Rhomphaia

getting warm. pretty sure the bi-coupler existed when I built this, but there was a reason to not use it. although in modern versions this feature could have been built using a bi-coupler The feature still works as intended but the necessity for it is gone in modern versions.

You cant really reroot a subassembly IIRC. what you would have to do is start a new build, attach the subassembly to something, then attach another part to the node you want to use and make the new part the root. remove the starting part from the old node then detach the subassembly from the new root and save it as a new subassembly. As mentioned the shielded docking ports dont have a node in stock, but there used to be a mod that enabled one for them. don't know if it still exists

Last night I found a bunch of really old planes I built. been seeing how they perform today. Spaceplanes need a lot of work, but this thing was still remarkably fun to fly with minimal tweaking required. Points to anyone who can date it by and explain the redundant design feature I left in

Should it not just be Desired longitude + 180 + transfer time in minutes

the problem i would have with that is that since all the supersonic engines share the same form factor it is already pretty stifling to creativity, forcing nacelles would only make it worse. Aircraft will always be cheaty anyway given the difference in scale between the planet and its atmosphere.

Oh the good old days, when Lift was magical, drag was exclusively dependent on mass, and jet engines could achieve escape velocity as long as they had intake air. Having all the mass at the nozzle wasn't an issue back then, but as those things changed, it became one. So the mass shifted forward, but why make a model no-one will see.

Pretty much. the requirements are not as harsh as suggested earlier, nothing like far future tech is required. the difficulty is in the precision, but something capable of landing on the Mun should meet the deltaV requirements, if the rough tests i have tried are any indication. Could make a fun challenge, fastest time to geostationary orbit directly over KSC.

Then test it, but i left a hint in the quote.

Indeed not. unless you focus, on it or get within physics range, it just stays on rails forever. Unless it gets too close to the surface (under 20km on kerbin) then it just disappears.

generally I try to remember to rotate my pods and probes i the VAB so that I use pitch controls to pitch over during launch, typically s. For simple launchers I tend to tip the whole craft on the launch clamps, so throttle and staging is the only control I need.

not really in my wheelhouse, but from what i can understand, it seems like the axes will always be parallel to those of the arbitrary reference frame. since planets rotate and orbit this will cause the drift you see.

Yes it is normal. for the part on Ike i suspect that the part you have to recover is classed as debris, since it will be a single part and likely not a probe or pod. try setting your map to show debris and see if anything shows.

Unless your AP is over a pole, or at at least at enough latitude and altitude to stay out of preumbra. that will cut the maximal tine considerably.

Realistic launches and stock ksp don't really mix. the scale of the planet and atmosphere is all wrong. not to mention the heating issues. That being said best approach is somewhat like real rockets. pitch over slightly early in the launch, turn off sas and let gravity turn the rocket for you. You can also use launch clamps to hold your rocket at an angle on the lauchpad (5-10degrees depending on TWR) and spacebar to orbit.

There is a whole subforum dedicated to that kind of thing. https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/forum/50-tutorials/

For me the reset focus is '(@) rather than ` (though in the in game font both appear the same) and is listed under settings as "camera reset"

V∞ is the Hyperbolic excess velocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolic_trajectory

The command module determines it, Cockpits will be planes, rovemax will give rovers, lander cans make landers etc. If you right click the command module, you can select rename vessel, and change the type in the rename menu. You can also change it from the tracking station, select the vessel, Click the i button (bottom left) and then double click the vessels name in the info box that pops up.

Part count of 1969 is actually accurate, (assuming the like the instructions, you count the pry tool included as a part) I got a few spares of smaller parts, but 1968 are required for the build.

Box is 47.5 x 37.5 x 11cm

Except the longer burning "boosters" have a better Isp than the solid "core" (254s sea-level, 287s vacuum for the Vikas, vs 237s sea-level, 269 vacuum for the S139) Probabaly easier/cheaper to build this way with the engines available than to try to build an asymmetric design with one solid booster and a four engine core.

I would check your inclination, chances are you are 180degrees off.

I never worry about it, It is just an artifact of Kerbins scale. Real world plasma occurs above 3000m/s, this is higher than orbital velocity at Kerbin, but far lower than at Earth, so they just cranked up the plasma in order to get some on the way down. The atmospheres of Earth and Kerbin are pretty similar though so with this unrealistic plasma an efficient ascent will get plasma on the way up.

The atmosphere isnt soupy, it just ionizes very easily. The issue is that Kerbin is tiny but has a huge atmosphere. Orbital velocity is 1/4 Earths, but the atmosphere is 4/5. Really plasma effects wouldn't happen at these speeds, but they are forced in so that you get them on the way down. Following an optimal path put you at near Kerbin orbital velocity quite low, where as on Earth you would still have a lot of burning to do Just ignore unless your ship is melting.

Wings have to have some AoA to provide lift anyway. If you have no incidence then to get that lift you have to have your nose pointing above the airstream, then you are getting drag from both wings and fuselage Add incidence and you can minimize the drag from the fuselage while getting lift from the wings