Kimera Industries

The planet of scissors collapses from all the empty space in between, generating enormous heat from friction. The intense heat bakes the pizza to perfection, people enjoy it, and it loses its sole purpose in life to be cursed and undesirable. @Deddly wins! Rock-paper-scissors-shoot, anything you want to do!

Being mushy means it'll be easier to carve! Burning food in your oven.

Based upon my examination of the image, and my past experience with airships in KSP 1, I would say there are either vertical jet engines in the engine pods or passenger compartment. They could be rocket engines but the lack of plumes plus the comparatively low Isp and heavy weight of rocket fuel leads me to say that it's definitely jets. The fairing is probably mostly empty and only for show or full of reaction wheels for stability, you could get several minutes to an hour of flight time or more if the engine pods or passenger compartment were filled with fuel and the fairing is empty. Definitely enough time to fly over the astronaut complex and get a screenshot. Alternatively, it could be a bug exploit/kraken drive, or they have modded the game to give certain parts negative weight, but I think my first explanation is most likely.

"Fuel pipe A was supposed to connect to Pipe B on the engine assembly, right?" A Kraken attack.

"Naw, it's cool guys! I'm the main character!" *He showed up only twice* Columbus accidentally coughing on the Native Americans in 1492.

The drop bear drops from the ceiling in the tracking station and presses the button to terminate the stellar engine in orbit! @Deddly wins! (They've really got to put a cover on the terminate button) Rock-paper-scissors-shoot, anything you want to do!

"Top Gun looks easy. I can do that in KSP, no problem!" *They just got KSP* Running out of fuel 400 meters above an airless body's surface.

I don't see why so many people are giving Tim C so much flak. Plenty of people have middle names, and Kerbals have no reason not to either. Besides, it's a clever way to tell people he was a developer. I agree with you about Bill, though. Well-engineered ships and good flying can prevent any disaster.

For posterity, I present: Making the Psyche Mission: Episode 2 Miniaturizing and Asteroid Hunting Making a scaled-down version of Psyche was much the same as making the original, of course, with the benefit of hindsight, I could streamline it more. Packed full of batteries (the solar panels provide enough charge but just in case) and adding some monoprop tanks for the cold gas thrusters, (I forgot to add the RCS itself but I'll do that later) I actually like the scaled-down version better than my original. There's more to add but I'll do that later. Then, I slapped together a quick probe with a telescope and got to work mapping asteroids. Turns out that asteroids in KSP are extremely unrealistic as far as orbits go. Nearly all of them have orbits that intersect with Kerbin, frequently. If the Kerbol (Kerbolar?) System is anywhere as old as ours, then asteroids with orbits that intersect with a planet's so frequently would impact, become a moon, burn up, break into rings, and be filtered out of the population of asteroids in general. Kerbin should be a wasteland with all the near-Kerbin asteroids it has. No wonder about the big crater, then. In reality, they should mostly be between Duna and Jool, as that is where the biggest gap between the orbits is and also where the analog of Ceres is, Dres. This made finding an accurate stand-in for 16 Psyche rather difficult, as far fewer asteroids spawn in the orbit of Duna, and of course, all asteroids by Dres are part of the Dres-teroid ring. After an hour of searching, I found an asteroid whose orbit did not take it past Jool, and that didn't intersect Duna's. I built in the ability to grab another asteroid into this probe, so I rendezvoused, grabbed it, and renamed the asteroid. As far as I know, this is the only way to rename an asteroid. I'm using cheats, but since I am not altering the orbits of the asteroids in any way and this is only to find a suitable one and name it 16 Psyche, I'm ok with it. If you choose to do so with your attempt, feel free. At the last second, I decided its orbit was too close to Duna's. (It did not cross the inside of Duna's orbit but if you zoomed out it looked like it was right on top of it.) More searching, and finally, I found it! Its orbit is visibly apart from Duna's, and its distance from the orbit of the red planet means a Duna gravity assist might actually help me out. I had already named the previous asteroid 16 Psyche, so after I renamed the new one, I went back to the old one and called it 40 Mothball. Not quite sure where the name came from but I went with it. (Perhaps it can be a secondary target after 16 Psyche.) Oh, I named my asteroid exploration craft Psyche-ologist. Not the main focus but just as important all the same.

