Jestersage

I am much less oppose to ISRU/refueling TBH. It's just that it seems much easier to do it without worrying the lab, even though it's only 3.5t For Mk3 build, should I go with the standard ISRU/Drill, or go for the smaller ones?

Thanks for the idea. Probably the reason I am having issues from time to time is fear of the red plasma, so it didn't have enough speed.

Huh. On another thread (interplanetery design) one of the poster stated that he can go to Duna on a Mk3 SSTO with the lab and all the science fixings, and I am double checking on Matt Lowe's Design and val, and they both doesn't have one. I know I am not talking about the Orange Tank, but still.... Edit: Even though he stopped at Ike first, it doesn't change the fact he's going out of LKO.

Now that i finally got KER, I decide to actually go and do some SSTO. What is the actual typically range of a well build SSTO with Mk3 parts, carrying about 20t (lab, all science package on a platform, seperate rover, ISRU and Drill)? Can it reach Minmus and back without refueling, or to Duna one-way? And yes, i want a small separate rover, just to make travel better, not to mention I do not trust landing gear as wheels well enough based on 1.1.3 experience. EDIT: Re-clarify my title. Mk2 SSTO is easy. It's Mk3 while carrying rover and lab that is a bit more difficult.

Okay, I have placed the KER in the gamedata folder. What else do I need to do, aside from making sure the button called "partless" are depressed?

EDIT: so on another thread I asked about the range, and the general concensus is that, Unless it is very well built and/or other shenenaigans, flying a Mk-3 based SSTO stock is difficult. I will probably go back to Mothership/Duna direct for my Duna mission for now. That being said, I got the KER 1.1.2. How do I use it to plan it?

If you are using Lifting body/Shuttle/SSTO, and you are coming in from Mun or any high orbits, you will need to use airbrakes, by lowering Pe to about 55km to lower some speed. Once that's sufficent, you will need to enter it liek shuttle, staying at around 30 degreess to enter Kerbin.

One of the nice thing I like about SimCity (since classic from Maxim, btw) is that occasionally there are disaster, which force you to confront them. Perhaps KSP can implement something similar for Career mode, which also force people to adapt instead of "SSTO all the time" or "Rocket up all the time." Example would be "Funding Cut and Freeze" for 42 hours (1 kerbal week). Because of the extra accounting, you cannot afford to paid for the nice rockets, but you can go cheap by using SRB for first stage and launch REALLY small probes. Or runway is being using for some Presidental campaign and thus is unavailable for a while. The keypoint is that it may limit options, but should not completely prevent launches or builds. So players can still go to SPH or VAB to design the ship, but unable to launch it, for example; or have tracking station temporary drop a level.

Cheat menu is "Alt-F12" for PC keyboards; command-F12 for Apple

Well, I imagine it would need at least a CRG-100 payload bay... TBH that's a good question: There are many good designs, including the DC-3, yet we ended up with the STS Shuttle.

Aside from Skylon, is it possible to build SSTO in KSP based on Nixon-Agnew-Airforce requirement (budget, crossrange, and carrying capability)? EDIT: As someone pointed out, all our SSTO require Rapier and NTR. Can we still do SSTO with only the LF-O rockets/Standard Jets AND having a large cargo bay?

When you are tempted to buy a car because of Isp and TWR instead of Horsepower... and think a SMART car is good (Vancouver roads notwithstanding)

Thanks crackerbal. Just to let you know I put my Mk3 spaceplane, with a lab as payload, on a 71km orbit with 456 unit of LF to spare. Going to start experiment them on Sandbox a bit more.

Do I use the one from the Curseforge, or the github? I recall one version is actually updated for 1.2. EDIT: Found that teh one on github is the right one. Should I install the version from curseforge, and overwrite files from github? Or shall I just use the one from github? O know it's gonna be from the output folder.

This one?

@crackerbel I will have to re-read this a few times, so when you can, please edit it so I can understand a bit better. Thank you for the advice anyway. The reason that I didn't choose SSTO is that the most luck I have with SSTO flying are those that use Mk2 Parts (and those are not even my designs), and only barely. My requirement is a lab in Duna Orbit or Landed on Duna, requiring Mk3 parts. I may take a look at Matt Lowe's design and craft files. Another thing that make it so difficult is that I am running multiple contracts at the same time, and trying to pipeline between the multiple ship is just starting to get difficult. I have to save scrum a few times already, and that's just Mun and Minmus contracts. But I will try to build one based on Rhino or 2x Vector+Adapter (I find it funny that it's lighter to go with Vector and Bi-Adaptor, and it's only two extra parts.) EDIT: Your pictures are not spam. It may give me some ideas.

