Big Kerbie

So, being frustrated by my simulations (see reverted flights) to put an unmanned Rover on the Mun, I decided to try a different mission. Weeks back, I had selected a contract for a long term orbital survey of Duna. Today, I launched that mission. I have never in my many, many hours of playing this game sent a probe to any other body other than Mun and Minmus. I am very excited for this mission! I am not at the optimum angle for the journey, but it will get there after a mid course correction burn. Communications might be an issue, but the antenna I stuck on the probe should reach back to Kerbin. Until it gets obscured by Duna itself. As we approach the optimum launch window, I can see a remote Rover probe being launched as well.

So since the Mun2/Minmus1 landing mission is just weeks away, I decided that biome hopping in that lander won't be feasible. I had hoped to use the PackRat Rover, but I'm impatient and I really like the Karibou with its roomy interior and lots of room for science experiments. So I made several "simulations" to see if I could get it to the Mun using its VTOL engines for final landing all the way uncrewed. All simulations were unsuccessful. Perhaps I'll have to amend the rover build a bit. I think the center of gravity is off as it wants to flip out under powered landing approach. Also, the nerv engine I used for the trip out to the Mun and orbital insertion when I got there is ridiculously slow for that much mass. These sorts of simulated disasters make me want to pull whats left of my hair out. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Launched the Port Kerbin Comms Truss A into LKO. At 1 km from the station, it separated from it's carrier and made the short hop over to the station. It then docked and welded easily. I've found that turning off the "snap" option on the construction ports seems to make them hook up easily. The carrier was deorbited and it burned up. But I will be making a modification to the carrier and adding some chutes and possibly some landing gear if I come down on solid ground so I can recoup the funds from the parts.

Finished up the Tigercat Orbital Rescue mission. The targeted space junk ended up being a BACC Thumper SRB. It was heavy, but not as heavy as it could have been because it was empty. Everything and everyone returned from orbit unscathed. Ta-da! Frante Kerman joined the ranks of the KSP. Spesos were paid out.

I don't think I'm partial to either one. They both have thier challenges. I think I like going to the Mun best, but like you said, Minmus is easier to work with.

Just a short time to play today so only two mission s were started. While I wanted to work on Port Kerbin and send up the first truss section, there was the nagging problem of three previous contracts that needed to be addressed. The first was contract I wanted to get rid of was a long term orbital survey of Minmus. It required the Little Brother package, but didn't say I couldn't put more stuff on it. I loaded it up and launched the Minmus Surveyor mission. There are a miriad of science experiments on board including the resource scanner and multi spectrum imaging platform. Easy peasy. Reached the target orbit in 5 days. North and South hemisphere recon data were sent back. I only need 30 days until the contract is fulfilled. I did not put a large relay dish on it, and I kind of regret it. There are a couple of other sats in Minmus orbit already that have relay capability, but nothing really long range. Jeb, back from his vacation, was selected to pilot a two tier mission in the Tigercat Mk2-B Orbital Rescue Vehicle. As Val is still meeting with mission planners and doing more simulations with her crew for the upcoming Mun 2/Minmus 1 landing mission, Jeb was the only pilot left. Seems some other space program has launched a hapless Engineer into LKO and they need us to bring him home. Also, there is piece of space junk in a similar orbit as the engineer, and KSP wants to bring it home to study it. Jeb asked to be paired up with one of our rookie Scientists to go up with him to get some experience. The launch went perfect. Orbital insertion was flawless. Rendezvous with the engineer's mk2 inline cockpit went swimmingly. It was grabbed with the claw. All systems go! Mission success. As this was not the hunk of junk we wanted, Jeb set the Tigercat into a low periapsis orbit and decoupled the cockpit and the second stage (which was nearly out of fuel). He then reversed course and brought the Tigercat ORV back into a circular orbit while the two decoupled parts burned up harmlessly in Kerbin's dense atmosphere. The intrepid crew now wait rendezvous with the target space junk. Once they reach it, they will grab on and make thier deorbit burn. Two contracts will be fulfilled with that one. Busy times at the KSC. All hands on deck. There is talk of beginning the planning stages of a base on another planet. The Kerbal Planetary Base Inc has proposed several plans of what could be. This is just the early stages as we have not even left the Kerbin system yet.

