Hotel26

Polaris II Craftyard Description 1:Go 2:Hover 3:dock 4:ladder A stock spacejet called Polaris II. Built with 84 of the finest parts, its root part is toroidalAerospike. Polaris, like the submarine. Lots of fun. Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3.

It's finally happened. Truman's Craftyard is being sued. "Deep pockets" and all that... but with those deep pockets comes a crack legal team of "junkyard dogs". Cave canibus! At issue is the latest release Polaris II... check it out. Truman thinks this is (finally) the most fun spaceship he will ever fly. (Wrong a thousand times before...)

There's a deep gully on the Mun - more of a ravine, really -- that qualifies exactly for this. I regularly cruise over it at 6.5km MSL and it feels so tempting to fly through it, 550m/s (maybe 1km lower). Crazy thought, coz it's not exactly aligned east-west. So you'd have to set up your inclination aforehand. It'd be Star Wars stuff. So please don't feel crazy alone thinking this kind of stuff. (There are other crazed people thinking similarly!) And so, about some of the points made above: you'd need a nav point at which you'd perform an initial alignment for the approach. You'd target to hit the nav marker and do a precise alignment there... (waves hands knowingly/confidently) It'd make a wonderful Youtube clip...

My first use of the updated Crab with autonomous Spear: Topping off ES1 Scout, part of the upcoming Eve flotilla (window in 15d). The example is somewhat contrived in that the $$$load has an adequate dock on the prograde end. Crab fired the Spear to easily dock with the claw, then act as control point to rotate the target for the Crab to dock. I am probably going to use a Ladybug with klaw attachment for this in future, since that combination is more flexible. In other news, you may have intuited that I have amassed an expeditionary flotilla for Eve, with the transfer window opening up in 15 days. About a day later, I have a transfer for Moho, so I am currently assembling a second fleet. Each fleet contains (1) Scout telecomms, (1) Nova space station, (1) Gremlin miner and (1) Aquila VIII Ladybug/Hummingbird exploration swarm. The wrinkle is that the two flotillas will depart on the heels of each other -- but both bound for Eve. The Moho flotiilla will wait in Eve orbit to be refueled (with Gilly-brand LFOX) and thence depart during the next Eve-Moho transfer window. [My first despatch to Moho, direct from Kerbinside, saw hundreds of tonnes of equipment (and a small number of Kerbalives) sail straight on through the Moho SOI, fuel exhausted, so I ain't gonna try that again!]

Love KER and is one of a very small set of Core must-have mods. There was a feature that operated in KSP 1.3.1 that has been u/s ever since, which is the Target distance read-out when you are sitting on the launchpad. I would say this depended upon some method in KSP itself that abandoned the facility. I.e. target distance is now shown to be 0.0 WHEN you are landed. Too bad, because this is incredibly convenient for knowing when to launch from the pad. A distance of something like 383kms indicated the target was uprange over about the tip of the western desert sub-continent. The alternative I have been using is to place the launch vehicle on the pad; then switch to the target vehicle and ride with it visually confirming its approach; then switching back to the pad and launching. The context switches are painful and contribute to memory leak, hastening a KSP reboot. Lately, I've tried to gauge this from the position of the target marker on the navball and have found this to be wildly inaccurate. Is there an alternative KER metaphor now? Or can the original capability please be restored? Has anyone else noticed this lapse?

I couldn't help myself: yet another lunar, executive-class, personnel transporter... I built a bigger version of this yesterday (2x Mk2 cabins) on the spur of the moment, but decided to downsize it today. So this is Polaris II. Can land it on the roll... KER reports 1,815 m/s dV (at the Mun). I guess I am going to load it with just enough OX to go 0-to-550 m/s (and vice versa) with the Dart. Execs are always in a danged hurry to be somewhere, aren't they?... Roger that. The VAB bugged me for about two years. As payback, I have a very liberal rule about "clipping" parts. The VAB taketh away (thy sanity) so the VAB hath to giveth back!

