SaturnianBlue

I see you quite a bit, and i've seen quite a few of your threads. 7/10

How many eyeball replacement cycles has this thing undergone? It seems like each time the cycle completes, a new one begins...

Jim Holden

It's already rapidly intensifying? I wonder if it'll be a top-end cat 3 or even a 4 in the next advisory. Also, here's a good site for seeing the model runs.

Apparently Irma's undergoing an EWRC, so rapid intensification might have to wait—but it could still strengthen.

Irma is now a major hurricane!

I drew that one, but I know for sure that various mods (SVE, I think) add geysers for Eeloo.

For next time...

In an effort to see how I could create a space elevator in KSP, I welded a bunch of I-beams, and used tweak scale to make a giant 24km pole, and surprisingly enough, it didn't collapse! I tried to stack them, but it didn't exactly work out. I also made a model of the climber, though it isn't actually on a space elevator.

Hurricane Irma has skipped category one status and gone right to a category 2 with 100 mph winds and 979 millibars. Just a day ago, Irma's winds were half that—definitely undergoing rapid intensification, and I expect to see a major hurricane by the day's end. The NHC's predicting a category 4 in 5 days.

Yikes! The new advisory is already predicting it to be the second major hurricane in a row, and it's shaping up to be a classic Cape Verde-type hurricane. In the East Pacific... That's a really big storm...

Potential Tropical Cyclone 14-E has formed in the Pacific, which i'm pretty is the first PTC in that basin. In the Atlantic, tropical storm Irma has formed, and though forecast models are hardly accurate 10 days in the future, a lot of them seem to show a major hurricane off the east coast...

That might be the silver bullet for stock Eeloo—it helps that Eeloo's gravity is quite low, making such mining operations much easier.

For the most part, I've finished writing the non-rocket space launch chapter—it's something like 6 pages of text, or about 2-3 times longer than the recent chapters. I'll probably break it into two parts. In the episode I will cover mass drivers, space elevators, skyhooks, launch loops, and orbital rings.

The Mars 2020 rover is there to pick up the samples for the sample return mission—it won't actually be returning the samples. As for the orbiter, they are planning to—$62 million for a new one is provided in the 2018 budget, though it seems like by the time it gets launched, the other orbiters might already be defunct.

I thought about doing planet packs, but I've mentioned that it would take much too long and not everyone uses the same planet pack, so for now I've stuck to stock. I might revisit the planet packs, but certainly not now.

I've finished the colonization series for Imagining a Kerbal Future (for now), so here's the rest of them! Ocean Cities on Laythe Underground ice habitat for Vall Local and spin gravity habitat for Bop and Pol

