Speeding Mullet

Today I installed about a googol mods. Every time I revert flight it now crashes so I'm going back through 1 by 1 to try and find the culprit, but KSP now looks like this for me: I also wrote, designed new badges for, and released Version 3 of the STS Challenge thread, which can be found here. Check it out! SM

It's a pleasure. Hopefully this one will be as successful as the first two! SM

The Navball has been re-sized for 1.1, or at least the UI has and has also been made scale-able. As you say though turning down the UI size can make other parts impossibly hard to read or see. There is a mod called MakeItSmall that you can use to tweak these things separately and to your hearts content should you so wish. You can find it here Welcome to the forums SM

In that case there's a good couple of challenges that you could enter if you were so inclined. The Munar Crusade is practically made for you challenge wise. On a personal note I'd like to see you land a class E on top of your Burj Whackjob, but I realise that's quite a stretch goal. SM

Banned for not banning someone I guess

SHUTTLE CHALLENGE v3 - THE 1.1.X STS THREAD Good artists copy, great artists steal - Pablo Picasso This heritage challenge is a revised and updated version of @FCISuperGuy's STS challenge, which was in turn derived from @inigma's original STS challenge The series of challenges below represent a sliding scale of difficulty ranging from relatively simple to highly complex. All the required sub-assemblies are made available below with permission for free use, and are stock. I've taken this opportunity to open up the challenge further to modded craft with the introduction of a new set of badges for each mission. RULES - PLEASE READ THESE BEFORE ATTEMPTING THE CHALLENGES Official definition of a shuttle for this challenge: A "reusable" winged Orbiter which carries Kerbals and cargo to orbit and back and is capable of a horizontal landing. It should have OMS engine(s) for trajectory changes as well as an RCS system for maneuvering. The Orbiter must be lifted into space by a Launch System that decouples or un-docks once expended, allowing the Orbiter to land entirely under it's own power. 1. You must declare any and all mods used so I can place you into the relevant category / award the relevant badge. 2. You may not use autopilot mods (except "MechJeb" and "Pilot Assistant") when flying the shuttle 3. All atmosphere-altering mods (except FAR) are disallowed 4. You may not cheat in any way, whether it be by using plugins like HyperEdit or by using the Debug Menu for infinite fuel/RCS (you may, however, use the Debug Menu for part clipping). 5. You are required to use your own shuttle when completing any of the missions below. 6. All missions require either an Imgur album showing each stage of the flight, or a continuous (1 take only) video showing all stages of the flight. 7. Once you have completed a mission, please post your proof in this thread for my review. 8. SSTO's are not eligable for entry to the challenge 9. Missions must be completed in the logical order unless you are certified from either STS v1 or v2 challenges to the relevant level MISSIONS STS-1a: Getting the Basics Right This is the simplest mission - all you need to do is build a space shuttle, fly it, and land it. Badges Available STS Pilot - Rank 1 Build a shuttle complying to the above space shuttle definition and fly it to orbit, then de-orbit and land wherever you like! STS Commander - Rank 1 Build a shuttle complying to the above space shuttle definition and fly it to orbit, then de-orbit and land. Land either at the KSC, the island airfield just off of the KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport STS-1b: Bonus Fuel Pod Mission (Can You Carry Me?) Inigma Industries has contracted you to take their 42t fuel pod up to the highest possible Kerbin orbit. Since it requires special on-orbit activation procedures, unmanned expendable launch vehicles are out of the question; it's up to you to take this behemoth to orbit and then return to land. Not only that, but they require a very precise orbit: You must adhere to the tolerances (Maximum difference between periapsis and apoapsis below). Can you do it? Tolerances: 70-1999km - 100m 2000-4999km - 500m 4000-5999km - 1km 6000-8000km - 10km 8000km+ - 50km STS Fuel Pod Available HERE STOCK ALTITUDE LEADER-BOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. @zolotiyeruki - Shuttle Untitled Space Craft - 83647.70km 2. @Cipher_077 - Shuttle Force of Nature - 82173.00km 3. @Alchemist - Shuttle HRO-M - 19963.00km 4. @FCISuperGuy - Shuttle STV-1 Valkryie - 8532.00km 5. @Naito - Shuttle Rev 2.1 - 2000.03km MODDED ALTITUDE LEADER-BOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. @michal.don - Shuttle Kolumbia - 83000.00km 2. @algeo - Shuttle Ablator - 1094.00km 3. @String Witch - Shuttle TOLV-1 Hornet - 1032.69km 4. @Paranoid Shark - Shuttle Atlantis - 199.50km 5. @Daelkyr - Sarnus Sierra Nevada (Booster plane Colorado) - 175.35km If you have successfully taken the Fuel Pod to orbit (70+km), you get the special Flight Director badge, the ultimate display of piloting and engineering prowess and skill. STS-2a: Can You Hear Me? This mission is slightly harder - your goal is to deploy 2 comsats to geostationary orbits from your Shuttle and to return to Kerbin. Additional goals are required for higher-ranking badges. Note: This mission requires the use of an Mk3 Fuselage-based shuttle. Sub-assemblies Suggested (feel free to design your own) STS Comsats - by