Boots

I must admit I find the extra set of 2.5m tanks from MOLE just part bloat - Though as above I use all the adapters so please keep them in.

Does anyone know why I'd get a message saying "Whoops something went wrong with this SEP experiment" when trying to calibrate an experiment with a Level 1 scientist?

Hey @Angel-125, I'm back and in a new save. Love the new LDEF inclusions. I recently sent a MOLE lab to munar orbit while I had one in Kerbin orbit as well. The Kerbin one had been up for about ten days with around 16/32 LabTime in each of its experiments when the Mun one reached its orbit. When I started the Mun one, it started with 16 LabTime. Can supply a mod list if you need it.

I can't get my parts to dock at the desired angle either. I've had a frustrating time with two modules for a Duna ship: 1) module 1 (both ports set to 90 degrees) is 90 degrees out of alignment. No matter what I do, if I undock the ports, the Konstruction port will not dock with any other port (Konstruction or otherwise). Therefore I haven't been able to change settings and realign it. 2) module 2 (one port set to 90 degrees, one to 180 degrees) is 180 degrees out of alignment. So I thought I'd undock, change it to 0 degrees (since that would rotate the module 180 degrees, right?) but had the same problem - cant' undock and re-dock with anything, Konstruction port or otherwise.

Yep, it was on.

I had a problem with a month-long mission to Minmus. The ship had three kerbals and an MPL operating as life support. The countdown time showed 23 days. When I skipped ahead 15 days I came back to expired kerbals. After a bit of experimenting with F9 and F5 I found despite the 23-day counter, my kerbals really only had 16 days left, including the 15 day grace period. I think what was happening was that the calculation included the 50% reduction from the MPL recyler on the 15-day grace period, but once supplies ran out and the 50% reduction no longer made sense (becauuse 50% of 0 is 0), it recalculated it. Is this a known problem? Do you need logs/gamedata/Github etc?

Hey @RoverDude, is an IVA something we should expect for the Orca, or have you gone off IVAs? Also out of interest, do you balance your nuke engines (and reactors) against those in other mods, or do you have your own formula?

I think of the two options, I have things confused. I had literally never noticed that the six-wedge core was 1.875m - I'd only ever used the 4 and 8 wedge core. Apologies, as you were!

This is probably a hugely inapprorpiate time to ask as you're all fiendishly busy with 1.2 (a fact for which I am profoundly grateful as this is a completely necessary mod IMO), but... I particularly like the 4 wedges = 1.25m, 6 wedges = 2.5m, 8 wedges = 3.75m maths - very elegant. Any chance that 5 wedges = 1.875m, and if so, any chance of a 1.875m core in US2 for those of us who use a 1.875m mod?

This. Also, did you fire it up before asking? I got no obvious errors, or errors with no workaround from this mod this morning.

Cheers. Great move on the integrated Engineer modules - saves money and time! I did manage to find the light switch while flying a few IVA missions but just neglected to turn it on for those screenshots. It's a nice touch. I do enjoy flying the Brumby from IVA - it's really well made, with great visibility and screen placement. Good to hear about the heatshield too.

