bsalis

My 2c Main ones... * Try some Challenges from the forum section * Participate in KGSS and get naming some things Other things you may not have done but possibly have... * Do a double landing and return Mun and Minmus * Visit KSC2 * Look for more mods... make a mod mebe? mess with the cfgfile?

ISP is the average of the engines weighted by Thrust. The you just factor in the liquid fuel used under SRB boost for that stage full and dry mass. You can calculate that, but with it's probably easier to estimate from a test flight. Edit: Oh, and the values are... Small SRB Imp 440 Thrust 250 Large SRB Imp 204 Thrust 400

Perhaps someone should start a Big Rockets Anonymous (BRA) support group. Not that I need it.

This is not mine... but thought it would be worth posting.

I just use MechJeb. Or just make smaller rockets. You don't need that much delta V for the Kerbin system.

Hmmm, those are regular trees, you may not see them due to graphics settings. They don't have a collision mesh, so you can pass through them anyhow. You can slow down by (gently) using the brakes. For me it's the 'B' key, but check your key mappings. You might want to practice landing around KSC1 before making the long journey to KSC2. It's harder to land there. No parachutes allowed. You won't need them if you use the brakes.

No offence taken. Asparagus style staging is more efficient, and yeah, the 1m engines are better. The aerospike in particular is a bit overpowered IMO. But sometimes it's not about efficiency... sometimes it's simply about MOAR. So now I present to you, my next project... It's not finished. Like... no BOOSTARS!? Oh, and it's not orbit capable, because it, always, explodes. Often after parts fall off. All minor problems in the Kerbal Space Program. Will get there eventually... Dare Stupid Things. Keeps me busy too. Oh, yeah, on-topic. The big decouplers are tin cans. We can expect more tweaks I think. IMHO, Aerospike OP, small SRBs OP (after being too weak in 0.15!), big T30s have terrible in-atmo ISP.

This is what I do... 1. Launch into a circular easterly (90 degree) orbit 2. I then use Map View to see where the ascending and descending nodes are for Minmus. Zoom out and look for the intersection. (see this about what I mean there) 3. I do a 6 degree inclination change at either of the nodes. So, at the ascending node, it's a burn starting when pointing north, which is north on the nav ball, between the green markers, and where the blue and brown hemispheres meet. As the inclination changes, slide along the blue-brown border to stay between the green markers. For descending node, it's a south burn. To stop at 6 degrees use, map view and stop the burn when your blue orbit line matches the purple Minmus one... or use MechJeb that tells you your inclination. 4. Using map view again, wait until Minmus rise (same as getting to the Mun). 5. Do a transfer burn so that your Ap is at the Minmus orbit line, or you see the SOI capture. 6. I then tweak the trajectory as needed, sometimes en-route. Some SOI fishing may be required. 7. Profit

I don't think MechJeb supports returns. It doesn't do the inclination to get to Minmus either. Though it seems you made it back to kerbin anyhow. Your chute should not fail if attached correctly and activated before the opening altitude. I have done straight-in re-entries without an orbit and the chute was fine. It's not that hard to do it well enough manually. I won't go into explaining it because that's not what you asked, and someone else can probably do a better job, or more likelly point to existing material to explain how to do it.

Anyone know if the problems involved how fuel tanks drain? Since they sometimes drain in odd, unbalancing ways. Some designs of mine seem almost random in how the fuel drain works.

I think people only really care about L1 and L2. They can probably be done as special case SOIs, but I don't see it happening.

99.5 tons to Minmus Orbit in the Murs Prototype Was a terrible flight... can do better. Mighty try again later.. i'll see.

Talk, speculation, rumor, teasers. All these things are more fun than just being told exactly whats in the next drop.

I was trying PM him recently as well. A link on his sig is out-of-date. Anyhow, on-topic. I have NFI what that is. Apart from most likely being new planet terrain with something new on it.

