bsalis

Any news on new craft on Laythe. Looks like you might have been planning a VTOL... http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/37033-Center-of-Mass Son of BirdDog mebe? EagleWolf perhaps.

Be mindful that large heavy rovers using the big wheels tend to be a bit fragile. Best for shuffling around small area. If you want to explore you probably want something smaller.

Have you tried this yourself? Stable gliders fly in circles. Perhaps you could run top rankings for max altitude, and max flight time, as well as distance. Just a suggestion.

You might want to look at this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy Possibly explain the differences between nuclear fission and fusion using the above. Stars obviously use fusion... possibly can cover a bit about them too. As an interesting tidbit you could pitch to the class as a question (then answer/explain yourself). Is if fusion into elements lighter than Iron release energy, and fusion of elements into elements heavier than Iron must consume energy to happen. Where did all the elements heavier than Iron on Earth come from?

If there was perfect symmetry we would not be here to talk about it. That's a sort of obvious answer. Only a very small asymmetry is required. Just because it has not been seen/proven yet does not mean it does not exist.

If this was an orbiter rather than an ascent stage, then another possible workable solution would be to... - connect fuel lines from the large inner tank to the small outer ones. - manually transfer fuel from the smaller outer tanks to the inner ones between burns. It's not ideal but it's simple in terms of construction.

How to build non-asparagus heavy lifter? Easy. With MOAR. Lots MOAR.... mainsails, SRBs, and struts. MOAR the better. 350 tons to LKO (usually)

You can just turn the gimbals off then. Sometimes it pays to have some engines up front to help balance the dry mass.

Love you work. I like the RP style and your take on a refueling system to keep on flying. It's one of the neat things about the game, in that you can achieve similar objectives through different means. Nice to see you visiting some islands further abroad. I'm keen to see where you will be going next. Any plans on taking the Leap Of Laythe?

@OP Good luck on your new persistent.sfs Personally i'm planning on a wipe in .21 since it may be the only option.

New features need proper testing, as well as proper UIs. Besides, any mods you like you can download and use, so I don't see a problem. With Spaceport integration it should be even easier.

IMO an easy way is to make the tank arrangement 'Plus' shaped. So symmetric on both axis. A couple of examples below. I have stripped away wings to show the tanks. 1 seater 3 seater

Last mission post. I thought I would wrap this up with some commentary and return pics. Conclusion Well it's been an epic journey. I really enjoyed this. I think I can safely say I have visited more islands on Laythe than any other player. I have not had much experience with rovers, however I suspect that rovering around Duna may feel a bit pedestrian compared to this. I know I'm biased here, but to me it does feel that exploring Laythe is End Game for KSP Sandbox at this stage. Because of all the islands, it's not easy, but it can be done with the right tools. It does though require competence in many areas. You need to able to build and fly Spaceplanes (ideally SSTOs). You also need to be able to build decent sized rockets to move materials out to Laythe, and land some in a useful form on the surface for refueling (ie. on land in one piece). You need to navigate craft from Kerbin to Laythe... and note that I always aerocapture direct to Laythe, which seems lost on many players. You need to able to rendezvous, as well as dock, both in orbit and on the surface. Then ideally, you need a re-usable system of getting supplies to the surface as well. Among all these challenges though, the final paradox is that once you have the pieces in place, getting around Laythe quickly, easily, and with little fuel is far more practical than anywhere else! Anyhows, onward with the pics... Homebound Well, it's time to head home to complete this mission. After refueling at Laythe East, it was off to orbit. then docking and refueling again at the station. My god it's full of flags! Home, finally. So here Lodeny and the Butterfly SSTO Spaceplane end the journey. Some interesting stories to tell. I have a couple of other spaceplanes here. The one on the far left I did a mostly-grand tour with. The middle one visited Magic Boulder. The Butterfly is on the right. Next? Inbound to Laythe East. It's another plane... With a detachable rover, that can be re-attached. Now that I have cataloged (almost) all the islands, I might go and take closer look at some. Hmm... or maybe...

