Enture

Oh my Jool, those last few posts are among the most beautifully genius I had the chance to read on the forums this far...! Good sirs/ladies, I tip my hat to both of you. And humbly beg you for more shots done using your telescopes; I mean look at this gorgeous Mün! Also, which mods did you use? I recognise Nova's Probodobidyne and the Fixed Cameras mod, but you spoke of 5 mods, LucidLemon...? And would you mind going in the details of your .cfg edits? I'd like to try and build a telescope myself now Again, and at the risk of repeating myself: bravo.

NOOOOO, don't mention Dwarf Fortress! Why would you do that to me?! Now I have this urge of playing it again, even though I really can't afford the time investment it takes (it's already bad enough with the time I spend playing KSP). Poor poor me. And poor studies of mine... Ok, jokes apart, it's great to see DF-players around here too!

Looking good! Great, even. When I think I rejoiced so hard for getting my first rover delivered to an already-landed crew (see my previous post)...^^ Actually, inspired by your Torus Hab, I tried -a while back- to build a surface hab based around 3 crew tanks myself, the main difference being that in my version, the crew tanks were ordered in triangle, and a tiny return stage allowed the hab deliverer to head back to Kerbin straight away. Alas, I think it made my processor and graphic card cry, so it never got further than the launchpad.

Today marks another big leap forward for my space program: the MunRov-1 mission safely landed the first wheels on another celestial body! This minirover, piloted by Milbles Kerman, was successfully delivered to the Kerner-von-Braun crew, landed on the far side of the Mun since last week, and should dramatically improve the exploration abilities of the mission. •Landing, Kerbal-style. •Now to head for the the Kerner-von-Braun landing site... •Milbles Kerman meets his old friend and colleague Harford Kerman, commander of the Kerner-von-Braun mission. •Dilmy is already chatting with the others when Shelrim joins the crowd: •The proud crew of the newly-formed Kerner-von-Braun Munbase! From left to right: Milbles and Shelrim Kerman, Cdr Harford Kerman, and Dilmy Kerman.

Thanks EndlessWaves for having taken the time to dig deeper in the problem! I'll take the time to read your math in details soon

Okay, now this finally convinced me to install the Carts plugin (something I should've done a looong while ago), and is a-ma-zing! Engineers and scientists back at KSC are having a meeting ever since they heard the news, and they're preparing my Space Program's next big step (wheeled exploration of the Mun and Minmus, of course). I think they're in that meeting room since 5hrs solid now I don't even want to think about the potential of this once .17 is out...! Thanks, and thanks Tosh for the original plugin!

I dont always use mods... ...but when I do, I use awesome ones! Jokes aside, my rockets all rely entirely on stock parts. The few mods I used so far are: -the crew tank, for rescue missions, orbital habitats and surface habitats. -the fixed cameras mod, because it's awesome, and adds realism in a number of situations (onboard cameras during launch, automated scout probes...) -ISA MapSat, because... science! -mechjeb, for creating unmanned rockets and for the useful stats it provides, but NOT for piloting (would take the fun out, IMO) -I started to play around with Nova's Probodobono... Probotono... Protobyno... ah, the hell with it, with Nova's something-dyne probe-pack, and will use it more in the future! EDIT: oh, and it's not a mod proper, but... the Fuel Bug Fix, of course. EDIT 2: Finally decided to install the Carts plugin... and going to use it a LOT in the near future!

Swiftgate, your lander is an interesting one, but too heavy for the background I had in mind (although nice landing site! one of the far side's canyons, I guess?)... So I sticked with my original design, and opted for RCS blocks rather than linear ports, to avoid the bug-thing... Piloted carefully, a 37t-launcher is sufficient to bring that little scout in an equatorial munar orbit, and down to the chosen target. •MuSA-2 (MunScout Alpha-2) touched down safely at the planned target: , that little crater exactly half-way between the two enormous ones from the near side (in my RP-ish background, those big craters are Tsiolkovsky and Newton, and the landing site one is Curie): •First picture retransmitted from the surface of Curie crater: •TMI burn:

Yep, I investigated further, and the same lander I showed before fitted with block RCS can't takeoff. So I guess I'll forget about using linear RCS for now... @Swiftgate: On my way to check this out!

So the game is making the craft's mass go down faster than it should, while burning its fuel, because there's only a RCS tank involved, and nothing else? I'll try adding some parts to the spacecraft, and see what happens; thanks for those first infos! Oh, and thanks also for the raw data, I'll see what I can make with them

Hey! So this morning I decided to go back to work on my MunScout family of probes: various unmanned landers, used to search interesting landing sites on the Mun and Minmus. Now the MunScout-Alpha was first conceived as a serie of minimalistic impactor probes (much like the Ranger Program), just fitted with cameras and no fuel at all. This morning I was working on redesign it in a very lightweight unmanned lander, and with that in mind, decided to use RCS as the probe's sole propulsion system during the descent. I was wondering if anybody ever calculated the specific impulse of the RCS block and linear thrusters, and since I didn't find anything about it, I decided to see by myself what RCS thrusters were exactly capable of. So I fitted my 800kg lander with one single RCS tank and 4 linear thrusters, and went to the launchpad... 5809km max altitude! Is this some kind of bug exploit, or just due to the low mass of the spacecraft? Some experienced players have an opinion on this? And does anybody have values for the RCS thrusters' specific impulse?

