aubranium

I managed to land on Laythe with three parts. Getting back would likely be impossible with only three parts.

I was indeed able to do this exactly as you said, and that was almost as hard as the Three Parts to Laythe mission (try navigating to Jool with just engine gimbaling for attitude control). The cost came in under 4k!! I recorded it of course, but I'm exhausted from publishing the short film. Thanks for inspiring me to try it.

It didn't end up being a how-to video exactly, but I hope you like it:

I, for one, am still having fun with it. I tried many times and finally succeeded in threading both needles.

I couldn't help but try without the Minmus segment. This vehicle came in at 4666 funds. And this time, I didn't even need to use EVA fuel to settle into aerobraking orbit! I'm pretty sure I could get it below 4600 if I drop one of the Oscar tanks and use EVA pack for the last 100 delta-v. Also, this first stage uses an extravagant three basic fins, where two would probably be enough. I tried one flight with just a single fin for aero stability, but it stabilizes with a weird attitude alignment and becomes yaw-sensitive.

I know I'm late to the party here, but I did both Mun and Minmus for 6568. I'm working on a how-to video for YouTube this week. In the meantime, here's the time lapse footage:

Thanks! I use a Shure SM7B mic with a CloudLifter pre-amp and a Zoom H4N recorder. I've been podcasting for about 7yrs about technology, design, and startup life (https://distilledradio.com). I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed the video. Please share with your friends.

I landed on Mun with a completely autonomous KOS script and published a how-to video on YouTube, including the script itself. Enjoy!

I recently published a video on the Kerbalism channel with a deep dive walkthrough of a KOS script I wrote to automate a Mun landing. Hoverslam code is included, and it works like a dream on every body I visited in testing. The key for me was not using a constant for gravity, but instead computing the body's gravity based on altitude and standard gravitational parameter (µ). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4dIED5JLos A link to the script is included in the video description. Hope this helps!

Agreed. My difficulty in the above attempt was waiting until Jool periapsis before executing the transfer burn. KSP doesn't have any stock tools for this kind of planning, so I'm intrigued by the prospect of building tools to solve the problem. In theory, one could compute a similar set of paths to the Interstellar Transport Network, using the Kerbol system instead. Unfortunately, KSP doesn't support the multi-body physics required to achieve this. It took a while to figure out the timing. I used Hohmann transfer to approximate the transfer orbit time between Kerbin and Jool and waited until Jool was that far from its periapsis. I failed to account for Kerbin's alignment so I had to wait another 300days for favorable Kerbin alignment. Still, Jool moves slowly enough that it didn't matter much. I was amazed I was able to execute the transfer on the first try. This leads me to believe it may be possible to do a 3 part landing on a Jool moon *and* return to Kerbin.

I made it to Laythe with about 250m/s remaining dV. Believe it or not, on the very first try. Good luck Kerbonauts!

After watching StratzenBlitz75 and Hazard-ish go to Gilly and back with three parts, I wondered if we could make it to Jool with a similar design. Can you make it to Laythe and land Kerbals safely, using only three total parts and no orbital refueling? Note: according to the delta-v map, this requires at least 6420m/s (not including inclination requirements), which is more than the maximum available in the three part design. Big shout outs to @Stratzenblitz75 and @hazard-ish for inspiring this thread!

LOL when i listen to the audio and the description of how to reduce drag is effectively "abuse KSP's drag algorithm" I appreciate Kerbonaut skills that much more. I love the idea of "staging" mass by impacting the ground to destroy parts selectively. Still, the offset hack to reduce drag feels extra cheaty to me. I got to 12M circular solar orbit with a twin boar, a huge fuel tank, and a pilot seat *without* the offset hack Thanks for the video link!

I managed to get to ~370km with a twin boar and a pilot seat. I'll try adding another fuel tank.

Launch a vehicle from KSC to the highest stable circular orbit around Kerbin with the fewest parts. In other words, maximize altitude per part. Examples: aubranium, 13 parts, 234km (18km/part)