Cavscout74

Made some (failed) attempts at the Solid SSTO challenge: Actually made a nearly 120km Ap, but control issues prevented coming anywhere close to making orbit: If you don't make orbit, you can use your deorbit SRB's for braking after landing....

Early results are unsuccessful but show some promise - the last attempt had a ~120km Ap, but control was lost during the second stage burn, losing most of that dV. Surprisingly, everything that survived takeoff made a successful landing.

I have to give this a try. A few careers ago, I built a suborbital solid rocket spaceplane, although it staged away the crew capsule for reentry. I'm going to have to dust it off & see if I can get it to orbit.

Got a little flying in between launches for my Out of the Sands career. First was Jeb taking a small Mk 2 shuttle design for some atmospheric flight tests. It was pretty pointless as I already have an operational SSTO with one more seat than the shuttle design. It also had very sluggish handling and was slow - barely breaking mach 1 in a shallow dive. Next, Jeb found an old CF-03 Tigercat that he got running & took up to test some heavy ground attack rockets. The ole Tigercat still flew nicely, but the heavy rockets were horribly inaccurate - both pairs actually collided with each other after launch before more or less flying straight.

@VITAS I'm running into a "404 Not Found" page on every mod I try to download this afternoon. Anybody else encountering this?

It is a game glitch and a pretty common one, although your experience sounds like one of the most severe lately. Don't get too bummed, this wasn't your doing. It's not like you activated a self-destruct charge on an 8-passenger tourist ship on the launch pad because you didn't check your staging. And yes, I really did that once. Welcome to the forums, and congrats on getting to Mun & Minmus

Yeah, that's career - you take contracts from the Mission Control building. Two of the first ones available are to gather science at the launch pad and launch your first vessel.

I started in sandbox to get the hang of things, then I tried Science (I didn't like it much) and finally moved to Career, which is where 99% of my KSP time is spent - I just use sandbox to test some new designs before using them in a career save. A lot of people, however, recommend starting in Science so you don't get overwhelmed with all the parts to choose from. Go with whichever works best for you.

Just to verify, if I'm going to use this in a fresh install with no craft carried over, I can just delete the legacy folder?

Got a few more launches in for my Out of the Sands career. After the surprise announcement of a manned mission to Eve orbit, all the needed launches were completed. All we're waiting on is taking the "Eve 3" to orbit via spaceplane, which won't happen until just before the transfer. Eve Small Crew Station entering orbit Eve Fuel Station launching during an eclipse Eve crew vehicle entering orbit. Launched unmanned for safety reasons, the crew will be brought up via spaceplane shortly before the Eve transfer Eve supply transport orbital insertion. Last, but definitely not least, my Moho Remote Rover arrived and landed safely

I play almost exclusively career now, with sandbox used for some testing. Usually with science gains turned way down to slow down advancements.

The radial tanks from Fuel Tanks Plus haven't worked correctly in a few versions due to the way they are designed. I don't know all the details, but they are set up differently than the other tanks in FTP for their variant switching and that broke a few KSP versions ago. Unless either the original author comes back to update or someone else takes over the mod the only thing to do is avoid using them. I would suggest using Janitor's Closet to prune them for now. Kinda sucks - I miss the radial tanks

One specific mod that resized the Kerbol system is JNSQ ( Je Ne Sais Quoi ) which uses a 2.7x scale without needing the Rescale mod. However, it does require Kopernicus (like all planet packs) so you'll have to wait a little while till everything gets updated. But it is well worth the wait both for the beauty of the mod & the added challenge.

