morganchane

Sorry for wasting everyone's time, even though I'd skimmed through the documentation more than once, I absolutely missed that quite a few of the Hangars are meant to store a single craft (and/or) single use). When using one of the non single craft ones the problem went away. However, it could stand to reason to edit the part descriptions so that it stands out a little bit more that that is the case, since in my install the Single use detail was all the way down and out of sight in the object properties, and the presence of the +1 button in the Edit Contents menu, together with the "Part is already loaded" message threw me off course in the search for the solution, enlightment and an increase in boosters. Thanks again for the quick reply @damerell

Hi I've just recently discovered this mod and really like the concept, but I've run into a bit of a stumbling block however, at design time. I'm planning to use my first ever hangar to keep the part count down, and to work around the finnicky nature of trying to put fairings and stacking stuff which lack top nodes, on a transfer stage carrying several relays with large dishes headed for the outer planets. I made my sample relay as a subassembly and sized the hangar up until it would fit, and then confidently hit the +1 button (capacity is at 9% so I'm guessing it should fit a few more) but all I get a "Part is already stored" message. I've also tried adding the extra relay as a saved vessel but got the same result. I'm running: KSP 1.12.3.3173 with Hangar - 3.6.2.2 I'm also running a fairly consistent set of other mods: https://controlc.com/a3486f69 Let me know if I'm doing something wrong or share logs or test something specific. Thanks in advance, Paolo Manili

Hi there, I was a great fan of this mod in the past, and have recently come back to KSP. I'm using CKAN as a mod manager, is there a chance this mod gets updated for the latest release? Or is it not updated but still compatible? Or has it been incorporated in the game or other mod? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the kerbalx vehicle suggestion, I'm going to try it out and report. My attempt at heavy lifting heliquads resulted in failure as I had a hard time with the flight modes and balance, but I'll give it a try (I pilot rc drones and gliders IRL so I guess I have to mostly get my thumbs translated to WASD and such, which brings to mind I might want to attach my Radio simulator to KSP somehow for analog control ). Regarding standardized boosters yes, absolutely, I found that although fun, I resent having to retry launching stages again and again because the cheapest thrown together booster couldn't cut it. I currently have standard SSTO boosters for 1-3 Ton, 6-8 Ton, 15 Ton and 15-20 Ton (With Stage Recovery compatible SRB assisted first stage), and a 30-40 Ton booster. They all range in cost between 10K and 100K but dragging them back to KSC to recover nets only spent fuel as a real expense, and that's very cheap luckily. I semi standardized reentry profiles now by always having either Mainsail plus Glenn Medium legs and ring, or Mammoth and Large combo, they seem to reenter at similar drag rates. I also found that offbalance RCS is a lot easier than humongous reaction wheels on the way down (It would be fun if it were cheaper on the way up too). Yes with help from trajectories mod I have now gotten into the around 0-5Km from KSC landings and those are a breeze.

