MaxwellsDemon

I didn't have much time for KSP (nor will I this weekend) but I did spend some time poking around Roverdude's 'MKS-Lite' simplified colony system.

Also similar in a way to the "drive" in David Drake's Daniel Leary/Adele Mundy RCN series. Though there the transition is not actually instantaneous-- the ships spend considerable time in the Matrix, "sailing" between universes/electrical potentials-- it's not a place where two ships can interact, so all of the action happens sub-light.

My very first Minmus landing (in my 1.0.4 campaign) was Jeb landing on his own when he became separated from his lander during an ill-judged EVA in pursuit of science points from the EVA report. (Once I gave up trying to get back to the lander, I switched to it, aborted-to-orbit, then switched back and saw what I could do with Jeb and his EVA propellant. He stuck a stand-up landing and planted a flag, and the lander made a once-around and picked him up. And I was laughing like a maniac about it for hours.)

The Good Doctor usually was. But, as far as the OP goes, we're talking "plausible" rather than "possible;" so, as a narrative/dramatic device, we need to first assume the possibility of a FTL drive, and then construct what would least interfere with what we know about the universe and physics... something that requires the shortest possible leap of logic, as it were. (Incidentally, in my own SF ideas I referred to above, I specifically chose a method that would cause time to elapse-- for the characters at least-- during the transit, for storytelling purposes. A sudden shift to a new location didn't fit the style of what I was going for.)

Or Harry Harrison (much as I enjoyed Deathworld and the Stainless Steel Rat). -- a Civil War buff I'd bet against it myself, but I'm leaving some wiggle-room since my omniscience is limited to the point of nonexistence. Asimov, I recall, did specifically refer to FTL drives as narrative/dramatic devices rather than being scientific ones.

Literal FTL is definitely a pipe dream. But if physics-as-we-know-it is merely a special case within a more-general field of physics, as with Einstein not contradicting Newton but rather showing Newton as a special case of a more general situation, then there might be another way to get there. But it still won't be possible to speed up and surpass the speed of light...

To me, it means another way of experiencing something I'm interested in. I've always taken a rather "multimedia" approach to my interests, instinctively; it's not enough to read about something, I want to draw it, play with it, sing about it, and whatever else I can do to increase my understanding... to borrow a Heinleinism, to really grok it. It's not good enough to merely read about space and space exploration; I want to watch films about it, look at art depicting it, go to museums and historic sites associated with it, and (ideally) meet people who are involved in it. And 'playing' with it (or, simulating it, if you prefer) is another route to that sort of immersion.

Oh, I don't have the core rulebook anymore, nor the time (especially with KSP considered)!

Once upon a time, I started to write some science fiction stories. I was inspired by the game 'Traveller,' Poul Anderson, Asimov, and Niven in particular, and wanted to stay as close to 'hard' science fiction as possible. Eventually, I realized two things: 1) Almost all of what I came up with was derivative rather than original, and 2) the original stuff usually didn't end up making a whole lot of sense. (For instance: I had this dramatic image of a space warship suddenly surrounded by a cloud of icy particles as it vented its atmosphere prior to combat, to avoid explosive decompression. I loved it. But i couldn't reconcile it with the terrible waste of resources of sending out your atmosphere into the void and then having to replace it later...) I did like playing with real and almost-real technologies like railguns, particle beams, and electro-magnetic defense shielding. I went through a phase where my 'space marines' a la Starship Troopers were armored with mirrorlike reflective armor (think old-style Cylons) against laser attack, but then I realized that when you reflect a laser, it goes somewhere else, perhaps somewhere in your own ranks and takes out one of your buddies, so that was out... Anyway, the "Collins Drive"* I came up with was generally along the lines of a 'stutterwarp' or phasing system like in Anderson's Flandry books, and I imagined it like a needle and thread weaving through the fabric of space-time (making the use of the term fabric particularly apt), where a vehicle in "our" space-time is not actually moving faster than light at any given point, but "skips" along at a speed that ends up being FTL. I envisioned a generator that 'wove' through the fabric in a way that could be visualized as a sine wave, and then postulated that (a la Flandry) a warship would need to match phase with a target in order to hit it-- so, to avoid that, one could hook up several generators with varying wave patterns to make the pattern complex and harder to match; and I decided that it was reasonable that gravity would have an effect on the 'fabric,' basically making it a 'denser weave' so that you could flicker in and out of phase in any gravity field, but that it would be much less efficient, to the extent that FTL "velocities" were unattainable deep in a gravity field without a LOT of power. It held some water storywise, anyway. But as I said, it was basically derivative rather than original. * Ostensibly named after the inventor, Adrienne Collins, and a bit of a nod to Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. I was elated by the coincidence of shuttle commander Eileen Collins, but that was years after I was fiddling with these stories...

I never found anyone to play it with I do still have a copy of 'Ironclads and Aether Flyers,' as part of my collection of 19th-Century naval combat rules systems, though.

Oh, I'm not saying we need a 'luminiferous aether' mod or anything like that... but some of the concepts 1889 plays with (solar boilers, heliograph communication) would fall neatly into the steampunk category. (AFAIK, 1889 was rather in advance of the 'steampunk' concept-- I don't recall hearing that term till later.)

In my experience, the best way to avoid something in an atmospheric landing is to aim at it.

Let's see about posting some pix... Hathor 2 at Eve: Horus docking at the Skylab-inspired Station Alpha: Horus-Isis approaching Minmus: KSS while under construction: Current state of KSS (nearing completion):

I'm surprised that the game Space: 1889 hasn't come up in this thread...

Stuff to think about, and stuff to try. Excellent! Thank you. As I said, it's not an insoluble problem-- just some concepts I need to fold the right way to stick into my brain-slot.