inigma Badges Available STS Pilot - Rank 2 Reach an orbit of 200+km and deploy your two comsats without spin stabilization to geostationary orbits. De-orbit and land anywhere you want. STS Commander - Rank 2 Reach an orbit of 350+km and deploy your two comsats with spin stabilization (using the provided Sepratrons if using the suggested sub-assemby) to geostationary orbits. De-orbit and land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-2b: Bonus Ore Pod Mission (Do You Even Lift?) Mullet Dyne has contracted you to take their 168t ore pod up to the highest possible Kerbin orbit. Since it requires special on-orbit activation procedures, unmanned expendable launch vehicles are out of the question; it's up to you to take this behemoth to orbit and then return to land. Not only that, but they require a very precise orbit: You must adhere to the tolerances (Maximum difference between periapsis and apoapsis below). Can you do it? Tolerances: 70-1999km - 100m 2000-4999km - 500m 4000-5999km - 1km 6000-8000km - 10km 8000km+ - 50km Speeding Mullet 168t Ore Pod Available HERE STOCK ALTITUDE LEADER-BOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. @Cipher_077 - Shuttle Pulse - 82810.54km 2. @Alchemist - Shuttle HRO-H8 - 10145.78km 3. 4. 5. MODDED ALTITUDE LEADER-BOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. If you have successfully taken the Ore Pod to orbit (70+km), you get the special Flight Director - Rank 2 badge, the ultimate display of piloting and engineering prowess and skill. STS-3: Can You See Me? Your mission here involves some orbital construction - you are to launch the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit and deploy it. This will require assembly with the 2 MMUs provided, as the solar panels need to be attached on-orbit with Kerbals. Note: This mission requires the use of a shuttle with at least a CRG-100 cargo bay. Sub-assemblies Required (feel free to use Cacteye or other telescope mod to make a working space telescope) Hubble Space Telescope - by xoknight (updated by @Alchemist with full credit to xoknight (Thanks Alchemist )) Hint: You will need to find a way to pack this into the Mk3 Cargo bay and mount it securely so it requires a bit of thought. Badges Available STS Pilot - Rank 3 Launch the HST to an orbit of your choice and deploy and assemble it; afterwards, deorbit and land. Land anywhere you want. STS Commander - Rank 3 Launch the HST to a 550+km circular orbit inclined at 25-30 degrees and assemble it. After deployment, land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-4/4R: Can You Rescue Me? This'll be the most daring mission so far - first, you must launch a single shuttle to orbit, then send another shuttle to rescue it. See this article for technical details of the IRL proposed STS-107 rescue. Note: It is recommended to use an Mk3 Fuselage-based shuttle for this mission. Subassemblies Required (OPTIONAL - Requires CRG-100 Cargo Bay) STS-107 SpaceHab Module - by inigma (Used on the first shuttle) (Recommended - Requires at least a CRG-50 Cargo Bay) STS Operations Module - by inigma (Provides 4 extra seats) Badges Available STS Pilot - Rank 4 Launch your first space shuttle into a 200+km orbit with a minimum of 4 crew, then send up your second shuttle to rendezvous with it and rescue its crew before coming in to land anywhere you wish. STS Commander - Rank 4 Launch your first space shuttle into an 350+km orbit with 6 crew at an inclination of 25-30 degrees, then send your second shuttle to rendezvous with it and rescue its crew. Land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-5-8: Can You Build Me? Your mission here is to build a 4 module space station with your space shuttle. Your space station must have: A service module with RCS, engines, and reaction wheels A habitation module 2 scientific modules Badges Avaliable STS Pilot - Rank 5 Assemble your space station above 150km. After each mission, you may land anywhere you want. STS Commander - Rank 5 Assemble your space station above 300km. After each mission, land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-9: Can You Land Me??? This mission is significantly more difficult than those before it. You must develop your own unique sub-assembly and fly a daring mission in order to capture a space potato and return it to Kerbin for study. This will test the balance and re-entry capability of your shuttle to the limits and is not for the feint of heart! Also It's not mandatory for a kerbal to ride the asteroid in on top of the shuttle, but serious respect if you manage it. Example mission here if you need inspiration. Badges Avaliable STS Pilot - Rank 6 Launch your shuttle and capture an asteroid, then de-orbit and land wherever you like! STS Commander - Rank 6 Launch your shuttle and capture an asteroid, then de-orbit and land. Land either at the KSC, the island airfield just off of the KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport STOCK ASTEROID WEIGHT LEADER-BOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. @Alchemist - Shuttle HRO - 35.01t 2. 3. 4. 5. MODDED ASTEROID WEIGHT LEADERBOARD (Top 5 ONLY) 1. @Paranoid Shark - Shuttle Atlantis - 69.99t 2. @michal.don - Shuttle Kolumbia - 27.00t 3. 4. 