Hi, I finally managed to get back with some results. I haven't yet perfected a New Glenn Style launch (I currently have trouble with reversing course on the first stage). But I have taken up and experimented with Trajectories mod and have to say it's nothing short of fantastic. (Apart from the occasional game crash upon clicking on prograde - retrograde but I run a very heavily modded game so I take crashes into account with frequent saves during manuevers). I have moved from MechJeb landing in the 20-50 Km range west of KSC to consistently within 10 Km, often better still. I have also found out that unbalanced RCS (i.e at the top of the rocket rather than on CG) works wonders for reentry attitude control, winglets would probably be better still but I need more time to test. Regarding the recovery aspect, I have experimented some more, and for smaller stuff, PAL Konstruction cranes do the job nicely (Read, command pods, but those are cheap anyhow), but they are a bit light on the pull for 50 Ton rockets. I have experimented with Heli quads with a Klaw but find that I cannot mate them reliably without crashing or toppling the landed stages (Perhaps that could work if I landed the stages sideways but their cg on liftoff would be a nightmare. I also tried Kerballoons, turning a few on after landing so that the rockets just glides on the surface and have a single electric prop pull it off to KSC, but it takes ages and feels cheaty. I stil hope someday the problems of Infernal Robotics with Klaws and Docking Ports get solved it would be so much easier (Even for orbital operations). I am also trying to redesign towards smaller boosters with first stage SRBs recovered with Stage Recovery, but they only shave a little weight off given if your are lifting 30Ton out of the atmosphere skippers just won't cut it and soon your mainsail kerbodyne assembly weight around 70-120 Tons again. I'll post a few pics of a much happier me (invisibile in picture) thanks to trajectories mod and your suggestions. A happy Kerbal close to home; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7SEppaV9qeFNLRlk/view?usp=sharing The smaller components Konstruction Rover + Crane : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7WTBNLTBKMzZXZTA/view?usp=sharing The last one in a line of improving reentry targeting skills: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MI2rHIMmrDD4hJoD-OrTPbFekvV6GkRN/view?usp=sharing Still looking for deployable wheels and wings but I guess those must be unfeasible in the game engine. (The other thing I'm looking for is a multisize docking port as making tugs for stuff with standard and senior docking ports is a pain, especially when you notice your mistake after rendezvous (rarely, luckily)) PS. I have noticed that in my game, on Kerbin, MechJeb landing predictions and projected lines are off by a couple kilometres even on vertical drops, for exaple if i ask for KSP launchpad it projects a line off in the ocean 6-10 km out, I am not running planetary mods (except for graphics stuff), and it doesn't appear to happen on Mun or MinMus where it can generally make pinpoiht landings and follows the red line it draws. Any cue? Should I post it to their github issues?

Not at all Yes the thread deviated a bit from the original request, but the insights into returnable stage design will be very useful into making Cheaper and more cheerful rockets, and Robotized Stage Recovery easier. I will probably ask about the IR / Konstruction tips in a separate thread for more specific advice against bending and ghost forces in Robot design

That looks fantastic!!! Will try it out tonight!

Very Interesting, fixed wings or deployed? By the way, KSP would 100X tougher with realistic reaction wheels, all hail spinning weights!

Oh I see, so you basically drop backwards into KSC, I see, yes, it makes sense to lock tanks. Once I forgot to lock tanks on a docking port attached satellite booster for twin commsats to Eve, and it drained half the fuel on the booster during ascent, bad thing was I only realized this after the ejection burn to Eve... when I only had a few m/s left. Luckily I had excess fuel in the Xenon tanks on the actual sats and they were able to make injection and orbit burns on their own with a little to spare. It still sucked as I was hoping to leave the booster and what was left in a long orbit around eve with the spare fuel if a future mission needed it. A pair of unsupecting commsats on the trek to Eve: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7YjkyY0FSWGV5Mzg/view?usp=sharing

Pertaining FMRS, Do you detach stages in atmosphere with unspent fuel and/or do they fly/glide back to KSP?

I am using the reusability expansion as the larger falcon style legs look great (and make for solid stable landings even on hills and minmus ). I look forward to trying FMRS because I'd be happy to be manuevering lighter stages and enjoy the challenge of multiple reentries. Yes the retrograde thing does seem fundamental. Weird it's not included in the MechJeb landing computer. (I wouldn't like you to think I only rely on MechJeb, but sometimes, it feels just right to have a landing taken care of the computer while I go off to get tea, or if I've grown annoyed with a buggy manuever node.

Thanks for the Jet engine advice, I will try it out for sure Yes I can usually manage peninsula landings, but the odd highland landing gets tricky for vertical rocket carrying. I even tried the grid fins but they only seem to work as airbrakes strangely enough. I will also try the wings idea, maybe deployable wing might do the trick in gliding and not overrunning KSC. Yes I know that I could build cheaper staged rockets, but I always found them temperamental compared to Monolithic lifters, the costs wouldn't be prohibitive per se on a mission based approach, but I often get carried away, I surely have contracts running for a Million credits under way, but then I hear of fuel depots around minmus and so a mining operation is born, Mining bases are landed, stations delivered in chunks to Minmus orbit, Fuel Shuttles from MinMus base to Orbital Depot are conceived and tested , aerobraking tankers with retractable docking ports for the odd refuel in LKO are tested, scrapped due to krakens, improved and a million spent credits later that probe to Duna is still waiting for it's launch window while funds ebb away. For example since antenna range has become part of the gameplay I started building relay networks along major planets and stuff, it's costly and if I can limit launch cost to the fuel and the payload I find I can roleplay fun/tedious parts like vehicle recovery, aerobraking and refueling those three years before a launch are never empty if sometimes time consuming. I get carried away by side projects while waiting for launch windows and so I end up spending a lot doing infrastructure (I do the same in Minecraft btw). This is the orbital station in minmus orbit (Still lacking the fuel storage facilities which will fit top at the end of a modular truss network) for example (With a Fuel Shuttle and fuel station componet tugs attached): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7R1dJRTMxNm1WQ1k/view?usp=sharing

