Wcmille

Yes. Bring 550 Ore to Kerbin from Mun, in this case.

Trying to think through my options for running ore-to-Kerbin missions. I have nice flat bases on Mun and Minmus. I could make a rocket that does the whole thing, or I could just haul the tanks around across craft. How are you doing those missions?

I'd suggest practicing building your bases on the flats of Minmus to get started. The most important thing is to recreate the same dock port versus lander leg height. Some people create a standard base that they mount everything on to ensure consistent height. I also watched you tube videos of people constructing bases to see their technique.

I think the properties of a good mini-game are: They aren't strictly necessary, otherwise they become an unfun chore if you are trying to do something else. They are also more work for new players who already have a lot to learn. They encourage the design and deployment of spacecraft to solve them better. This seems to be the main objective of KSP, so we should support that goal.

I enjoy finding good landing zones for bases on Mun that are both ore rich and flat. Maybe you could have randomized "science Easter eggs" (scientifically significant finds) in each biomes that you could search fore and gain additional science by running experiments on them. That way, you could gain some enjoyment by systematically searching biomes.

See also:

Refining Ore in orbit offers a playability advantage. You switch the ISRU on, and then everything auto-refuels. You don't have to care about the type of fuel or where the tank is, it just gets refueled. Here's my Mun-rated hauler. It lands nearly empty, with empty rocket fuel tanks, and the liquid fuel about half-full. The poodles aren't used for descent. To launch, Poodles and Nervs get it up into the air. The Poodles cut out at about 8000m, and the NERVs get it to the station. I believe the RCS are balanced for docking (full ore, empty rockets, half-full liquid).

Here's my "Northern Lights" payload from 1.0.5. This design is made for Eeloo. The center driver rocket positions into polar orbit and scans the planet. Then the space probes are released into polar orbit at even intervals. Landing probes release to make surface contacts at various promising biomes.

@Thormack if you are not comfortable with calculus, try this: Instead of using average mass to do your calculations, use a row in your spreadsheet to calculate the change in speed and mass each second. After you've set up the first two rows, then just clone the rows until the rocket is out of fuel. It won't work out *exactly* the same, because you are still making approximations, but it should be much closer.

In 1.2, can large probe cores do anything special? What is a "Probe Control Point"? How do they work? Where is their documentation?

I like the high-altitude gravity & temperature scan missions. You put up a network of polar satellites, and its like collecting free money.

@tseitsei89Could you say more about how auto-boarding helps you? When you say you need kerbals to auto-board for challenges, why is that? Is this because of revert-to-hangar, or something else?

Are you having trouble with all planes, or just space planes?

Here's a Duna lander I used in 1.0.5. Comments: The idea is to land with little or no rocket power, and use rockets for ascent. The airbrakes deploy first, then the drogues, then the main chutes. The entire scientific array is accessible by ladder, making it easy to retrieve and reset science experiments. Small, one-shot rovers were dropped beneath the fuel tanks (not pictured). Critique: In 1.2.2, you'll want an antennae and possibly a control module. This craft was landed by a drone module, just above the Science Jr. The fuel lines could be removed in 1.2.2. The RCS could be more thoughtfully designed.

Some thoughts: The command module can also have an awful TWR, but the lander TWR must be good enough to land. Awful TWR can mean better dV, letting it do more work. The lowest energy circular arrival/departure orbit is its gate orbit. There should be no reason to arrive at a higher altitude. Arriving lower may be advantageous, because the command module is doing the work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_orbit I find the higher in orbit something is, the easier it is to rendezvous with it, because it's accelerating less, and there's more play in designing rendezvous orbits. It may also be advantageous from a playability perspective to place the orbit where you can time warp adequately.

I'd love to see what people are up to with satellites. I have small, ultra-lite probes and massive comsats. What standard satellites are you making and deploying?

That's interesting that its constant. So what does this imply about a filling strategy? It appears to mean that you want to supply from the smallest possible tank when in a hurry?

I have two reasons for Mun: 1. I "race the clock" and rarely speed up time for many days on end. I usually work on some other mission, and speed up the game only an hour or two at a time. You can get to Mun in under a day for ~830 dV. Getting to Minmus takes days. 2. I also like to have my interplanetary station at Mun, because refueling at Mun is like getting 600 dV for free when you go interplanetary. You can do this from Minmus, but the Minmus orbital period is much longer, so you can miss ideal launch windows, and you don't get a nice, flat, ejection.

What is the method to precisely engineer intakes such that you are not carrying more weight than necessary?

Given a tank, T0, which is full, of volume Vo, and number of tanks, T1, T2, T3, and T4... Tn, which are all empty and same size, Vi: How long does it tank for T0 to empty, assuming it can (e.g. its Vo < Vi * n)?

If the landing strut is compressed too much, it will fail. stress is created in two ways: the speed at which the strut is compressing times the damping coefficient. the square of the distance that the strut is compressed times the spring coefficient.

Also see this discussion:

Here's an Imgur album, please comment and vote: https://imgur.com/gallery/4ynl5

How many HG-5s would you need?

Antennae stack; can't you just put more on your vehicle until the communication works?