5. STS-10: Can You Visit Me? This mission is significantly more challenging than those before it and may require extensive shuttle modifications, or even a new shuttle design for some. You must develop your own unique sub-assembly and fly an epic interplanetary mission to Duna in order to deploy a small orbital outpost. This will test the range, aero-capture, and re-entry capability of your shuttle to the limits and is not for the feint of heart! The orbital outpost must have: Room for 4 or more kerbals, Electricity generation and storage Antenna for communication Probe core with SAS NOTE: You may launch 1 support package for your shuttle using a traditional rocket or shuttle launch for this mission. Badges Avaliable STS Pilot - Rank 7 Launch your shuttle to Duna, capture how ever you like, deploy an orbital outpost at your chosen altitude, and return home, capturing however you like and landing where you want. STS Commander - Rank 7 Launch your shuttle to Duna, aero-brake/capture at Duna, deploy an orbital outpost below 70km, and return home, aero-brake/capture at Kerbin, land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-11: Can You Land on me? This mission requires not only a Shuttle capable of getting to Duna, but also one capable of landing on the red planet and successfully returning to Kerbin. You may require extensive shuttle modifications, or even a new shuttle design for this mission. NOTE: You may launch 1 support package for your shuttle using a traditional rocket or shuttle launch for this mission, and feel free to use the mission to add another module to your outpost (this is not a requirement for the challenge) Badges Avaliable STS Pilot - Rank 8 Launch your shuttle to Duna, capture how ever you like and visit your orbital outpost from STS-10 before or after your Duna landing. Return home, capturing however you like and landing where you want. STS Commander - Rank 8 Launch your shuttle to Duna. Aero-brake/capture at Duna and visit your orbital outpost from STS-10 in Low Duna Orbit before or after your Duna landing. Return home, aero-brake/capture at Kerbin, land at either at the KSC, the Island Airfield just off of KSC, or at any Kerbal Konstructs airport. STS-12: Can You Breathe here? First successful mission completion - @michal.don This mission is hideously challenging and will no doubt require extensive shuttle modifications, or even a totally new shuttle design. You must develop your own unique sub-assemblies and fly an epic interplanetary mission to Laythe in order to deploy a small ground outpost capable of refining Ore (for Pilot level) with the addition of an atmospheric exploration aircraft (for Commander level). This mission is designed to test your shuttle in the extreme, and also your payload construction and deployment methods. The ground outpost must have: Ore refinery and fuel storage with docking port Room for 4 or more kerbals The Atmospheric Exploration Aircraft must have: Room for 1 or more kerbals Docking port NOTE: You may launch 1 support package for your shuttle using a traditional rocket or shuttle launch for this mission. Badges Avaliable STS Pilot - Rank 9 Launch your shuttle to Laythe, and land on Laythe before deploying an outpost capable of refining Ore. Return home, capturing however you like and landing where you want. STS Commander - Rank 9 Launch your shuttle to Laythe, and land on Laythe before deploying an outpost capable of refining Ore and before or after deploying an atmospheric exploration aircraft. Return home, capturing however you like and landing where you want. HONORARY BADGES STS Engineer Award Given by an STS Architect for developing a sub-assembly that ends up being a core part of this challenge, or for assisting heavily in the development of a Shuttle. If you have a sub-assembly you'd like to be reviewed, please post a detailed analysis and example mission report in the challenge thread. @inigma - Creator of the STS Fuel Pod and STS ComSats sub-assemblies @xoknight - Creator of the Hubble Space Telescope sub-assembly @FCISuperGuy - Expert advice giver @Alchemist - Patron of multiple shuttle challenges, consistent advice giver and developer, And updater of the HST sub-assembly Astronaut Badge This badge is given to anyone who has completed any of the above missions with a shuttle built by another person. Skunkworks Badge This badge is given to people who have submitted especially unique and outstanding designs which abide by the given definition of a space shuttle. Skunkworks badge holders are still eligible for the above mission badges. The full list of Skunkworks badge holders is as follows: @Foxster - From STS Challenge Version 2 - It was the first inline shuttle in the challenge but the badge was always missing. @ZooNamedGames - For building a replica Saturn Shuttle. Very useful and highly unusual design worthy of the Skunkworks badge. @AffreuxLex - Seriously just watch the video for an amazing example of re-usable infrastructure thoroughly deserving of the Skunkworks nomination. @sdj64 - Brilliant inline shuttle with a hilariously dangerous ET separation Architect Badge The full list of Architect badge holders is as follows: Speeding Mullet - Version 3 Challenge Creator, temporary admin of Version 2 Challenge @inigma - Original Challenge Creator/Manager, Builder of highly-capable STS Space Shuttle and numerous STS-related subassemblies @FCISuperGuy - Version 2 Challenge Creator/Manager, builder of a highly capable shuttle, and excellent giver of advice @xoknight - Creator and maintainer of the venerable Hubble Space Telescope across 3 versions, requiring consistent updates To receive the Architect Badge is a rare honor. To be awarded at my discretion, or through nomination of FCISuperGuy or Inigma for my consideration, and given for acts of invaluable contribution to the challenge above and beyond the call of duty.