The following (the culmination of five, intensive years of study at Kerbal Aerospace Academy) will take some explaining: This is called Spear... It's a kind of autonomous Taser device... I spent this fine Sunday, as usual -- busy with Mad Science. It started out, humdrum enough: refactoring heavy vehicles... Some of them use a "Klaw attachment". It slices; it dices; it blends to a puree... But, how do you snap it on and off your heavy vehicle conveniently? Well, it has to be autonomous! When you're done using it, it undocks and maneuvers to the side of your vehicle and embeds itself, just like the tick it kinda looks like. Moreover, have you ever noticed that targeting a dock and docking with it, dock to dock, becomes quite easy with practice? But not so easy when you are controlling a heavy vehicle -- with a claw -- and attempting to get a claw-hold on another heavy or oddly-shaped vehicle (e.g. some spaceplanes). In this case, fire the light, speedy, maneuverable Spear at the target to get a quick dock and now you have a real (proper-sized) dock to steer to and connect with. Yea, Brother! You can even use it as a control point to have that other oddball craft turn itself into position for you to slide straight down the fire-pole to dock! (It also doubles duty as a monopropellant supply.) Like a few other of my hare-brained ideas, this one may end up on the scrap-heap. Which is pretty much what Mad Science is all about, isn't it?

My guess would be that you already know the answer, or will soon figure it out... enjoy the ride.

Mod-L (a toggle) locks staging. You'll see the flashing green staging light just turn constant pink and the space bar is locked. Once you get through ascent, you can lock it (if you remember) as a kind of safety catch. (I think that's Alt-L for Windows and Right-Shift-L for Linux.)

The simplest stategy is to launch from KSC directly into the very same plane. There are some good video tutorials on this. When the target asteroid is inside the Kerbin SOI, set it as target, wait until KSC is under the target trajectory (Map View); launch and pitch over on the appropriate heading. Bear in mind that inclination is relative to East and compass headings are relative to North, so a mental adjustment is required. Map View gives a decent picture.

I've landed my first Kerballenwagen 2020 Jetta on the Mun at Armstrong Base (in my Orbit production world) and herein fueled it up for a jaunt: This month is my second anniversary in KerbalX. Next month will be my fifth anniversary in KSP. I'm still learning some of the basics... Like. What are the Resources check boxes good for? Well, I've found a use. The baguette tanks are buried in the girders such that you cannot select them for fueling. Arnold Kerman says: no problemo! I've started using the surface scanner. (I know: duuh.) Armstrong base has premium-grade ore! Ooo-Kkkk. The Jetta is a kick. Earlier model KWs employed the very largest reaction wheel and I think the Jetta needs one too. Or 4x mediums distributed in the girders... Let me dig up an earlier post (from the same (22E) location...) Das Alto:

Memorandum from the desk of Truman Kerman, President of Truman Kerman Craftyard, Inc. "Although, admittedly, no one at all has written in enquiring about the ship description captions, it is worth noting that KSC pilots at this installation are trained to use a simple command-line tool provided to them: Typing "ship Lady" returns: Ships/VAB/Ladbug.craft:description = 5:VERT 6:HORZ 7:pulse On/Off Ships/VAB/Ladybug Zephyr.craft:description = 5:VERT 6:HORZ 7:pulse 0:gimbal which gives the pilot a quick reminder of action group assignments for the craft in question, even, and especially, during flight. The bash shell script implementing this is: #!/bin/bash grep -s desc Ships/SPH/$1*.craft Ships/VAB/$1*.craft Trust this might be useful to someone..."

That sounds like a KSP craft version conversion? Craft is older than current version of KSP. You load it; it performs the conversion; you save it; you no longer get that warning on loads. (Maybe not the only way to get this but this is a) common, b) expected, c) not fatal.)

KW Jetta 2020 Craftyard Description 1:HORZ 2:VERT 3:ladder/gen / 5:VERT 6:HORZ 7:pulse A stock rover called KW Jetta. Built with 99 of the finest parts, its root part is mk2LanderCabin.v2. And there I was, thinking I was done with rovers. They’re too much fun to entirely give up. These days, I do mostly get around in VVLO (very, very low orbit), but I like to keep one KW parked at the base camp to get from ship to ship. Time to update the KW line: Kerballenwagen und KW Rabbit; so here it is: the all-new KW Jetta (2020 edition). I haven’t done a lot of road-testing with it yet, so go carefully. k1 is Drive (HORZ ref). If you leave the ground, k2 will give you a VERT reference and you can engage SAS Radial Out (SFC mode) to ready to plant 4 tires back into the lunar dust. Comes mounted atop a Spunk booster and with a Ladybug lander. It’ll be a trick to get Ladybug docked to the KW Jetta. but it’s possible. The Ladybug is also the only known way to refuel the KW Jetta. Fuel up the Ladybug from a base camp Goblin or Gremlin and then top-dock with the KW Jetta to feed it. Launch from KSC with SAS Radial Out SFC mode; pitch down 5 (yellow ring) reaching 80 m/s; then follow prograde to 75km and circularize. For Spunk re-entry, lower the periapsis to 50km and then simply maintain some upward pitch as you descend through the atmosphere. Keep all remaining fuel in the for'ard tanks until speed drops below 1 km/sec. Have fun! Engineering Note: Jetta is equippied with two Equipment Drawers [tm], found on the underside of the Lander Can. Shift-gizmo them downwards to expose gear embedded in the girders for maintenance / modification. Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3.

