TheBobWiley

24 straight hours of kerbal career mode and some alcohol near the end had nothing to do with the creation of this beautiful piece of art! Also, I should have a taken a screen shot of the first stage boosters re-entry, the flag explosions were inspiring.... AND THE ROCKETS RED GLARE, THE BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR.... came true.

On my way to the Mun to claim it for a certain nation. Can you guess which? Share more ships coated in American-ness if your cool enough.

I have been working on a realistic car suspension utilizing stock parts for a little while and have decided to show it off for this challenge. The car is too top heavy and experiences quite a bit of body roll, but I'm still optimizing the system. Here is a picture of the core

ExPatriotMissile, yes, both me and Hejnfelt accidentally utilize the bug you experienced. It is a part of the infiniglide physics bug. As the plane passes mach 1 in the stock game the planes begin to shake which makes SAS move the control surfaces really fast, which produce lift and reduce drag the more they move, thus going faster. The stock "speed limit" for air engines under 1000m seems to be right at 360 km/h without abusing any part of the physics bug. I built a super sleek 50 engine powered plane and without it shaking it could not pass 360 km/h, as soon as I nosed up and got the plane shaking it easily passed 400 km/h. This challenge is not good for stock unfortunately

I actually have quite a few mods installed, but none of them change the game play (like FAR). I was using all stock parts on this plane too. The resource panel is KSP Alternate Resource Panel. I also had Mechjeb to keep track of my plane's drag and air needs, as well as weight and TWR. Im pretty certain stock atmosphere engines can't go much faster under 1000m without FAR, I had 50 of them going on a plane and it maxed out at 380 no matter what I tried.

And the proof! - I just noticed I dipped above 1,000m on take off, but my top speed was reached after I leveled out under the limit. I can redo it if needed.

Hi guys, First off, Ive never had luck building planes that A. can lift off before the end of the runway and B. stay straight while flying. With both of these hurdles in mind I saw this challenge and thought, hey, I bet I could build a light plane to go in the "stock" category (no FAR).... Well here she is, I even grabbed first place while I was at it! - I will upload the video later tonight, takes forever to convert from FRAPs to youtube....

Due to my extreme pickiness with creating the LEM for my Apollo style missions I went ahead and made skylab first, This space station is the first module of many to come and can house 32 kerbals already. However most of the hitchhiker cans are analogous to the workshop space of the real skylab and I won't fill each module, 6 full time kerbals are expected once I build my Saturn S IB which will ferry 6 kerbals in an Orion style command module. The solar observatory launches atop skylab and uses a pivot system to swing it around once in orbit and dock it just like the actual skylab.

Nvm, realized you are using novapunch parts, will post my Apollo style Saturn V soon. Then will start work on a space station project utilizing my Saturn Vs.

HansBlix, what Saturn V are you using? I have one I'm using but I really like yours. If you have the link where you got it I would much appreciate it.

Thanks for reminding me about max time warp throwing ioncross off, I bet that is whats happening, I currently have to carry 3 7,500 tanks and the large recycler just for a single trip to and back from Duna with 8 kerbals, this was causing me no end of weight grief. I think im going to use the air intake on duna for my main base, but im still going to attempt for a small amount of contingency o2 in case something goes wrong.

Ok I need to know, who here is using Ioncross and how much "supplies" of it are you taking/how many kerbals are you supporting with it? My main problem with making progress on my plan is that I am currently carrying over half of my payload weight in ioncross O2 just to keep 4-8 kerbals alive for the 65 day trip to duna + 163 days until D->K hoemann window + 65 days to get back to Kerbin..... I have not fully run a mission yet to determine if I am way over doing it since ioncross has the recyclers, but I also need enough for emergencies. If anyone could post up how many units of ioncross they are using and how many kerbals it is keeping alive and for how many days, I would appreciate it. Also, are we allowed to use the air intake for ioncross on duna? I am planning on building a stationary base with lots of hab room and such, so carrying the huge amount of o2 I would need for any sizeable long term kerbal team is nearly impossible without sacrificing other things. Aside from all that I have about 2/3 of my vehicles built and tested on kerbin and will begin flying missions to duna to test DV needs and all that soon, but unfortunately college just started back up so I may be pretty busy :\ Even if I never get around to finishing this challenge it has been fun, insightful, and has actually made me think (overthink) how I build ships and missions in Kerbal.

