Long Finger

Thanks guys. "Take Command" isn't working on 1.2 at the moment but there is a feature request here if anyone wants to add their feedback for Squad.

I've unlocked some of the rover parts including the external command seat and built a rover with two seats on top, but I can't seem to assign crew to it. How do I get this thing crewed for a trial run around Kerbin? Cheers.

I watched a Scott Manley video and assumed it was a PC only title. Then ages later I saw an announcement that it was being released on PS4, only to discover that it was not available in Europe. I checked the store and found there was a Mac version, so bought that instead. i just need to decide what new computer to buy now to run it at max settings!

Valentina took a trip to Minmus. Life is a lot easier now with some 2.5m parts!

It seemed when I started that there wasn't really a need for heat shields on a pod, but I did manage to blow a few up with steep descents and stopped doing them altogether. It sounds like with a heat shield it's okay, but have you ever found your pod won't slow down in time to get the parachutes out and pancaked in?

I don't know how NASA does its work. I think in my mind it would be cheating simply because it saves me from having to switch my brain on, even if it is entirely possible that a Kerbal on my game version of Kerbin could've calculated that chart for me. I certainly don't expect everyone else to play that way though. Yes.

That's very interesting... and also cheating! I think I was maybe a bit conservative going for a high 50km periapsis. It took 5 orbits to slow enough. I'll try some lower returns and see how hot things get!

Up until yesterday I had been sticking to the stock music, but for some reason I decided to turn it off and listen to Amy Lee's cover album which I hadn't heard before.

Okay so I guess it was my piloting or rocket staging that was the problem. My staging worked out like this: Stage 1 = ISP x 9.8 x ln (Mass Full / Mass Empty) = 195 x 9.8 x ln (69.034 / 30.034) = 1590.466 (SRBs) Stage 2 = 320 x 9.8 x ln (20.85 / 9.85) = 2351.631 (LTV45) Stage 3 = 345 x 9.8 x ln (6.225 / 3.225) = 2223.482 (Poodle) 6165.579

I was wondering how you guys are planning your missions in terms of fuel? I've completed a Mun landing and rescue since I ran out of fuel, and then a rescue of the rescue as it in turn ran out of fuel, and then that ran out of fuel and relied on aero-braking to land back on Kerbin. My initial calculation was as follows: Mun landing and return dV requirement Launch to Orbit = 2350 + 1000 (orbital velocity + rough atmospheric/launch loss estimate from experience) Munar Transfer = 900 (rounded up but I used the figure for Kerbin escape velocity in the tracking station and then subtracted orbital velocity) Munar Capture = 450 (I got this from an unmanned probe) Munar Landing = 600 (again from an unmanned probe's orbit velocity) Mun Return = 800 (Mun escape figure from the tracking station) Total Estimate = 6100 I stupidly assumed I could escape the Mun and get an atmospheric capture at Kerbin, but I failed to account for the gravitational acceleration toward Kerbin which turned the 800 m/s escape velocity into over 3km/s. If I had to guess I think I would've needed 7500 dV to complete the mission with one rocket. I assume there are much better ways to calculate this, but what do you do?

I rescued Bob from the Mun! As it turns out, I am no good at calculating delta-V, so Bob ended up stranded with insufficient fuel for orbit, and the rescue ship only just had enough to land on the Mun and get back into orbit. The second rescue ship was able to rendezvous in Munar orbit and collect Bob and his experiments. It's dark in the dark The most frustrating part was trying to land the rescue ship on the Mun near Bob's lander which was now on the dark side of the Mun. It took about four dozen tries in the end to land in the dark, and on the flat, and with enough fuel left for orbit. I was quite pleased to make the landing only 3km's away! I stuck Jeb in to pilot the second rescue ship as remote control with only the KSC ground station and one HG-5 relay in orbit of the Mun was getting frustrating! Anyway Bob is back at KSC now bringing with him 650 science!

You were half right both times! It's 500 Mm with the lvl 2 tracking station and 1.12 Gm at lvl 3. I have just put a single HG-5 in Munar orbit at 2km and it is giving me a 100% signal strength back to KSC. I also get a 100% signal strength from it, to a lander on the surface with a Communotron DTS-M1. I don't currently understand that formula for signal strength but I guess I'll have to look into it at some point!

Sorry, yes you are right lvl 2 is sufficient.

Thanks for the help! About the range increase I just found this by Valerian: Yes I think so but you'd need the lvl 3 tracking station.

Okay so the relay range of HG-5 with a Communotron 16-S is 1.5Mm [Sqrt (5000000 * 500000)] or between two HG-5's is 5Mm [Sqrt (5000000 * 5000000)]. Thanks that helps explain why my ship is out of range when I thought it should be in range. Ah, so does that also apply to the range between the tracking station and the relay satelite?

The HG-5 has: Antenna Rating 5.00M (combinable). What unit is this? Does it mean 5Mm? I have a L2 tracking station so I assume I can connect to an HG-5 from KSC up to 500Mm. So if I want to remote control a ship not in sight of KSC I need it to be within 5Mm of the HG-5? Does the ship I'm using also have to have a relay antenna or can it be a regular Communotron? The Mun is 11.4Mm away so I don't see any way to remote control anything around the Mun with HG-5's as they have such poor combinable range. Finally is there any benefit to putting multiple HG-5's on one satellite? I imagine the range won't increase but does it give better signal strength? Thanks.

I guess I need a bit more graphics performance then! My Kerbin seems to be a barren wasteland.

What mod is it that makes Kerbin look like that?

The space centre crew makes my Mac Mini sound like it wants to take off. Try disabling the crew and see if that helps with the VAB. They're a bit of a distraction anyway.

First Mun landing! Bob on the Mun with my first lander.

I don't know if they're new or if the tech tree was re-organised but on my 1.1 career save, I seem to have gained a tiny heat shield and some rover wheels as well. Unfortunately neither help Bob who is now stuck on the Mun with not even enough fuel for orbit.

I think it was this one: Man on the moon.

I have a 0.5l mug of tea at most times. Twinings Ceylon, Earl Grey, Bold Kenyan, Smoaky Lapsang etc. I usually stop for a sip on achieving orbit or when contemplating manoeuvre nodes.

I watched a documentary on Apollo 11 just recently. Most piloting tasks were automated but the astronauts had the option to over-ride functions or had to manually start them. The Lunar Module was only automated to a preset height above the moon from which it had to be manually landed. I think this was so they could visually check the landing site. No point going all that way just to land on a slope and topple over KSP stye!

I think what you need to continue is the green tick on the manoeuvre node that he creates for you. I just tried it and when the burn gets down to the last 50 m/s cut the throttle and just use small throttle inputs with shift/ctrl and chase the blue marker on the nav-ball if (when) it starts moving. Once the burn required number gets down to a few m/s it should give you the green tick.