We have finally come to the end of the stock Kerbol system. Waiting for us is Eeloo—a small world covered in ice. In terms of size and gravity, it is roughly analogous to the Mun, but with a day not dissimilar to Kerbin’s. Why Settle? Eeloo appears to be covered in a layer of water ice (though some suggest it could be made of something else), which should be fairly easy to extract for use in the inner system. The dwarf planet is rather well suited for the role, since the concerns of radiation faced by the colonists on Vall that would make resource extraction operations more difficult is not present. The resource scanners have revealed that Eeloo has an exceptionally high amount of a resource known as "Karborundum", and is one of the few places in the Kerbol system with it. It obviously isn't a real thing, but if one is willing to stretch reality a bit, Karborundum is the perfect MacGuffinite, since it can be used in a fantastically powerful fusion drive. Some graphics mods have depicted geysers which implies a major incentive—a massive amount of fissile material, as @MatterBeam has identified. In a universe where fusion is still not achievable in fairly small reactors, Eeloo provides a massive energy source for the outer planets. Though deeper canyons unveil a rocky layer below, Eeloo could very well harbor an ocean, especially since it seems to have surprisingly high amounts of geothermal energy available. As with Vall, this presents the opportunity for submarine habitats, but without competition from Laythe, it is more likely that such a habitat may be built. Issues The main issue with colonizing Eeloo is that it is simply hard to get to. While Moho is difficult to reach in terms of delta-V, it can be reached quickly. Jool is far away, but it also has a huge collection of moons. On the other hand, Eeloo is also far away, but it completely alone, with no other targets near it that would otherwise encourage traveling there. However, this problem goes away with the installation of planet mods such as the Outer Planets Mod, but we will stick with the stock version of Eeloo for now. If kerbals choose to colonize Eeloo, they would be faced with some difficulty in generating energy. On average, Eeloo receives less solar energy than even Jool, eliminating that as an option. Instead, colonists will have to bring nuclear or fusion reactors with them, perhaps by cannibalizing their ship if necessary. A likely backup source of energy would be the geothermal energy that Eeloo hosts. Colony Designs By the time that various organizations are rushing off to claim land on Eeloo, portable fusion reactors are likely in existence, which should be enough to solve the issue of energy, though it may be considered necessary to import fusion fuel. The reactors would be placed far away from the main habitation area to reduce potential exposure to radiation. For protection from the elements, inflatable habitats and local water ice should suffice. Another use for the water ice would be to feed an ISRU processor, which would create hydrogen or simple water to refuel shuttles, which will carry payloads to and from orbit. The water ice is collected by bulldozer robots. Colony Progression The very first kerbal presence on Eeloo is mostly scientific—for the various reasons stated above, most profit-making ventures stay away from Eeloo. However, multiple groups may try to colonize Eeloo for the sheer purpose of expansion—much of the other territory has been awarded/claimed/conquered/absorbed/driven out by the larger factions, and many set their eyes on Eeloo, to legitimize a claim to (even more) territory. This could result in a significant colonization rush, and the population of Eeloo explodes. This would likely result in conflict and competition among the factions, and once again, some are driven out or absorbed, but others may unite to stand against a larger threat. However, without a method of generating much profit, most corporation-owned colonies are treading a thin line, and it would be unsurprising if they failed spectacularly, certainly against the wishes investors. On the other hand, some colonies may be set up purely for expansion’s sake, and aren’t there to sell anything. There is some money to be made back home, by selling these colonists supplies, so there is some motivation. Unless this is being done by a large existing faction that can afford to lose money, we must assume that interplanetary immigration has become cheap enough for the average kerbal. Conclusion Eeloo will be one of the last places in the Kerbol system to be colonized—it’s not a bad place, per se, but it isn’t particularly attractive, due to its distance. In the end, the biggest motivator may not be the vast supply of water ice, but the fact that it is there, and that it can be settled. End of Chapter XX Thanks for reading! Next: Non-Rocket Spacelaunch (and doing it in KSP)

There's a high chance of tornadoes and landfall is imminent, with the storm maintaining its status as a Category 4—if it maintains that, it'll be the first category 4 landfall in the US since Charley in 2004, and in Texas since 1961. Edit: The pressure has continued to drop—now 938 millibars. The NHC says that landfall has taken place between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor.

It's official: Harvey is now a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 130 MPH and a pressure of 941 millibars.

Hurricane Hannah isn't even the most extreme case—Hurricane Gordon of 1994 resulted in the deaths of 1,122 Haitians, making it the 7th deadliest storm of the modern era in the Atlantic.

Apparently the winds take a while to pick up to the pressure drop, though the winds have been stuck at 110 MPH (Nope, it is now the first major hurricane of the year, at 120 MPH, and the pressure has fallen to 943) despite continuous drops in pressure. Wouldn't be surprised if it hits category 4 status—but I agree, it's extremely dangerous regardless. The thing about Ike was that it was HUGE, and the storm surge was up to 22 ft, while 6-12 is predicted for Harvey. Of course, Harvey is likely to stall, which would be really bad for rainfall. Edit:

I must agree, lasers are quite difficult to enforce or control. Maybe the various sides agree to only use high-yield lasers peacefully, and continue to comply in the case of war, since it would mean both sides would use them. That said, using them as a deterrent is probably more effective, and would actually prevent war. If there are multiple factions involved in a treaty, maybe the various other factions agree to sanction or attack the violating faction. Whether the factions will actually stick to this, or if they agree to this in the first place is probably the biggest hurdle for that, and the use of super weapons would give the violating group a huge edge. The problem would also exist with nukes, in an Orion drive-filled environment. I guess in that case, the yield of nuclear weapons could be capped, and the only nukes allowed use shaped charges. However, that does open the door for Casaba Howitzers. A Mini-Mag Orion might fix that issue, but that opens the doors for the laser problem, since they convert some of the blast energy into electricity.

Bop and Pol's gravity is still something like 6% and 4% of Kerbin's, so I don't think nuclear electric would work there. On anything smaller than Gilly though, it might work. Interesting idea for the rails—haven't heard that one before. Edit: I've read "The Laser Problem" series of posts on your blog, and I might've come up with an idea. What about a Washington Naval Treaty of sorts, where the various factions all agree not to use giant lasers on their vessels? Of course, this could easily be broken down, but what do you think?

