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I agree, samples should act like bags of rocks. You can send a photo from the capsule or a materials analysis report if you have the component materials bay on the ship, you could have other tech like an xray bay or something. But transmissions should not add up to as much value as the sample itself and the value of retrieved samples should be high to make it worth retrieving. I am thinking there will come a time when samples can also be sold or auctioned for money to finance more missions. I think there needs to be some buffing of capsules as these are the means of transporting samples and currently you cannot put two samples from the same spot into a Mk1 capsule but you can put two samples, each from different places into the same capsule. The space in the capsule should act like physical space, put what you want in there. I am still trying to understand how its supposed to work and how the more advanced capsules should be balanced to give more capability, currently there isnt any they just weigh a lot, should be balanced but IMHO the Mk1 capsule logic doesnt make sense so I am assuming its a WIP and currently not working as intended.

That does not mean science should not be an incentive, it just means that there will be other incentives as well. False premise.

Exactly Crush. Your argument doesnt make sense to me Person012345, it appears to be self defeating. The 3 Kerbal Capsule needs sorting out to make the tech tree play better, why wouldn't you want the larger more advanced and heavier capsule to carry more science back to Kerbin? In fact I will go further than that, because it is heavier than 3 Mk1 capsules, it should carry more samples, at least 6 samples, including repeat samples from one location as these still add science even if diminished with each repeat. I am assuming that samples will get more science from being physically carried back. Would be nice if you could submit a sample to the materials bay for advanced analysis and send the analysis back to Kerbin.

I would like to suggest that where a single capsule can transport one sample a triple capsule should transport (at least) three samples otherwise you are at a disadvantage using the three kerbal capsule and no advantage. ie the three Kerbal capsule is pointless. Might as well use three single capsules, its lighter, stores more science and produces the same torque.

OP is biased to satellites sized components IMHO materials bay is lovely and goo also very delightful. More experiment packages of different sizes wouldnt hurt though

I just take 3 materials bays along for a return mission with a couple of goo and seem to get big numbers. Personally I like doing a separate mission for each location. I am thinking it would be amusing if there was a way of enhancing science return by specifying the destination for the mission in the VAB, so that if you hit the target you get a boost on data recovery.

I am still resisting the subliminally implanted instruction to eat mint flavoured dessert.

Currently the location the materials bay and the goo chamber are overflying make no difference. Maybe there needs to be a radar or laser gravitometer which continually gathers map data as it flies and can be downloaded periodically or recovered and after completing the map the science is done for that particular planet or moon with that component. Maybe it also needs a sky lab module which can run new experiments continually, consuming fuel and supplies and weighs 5t and can earn money. Maybe you have to deliver the experiment apparatus but dont have to deliver a new station every time. We would need supplies and economy implemented first though. Early days

Another factor is that there will be an economy game as well in career mode and you will be looking at science per dollar in the early game and you wont be able to afford a gazillion boosters to get it. I am looking forward to this. Not sure how you will earn money though.

I agree the tech tree is not sensible and it doesnt get the best out of the campaign mode because the simple stuff is in odd places. I was going to write a suggestion post about it eventually. It is characteristic of KSP development so far that content has taken second place to systems development. I understand why but as a stock player I would really like to see content coming into balance now. IMHO aero should be much cheaper and early in the tree because Kerbin doesnt give much science but aero can help with Kerbin and nowhere much else except Laythe which needs some big science first just to get there ie aero should be balanced for the Kerbin exploration phase not Laythe. I agree temperature and barometer should be the first experiments, should be cheap and linked from aero. Goo should come later, it should also weigh less than 75% of the materials bay imho considering its size and science yield.

Not that SRBs are not fun and would come into their own if they were cheap in an economic sim or exploded with pretty colors when they were done, but if your priority is patience or lack thereof why mess about with SRBs when you have mainsail? Just launch up triple stack 1+2 with mainsails outer pair and an array of quad Ts under the inner stack, refuel in LKO and blow it all in one mad short burn, liquid has better dv per mass anyway, about 30% better.

