Scarecrow

Here's an entry for the Test Pilot mission STS-1T

Nice challenge. I've had a go, but with the really imprecise controls of using a keyboard it's difficult to be smooth at the speeds required to get a good time. Just a nano second too long on the W or S key can result in a major change in altitude, or loss of speed if you are in a tight turn. My time was around 9 minutes, but I don't think I could do better than that without an analogue control.

Here's my entry. Basically put 2 relay satellites in my shuttle which I then put in to orbit around Mun, right on the edge of the SOI. The satellites were then deployed and orbits adjusted to match that of Mun, with one preceding it and the other trailing. Mission images

Do these satellites need to be part of a single launch or can they be launched separately?

I started off trying the spaceplane approach, but quickly realised that because the Terrier is so bad at sea level, it actually takes ages to get to an altitude where they start being really useful, by which time most of the fuel had gone. My final solution was a rocket that used quite a few Terriers initially, just to get that gain in altitude, but progressively jettisoning them to save weight and improve the rate of acceleration.

Definitely something going on with your centre of lift indicator. In the top down view it looks to be a little off centre, and for most aircraft to fly successfully the CoL should be slightly behind the CoG. Having said that, I can't see anything on your craft that would have the CoL situated so far forward.

I've never been particularly interested in visiting America, but seeing that LEM has made me wonder about visiting one of the space museums to actually see the Saturn for real. They had a J2 engine in the Science Museum, which was quite impressive, but we all know that the F1 engines were substantially bigger. The people who actually experienced that thing taking off must have found it to be a unique experience, never to be forgotten. The size is one thing, which we can appreciate to some extent by seeing the museum exhibits, but I guess the sound generated at lift off is something that will be forever consigned to the past.

I've just got back from a visit to the science museum in London, where they currently have an exhibit about space. Part of that exhibit is a replica of the Apollo LEM and I have to say I was surprised at how big it was. I guess my impression of how big it would be was influenced by models of the Saturn V rocket, where the LEM is quite small by comparison. Having now seen a full size replica of the LEM, I'm finding it difficult now to imagine just how big the Saturn V actually was.

KASA Space Station entry I assume it's OK to launch this station in several parts, which are assembled in orbit. My effort was launched in 5 parts; the station core, a habitation module, a comms and power supply module and 2 science modules. The life boat pod was sent up last, with a crew for the station, now that we could get them home in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately it was soon realised that someone at KASA had misread the requirements, and the initial orbit for the station was set at 350km. Fortunately a small engine was included as part of the core module, and it was a fairly simple process to reduce the orbit to meet the actual requirements. Oh the joys of being a rocket scientist. Image heavy mission report

So go do them, just don't expect any rewards, recognition or badges from the guys who set these missions, as they have laid out a specific set of requirements, which you won't meet by doing your own thing.

@michal.don Thanks for the missions, and the badges. I will be calling a halt there, as I have never been a fan of tracking asteroids and always have them switched off, so Mission STS-9 is a non-starter. The Mun and planet missions look interesting, but I am not sure my skill levels are up to completing them. Maybe at some point I may try the Mun ones and see how I get on.

Mission report for mission STS-5-8. As this report contains images for all the elements of Mission STS-5-8, as well as a couple of bonus missions, it's quite image heavy.

I am terrible at reading requirements. My first attempt at the telescope mission was void because I didn't realise what an MMU was, and all subsequent missions I had it fixed in my mind that you had to land back at KSC for the Commander medal. Thanks for that @4x4cheesecake

@michal.don A quick question before I carry on with my missions. I am currently in the middle of mission STS 5-8, can you build me. On the last flight I thought I would land on the Island runway just to vary things. This decision was made while still in orbit, and not because I had overshot KSC, but then I wondered if this would count for the Commander badge? As the island runway is a lot smaller than the KSC runway, in theory it is more difficult, but if it doesn't count then I have a game save at the point where I was about to do my de-orbit burn so I can redo my landing to land at KSC.

@michal.don Yep, that one came in direct from a 600km orbit so a bit excessive on the G-meter but I was quite pleased that nothing exploded on the way down. A quick question. As I had to do a re-run of mission STS-3, and the missions should be run in order, does that mean you would like me to now do STS-4 again?

Oh that does look familiar. As you say mission requirements go some way to dictating how you solve it, which will inevitably lead to some similarities in how people approach the mission.

Here we go, a re-run of Mission STS-3, this time with 2 MMUs to assemble the telescope as required (I hope)

My bad. I should have looked up MMU to see what it stood for as I had no idea. I will redo the mission properly now that I know what is needed.

Mission STS-4/4R also completed.

Mission STS-3 now done.

I didn't realise you could put them all in one spoiler. Doh.

Thanks for that. Badges added to signature, and pictures placed in spoilers as requested.

Here you go. Mun station weighing in at 30.02t launched to a 50km orbit around Mun. Station in the VAB The complete vehicle Gets off the pad fine This is the bit that will be transferring to Mun In orbit ready to go, just waiting for the crew to arrive

STS-2b accomplished. I initially attempted this mission with the Shuttle that I used to launch the fuel pod, knowing that it was a tight fit in the cargo hold. Unfortunately after including a docking port in the hold to re-capture the pod, it turned out that there wan't enough clearance and it wouldn't fit. As a result I fitted an extra cargo hold module to lengthen the hold, but didn't do any flight trials before attempting the mission again. That was a mistake as it turned out the centre of lift was way aft, which gave very little elevator authority once the pod was on board and we were back in the atmosphere. Made it very difficult to slow down, and was only just about enough to prevent ploughing a new furrow down the runway with the nose wheel. Anyway, mission pictures. Night launch this time Jeb reckons it doesn't look the same when it's not bathed in sunlight. Orbital data says we will be close enough on the next orbit to complete our rendezvous Solar panels retracted, as it definitely won't fit with those still sticking out Everything is looking good at this point And we're docked Jeb was blaming brake failure, but I'm not so sure. Despite actually touching down on the runway, as you can see I wasn't able to get it stopped before running off the end. If this isn't close enough to count as landing back at KSC, I can do the mission again, but I would have to Hyperedit the fuel pod back in to orbit. I have already tweaked the aerodynamics to make the craft more flyable, so it shouldn't prove too difficult if I have to do it again. I will hold off doing any more missions until I get a ruling on this one.

I can't remember which version of KSP I did this in, but it was a bit of fun putting a few small landers together to see the difference. Some are single stage and I know there is definitely one, if not more, 2-stage in there somewhere. This is what I typically use for Mun landings. This was able to land on Duna and return to Kerbin. You need to go big if you want to return from Eve. Going wide allows you to attach a rover underneath Or you could go surreal and fly Fireball XL5 Jnr. down to the surface You should be aware that the Nuclear engine is not ideal for landers as it is very tall, which requires long legs to clear the nozzle, and it has a low thrust to weight ratio. This is fine for saving fuel, but lousy if you need to slow down in a hurry. For most bodies, you don't need a massive amount of fuel, and even the small engines will prove very useful. Having see your lander, I'm not surprised you are having trouble with it falling over, it's way too tall. Low and wide, with a low centre of mass, is the way to go.