I have a challenge here that I have recently done myself and thought I should put it up too see if anyone else is interested. It wasn't easy, for me at least. Objectives 1. Build or pick a spaceplane of your choosing 2. Get your spaceplane into orbit 3. De-orbit and land at KSC 2 4. Take a picture to prove your awesomeness KSC 2 is the second space center that can be found where your purple markers on your Nav Ball point to. This isn't a race, the challenge is just to complete this successfully. However, I will keep a leaderboard to list the successes, and include the MET. Rules * The spaceplane must be your own design * Spaceplane can be from the VAB or Spaceplane Hanger * Must land on wheel landing gear (VTOL designs are allowed but you can't land vertically) * Stock parts only (with the exception of MechJeb, since it's so common and it won't really help you much) * Orbit for this challenge is considered as having the Pe > 70Km. Does not need to be circular. Do not need to do a full loop before landing. * Picture needs to show some of the KSC 2 facilities, and include the MET if you want to be on the leaderboard. Also get a pic of your Pe showing >70Km (yes yes, I know I don't have a pic of that myself, please see post #9) I completed this on the forth attempt. All the others arrived at KSC2 without a problem, but they crash landed. It's a bit tricky since the terrain is not ideal. Overflying. On final. Landed! Note VAB and Tracking Station in the distance. Incident during taxiing. No matter - It was landed in one piece. Leaderboard Player Spaceplane MET ======================================= Suzaku K-15 0:13:52 echris1 Sherbert II 0:41:52 bsalis Sprite 0:42:14 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....

Might try this challenge. I have a prototype for a planetary lander that I hope I can return to Kerbin as well with. Test flight was 148 tons to LKO. It's all stock except for a MechJeb. EDIT: Just to be clear I havn't attempted Minmus yet (will soon). The craft shown is in Low Kerbin Orbit (LKO).

Like others have mentioned, the answer here is Struts. Another side of it however is how it is being flown, since that impacts the Max G and Max Q. I highly recommend using the MechJeb mod to do an ascent for you first. If only to get an understanding of the optimal ascent profile for a given rocket. For example, if there is ample thrust-to-weight on first stage, MechJeb will throttle down to reduce wasting fuel on drag (although you will get more gravity loss, it will be less than drag loss at full throttle). This efficiency means more fuel weight later, so your max G is posponed to thinner air. While MechJeb is doing it's job, you can also keep a closer eye on the G loading. The decouplers may still fail. If so, you can then apply struts or change the design a little fix the problem, knowing that your not adding more weight and drag than needed for an optimal ascent.

My understanding is they are taking inspiration from Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space. Some features that probably/possibly will be included... * Tech tree, both new parts and improvements * Economic management (ie. revenue and expenses, including repairing damaged KSP facilities) * Hire and train kerbonauts * Part recovery * Missions * Some narrative of sorts as well I would think

Todays lesson is Spaceplanes - in pictures! First successful Munar landing and return to Kerbin. Billy-Bodgel Kerbin is proud. Was planning a landing at KSC, but Nature Called. Oh noes. What just happened! Billy-Bodgel lost his footing and has hit the deck. Something has been missed. That's right. THE HANDBRAKE!!! Just another day at the Kerbal Space Program.

Not according to my map...

The square root is on more than r1 + r2 Take a closer look.

That orbit you have will not decay.

As far as I know, they can only be controlled through Tweaking. That is, you right-click on the part, and you get little context window. For ladders there's a button to click. You should try poking around the other parts too. You can can disable tanks and control legs independently for example.

MechJeb is your friend. Also FYI - In KSP it's called Keostationary.

Yes true. DeltaV for LKO is about 4500m/s, with target planet being less I think. So I would say 8000m/s for both. I think I can manage to build a stock rocket with 12000m/s with a lander that has enough power to weight to get back to orbit. However I suspect more parts and tweaks in 0.17 to make more powerful rockets.