Part 7 - We do this thing and the other thing not because it is easy but because it is haaaaaaahd LKO was getting boring, and Werner was getting bored. Hyperion/Atlas had gone too smoothly, and Werner wanted to up the stakes. After mothballing Hyperion Station after the third shift returned, he unveiled his most ambitious project yet: Phoebe. The aim was to land a Kerbal on the surface of each of Kerbin's satellites, and return them safely. After toying with a direct return craft based on Hyperion/Atlas, he realised his planned launch booster would exceed the capacity of current technology. Instead, Munar/Minmar Orbit Rendezvous meant that a single Kerbal could be sent to the Munar/Minmar surface and return. It meant a lot of pilots got to go to the Mun, and not a lot of engineers or Scientists, but it proved to be easier to automate data gathering than piloting. That didn't stop Gene booking a few scientists in for missions as Command Module Pilots, with predictable results... Phoebe Mk I Role: Minmar/Munar Orbiter Missions: Phoebe I, Phoebe II Notes: The blueprints of the Phoebe Mk I are lost to a large and unruly coffee stain (at least we hope it's cofffee). Werner swears it wasn't his fault, but we suspect his protestations are too earnest. Presented below are partial plans reverse engineered from photographs of the transfer stage and the orbiter. The Phoebe was a simple marriage of the Hyperion II/Atlas capsule to a new booster, designed to get the two-Kerbal pod into an elliptical Munar and Minmar orbit and then home. It was a test run for the planned Phoebe Lander missions that the Mk II would execute. In Phoebe I, Maucella and Bob orbited Mun, performing EVAs and various scientific experiments, as well as testing the capsule's capacity to survive the stresses of Trans-Munar Injection and re-entry from Munar orbit. In Phoebe II, Crislyn and Samtree did the same around Minmus. The misssions were uneventful, mainly because WBI had long ironed out the wrinkles of the Hyperion capsule. The Mk I was a reliable workhorse. The transfer stage of the Mk I Booster. Who knows what Werner had designed to go under it; it probably involved Moar Boosters. Phoebe I silhouetted aganst Kerbol, on its Trans-Munar Injection flight. Phoebe I Falling home after a successful mission. Phoebe II showing off the experiment package and electrical power storage aft of the service module. Phoebe II during Service Module jettison, prior to re-entry. Phoebe Mk II Role: Minmar/Munar Lander Missions: Phoebe III, Phoebe IV, Phoebe V, Phoebe VI, Phoebe VII, Phoebe VIII Notes: The capsule had been tested, the booster designed. Orbit around both satellites had been achieved. It was time to figure out what Minmus tasted like. The Phoebe Mk II consisted of four parts - a two-stage booster, a Command/Service Module (CSM), and a Munar/Minmar Module (MM). Phoebe III, IV and V took two pilots to the Mun, landed one of them, and returned them along with the results of some automated, "Jeb-proof" experiments. As Gene grew more desperate to get his Scientists and Engineers flight time, and Werner grew more impatient with the lack of chaos, Phoebe IV, V, VI and VII carried a scientist each. The craft was not without its teething troubles, mainly due to the untried MM. On the single outing of the Mk I, the fairing surrounding the CSM's engine bell got stuck to the MM's docking port, only being shaken free by Munar Ascent. During ascent, the MM ran out of power, necessitating an EVA to rendezvous, with Val carting all the data drives and samples in a bag tethered to her pack. To try and prevent a repeat of Phoebe I's failed rendezvous, the Mk IIb's solar panels were moved from the descent stage to the ascent stage, and the fairing was removed. All that meant was that Crislyn discovered that the batteries didn't last long enough to allow for a dark side rendezvous. Because they would run out of food waiting for a rendezvous trajectory with both inital burn and rendezvous on the light side, Maucella had to manage the dockiing with the dead MM manually from the CSM. For no reason anyone can remember, the Mk IIc didn't have any extra batteries, so once again, a light side rendezvous was a must. Of course it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as both Mk IIc missions involved a scientist, who sat in the slowly-spinning CSM, unable to operate the controls and making docking impossible. The incapacity of scientists to learn even basic piloting was what led to the development of the Hyperion autopilot, seen on the Mk IId, and developed into the MM autopilot for the Artemis program. Both missions involved more EVAs, though over considerably less distance than the KSC's current 3km EVA average. The Mk IId finally saw the installation of an Autopilot module to the CSM and a battery to the MM, making Munar rendezvous a breeze (after only four missions). However, in keeping with the KSC's reputation for the spectacular failure of untested parts, the autopilot module pushed the command capsule out of the heatshield's envelope, causing nearly-catastrophic overheating on re-entry. For some reason, everyone was glad to see the back of the Phoebe craft, though that's maybe only because they hadn't seen the hilarious failures of the Artemis Mk I yet. The Phoebe Mk II Booster Mk II Phoebe III (Val & Jeb, Mun) Mk IIb Capsule Phoebe IV (Maucella & Crislyn, Mun) Mk IIc Phobe V (Val & Maucella, Minmus) Phobe VI (Jeb & Bob, Minmus) Mk IId Phoebe VII (Crislyn & Samtree, Mun) Phoebe VIII (Maucella & Erbree, Minmus) Phoebe III during capture burn at Munar Periapse. The Phoebe III lander on the Mun, engine shroud still attached to the docking port. Phoebe IV CM during dark side docking with the dead MM. Phoebe VII before Crislyn's EVA to the MM. Phoebe VII's Lander on the Munar surface. Note the battery (which was about 3x what was needed for a dark side transit because SHUT UP) and the new comms antenna. Finally they get enough power for a dark side rendezvous, and Phoebe VII's pilots do a light side rendezvous, just to spite me. Next post: The hilarious (and expensive) failures of the Artemis program, hopefully followed by its redemption(?)