Quick question, about how much delta v is needed to take off from duna and achieve orbit at about 100km? My DDAV has over 1600 m/s, but all it has to do is go to duna orbit and back to duna, is that overkill? Im trying reduce weight as it it pushing the limits of my lifter right now :\

Borkless, I did not know that their was a thing called the Mars Cycler, thanks for dashing my hopes of thinking I came up with something cool and un-thought of before I am flip-flopping between 2 main interplanetary tug designs and my OCD for redundancy is killing my mission. I am trying to build every stage with 100% redundancy, but its just not possible to account for every situation and over design every single ship (too heavy mainly). So I need to cut my designs back and simply use 2 of each vehicle for redundancy instead of each vehicle carrying redundant supplies/parts. Also, a question for sturmstiger, if we are using ioncross is it "cheating" to use the air intake on Duna (does it even work?) to create infinite supplies? I assume it is, but if we can use it to provide supplies for bases/vehicles ON duna, that would greatly decrease the 30,000+ ioncross supplies I currently need on each Kerbin-Duna bound vehicle.

Congrats on the new laptop, Thats how I felt when I bought mine, spent too much, but worth every penny. Thankfully I have a desktop for kerbal so 500+ parts usually just starts lagging the physics in atmosphere. Those parts look really cool, what mods are you using? - KeithStone

4 more hours of work tonight, redesigned my DDAV - Duna Descent/Ascent Vehicle. Im trying to make something relatively light, but also carry a lot of kerbals, fuel, and oxygen to orbit, while being able to survive atmospheric reentry and being able to be pulled around on the surface by my DEV - Duna Exploration Vehicle. If I am able to get my timing right, I should be able to fly at least 2-4 missions to duna during the second homman window, which would put 40 kerbals on duna by day 500, if everything goes perfect that is..... only time will tell. Now that im finally getting my vehicles banged out, I can start flying missions to see if everything works the way im planning!

Finally making some progress, all new mission profile and vehicles in the works. I'm going with a realistic/redundant solution that will probably lose me some points, but I haven't calculated anything yet. Im going to be building a space station in orbit around Duna for kethane ore detection/habitation/communications relay to kerbin/etc. I have an all new launch vehicle that is recoverable and can put roughly 30 tons into 75x75 orbit. Here is the IPT+S in the VAB Here is the IPHV in the VAB Here they are meeting in space and docking the solar panel arm and kethane/communications arm. These 2 rockets will be launched in time for the first transfer window and will carry 8 kerbals to Duna orbit where this IPHV will become the core for an expanding space station. The station will collect fuel from Duna (provided from kethane mining operation in the near future) and will refuel both the DDAV (Duna Descent/Ascent Vehicle) and Interplanetary tugs heading back to kerbin. The station will also transfer oxygen (ioncross mod) from Duna bound IPTs to Duna's surface via the DDAV. Each IPHV holds enough oxygen to sustain 8 kerbals for just over 350 days.

Actually made some progress today and I felt like sharing it. Behold the invincible suspension system of my DEV (duna exploration vehicle).

