Raptor831

Here's an updated FAR compatibility MM config: http://cl.ly/code/2D2x2R2Z3I42 Still no flaps at this point, but I should have that "soon". It flies ok with this, but I wouldn't try to glide very far with this. You'll probably need to ace the descent and be on target with the runway to begin with. Might need to tweak that a bit, as the original was a bit easier to glide with. Also, the cargo bay does not work at shielding parts inside for FAR. I've looked at all I know to look at and I can't figure out why that is. @Nazari Would love to see any numbers you came up with as well. I'm still essentially using stuff from stock and B9 that work well already, and fitting it to the shuttle parts.

I figured that would be updated to show the Truth. Still has him as healthy, which is why I asked. I need closure...

Looks good. But you really don't have to add this if you don't want! It is your mod after all. Crud, you can slap one of those on with Procedural Fairings and call it good, at least that's what I'd do.

So, is Sid officially KIA? That hopeful part of me needs to know! Excellent chapter as well. After all this, they better save someone on Duna...

I'll take a crack at it. You're probably better informed of how you wanted it to handle, though! I got one reentry in with this config and it seemed to handle just fine. I've gotten it into an unrecoverable stall/flatspin a few times, but I'm HyperEditing it to an "orbit" of 30km to see how it handles. Not exactly normal procedure. Spin got so bad it broke the cabin clean off! Also, I can't seem to restrict any of the control surfaces to certain axes. So, the tailplane and the rudder pieces always actuate on all axes no matter what I tell it in the VAB/SPH.

Does it actually affect anything in flight, or is it simply a display issue?

That option just tells the control surface to deflect to add lift to the wing. Results in more total lift at the expense of more drag. It varies on how much deflection you give it, as there's a point where if you give it too much deflection you've just made an airbrake more than flaps! Your CoL does adjust accordingly, but that depends on where you place them. It's nice for lowering your stall speed (like real life) and getting airborne on takeoff.

I've got a MM config to add basic FAR support to the shuttle. It's not the most accurate (I basically stole FAR configs from similar stock and B9 parts), but for anyone wanting to add it in here it is: http://cl.ly/code/3k3k263G3y2I The flaps don't do a darn thing here, but you probably don't need them. Feel free to change this up as well. I may try for a true attempt at this if I can find the FAR descriptions of the variables again. I may have found a bug as well. In trying to get FAR working, I noticed that if I attach either the main engines or the OMS engines that come with KSO the CoM marker does not show up. I checked with MechJeb and it shows mass as NaN when this happens. I can happily swap for the Klockheed-Martian Main/OMS engines and they play nice. I didn't see anything with the config that jumped out, so I really don't know. But I could reliably get this to happen on my setup. Anyone else see that?

One thing about mods is that there is a hard limit on the amount of RAM that KSP can use currently. It sits at around 3.5 GB, even if you have 32 GB RAM installed. It's a limitation of the Unity engine, which KSP is built on. Mods with a lot of parts (such as B9 Aerospace and KW Rocketry) will consume tons of memory due to the part textures. On their own, it usually doesn't matter much, but when you have a bunch of mods (I have around 45 different ones installed at least in part) you'll need to pay attention. There is a mod called Texture Reduction Mod that will compress and/or resize these for you, which helps. Also there is a setting to run half-res textures in the game settings. Either of these will reduce your RAM footprint and help out. Welcome to KSP, and happy launching (or crashing)!

One thing to make note of is that KSP's bottleneck is always the CPU. All of the physics are done on the CPU, and it doesn't support multi-cores well (or at all) right now. Blame Unity on that. Anything you can do to free up CPU cycles will help, though how much depends on your specific setup.

I concur on the roll issues. My joystick is a bit too sensitive (need to mess with the settings) as it is, but even with a light touch I could not control the roll. Being the crack pilot I am (read: not good) I ended up a lawn dart into the runway. Also, the RCS seems a bit unbalanced. Lateral motion induces a roll, and vertical tends to induce a pitch. Nothing SAS can't control, but it would be nice if I didn't need it. I've been launching without cargo, so it may just be set up to translate with that added mass. Once FAR support is added properly, this will be my transport shuttle. Can't say enough about how good this mod is. I just wish I had the spare RAM to keep the full textures. I think I'm above 45 mods (at least partially installed), so I'm lucky to even have a stable game! Texture Reduction Mod FTW.

For the "interlude" just continue with some interplanetary stuff. Maybe a Duna landing, or base even. A Grand Tour would be an impressive feat, so taking "baby steps" seems a good idea. Looking forward to the next missions!

Who is the artist for your theme song? I like the tune!