No I just want to know when its ready to play, telling me before is useless to me, just disturbs my train of thought. Hype is the enemy of fine motor control.

Stochasty, sorry about missing that your Eve Plane does get maximalist. It is not payload related (payloads get a specific value in the index). Fixed! pa1983, thankyou for your historical mission archive footage, I have added it to the roll of honour because unless I am mistaken it does qualify for the K-Prize albeit for a different version, but it should be linked. At over an hour I am afraid I had to skip bits of the video so let me know if I have incorrectly appraised it. stochasty, thanks for your mission report and I remember we have already established this launch/crew method is in keeping with the K Prize rules. Congratulations on expertly navigating through Eve SOI to Moho landing and back. You have earned the Advanced Pilot Precision Award in addition to the coveted Expeditionary Astrokerbal Distinction which includes an Exploratory Kosmokerbal Commendation for Eve flyby. I hope Scott Manley aka Illectro will be honoured by your reference and I would encourage him to reply in kind in due course ! bsalis, welcome back and thanks for the Explorer mission report which absolutely fulfills the K-Prize rules so no worries. Congratulations on your Advanced Pilot Precision Award, I feel sure that a rover delivering spaceplane will come into its own in v22.

I can understand people wanting to sandbox a lot to learn the game but I have been doing that a while now and have been everywhere a few times and made a lot of ships huge and small. I still enjoy playing but do so by giving myself challenges and experimenting with craft efficiency etc so I am really looking forward to career mode to give me purpose and will relish the challenge of designing clever and efficient craft, recapitulating my journey from v9 to v22. I am pretty sure it will be even better with a finance model and also Kerbal life support, but the tech tree looks like it will be fun to explore for now and who knows maybe they will have the inspiration to add more parts now at the different tiers. Science as a transmissible commodity gives missions a purpose and creates history out of the gameplay which will be much more atmospheric and meaningful imho.

This is how we did it in the good old days, before Kerbals had legs

I have retrieved all my Kerbals... they were happy about it, I think they must know something I dont!

Use this to estimate your transfer angles. Interplanetary Calculator for KSP Then use the in game maneuver node planner to check you can get intercept and you cannot fail... if you have enough fuel. Use aerobraking to save fuel when approaching Duna btw, one pass at between 12km-17km is usually good, depends on the craft. Just save when you enter the SOI and experiment till you find the right altitude.

Well in your mission post pinolallo you said... so I took you at your word. What else could I do ?

Congratulations ATuinhek on your Astrokerbal Distinction (Mün) with 3-man SSTO. Welcome to the guest list for the K Prize party. Your aero focussed craft can clearly leave Kerbins atmosphere without using rockets. VincentS glad to see your persistance finally pay off with a Utilitarial Commendation for SSTO II's fuel drop and an Advanced Pilot Precision Award and a Kosmokerbal Commendation (Mün) with Scout SSTO. Would recommend leaving the #0 off your imgur link code in future so it fits the page and does not create scroll bars or prevent looking at it on the imgur site.

pinolallo thanks for the extraordinary Fatnose Rondine imgur report, logged and linked, I made that an APPA 1st class, is that right? Or are there two missions there? VincentS thanks for your imgur summary, which I have entered as a gatecrasher. Shame about the exploding!

Hi the scientist. The short answer is that non stock fuel sources are not eligible for K Prize missions. You wouldn't get an official invite to the K Prize party but you could try your luck as a gatecrasher though if you wanted to demonstrate the technology ! Moar Boosters, a magnificant vehicle, will be interested to see what it can accomplish. Technical Ben, thanks for your entertaining video, a powerful looking SSTO craft but definitely a vertical takeoff and consequently doomed to be linked as a gate crasher hope you dont mind the honorary quip which is de rigeur for all gate crashers and quite the badge of infamy. WafflesToo, congratulations on returning to your winning ways with an interesting selection of upbeat music accompanying the video of attempted spaceplanes, some love the singing hamster but I know opinion may be divided on that! In any case without wishing to give away the ending ... VeryTinyPlane wins the coveted Advanced Pilot Precision Award and a place on the guest list. Troma3D, congratulations to you too for succeeding in winning an Utilitarial Commendation with your payload to orbit and Advanced Pilot Precision Award thanks to a deft landing with an elegant looking craft, which remains nameless until you care to name it