We finally finish the Joolian system in this chapter. Bop and Pol are the two distant moons of the Joolian system—likely captured asteroids, the accessibility of their resources and low delta-V make them important targets. Why Settle? Pol appears to be covered in phosphoric compounds and by extent phosphorous, which is an essential nutrient for plants, and would be beneficial for the growth of the colonies closer to Jool. While I cannot be certain, Bop and Pol were likely carbonaceous C-type asteroids. First, both have a fair amount of hydrated minerals, like many carbonaceous asteroids. Second, Pol’s abundance in phosphorous is not unlike that of many C-types. According to the DMagic science mod, both moons are abundant in silicates, which do occur on C-type asteroids. The delta-V requirements out at these moons is very low—reaching orbit should only take around 130 and 220 meters per second, for Pol and Bop respectively. Combined with the low gravity, this should allow cheap aluminum and oxygen powered rockets to quickly deliver a huge payload up to a larger ship headed for the other moons or planets. It also takes less delta-V to reach other planets from higher up the gravity well, and for incoming ships to enter orbit. Though the resource scans show fairly little alumina for use in fuel, there should still be more than enough. It takes less fuel to send resources from these moons, which can be combined with aerobraking and mass drivers for very low fuel consumption. At this distance from Jool, there is no need to apply more radiation shielding as a result of the radiation belts. Issues Both Bop and Pol will require spinning habitats to support a permanent presence due to the lack of natural gravity, and the lack of an atmosphere makes decompression a lingering risk. Additionally, Pol’s rocks are long and pointy, so they will have to be cleared out in some areas to ensure a safe landing for certain vessels. Can you find the spaceship hiding among them? Colony Designs Notice that the torus is slightly tilted to account for the local gravity. Learning from the lessons of constructing habitats on Gilly and Minmus, the colonies on these moons would be toruses, which are slightly tilted downwards to account for the miniscule gravity of these moons. These would be protected from radiation using the local regolith, with a layer of metal to contain it. Transportation would either be provided by trucks or some sort of rocket-powered vehicle. The issue faced by trucks is that they can easily catch air vacuum if they drive too quickly, so digging tunnels at certain locations would probably be required for fast travel. Some sort of rocket powered vehicle may be effective, since they do not require electrical power, which is quite difficult to obtain on small vehicles. The main export of the colonies would initially be raw resources to the inner Joolian moons, and eventually manufactured goods, as industrial activity increases. The lower delta-V requirements would favor these colonies, since more can be sent for cheaper, especially compared to Tylo, at the expense of travel time. Colony Progression The ability to send resources down to Laythe with little delta-V will be a major motivator for colonizing and exploiting the resources of the Bop and Pol. It should be noted that Pol’s access to phosphorus, lower inclination, and lower delta-V requirements will give it a higher priority than Bop. The growth of Tylo as a trade hub will be aided by the outer moons sending down equipment for the construction of space stations that will serve ships. Though launching resources from Tylo removes the need for an insertion burn, it also requires a much longer mass driver, which will require major infrastructure or expensively importing the parts. It is probable that the population of the two moons would never exceed a million, unless they were converted into O'Neill cylinders, though there would be little reason to do so, since Laythe might be undergoing a terraforming process by then. Unless the colonies come up with a major attraction, there would be little activity out there. The moons may even be destroyed to supply material, especially in the construction of megastructures. Conclusion Bop and Pol will be very useful in the development of the other moons, as their low delta-V requirements make transportation of bulk amounts of material viable. However, they would be unlikely to attract many people, with the inner moons (especially Laythe) being more favorable for colonization. Summary for the Joolian System Despite being a rather distant system to reach, there would be great interest in Jool, mostly as a result of it’s moons. Laythe is very similar to Kerbin in many regards, and the need for relatively little shielding will send kerbals rushing for it. However, the radiation belts of Jool are especially dangerous near Laythe, so some colonies may be set up at Tylo, where there is less radiation, and lightly shielded ships will have no problem. Eventually, it becomes a huge transportation and trade hub. Bop and Pol will provide cheap access to resources, with their low delta-V requirements, and easy access to water ice on Vall will result in some settlement. Though difficult to settle in general, Jool itself has valuable fusion fuel to exploit. In the end, Laythe will be unmatched in the Joolian system when it comes to population and wealth, and may even be terraformed. End of Chapter XIX Thanks for reading! Next: Colonizing Eeloo