Chequers

Thanks for clarifying. You are allowed whatever parts you like on the craft. Refuelling however is not permitted.

Do you mean refuelling once you touch back down? Unfortunately, once you've landed, whatever you touch down with is what is considered recoverable for the purposes of determining your final mission cost. If this isn't what you mean, I apologise - could you please explain in a little more detail?

Congratulations @mystifeid on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your rocket, 'Bootcamp'; a perfectly original entry. Thank you for your video mission report. You've earned the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (with Meteorologist and Kelvin Ribbons), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes and Crossed Swords. You also claim the Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. --- Well done on improving your design, @TheFlyingKerman, and reclaiming the Sapphire Cluster for your attention to maximum cost recovery. Would you like to name your vessel? --- Congratulations @ralanboyle on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your rocket, 'Cheap Mk3'. I'm impressed with your pinpoint landing, and efficient recovery of parts! It was great to watch in your video mission report. You've earned the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Crossed Swords. --- Congratulations @Klapaucius on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your cleverly named rocket, 'Jack Benny Rocket'. And well done on building a rocket for under 5,000 - which is what we like to see here! I'm adding 'Launch cost less than 5k' to the list of additional adornments for consideration by the Orbit Boot Camp committee. For now, you've earned the Kerbin Crescent and join the Honour Roll.

I perfected the efficiency of my Apollo-style Mun missions in my no quicksave/revert career. Most satisfying feeling to know that barely a drop of fuel is wasted. And it keeps the KSC Finance Director happy; which is great for getting permission to 'try stuff out'. Mission Log

Congratulations @TheFlyingKerman on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp! And well done for being the first to put forward a space plane - a very inventive way of maximising recovery of funds. Does your ship have a name for the Honour Roll? I'll take your word for it that you would recover at least 5,000. Unfortunately, your landing does not meet the requirements of landing at KSC (within a KSC biome) - but you are more than welcome to demonstrate that you were able to, and add the Crossed Swords adornment. For now, you've earned yourself the Kerbin Crescent, and thanks to your impressive recovery of funds, claim the Sapphire Cluster.

Congratulations @Pro100kerbonaut on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp! Does your craft have a name? I was particularly impressed by the 'open air' cockpit, and powered landing. Thanks for recording your mission in a video - it was great to watch. You've earned yourself the Kerbin Crescent, and claim the Sapphire Cluster!

I've updated the Honour Role - thanks for taking part! I look forward to seeing it! I'm not an experienced enough player to know if getting all parameters is impossible or not... if it is, I might rethink some of the parameters later down the track.

Congratulations @mabdi36 on passing out of Orbital Boot Camp in your ship - does it have a name? Thank you for your screenshot mission report. You've earned yourself the Kerbin Crescent, with Silver Claw (holding meteorologist ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes, and you have claimed both the Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. Special mention must be made for your Mun flyby. I have made a motion for an additional adornment for furthest distance with the Orbit Boot Camp committee.

I humbly present my submission for this challenge. I've tried to hit a few of the goals on the list where I can. This was done in my no quicksave/revert career - and was a lot of fun! All stock 1.9, no mods.

Well I'll update the honour role with you dV numbers. Thanks for taking part!

Congratulations @Smokey the Bearon passing out of Orbital Boot Camp in your ship 'Rusty Bucket', earning yourself the Kerbin Crescent, with Amber Eyes and Onyx Leaves, and being the first to hold the Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. In light of the updated rules, if you could you let me know how much you were able to recover, I'll subtract it from the total cost of your mission. Also, what was the total dV of your craft at launch?

You're right, @KingDominoIII - the wording was confusing. It was to ensure that something of the craft could be recovered. Typically the command pod - rather than bailing out. I've amended it. SSTOs are allowed, but... This isn't really in the spirit of the challenge, which is to get to orbit on a budget. Building an expensive SSTO, but recovering all the parts, isn't really the intention. I've added an additional rule: 'Parts up to a total value of 5,000 can be recovered, and subtracted from the total cost of your mission'. Meaning that you can effectively spend 10,000, so long as you can recover at least half of it. I welcome your thoughts.

