Vanguard319

I think there's a graphic issue as the skybox in orbit is constantly flickering.

I wonder if we'll see Pulse detonation engines or dual-mode scramjets. Gotta get those spaceplanes into orbit somehow, and while R.A.P.I.E.R.s are nice, they're just not efficient enough for my taste.

Today I built a 60 ton Spaceplane that has enough Delta V to ferry six Kerbals to Minmus, on nothing but Rapier engines. It's not a true SSTO as the engines are fed by a large drop tank for the initial air breathing leg of the ascent.

I really want to know what kind of new tech we'll get. Scramjets? VASMIR engines? Antimatter powered FTL drives?

I rescued a stranded pilot in LKO. I was going to take some tourists to Minmus, but the maneuver nodes seem broken atm. They say burn time for the node to be 10s, which isn't true, and when I try doing a short burn to get the correct calculation, it switches to n/a. Guess I'm stuck on Kerbin till the devs fix the bug.

So the Mohole is Yog-Sothoth? This game has a veritable pantheon of cosmic horrors doesn't it?

Maybe, but based on a true story.

You know you're a noob when you make it to Duna for the first time using an SSTO spaceplane, and you can't land on account of adding no drogue chutes or air brakes to your design.

You'll love this: Started a new career game, when creating a custom Kerbal (a very stupid scientist) the random name generator gave me Pepe as a name. Well, Kerbals are green... After a quick search online for an appropriate mission flag, I started up a space program for Kekistan! I also built an SSTO that can get to Minmus with literally fumes in the tank. I also found that the Convertotron 125 is overheating even though I have enough radiators to cool it. (before you ask, yes, I attached the radiators directly to the converter and turned them on. The converter doesn't cool down at all.)

Hey, if you're going to go slowly insane from space madness, might as well be classy about it. Now that I think of it, not only is this a perfect song for KSP, but it might explain why Jeb is always grinning.

I've built my fair share of SSTOs. Some I've built could get to LKO on their own fuel, but had issues with carrying any viable payload, for cargo, or to get higher I came up with simple drop tanks made from 3 Mk.0 fuel tanks and a pair of small nose cones. they are pretty good for my aircraft too.

My KSC put up their Christmas tree today:

It is possible to have a steeper descent angle, but you run the risk of burning up on reentry. Spaceplanes don't have access to the ablative heat shields that capsules do. and the MK1 cockpit is especially susceptible to overheating. The major advantages of spaceplanes is that they are reusable and their aerodynamic properties allow them to come in on longer glide paths than capsules, meaning you have more time to lose speed before hitting the thicker atmosphere, where most of that kinetic heating is going to occur. This is important to remember if you want to build a spaceplane that can travel beyond Kerbin, as your Velocity will generally be higher, and aerobraking will likely be required.

Sounds like you're reentering at too steep an angle. try setting your periapsis to around 45~50k m. Even then you want to keep your nose up during reentry so you bleed off speed as you descend, but the angle shouldn't be as high, about 30 degrees or so.

Tested a crew return vehicle today inspired by the X-38. Since it's not designed to fly into orbit on it's own, I have been using Hyperedit to get it into orbit for testing. It has fewer than 30 parts, carries 6 Kerbals, and has enough monopropellant to return them safely to Kerbin from Minmus orbit. (Will need an additional stage to transfer between planets though.) So far, it has proven itself to be extremely stable during reentry, and the parachute placement is right on the center of mass, so it will remain level even if it runs out of power. Now I just have to build a rocket capable of getting it anywhere within the Kerbin SOI, and I'll have a perfect CRV for any Space stations I build