KincaidFrankMF

I think the main problem there is that the Science Jr now weighs an entire ton! I thought it was a bug when my second flight plunged to Kerbin so fast the chute tore off, then noticed how much the upper stage now weighed... The miniaturised Science Jr Jr, on the other hand, only weighs 0.05t - that's some miniaturisation! I suspect the 1t thing is a mistake and it's supposed to still be 0.2t. But yeah, once you add a Science Jr & a heat shield, a single parachute won't do it anymore, you need drogues.

As a side note, I strongly suspect it's possible to land on the Mun and return on your very first launch... Not having a part count limit reduces the difficulty a huge amount.

Agreed. Must admit I didn't get the reference, though I remember when that happened!

Loving For Science so far! They might want to introduce some kind of part limit mechanic though. I reached orbit & returned safely on my first launch, only to be told in Mission Control that - which seems a bit odd!

That's what I said!! I certainly couldn't have done it back then!

I'll DM it to you, just in case anyone wants to try the challenge a different way and doesn't want it spoiled. Hint it can be done without mining...

Whoop! *round of applause* Spectacular work! Love that you used a very different design to mine. More complicated, but you also bagged more science than I did (must admit, I forgot all about the upper atmosphere science on my run... oops!) You very comprehensively smashed the challenge - well done!!

Yay, nearly there! The bug that makes it impossible to stay still long enough to scan surface objects is the main reason I don't generally bother with scanning arms, it's just too frustrating. Well done for finding a workaround! I suspect it's the hinges on your wings causing flight instability - even locked & strutted they move around over time. Another bug, sigh. Fingers crossed for a smooth blast-off!

Fantastic progress! I think you should copy all this over to the Mission Reports section as well, it makes great reading

Awesome stuff. Very impressed!

Epic stuff there! Great mission report to read Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Hopefully they've fixed the bug by now. Also, I was using fan blades, which might make a difference.

That is one of the most wonderfully complex craft I've ever seen - love it! To start a challenge this complex with only 93 hours on the KSP clock is staggering. I'm on 3,600... Really, really rooting for a successful mission - you've earned it! One thing I should warn you of - I did encounter a bug with the propellers on my craft during prolonged use. Hopefully they've fixed it by now, but I had to just ignore it while the problem gradually got worse & worse. I completed the mission just before the plane became completely unflyable. So I'd advise saving the game a lot once you've landed on Eve. If the propellers start to look weird, immediately reload, because it will only get worse...

That's very odd - it should happen automatically, and you shouldn't have to wait till it hits 100%. No idea why it isn't working for you! Maybe try googling known bugs?

I can't see anything obvious wrong with your deployable science set up (though I'm no expert). Have you used deployable science before? It collects science very slowly over time, and then uploads it to the KSC when it reaches e.g. 10%, 20% and so on. So you probably won't see it do anything until halfway through your return flight to Kerbin, and then you'll see the results trickle in. Looking forward to the mission report! Happy for you to post it here.

Yep, 13 biomes sounds right. The only thing I'd add is that to succeed in the challenge you only need to recover science from every *biome*, not every situation/altitude. So you don't need to conduct atmospheric analysis while flying high over every biome, for example. Landing everywhere at least once is enough. But, that said, the most science gathered wins. So if you manage to get everything... you win lol

Awesome progress! Sounds like there's not far to go now!

Conditions on Eve are really tough on landing legs - I use clusters of them on rockets to prevent the legs from just snapping instantly. It's nothing like landing on Kerbin, though I get what you're saying re. the lighter weight. Bouncing around seems odd... Normally the heavier gravity would result in less bounce not more. In theory, you shouldn't need too much dampener, but there's an element of trial and error to it. I haven't actually tried landing on fuel tanks as I assumed that would be a bad idea in the high gravity - but I honestly don't know...

Well done, and good luck with the next stage!

That's a weird bug, especially running without mods. You're not having any luck on this one!

I always assumed Kerbals have the ability to hibernate at will. You send them off for years at a time into deep space with a packet of peanuts and a pat on the back, and they're just fine.

That's what I had in mind - though I don't know how it works in practise. But even if they just make the attachments stiffer, it all helps.

Without getting into the whole debate of whether or not rockets should wobble at all... which has been covered extensively elsewhere... Could we please have some bigger radial decouplers? When I attach big SRBs and they immediately sag, it's not the wobbly physics that's frustrating me. It's that there is no bigger/better/more appropriate part to connect them with. I shouldn't have to resort to struts here, auto or otherwise. If you attach a huge booster with a tiny decoupler placed halfway up of course it's going to noodle - or just snap off outright - but you just wouldn't do it that way, would you? For the same reason you wouldn't hang a door by placing a single tiny hinge halfway up. Noodliness is perfectly realistic here, we just need a more sensible design solution. What's needed are some bigger, and in particular, longer decouplers. A single part that attaches at the top, middle and bottom of the SRB will keep it stable. If the player opts to save weight by using something small and silly instead, hilarious wobbly hijinks will still follow.

That's a huge improvement!

I'm trying to build a plane at the moment which kicks & bucks as soon as I send it to the runway (no engines active or anything else!) There are still some annoying bugs around. Hope the new attempt goes well for you