Thread of the Month May 2020 This is a challenge designed for all players - whether new or experienced. The premise is simple: get a Kerbal into Kerbin orbit and back again safely, for less than5,000. Those that succeed will earn the humble 'Kerbin Crescent' medallion, and pass-out of Orbit Boot Camp. You'll get your name on the Honour Roll, and can use the Orbit Boot Camp badge in your signature. Particular hotshots can earn additional adornments to their medallion. Some are unique - so only one player can hold them at a time. Others can be collected to challenge yourself to obtain as many as possible in a single mission. Whether you're feeling competitive, or just want to test your skills, it's easy to get involved. To participate, simply provide a report of your mission. Videos or screenshots are preferable, but I'll take your word for it. Record the total cost of your mission, and any additional goals you are trying to accomplish. Signature badge Rules The entire mission must cost no more than 5,000 Parts up to a total value of 5,000 can be recovered, and subtracted from the total cost of your mission1 Kerbals must survive the mission and be recovered in their pod2 Vehicle can be launched from either the runway or the launchpad All parts must be stock, and no performance enhancing mods may be used Part clipping, or other exploits deemed not within the spirit of the challenge, are not permitted 1This essentially means you have a total budget of 10,000, so long as you recover at least half of it. 2EAS-1 External Command Chair does not count as a pod for this rule. The Kerbin Crescent and Adornments Unique Adornments Ruby Star - Lowest launch cost - Currently held by: bayesian_acolyte - 1,578 Sapphire Cluster - Lowest mission cost (after recovery) - Currently held by: bayesian_acolyte - 141 Diamond Wings - Heaviest Payload Delivered* - Currently held by: bayesian_acolyte - 5.5t Opal Festoon - Highest dV remaining when in orbit - Currently held by: bayesian_acolyte - 4,183 m/s *Payload must be unmanned, have a probe core, antenna and power source. Additional Adornments 1st Class Insignia - Achieve at least 5 additional adornments (ribbons do not count) Zircon Chevron - Launch cost less than 5,000 Silver Claw - Perform a science experiment (Crew / EVA report does not count) - Meteorologist Ribbon for taking a pressure reading - Kelvin Ribbon for taking a temperature reading - Lab Technician Ribbon for using the materials bay - Observational Ribbon for observing the Goo Canister Pearl Escutcheon for obtaining all Silver Claw ribbons in a single mission Amber Leaves - 10 parts or less Onyx Eyes - Tech level 4 or below Crossed Swords - Land within a KSC biome Vermilion Heart - Take more than one Kerbal Cobalt Stripe - Deliver a payload into orbit as part of your mission* *Payload must be unmanned, have a probe core, antenna and power source. 1st Class Register The following have earned the 1st Class Insignia, by adorning their Kerbin Crescent with at least 5 additional adornments in a single mission. 16.04.20: @Superfluous J with 'El Cheapo 2': Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart. 17.04.20: @BallistX with 'StarCharter Pressure': Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Crossed Swords. 19.04.20: @TheFlyingKerman with 'R-4 LKO Tour Bus': Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart. 21.04.20: @mystifeid with 'Bootcamp Duo': Silver Claw, Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Crossed Swords, Vermilion Heart 27.04.20: @CBase with 'BootScience': Silver Claw, Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Crossed Swords, Vermilion Heart 02.05.20: @Space Nerd with 'KSS "Bootcamper" Mk3': Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart. 17.05.20: @AHHans with 'Boot': Silver Claw, Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart, Cobalt Stripe 10.06.20: @GRS with 'Something Long and Hard': Silver Claw, Pearl Escutcheon, Crossed Swords, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart. 11.06.20: @Venturer2Space with 'Flyer 3': Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart. Honour Roll The following have passed out of Orbit Boot Camp, and have earned the Kerbin Crescent. Adornments are also listed. Cost is after recovery. 2020 08.04.20: @Smokey the Bear with 'Rusty Bucket' - costing 4,900. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. 08.04.20: @mabdi36 with 'Upsilon' - costing 3992. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. 10.04.20: also with 'Phi' - costing 3,484. Adorned with Amber Leaves and Silver Claw (K-Ribbon). 08.04.20: @Pro100kerbonaut with 'Unnamed Rocket' - costing 2,907. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron. Claimed Sapphire Cluster. 08.04.20: @TheFlyingKerman with 'Arrowfish 1' - costing 1,943. Awarded Kerbin Crescent. Claimed Sapphire Cluster. 10.04.20: also with 'Arrowfish 2' - costing 760. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 11.04.20: also with 'Arrowfish 3' - costing 538. Adorned with Zircon Chevron. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 13.04.20: also with 'Arrowfish 4' - costing 217. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 19.04.20: also with 'Arrowfish 6' - costing 144. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 19.04.20: also with 'R-4 LKO Tour Bus' costing 4,950. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (O-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart and 1st Class Insignia. 20.04.20: also with 'Slowfish 1' costing 4,004. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Gold Florettes. 21.04.20: also with 'Slowfish 2' costing 4,592. Adorned with Zircon Chevron. Reclaimed Gold Florettes. 10.04.20: @mystifeid with 'Bootcamp' - costing 1,222. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes and Crossed Swords. Claimed Sapphire Cluster and Gold Florettes. 10.04.20: also with 'Bootcamp 2' - costing 733. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 12.04.20: also with 'Guzzler' - costing 294. Adorned with Amber Leaves and Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 12.04.20: also with 'RUsureaboutthis' - costing 4,525. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, and Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Gold Florettes. 14.04.20: also with 'Flipper' - costing 2,450. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes. Claimed Ruby Star. 20.04.20: also with 'RUsureaboutthis 2' - costing 4,806. Adorned with Amber Leaves. Reclaimed Gold Florettes. 20.04.20: also with 'RUsureaboutthis 3' - costing 4,239. Adorned with Amber Leaves. Reclaimed Gold Florettes. 21.04.20: also with 'Bootcamp Duo' - costing 4,342. Adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, L-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Crossed Swords, Vermilion Heart and 1st class Insignia. 21.04.20: also with 'RUSureaboutthis 4' - costing 4,590. Reclaimed Gold Florettes 10.04.20: @ralanboyle with 'Cheap Mk3' - costing 1,131 Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Crossed Swords. 12.04.20: also with 'Cheap Poodle' - costing 899. Adorned with Zircon Chevron. 10.04.20: @Klapaucius with 'Jack Benny Rocket' - costing 3113. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron. 14.04.20: also with 'Gracie' - costing 1,091. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 14.04.20: also with 'Genji' - costing 2,635. Adorned with Zircon Chevron. 17.04.20: also with 'George Burns Rocket' - costing 4734. Adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, O-Ribbon) and Vermilion Heart. 21.04.20: also with 'Budget Satellite' - costing 3,610. Adorned with Zircon Chevron and Cobalt Stripe. 11.04.20: @Space Nerd with 'KSS "Bootcamper"' - costing 3,508. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 02.05.20: also with 'KSS "Bootcamper" Mk3' - costing 3,691. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart and 1st Class Insignia. 11.04.20: @C1arl with 'Screecher' - costing 999. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Amber Leaves. 13.04.20: also with 'Burning Flare' - costing 3,849. Adorned with Zircon Chevron. 11.04.20: @bayesian_acolyte with 'Little Rascal' - costing 2,500. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Ruby Star and Gold Florettes. 12.04.20: also with: 'Nervous Energy' - costing 328. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 12.04.20: also with: 'Nervous Energy 2' - costing 225. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 13.04.20: also with: 'Spirit of Talkeetna' - costing 3,437. Reclaimed Gold Florettes. 13.04.20: also with: 'Nervous Energy 3' - costing 150. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 14.04.20: also with 'Little Rascal 2' - costing 1,540. Adorned with Zircon Chevron and Amber Leaves. Reclaimed Ruby Star. 18.04.20: also with 'Little Rascal 3' - costing 1,168. Adorned with Zircon Chevron and Amber Leaves. Reclaimed Ruby Star. 20.04.20: also with 'Nervous Energy 4' - costing 141. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Reclaimed Sapphire Cluster. 18.05.20: also with 'DeeVee mcDVface' - costing 4,992. Adorned with Crossed Swords. Claimed Opal Festoon. 19.05.20: also with 'When Pigs Fly' - costing 4,965. Adorned with Crossed Swords and Cobalt Stripe. Claimed Diamond Wings. 14.04.20: @Superfluous J with 'El Cheapo' - costing 2,316. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (with M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, and Vermilion Heart. 16.04.20: also with 'El Cheapo 2' - costing 1,340. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart, and 1st Class Insignia. 15.04.20: @BallistX with 'StarCharter Pressure' - costing 4,812. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (M-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes and Crossed Swords. 