Well it worked, you bought a GRAVMAX Negative Gravioli Detector didn't you? Waiter, there's a low res avatar in my soup!

You are correct unfortunately, but I reckon it's got to be pretty inefficient to carry all that dead weight to orbit in order to circularize on solids. Add some booster to your booster so you can boost while you booster is my advice! Welcome to the forums @RedstoneWizard22! A lot of mods are already updated for 1.1, check in here for the latest releases. If they aren't currently working, but they are popular mods, then give it a few days and likelihood is they will be updated. Seeing as I'm already mentioning 1.1 a lot I might call on @FCISuperGuy for a quick announcement SM

Wound up 1.1 today and gave my Buran shuttle a test run before it's 1.1 grand re-release. Nothing needed doing at all apart from swapping out the nose gear which is great, but I'm going to take advantage of the new performance to finally integrate the fuel cells and tweak a couple of other bits and bobs that have been on the wish list for some time. The Buran 11F35 Kerbal 1.1B re-enters from 2260 KM with aplomb. SM

Hi there! I'm not OP but I have taken on OP functions while he is away That's a nice shuttle and may I say welcome to the forums! Looks like the community has gained another accomplished builder so stick around and have some fun. Initial observations are that you could certainly clean up the balance a little. My Buran shuttle doesn't fire it's engines at all until it reaches orbit, yet I've got away with hardly any SAS or RCS thruster blocks / Vernors. It's a matter of repeated testing and revision which looks like the phase you are currently in so keep refining that sucker! MY thread (link in sig) is a reasonable source of information on how you can find a little more balance, particularly with that main tank hanging off the shuttle. Check this particular post out for a cunning fuel routing trick which keeps you balanced for longer on the way up and may reduce or negate the need for your thuds. You may find some other nifty things in there which help with the design of your own shuttle! Speaking of the shuttle itself It looks like a meaty one! Would be great to see some more pictures of that when you fancy sharing! Re: strap-ons () the only permitted location is on the carrier vehicle, i.e. where you have yours currently. None are permitted on the shuttle itself unfortunately. Regarding spin stability with sepatrons I'm not sure exactly what you mean. If you can clarify with more description and pictures I will adjudicate SM

Banned for wearing over-poster label with pride.

