bsalis

They don't look happy. Not happy at all.

I'm actually happy with 0.16 Not fussed about waiting for 0.17

If you want you can use the rotating part from the Damned Robotics mod. So you can rotate the engines like so...

I think people are over complicating things here by going over the Delta-V specifics. A simpler way to look at this is to realise that a rocket essentially converts chemical energy into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is a function of mass and velocity... So a bigger rocket has more chemical energy, so you get more kinetic energy. You can have that as more mass, or more velocity (delta-v) or, typically, more of each.

Can I have the craft file please.

My 2c is here

Well, the railgun wasn't my idea. Someone else suggested it in this very thread, and maltesh confirmed that it works. Anyhows, something I only realised after I did this challenge. Serious déjàvu... and ... the more things change, the more things stay the same.If anyone is interest... As soon as the game started I launched immediately and put the craft into a 100km circular orbit. When MechJeb showed that my longitude was 39 degrees, I did my transfer burn to set the Ap to 21500km. Around the Ap, I did a series of burns to kill off my horizontal velocity so as to try and get the craft in the path of the disasteroid as it passed by. When disasteroid reached my altitude, I did a series or burns downwards to match velocity and get my orbit path looking the same as disasteroid as best I could in map view. I then added another 100 m/s to chase it down. When I was at the same altitude again, I killed off that 100 m/s to have the same velocity again. I then did some small burns pointing directly at the disasteroid, then another one or two to slow me down as it approached. It then appeared in view. Once it was under 2km I started firing for epic win. After that my trajectory was to hit Kerbin with a Pe of about 8km. So I raised that to 35km for aerocapture and landing later on. (note that due to some bug, when I hit atmo, the Pe suddenly dropped to ~20km, so I had to reload my quicksave a few times to get a proper Pe for capture). Delta-V breakdown up to disasteroid elimination was something like this… LKO = 4500 Transfer = 865 Kill horizontal velocity at Ap = 150 Match vertical velocity = 900 Chase then brake = 100 + 100 Rendezvous maneuvers = ~35 TOTAL = 6650 So any Mun return capable craft can do this easily. Since Mun return is about 7000 minimum. (note that it's in a SPOILER, so don't view unless you actually want to)

I have experienced this problem as well. I think Squad know of the problem and are looking to fix it. Agree, this helps.. and this... Also, from what i have seen, different wheel arrangements can help. So experiment a little bit. Other than that, focus on getting the plane straight earlier before it picks up speed.

Well, I decided to do this challenge. The decision of what to use was obvious. This is a job for... lots of pics, sorry... ... i think it's time to turn around to face it I missed! Oh the shame. Look at Bill. He is all WIN! Getting really good at hitting KSC on re-entry... Landing gear glitched into the craft. So it was a very flat landing. The MechJeb Radial was squished. Everything else is ok.

Cool. Just what you need to get to the new planets in the 0.17 release. But you will need the full version.... *hint*

Agree. I would rather see the Neil Armstrong memorial as a special case, rather than setting a precedent.

You should only use the jets that you have in the middle there since the outer ones don't work anywhere near as good high up. Also the air intakes are dead weight.

Well... but...

Sorry I know this is a bit off-topic. This is not an entry, since I had to use mods (damned robotics). However, for the SSTO enthusiasts out there, I thought I would post it here. I present to you, a VTOL SSTO! Now that's a lot of acronym. Could this be a first for KSP? Was practicing vertical ascent and landing overnight, which is why it's not on the runway. Time to fill-er up and head to orbit.

Centre of Mass (not gravity). As well as centre of Lift, centre of Thrust and center of Drag. I'm hoping for centre of mass for Full and Dry.

OK ok, so it's not a real space program or even in space, or even a good reproduction (but note that the Mun is actually there). However I did my best and it would have been better of the Munolith was oriented the right way.

Hey Binky. You should set your CONIC_PATCH_LIMIT in the .cfg file to be 3 so you can see your next path. Also, if you did a burn at Mun Pe you could have set your Kerbin Pe to 35km. Now THAT would be an efficient return! edit: Oh yeah, on-topic... Yes, but it is certainly not intuitive. Same for slingshots.

I think I need a hangar...

Building an SSTO is hard. An order of magnitude more difficult than a rocket or simple plane. You are juggling all sorts of balances and forces. Then you have to make it work in several modes of operation, from takeoff to ascent, to orbital operations to re-entry and flight again. My suggestion like others have said is just put a little plane on top of a big rocket to get a taste for it and an get an easy win under your belt. eg. Then move onto the real fun with an SSTO. Note that there is something about an SSTO that I don't know why it took me so long to figure out, since I should have known better. Bigger SSTOs don't necessarily give you more Delta-V. This is critical to understand, since the normal reaction to having a craft not get to orbit is the feeling you need to go bigger. The only way to improve the Delta-V is to a) increase the full:dry mass ratio, use more efficient engines - always use airospikes, and c) reduce your gravity loss and drag loss through better design. To increase the full:dry mass ratio you need to be ruthless with weight. If you double the fluel and engine mass, but also double the weight of landing gear and wings, the Delta-V will be.... exactly the same! This is why this... ... actually has LESS Delta-V than this... Also note that if you are not intending to fly under jet power pre-orbit, you do not need much in the way of wings, since all your doing is getting the nose up to go balastic. You only need enough wings fly upon return, which is very little, as you can see here in this...

I use MechJeb and RemoteTech together without a problem. My advice? Try using RemoteTech by itself without PowerTech to make sure you are using it right. If it still don't work, then ask The_Duck about that in his RemoteTech thread.

Doing a whole mission in IVA view would be a nice challenge. IVA would also work well on a replica of the Concorde. Using the Damned Robotics hinge to change the angle of the cockpit pod.

Seems like NASA is taking its cue from KSP... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48906172/ns/technology_and_science-space/

That is so awesome. So many creative people in the community. Squad must be so happy to release early and build a community around the game. I havn't seen it but i'm certain what it is. Note that there was a time that it symbolised something quite different. Besides, in the world of Kerbal it means nothing right?

Ignoring the "mothership", which seems optional. Is this not just the K-Prize but without the orbit? People have also been building and testing craft for other planets by landing on Kerbin and ascending again. It's all very possible.