Hey @DMagic - is it possible to add a tweakbale that hides the US superstructure on your wedge parts for this mod? You can hide the black and white fairing/shell on the various tank/bag/device wedges, keeping just the tank/bag/device (see monoprop tanks or supply bags for an example). I only ask because I use your wedge parts on 0.625m probes all the time and the wedge doors stick out all weird-like. They'd look much cooler with just the experiment wedges, and I always launch under fairings anyway. As an aesthetic concern only this is hardly an urgent request!

Werner and Gene will be happy! I used the Appaloosa for this exact purpose in the Atlas flights, and found that even configured for science transport it could still carry a passenger as well - is this intentional? I love what your mod does to the early game. Especially with CTT it adds a bunch of well-balanced and interesting engineering challenges. When I get back home in a week I'll post the Phoebe missions - which are Munar and Minmar orbital flights plus a two-Kerbal Apollo-style Munar/Minmar lander - and you'll see they're good for the Mun too! I'm not on 1.2 yet but will update day one of 1.2. Keep up the great work @Angel-125, thanks for reading, and thanks for putting the time into this truly excellent mod.

Part 6 - Stay a while... Walt Kerman had managed to spin the Theia program catastrophe as a public relations windfall, so even after the Selene and Hecate launches, the KSA was flush with funds. The problem was the boosters. You see, they weren't big enough to get to Mun yet. The problem was how to turn all of that lovely cash into lovely science. The answer, of course, was through the medium of explosions, whether controlled or not. The crash development of the Theia Mk III had only been possible because the KSA were already building a prototype 2-Kerbal capsule for the mooted Hyperion project. While the Selene and Hecate programs convinced the public that the KSA really did know what they were doing, Gene and Werner worked hard to bring the Hyperion project to fruition. Hyperion I Role: Orbital Research Craft Missions: Hyperion I Notes: Having subjected Val and Jeb to prolonged stints in Mk-I pods, EVAs of several kilometers each, and the wrong N.O.M.S., the Hyperion was intended to answer one simple question - how long could Val and Bob stay cooped up in a tiny tin can for before killing each other? To this end, the Hyperion made use of several new parts on the Wild Bill Industries' part catalogue. WBI had refurbished Titan tanks as cabins (complete with bunks) and laboratories, ready for long(er)-term habitation. Werner strapped a Hyperion capsule to the top of a stack of these new parts, slapped some solar panels on the side, and christened the result 'Hyperion,' for the Titan of knowledge.The weight of the new craft couldn't be hauled into orbit by even the modified Theia booster, so Werner broke out the new 2.5m tanks and a 'Skipper' engine. Even then TWR was low, so four SRBs were bolted on to give the craft that extra kick. The Hyperion was as plagued by problems as all of Werner's previous designs. Only once on-orbit did the most critical error become apparent - the solar panels were only good for about half the draw of the life support systems and lab equipment combined. Val and Bob rejected the suggestion that life support be turned off. For about a month the two Kerbals orbited Kerbin, juggling battery charge enough to get one of the four experiments completed, and decided to call it a day. As Val was firing the engine to initiate reentry, Bob noticed the second major flaw in Werner's mission design: there was nowhere to pack the completed experiment in the Hyperion capsule. Val pulled the separator lever with contempt, and the two crew watched their ill-fated vessel and erstwhile home burn up in Kerbin's atmosphere with few regrets. Hyperion I in orbit Hyperion I's reentry capsule after separation Hyperion I burns up in atmosphere Hyperion I returns safe Hyperion II Role: Orbital Research Craft Missions: Hyperion II Notes: Hyperion II was notweworthy only because it managed to do everything that Hyperion I had failed to do. Val and Embree Kerman successfully completed all four experiments in the time allotted and brought all four back to Kerbin without mishap. Amazing what enough solar panels and experiment storage can achieve! Hyperion II on-orbit. Hyperion Base Role: Permanent orbital research installation Missions: Hyperion III, Hyperion IV, Hyperion V, Hyperion VI Notes: Gene and Mortimer Kerman had only one question for Werner after Hyperion-II: Wouldn't it have been cheaper to plan for Hyperion-I to have stayed up, so