Sufficient Anonymity

Turns out there's a surface science component to exploration contracts...

And that's why you always add lots of airbrakes On a more serious note, if you try pancaking in the upper atmo, then pitching down before there's a risk of losing control, you can pull off some really aggressive reentries with FAR (not sure about whether it'd work with DRE though). EDIT: Oh, and today's fail - launched two probes into LKO in preparation for some exploration contracts - launch and orbital insertions went swimmingly, as did plotting of the transfer burns. Popped some reminders into Kerbal Alarm Clock, returned to the space centre to accept another contract or three, and noticed the full text of the exploration contracts. Turns out surface science is a thing too. As a result, I have now got two really expensive probes sat in LKO which can't do half the job they were built for.

No debris in orbit, no deaths - it's only responsible, right?

When building SSTOs, I tend to start with the cargo bay (or crew tanks) as the root part, then build outwards from there, ensuring the fuel tank setup is the same fore and aft. Means that the CoM stays in pretty much the same place however full the tanks are or what payload is present. Whack on a Skylon-esque wing and engine arrangement, and you'll stay balanced pretty much whatever you do (though TAC fuel balancer is nice to ease fuel pumping woes).

I put a station in Munar orbit (and fulfilled a Kerbin station contract whilst I was at it - made a lot of money with that launch). I launched two probes that are headed for Duna and Ike, and then realised that I'm meant to collect science whilst landed too. Ooops (there goes the gains from the station contract). The Duna science will be pretty easy to collect (aerobrake probe) but I guess I'll have to send a probe lander to Ike.

Less of a space station, and more of what happens at the end of a space station's life. This album shows the two dockings involved in decrewing then deorbiting my polar science platform.

I de-crewed then deorbited a scientific station in polar orbit. Was fun doing the double docking - first the crew bus itself came in and picked up the five kerbals aboard, then the service module docked to kick the station out of orbit.

Just in case anyone wants any more ideas, here's a pair of SSTO gunships

So, a couple of weeks back, I posted the S4, a void-combat SSTO gunship. It's now undergone a total redesign, and has been redesignated the F4 (I'm reserving the S designation for transport-only SSTOs, and using F for any combat vessel, beit atmospheric or void only, or both). So, without any further ado, presenting the F4 gunship: I'm not going to include craft files like last time unless anyone really wants them - probably a few too many mods.

So, a couple of weeks back, I posted the S4, a void-combat SSTO gunship. It's now undergone a total redesign, and has been redesignated the F4 (I'm reserving the S designation for transport-only SSTOs, and using F for any combat vessel, beit atmospheric or void only, or both). So, without any further ado, presenting the F4 gunship: I'm not going to include craft files like last time unless anyone really wants them - probably a few too many mods.

Good to see you back - mark me down as another vote for the integrated light.

This Mk1 placeholder by K3|Chris - http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/92630-0-90-B9-Aerospace-Release-5-2-8-%28updated-30-12-14%29?p=1401790&viewfull=1#post1401790 - don't want to derail this thread too much though - images were more about being able to tweak the wings to exactly the right shape.

Heatshielding is on the wrong side then - I should have included an underside shot - pretty much everything is tucked in out the way of the rigors of reentry heating. EDIT: For those asking why the bay is on top... EDIT THE SECOND: Look what I found - https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/2hp3al/b9_bomb_bay_reskin/ - the current version is more for orbital combat, but I'm going to have to build a ground attack version now, aren't I?

