LMksp

I knew posting this question was the way to go! This is exactly the type of help I've been looking for. Thank you! I've avoided any kind of mod so far, but this is an obvious needed mod to keep the game interesting! Thanks again for keeping my 'addiction?' going ;-)

I'll say one thing for the pandemic. It allowed me the time to gain an amazing appreciation for Orbital Mechanics - through dozens and dozens of hours in KSP! I have 1.9.1 and the expansions. I play totally un-modded, career mode and am down to 12 items remaining in the tech-tree. Things are going great! Labs on the Mun and Minmus (no mining yet) Flybys and unmanned lander on Duna. Penetrated Eve (oooh.. not the best word choice..) but didn't survive to the surface. LKO Station built and (due to KSP bugs) I want to build it over again. My dilemma: Running hardware up to the station and back is getting mundane and tedious - enough to make me want to call it a 'done game'. I know it's way too early for that!! After resetting a bugged docking port in KML, I realized I could place a vessel into LKO - like magic. So, I'm going to start moving stuff up to orbit using that exploit. But here are the rules: First, I can only 'wave the magic wand' after proving to myself that I could do it the normal way - by doing it at least once. Second, I can only move 56 tons at a time, which must fit in the loading bay - roughly the size of three Kerbodyne S3-7200s (Because that's the limit of my 490 ton reusable beast!: The Beast (v5.1) What are your thoughts? If I'm going to "cheat" or stop playing, is this a reasonable use of cheating? Are there other rules that I might not have thought of? Thanks!

Hmmm... yes, you're right. This is a clipping issue. In order to decouple, the Kerbal seems to have to get on the ATV. That's when the top quarter of his helmet clips through the top of the Service Bay. If I mount the ATV to the decoupler and the decoupler to a flat construction sheet - the decouple at a force of one is perfect. Thanks!

I have a couple 1-kerbal ATVs that are only 0.3T each. They're all loaded into a 2.5 Service Bay and dropped to the surface (Duna). The best I can think of is to attach these vehicles to the floor of the service bay with the smallest (.6?) decoupler. However, even with the force set to 1, the vehicle gets shot around the inside of the bay or sometimes even bounces out and lands in places that make it impossible to 'board' - down a cliff, under the ship, etc.. - I'm completely "mod free", and would probably prefer to stay that way. - Clamp-o-Tron Jr docking ports are way too bulky and heavy for these tiny vehicles (so small that 4 fit in a 2.5 service bay!) - I thought of strutting from the decoupler to these vehicles, but they have to be attached to do that - which defeats the purpose.. Is it finally time for me to give up and install KAS? Are there any other ideas I can try first? Here's an image: https://imgur.com/a/xTfB22n Thanks!

Oh this is an even better response than I was crossing my fingers for. This AGU is definitely something I want. I haven't moved through the research tree far enough to have the AGU available. Now I'm really looking forward to getting one. It make the 'science grinding' a little more tolerable. Thanks for the quick replies!!

I did do a search for this topic, but didn't see it asked anywhere. However, I'm kinda still new. (landed at Mun and returned) Is it possible in 1.8 (without mods) to build a ship that could essentially retrieve debris from previous missions? When I say retrieve, I mean - go get it. secure it onboard (I guess?), return to Kerbin with it. And bonus - get credit for the part when tallied up -OR- what do you think about rendezvous with debris, tow it to low orbit (where it will get sucked down), let go, get the hell out of there! Yes, I know there's no practical reason for this, I just want to be able to do it. Thanks!

I'm a newbie - Orbited Mun but not landed yet.. I really want to use the R121 - and the hints here are encouraging.. Even though this thread is old, I'm hoping someone can point me to a tutorial (for dummies) on get this engine to even WORK. Everything I do just has the engine sit there on the runway and nothing happens. I read about changing the throttle assignment and blade pitch, but I guess I'm confused where to do that? I guess I just need a step-by-step Thanks!