Happy to announce the new KW Jetta 2020 model has arrived! (It's an update of my Kerballenwagen und KW Rabbit...)

Well, @Cavscout74, I can't think of any better use for this, my Post #1 Thousand, than to congratulate you on an Outstanding Achievement. Way to go, fella!! You have the Right Stuff!

Zippo Craftyard Description 1:Go 2:Hover 3:steer 4:ladder A stock super-tanker called Zippo. Built with 75 of the finest parts, its root part is dockingPortLarge. Zippo transports 31,900 LF, 38,500 OX and 1,500 MP from a lunar surface refinery to a waiting orbital station. KP Exploration built this special-purpose ship to support Snowflake lunar super-refinery installations. Dock a Zippo to the refinery and fill it up in a couple of hours. To build and a operate a complete refinery, you will need Snowflake, KP Luna Vista and Zippo. Find a flat, equatorial, premium-grade ore (e.g. 12-14%) site; bring Snowflake down with its Spider sky-crane (provided); then make 8 trips from KP Luna Vista with both Spiders to bring the 8 Orb refinery modules down to install (top-docking) onto the Snowflake base assembly; finally bring Zippo down and dock to one of Snowflake’s claws; begin producing! NOTE: docking Zippo requires driving it in at an angle and turning at the last moment in order to position the Snowflake claw under the Zippo between the for'ard engine and the gondola. Good luck with that!! It can be done! Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3.

KP Luna Vista Craftyard Description 1:ladder 5:mine 6:drill A stock transport called KP Luna Vista. Built with 373 of the finest parts, its root part is asasmodule1-2. This is undoubtedly the best-ever use I have made of my Aquila Gen VIII launcher – which features a broad load-carrying platform with positions for 8+1 individual loads… The KP Luna Vista mission profile is to deliver a super-refinery to a lunar body for assembly upon the surface. (I myself only envisage ever deploying one of these and only on the Mun due to its excessive output capability.) Atop the Aquila VIII launcher sits a Spider sky crane in the center, surrounded by 8 Orb refinery modules on the perimeter. Once a Snowflake has been deposited upon a premium-grade equatorial site, the Spider may be used to make 8 trips to it to transport and install each of the Orb modules. From the launch pad: Radial Out Sfc mode pitch down 5 deg at 70 m/s and SAS Hold until AoA centered; then SAS Prograde Sfc SAS Prograde Orbit mode @ 20km jettison outer boosters when their fuel is exhausted; jettison nose cones plot the circularization node and circularize this should yield a smooth ride into space with sufficient dV remaining to reach the Mun jettison the Rhino when OX is exhausted and light the NERVa to finish the job, possibly during the translunar injection Good Luck Sited in 14% grade ore, a full Snowflake refinery should produce a minimum of 9 kal / sec, which should be sufficient to fill a Zippo super-tanker (coming soon) in under two hours. [Historical note: during development, this KP lunar refinery effort was known as Project OVERKILL. We think we met our goal.] Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3.

Snowflake Craftyard Description 5:antenna/claws A stock refinery called Snowflake. Built with 165 of the finest parts, its root part is asasmodule1-2. Snowflake is the base building block for a lunar super-refinery that, when located in 14% premium-grade ore, easily produces a minimum of 9 kals / sec and more for multiple products. Providing 8 Hitchhiker accommodation modules, it thus serves also as home for 32 Kerbs at Mun HQ. The Snowflake package includes a Zephyr launcher plus a Spider skycrane to bring the Snowflake to a premium-grade ore site on the surface of the Mun. All told, this package has the oomph (dV) to deploy upon the Mun. The Spider can then be user to bring Orb refinery modules down for attachment to the Snowflake from an orbiting KP Luna Vista factory ship. Completing the whole suite will be a Zippo super-tanker, to be posted shortly. Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3.