Breaking News ---- Werner Kerman announces "Operation Morning Star" after successful launch test of Sarnus rocket Woomerang Space Center, 05:163 - In a surprise statement minutes after the launch of the new Sarnus heavy lift launcher, Werner Kerman announced "Operation Morning Star" - a manned mission to Eve orbit. The plan calls for 3 new interplanetary craft - the Small Crew Vehicle, Small Crew Station, & Small Supply Transport. The Small Crew Vehicle (SCV) will transport a 3-kerbal crew to Eve and back. The Small Crew Station will provide living space and a research lab for their stay in Eve orbit while the Small Supply Transport will carry addition food & fuel to Eve. As an even bigger surprise, the first class of kerbonauts were skipped for this mission. Instead, Werner announced that the "Eve Three" will be pilot Lodzon Kerman, engineer Barnie Kerman and scientist Adburry Kerman. There is some speculation that the original kerbonauts were left out due to lingering anger by senior space center officials over Jeb's unauthorized mission into interplanetary space after the first flight to Minmus orbit several years ago. Other sources state that the veterans are being saved for a possible mission to land on Duna later this year. In the view of this reporter, with the successful launch of the massive Sarnus, it is well within the space program's capability to perform a manned Duna landing as long as the funding is available. Stay tuned for more information

@Lewie Congrats on your first interplanetary mission!!!! Most of my KSP time today got spent designing some new craft for my Out of the Sands career. Other than some routine stuff, there was a test launch of a new 5m heavy lift launcher - it lifts more than it appears, most of the nose cone is lead ballast. After making orbit briefly, a deorbit burn was performed then both the second stage and the lead nose were jettisoned, leaving just the recoverable control unit

My vote is on the first one - the biggest barrier to an Orion drive is political rather than technological. The first atom bombs were built 75 years ago and steadily shrunk in size afterwards vs the first sample of metallic hydrogen produced in a lab was last year

The decouplers have to removed & set to two pairs of bi-symmetrical parts as well. With the decoupler still in place, it automatically resets to match the quad symmetry

