Xandufar

It worked! Mission success! I've been trying to do this on and off for almost as long as I've been playing ksp. It's ironic that I basically threw in the towel and asked for help literally one night before I finally pulled it off. Thanks for the input!

All the tanks are full, so idk.

It's interesting you bring this up. I've been working on this mission for longer than I care to admit, and one of my earlier attempts included a similar "lawn dart" feature on top of my lander. It helped a lot, but it wasn't enough. An upside down inflatable heat shield on top finally worked for me.

My explanation was probably confusing, but no boosters were added to the actual lander itself. The only boosters I added were for separate, lower stages needed to get the lander to Eve orbit without using the "Set Orbit" cheat.

The fuel level is the same: full. The altitude is the same, etc. The "control from here hypothesis" is interesting, but that can also be ruled out. I experimented by comparing my test lander to the one on my completed craft. I simply subtracted everything from the completed craft that was not on the test lander, until they both had the same part count, mass, configuration, etc. One turns and burns, the other punches through. My theory right now is that the construction process left behind some fatal computer code artifact that's invisible in the VAB. Sounds crazy, but that's what I got. I'm gonna try starting over with the one that doesn't crash, rebuild the complete craft, and see what happens.

Yeah I did all that. Having an inflatable heat shield on top and bottom is essential. Like I said, everything worked fine in the test phase. Thanks for your response though!

I've been working on one of the most difficult missions in KSP: Plant a flag on Eve, and return the Kerbal that planted that flag to Kerbin. I finally figured out how to build a huge lander that, when tested from the "set orbit" cheat, descends retrograde through the atmosphere of Eve protected by an inflatable heatshield, lands, and returns to orbit, no problem. That's no small accomplishment! However, when I add boosters mean enough to get it to Eve without cheating, the SAME EXACT lander, descending from the SAME orbit, and the same EVERYTHING as far as I know, burns up in the atmosphere of Eve because it will not stay retrograde. At about 45 km, when the heat is on, it begins to tilt, leaving it unprotected from the heatshield :[ Smart A.S.S. makes no difference. Nothing I know makes a difference. Very aggravating! Any insights would be appreciated.

Just came across this thread. A couple years ago I made a craft that could do this challenge with the possible exception of disassembly. (I hadn't tried) I was in career mode fulfilling a contract for a base on the Mun with something like 14 kerbals, and a bunch of fuel. I put a miner on it to get the job done. The mover can rendevous and/or decouple at it's top, front, or rear. I hope someone enjoys. https://imgur.com/a/PcDxs Anyone can add as many hitchhikers as you want with the first craft. MUN EXPANDABLE BASE https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I9dz0bIJulKcoOsUh3KXNYedjUtSEAaD/view?usp=sharing MUN EXPANDABLE TANK https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tvZYrB656LmUJ6wZG1UMa2YPupEKGmQE/view?usp=sharing MUN EXPANDABLE MINER https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LIxVibP8GkhTU7n8yGCRirBxtsTqbJVi/view?usp=sharing Sorry I have lazy man mechjeb. If you don't need mechjeb, then you don't need my craftfiles.

What did I do today? I spent most of my spare time playing KSP. Otherwise, I lamented the fact that I spent my college years studying relatively irrelevant subjects instead of STE or M. I coulda been a contender!