Very surprisingly no! @markymarkandthefunkybunch with 6 posts since October 2015 let's see if I can coax a 7th out of him. Nice shuttle you have going on there! SM

Banned for returning once banned

This looks like fantastic mod. Bookmarked and waiting for 1.1 update in which I will certainly take it for a spin Couple of suggestions / observations / questions that immediately hit me (apologies if already mentioned in the thread and I've missed it): Parts - One thing I would look for with a mod like this is a comprehensive/varied and high quality parts set. Is this part of your plan? I'm imagining well refined green houses, base parts, everything. Moar parts basically . If not then are you relying on people integrating the functionality into their own parts mods? Space weather - Can you elaborate on how this works in the mod? Are the CME's entirely random and omnidirecitonal (i.e. they affect you no matter where you are in the system) or do they fire off in a particular direction from an imagined or simulated active region on Kerbal as the Wiki suggests it might. If the latter is the case then could it be possible in the future to use the map view to visualize a CME event even on a basic level, and is it possible to integrate something into the mod to show active regions on the surface of Kerbol. I'm imagining space weather analysis courtesy of the tracking station. Maybe you figure out the CME will just miss the crew, or maybe it's definitely all hands on deck! Shielding - Implementing a storm shelter module sounds like a nice idea if you can do it under the radiation component. Quick question though: "under cosmic-level of radiation a Kerbal can survive 250d with a ShieldingFactor of 0.0 (eg: no shielding at all), and 5y 370d with a ShieldingFactor of 1.0 (eg: max amount of shielding). So to simplify, it cost 2T per-Kerbal to give a vessel the max amount of shielding possible." I'm 100% sure I've not grasped this but does this mean that the shielding on any mission is only ever good for a maximum of 5y 370d and then the Kerbal will die? Other - I have huge respect for people who create mods in their own time, for free and make them available for people like myself with no time/experience/inclination to try modding for myself. I wouldn't pay much heed to detractors - I'm pretty sure this huge piece of work will gain a decent popular following. Well done and thanks! SM

Just before a 4 day weekend with the other half scheduled to work for 3 out of 4 days. I cannot thank you enough Congratulations on the release of 1.1!!! SM

Great result congratulations!! Today I finished the design of my 3rd Amphibious plane (none yet released). It's based loosely on a Beriev Be-200ChS and features space for 16 passengers (plus 4 crew). It's got a wet cargo space with an awesome little jet ski and ballast tanks to assist with water line leveling for release and recapture of the cargo. As you will see the engines are mounted overhead and behind the wings to avoid the worst of the spray, but particularly damage from those water landings. The hull of the plane has also been specially shaped to allow fast landings and takeoffs with minimal risk of nose diving. If you want to do a slow landing on a small stretch of water or challenging landing strip then it's easily achievable with split rear tail brakes, flaps, air brakes and reverse thrust. There's even a discrete rudder for rapid maneuvering on the water. Given the plane is powered by twin Goliaths it has plenty of power and can easily fuel up for a very very long run. It comes into it's own for water rescue missions, but due to the robust build quality it's equally at home landing on solid ground. An all round performer, and pleasing design. Gallery for those interested with more description SM

banned for getting in there faster than I could ban Red Iron Crown

Hi there! I believe this should go some way to answering your question If I've missed the mark or you have any further questions let me know! SM

If Patcan is sitting in the command chair during a 3.2 km/s re-entry does that make the asteroid a ship? Seriously though I read the Mars trilogy last year by Kim Stanley Robinson (WHAT a series) and asteroid "ships" did feature but obviously as hollowed out objects. Would be amazing to be able to do the same in KSP and so great to see it, but I'm forever going to remain hopeful on that one I think. SM

Looking at some other error reports and bug tracker I can see that a common issue seems to be if you have any special characters in your file name it can throw things off. Try renaming the file to something really simple and seeing if it helps. Also good advice from @Vanamonde here from this thread: " To make my flags, I opened a stock one in Paint, saved it under a new name, and then painted over the existing image. That way it was certain to have the same formatting and whatnot as the others." So that might be another solution to your problem. Other than that I'll defer to someone's greater knowledge as I must confess I've never done a custom flag myself Good luck! SM

If you are having issues with bugs it would be a good start to post them here (or here if you are running a modded install) There's so many amazing and helpful people on this forum that I'm sure given enough information we can get you back on track and landing at Duna pre 1.1 . Best luck, will help if I can SM

That is an absolutely stunning Von Braun concept. Reminds me of a mission I had going with an old version of the game which came a cropper thanks to a nasty docking port bug: Have you got a mission log going for that you can point me towards, or thread with more details. Interested in reading and seeing more if you have it as do plan do resurrect a von braun when 1.1 hits... For myself, today I finished the write up of my first mission to Moho. I'd read all sorts of advice about sending a small probe first so I went with this: Full mission report now finished can be viewed here. SM