Merry Christmas everyone! In some sort of Christmas miracle, after restarting my game, I got the central hub and the main core of Port Kerbin to dock and weld together!!! Contract was fulfilled and spesos were paid out. In other news, a contract to reposition a JSI RWPS satellite was accepted. Need to wait 16 days and do it at the apoapsis. Thanks Kerbal Alarm Clock! A new contract to do science at the Northern Ice Sheet was accepted. Our new quartermaster took the Tomcat Mk3-B with a couple new science instruments stuffed into its tiny cargo area up there. He did the contract and then since he still had fuel, jumped over to the Northern Ice Cap area and did it all over again. Next scheduled launch will likely be tomorrow as it's Christmas Day and family time. We will try to get the struts A and B up to the station to keep building. The struts hold the long range comms gear and are the mounting points for the Power struts which hold the gigantor solar panels.

Yesterday in KSP I launched the core of my Port Kerbin Station. Pretty easy too. Put it in a 150km by 150km parking orbit. Six Kerbalnauts reside there working on science and waiting for the rest of the station parts. However, it's only got room for 8 Kerbals, so contract not fulfilled. I also launched the central node to hook up with the core, which would bring its capacity to 9 required by the contract. Made rendezvous and tried to dock with the new construction ports. Nope. After the magnets tried and tried, they finally quit working altogether. Seeing as this could be bad and maybe just a problem with a high part count, I deorbited the central hub and it's carrier rocket motor just taking the loss. I relaunched after adding another regular port to the carrier rocket and making sure I had my settings on the ports correct. Again, made rendezvous and attempted to dock. Still having problems getting them to lock. So much so, it threw the station core 180 degrees off the port alignment for a proper dock. I reinitialized the SAS and pondered just what might be causing this problem. I have no idea why I can't get this central hub to dock. Everything lines up. Magnets engage. The two construction ports just aren't locking up. Could it be the mod? Should I try it with a standard Clamp-o-tron? If I can't get this central hub to dock and then weld together, my station will not work the way I have planned. Ground tests will be forthcoming before all hope for the second hub is abandoned.

I just write them down. Mostly for retractable solar panels and radiators and antennas. Activating all science experiments (reusable and non reusable) and collecting all Science. Lights are either tied to the lights button or to the landing gear button. Gear is pretty obvious. Abort is rarely used. I rarely get more than 5 groups together.

Not much happened today. A simulated model of the proposed Port Kerbin Space Station was constructed in the VAB. It was very heavy (read 350 tons) and very long and spindley. Boosters were attached and the uncrewed model was launched. It flew very poorly. It made it to space in our "simulation" but could not properly hold its trajectory long enough to affect a good burn to achieve orbit. The simulation was ended and everyone went back to the drawing board. A new plan was made to build the station in number of smaller launches. We hope that a station built this way will fulfill the contract. Also, three new hires were acquired. A scientist, a quartermaster, and a mechanic. Not entirely sure about the new kolonization crew identifiers. I hope they will positively affect the game.

Work continues on the planned Port Kerbin space station. With the accepted contracts in the pipeline, there was some talk of trying to meld several missions into a big single mission. Build a station in Kerbin orbit with antenna, docking port, power generation, a science lab, and room for 9; build a station in Minmus orbit with antenna, docking port, power generation, a science lab, and room for 5; rendezvous in Mun orbit; dock two ships together in Mun orbit. Our fearless engineers say there is no reason we could not build a station capable to traveling from Kerbin to the Mun and then on to Minmus. So the mission designers have this plan: build the station with the capability of expansion in Kerbin orbit with nuclear engines. Once the station has completed that contract, travel to Mun. Once there, it will wait for Val and the Mun 2 landing mission. They will rendezvous and dock in Mun orbit. Val and her intrepid crew will make a landing and set up another SEP and Rover and collect much science. The Mun 2 mission will once more rendezvous with the Station and drop off all the science and possibly refuel. Then, the Port Kerbin space station with Mun 2 mission still docked, will travel to Minmus. Val and her crew will load up another SEP from the stations stores and prepare to make the first Minmus landing. Port Kerbin space station will make orbit around Minmus and fulfill that contract. Before landing, we will make sure there aren't any other contracts that popped up enroute. Val and her crew will make the landing on Minmus and make much science. They will then once more rendezvous with the space station and leave their science data for the scientists to study in Minmus orbit. They will then return to Kerbin aboard the Mun 2 lander capsule. It's probably the most ambitious mission I've ever planned for KSP. Usually it's just out and back. I have high hopes but it might be more than I can chew. This mission will end up taking 9 Kerbalnauts and quite a bit of time, both real time and in-game. The biggest part will be making the station big enough and controlable enough to make the mission work. I know the Mun 2 mission spacecraft is capable enough to do its part of it, so that's less of a worry. We'll see how it goes.

