Carthaginian

I only use them in orbital or better stages, and then only in craft that I intend to try for interplanetary travel in. The problem is that I wind up with the following scenario each time: LAUNCH- no, wait, the ship was so massive it imploded or so wide that it contacted the tower and blew up. *downsize* LAUNCH- and the ship burns to a high-apex sub-orbital course. Upon leaving the atmosphere (80km or so) I start burning the NERVA- generally between 1000-1300m/s, depending on how well my rocket did in the thrust/weight department. At this point, my heart always sinks, because the NERVA starts burning balls out, but I slow down to between 800-850m/s or so before I ever see any thrust registering. OCCASIONALLY my ship achieves orbit- but I think it is because it forgets that Kerbal is below it and accidentally misses it when it falls, rather than actually achieving orbital velocity. This is my biggest question: how high does my orbit need to be before the NERVA becomes a viable prime mover? If necessary, I can detail my craft in general or specific terms, as I am using the same satellite (Probodobodyne parts pack, Dynasat parts pack & Mapsat parts pack) for every mission. In fact, I use the same stage for polar orbit transfer burns as well, so I can detail the entire craft that I plan to get to the target as it never changes. I figure that commonality will be a major boon in this situation, as I should be able to formulate my 'Maximum Rocket'- the one needed for the Joolian moon missions- and remove any unnecessary weight for closer targets- or even leave the entire assembly intact and have an appreciable safety margin (or even room for manned pods) on shorter duration missions.

Do you have any construction tips for those of us looking to send small items in interplanetary missions using this kind of technique? I'm trying to loft MapSats to all the rocky objects in the Kerbol System, and the interplanetary missions are killing me. Trying to put a nuclear rocket into orbit is not impossible; trying to put a nuclear rocket into orbit with any kind of usable payload (for me, anyway) is very nearly so. I have tried monstrosities that implode under their own weight, over-reinforced nightmares that slow a powerful graphics card to a crawl, and ultralights that almost- but not quite- make it into orbit. The problem is that the nuclear engine seems to be constantly loosing speed during it's burns. I understand that until the thrust builds to a sufficient level that the mass of my spacecraft will slow me down... but can you recommend any solution to this kind of problem?

And this is why I plan on interplanetary mapping missions to all valid targets prior to any manned landings. ;-) I'm sick of trying to land and 1.) the ground not being in the right place, 2.) the ground being slanted in precisely the wrong direction and 3.) tacking on one more name to my Kerbonaut Memorial List. My space program is going to put safety above timing concerns. And yet, most likely, little green men will still die courageously.

OK, guys... this is getting there, but even though it's making its way to my eyes, it ain't quite getting into my thick skull yet. I know about prograde and retrograde burns, but nothing about normal and antinormal. Remember, your explaining this to the aerospace equivalent of a moron. Now, if you wanna know about pharmaceutical interactions, symptoms of illness, writing your name with a belt fed machine gun, rigging a booby trap, skinning game, catching fish, growing crops suitable for temperate climates, carpentry, plumbing or creative writing... well, I can handle that. Flying a spacecraft- that's still something I have a ways to go on.

Large rockets (I am discovering) seem to suffer "Spontaneous Existence Failures" from their own weight on occasion.

Only for 'data' purposes... assisting with rocket/lander testing, mostly.

OK... so, finally installed the MapSat plugin- yeah, I know, everybody has that. Just call me behind the curve. The problem is, of course, the most effective orbit for a mapping mission is a polar orbit. Now, when you're trying to map Kerbin it's not that difficult to do... you just break north when you start your orbital insertion. For every other target in the sky, however, you have to transfer from your initial orbit into a polar orbit. I have had some success (+/- 30*) with getting into a polar orbit around Mun, but it is nowhere near good enough to actually get myself a complete map. Can anyone offer some advice on how to transfer from equatorial to polar orbits... in terms that a ground-pounder used to maps and compasses can grasp? Seriously, guys... like, Barney-style. Thanks, Carth

Null Rotation for EVA! Just started trying that particular nightmare. Luckily, the 'simulator' is very forgiving... but Jeb refuses to step outside the capsule unless he sees grass now. In the last 15 missions, he has died 16 times.

Downloading now... this should make it a LOT easier!

Question: the program won't give me an answer for any moon? Is it something I'm doing wrong?

WANTS: 1.) Increased Stability - The better the game runs, the better that anything else added will be! 2.) Satellite (unmanned) Parts - Would prefer them to be functional, but 'just for show' is OK fir a first draft. 3.) Life Support System - Every mission must be planned with adequate supplies! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE 1.) Campaign Mode 2.) Recruiting Kerbals 3.) Rival agencies!!!

