peter1981

Propulsion in the real world of spaceplanes: All spaceplanes to date have used rocket engines with chemical fuels. Due to the orbital insertion burn necessarily being done in space, orbital spaceplanes require rocket engines for at least that portion of the flight. A difference between rocket based and air-breathing aerospace plane launch systems is that aerospace plane designs typically include minimal oxidizer storage for propulsion. Air-breathing aerospace plane designs include engine inlets so they can use atmospheric oxygen for combustion. Since the mass of the oxidizer is, at takeoff, the single largest mass of most rocket designs (the Space Shuttle's liquid oxygen tank weighs 629,340 kg, more than one of its solid rocket boosters), this provides a huge potential weight savings benefit. However, air breathing engines are usually very much heavier than rocket engines and the empty weight of the oxidiser tank, and since, unlike oxidiser, this extra weight (which is not expended to add kinetic energy to the vessel, as is propellant mass) must be carried into space it may offset the overall system performance. It is important to note that mass fraction is an important concept in the engineering of a rocket. However, mass fraction may have little to do with the costs of a rocket, as the costs of fuel are very small when compared to the costs of the engineering program as a whole. As a result, a cheap rocket with a poor mass fraction may be able to deliver more payload to orbit with a given amount of money than a more complicated, more efficient rocket. Propulsion in KSP world of spaceplanes: Off the shelf is the KSP way, this strategy is known as the "big dumb booster" approach and is considered cheap as developement cost are marginal even in the new 0.25 hard mode of career. Wings will give you life and manouverability but the savings of spaceplanes are marginal dispite the fact that fuel cost in KSP are one of the biggest cost you'll face there is always plenty of money around. EDIT: Planes can't fly without wings. In KSP is easy to get out the atmosphere on jet engines alone (with or without wings.); but, you have to circularise with chemical bi-propelant rockets.

Hi One-Way Gaming You Say:

713. Realistic operating cost, staff costs, taxes... Heck I've never worked for a organisation that had money always avaliable on new contract and no cost other than paying for new parts, fuels and failed contract fines.

I don't agree However: I think the Mun and Minmus have to many biomes themselves. It has always annoyed me that there are so many identical looking planes and flats but only one type of slope? I believe that biomes should be more like "always in shade"; "always in kerbol-light"; "Crater rim"; "Impact site" etc. not "left hand crater"; "upper slope" et al. I don't think contracts should reward reputation or science just funds: reputation should only be awarded for accomplishing new things like first getting into orbit or to eeloo etc. Science shold only be awarded for actuatl return of data because your space program doesn't benefit from a engine test with science.

Hi Oafman -- I think that a single launch grand tour is certainly possible but, are you planning a stock only attempt? If so learn to love the ion and nuke engines. Are you limiting yourself to not using infingliders and kracken-drives? I'd suggest not worrying about athetics, or science, or anything that adds mass: Use the command chair, then sit a kerbal in it, then land and finally a plant flag repeat for each rock and then return home. If your going to use the kerbanauts jet pack as a 600m/s dV final stage you'll have to take a command pod so you can refuel as of 0.24 the monopropellant is not decreased on kerbanaught return; so it is a FREE 600m/s dV! This means you can use the jet pack to land and return to orbit on Gilly, Minmus, Ike, Bop, & Pol. You can also return to Orbit with just the jet pack from Mun, Dres, & (Eeloo maybe?) Laythe use the rapier make a space plane ~3200m/s dV each way ideally a plane that can land and take off on water. Moho ~900m/s dV each way so ~1800m/s dV same as Vall so maybe a refuel? Eve's highest point is 7540m high, found near (25° S, 158.5° W) and requires ~8,000m/s dV to reach LEvO (95km) (Maximum dV 12000m/s dV) Duna highest point is 8264m high to reach LDuO (42km) require ~1500-2000m/s dV including some for landing I'm assuming low numbers of paracutes => lean & mean duna lander. Min dV required to reach LDuO from sea level (0m) is 1300m/s dV but you'll need something for the landing the nuclear rocket engine is great in Duna's rarified atmosphere. Vall ~900m/s dV each way so ~1800m/s dV (see Moho above.) Tylo has peaks of more than 11290 meters but 0.8g at the surface you'll need a dedicated lander for this but finding a high peak could save alot of propellant and therefore weight. ~2300m/s dV each way so ~4600m/s dV Eeloo highest points are near the equator and are almost 3.9km high with a gravity similar to the Mun (0.172g vs. 0.166g) it may be possible to jetpack most of the way to LEeO (~620m/s dV) I'd suggest you look at this map http://i.imgur.com/NKZhU57.png -> Recieved wisdom is to start with the highest gravity bodies and work backwards. Good Luck. EDIT: I think a nuclear powerd interplanetary stage with an Ion powered comand pod shuttle to take down to Low orbit for the planets where your using just the jetpack. For the others, Moho & Vall, Eve, Duna, Laythe, and Tylo; I think you'll get away with refueling the Moho lander and using it on Duna & Vall; a SSTO rapier spaceplane for Laythe, A huge Eve lander and If you can make the upperstage of that reusable as a Tylo lander then just need to plan the route you'll take.