Just a few things today. A scientist and engineer went out in the Karibou Rover to do nothing more than attempt building the PackRat Rover. They were unsuccessful in the attempt. The wrong node was used on the ground pylon we think. We'll get the whole construction with KAS thing figured out before we go to the Mun. The Tomcat Mk3 was "upgraded" with new diverter supersonic intakes and taken for a ride to test them out. The Tomcat flew better at higher altitude but overall was much slower reaching only Mach 1.3 at 8000 meters, less than half the speed I was getting at the same altitude with different intakes. The decision was made to end the Tomcat program with this model. It will continue to serve the program as a single seat midrange science jet. It can reach half way around Kerbin without using afterburner. Some work was done planning the Kerbin space station Port Kerbin. Nothing was finalized. Engineers are having trouble fitting everything everyone wants without the Rockomax Clamp-o-tron Sr. docking ports. We have a ways to go before we launch anything.

It was a mediocre couple of days at the KSC. With Jeb, Bob and Bill on vacation, the rest of the Kerbalnauts save Val who said she wanted more time in the simulator preparing for the Mun 2 mission, took the Karibou Rover out for a spin. The scientists needed more data and field testing on several things. They cruised around the space center and surrounding shores area doing science. They were going to set up the PackRat Rover from the KIS lockers on board, but someone got the Karibou stuck on the launchpad and recovered. Much science points were returned. Another day I suppose. The Mun 2 mission is a ways off yet. Then, a contract to collect surface pressure data was accepted. One of our dauntless scientists jumped into the Tomcat Mk3-D and raced a quarter way around Kerbin at Mach 2.8 until she reached the target area. She successfully landed and completed the contract. (New parts unlocked by several missions will see the Tomcat upgraded once more, and possibly replaced by the new Mk2 space plane parts into a new jet) Then, a contract to study the magnetic fields of Kerbol was accepted without really reading it. A high and low orbit study, at an obscene inclination of 54 degrees and an eccentricity of .50. The engineers said it should be no problem. Well just strap a crap ton of fuel and boosters to as small a package as is absolutely necessary and punch it. Well, it went ok. Sun Diver 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the Kerbin SOI. It did send back high Kerbol science data. However, it did not reach the desired attitude. Just not enough fuel. It only got to about 34 degrees and .44 eccentricity. It was decided that it could just stay where we put it and we'd try again with Sun Diver 2. There has been talk of trying to slingshot around the Mun or Minmus to gain more velocity and a closer to target inclination upon ejection from Kerbin. Also talk of Moar Boosters! The Minmus Flyby 2 mission completed its science mission and successfully returned to Kerbin. Much science was gained! There are several (10) outstanding contracts to be completed. The eggheads at the Admin would really appreciate them getting completed before any more were accepted. The science returned from several missions has unlocked many secrets and a wide range of technology and rocket parts. We are on the cusp of leaving Kerbin's sphere of influence and traveling to the other planets. The Duna transfer window is less than 125 days to go. On the horizon is the first Kerbin space station, Port Kerbin. Haven't decided yet if I want it at Geostationary orbit altitude or LKO. It will be followed quickly with Port Minmus, our second space station. Designers are still working out the details. MKS is still new to me so, while it's really pretty, I haven't got the operation totally figured out yet.

Space flight is a dangerous profession. Thus being said, sometimes Kerbals die. I will do everything possible to minimize the risk for said daring Kerbalnauts, but like Ivan Drago said, "If he dies, he dies". I won't revert a mission if there is an accident where a Kerbal is stranded or dies or they die because he or she has been stranded for so long they run out of life support. I won't use hyperedit. Nope, not gonna happen.