I've found it a bit more difficult to get into space, but I think it was because I was exploiting the fuel bug without knowing it was there. I have, however, shifted fire and learned how to make things work. My first interplanetary ship test design has turned out to be a huge success, and hopefully I'll be making some long-distance missions soon.

New Part Balancing: :):) Nuclear Rocket Engine: :):) Fewer Lock-Ups: :):) I'm very happy so far. I've started to get the hang of lofting the very heavy setups that are required to get the interplanetary craft into space. My first manned mission to Minums is on the way, currently in orbit around Mun and still has nearly all its main-stage fuel available. In all likelihood, an identical second vessel will make a voyage to Duna or Eve after the first finishes the Kerbal Grand Tour. I'm really enjoying this update, and can't wait to see what 0.18 will bring!

I had a lot of trouble getting the D/L to work. After redownloading the complete game, it worked fine. I'm very impressed with the new mark of the game. Haven't tried to get out of Kerbal orbit yet... just relearning the fuel consumption on the new version. Hopefully, if I get low censused again tomorrow, I can try for Duma.

Wow... that was fast! Got any images of the initial ship?

Not true... the third dimension is there and acting upon your craft in KSP- even if you aren't aware if it or intending to maneuver along that axis. That is why so darn many Mun missions end with a post saying "Made it to Mun, but..." and the pics inside the post show a lander lying on its side! I know that I have tried 4 Mun landers myself: 1.) Tall, 1-kerbal pod: landed safely on 7th attempt 2.) Tall, 3- kerbal pod: engine bug killed attempt 3.) Short, 3-kerbal pod: proved unable to land safely 4.) Tall, 3-kerbal pod: landed safely on 15th attempt, prone to break apart due to staging equipment. The thing that killed all of these craft (except #2) was tipping over to the side, but not always in the direction of travel. Sometimes, my craft would unintentionally pitch/yaw at the last minute OR the terrain would cause the tip. None of these forces act on Moon Lander. All that said... This game brings back a LOT of fun childhood memories. Remember having this one somewhere in my collection; need to find out where.

Remember- Skunkworks is as real as it gets. They are not a theoretical design house. Skunkworks builds the impossible 10 years before anyone else can. To me, it's a sign of how serious we are about building this thing that they have their fingers in the pie, rather than a sign of the fact that it will not be possible anytime soon.

Man, I think you mean it's going to involve some PTO. One day will NOT be enough!

LOL- still can't make any of the panels charge the ZO2 system- though the nuclear batteries work fine. Any suggestions?

Why worry about the new parts? We have plenty of parts. What I want to see are Reliability/Refinement improvements. I want the things that are already in-game to work better! 1.) The 'Click & Drag Throttle' that 0.17 will introduce is one of the MAJOR things I have been biting my hand over... it will make precision control of throttle during landings possible- the stickiness of the throttle ATM is a major thing. 2.) Another thing that is needed but not mentioned is the ability to 'restart' an engine that was turned off by the 'X' button (or just quit working) without having to edit the save file! We have an 'Emergency Kill' button; we need an 'Emergency Restart' button! 3.) SAS and ASAS - I know that the parts are supposed to be 'placeholders' but the systems themselves are not, as they would be used in the 'piloting skills' exhibited by the Kerbals. Everyone knows this system needs polishing, so let's let it be a priority. The game already has a lot of complexity- the more we beg the Devs to stack on it before we shift focus to bugfixes, the harder it'll be to get the bugs fixed. I'm enjoying the heck out of the game as-is (in spite of my previously voiced frustrations) and would rather see 0.17 & 0.18 bring more robustness and reliability into the current/planned systems (like IVA and docking) than I would see new content like parts introduced. Get all the 'crunchy' bits in-game and working... then pad the game with the 'fluffy' stuff.

I notice that there is no explanation for the asterisk?

This has to be one of the best ideas anyone has had yet!

I took me a very big (15 tanks, 5 engines) rocket to get the 3 man pod to the Mun (still not landed it). I wound up using four 'liquid boosters' that use up 3 tanks each and each topped by an SAS... played VERY carefully, it gets me (barely) into orbit. The second stage (same as the boosters with the addition of ASAS and fins) gets me from Kerbal to Mun, with plenty to spare for any orbital tricks I want to do... it could even go to Minmus if fuel was managed carefully. That took me nearly a full month to get working.

REALLY looking forward to this one!

OK, here it is- after my best Ken Mattingly impression, I think I have found it. When using JSGME, you run into a problem with the 'MZRDynavolt' file loading. I can get everything but the Powertech Panels to load this way... anyone got any ideas on how to get around this and get them functional? I can get them to load by an alternate loading sequence, but the game then locks up when you try to go to the launchpad. If I forgo trying to get the Powertech panels to load, but use folding ZOxygen panels, the game loads, but I really, really don't like those panels- oh, yeah, and they don't fold.