Have been playing around with this for a while now - loving the flexibility without having to sacrifice the looks of your craft

Presenting the S4 Gunship, packing a pair of HEKV void-combat missiles and two fully gimballed 30mm chain guns. A flight crew of two are safely housed in rear-mounted cockpit, and a further six can be carried in the mid-mounted crew tank, for any rapid deployment needs. Lots of B9, plus the optional B9 Mk1 inline cockpit, BahmutoD's Armory and Adjustable Gear, Infernal Robotics, MechJeb and Bac9's new procedural wings. Craft file EDIT: You'll need FAR. Also, it helps if you stow the middle (ie the adjustable) gear and instead use the rearmost ones for landing. Don't try taking off on them though; they're way too far from the centre of mass. Action groups: 1 - toggle engine modes and intakes 2 - toggle window shields 3 - arm weapons systems, toggle chain guns and weapons bay doors 4 - cycle through weapons 5 - fire o/p - raise/lower chain guns ABORT - toggle air brakes

Presenting the S4 Gunship, packing a pair of HEKV void-combat missiles and two fully gimballed 30mm chain guns. A flight crew of two are safely housed in rear-mounted cockpit, and a further six can be carried in the mid-mounted crew tank, for any rapid deployment needs. Lots of B9, plus the optional B9 Mk1 inline cockpit, BahmutoD's Armory and Adjustable Gear, Infernal Robotics, MechJeb and Bac9's new procedural wings. Craft file EDIT: You'll need FAR. Also, it helps if you stow the middle (ie the adjustable) gear and instead use the rearmost ones for landing. Don't try taking off on them though; they're way too far from the centre of mass. Action groups: 1 - toggle engine modes and intakes 2 - toggle window shields 3 - arm weapons systems, toggle chain guns and weapons bay doors 4 - cycle through weapons 5 - fire o/p - raise/lower chain guns ABORT - toggle air brakes

Dammit bac9, I'd just finished my set of career SSTOs (also B9-based, of course). These look gorgeous - will have to try them out.

What would have been a straightforward probe release mission had I not mistimed the landing... ...everything worked out okay in the end - the final approach was rather hairy, though once I'd come through the clouds, I could see what I was doing well enough.

Apologies that it's a nighttime shot (there's an explanation over in You Will Not Go To Space Today), but this is the S2, my late-career light cargo SSTO (the S1 is a crew shuttle, the S3 is a heavy cargo SSTO; all are drone controlled).

Only a partial fail today, as I got the plane down in one piece. First though, some context from yesterday: it was the first test flight of my new crew shuttle (a B9 S2-based SSTO, that looks, as with all my SSTOs, very much like Skylon). As it was the first test, I'd forgotten some important features, like reaction wheels, air brakes and landing lights. Only having the gyros in the drone core made orientating for burns pretty tedious, but didn't really cause any issues in atmo. The other two omissions, however, did. Picture, if you will (and you're going to have to just do that, as I was far too busy to take a screencap), a sleek black and white plane dropping through the clouds then making a 300m/s low pass of the KSC, in the middle of the night. Eventually, I was able to swing it around and make a 200m/s landing on the grass next to the runway. I say "landing." I was more of a partially controlled crash - in the words of the excellent Clarke and Dawe, . The back did too, if I'm being totally honest. Good thing the crew tank was in the middle - anything you can walk away from, eh?Anyway, that brings me on to today's fail. Today was the maiden flight of my late-career light cargo SSTO. I had remembered landing lights, and reaction wheels, and air brakes. I'd got it successfully into orbit. I'd released both survey probes (they'll get flown off to their final destinations later). I'd got some nice shots of the probe release. But did I time the landing to be in the day? Nope. Hopefully I've learnt my lesson about landing in the light now, though with all the practice getting things down in the dark, I might just carry on not caring about the time I'll be landing - especially now I've set up a MechJeb info window with my bearing and distance to the KSC and kujuman's ILS/HSI.

I'm concerned they might still be some headaches with the physics extension - both my runway flags leapt a few km into Kerbin on landing tonight.

@billbobjebkirk - is the... somewhat unfortunate shape of the sample return vehicle intentional?

Hang on a sec - I see no thrusters - does this mean you've worked out how to make this work without an engine built into the part?

I must say, I like the B9 MFD configs so much I immediately MM patched them all the stock pods too - got to live the lack of camera transforms, but otherwise, it works really well.

Oh, that's very exciting. I love the current model but as someone who uses B9 HX parts a surprising amount, it's just not big enough (and I've never been one for tweakscale - don't like the greeble that should remain a fixed size gets scaled with the rest of the model etc).