DoctorEvo

More like 50, though I suppose the design of the stage that failed is *only* 45 years old... ;P No, it works about the same... They might be trying to suggest that the design is outdated, but that's pretty disputable. Korolev knew his stuff...

Where you low? That's where it's thickest... Also if you're trying to slow down hard aerodynamically, you should be trying to increase drag as much as possible. Staying in thick-enough air is key (and your number-one way to modulate your rate of aerobraking), but it's also important to dirty up the spacecraft as well. A Delta Glider isn't very draggy all buttoned up with the nose pointed straight; it helps to stall the machine, and execute S-turns or rolls to control altitude (like the Space Shuttle, you know?). Or if you MUST fly in a nose-forward orientation, at least consider opening a speedbrake or something (IRL this might cook you to death, but let's not worry about that until you nail the basics). That's why I balloon up when I need to turn around. If you suddenly pull up and zoom-climb right out of the atmosphere (or more likely just where it's nice and thin), you'll have no trouble whatsoever getting turned around and slowed down (unless you run out of fuel trying to stop, that is). From then on it's just like a lunar descent but with more gravity and a bit of atmosphere. But even still, I don't have that much trouble turning around... are you sure you didn't turn your RCS off at any point? AF surfaces aren't enough. Also, if your CG is too far forward, that can really hurt your control authority (to the point where you may not even be able to keep the glider stalled during reentry). Here, watch this guy: http://vimeo.com/25592340 It's not exactly fair since he's using AeroBrake MFD to plan everything out ahead of time, but at least you can watch his retrobraking technique (in this case with hover thrusters) as he gets close at about 1.2 km/s (right around 24:20). And notice how at no point does he un-stall the ship; he's trying to get plenty of drag so he can get as much out of the aerobraking as he can.

The ISS makes its own oxygen. Unless something important breaks, their first concern is water supply.

And/or luck...

It isn't - not anymore.

I'm picturing a command pod just rammed in between three liquid engines attached to a tricoupler...

So... where can I get a pool toy like that? Target?

It's a bit more like landing on the Moon than like landing on Earth. There's an atmosphere, but it's not enough to fly through with a Delta Glider unless you're going really fast. You can use the atmosphere to reenter, but it's so thin that you still have to turn around and retrobrake in order to make your spot. If you're set up right, you'll use the atmosphere for every little bit that you can, working your way down into the thicker parts as speed bleeds off (or as you need to bleed off speed), just like on Earth - only this time, you'll run out of altitude before you run out of speed, at which point you will flip around and hover down the rest of the way, like a lunar descent. However, odds are, you WON'T be set up properly and will have to turn around earlier to fire retrograde and slow down in time. I often find it helpful to pop up prior to turnaround so I can see my spot better, come down steeper, have more time before I hit the ground, and also have less atmosphere trying to spin me around if I've REALLY overshot. Also, on the DG, you CAN go eyeballs-out and use a combo of retros and hover thrusters instead of the main engines to slow down - just keep in mind that the mains have more thrust.

Yeah, well HE didn't have to navigate his way to that three-mile milestone... Though I agree that rendezvous isn't completely over until relative velocity is killed, but I disagree with him about the range at which this must be achieved. If you've killed velocity at three miles, even closing from there is relatively straightforward. Though for us Kerbonauts, with no translational RCS whatsoever, this terminal closing and deceleration is actually more difficult because we can't really steer.

Orbiter is free, much like the current version of KSP.

I do. I like KSP for the building and engineering that goes into it, whereas Orbiter's all about piloting and navigation. Also, KSP's rudimentary instrumentation adds a certain element of adventure that's sometimes hard to find in Orbiter (one of these days I'm going to try closing my instruments and performing a VFR reentry in Orbiter - with an XR-class vessel - just to see if I can), and the whole theme (i.e. Jeb) adds a massive helping of character to the game, which is rather amusing.

Sorta like 'Earth' vs. 'The world?' Or is 'Kerbin' more like 'Terra,' in that it's only rarely used, and strictly in astronomical circles?

Ooh... that's good. That's really good. I'd pretty much given up hope of killing my velocity exoatmospherically and dropping vertically... I didn't even think to try it at apokee like that...

ISRM isn't much of an option with a space station; you can't simply scoop several tons of regolith to use as filler/radiation shielding in LEO like you can with your Moon base. With the right equipment, ISRM could potentially allow MUCH larger and more permanent bases at less ultimate cost.

If you end up doing that, the key is to slide into a slightly higher or lower (usually elliptical) orbit than the target so that it/you can catch up again. Oddly enough, this means you have to fire retro and slow DOWN in order to catch up (thus dropping down a bit and 'cutting the corner' to catch up), or fire forwards and speed UP in order to let it catch up. Depending on how badly you missed, it may take several orbits to merge with your target - that is, IF you even realize which way it is.

