Vanamonde

Did I say EVERY mod makes the game easier? The question posed by this thread is whether *I* use mods, and that was one of my several reasons. And did I tell you or anyone else that you shouldn't use mods, or imply that I'm superior because I don't? There's no reason to get snotty about it.

I made an interplanetary ship that turned out to have a fuel flow problem that wasn't evident until I assembled the stupid thing in orbit, so it was a complete failure. GRRR! But so it wouldn't be a total waste, I docked it to its successor, under construction in orbit, to transfer all its fuel. This is the greatest mass I have ever docked. (New ship left side, old ship right side.)

I don't use mods because: 1) I like the challenge. 2) I don't want to become dependent on something that might be broken the next time an update comes out, with the additional possibility that its creator won't be around to fix it. 3) I hate fighting with glitches and so don't want to clutter the game's software with additions. Look around the forum at all the posts that say stuff like, "I installed Mod X and now all my rocket engines thrust backwards!" Who needs the headaches? 4) I want to be excited when Squad adds a new part or feature, and not just say, "Ho hum, I was doing that with Mod X two months ago." I think my interest in the game will last longer this way. 5) It gives me a common basis to share ideas and accomplishments with other players. By contrast, when I see a post that says "Look what I did!" with a modded-out ship, how the expletive can I tell whether that was a difficult accomplishment or somebody just pressed a button that said, "Perform feat now"?

Here are two more of my favorites. Sunrise on Mun: the eastern crater wall is lit by the sun, while the plain of the crater floor is still in darkness. And sunrise on Pol:

Congratulations, and I'm glad you liked my rocket.

This IS how standard SAS works. It already doesn't call upon RCS.

Filing sharing sites like Mediafire will give you a download link you can include in your forum posts.

Yes, your orbital speed around Dres is a relatively small component of Dres' orbital speed around the sun, so HOWEVER you leave the planet is going to be pretty close to an ecliptic solar orbit, and then one plane change burn at the halfway point of the return should get you a Kerbin intercept. But if you wanted to change your orbit around Dres first, move up to a very high orbit, just within the world's SOI, and then do an inclination change burn at minimal cost.

The OP is specifically asking about large ships, and SAS modules weigh in 0.07 mass units per. You could pile a bunch of the things on there before you noticed a significant reduction in rotation rate.

However you do it, changing orbital inclination is going to burn lakes of fuel. Is it really necessary? What are you trying to achieve at Dres?

Good on ya.

Moho has a radius of 250km, while Mun's is 200. Not a great match, but probably close enough to make it a useful testing ground. Both lack atmospheres.

rpayne88, that's one of quite a few easter eggs scattered around the game. Keep looking and you will find more. In fact, two of them are closer to KSC than that.

SAS resists rotation while it is turned on, so yes, it will fight RCS. That's why you suspend SAS assist by holding the F key or turn it off by hitting the T key until the maneuver is completed.

SAS doesn't resist turning when it's turned off, so it doesn't make steering harder. However, it doesn't help turning in on mode, either. It simply resists turning while turned on, and that's all. But the thing is, most of the time you don't need to turn rapidly anyway. For big ships, I just let them take 5-10 minutes to rotate. What's the hurry?

I spent much of yesterday going through a process similar to the one you described with this ship: (Sorry it's a night pic.) That's how KSP works. It's always hard and it always takes a lot of tinkering, but as you get better at it, the ships that are frustrating the beejeebers out of you get bigger and go farther. To answer your question, try orbit, then Mun, then rendezvous and dock, then other planets. Maybe try first with unmanned probes and then manned ones, and once you get the idea of landers, substitute rovers.

Are you talking about this thing: http://ksp.olex.biz/ ?

I think I am, too, but my question is rather why you think those are different. "Damn it Maverick! You were supposed to take 3 readings at 10am, not 4 readings at 10:05! Your ego is writing checks your navigational experience can't cash!" "Okay, so that's 21.84 degrees... It was 21.84 degrees out the day I killed my previous copilot, Frank, in that freak sextant accident. No! Must concentrate on readings or all is lost!" "If I hadn't killed Frank with the sextant, I could be sleeping late while he was taking these stupid readings. He was better at it than I am anyway. 'The natural sextanter,' we used to call old Frank." "Holy von Braun! WE'RE ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THE SUN! Oh, wait, that's not Sirius I'm sighting on, just a smudge on the window. Frank would not have made that mistake, but the sextant took his head clean off at the shoulder. Doc said he'd never seen anything like it." "You know, I'm really kind of incompetent and neurotic to be an astronaut, what with killing my previous co-pilot and all." That would be an insane amount of work to put into the question, considering that I have had my tongue firmly in cheek throughout this discussion. Guys, I'm not saying realistic space fiction has to be boring. I'm just amused by the weird side-argument about whether or not one could write a realistic story without including any of the tedious aspects of a spaceflight.

Why, I just happen to have one right here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/25029-A-moon-rocket-for-newbies

Guys, the OP is talking about his father in his post. He's broke because he's a child. In which case, he doesn't have the money because his parents don't want him to spend it, in which case again, nobody should be buying something for him that his parents don't want him to have anyway. And kid? Threatening to pirate the game if somebody doesn't buy it for you is emotional blackmail, and it's not going to make you any friends.

Guys, guys, guys, I was exaggerating for comical effect. But consider this: Apollo 17 spent about 3 days getting to the moon, spent 3 days there, and spent another 3 days getting back. During the 3 days they were on the moon, some of that time was spent eating and sleeping. Most of the rest of it was spent putting tab A into slot B on some piece of scientific equipment it was their job to assemble. Would I kill to trade places with one of the crewman? YES! Are the sextant readings they took along the way exciting fodder for a fiction story? Not really. Because that is the fact of the matter.

Wait until you are on the opposite side of Kerbin from a point 60 degrees ahead of Mun in its orbit, point your nose at the prograde marker, and burn until you get a Mun intercept. It should look like this: Wait until you are at Mun periapsis, burn retrograde until you are in Mun orbit. To land, turn retrograde and burn until your path intersects the surface, wait until you get down to about 3000m, and burn retrograde to kill off remaining speed. Then ride the retrograde marker down at 10m/s or less, and shut off the engine when you have landed. Then take celebratory screenshots.

What are you trying to do with them? Point them at the ship so you can see it better, or point them at the ground for landing, or what?

Pictures of your ship would help others give you advice. Can you upload screenshots to a service like Imgur and use their links in your posts? Meanwhile, the ship could be spinning from a shift in weight distribution as you burn fuel, or not enough engines with the thrust vectoring capability (whether they have this or not is indicated on the VAB parts list). And if it's rolling around the long axis, that is a nuisance which makes steering harder, but doesn't actually prevent you from getting where you need to go.