Grenartia

What we need is a speed/altitude chart for Mach 1 on Kerbin (and I guess Laythe, too).

Only problem with that is you increase drag and heat by going lower. After about 5.5, I'm finding it hard to maintain even a constant speed below 15km. Yeah. OP didn't say it was, so if anyone does want to try on Laythe, it seems golden. IIRC, the stock Rapiers produce max thrust at 3.7. While B9's sabre engines' max thrust is at 4.5. B9 also has slightly higher heat tolerances. Yeah, I know this is stock only, but I've been considering doing a B9 run just to see what the max jet speed stock aero allows is. Shots of the outside?

Looks like the Normandy. Sounds like a challenge that's already been done (and topped). Do we at least get bonus points for doing it in 12 parsecs?

I was very disappointed this wasn't playing in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRGCIrU7MKI

I refer you to the Kerbal Engineering mantra: if something moves in flight and shouldn't, it needs space tape. If it doesn't move, and should, it needs MOAR BOOSTARS!

How so?

As a physics major, I had to give a physics-related presentation to my class and the professor (its a 100-level class, so nothing too complicated). I basically just did a video of me explaining the bare basics of orbital mechanics. Literally just me explaining why you have to do a gravy turn, and what burning prograde and retrograde do, and noting the relationship between velocity and altitude.

Coaster? I thought that was an aluminum frisbee. You're telling me I've been bragging to my friends about my aluminum frisbee collection all these years, and all I had were coasters?

After 1.0.2, I started putting all of my chutes in service bays, because nothing's worse than a toasted parachute, especially without airbrakes. Its got the added bonus of also being able to keep a 1k battery inside, as well as still keeping an attachment node for a docking port (and/or additional payload, if you need it).

I know that second one well. I went to Space Camp when I was 10, and learned all of this amazing stuff about how the Space Shuttle works (this being 05, back when the thing was still flying), and from the first moment I saw Armaggeddon, I kept screaming to myself (because my parents taught me not to scream during movies) "THATS NOT HOW IT WORKS!". Part of me really wants to watch it again so I can blast it. Maybe turn it into a drinking game, now that I'm able.

On second thought, I can't find it, and don't remember the name. Basically, though, he was running a rover on Duna, and almost got to the polar biome, but he stopped at the border (intentionally), because that border is the crater biome. He offhandedly mentioned that the border biome on Kerbin was Tundra.

IIRC, its pretty close to where the water meets the ground. I recall there being a Scott Manley video explaining how it works. I'll link it when I find it.

Still, it outlasts most other parts. I wish there were actually temperature readouts in stock, instead of colored bars. Maybe its only breakable by getting into orbit, then dropping periapsis and lighting the jets? Biggest problem I can see with that would be weight penalties.

Is that really the secret to getting 100+m/s on water? Control surfaces? I bet the Kraken's seedling child lies there. In wait, for 1.1.

All you have are airbreathing engines. You're not even getting to orbit with that thing, much less the Mun. And you'd be lucky to even break 70km. There's nothing MJ can do to help with that.

Actually, you're mistaken. You see a nosecone fuel tank flipped around, instead of an engine. The engine is a Juno. Also, I honestly doubt I could get up to 63.6 if I had anything below the water. To be honest, I had to strip the Sea Missile down to the bare essentials just to get it going that fast.

Soooo useful. Also, RPM. Amen. What I like most about MJ is that it makes landing on bodies without atmospheres so much easier (seriously, horizontal and vertical velocity readouts are awesome). Also, rendezvous and docking. So much tediousness in stock, reduced to simplicity, even without using autopilot.

Worse yet, when you see its about to crash in the video, and you're frantically hitting QEWASD.

I finally figured out a use for those RoveMax XL3s. Inb4 anyone asks: No, this is not a space plane. Or a plane of any sort. This is a submarine.

Interesting design, I must say. On the other hand, I tried building a 0.625m version of my Sea Missile, only to instead, find out I'd built an underwater rover.

My idea of strapping pontoons onto my Sea Missile made it highly unstable (like, it'd go 10 meters, dip the nose into the water, then go back, and repeat). So I'm abandoning that approach. I believe the key is minimizing hydrodynamic drag. AFAIK, the key to this is minimizing the number of parts in the water. In pursuit of that, I tried this: Yeah, that's top speed.

I see we were separately thinking the same thing as far as pontoons go.

I built a sea skimmer that goes 63.6m/s.

Got pics? Also, by removing the reaction wheels, probe core, battery, intake RCS, and airbrakes (and reconfiguring the design so that I'm not left with that structural mount after detachment, I've gotten my Sea Missile 1 up to 58m/s (excuse me, spoke too soon) 63.6m/s. And its still very stable.

Ultimate final speed: 41.2m/s. As you can see, Sea Missile 1 is perfectly safe and sound, with the obvious exception of lack of fuel: And proof of the speed record: Once I reached 39.7m/s, it started slowing down a bit, and I thought that would be my record, but then I readjusted my pitch a bit (it wasn't super weird or anything, just making sure it was dead on the horizon), and that got it up to 40m/s. After a few minutes, I reached top speed.