I saw the eclipse! It wasn't the full thing, but at max, it was about 70-80% covered. The cloud layer was just right so we could look directly at it! In other news, my recreation of the Psyche mission is going OK. Little did I know that asteroid hunting would be so hard, but that's for another time. Here's what I posted on the Psyche Recreation thread: For posterity, I present: Making the Psyche Mission: Episode 1 Cursed Robotics Out of Scale In making Psyche, I decided to start with the probe itself. Placing a probe core, I surrounded it with structural panels and filled my new box with batteries and some small xenon tanks. Psyche has 4 Hal Effect thrusters, placed at angles so each is pointing through the CoM. The Dawn engine is too big to have 4 at this scale, and I don't need the redundancy anyway. To maintain some semblance of accuracy in the matter, I chose to have two engines. Since I would only really use one at a time, since the fact that they are angled means I would lose dv if I used both, I created action groups to toggle them and docking ports so I could control from the center of thrust. Next, I added "greebles" to the exterior, meant to be the cameras, star trackers, etc. Psyche has two "horns" that are scientific instruments held away from the craft via struts, then covered in insulation. (It looks like foil but it actually isn't) You can see it in the pictures. Anyway, I made those with science bits (this isn't all aesthetic) and triangular structural panels. Next, DSOC: Deep Space Optical Communications. I just wanted the look of the thing, so I used two magnetometers for the cylinder and SP for the base. I added an antenna dish, and we were done. Except for the solar panels- oh, the solar panels. Psyche (and JUICE) use plus-shaped solar panels. None of the deployable panels in stock KSP come close, and I haven't found any mods with one either. So I would make my own deployable panels with DLC hinges and static panels. Two large OX-Stats clipped side by side made the right rectangular shape, so I mounted them on a small SP and added hinges and more "panels." I got it to look visually correct, and it could unfold normally- but the panels all clipped through each other. I decided to make a KAL sequence to get a cooler-looking deployment, and the problems began. Whenever the craft loaded in, the folded panels would stay in place, while the hinge connecting it to the craft rotated 90 degrees, in its fully deployed position. Attempting to deploy the panel results in the final thing being 90 degrees from where it should be. I discovered that if I rotated the entire assembly 90 degrees the other way, then it would load in normally. I figured this would be the best I'd get, so I put the array on Psyche. Suddenly, the problems vanished. Frustrating, and something I've seen a million times before: Problems with DLC hinges, spending several hours crying and diagnosing the problem, and discovering that the solution is stupidly simple. RIP Starship with moving flaps... I tested out the fully assembled craft (well, mostly) and then It was this moment He realized He messed up The solar array is all out of scale! It's too small! Way too small! Okay, it's not that bad, but to me, who has spent several hours in the last week on the Psyche website, it's a glaring mistake. Rather than make the solar arrays bigger, which would mean more panel clipping than I was already doing, and redoing the robotics, (which I hope never to have to do again) I decided it would be much simpler to redo Psyche itself but smaller. Instead of 1.8m SPs, I would do only 1.2m ones. The only problem I think I'll have is the Ions being a bit big, and I'll have to figure out a new antenna dish. Well, that's all for now, except for the fact that my PC crashed and I lost all the data, meaning I'll have to restart. Psych!

It's not on the list, but what about the Galileo spacecraft? I could also do the atmospheric probe. I've always wanted to send something into Jool.

