mellojoe

I tried that yesterday. The part never shows up in the VAB or SPH parts list.

How do I? I have an idea, and I want to simply take a stock part, duplicate it, and make it really, really large in scale. I've tried playing with the .cfg file, but nothing seems to happen. I've tried duplicating it and renaming it, but the part doesn't show up in the parts list. Can anyone give me a basic rundown of what needs to happen? I've searched the forums. The closest thing I can find is the .cfg wiki, but it doesn't seem to answer how to get the game to recognize and load the part.

Crew Manifest. Really should be stock. The updates in .21 are a step in the right direction, but it still doesn't compare to how good Crew Manifest is. Must have.

Added additional habitat / laboratory space. I'll be adding a 3rd wing to balance it on the next launch. However, I will probably be bringing down the radio satellite dishes. They are a lag monster, the FPS KILLAH!! And as such, they make every other procedure in the vicinity an absolute nightmare. I'll probably de-orbit them for now, and maybe put them back up after I can redesign with fewer parts, or find an alternate solution. Sucks, too, because I'm so madly in love with them.

August 6th. Got it. Recreation day. This gives us about a week to research and design. And testing, of course. Sure, testing. Right.... And then August 6th, we'll recreate or honor Curiosity's achievements.

What I loved about I too, was that my experience mirrored that if the actual space program. my milestones sort of matches the historical milestones. It was a surreal experience.

I made this.

I use mostly stock. I'm not quite ready to get new engines and modded thrusters because at that point it is too easy to over-achieve, much like using infinite fuel. Granted, some of them are beautiful and very awesome to see, like the Saturn V replicas. Very cool, indeed. But, I just haven't explored the limits of stock parts quite yet. Some mods I definitely use. Crew Manifest. Procedural Fairings. They are simply designed, yet work brilliantly. Stock just has that ... STOCK feel to it. It feels fresh. Clean. You know if you screw something up it is your fault, not two things glitching each other.

Thanks for updating this. It still has plenty of features over stock that warrant it being used. Love the mod, and I find myself wondering how people go without it.

Learned how to dock, for real. Got sick and tired of pretending I knew what I was doing, while letting MechJeb actually do the work. So, with 0.21, no MechJeb installed. I launched a series of missions similar to the Gemini missions that NASA ran. It taught me, much like it did them, exactly what I needed to do to dock and perform orbital manuevers. [HERE] Then I put this to good use and have launched a brand new Space Station. All manual. No autopilot. All stock, too. I use Crew Manifest to create and manage crewmen, but it doesn't change anything about the actual rockets themselves. HURRAY FOR MANUAL DOCKING! This means I can finally do long-term missions with actual refuelling in space. Lots of doors opened, and I'm proud to say I'm finally a real kerbalnaut.

1.21 GIGAWATTS!!!!

hey, hey, hey! look who learned how to dock manually!! PS: Only mod used was Crew Manifest. I have made all the pathways using the structural fuselage, so I feel that it is OK to transfer them internally instead of EVA. I feel it is more life-like. Plus Crew Manifest lets me create custom names if I want. But, no MechJeb for rendezvous nor docking. A huge win for me. Huge. Initial Core, 300k by 300k orbit Main habitat module. Expanded housing considerably. Manually docked, baby. The initial thrust stage still intact in case I needed to maneuver things. Thar she be. All stages jettisoned and de-orbited. Plenty of space for additional modules. Room for 14. But currently only staffed by 7. This gives them a little privacy space and a little freedom of movement. Allows for uncramped living quarters. Also means crew rotations should be fairly easy. The view from the cuppola. Doesn't get much better than this. 1.21 GIGAWATTS!

This is currently titled: "Starting Over"

PS: The new SAS makes docking much easier, as it does a decent job of keeping your ship from rotating if your RCS thrusters aren't exactly perfect symmetrical around the center of mass.

A moment of silence for the brave Kerbalnauts who lost their lives in this horrendous catastrophe. May they shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome them home. Now, onto the next mission!