they could have fixed it on-orbit, rather than having to destroy it in re-entry and replace the whole ship every time? On second thought, Werner agreed, and set about designing a docking mechanism. Using the same Hyperion booster but freed of the excessive weight of the Hyperion craft, Werner broke the functions of the base up into discrete modules, as follows: Hyperion III: batteries, airlock, docking hub Hyperion IV: habitat and supplies Hyperion V: laboratories and experiments Hyperion VI: docking hub and resupply Werner also made use of one of WBI's newest catalogue items - the 'wet workshop conversion'. Instead of having to fly the workshops and habitats into orbit already fitted out for the mission, instead the modules were filled with fuel and oxidiser, and the Kerbonauts brought the equipment for conversion with them in their Atlas shuttles. After the collective experience gained from the Theia III & IV and VI & VII rendezvous missions (and the development, finally, of RCS ports for more precise maneuvering), as well as the electrical engineering experience gained form Hyperion I, the launches and construction of Hyperion Base was weirdly mishap free. Initially Hyperion V was to be the last launch, but complaints form the first shift on the station caused the design and launch of the docking hub and significant changes to Atlas mission profile. Maucella and Bob, who were responsible for the reconfiguration of the station from wet to dry workshop and the first shift, reported several obstacles to productivity. Maucella noted that although this time there was sufficient battery life for a dark-side transit and sufficient solar panel real estate to keep the station functioning at full power, the non-tracking panels meant constant reorientation of the station and considerable waste of Monopropellant. Bob noted that with three seats spare in the science module, the labs weren't working at full efficiency. Thus Hyperion VI was hurriedly launched so that alll three Atlas shifts could dock simultaneously and the station could work at full efficiency with a crew of 6. Hyperion Core Hyperion Habitat Hyperion Science Hyperion Docking airlock hub unit (3x docking ports) batteries 2x WBI habitat modules solar panels conversion equipment monoprop N.O.M.S 2x WBI M.O.L.E. lab modules solar panels research material monoprop experiments docking hub (3x ports) solar panels conversion equipment monoprop batteries A sample Hyperion Booster. This one came from Hyperion III. Hyperion IV and V launched with no fairing, and the fairing for Hyperion VI was flared to accommodate the module's wider solar panels. Hyperion III and IV docked Hyperion Base backlit after successful docking of Hyperion IV and V Atlas I docked at Hyperion Base Reconfiguring Hyperion in the dark - Maucella moves Atlas-I off the station as Hyperion VI approaches. The Hyperion VI docking manuever emerges into sunlight. Hyperion Base with all three Atlas missions docked Atlas Role: Crew and supply shuttle Missions: Atlas I (Maucella and Bob), Atlas II (Jeb and Erbree) , Atlas III (Val and Alet) Notes: The Atlas shuttle was a necessary component of the Hyperion program, but Werner also used it as a testbed for the upcoming Phoebe Munar orbiter program. Initially the plan was to use the Hyperion capsule, but only one such capsule remained after the initial two had been used for the Theia VIII and IX rescue craft. Thus there were two models of Atlas: Atlas I and II used the Ia, which was a new capsule that held two Kerbals side-by-side but contained no experiment storage. Atlas III used the Ib (the old Hyperion capsule), which held two Kerbals in tandem and in separately-pressurised cabins, and also had experiment storage. Both models mated with the Phoebe service module and launched on the same booster. Curiously, even though the bulkhead separating occupants in the older Hyperion/Atlas capsule meant that occupants were insulated from accidental depressurisations and made EVAs easier, everybody preferred sitting next to their colleagues, and the newer side-by-side capsule became standard. Turns out an accidental depressurisation is less likely if someone whose life depends on you doing your job right is watching your every move. Atlas/Phoebe capsule A Atlas/Hyperion Capsule B 2x Kerbals side-by-side Phoebe service module No experiment storage 2x Kerbals in tandem separate pressurised cabins experiment storage Atlas I approaches Hyperion Base with the first shift on board Optics from Jeb's GoPro on Atlas II Atlas III approaches Hyperion Base Next post - the Phobe Program: Mun and Minmus orbiters and landers, built on experience from Selene and Hyperion/Atlas!