jackless

There's Homeworld on steam. You don't shoot the bad guys yourself but you can zoom close enough to see them. Its a bundle of homeworld and the sequel. http://store.steampowered.com/app/244160/ In the space trading with guns there is Vega Strike. http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/ Its free but its a work in progress. For more space dogfigthing Anything Star Wars Tie Fighter or XWing The Freespace series There is also FTL http://www.ftlgame.com/ All those game should run even on low spec computers.

In no particular order Contract configurator and a few contract pack: For the added diversity of contract. Docking port alignment indicator: I could dock without, but if I want to align everything, its am must. Kerbal alarm clock: Because a Space program should be able to run multiple missions at the same time. Kerbal engineering Redux: For the DV readout during construction and in flight and the orbit info. Mechjeb: For creating the maneuver node and their automatic execution. Navhud: Because you can never have a big enough navball. Stage Recovery: To try recoup cost of all those launcher part. Station science: For giving some usefulness to space station beside the gas station. Quick contract: For easily rejecting all those unwanted contracts with a single keystroke. Infernal robotics: For when you need to fold your probe because it doesn't fit into the fairing.

Decided to cancel the contract after my probe Overheated and exploded somehow. Sending another one would cost more than the cancellation cost and success is not guaranteed. The Molniya orbit helped a lot but could not get close enough to activate the entering sector message. The last pass I was able to be at around 50km laterally (lateral distance taken from the Waypoint manager) from one of the targeted sector while I was close to the apogee of a 8h orbit (did not note the actual altitude when that happen). The waypoint manager mod helped me with the distance check also. As for the shape of a sector, I will try to repeat the experiment but with one on the equator. Thanks for the help.

I can select the sector as a "navigation beacon" but not as a target. And I don't know how to tweak my orbit for rendez-vous without using the target in map mode. I will try a few mod that I think could resolve this, like Science alert or the waypoint manager mod. Either Cylinder or cone, the higher orbit should, as you say, allow maximum loiter time inside the sector. Il go try the Molniya orbit right away.

I have a contract that ask to take multispectral imaging data over certain sectors of Kerbin while in orbit. The five sectors are in the south hemisphere. Two of them are close to south pole. I have put my satellite on a polar LKO. But I never pass over them. Always getting just right next to them and never getting the "Entering Sector ...". Should I have put my satellite on a less inclined orbit? Which orbit have a better chance of having the "now entering sector X" and still have time to activate the imager? LKO or HKO?

As it is for the STEM program, your second sugestion could do it. It could be nice to introduce them to the Engineering Design Process as it goes with your sugestion. Start with a problem "Jeb want to go to space, How can he get there?" They will probably respond by you need a rocket. Build the simpliest rocket you can "Cabin, LFO tank, engine" Test it Analyze the result "Jeb got to 3km up then fall to is death" and ask them "was there someting missing from our rocket?" Add parachute and more tanks retest, reanalyze failure ... until you get to orbit. hope this can help.

As soon as the kerbalspaceprogram.com will be available. With the release, the site will probably be assaulted by thousand of people trying to get the games at the same time. DDOS waiting to happen. I will just wait a little bit before downloading it.

That flying dust is just jaw dropping already. How cool that will look on the Mun.

What happen to a new player? During the first launch, they usually do a loud countdown, followed by the "where is the launch button?", followed by explosions So my guess would be either 1- A loud audio countdown 2- A big red friendly button marked "LAUNCH!" 3- Instant Slow-motion replay of the explosion.