Probably coincidence. 61st was a different play session. Circumnavigating happens in orbit, so too common to cause something this rare. Anyhows... that bug is Squads problemo. I have 70 to 73 this evening, and guess what folks. These are the last flags! So in total we have 73 numbered islands, two outposts, and the north and south pole, for a total of 77 flags planted. I will be making one more post later with some followup pics and comments to conclude. For now though, lets see the last four... 70th is a large one among the other large ones seen recently. Seems to have an east-west divide along the middle. Northern half has a high plateau. Landed on the north west end. Interesting little bay here. 71st is a tiny one just north of last flag plant. Yup tiny. That is 66 over there ... interesting rough coast this side. Looking over at 66 again. 72nd is again more to the north, as i make my way back to Laythe East. It's odd. Not sure what to make of it. One end has a pyramid type hill. One for a psych test maybe. I say it looks like a rabbit. 73rd is the last! A mountain range and some lowlands. Looking over at the lowlands here. Off we go back to Laythe East outpost.

I didn't find the game. The game found me.

I agree. Note that forum membership is : 72,817 I would say most have purchased the game, and more would have the game and not be forum members (especially Steam users).

Short video I put together from a high latitude on Laythe.

Any plane that works well on Kerbin will work better on Laythe. You do want ample lifting surfaces though, since the terrain is rough. As for flags, like RCS fuel it's all refreshed each EVA. Wish I was that lucky & good! I have been quicksaving each landing. There have been quickload incidences. Some bugs, but mostly pilot error. However after the first dozen or so islands, that has been rare. As for fuel, it has been remarkably more efficient than expected. On long flights, you can supercruise at near orbital speeds high up on only 1/3 thrust. I also have a refueling system that you can see in post #19. Anyhows, onward with the islands. I have 66 to 69 this evening. First up is an interesting double... 66th and 67th are a couple of big ones, and seemingly connected. I should go see if they are connected. Ok, so two islands. They are close, but both are big enough to warrant a flag each. Flag for 66 is down.... it's not too far to the next. Hmmm. What the heck - lets just swim this channel. I wonder if anyone else has done this. Bam. Lodeny is exhausted. He forgot to get another flag the first time and had to swim back to get one! Time to go now. So what do these actually look like? Here is 66, and has some interesting terrain. Sort of regret not getting a closer look. 67 is not too bad either. 68th is a tiny one to the north as i start to making my way back to base. Yep - tiny. Another down. 69th is a reasonable size. With an interesting coastline. Looking south. That is 66 over there.

Only time will tell It will be interesting how time-warp will work within career mode, especially with tech tree advancement. It has been indicated that you will be expected to run multiple missions, and not just time-warp years to visit, say, Jool, before beginning the next mission. The assumption being I suppose, that your space program will have ongoing expenses that you need to keep doing missions for revenue.

Three this evening, with 63, 64 and 65. These are somewhat heavy. Large not in land area but mass. They tower above the ocean. Also as I mentioned before, actual mission progress is further than the posts. Only a few more posts left (ie. i have my last flag down ) 63rd is the largest by area Look at the light coloured highlands It's rough but found a place to land. I'm actually over 64 here, looking back. Amazing view from this vantage. 64th is bit further south, smallest in this group. Has a dark ridge line. I think the colours turn lighter again at even higher altitudes. Parked on the ridge! Overview - looking west. 65th is to the west of the last. Something stood out about this island right away. Massive cliffs, then it keeps going up. Flag planted. No cliffs on the far side.

I don't think it is that rare. The difference can be very significant. For example, landing on Gilly from Eve orbit is about 1900 m/s. Getting back? .. you can get back to *Kerbin* on EVA! Assuming the descent is done the same as the ascent. MechJeb may do this but if attempted manually will mostly end with undesirable results.

0.15 Almost a year ago now. Still can't stop playing. Damn you Squad. *cry*

Admittedly I don't have that much experience with wheels. However, I haven't had much of a problem with them. It's only the big wheels that seem a bit dodge to me.

Yeah, basically that. If you set a known circular orbit, say 100Km. Then at a certain point above the ground, looking at features, do a burn to set your trajectory a certain distance east of KSC. Then you should always land about the same place. Practice should tune that to be over KSC. That, or spaceplanes.