For posterity, I present: Making the Psyche Mission: Episode 1 Cursed Robotics Out of Scale In making Psyche, I decided to start with the probe itself. Placing a probe core, I surrounded it with structural panels and filled my new box with batteries and some small xenon tanks. Psyche has 4 Hal Effect thrusters, placed at angles so each is pointing through the CoM. The Dawn engine is too big to have 4 at this scale, and I don't need the redundancy anyway. To maintain some semblance of accuracy in the matter, I chose to have two engines. Since I would only really use one at a time, since the fact that they are angled means I would lose dv if I used both, I created action groups to toggle them and docking ports so I could control from the center of thrust. Next, I added "greebles" to the exterior, meant to be the cameras, star trackers, etc. Psyche has two "horns" that are scientific instruments held away from the craft via struts, then covered in insulation. (It looks like foil but it actually isn't) You can see it in the pictures. Anyway, I made those with science bits (this isn't all aesthetic) and triangular structural panels. Next, DSOC: Deep Space Optical Communications. I just wanted the look of the thing, so I used two magnetometers for the cylinder and SP for the base. I added an antenna dish, and we were done. Except for the solar panels- oh, the solar panels. Psyche (and JUICE) use plus-shaped solar panels. None of the deployable panels in stock KSP come close, and I haven't found any mods with one either. So I would make my own deployable panels with DLC hinges and static panels. Two large OX-Stats clipped side by side made the right rectangular shape, so I mounted them on a small SP and added hinges and more "panels." I got it to look visually correct, and it could unfold normally- but the panels all clipped through each other. I decided to make a KAL sequence to get a cooler-looking deployment, and the problems began. Whenever the craft loaded in, the folded panels would stay in place, while the hinge connecting it to the craft rotated 90 degrees, in its fully deployed position. Attempting to deploy the panel results in the final thing being 90 degrees from where it should be. I discovered that if I rotated the entire assembly 90 degrees the other way, then it would load in normally. I figured this would be the best I'd get, so I put the array on Psyche. Suddenly, the problems vanished. Frustrating, and something I've seen a million times before: Problems with DLC hinges, spending several hours crying and diagnosing the problem, and discovering that the solution is stupidly simple. RIP Starship with moving flaps... I tested out the fully assembled craft (well, mostly) and then It was this moment He realized He messed up The solar array is all out of scale! It's too small! Way too small! Okay, it's not that bad, but to me, who has spent several hours in the last week on the Psyche website, it's a glaring mistake. Rather than make the solar arrays bigger, which would mean more panel clipping than I was already doing, and redoing the robotics, (which I hope never to have to do again) I decided it would be much simpler to redo Psyche itself but smaller. Instead of 1.8m SPs, I would do only 1.2m ones. The only problem I think I'll have is the Ions being a bit big, and I'll have to figure out a new antenna dish. Well, that's all for now, except for the fact that my PC crashed and I lost all the data, meaning I'll have to restart. Psych!

As far as sun tracking, what I'm gonna do is have a servo at the base of the assembly. During non-phys time warp, I will manually align the solar panels to the sun beforehand, and as long as I don't warp too far, (like halfway around the orbit) I will get constant EC. During maneuvers, I will re-align them to the sun again and since maneuvers won't take up a massive chunk of your orbit, only a small amount, the panels will get max EC for the entire burn. Sounds good in theory but Mark Watney taught me no plan survives first contact with the enemy, so I'll test it out as soon as possible on a demo probe. Worst case scenario, you just warp to the other side of your orbit (around the sun) to face the solar panels the right way again if you run out of EC.

Took me a minute to figure out how to embed the video, haha...

It's not KSP, but I saw the Psyche launch live! My friend was shocked that SpaceX could land boosters like that and there is something so cool about seeing them touchdown one after the other. My friend said it's like concept art for the future where they show two rockets landing, one in the foreground and the other in the background. I agree. If you want to make this mission yourself, check this post out!

@Kerb24 Are you working on a design right now? Or later? I'd love to hear your plan for the plus-shaped solar panels if you have one. My best idea is to use a combo of the large/small static solar panels that unfold with DLC hinges, but alas, no sun tracking. Maybe a kOS script could help, or I could just bother with it during maneuvers while using the ion engine when it needs the most electricity. Originally I thought I could extend the panels with different length pistons and then I realized I could just make my own makeshift deployable solar panel much easier.

This is absolutely fine! As long as all requirements are met.

I got the Pravda I mission complete- coming soon. Turning off anti-aliasing fixed the problems I was having before, thankfully. (Stuff looks janky now but I'll get used to it)

Absolutely! Tell me what it is and I'll look at it. RSS is good, just swap Duna and Jool with Mars and Jupiter. If you have something else in mind, I'll look at it.