Right let's get this show on the road back to Kerbin. It's been sitting in my screenshot library for too long while I've been on holiday and desperately trying to catch up with work post holiday On the upside, I've avoided 1.1 envy and skipped 4 weeks waiting time so that's a good thing! Also while I was looking back through the mission I found this screenshot which once again bowled me over with how pretty KSP can be (if you don't look at the terrain detail): Anyway to the mission. All we need to do now is get the crew back safely to Kerbin right? I mean it shouldn't be horribly difficult. One burn, little correction, then a pant wetting re-entry at x km/s for the crew and the hope that the parachutes open in time to land "softly". Let's check in and see if they make it: A decision was made as you can see to call the return capsule "I don't think we are getting home" and for good reason. From the gallery above you can see that the calculations showed a deficiency in Delta-V in taking the living space home. This was to be a cramped journey returning in just the capsule. First the sepatrons designed to eject the living hab from the capsule were fired to expend their Delta-V in the direction of home. Then the hab was ditched, fuel balanced and the capsule docked to the right tank of the Moho return engines. Not an ideal solution but the only one available. Then the main engines were fired until depleted. After that the main engines were also ditched, and the force in the TR-XL Stack separator was further used to impart homeward bound energy. Finally after all that, and quite remarkably to be honest we ended up with a freaking closest approach. I literally could not believe I was so close yet so far. I sat back with my hands behind my head and thought "I've failed at Moho" and then it suddenly came to me. The three brave pilots all had EVA packs that they could use, and if I could just get them to do one thing, then we might be able to save the day: Now normally I'd tell myself you are totally cheating here, but A) I thought it was such a good idea and had remembered using it before (in a very very cheaty way) to get back from Mun, but also B) Thought that if I was in space with no fuel and a couple of km away from a decent encounter and only had an EVA pack to use then I'd damn well try it. Keeping in mind that I had 3 Kerbals to use I crossed my fingers and put it in the hands of the three best pilots I knew to make it happen. After using each of their IVA packs I ended up with this: RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew I had made it now. The crew was going to get home (admittedly in a molten cloud of particulates in the atmosphere or landing safely were the options) one way or the other. Let's check out the final stages of the mission as the re-entry happens: And the obligatory final crew photo on landing. Look how proud they are in their little space suits. I'm personally proud to have commanded such a mission and actually sitting here having written it up and re-read the entire mission cannot understand quite how I managed to get it to work considering everything. The Delta-V was only really lacking by a couple of hundred or so (hence ditching the living hab for the return journey) so if I'd flown more efficiently I may have actually been able to run the mission within tolerances I think! Not bad for a huge leviathan ship that I actually really only eyeballed on rough guesstimates for how it was going to perform. Nothing was tested in advance at all so I'm very pleased with myself right now Hope you had fun reading this! Probably my last big mission until 1.1 is out. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is going to be doing with it, and I now a great opportunity to catch up with some of the forum stories and reports I've missed out on. SM

I'd certainly like to echo this sentiment. The challenge is a joy to admin in @FCISuperGuy's absence and it's wonderful to see all the creative designs coming through, some of which give influence to my shuttle designs Well said @inigma! SM

I've used SSTO landers frequently, but I'm king of over-complex - I just love staging Nahhh - You'll get there! F5 F9!! Well let's see if I need to! Apologies for the delay with uploading the next step but I have been on a break from reality (holiday) for the last 3 weeks. Let's go to space (I hope): The crew boards the return to orbit module, and with everything cross-able cross-able they punch the big red ascent button. What happens next is a miracle of space travel: It hasn't gone well. It hasn't gone well at all and the sub orbital trajectory is testament to the terrible planning (i.e. none) that this mission underwent. But wait, isn't Moho a very small body. If the EVA packs work then we might, just might have a chance: Once by one the two crew exit the ascent vehicle and fire up their EVA packs. They were never designed for this kind of operation but the main ship has very little fuel left, possibly not enough to make it home even and there is no rescue coming, so it's either try this, or impact Moho very shortly at very high speed. Let's see what happens next: Amazing, it actually worked! Both crew managed to "chase the ace" and rescue themselves back to the Moho mother ship. Now all we have to do is handle the return home. Easy you say? Have to wait till the next update to see if the crew can all make it home! SM