Another issue is that somehow I cannot create intersect when i am in a 75km LKO, but one of my throwaway probe (to test a TR-XL for contract) managed to create an intercept with maneveur nodes So the question is: Where do I do my intercept? Should I: Do it in 75km Do it at 120km A Mun Orbit? A Minmus Orbit An orbit between Mun and Kerbin? An orbit between Minmus and Kerbin? A solar orbit (Outside of Kerbin SOI)? By the Delta-V maps, it implies that I am suppose to do a Solar orbit (escape Kerbin SOI), then do an intercept to Duna. Can someone confirm that?

On a sidenote: About how much smaller is the Shuttle DC-3 compared to the One we ended up having? All I got is that the DC-3 have 5.7 ton payload and diameter of 5m, compared to 24.4 ton and diameter of 8.7m of STS

So the steps (aside from taking a look at real-world designs/studies) is to build the entire in-orbit configuration, take a look at the mass, then readjust the NTR as needed before parcel them into different launches? EDIT: The only "mod" that I have installed was the semi-official parts overhaul, which I removed soon to prevent my ship unflyable in pure stock. That being said, a nice thing about that mod is that it's all in one folder. Can KER be uninstalled just as easily, simply by removing a folder? Does KER auto-disable itself upon detecting a new release? EDIT 2: Is it even possible to launch a ship to Duna SOI in Year 1, Day 19? I am thinking of putting a Duna Direct as a backup

Gundam is famous for two things: 1- mecha (duh) 2- Colony Drop. If we go by UC timeline, a colony will be 6.4km x 36km type-III O'Neill cylinder. So my question (picking the brains of people who is a bit more knowledgable in Science), if someone from L2 want to attack earth by putting colonies in L1 and L4 toward Earth intercept, how much colonies do they need to drop to destroy an underground base? Paralyzee Earth's government warrign capability? Force a long enough winter to make everyone to migrate off Earth? Or is it better to just go with some crazy nukes like Russia's Satan 2?

What I meant is going from Kerbin to either Duna OR Eve OR Dres, not all three at the same time. A flyby involving Eve and Duna is a different story, and in that case I feel I can do it with good old fashion LF-O rockets Revision: Launch from Kerbin parking Orbit. May as well as launch or move a spacestation up to the parking orbit, but need to know altitude to put it. 4 is still gonna be minimum NTR. Since I saw a design with 3 tanks together, each with 3 NTR design, was actually debating to go to 9. I know that even at baseline Constellation (3 NTR) it will have enough delta V, just that the burn time will be bad.

One of the issues I have with the rovemate probe is that the orientation actually points up. If I cannot rebuild the rover, are there other ways to orient it so that it face forward or backward?

I think the only planets I will bother are Duna, Eve, and MAYBE Dres. Obviously I am concern with TWR and Delta-V, and since I do not use KER, I am literally building by feels. In a sense the ship I am planning to build is a scaled down Constellation (i.e. less surface-to-orbit launch). I could have just gone with one of Raptor9's design, but since his is focused on looks over functionality, he goes with the SLS-size Fuselage instead of Mk3 LF Fuselage. There are also a few Duna Direct ships, but not sure how much easier/difficult those are. Being a total noob (actually even less than that for I just reached Minmus), There are a few things I want: Maximize the range of launch window. I expect the ship will be launching from either Mun orbit, Minmus orbit, or one of the high Kerbin orbit. EDIT: Do not require more than 1 minute of burntime per manuveur Ship will be reused. Travel between Kerbin SOI and Duna/Eve SOI Need a lab. The lab doesn't have to land on Duna. {Probably gonna be on the ship.) Minimum need for refueling from Duna for the inteplanetery ship. May do it for the Duna lander. (The interplanetary ship will be attempted to get topped up either from Kerbin or Mun refinery before departure) If doing Eve, it will be an Orbiting mission with Robolander and relays. No Delta V guage (pure stock gaming)

Yes, I know about the SSTOs provided by some fellow forum members (eg: Matt Lowe), but I want to build something of my own; not to mention that SSTO for interplanetery require better flight capability than I have as of now. I am planning to make something similar to the Von Braun NERVA/Constellation Mars Mission. I am starting with the largest Mk3 LF tank, and put some NERV thrusters on it. So far I am using 7. Tested it with the on-build hyperedit to Mun, and it seems to be okay (using about a minute burn) Is that too much, or is that acceptable?