I am entering this, a very simple craft named Ravenspear Mk1 (Mk4 in one of the screenshots, this was due to the number of iterations I went through to get to this design but the craft file is named Ravenspear Mk1), which is carefully balanced, functions well and can easily be improved in various ways by student pilots! The craft is intended to look cool and function well but looks a bit like a trainer aircraft so that someone new to KSP can easily improve performance and looks and gain encouragement from improving on the design. The power to weight ratio is high allowing lift off and climb at 1/3 throttle and landing at 2/15ths throttle. A single turbo jet makes flame outs easy to handle, it toggles on/off as group 1. The single radial ram scoop intake performs well enough to allow the craft to cruise at 1000 m/s at 17500m altitude and can easily be supplemented by an additional pair above the tail plane for improved maximum altitude and speed. The assymetric communotron balances a pilot ladder which extends and retracts as group 2. The communotron included comes ready for the addition of science packages by the user and is extended when the undercarriage is activated using G and by group 3. A large battery charged by the engine allows uninterrupted data transmissions and ensures adequate power for the reaction wheel. The tail plane provides effective control at all altitudes and keeps the craft intrinsically stable as the fuel drains so it remains easy to fly. The landing gear runs straight and true and yet there is enough vertical flexion that the craft can land and bounce at up to -10m/s vertical drop rate without structural failure. The reaction wheel torque to craft mass ratio is also high which means the craft is responsive to controls and corrects craft heading rapidly when the SAS is active, which makes a bouncy landing on rough terrain easier to survive. Ravenspear Mk1 craft file zip.

Gravaar thanks for your entertaining and innovative mission report. I have not seen a detachable pod for quite a while and never one which was both space and ground capable. I take it you have a bit of RCS tucked in there somewhere. Congratulations on accomplishing your K-Prize mission with Spider MkV and for acquiring an additional Kosmokerbal Commendation for entering the Mün SOI. Scarecrow88 thanks for the clear record of your successful K-Prize orbital mission with Diablo. Congratulations on completing the K-Prize mission and for making such a precise landing which qualifies the pilot for an Advanced Pilot Precision Award.

The challenge honour roll acts as a directory of mission reports. The OP sets out the rules, for addition to the roll of honour the minimum evidence is that you report in the thread that you successfully completed the challenge within the rules with any detail you might like to provide. The main purpose is to encourage people to do the challenge for themselves and enjoy the accomplishment of achieving the goals and enable demonstrating the method used to those interested. To show proof positive to the K-Prize readership you can show a map screenshot of the orbit PE > 70km or a flight screenshot with sufficient altitude and velocity on the instruments to establish that the craft reached orbit successfully and another of an intact landed ship showing resources and MET, also demonstrating safe landing and landing location and structure of the craft. If there is any doubt about the lift off then a screeny to show a horizontal initial vector will put the matter beyond doubt. Some use imgur to provide a sequence of screenshots documenting the mission and others use video capture, occasionally set to music! The choice is yours, but the rules are specific and we are on the honour system to abide by them (below) if any are confessedly broken the mission is linked to the gatecrashers list instead of the roll of honour, since if people go to the trouble of making a report I feel its only right that it is listed so that others can view it. It is sometimes necessary to make a lighthearted quip though! It is a challenge after all...

I do drewscriver, I have tried a little VTOLing and it was pretty tricky. Cupcake sorry, I viewed your Magpie video in full a while ago, 18th I think, then the forums went down before I did the update and when they went back up I watched again but skipped to the landing and forgot the Mun bit. So you have a Mun in brackets as well now and the Astrokerbal Distinction honours both landings! Thanks for sharing your ship screenshot with the K-Prize challenge thread Gravaar, I hope you will consider doing the challenge and making a report, if it is appropriate for your craft.