15.04.20: also with 'StarCharter Thermo' - costing 4,912. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 15.04.20: also with 'StarCharter Goo' - costing 4,812. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (O-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 16.04.20: also with 'StarCharter Materials' - costing 4,962. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (L-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 16.04.20: also with 'StarCharter Plus' - costing 4,892. Adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, L-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Pearl Escutcheon and Onyx Eyes. 18.04.20: also with 'StarCharter Heavy' - costing 4,852. Adorned with Vermilion Heart. 05.05.20: also with 'StarCharter Mun' - costing 4,750. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Opal Festoon. 16.04.20: @ParkorePancake with 'Blast to the Stars' - costing 4,772. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron and Onyx Eyes. 17.04.20: @Pds314 with 'Unnamed Rocket' - costing 3,682. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron. 18.04.20: @sevenperforce with 'El Barato' - costing 874. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron and Onyx Eyes. Claimed Ruby Star. 23.04.20: @CBase with 'Fatty I' - costing 1,176. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon) Amber Leaves and Crossed Swords. Claimed Opal Festoon. 27.04.20: also with 'BootScience' - costing 4,596. Adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, L-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Crossed Swords, Vermilion Heart and 1st Class Insignia. 10.05.20: @jshu with 'OrbitBootCamper' - costing 4,942. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (K-Ribbon, M-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Vermilion Heart. 11.05.20: @joshudson with 'Boot Camp' - costing 4,948. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (K-ribbon), and Cobalt Stripe. Claimed Diamond Wings. 18.05.20: also with 'Das Boot' - costing 4,840. Adorned with Cobalt Stripe. Reclaimed Diamond Wings. 17.05.20: @AHHans with 'Boot' - costing 4,876. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, L-Ribbon, O-Ribbon), Pearl Escutcheon, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart, Cobalt Stripe, and 1st Class Insignia. 17.05.20: @jinnantonix with 'Wobbly Boot' - costing 4,989. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon), Crossed Swords and Cobalt Stripe. Claimed Diamond Wings. 18.05.20: @Hotel26 with 'Bare Medal' - costing 4,637. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron and Onyx Eyes. 19.05.20: @Grogs with 'Flying Deathtrap' - costing 4,717. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 28.05.20: @The Doodling Astronaut with 'James' - costing 4,987. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon), and Onyx Eyes. 09.06.20: @GRS with 'Something Long and Hard' - costing 4,910. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (M-Ribbon, K-Ribbon, L-Ribbon, O-Ribbon) Pearl Escutcheon, Crossed Swords, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart, and 1st Class Insignia. 11.06.20: @Venturer2Space with 'Flyer 1' - costing 3,150. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves, and Onyx Eyes. 11.06.20: also with 'Flyer 3' - costing 4,768. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (M-Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, Vermilion Heart, and 1st Class Insignia. 09.07.20: @Keithv708 with 'I Think I Can V2' - costing 4,999. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (K-Ribbon). 10.07.20: @Comte_Snek with 'Le Garbage' - costing 4,942. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (M-Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 10.07.20: also with 'Le Garbage 2' - costing 4,820. Adorned with Vermilion Heart and Cobalt Stripe. 05.08.20: @krautfed1 with 'Orbit Boot Camp 1' - costing 822. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon) and Amber Leaves. 06.08.20: also with 'Orbit Boot Camp 3.0' - costing 734. Adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw, Amber Leaves and Crossed Swords. 06.09.20: @Kerminator1000 with 'Cheapo' - costing 3,469. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 08.09.20: @Krazy1 with 'Full Throttle Science' - costing 2,838. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (K-Ribbon) and Amber Leaves. 11.09.20: also with 'Goo for Two' - costing 4,916. Adorned with Silver Claw (O-Ribbon), Onyx Eyes and Vermilion Heart. 2021 02.01.21: @Popestar with 'Hot Buttered Aspirin' - costing 4,366. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Onyx Eyes. 03.01.21: @InfernoSD with '6PartBoot' - costing 1,585. Awarded Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron and Amber Leaves. also with 'tugboot' - costing 3,100. Adorned with Zircon Chevron and Vermillion Heart.