Spider Craftyard Description 1:ladder A stock sky crane called Spider. Built with 49 of the finest parts, its root part is mk2LanderCabin.v2. Spider is purpose-built for transferring wide loads. In particular, it is the workhorse for assembling a Mun "super-refinery". Pictured above, you can see it transporting an Orb refinery module to the surface of the Mun. It’s particularly capable for depositing heavy equipment onto base top docks. Like all members of the arachnid order, it possesses 8 legs and 5 eyes. Spider is included in the Snowflake and KP Luna Vista packages; it is supplied here separately only for convenience. The Zippo super-tanker (to be posted shorlty) completes the suite for building a lunar super-refinery. Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.7.3. ECO 2019-11-01: boost Vernor thrust to 100%. Correct orientation of bottom dock.

Having spent the last week on and around the surface of the Mun, working on the KP Snowflake refinery project, I am now experiencing "astronaut homesickness" which entails the intense and persistent desire to return home and tool around in a T-38 for a couple of days. (I'll have to build, or find one on KerbalX, first.) Wrapping up the project, I corrected a stern dock orientation error in the assembly of my Spider sky crane and then conducted a docking test using @Atkara's stern-dock/SAS Radial In navigation trick to maneuver to the target... The docking maneuver went pretty smoothly -- except you may notice that, though the upper Spider has its ladder correctly extended, it has not achieved precise alignment with the lower Spider's rear hatch. Therefore, after a short rest, the operation will need to be re-attempted to achieve a successful outcome. [I personally think these two particular Spiders are doomed to extinction...]

A massive super-refinery located on the surface of the Mun now pumping over 9 kallons / second. Last phase is to bring down a Zippo super-tanker and fill it up. (31,500 LF, 38,500 OX, 1,500 MP) Maybe just a couple of hours?? Hmm, if so, I may have committed some form of engineering overkill...

Lovely plane, Cavscout-7-4! And you had me hooked at "nearly pointless"... My favorite. Are you able to get a read on the closest distance to target? I should think it would be a thrill just to break some arbitrarily-set barrier or a previous record...?

Four down and 2 more in an orbital holding pattern awaiting clearance to land: I have that gap in the sequence at the back there because Spider trip #3 exhausted the limited OX supply for Vernor control and the pilot had to "dink" it in with old-school, seat-of-the-pants flying, dead-stick more or less and, you know, take what he could get. A bit grim all around. I've doubled the OX for the Vernors, though, and actually -- replaced the stupid, empty Orb service bay that was only used as an attachment point for the peripheral paraphernalia -- with a modest LF/OX tank (0.5t empty compared with 0.3 for the empty service bay). I'm not completely certain that "dink" is the preferred aeronautical term but the maneuver is to use attitudinal control to vector some lateral thrust. I think it's going to become standard operating procedure to dink it in close, if you will, and then use the Vernors for the precision docking alignment. Save fuel. Happy bean-counters = happy stock-holders. [Editor's Note: I know these images are a bit repetitive, so, in the next episode, I'll just skip forward to the conclusion. Not to give it away, but if the Kraken isn't aroused by this same "Stonehenge" configuration on the top-deck of the KP Luna Vista in orbit (at 545 m/s), then it's not likely to care about the same, lying helpless and still on the ground, is it? Wouldn't be reasonable to just suddenly launch a surprise attack, yeah? Not at all the way Kraken psychology works, I'm sure...]

Welcome to the forum! Impressively clever, Dr Rizzo! And forgive my mounting excitement! Performance/stress testing the Snowflake configuration on the lunar surface: Ops have now brought three of the Orb refinery modules down from the KP Luna Vista with 5 more to go. "Stay AWAY, Kraken!" Pumping 3.11 kals/sec of sweet liquid fuel at the moment. (Note to self:that ninth spot in the center looks suddenly enticing...) (I think the KP marketing slogan will be something like: "keeping your moon clean -- by making a tidy profit".) Incidentally, anyone see any resemblance between Snowflake on the ground (above) and the top deck of the KP Luna Vista in orbit (below)? Hmmmmmm...... I think I need a bigger sky-crane!?