A tickertape parade was scheduled for Jeb, Bob, and Bill as they succeeded in pushing themselves home from the Mun! They joyously rode around the space center to the thunderous applause of all the KSP employees. They will enjoy a much needed vacation for a couple weeks before I send them up again. Much was learned from their trip, and we continue to gain science from the Surface Experiment Package they left on the lowlands. We have learned how to build the PackRat Rover and use a new Seismic Accelerometer science instrument. Both things are quickly being stuffed into the Mun 2 launch vehicle for the next expedition by Val and a couple of other Kerbalnauts chosen at random. In the meantime, engineering has been busy building the Minmus Flyby 2 mission. A redesign of the heat shield should result in a successful return to Kerbin. It is currently sitting in LKO ready to be sent off on its way. From seeming disaster to tickertape parades. I love KSP!

Voted for clouds. Planets with atmospheres should have them.

Things did not go well for my program today. Two major hiccups have program managers on the edge. The unmanned Minmus Flyby and Return mission had completed its science mission and was full up and was nearing Kerbin's atmosphere interface. Set up for a 35k periapsis entry. Apparently that was too low for the speed it was carrying. The control gimbal right over the heat shield blew tossing the heat shield away. The unprotected remainder lasted another 30 seconds before it looked into dust. Nothing was recovered. Guess we'll try again with Minmus Flyby 2. Mun1, a three kerbalnaut lander has been the pinnacle of the program's manned efforts. A ten day mission on the Mun at lowlands was at its close and it was time to return. The fuel load was suspect, but it was decided that Jeb could get them back to Kerbin without alot of problems. They made munar orbit easy enough, but then things got dicey. With the combined effort of the remaining fuel and monopropellant, it was going to be difficult to make 40k periapsis at Kerbin. After the burn, the boys found themselves in a highly eccentric Kerbin orbit with a periapsis of 300k and apoapsis of 10800k. A faulty (illplanned) decoupler would not let the 30 units of monopropellant in the command pod be transferred to the service section. Bill volunteered to get out and push in three days when they get back to the apoapsis. And so it is, my first Mun landing mission went from "Greatest Feat of Engineering" to "Engineered by the lowest bidder with no budget for simulations" They'll be ready for a landing in three days. Until then, we wait.

I like the axial tilt suggestion. Would make it that much more difficult to get things right. I would like to see more of a developed story line as well. I don't care about an "end" of the game, just goals and side quests to keep me interested in moving beyond the Kerbol system. And at that, perhaps another neighborhood system to explore. Uninhabited of course. It would have to be several light years away. But, there would be science to do. Starting with orbital telescopes and ending with Kerbals landing on the surface. I would also like to see random part failures as part of the stock game. I've seen it as a mod, with the ability to make repairs. Failures are what push us to be better, do better. I'm tempted to say, "reorganize the tech tree and start with atmospheric flight" but that's been done with mods.

I am inspired to play KSP every day because I love flight and aircraft and space flight. I was giddy as I watched Space X make the first booster stage return landing success! Loved watching shuttle astronauts fixing the Hubble at two in the morning. I know that we as a people will return to the Moon and we will land on Mars, probably in my lifetime. However, I'm never going to go. I'll never have that opportunity to explore. But with KSP, I can live it out in a simulated way. That's what inspires me.

Well, a few mods happened to get minor updates and tweaks, so replaced out dated mods with fresh current ones. Then, back to launches! Mission 3: still working on getting data from a Mk16 parachute test as well as now a test of the swivel engine at 45000 meters at a fairy slow speed. Built and launched Thundercat Mk1 a half liquid fuel and half solid booster with quite a bit of science experiments in board. Thanks to me putting the Scientist in charge of flying, the mission was aborted shortly after solid booster burnout. He could not control the craft burning the swivel. Partial success. Got the parachute contract but failed the swivel test. Also noted, not enough parachute capability, lost the science package on landing. Mission 4: test the swivel engine at altitude at a specific speed. Nearly identical Thundercat Mk1-A with a few tweaks to fins and thrust limits plus more chutes. Put the Engineer in the capsule. Again, mission abort at solid booster cutout and limited liquid engine firing. Control could not be maintained. Recovered vessel, crew, and science package. Tomorrow's launch's will probably need a fully liquid fueled rocket to accomplish the contract goals. And pilots.