I run most of my mods from CKAN, however the version listed for my ksp version didn't work, but I found help on their github page, basically you download from there, remove a few files and you're good to go. Thanks for the tip on Trajectories, I do undestand that MechJeb landing can only go so far as it probably doesn't take the actual profile drag into account (It always lands short at 20Km if normally fueled, 60 if short of power or fuel during the descent). I do understand the issue with IR is in the game engine and Unity but still the failure to handle loads reliably is a big downer, I might be giving the Konstruction hooks and winches a try ti see if they are less bendy. Another Idea I have had is to drive a refueling rover to them but it feels cheaty. Does anyone know of ways to strenghten or distribute load on IR equipment? (Always looking to grab and tilt the rocket onto a flat carrier.

Hi everyone, in an effort to cut launch costs (which crippled one of my earlier career games), I discovered I could cut Kerbin to orbit costs with mods like Stage Recovery, which allowed me to get refunds for some of my spent stages (For those who don't know, it calculates the landing zone and survival chances of decoupled stages once they leave physics range and refunds you based on landing location and predicted speed). Long story short, I started making entirely SSTO Rocket lifters, that I would then pilot back from LKO to KSC, however, either piloted by me, or by MechJeb landing and even with 4-500 m/s unspent deltaV I usually miss KSC by 20/60km. Sure, I'd still get 90% back or so, but still, when your rocket costs skyrocket because it has to be entirely returnable why accept less than perfect refund? So I started building crawlers to go fetch the landed rocket, grab it with a Klaw and haul it back. (I used Konstruction for the large tank threads and Infernal Robotics for a few other things). This sort of works as I can have MechJeb do the boring waypoint piloting to the rocket and then drive it back to the landing pad . I had initially tried with grabbing the top half of the rocket and lowering it onto a flatbed of sorts with infernal robotics parts, however, they start bending uncontrollably and no level of parallelism or struts seems to help. So I'm stuck with carrying the rockets vertical over terrain, which forces my crawler to weigh at least twice the rocket to be relatively stable. So, I'm wondering, is there a way? should I be using IR differently? should I refuel the rockets and have them haul their big mass back to ksc on their own? I also considered sky cranes but I couldn't build one that reliably balanced and lifted 50 tons off the ground. Should I redesign everything and use FMRS so that my stages get flown back independently? I'll post a couple of pictures of my 6Ton Lifter, 15 Ton Lifter and 30 Ton lifter and the crude crawler I got so far. Primitive Crawler: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7am10OFBPRTk2amc/view?usp=sharing (had stability problem and could have failing tracks due to load) Primitive Crawler with 6Ton Lifter : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7RG51bFJneVdTOG8/view?usp=sharing Better Crawler (I apologise for the lighting will take a better shot of it later): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7RS0tV1lOMFJINmc/view?usp=sharing 50 Ton Lifter back on the pad with the smaller crawler: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DB1_F3t7P7Y2tPdlJBWWwtN1k/view?usp=sharing So I guess the question can be shrunk to: How can I manipulate a 50 Ton object on Kerbin's surface with IR or other mods without twisting blowing up everything? On a related note I am struggling to make an articulated docking port for an aerobraking tanker (With the 10Meter Shield to go around) so far I have to quicksave/load to stop the wobbles after docking. Oops can't find a picture of it right now. But basically it is a right angled IR robotic arm that extends out and forwards clearing the 10M heatshield. Thanks in advance for any suggestion or comments

Oh that's great news (Had to hold back from 1.1.3 for now as some B9 parts block during game load anyhow, currently running 1.1.2) Really glad to hear this, is there an estimated date ? (Not rushing you by any means, just curious)