Ekku Zakku

I'm doing this in .17 whether there are landing cameras or not. That'd be so cool to do, watching the Munar surface come towards your pod window slowly.

Thanks! =D that's awesome nice to hear, feel free to try it out if you want, the link is in my signature =3

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReadTheFreakingManual Sorry, I love tvtropes, had to link that XD I saw your video actually, I quite liked it! Yes I know that the Saturn V pack is capable of doing all of that, but it doesn't function to the extent that this rocket does. This rocket is simply meant to be more practical, at the expense of looks (since I don't have the time to spend on modding), and since docking isn't available yet, so I can't put the LEM below the command/service module. And I feel like it really gives a better feel for the actual Saturn V; this heavy monstrosity that's practically falling apart actually flies, has the perfect amount of Delta-V required for its mission, and it's just plain fun to launch.

I definitely treat my Kerbals well with launch escape systems, and when I recently made my (heavy, wobbly, massive, and scary) ship based off the Saturn V, I just had to include one on it, even though it added a lot of weight, was impractical due to the placement of the command pod, and was also incredibly complicated and difficult to figure out staging-wise. Fortunately, it turned out well after all the work I put in, and it pulled a few Kerbals away from some flights that weren't picture perfect, even if the ship wasn't completely going up in a fireball behind them. I'm sure it's one of the most complex launch escape systems ever built in KSP XD

That kind of slope looks like 90% of my landings. I go for difficult landings XD

My MASSIVE rocket, based off the Saturn V, meant to get an incredibly heavy lander and command/service module into Munar orbit. Rest of the album if any of you want to see =D http://imgur.com/a/N7qXG#0

Ok, took me much longer than expected, but the download for the ship has been added to the first post. Enjoy! =D

@Tupin thanks for the positive reply! XD and yeah, I think the Soviet rocket could be represented much better in KSP, but I made this craft in memory of all of the brave Apollo astronauts, and it was the passing of Neil Armstrong that led me to recreate the missions as closely as (currently) possible. After my previous concept, I found the KW LEM, and worked on getting that to the Mun, but I felt like it needed something more, and so I built (as close as possible) the Saturn V assembly below it. Turns out, if you make a rocket that is similar to a real life rocket, it'll actually function in a very similar way! I was surprised how the third stage had the perfect amount of fuel to circularize the orbit as well as perform the Munar injection burn. It all just fit so perfectly, thus why I felt like I should release it.

I understand it's not a Saturn V, I mentioned in the opening post that it's meant to resemble the "essence" of the Saturn V and the Apollo Spacecraft Assembly, mostly in terms of function and little in terms of looks. Also the Saturn V parts pack is simply NOT capable of bringing this command module/landing module assembly to the Mun; hell, I don't even think it will get it off the ground! Look at the size comparison between my craft and the Saturn V in that picture. This was simply a logical progression from my Munar Orbit Rendezvous concept that I posted previously.

True, but the KW 3m -> 4 engine 3m tank/adapter was pretty much required for it, I don't think a 3m adapter exists that would provide what's needed and still look like the Saturn V. Besides, it would probably completely mess up the available fuel and Delta V required! TBH, I believe a larger diameter tank would even be needed, since the 2m third stage isn't nearly wide enough to fit the MEM above it, so to compensate, the rest of the rocket would have to be larger in order to keep up with the relative size of the stages on the real thing. Just imagine it's a little bit more flared out at the bottom than the real Saturn V... ;3 Bell-bottom rockets anybody?

I took it upon myself, after my previous Apollo-style lander/service module, to further recreate the Apollo missions in KSP, in Memory of Neil Armstrong. Now, is isn't using the Saturn V parts pack or anything like that. No, it's simply meant to resemble the essence of the Saturn V/Apollo Spacecraft Assembly. Sure the first stage only has 4 engines instead of 5, and the MEM sits on top of the command module to start, rather than waiting until orbit (not until we get docking, folks!). However, it resembles the Saturn V in so many ways, that I think I did it a great service. At launch, you can feel the power, the weight, the car alarms going off and windows breaking miles away. This solely liquid fueled rocket delivers Kerbals to the Mun the way mankind sent men to our moon more than 40 years ago. This was all possible using the KW LEM, Rocketry, and Payload Fairing sets, along with this Radial Booster Pack, with some .cfg files modified here-and-there (e.g. the LEM pack had WAY more fuel than was needed, I wanted to balance it a bit.) Also I don't think this thing could even get into orbit without MechJeb, so I'm releasing it with the MechJeb module attached (you can remove it, if you're a psychopath and love killing Kerbals). Oh wait, but you don't have to kill Kerbals if things go wrong! That's right, this rocket comes attached with a launch escape system, just like the Saturn V! This rocket is my pride and joy, so treat it dearly (this includes reading the manual). It took many hours to build and test, and considering its massive size, it turned out better than I ever hoped. Link to the ship download: Clicky! It contains all the parts required, NOT INCLUDING MechJeb and Zoolotac Escape Pod, links to those below. Also I didn't include all of the parts from the aforementioned packs, only the ones the ship used. Also, read the manual. Required Downloads: MechJeb 1.9.1 (will only work with this version) Zoolotac Escape Pod While you're downloading the ship and parts, feast your eyes on the colossal rocket itself, and it's Mun journey! http://imgur.com/a/N7qXG#0 P.S. Read the manual!