Decided to get mods for 1.2. And then restart my career game. Things are where I want them for now. I'll probably add a few visual effects later when they update. But I'll go with what I have now. First mission: Gather science from Kerbin and Launch first vessel. Success! Jeb took the Alley Cat Mk1to 5000m. Second mission: Haul Command Pod Mk1 into flight and test the Mk16 at a specific altitude and speed. Partial success. Val took the Alley Cat Mk1-A up to 5000m but didn't make to speed and altitude specifics for the contract. We did bring back much more science this time. Tomorrow, we will work on getting that contract with another launch, and perhaps another.

Not much really. Accepted three contracts; one for science from the surface of the mun, rescue stranded kerbalnaut in kerbin orbit, and another for temp reading from an area close to Munar Probe Mk1-A. The surface science was a piece of cake. The lab rats at Mun Science Base 1 were eager to send back their 68 points of accumulated science. Contract complete. The stranded kerbal (a pilot class stuck in a nearly mun altitide orbit, which if i dont hurry will probably fling him out of the soi of kerbin) will wait til I can get more time for mission planning. But the other one, whew, it's going to be tough. Need to be less than 10000 m above the surface and MP Mk1-A will be at the end of its fuel load when it gets there. It may not survive the journey. The first try was too high and not enough fuel to return to the location. So although the contract says its close to my probe, its not. Reverted so I can plan the mission better.

Did a few minor contracts for stuff I already had in orbit(s). Rescued a stranded kerbalnaut in LKO. Built, launched, and landed my MPL hopper base on the Mun and Minmus. I am very happy that it worked as well as it did. The Mun Science Base doesn't have nearly enough solar panels. It's enough to keep it alive, but just barely. No research at night. I added four more retractable panels to the Minmus Science base. I won't start hopping with the bases until they get done with their first pile of science. Then on to another biome and do it all over again. The bases were designed to land and never return to Kerbin. I will have to send a return vehicle to each base once they are out of fuel. As the program sits, 9 Kerbals are off the planet. No losses.

Today I returned two kerbalnauts from the surface of the Mun and then all three of them came back to Kerbin. Jeb took my Sporty Mk2 Mach 2 capable jet on a trip to do some crew reports near the Antarctic Circle. He nearly made it to Mach 3 on a decent. Loving those afterburning engines! My first Duna probe is on its way. About 40 days til the first correction burn. I'm a little worried about signal connectivity. Haven't sent anything that far yet in 1.2. I should have enough according to the antenna description. Working on a Mun science lander to put the MPL on the surface with a pod. I probably should do this on Minmus first, but if it can land on the Mun, it will definitely land on Minmus.

Ok, so I have a major problem getting back to Kerbin. Any kind of aerobraking I've used (periapsis as low as 23k) will not slow any spacecraft I have built. Even those built before this started happening. Heat shields do not ablate, surface speeds continue to increase until I pass my periapsis, g-forces on Kerbals do not increase as we enter the atmosphere, changing craft orientation does not help and will continue to rotate as if in zero atmosphere even traveling at over 3000 m/s, but heating still works and certain parts (antennas, decouplers, and extended solar panels) will explode. I have several mods installed. X Science!, Active Texture Management, Aviation Lights, EVE, Chatterer, Community Resource Pack, Crowd Sourced Science, Distant Object Enhancement, DMagic Orbital Science, Firestarter, K2 Command Pod, Raster Prop Monitor, KAS, KIS, Kerbals Aircraft Extension, Kerbal Engineer, Kerbal Mechanics, Kopernicus, AVC, KW Rocketry, Docking Port Alignment Tool, Final Frontier, Outer Planets Mod, Planetary Base Inc, Precise Maneuver, RCS Sounds, AMP Year, ScanSat, Scatterer, strobe-o-matic, station science, texture replacer, TAC Life Support, Wheel Sounds, Kerbal Alarm Clock. Do I need to uninstall and then re-install the whole game and start over? I really don't want to due to how far I have finally gotten in the game. Thanks in advance!