Update 05:148 I'm baaaack, back in the saddle again!! After a too-long break, I made some more progress & figured I would get in an update tonight. Manned Launches: KSC Dawngrazer MiL3D-1 05:075 - Hastily modified a MiL3 lander with an Advanced Grabbing Unit Jr and full RCS to rendezvous & capture the Lancer-Minmus outpost. To allow automated control of the outpost, a structural panel with OKTO2 probe core and small 3-axis reaction wheel was externally attached to the lander. The modifications removed the LES, so there was a huge sigh of relief when the lander was clear of the atmosphere. Transit to Minmus was routine. Docking with the Lancer outpost was slightly awkward, mostly trying to find a safe anchor point that wouldn't damage any of the solar panels or antennas. Once docked, Kelrik moved the OKTO2 rig to the outpost without difficulty. Once undocked, the Lancer moved to a lower orbit, followed by crew in MiL3D-1. They safely landed at the outpost on 05:085 Unmanned Launches: DSC Girrok-Heavy Moho Remote Rover 05:037 - Small unmanned rover for exploraing Moho, launched successfully from DSC. Departed for Moho on 05:085, leaving Kerbin space on 05:086 with an immediate course correction. Moho arrival estimated for 05:176 KSC Gronyx ASV-1 05:047 - First launch of a new Automated Supply Vehicle to restock Minmus Station with snacks & fuel. Launch was smooth, followed soon after by the Minmus transfer. Upon arrival, it docked with Minmus station and transferred fuel & snacks. Engineer Johnny Kerman was tasked with moving the four snacks containers from the ASV to the open mounts on the station, but the final container slipped & went spinning off into space. Initially, Johnny attempted to catch it but after starting to run low on fuel, returned to the station. The nearly empty ASV then undocked, maneuvered to the container and gently performed a deorbit burn, sending both itself & the wayward container on a suborbital trajectory. KSC Gronyx-RTV-1 05:062 - During the launch of the ASV-1, it was realized the first stage was nearly capable of making orbit on its own. This sparked the idea of making a resuable launcher. The upgraded Gronyx-RTV (Reusuable Test Vehicle) was launched about two weeks later, carrying a 41-ton dummy payload into space. The payload had to be jettisoned to reach LKO - the RTV was short by about 50 m/s with the payload. After making orbit, it then made not quite one orbit and attempted to land at KSC. The space center was overshot slightly, resulting in a water landing about 8km from KSC. Happily, no parts were broken despite the water landing and the complete Gronyx-RTV was recovered. It did require assistance from a quartet of Thumper SRB's which were not recovered, but this was more of a test vehicle than an actual reusable launch vehicle design. DSC Grx Lancer-Minmus Outpost 05:069 - First launch of the new Lancer-Minmus outpost. Over a month in production, the mobile Lancer provides the first practical off-Kerbin ore extraction and processing with longterm living quarters for a crew of 3. Launch & Minmus transfer went smoothly but last minute checks upon arrival in Minmus orbit revealed no probe core had been installed on the base itself, making a controlled landing impossible. This accelerated plans for the first Lancer-Minmus crew with the added complication of needing to rendezvous in orbit to hastilly attach a probe core and reaction wheel to the base. Once the probe core was fitted, a landing site was chosen based on survey data. Only ~35km from the old base experiment, this site proved to have nearly an 8% ore concentration. While not as high as hoped, it was sufficient to begin mining operations once the crew arrived. KSC SG MiSP-2 05:087 - One overlooked item on the new Minmus surface missions was the new Ionographer surface experiment. To correct that, a Minmus Supply Probe was built & launched with the necessary components on board. Landed smoothly near the Minmus-Lancer outpost and the crew deployed the surface experiments successfully. KSC Grx Eve EFS-TV1 05:110 - Test launch and reentry test of an Emergency Fuel Station for possible use on Eve. Intended to provide minimal quarters, snacks & fuel refining for a potential mission to Eve's surface. After entering orbit, the Ap was boosted to the edge of Kerbin's SoI. After the 16 day trip, a small maneuver at Ap placed the Pe at 30km, maximizing the reentry forces & heating to attempt to mimic an entry at Eve. EFS-TV1 arrived back in Kerbin's atmosphere on 05:143. Reentry was fairly smooth, although the landing pads weren't protected by the heat shield & started to overheat - not enough to fail on this attempt, but Eve will be a different story. Also, upon landing, deploying the drill pushed the entire outpost to the side. The basic idea is sound, but some improvements are required before sending this to Eve. DSC Gi ACV-03 05: - Launch of another Asteroid Capture Vehicle to attempt capture of a smaller asteroid that will be entering Kerbin's SoI in a few months. Aircraft: CSX-04-05116 05: - Thanks to a contract to test an experimental Rapier engine, a new spaceplane design was launched. With Jeb away, Val & Phoebe got to take the experimental Lightning II spaceplane for its first orbital hop. All went well, and they touched down at KSC after a single orbit. Production models are expected to include a drone core for autonomous operations. With room for 6 kerbals the Lightning II will be great for crew transfers to long range orbital craft and possibly as an interface craft for use around Laythe - although that will require refueling in orbit and possibly expendable fuel tanks to extend the range. Debris: None Ongoing Missions: Chadney Kermin Memorial Station - Uncrewed Minmus Station - Third crew arrived in STV-5-1 04:137. Due to arrival of the greenhouse module, their stay has been extended to gather information on snack production in zero-g. Buffalo-Minmus Heavy Rover - Repositioned autonomously from Lancer-Minmus SBX to the new Lancer-Minmus Outpost Lancer-Minmus SBX - Uncrewed Grav-Racer - Minmus arrival on 05:010, gathered data over several orbits then departed on 05:013. Reentered & safely landed on Kerbin just 120km north of DSC on 05:021, bringing home almost 400 units of science. Minmus Station Greenhouse Wing - Arrived at Minmus on 05:013 and docked on 05:014, beginning the first zero-g snack production. Laythe Ocean Explorer - Course correction performed on 05:127, expected to enter Jool's SoI on 07:020 Bop Lander & Relay Mk 1v - Course correction completed on 05:135, Jool encounter planned for 07:058 Vall Lander & Relay Mk 1v - Course correction performed on 05:137, expected to reach Jool's SoI on 06:418 Pol Lnader & Relay Mk 1v - Course correction scheduled for 05:185 Jool Large Relay 1 - Arrival in Jool's SoI expected on 06:114 Laythe Pancake Lander - Expected to arrive in Jool's SoI on 06:137 Jool Voyager - Arrival in Jool's SoI expected on 06:145 Jooldiver - Expected to arrive in Jool's SoI on 06:148 Jool Large Relay 2 - Arrival in Jool's SoI expected on 06:157 Laythe Glide-Rover - Expected to arrive in Jool's SoI on 06:222. Eeloo Voyager - Arrival in Eeloo's SoI expected on 07:023. Eeloo Landercan - Eeloo intercept expected on 07:042. Other: Tested a new Lancer Outpost at KSC (prior to sending one to Minmus) for use as a small base on the surface of moons or even other planets. All systems functioned perfectly. The Lancer is capable of ore extraction & refining, small scale snack production and science gathering with living space for 3 kerbals. It will be available in static & mobile versions. The aft docking port will allow expansions to be added as needed.