Just found this! Gizmodo Report Oh, how I LOVE astronomy and planetary science! EDIT: io9 Report! And Space.com has something too... Also, we can expect an article from Phil Plait on Bad Astronomy in a few hours, I guess; we just have to wait until morning comes in America... EDIT 2: Haha, my "space music" playlist, on shuffle, just started to play "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jolity" as I was posting my latest edit

@zombiphylax: That is one super-nice video you've here! No narrative, very, very nice recordings and aftereffects, and great soundtrack! Keep it up

WOW, that leaves me speechless. I mean, I'd define myself as somebody taking the realistic approach, be it in the steps of my Space Program, or the development process of my spacecrafts, or the naming system of my ships, or the calculation sheets I have about their ∆v in different configurations, and the .txt file I keep with records of all my missions; but what you have here... it's a step further, and it's awesome! And it even looks as if you really had typed it on a typewriter Kudos! Don't you want to blog-post about it or something, so the community could enjoy it? I at least would love it!

I really want to do it in a realistic-ish manner, so I guess I'll start with unmanned probes for flybys and/or "grand tour" type missions, with onboard Fixed Cameras to send the first pictures of those new worlds back to KSC. As for kerbaled exploration... well, I don't know yet. I (kinda) master munar and minmussian landings, but my computer won't allow for too big rockets (for RP purposes, we'll speak of budget restrictions ), so I guess kerbaled flybys (think Apollo Applications program: Venus flyby and stuff) and orbital missions will come first -always with crews of three, because I hate to send a poor lonely Kerbal that far away-. Landings will hopefully follow, but I don't see any other solution than the multi-ship approach. It's with that idea in mind that I'm training my Kerbals at orbital rendezvous maneuvers: today's first Rendezvous mission was a tremendous success (and surprisingly, more rewarding than munar landing!), and marks the first step towards readiness for interplanetary exploration! EDIT: as for what my first target will be... EVE, without a second of hesitation! Followed by the Joolian system.

Today, to my own surprise, I discovered I actually agreed on this! My ORM-1 (Orbital Rendezvous Maneuvers) mission was a brilliant success: the two ships involved met up, and both crews then spent more than an hour going from one ship to the other. It's the first time I achieve in-orbit rendezvous, and it does take a lot of patience and precision, but it is sooo rewarding Anyway, illustrated report: •Final approach over Kuba: •EVA transfers, with the Mun watching (there were 12 Kerbals up there on the Mun during the mission): Bonus: •A happy Kerbalnaut •Kerbal-style landing, for a Kerbal-style mission

"ça cause Grenouille"? C'est une expression belge ou suisse ou québécoise , ça? Salut àtoi, en tout cas!

I'm LOVING the fixed cameras mod, every second of it! Here, D. Kerman is training his jetpack skills for the upcoming first attempt of my Program at an orbital rendezvous maneuver. Preparing for the next step in space exploration! EDIT @nhnifong: this picture... one of the funniest I saw this far, and beautiful! Nice

Hehe, this morning the ritual check of the xkcd website got even more awesome than usual! Although when you think about it, it isn't that surprising that Randall Munroe plays KS; who knows, he may even be lurking on the forums?...

So, the other night I successfully landed my MuSB-1 probe (MunScout Beta) on the Mün. Fitted with no less than 12 onboard cameras, this unmanned probe is designed to target-land on potential landing sites for future crewed munar missions, study their topography and remarkable features, and then take off again, travel 5-10km further, land again to take pictures... and so on until the 1000L fuel are used up entirely. Now, the take off and second landing (planned in one of the far side's deep canyons) were scheduled for tonight, but obviously didn't go quite as planned, judging by the pictures from the onboard cameras coming in at KSC: KSC engineers are processing the data they're receiving as we speak, so all we can do now is wait...

Haha, the contrast between the heading and the picture below it... awesome! Well congrats, and welcome to the club! Now to send a rescue mission, and after that a rescue mission to rescue the rescue mission, because after all, we're in KSP, aren't we?

My first big heartwarming moment was the success (on 1st attempt) of my very first rescue mission to the Mün... It so happened that Jeb, Bill and Bob, as the true heroes they are (yeah, even Bill and Bob), were the first Kerbals to walk on the Mün. Unfortunately, well... their lander was poorly designed, and tipped over right after MECO: Upon hearing the news, KSC hurriedly designed a rescue ship, and without even some serious testing, sent Erdbin Kerman rescue his colleagues and friends... Success! Admittedly, the landing wasn't pin-pointed (the stranded crew had to operate a 5km long EVA. Luckily, they had RCS), but at least the rescue pod was standing upright, with enough fuel for the rescue trip. And here comes the 1st heartwarming moment: The second one was when the four Kerbals, after a nominal reentry, touched down in on of Kerin's deepest valleys, in a glorious dawn: So yeah, this mission was a very nice one, full of nice moments

I've gotta +1 Vostok here, with Also Sprach Zarathustra But I'll add some others to the list: - , the music you hear when you first see he Odyssey spacecraft on his way to Jupiter, in 2001. This suits the cold and emptiness and space soooooo well, incredible.-James Horner's "All Systems Go" piece, from the Apollo 13 soundtrack. To me, this simply is the soundtrack to the whole Apollo program. -Last but not least, , because it's a great music and a great documentary!

This only calls for one answer: I mean seriously: turning mankind's greatest deeds of exploration into one of those stupid and ridiculous shows? Just thinking of it makes me angry. If this does turn out to be the way we go to Mars, I'm not sure I'll be willing to have anything to do with space exploration anymore...

A l'image de la patrie toute entière, le camarade Enture fut empli de joie àl'annonce du succès de la mission, et se félicite d'avoir pu contribuer àson succès Je n'osais pas te filer l'une de mes fusées àtrois membres d'équipages, parce que toutes sont un peu limite, point de vue quantité de carburant, depuis que j'ai patché le "fuel bug". Il faut que je révise tous mes designs, en gros. Mais le Valaroma est un concept éprouvé, conçu àune époque où les ingénieurs du KSC faisaient leurs premiers pas dans le spatial... Tiens-nous au courant de tes avancées!