Thanks for letting me know about the 12.1 update, downloading it now. I am torn between using kerthane or not. It would make things a lot easier to mine on Duna and therefore carry less fuel from Kerbin to Duna. But I also feel its sort of cheaty (at least compared to real life feasibility). I will probably use it anyway just to have more stuff to do on Duna. So far in my redesign I have the first payload almost complete, it is the first part of my Duna Exploration Vehicle and will house 4 kerbals from to Kerbin to Duna, and then land on the surface and act as the lead car for the eventual DEV. I am also working on building the second car of the DEV, a kerthane miner that is totally self-sufficient in order to haul it out to a dig site and then leave it to work. I am also starting work on a third (science/hab) car for the DEV and a permanent Duna base that is used for long term habitation and as the landing point for the DDAV (duna decent/ascent vehicle). School will be starting up in a few weeks and I hope to work on this more before then. All the other entries look great and can't wait to see more.

Was smack in the middle of a complete redesign of my ships (utilizing ioncross because carrying 1000's of units of RCS was just too heavy) when .21 dropped..... starting from scratch and making little progress, does anyone else feel like the new ASAS is useless, my rockets just keep spinning out of control no matter how many sas modules I add. the rockets just wont keep their aim.... plenty of electricity too (also a challenge for me as I use asas almost constantly....)

My lack of work on this is disturbing.... everytime I get ready to nail down part of the mission and start flying the mission I find something else that needs tweaked (mainly supplies for kerbals and heat shielding)

This week has been extra busy with 4th of july party's and what not, hoping to get back to it next week. Redesigning my DDAV and changing the designs of the other ships I already have done, trying to find a happy medium of weight/extra supplies/extra dv.

yes it does, thanks. i was sure that we could resupply, just wasnt specifically in the rules. I will have a contingency plan for keeping the crew alive (at least some of them) in case my resupply vehicle doesnt make it. Still got a lot to do, but most of the main parts are together now, mainly working on realism/redundancy/contingency plans and integration into each stage of the mission.

Ok, I need a clarification from OP, since we need 1 unit of supplies a day for long term missions, can I keep kerbals on duna for the entire 1000 days or w/e while using fewer units of supply? Basically my bases on Duna will be resupplied each time the IPSH comes from kerbin, it would have additional tanks that "transfer" to the DDAV and then can refill the supply tanks on the duna mobile bases. Can I do this, or do I have to have enough supplies to last for the full time?

Glad to see others are still making headway on this, been busy painting my house the last couple of days and probly the next few. I have an LKO capable of lifting 30 tons to 75kmx75km. This allows me to launch two times before the transfer window is lost (45 days between launches as rocket is fully recoverable). I have integrated my IPT into the 2rd stage of my rocket. My 2nd stage has 2 configurations, and they seem plausible to me to be switched between in real life. I have tried to base my rocket design off of the SLS (space launch system) Block 1A Cargo variant. The first stage has six dual nozzle engines, allowing for a maximum of 3 engines to cut out. The first stage is accompanied by 2 solid boosters that burn for 152 seconds (the sls's bossters burn for 124 seconds) and lift the rocket to roughly 10km. The 2nd stage block 1 variant has 5 engines, and allows for up to 2 engines to cut out and still achieve circular orbit. This stage will be used to deliver the CSV to LKO in order to refuel the new IPSH and deliver crew for the trip to duna. My current CSV may seem a little unrealistic, but im taking a page out of sturmstiger's book, the payload fairings will not detach from the CSV and will be used as a heatshield on reentry from LKO. The entire assembly will land in the ocean east of KSC for reuse. The CSV can hold 4 kerbals short term for Kerbin -> LKO/LKO -> Kerbin. The 2nd stage block 2 variant is the same as the block 1, but has 2 nerva engines installed for the interplanetary burns between Duna and Kerbin, once the 5 orbital engines shutdown and the nervas come online, they will not be used again except for extreme emergencies. My DDAV will also receive a revamp in order to be mobile, and may have an attach point so that it can be towed by the future DEV. On a side note, I really didnt want to use the 3.75m parts from kw rocketry, but the 2.5m parts just couldn't match the efficiency of launching fewer times and combining a couple of my vehicles together. Can't wait to see how the other projects develope, now if only i could get more than 4 to duna at a time :\