I actually keep getting the new patcher prompt every time I start the game, and I already updated it... Weird =P

@PakledHostage Yeah I just came across those threads earlier today, and it turns out that it is true that killing off that horizontal speed quickly at a low altitude is more efficient (yet more dangerous) than killing it off at a higher altitude and coasting down. Well, the latter is actually MUCH more efficient if you abuse the fuel bug! XD I think that skewed the way I first interpreted Mun landings. Well, it's certainly going to make easy precision landings harder to pull off if efficiency is the goal =P

Yeah, I can understand that, since I have been able to land with much more fuel in my descent engine if I waited until almost the last second to kill off my descent speed. So I'm guessing this also then mean that a lower orbit would be more efficient to de-orbit from? (to answer my original question lol)

Now that's a crazy design XD

I can attest to this; with my old Munar lander, I had some SRBs attached to the service module as a launch escape system, but I also used them for a Munar injection burn (at the expense of having quite a bit of trash in Kerbin orbit). I did a test with them, and it was performing the Munar injection burns at different altitudes around Kerbin. I was wondering if the higher speed of a lower orbit would work better, or if a higher altitude that I already expended more energy to reach would be better. Turns out, the SRBs (which burn the same amount of time every time, thus making for a perfect test) brought my Ap higher when I was in a lower orbit. Thus, I now burn for the Mun and Minmus when I'm at a lower orbit around Kerbin. A question though; using this effect, would it actually be better to get into a higher orbit around the Mun/Minmus, and then de-orbit for a landing? And then burn back towards Kerbin at a lower Mun orbit? I would think that it means that it's more efficient to de-orbit from a higher altitude, since there's less Delta V to get to 0 m/s, but then wouldn't you also use more Delta V to counteract the accelleration of gravity? So confusing x_X Edit: Great slingshot there Binky! Would be nice to have NASA back us up, so we'd be able to time that kind of thing perfectly every time XD

Oh God I can't stop laughing, and I'm in the middle of class XDDDDDDDD

I do agree with the size of the trees, they would have to be much more dense in order to look right if they were smaller. Also the Kerbals are pretty small in comparison to us it seems, and the rockets are also smaller as they don't need to be quite as powerful as ours in order to orbit their planet. I think they're a reasonable size =3

I think I understand what you're wanting to do, but I'm just gonna clarify anyways: if you need a pod that is SEPARATE from your main ship, and you need that pod to be controllable WITH a Kerbal in it, then that's what you can use this mod for. If you need to be able to control said pod WITHOUT a Kerbal in it, than that is not possible with this mod alone. If MechJeb or some other mod allows you to control unpiloted ships, then sure, you can use these pods along with MechJeb, and it will be fully controllable when a Kerbal steps inside the pod.

KW Rocketry has 1.75m parts, if you're looking for compatible sizes.

The only time I've ever had trouble with decouplers is when they were being used with MechJeb 1.9 or earlier (1.9.1 fixes this), so be sure you're not using those versions if you're using these pods with decouplers, they'll just decouple automatically when separated from the main ship. I have also had control with SAS and ASAS, although they tend to become inverted with their corrections depending on how the ship is set up. Even the pod SAS will invert itself sometimes, I notice that with my Mun lander all the time, since when I'm leaving the surface in the pod, it's pretty much just the pod, fuel tank, and engine, not a huge 200 ft tall ship anymore. I don't think the pod updates itself to compensate for that.

I'll be leaving this on the descent stage of my next mission, to rest on the Mun forever.

May I point you all towards this mod again? Aside from a few small bugs (like SAS wanting to correct in the wrong direction, and thus spins you out of control), it pretty much is a working pod: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/17439-PLUGIN-PART-16-Zoolotac-EscapePod-v1 I've been using it for my Mun landings, and it's perfect.

It's a known bug, it's known though and so it should be fixed in the next version (I hope). But it could also be the game, because my Escape Pod SAS also does this. I think it's just something to do with controlling separated parts.

Posted the save file, as it was requested, and also, this being (AFAIK) the first true Apollo-style ship in KSP, I want to post it in memory of Neil Armstrong. He will forever hold a place in us KSP player's memories as the first man on the Moon. We should see him as an inspiration, to keep building crazy rockets, and bringing little Kerbals to the Mun following in his footsteps. Rest in Peace.