@TiaguX84 Hopefully this will help: Guide to Orbit To achieve orbit requires two things: Going high enough to escape the atmosphere Going fast enough sideways to counter Kerbin's gravity If these two things are done at the same time, you will enter orbit. Going high enough Kerbin's atmosphere ends at 70,000m. After this, you're in space. On Earth, this is called the Karman Line. To orbit, you need to be above this height, otherwise, the atmosphere will slow you down, and gravity will pull you back into the planet. Going fast enough sideways Once you're above 70,000m, you need to go sideways fast enough (about 2,300m/s), so that as gravity pulls you back towards the planet, you are falling 'around' the curve - as shown in this diagram: How do we do that? To go high enough, and fast enough sideways, you could go straight up to 70,000m, then turn sideways and burn until you go fast enough - but that is very inefficient. Instead, we want to balance going up, with going sideways. But it's a little more complicated than that. Because at sea level (ASL), the air is very thick. If we try and go sideways too quickly, our spaceship will meet a lot of air resistance, which we will spend a lot of fuel overcoming, or the aerodynamic forces will be too strong, and our spaceship could become uncontrollable - or break apart completely. So instead, we take a path that looks like this: As you can see, we takeoff vertically, escaping the thickest part of the atmosphere as quickly as we can, and then gradually pitch over until we're out of the atmosphere. That's the theory. Let's build a ship! A ship that is capable of orbit can be quite simple. It needs to have a powerful 'lifting' stage, that can get the rocket out of the atmosphere quickly with a lot of thrust. And a more efficient second stage, that doesn't need as much thrust - but is more suited to operating in the vacuum of space. Let's start at the top. You'll need: Mk16 Parachute Mk1 Command Pod Heat Shield 1.25m TD-12 Decoupler FL-T200 Fuel Tank LV-909 "Terrier" engine That's your upper stage. This will be the 'orbiter' section of your ship, that once we've got it into space, will complete the 'circularisation burn' that will get us into orbit. And to get it up there, we'll need: TD-12 Decoupler 800 units of liquid fuel (either 1x FL-T800 tank, or 2x FL-T400 tanks) LV-T30 "Swivel" engine 3 Basic Fins While this is pretty powerful, it could do with a 'kick-start'. So lets add a Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) underneath the stack. SRBs have a very high thrust-to-weight ratio, so are a great way to get your rocket moving in the thick atmosphere: TD-12 Decoupler RT-10 "Hammer" Make sure you correctly set up your staging, so that when you 'stage', it decouples the previous stage, and lights the next one. The mission The general flight plan is as follows: Turn on SAS, and activate the SRB, which will propel us upwards. At 100 m/s, pitch to 10 degrees to the East (right) with the D key Drop the SRB when it runs out of fuel, and light the 'Swivel' stage Slowly pitch over to 45 degrees by the time we've reached 10,000m Maintain 45 degrees until we reach 20,000m, and pitch over to 30 degrees. Go onto the map screen, with the 'M' key, and look down on Kerbin's north pole to see your trajectory. Push Apoapsis above 70,000m When out of fuel, press X to cut the throttle, and then drop the 'Swivel' stage. Mouse over the Ap symbol, and at 25 seconds until Apoapsis, point prograde and light upper 'Terrier' stage. Keep burning until you push your Periapsis above 70,000m Celebrate! If you need some screenshots of this in practise, let me know!