Well, yes, it'd be best if he did it, but he's a very busy man... =P Maaaaayyyyybeeeee.... *lightbulb* What if... what if someone made a 'KSP' mod for Orbiter, which featured this system? I know Orbiter supports custom star systems... ; === Configuration file for planet Kearth === Name = Kearth Module = Earth Module_Atm = EarthAtmJ71G ; default atmosphere model if no user selection ErrorLimit = 1e-8 SamplingInterval = 79 ; interpolation sampling interval [s] ; (interpolation error ~0.1m) ; === Physical Parameters === Mass = 5.29e22 ;Size = 6.00e5 ; equatorial radius Size = 6.00e5 ; mean radius JCoeff = 1082.6269e-6 -2.51e-6 -1.60e-6 -0.15e-6 ; harmonic coefficients for shape description AlbedoRGB = 0.7 0.85 1.0 ; === Rotation and precession parameters === ; ref: see [url]www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=8185[/url] PrecessionLAN = 0 ; [rad] PrecessionObliquity = 0 ; [rad] PrecessionPeriod = -9413040.4 ; precession period (days) = 25771.5 years LAN = 0 ; [rad] LAN_MJD = 51544.5 ; [MJD] SidRotOffset = 0.200 ; [rad] SidRotPeriod = 8640000 ; [s] Obliquity = 0.100 ; [rad] ; === Atmospheric Parameters === ;AtmPressure0 = 101.4e3 ; pressure at zero altitude [Pa] (defined via module) AtmDensity0 = 1.293 ; density at zero altitude [kg/m^3] AtmGasConstant = 286.91 ; specific gas constant [J/(K kg)] AtmGamma = 1.4 ; specific heat ratio c_p/c_v ;AtmAltLimit = 345e2 ; cutoff altitude [m] AtmAttenuationAlt = 10e3; ; cutoff altitude for light attenuation AtmHorizonAlt = 10e3 ; horizon rendering altitude [m] AtmHazeExtent = 0.14 ; horizon haze extent AtmColor0 = 0.55 0.75 1.04 AtmHazeColor = 0.6 0.8 1.0 AtmFogParam = 5e-5 3e-5 4e3 AtmFogColor = 0.55 0.85 1.10 ; === Cloud parameters === CloudAlt = 7e3 ; altitude of cloud layer CloudRotPeriod = 1e6 CloudShadowDepth = 0.3 CloudMicrotextureAlt = 35e3 300e3 ; === Visualisation Parameters === MaxPatchResolution = 14 ; surface texture resolution limit (1-12) MinCloudResolution = 1 ; cloud layer from this resolution MaxCloudResolution = 8 ; highest cloud resolution level SpecularRipple = TRUE ; enable specular water microtexture ; === Surface Bases === ; place additional bases or ; base directories in this list BEGIN_SURFBASE DIR Kearth\Base END_SURFBASE ; === Fixed surface observation points === BEGIN_OBSERVER KSC:VAB: -80.6529 +28.5800 20 KSC:Pad: -80.6226 +28.6179 5 KSC:Pad Tower: -80.62342 +28.61968 110 KSC:Fuel Depot: -80.69935 +28.61021 2.8 END_OBSERVER ; === VOR transmitters === BEGIN_NAVBEACON VOR KSC +21.2482 +48.6831 108.20 270 ; KERCEN END_NAVBEACON *Disclaimer: Sample .cfg file for illustrative purposes only. Not for actual usage.*

*Throws a mischievous glance at the nearest addon developer*

No, no iodides. We get around that by giving the planet an atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen, with significant quantities of chlorine, oxygen, fluorine and various fluorides. The planet is highly-valued for its rich (but toxic) environment of free oxidizing agents. Also, its rare mountains (the planet is nearly entirely oceanic) are rich with nitrogen triiodide, a useful pyrotechnic agent for stage decouplers.

Tsiolkovsky's Rocket Equation uses effective exhaust velocity, not specific impulse (though they amount to the same thing). Apply a conversion factor of g (9.807 m/s2) and you should be good to go.

Bu-But then the astronauts can't play Angry Birds when they get bored!

That's my secret. ;P

Hmm... close-in planet with swirly purple clouds, huh? Eve should have OCEANS OF MOLTEN IODINE. That'd be FRICKIN' AWESOME. And the Fire Star sounds like a young Mercury, with it's mantle being literally burnt off by the nearby sun. For Kearth to be habitable at the same time, though, the Fire Star will need to be VERY close to the sun. The third. Ah yes, 'the Green Baron.'

Yup.

Well... You could probably SSTO, stage in orbit, deorbit, and SSTO again... But it'd be hard.

You mean 'Mission Specialist: IT' wasn't a job on the Space Shuttle?