How about Kerbal Space Program: Contracted Operations

Hello, In the VAB & SPH Centre of Mass, Centre of Thrust and, Centre of Lift buttons show yellow, purple and blue spheres and for CoT & CoL vectors as well for the overall design. My suggestion is that you should be able to cycle through stages, so you don't have to disconect a heavy lifter when adding RCS thrusters to an upper stage(s).

Kerbal Space Program: Skyward Venture I kind of like this as skyward refers both to aero- and astro- nautics without being too overused in the language of space exploration and space travel. Further Skyward is a direction not a location, like space, so has a sense of where you're going not where you are. Venture is an obvious term for trade and business but I think it has a little of the adventure implied and KSP: SV 0.24 looks cool to me. What do you think? How about --> Kerbal Space Program: Kosmic Kapital Edition or Kerbal Space Program: Way of the Wongerer

He's not wrong ^^

How many parts will the epilogue be in 64? *crosses fingures* Please please please! Great work as always.

I just guessing Jeb's gonna turn the tazer on himself after tazering the others.

great chapter didn't see Jeb coming round the hatch with a tazer! Brilliant. I don't feel we've had enough Captain Kirk fighting on Duna. Looking forward to the next part soon.

As always an exciting pleasure to kick off my weekend, Great work! But, for the love of Kod that is an amazingly big cliff hanger!! More, more, more please.

you could always capture an asteroid and move it into the magic boulders original orbit

Hi, when selecting a docking prot on the flat hab the nave ball orientates in the direction of the 'top' of the model and not the docking port; Is this a limitation of KSP or could this be fixed? Love this mod just got my first Duna station in Duna orbit using these beautiful parts. Keep up the great work mate.

Red markers are cool! Love this add-on alot. Loads of functionality nut done in a simple and stock-like implementation; what's not to like?

Could it all have been a terrible dream for Jeb? Did the events of the last 39 chapters only happen in Bob's head while suffering the effects of being on Eve? Indeed is ths just a very clever ploy Czokletmuss to give us extra chapters and keep this enjoyable story going?

forum rule 2.2.g would prevent the signature from publising the book perhaps but# My understanding is this. On the one hand: Copyright is the automatic right of the creator from the point that the first 'recorded' the work in a tangible manner. In this case, from the point you type it in on the keyboard. So this would mean that as the 'creator' of the post, you are the copyright owner. However.... In posting on the forum, you will have accepted the terms that this type of publication implies. In posting you are accepting that your content will be published by the site owner, and also that the site owner has the right to edit or delete your post as he sees fit. not sure if this forum has any rule on copyright ownership. Copyright law protects the expression of ideas but not the ideas themselves. The names of characters and planets and moons are useable but pictures from in game would have to be AUTHORISED by Squad. but I'd still ask Squad myself and see if they had any issues with such a project. who knows they might think it an excellent idea and support it and give their bleesing to ussing images from in game and alsorts of things or they might say 'no'. Anyway I'm looking forward to the next chapter, and can't believe what happening around Jool!

try lulu.com my dad and mum and brother have all used this and made a profit!! -- you can have hardback, paperback & even .pdf all avaliable for sale. -- with full colour pictures, monochrome, no picture versions. -- you can do all diffrent versions, price them diffrently then post the link in your signature and watch the sale roll in. thus no publisher: you are the publisher and they print books individually and ship them.

this seemed appropriate Henry01 http://youtu.be/1CLCOvZOh1o Loved the last chapter :-D Didn't see it coming; don't know what's next. But, I do know i can't stand the wait ;-) Hope it comes soon.

All writers suffer the demands of their readers czokletmuss. Just look at J. K. Rowling and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But they shouldn't be abused and harrassed by members posting demands for updates and new chapters. I myself have been tempted over the past week to ask when the next chapter will be posted; but have resisted (until now i guess .) I just say to myself check back tomorrow. I must say the wait between chapters is almost unbearable; but makes each one so much more rewarding when they are posted. Besides there is no point having a cliff-hanger ending if the story continues to soonâ„¢. So i will continue to, as soon as I've read a chapter, want more. But, I have to accept that I must be patient and wait; space is vast and it must take awhile for the stories to get back to Kerbin after all. Please keep up the hard work czokletmuss I'm sure the silent majority fully appriciate your hard work and supports you in your creative process.

Great work

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe." -- Carl Sagan.

Thanks this is my fav. mod