You ever heard the song from Turbo? About the super fast snail? "That chopper's fast, that chopper's fast, that chopper's really fast fast fast!" (I also saw the "conventional" bit just now. Nice chopper, looks good.)

Oh, that's a relief. Funding. always getting in the way of all those cool missions. Building supply rockets is gonna be cool, I wonder how mining will turn out. I think some dedicated action groups for mining parts + a simpler UI for resource transfer would be a HUGE help.

Just made a mission challenge to recreate the Psyche mission to asteroid 16 Psyche! Watch the launch live (hopefully) and do the mission yourself! The highest possible score is a Psyche-16 and a job incredibly well done!

The 2023 mission to Psyche launched successfully on October 13, using a Falcon Heavy. (I saw it live, so cool!) It's time to do our duty as space nerds and recreate the mission! The Psyche spacecraft will head to the asteroid 16 Psyche, the biggest metallic asteroid discovered so far. Psyche aims to evaluate whether or not the asteroid is the remnants of the core of a planetesimal that had its outer layers stripped away, leaving a metal-rich asteroid behind. After its launch in 2023, Psyche will get a Mars gravity assist in 2026 and arrive at 16 Psyche in 2029. Thanks to time warp, it shouldn't take too long for you! Here's how your KSP version will work: Pick an asteroid of your choice. Any will do, but no comets. Launch your replica with a rocket of your choice. Rendezvous with the asteroid and gather as much science data as possible! Point scoring: Launch vehicle: (No spaceplanes. Vertically launched planes like the Space Shuttle will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.) 1-Any ol' rocket. 2-Reusable launch vehicle 3-Falcon Heavy look-alike. (Central core with 2 boosters) 4-Reusable Falcon Heavy. More details on recoverable Falcon Heavy: Psyche spacecraft: 1-Any ol' probe. 2-Psyche look-alike. Gravity Assists: 1-No assists- I can do this on my own! 2-Any chain of gravity assists. 3-Duna gravity assist only. Asteroid: 1-Any ol' space rock. 2-Asteroid in orbit between Kerbin and Duna. 3-Asteroid in orbit between Duna and Jool. Asteroid Encounter: 1-Zeroing out speed 2-Circling the asteroid 3-Circling 3 times around the equator and once over the top, with the distance shrinking with each circle. See here and scroll down until you see the plan for orbiting 16 Psyche. Psyche will examine if 16 Psyche has a magnetic field, so a magnetometer gets you a point! Scoring: 5-7 points: Good work. Mission accomplished. 8-12 points: Good job! You did a challenging mission! 13-15: Awesome! NASA would be proud. 16: Psyche-16! Now that's a nice number. Best of luck to you, and may the Kraken favor your craft! RSS, JNSQ, OPM, and MPE are allowed. Consult me if you have a question. Here's the mission badge! Use this if you got 15 or less points: This is the badge for getting the maximum points, a "Psyche-16:" I would just like to point out how the solar panels follow the same color gradient as the official badge. See this PDF to see exactly what colors they are. Use this to help with your replica, if you choose to make one. Check other images and renders for visual accuracy, this is primarily for help in the placement and layout of parts and scientific instruments.

Hang in there, guys! I wanted to do the Pravda mission, (yeah, that's the name of the orbital surveyor) I really did, but then, well, Mars rovers happened, and I wanted to make Pathfinder, so I worked on Sojourner, and long story short I discovered several glitches, such as 1. Suddenly load times are several minutes 2. KSC is entirely underwater and the craft is only visible from certain angles, and it shows the inside of parts rather than the outside 3. VAB/SPH appears black except for UI. Usually reverting the flight/ PC restart fixes the problem but not always. I looked up some fixes today and will try them. Pradva I (P1) hopefully coming tomorrow. Oh yeah, and 4. Making Sojourner is VERY hard but I will do my best for the cutest rover of all time. Rest assured, Joe was duly compensated for his sacrifice.