I got a few launches in for my Out of the Sands career. First up was a reentry test of a prospective Eve outpost. It was launched to the edge of Kerbin's SoI, then set Pe to 20km to do the best test I could before actually sending the outpost to Eve. It mostly worked, but some improvements are required before an Eve mission. Next was another asteroid capture vehicle to try to catch a class C that will make a close pass by Kerbin in 3 months - there was a gap in my launch schedule, I figured I should get it up in orbit while I have the chance. Finally, a fortuitous "Test Rapier engine in orbit of....." contract popped up, so Val & Phoebe got to be the second & third Kerbals in this career to fly a plane to space. The actual contract is for Duna, but until I get there, I'll have access to experimental Rapier engines. I also snagged a nice juicy "build an surface base" contract for Duna - ISRU, be on motorized wheels and one or two other requirements. The advance was nearly a quarter million funds, and I was planning on launching a Duna base at the next window anyway.

Just going by the 180 m/s landing speed makes me think you have too little wing for the craft. For comparison, the cruise speed of a turboprop airliner is typically around 140 m/s. Landing speed for a 747 is only going to be around 80-85 m/s. Or a better comparison, the space shuttle's final approach speed was only around 100 m/s.

They haven't been out of work though - they've been working from home, same as the office workers on the airline side of the building. For the last month, I'll see one or two people in any given day - I'm assuming they have paperwork to file or whatever, but today looks like 3/4 of them are in at work. I don't know for sure - we aren't allowed access to that side of the building - just judging by the parking lot and the increased traffic to/from the restrooms

Had my own little scare yesterday - woke up coughing non-stop, wheezing, etc. This was after a few days of minor coughing that I figured was allergies - North Carolina this time of year is awful for that, but I've never experienced much more than minor coughing & sneezing. I called out of work & managed to get in to see my doctor. My temp was normal, o2 levels were normal, BP normal and she saw no evidence of CoVid or any other infection, just a severe allergy attack. I did have some extra time to read news articles, and found an interesting one - the parent company of the cargo airline I work for got in excess of $8 million from a small business loan fund from the government, despite the fact that they aren't a small business. Today, I came in to work and the parent company side of the headquarters had a full parking lot. I guess they called everyone in to figure out how to spend the money before the government tries to take it back. Pretty disgusting, really.

Just had a few minutes to pass some time on my Out of the Sands career today - landed a supply probe at my Minmus outpost, then did a few test flights while waiting for a pair of rockets to build. First up was a test flight of a single-seat version of my CF-07 Talon. Val over-rotated a little, catching the #1 engine on the runway. Despite the loss of half her thrust, she was able to bring it around for a safe landing Then I tried again with the normal version, testing the advanced avionics with a non-pilot at the controls. Take-off went well, and the somewhat petrified scientist managed to do some basic maneuvers with relative ease Landing, however, left a little room for improvement

Usually a small (<100 m/s) course correction just after entering Jool's SoI is enough to put Tylo in position for a flyby. On topic, I agree - the stock exploration contracts are a mess, especially the rendezvous, dock & transfer. I'm not opposed to "return" contracts - it is a big achievement to bring a craft back from another planet, but there needs to be either separate contracts (that can be taken at the same time) or as someone mentioned one large contract with individual awards for each achievement. There also needs to be more options available after Mun/Minmus - yes, Duna is the easiest interplanetary destination, but Moho's transfer window comes sooner and it isn't impossible to get a fly-by probe or even an orbiter launched before Duna contracts are done, but then you miss all the Moho contracts.

I finally got around to checking out this mod after getting a new laptop (after a coffee-induced catastrophe with my old one), and I'm quite impressed so far.