Just wanted to add another "Great job!" to the pile. Haven't flown it yet, but assuming my mod-crazy install can handle it, it will be tonight. The IVA looks incredible. Also, it may have just made my current minishuttle (B9) obsolete!

I figured that was the reason. I haven't tried it yet, but the Advanced SRB mod probably behaves similarly, since it's thrust is determined independent of the "engine" nozzle. BTW, thanks for the mod, it's quite useful!

I think StretchySRB doesn't play nice with KIDS. When I use a stretchy SRB it reverts to the 52 default thrust and then KIDS scales thrust further down due to its sea-level Isp. Which makes my big Ares I launch SRB rather useless. Is there a way to get KIDS to read the generated info?

The loss of control seems to be Mach Tuck. I think the only real way to fix it is to have large pitch control surfaces (or more of them in KSP). Maybe pump the fuel around to see if that helps. I know the CoL moves back in supersonic flight towards the rear of the plane. Keep that in mind when you're balancing your craft. Also, the higher alt you go, the less your control surfaces work anyway. No air means no response. Large control surfaces help here too.

Do those missions in the order you stated. 3-man orbit (maybe longer duration), Mun flyby, and Mun landing. It makes the most sense from an in-universe view.

The docking ports may be a side effect of the kraken. I've heard of that issue a few times, and it's a KSP issue. I've not had it happen to me (yet), so I don't know how to fix it.

I don't think that orbit looks good for stranded Sid. I still hoping he gets picked up, but I have no idea how.

I caught the launch live the other day, almost by accident! Your detailed approach is nice, makes me realize how tossed together some of my missions are. But, I wanted to say how brilliant using the Kuest airlock is for the shuttle docking port. I've been toying with shuttles recently and was trying to find a way to include the docking port in a realistic way. The B9 shielded port never looks right to me on a shuttle, but it's close. I started putting a girder surface attached, the B9 nosecone on the surface node (clipped, more or less) to make it "possible" to move in and out, and a docking port on the top. But that's a whole lot cleaner and simpler. I'll be using that little idea for my next design! Thanks for sharing, and I'm looking forward to the next mission!

I like this style. And it's nice to have a clear direction/goal. So who's going to orbit?

Thanks for the tips. I tend to enjoy KSP for the engineering/design aspects than the actual piloting. I'd like to think of myself as a good pilot all the same, but sometimes my results prove otherwise! I haven't tried S-turns yet, but that's something on my "to-try" list. The B9 airbrakes are *quite* effective with FAR installed, so I've been relying on those to control speed. Those feel cheaty to me using FAR, so S-turns would be a nice alternative.

Update to my previous posts: I was finally able to land this thing. I think I was giving the control surfaces too much play, and it made the craft too twitchy. I was able to pin down a landing procedure for myself and made a few successful landings. So, in short, I'm a cruddy pilot. For those playing along, here's my answers to the questions: 1) Burn I mentioned above was fine, just needed to "aim" in the middle of that bay/gulf/whatever to the east of KSC. 2) Creep the landing spot in as you go (AOA, airbrakes), but aim to "land" at the beginning of the KSC plain. 3) I started pulling up from the dive at around 4500 m and ~400 m/s. With airbrakes/flaps, I was able to bleed of the speed by the time the ground came up. I also realized I was being way to twitchy on final approach and would correct myself into the ground. Kinda let it float down from around 10 m off the ground as the speed bled off. Still need to actually land on the runway, and not just near it, but I'll take it. Got that KSP feeling again when I landed that bird nicely with FAR.

Basically I can't seem to hold the right speed, or find the right speed for the craft. Part of it is my "aim" on deorbit, as I haven't figured the right place to stick the periapsis to reliably hit the runway. Which usually results in me deploying speedbrakes/flaps in an attempt to not overshoot, or trying to glide in from much too far out. Once I can get the aim close, it seems either a) I don't pull up soon enough, and I don't have enough control authority at the speed I'm at, or I pull up too soon and end up bleeding off too much energy and having to flare too much, resulting in a stall (and subsequent fireworks). If it were a powered landing, I feel I could get the landing fine. It's the "You only get one shot" part that's killing me. I'm looking for more piloting advice than design, because I think I've got a decent craft by the numbers. The CoM doesn't move more than 1m between full and empty, and it handles well when I'm gliding in either case. Basically, where do I aim when deorbiting (I've been doing a 100 m/s burn from 80km and "aiming" just to the west of the peninsula across from KSC), where do I want the vector to end up, and when do I need to pull up from the dive that will occur at the end of reentry? Obviously this can be craft-specific, but any rules of thumb would help. Edit: Forgot to mention that I'll post the craft if you want to take a look. It requires KW (struts), Space Shuttle Engine mod, and B9.