Steve C.

RIGHT! That makes total sense.

Thank you all!! I so appreciate your help. I'll take a look at the struts. As for "unlocking", in the interest of time (I don't have a lot to play this game), I am in sandbox mode... and I don't have the Making History add on. But I have been thinking about getting it so this has pushed me over the edge. As for the SRB's, I am kicking myself! I do have thumper and kickback. Because I am getting old and don't see as well as I used to, I have the font size cranked up and therefore all the engines don't fit on one page. I didn't notice that I could scroll down to see kickback and I have no explanation for how I missed thumper. Let's just say that one of my attempts to create multiple stages of clusters of hammer engines was an unsightly detour down a dead-end path. Finally, the power of suggestion: I am a wannabe physic guy, or so I thought. I figured that the physics of torque would make RCS thrusters most effective if they were farther away from the center of gravity, but I swear that the tutorial had you place them near the center of mass. And thus I let that suggestion override my common sense. Steve

After creating a ship to go to the mun virtually without any problem at all, my next, larger ship is giving me all kinds of grief. First of all, in an effort to increase the thrust of my first stage, and lacking any decent SRB's (the Hammer seems so short-lived as to be practically useless) I attached a couple of Mainsail engines and liquid fuel tanks onto my Mammoth engines and their tanks. The problem is that when I used a single radial coupler on each of the side structures, they would bow outwards similar to the picture below. So I figured that could be remedied by putting one coupler on each tank segment such that there will be four couplers holding the side structures to the main rocket. But even with the multiple couplers, I get the same problem. In fact, it does't seem as though the multiple tank segments are using the couplers I provided. https://imgur.com/a/3zuCukf https://imgur.com/a/XZMLMnB Finally, I have found it virtually impossible to maneuver this ship. I don't need translation so I thought that reaction wheels would be sufficient. I put an advanced reaction wheel module in what is more or less the middle of the ship but once I am not using my thrusters, I have almost no control. I tried adding four RCS thrusters near the center of mass but it still seems like that barely helped at all. https://imgur.com/a/aYTNyxW What am I missing? Thanks, Steve

I found the answer to the question below. But how do I delete a post so people don't wast there time answering? This is my module for munar descent and ascent. Seems like I need some sort of housing to cover up the landing struts as well as future solar panels, batteries, etc. But what do I use to cover them. Seems like there ought to be some sort of housing that you can use. Thanks, Steve https://imgur.com/a/leNMNI6

I am new to KSP. Mostly I want to learn more about what goes into building a ship that can get around our own solar system rather than the bogus solar system of kerbal. So I installed RSS and SMURFF but have had nothing but frustration. I am playing in sandbox mode and it seems as though I spend all my time trying to find parts that will even fit together rather than enjoying building a rocket and experimenting with what works. For example, when I use the MK-1 pod, I don't have any parachute that fits the capsule! When I use the advanced command pod (the one that holds two astronauts), very few tanks will fit together with it. Am I doing something wrong or in this mode do I just need to build some sort of housing whenever I join two parts together to make them have the same diameter? Thanks, Steve

Thank you all very much!

Thanks!!

Zhetaan, You are right of course. I am using 1.7. Thanks for your help. On a related note. Today I was watching a video on KSP realism overhaul. I got the impression that realism overhaul is also needed for RSS; is that true? Thanks, Steve

Brilliant!! I was using the Terrier engine and when I click on atmospheric, it does give me the correct TWR.

I am fairly new to KSP. I just added the mods Engineer Redux and Real Solar System. I built a basic rocket which I thought should fly. In the VAB, it says that the TWR is 2.31. But when I get it out on the launch pad and go to full throttle, I don't get off the ground. Engineer says that my TWR is now .59 Is this because engineer and Real Solar System are incompatible? Like somehow in the VAB it calculates the TWR based on Kerbin gravity but out on the launch pad it is using earth gravity? In a related question, when I go to the tracking station and zoom out, the planet I am launching from still looks like Kerbin and the other planets are Moho, etc. Not the planets from our solar system as expected. Did Real Solar System not install properly? Thanks, Steve

MUST'VE BEEN A PROGRAM GLITCH. I DID IT AGAIN FROM SCRATCH, DID THE EXACT SAME THING AND THIS TIME IT LET ME HIT NEXT It won't let me past a certain step in the advanced construction tutorial. It says I am supposed to "place four solar panels on the lower end of the fuel tanks. Press A to rotate 90 degrees. Place a set of four batteries between the fuel tanks." I am obviously doing something wrong because it won't let me click next but I can't figure out what it is. I'd like to include a picture of what I have done. Is there a way to attach an image in this forum? I can see how to insert an image from URL but not how to do it from a picture on my hard drive. Thanks!!! Steve https://imgur.com/a/RxvbW4K