One thing that continually challenges me is rendezvous manuevering. When you're close (within a few hundred meters), it's straightforward. You essentially can act as if your target is at rest with respect to your vessel, and a thrust towards the target gets you closer to it, one away from it gets you farther away from it, and so on. When you're really far away, it's still straightforward. To speed up, slip into a lower orbit; to slow down, raise the orbit. To adjust inclination, thrust 'south' or 'north' as required. But there's a middle zone, one that appears to extend from a kilometer to several kilometers from your target, where it's not at all obvious... a thrust toward your target does not get you closer to your target. It's all because of the relative orbital motions, of course, and is perfectly explainable in mathematical terms, but it can be doggone frustrating in seat-of-the-pants flying. I remember first encountering this phenomenon on my old Apple //e in a space shuttle simulator; matching orbits was (relatively) easy, docking was (relatively) easy, but the approach between the two was the hard part. My brain might just not be wired right to fully "get" it. I can understand what's going on in an intellectual sense, but it doesn't seem that I can fully absorb it for some reason... Anyone else notice this, or is it my own special handicap?

Successfully docked the analogues of the Columbus ("Gurumba") and Kibo ("Khert-Ib") lab modules to the ISS-inspired KSS space station! This brings it up to operational status and the Expedition 1 crew launched in Horus T-4 to put the station into full operation. They are currently in a phasing orbit in LKO preparatory to rendezvous. The Expedition 1 crew will conduct some initial experiments and tests, start the life-support systems, and make several EVAs to install reinforcing struts and additional exterior hardware. Additions yet to be launched include the "Hapy" hydroponics module, an additional accommodations module for transient and visiting personnel, and the Orbital Runabout utility vehicle (which will also function as an additional emergency return capsule). The orbital tug was deorbited after fulfilling its mission of installing several modules. Hathor 2 refined its orbit and made the first of several low passes over Eve, taking readings on areas of the planet unobserved by Hathor 1. Hathor 2 is still in a highly eccentric orbit in readiness for an anticipated Gilly rendezvous, timing yet to be determined. Horus 23 is being readied for the last of the Minmus survey missions. Improvements to launch pad Beta were completed, bringing it up to full status. A third launch pad, Gamma, is planned.

The ones I have to have--- to the extent that I didn't upgrade to 1.1.2/3 until some of the mods caught up--- StockBugFix I don't even really consider a "mod." I can't stand the way parachutes clip into each other in vanilla, for one thing. KAC Kerbal Alarm Clock: Should be in stock. There's really not a good way of keeping up with multiple simultaneous missions without it or some sort of replacement for it. MechJeb: Naturally. I'm no longer dependent on it, but it taught me a lot about rendezvous and docking, for instance, just watching how it did things. Sometimes my launches go better manually-controlled, but there's something to be said for firing something off the pad, then being able to step away from the keyboard for IRL concerns and come back to find it safely in LKO and ready for the next step. It's darn handy and phoo on anyone who turns up their nose at it. [x] Science: It's tough to play career without some sort of science checklist; this is my favorite of the ones I've tried out. KCT Kerbal Construction Time: this has really changed my playing, and for the better. For one thing, sending out a jillion rovers a day to sample science around KSC just isn't practical anymore, so it makes me actually launch stuff and go places to get science. It also makes me look at contracts more strategically, identifying which ones should be snapped up and which ones should be ignored. Plus, I like having multiple launch pads. StageRecovery: Really helpful to use alongside KCT. Chatterer: Adds a good amount of 'background' noise and verisimilitude. KAS/KIS Kerbal Attachment System/Kerbal Inventory System: Perhaps not a "must-have" but a "really-like-to-have," opening up a lot of options. One of my favorite parts of it is to be able to dock two modules and then send out an engineer to install some reinforcing struts. ScanSat: Love the additional science gizmos and mapping. USI Life Support: This is one I've tried out only relatively recently, and I really like it. Adds a bit of realism and design constraints without deluging me in accounting work. Indicator Lights: Another recent one that I like for the visual clues it gives, especially in terms of battery power remaining. I haven't found any real use for the base "light" part, but that's not the most important element of it. I think all other mods I have are basically parts packs. I've tried some others at times, but these seem to be the "core group."

I'd have to say there are three proudest moments... so far. Number one was a successful Munar landing in my first (1.0.4) campaign. (Despite all the advice about going to Minmus first, the pull of the Mun was simply unavoidable.) Number two was successfully putting a rover on Duna in my second (1.0.5) campaign. Number three is a work-in-progress in my 1.1.3 campaign, the construction of an ISS-analogue station in low Kerbin orbit. I hope my number-four will be mastering a good landing-strip landing. We will see how that goes!

I'm glad this came up. I had been obsessing over precise reaction-wheel placement and knowing that I can relax on that and put it where it's convenient or aesthetically-pleasing is a relief.

Several versions of Mars-mission proposals are based on sending a 'fuel-factory' lander ahead of the crewed mission to prepare return-trip fuel. It hasn't actually been done, at least yet, but it's not merely science fiction; I understand that it's considered possible. I think there's still debate over the practicalities and whether it's actually an economical way to do it.

Coincidentally--- or perhaps not--- trebuchets were precisely what this thread brought to my mind as well!

Just a bit of modular designing (inspired in part by Raptor 9's awesome work) and adjusting the orbit of Hathor 2 in preparation for a low-delta-V Gilly intercept. Also made several false starts on designing an 'ore-prospecting' rover but wasn't happy with any of them. To do later...

Yeah, though I usually discover it at the point where a Kerbal EVA is out of the question! But I'll definitely check out the move gizmo. If i can get it right once, I can save it as a subassembly and not have to worry about it subsequently.

Thanks. I'll give that a whirl!