Hi Civillian1, welcome aboard. You're getting a lot of great advice about navigating in space - but it doesn't sound like you're out of the atmosphere yet. I imagine you're doing some of those 'temperature readings above/below a certain height at a certain place'? A few tips: Before launching, go into the map screen (M), and click on the target you're trying to reach. Then select 'Activate Navigation' - this sticks it on your navball. Your W A S D keys always control your direction on the navball - regardless of the way the camera is pointing. So focus on the navball to steer. Launch slow and stable. Use a liquid fuelled engine, and keep the throttle low. Make sure you have fins for stability. Once you've gone up a way, gently steer to point your nose at the target on your navball. Be gentle! Try and keep the prograde marker (green -O- symbol) close to where your nose is pointed. I was exactly where you are a few weeks ago; I know it seems daunting, but stick with it - it all clicks, and soon you'll be ready for Mun landings!

Totally. I didn't time-warp for a long time during the fly-by. I went and did a few other missions, just so I could keep coming back to just look at it. Pretty strange that some of my favourite moments in this game are when I'm not actually doing anything. Just... watching.

Mission Accomplished! What a rush! Thanks all for your help. Everything went smoothly and as planned; and I just had enough dV in the probe to capture at Kerbin. The most challenging part was definitely setting up the trans-Kerbin burn after the Eve flyby - had to spend quite a lot of time playing with the manouvere node to get a Kerbin encounter - managed to get it within a single orbit of the Sun though. Then it was hoping that the probe core didn't burn up on re-entry. No quicksaves or reverts - but @5thHorseman's idea to use a larger heat-shield worked wonderfully and I touched down on Kerbin soil, 1 year 355 days after I left... and now have a contract to orbit Eve. Typical! Eve looks beautiful! Passing by at 5,000km - my first view of another planet. My thoughts exactly!

Well firstly, that sounds amazing. Might be worth getting in touch with them directly, telling them what you're trying to achieve. Maybe they'd consider some kind of discount for services to the community. That's a great initiative to get kids into libraries for sure! I'd send my kids! Haha.

Hi Klapaucius. It's a legit site. I know plenty of people that regularly get their games from this site. To date, none have reported a problem. If you're worried about being scammed, the likelihood is low - G2A seems to take this issue seriously. But I don't use it, because I'd rather support the developer directly. I've read some articles that go into the huge dislike developers have for G2A (and resellers in general), who obviously don't receive your money when you buy through G2A - and if the key your buying has been fraudulently obtained, then you're doubly stiffing the dev. And of course, there is always the chance that if your key isn't above board, the developer has every right to block it. Finally - they slap on all sorts of fees - which is how they make their money. If you're comparing prices, wait until you're at the checkout. You might find you're not saving all that much. I'd suggest letting your colleagues try out KSP on your account; they'll soon see it's worth every penny buying it direct from Steam!

I finally got far enough in my career to unlock some more powerful jet engines, so worked on my first SSTO. I'm a new player, so have never tried anything like this before, but I had an absolute blast on this project - I have no quicksaves or reverts, so there was a lot of time figuring out ascent paths and optimisations - but I'm really proud of this low-tech, simple result. For your consideration for the esteemed K-Prize, presenting the SP-I 'Peregrine'. Built in 1.9. No mods.

Thanks for the additional information - just redesigning the probe to feature a 1.25m heat-shield, then it's go time.

I did a test flight today, to confirm my delta-v numbers, and ensure re-entry would work with the probe core and heat-shield. First stage got me to a 100km circularised orbit, with 853m/s to spare. I might switch the X200-32, for a X200-16. I had ~ 1,300m/s in the second stage - is this enough, or too much for Eve transit? I used it to push my orbit right to the edge of Kerbin's SOI, and had about 450m/s dV remaining. The actual probe has 1,912m/s dV. Which seems a lot just to get back to Kerbin from a flyby of Eve - or is it? If I remove fuel there, I actually run out of surface space for experiments and the antenna! Unfortunately, the probe did burn up on re-entry, so I'll take your advice on a bigger heat-shield. My latest Mun mission yielded enough science to unlock the QBE Probe Core... will its smaller profile might help keep everything tucked behind the heat shield. Just waiting on a mission to return from Minmus - then I'll timewarp to a good transfer window... and it's go time!

Absolutely!! If I have dreams of exploring other planets, that's the price! Especially as time doesn't really affect anything in game.

Ah, good to know. I'm happy to take the extra, in case I have to strong-arm a manoeuvre. This is my first time outside of Kerbin's SOI, so I want to have a little dV insurance.

Great - so bigger antenna and more delta-v. Back to the VAB!