rhoark

The Delta IV nor its RS-68 engines are human-rated. The human-rated RS-68B was going to be developed for Ares V, but there's been silence on the idea lately. I expect if SLS funding were to be pulled, that would be the next step though.

Are you trolling? It's 70 tons to LEO, 25 tons to the moon, 4 tons to Europa.

The official line is that SLS is "capability-driven" rather than "destination-driven". This is very savvy on NASA's part, for two reasons: First, congress has always been inimical to manned Mars missions, on the theory it would lead to a positive feedback loop of space commitments. This kills not only missions themselves, but technologies that could enable them, like NERVA. Second, if a vehicle is designed for a destination, and the destination gets ruled out, what do you think would happen to the vehicle program?

What are you doing in this forum? If you were a KSP player, you'd understand the importance of delta-V. Here's a brochure that lays it out with more style than I could: http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/defense-space/space/sls/docs/sls_mission_booklet_jan_2014.pdf Congress forced a shuttle-derived design over the RP-1 first stage NASA would have preferred, but don't doubt for a second NASA wants a rocket of this size class.

Is it decoupled enough to target another language at the simulated CPU?

It's being created. Fuel tanks first, but there's nothing stopping the same part module from going on cockpits.

Looks promising. Now it might be possible to have artificially slow units low in the tech tree.

Latest design studies point to the core stage being unpainted, so orange.

Magically delicious

The new engine looks great. I'd like to request a hollow tube version of the external intertank, so I can stick some electronics in there like the real thing.

Promising. Hopefully there will be some hollow tubes as well to cluster parts inside.

Try something like this @PART[myPlugin_*]:HAS[ @MODULE[ReflectiveShaderModule] :HAS[#LowUpdateRate[half]] ] { @MODULE[ReflectiveShaderModule] { @updateRate = 150 } } @PART[myPlugin_*]:HAS[ @MODULE[ReflectiveShaderModule] :HAS[#LowUpdateRate[quarter] ] ] { @MODULE[ReflectiveShaderModule] { @updateRate = 75 } }

Very true. I think KSP's heat conduction is too low and dissipation too high. Both are moddable so I may get to it if someone else doesn't.

What combination of settings would be best for a blurry brushed-metal kind of reflection?

It works if you don't care for verisimilitude. Engines' heat tolerance comes from at least one of three things: 1. Ablative coatings that are meant to be blasted out, not rammed up the throat. 2. Curtains of moving fuel insulating the engine from the flame 3. Cold fuel piped along the outer surfaces None of these really apply during reentry. A very shallow entry causes too little drag, so the integral of heat over time can be larger than a steeper reentry. It takes a happy medium.

Mostly man-made, but during the shuttle program there were more than 1900 documented debris impacts.

There are good ones in B9

For Duna it makes sense to hew closely to real Mars characteristics, but Eve invites more fanciful ideas. I'm thinking primarily ammonia and cyanogen, with traces of methane and iodine.

This will be a helpful list, thanks. I'm working on an overhaul of resource containers and flows that will include mixing and reacting fairly arbitrary collections of substances. The emphasis is on simulating combustion and resulting thrust/ISP, but ISRU will tie in very naturally at a later point. Anthraquinone is unfortunately a bit too specialized to include in my reaction pathways, but it's apparently viable (if not economical) to produce H2O2 from H2 and O3. At some point I'll scrape together the pennies for this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0891813829/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1OM1HGEN91WIN&coliid=I31ZZNWVF8BVK1

Near Future Propulsion has heat radiators

B9, DRE, and FAR all work fine together.

Eventually I'll want to extend my tank model (arbitrary stuff goes in or out, pressure is calculated) to cabin atmospheres as well. This API will be very helpful.

MFD, this, probe IVA, first-person kerbals all in a short time frame. It's the IVA singularity.

Thanks, that will be helpful.

If the minor axis is small enough, the lowest altitude doesn't have to correspond with the local minimum of speed. Then the distribution of drag over time would be bimodal. The cumulative effect would be asymmetrical, since it would go into the second hump with slightly less speed.