrived and helped subdue the man.

Look, I swear I wasn't TRYING to make an F-4 Phantom... it... just sort of came out that way. Okay, maybe the napalm canisters were intentional... and the anhedral elevators... But that's it! The missiles are't working very well, one of them always seems to fly off course (in this case it was the top one). Fortunately the wings keep this from being a solid F-4 replica and make it more of an unlicensed knock-off. It's not the best dogfighter, but it's fast enough that I guess it would make sense to use it as an interceptor.

Hi, to insert pictures all you need to do is upload the desired screenshot to an image hosting website such as imgur and then copy and paste it into your post.

I did a bit more work on the little VTOL tonight, but I still don't have a real name for it, so I'll leave it to you to come up with that I replaced the engine with an afterburning Panther, so it has a little more power (it can do a near-vertical takeoff now, as long as you engage the rear engines quickly), and the option for an afterburner. I imagine the best way to aim these bombs is through dive bombing, but since this is a VTOL you may have trouble with that... I also added a discreet safety parachute in case the craft becomes uncontrollable at low altitude. It can land the craft on it's own, but it helps to keep control of the attitude and give a slight burst from the main engine right before hitting the ground. Although I'm still a little concerned about just how well made this thing is, I'll go ahead and let you have a download so you can do what you need to make it suitable for your series. Here

Sorry, I'm still fixing problems with both. It's been a long time since I've made a craft for the forums, and I don't want my rustiness to rub off on the craft, especially if you're using them in a video. If there are any particular things you want added to either of them though, feel free to point them out.

Maybe you might like something like this? It's a strategic bomber in the style of a 1950s-1960s bomber like the B-52 or Tu-16. There's still some issues, it rolls to the left and it climbs very poorly, also it naturally tends to pitch downwards unless you hold down the S key. It takes full afterburner to reach cruising altitude, and it has a very long runway roll. I'm also not quite sure if I like the look of it, I'm not sure I've nailed the Cold War bomber look. I also don't have a name for it, if you like it you can name it whatever you want. There's also this, a small STOL fighter sort of but not quite like the Harrier, I've been testing it with two underwing bombs so theoretically it should be able to carry other armament, and operate off a small aircraft carrier. It doesn't have the power to take off vertically, but the takeoff roll is very short and it can land almost vertically. It maneuvers well, but the rear engines are weak so I think it needs the main engine to stay on throughout the whole flight, it basically flies like a helicopter with a rear facing engine.

For 4th generation fighters, this is the only acceptable answer

So is this a modern naval setting or Cold War or WW2? I could use this as an opportunity to get back to building craft for the forum, I just want to know the context behind this series. Doesn't make much sense to have a supersonic jet fighter in a WW2 setting, does it?

It takes a mod, and to be honest I have no idea if it still works, but if it does you'll have the finest submarine replica on the forum at your disposal.

Geez, I really should get back in the game. I've sort of lost my passion for it over the last few months, so much of my time has been devoted to schoolwork, and what little time I have to play games is typically devoted to other things anyway. I do feel like playing KSP again, but I'm sort of at a loss as to what I can do that hasn't been done already...

Okay. No idea if these still work in the latest version of KSP. I've been away from KSP for so long that I'm not even sure if I have the latest version...

Oh yeah, the helicopters are pretty nice, although they take quite a bit of skill to fly and if you can't do it well, your team will get really mad at you. I guess the Loach probably takes a bit less skill, it only holds one person (unless you're flying the team commander in the back), and it's primary purpose is to spot North Vietnamese and their tunnel entrances, so you basically fly circles around the map spotting enemies. The Huey is really hard to use, because you've got to be able to get into confined areas to offload your troops behind enemy's lines to cut them off, and if you can't land it by the book and on the spot you're less than useless.

Has anyone played Rising Storm 2 yet, either in the closed betas or the free weekend that just ended? @legoclone09 and I played during the weekend, and I was able to take part in the last closed beta, and I had a blast. It has player-controlled helicopters, a level of realism trademark to the Red Orchestra series... In my opinion it's a damned good game, anyone else have thoughts on it? Hell, has anyone even heard of it?

Well, it probably wasn't necessary for the Exam itself, but I guess my teacher wanted us to have a very in depth and complex knowledge of US History, and I suppose that that's one way to do it... Anyway, we had tests on all those things, and now I know some of the US Presidents better than I know some of my friends. It wasn't so bad though, I won a pair of $50 aviator sunglasses a few months ago for naming all the Presidents. Too bad I wear glasses...