mythic_fci

As I said, it was an estimate and an estimate only. The delta-v, depending on conditions, can range anywhere from 4-7 km/s. And remember that in the outer solar system, we can't use the ion propulsion system.

True, so... Orbiter, people?

Assuming that the ship will weigh about 20kg full and 15kg empty, and using the BRFIT-3's optimum ISP of 2500, the max D/V is about 7050m/s according to my calculations, well over enough for a Phobos insertion and even a return to Earth orbit.

I don't think so. Besides the engines, we'll need sensors to monitor the ship, at least 1 processing unit (if not 2, as I recommend to even the processing load), solar panels, landing legs and most likely scientific equipment. - - - Updated - - - He probably meant that the cubesat weighs 10kg AFTER adding on all necessary equipment.

Very true. We could prove pretty much all operational hardware (sans experiments and some nonessential sensors) in that flight, then put all of that proven hardware into a similar configuration on the Phobos flight. EDIT: I've got names! Why not call the first one KommunitySat 1 and the second one KommunitySat 2 - Phobos?

I dunno... Maybe we could send up a 2u with just some fuel and a basic computer for engine and computer testing in LEO, then we could raise more for a 3u to Phobos.

Okay, so with the image posted a few pages back, we have a basic idea of what the cubesat should look like. I recommend putting sensors and fuel in the middle module with the computer in the front module. Also, why not mount the solar panels straight (not at a downwards angle) and on the middle module? We could therefore attach landing legs on the bottom module. EDIT: If we go for Phobos landing without return, we could count the mission as a research mission and send some scientific data to NASA, therefore hopefully earning us a free ride!

Okay, good. To give you all an accurate idea of what I mean by that blueprint in 3D, I'm making one in KSP!

Alright! **** **** ******* *** *** ** * *****! (Hey mods, that was just stars, not intended as curses)

Dynamite. 10char

ICARUS II SUN SHIELD! You wouldn't even dent it... (Sunshine Dan Boyle 2008 reference...) The next poster is inside a gigantic nuclear bomb about to detonate inside the Sun (Reference again...)

Excessive screaming! How dare you, CHEATER! (Congratz Claw for the mod privilege)

Yeah, I should've mentioned that it is supposed to fall on its side. Again, a rubber bumper on that side of the sat should help, considering the spacecraft is already at landing velocity, not escape velocity.

This probe is a simpler version of the last. If you were to use an electric propulsion unit, the single solar panel unit would have to be big. For a monopropellant unit, the single solar panel could be somewhat smaller. The sensor and experiments arm houses the spacecraft radiator (heat exchange unit) and all the spacecraft sensors and scientific experimental equipment, somewhat like the large radial arms of the Voyager spacecraft. The engine I will leave up to you to decide, so I just wrote "Fuel tank" and "Engine" to be filled with either xenon gas and an electric propulsion system or hydrazine and a monopropellant engine.

Heh, now we're talking KSP style! If we equipped a "bumper" module to the bottom of the sat, maybe it would survive.

I'm redesigning it as I type. What fuel type would you recommend? I'm still leaning for hydrazine, because although it's toxic, it by itself is very light and it removes the need for a complex dual-feed system to the engine AND an ignitor to boot.

If we do make a Phobos lander, here's my diagram. Almost everything uses commercially-avaliable things, such as the main processing unit using off-the-shelf CPUs and storage mediums. (Yay for technical terms!)

Usually before the release of a major update, the devs will go on radio silence. There haven't been dev posts on Monday CST Time so far. That probably means it'll be released Tuesday or Wednesday CST Time.

Sandbox saves will most likely make it, considering no parts are taken out and there are no new variables there. Career saves, however, probably won't. It'd be much easier to do a new career WITH money than suddenly try and earn money in the middle of constructing a Jool ship in late career mode.

Attention ladies and gentlemen! A user (I forgot your name, sorry PM me if you found it with proof) found a nifty little bug bypasser! In the KSP folder, replace the mono.dll with the one from Unity 4.5.1, not the normal one. EDIT: OP reorganized with new mods and better explanations.

More stock parts (ex. Smaller RTGs with half the weight and half the power output), some way to link ships via EVA, and of course, ATMOSPHERE. MOAR ATMOSPHERE.

They're adding a mod-friendly toolbar in 0.24.

^^^^^So true.^^^^^ I would literally steal about 100 credit cards and $2 billion cash, buy every possible hat ever made on Earth, put it on my head, and take them off one by one. Congratulations sir, you are as whackjobby as Whackjob himself, and that's almost impossble.

My name is FCISuperGuy and I am a Kerbaholic. I spend my days of summer break calculating the amount of solar panels required to power my ion-drive ships.

Thanks for the insta-click Just one thing I would like: Remove the "Download Latest Version" button from the description box. There's already a download button on the right, no need for a second one.