Just wanted to test the theory, and here's my proof: You can easily see that the two tanks using the Mainsail engine clearly run out of fuel well before the two tanks using the clusters. Weight wise, they are roughly even. The mainsail clocks in at 6t while the 4 engines plus quad coupler weighs approx 5.5t. This was using the LT-30 engines, the non-thrust-vectoring types. They are lighter, yet more powerful. However, 4 of them still don't equal the power of a single mainsail. If you reconfigure this ship to put a 4-cluster opposite of a single Mainsail, the Mainsail will out power the cluster, causing the rocket to cartwheel and crash. Very simple to test yourself, if you like. The fuel savings using a 4-cluster is significant. Approximately half of the fuel is left in the 4-cluster tank when the Mainsail is spent. Mainsail for raw power, and a cluster for efficiency.

Here's my Titan V. Inspired and modeled after the Titan launch vehicle of the American space program's Gemini missions, the ones that preceeded Apollo. Mission Report here --> The Titan Missions: an education in space

Editors note: These missions were inspired by the American's Gemini program. This was the program that preceeded the Apollo missions, testing out the procedures and techniques needed to land on the Moon. I used them specifically because I need to learn docking in KSP. I've been so bad at it that I've skipped ideas just because they would have ended up involving docking. These missions were all stock, except for Procedural Fairings. These are a neat little mod that add a little asthetics without changing the game. I currently do not have MechJeb, and I wanted to learn docking without it. The Titan lifter is made using the actual Titan lifter as inspiration. I've become fond of it because it is now a successful KSP launcher that is not asparagus staged. I'm looking forward to pushing it even further. The new stock parts make this a reality. I actually flew more than 5 missions. My final craft file is actually Titan 10. But I'm obsessed with saving and re-saving files, so I probably gave it a new version number more often than I needed. Titan V lifter is going into my save folder. This guy is cool. I spent a ton of time getting the parachutes right on it, and I love it. The fairings at the top are not overly done, and the whole thing is fun to pilot. I start with zero throttle and just use SRBs. Then as they drop off I slowly increase throttle until I am maxxed out. The SRBs give it just enough boost that when the final is dropped the whole craft stops accelerating and just holds its velocity for a second. That one second is just enough time to burn off enough fuel to make it light enough to continue to accelerate. She hits orbital with only a little fuel left in the 2nd stage. The upper orbital stage is completely full when deployed. There is probably enough fuel to keep pushing for larger payloads. I don't know the max, and it won't be a whole lot, but it could be fun to find its limit. This really has mirrored the Gemini missions. And not 100% of it was intentional. I've been playing KSP for about 2 months or so, but I've learned so much just by going back to the basics. Making orbital adjustments without needing to use nodes and just understanding the different directional inputs. Docking has been huge to learn. Even little things like learning how to de-orbit close to the KSP manually. All these things I've been able to learn from this project.

We return to view the upper stage as it is powering to orbit. There were 5 main Titan missions. Each had its own objectives and goals. In order to accomplish the separate goals, separate payloads were required. Here we see the fairings detatch revealing the craft inside. This craft displayed here is part of the Titan 2 mission. Titan 1's goals were simply to test the capability of the launch rocket. Its success lead to a slightly larger craft with the payload shown here. Titan 2 was to test and learn to orbit Kerbin, and to succesfully re-enter atmosphere and land safely. Here we are revealing the Titan 2 orbital craft. The Titan 3 and 4 missions were to prove the viability of Extra-Vehicular Activites and test the EVA suit. A major redign of the orbital craft also opened the door for orbital maneuvering. Reaction control thrusters were designed into the craft, and proved to be highly maneuverable. And finally, the culmination of the Titan misisons: Titan 5. The fifth mission was the most ambious yet. A specially designed orbital craft was build and launched. The largest of payloads, and the most complicated of orbital craft. Jebediah was charged with perfecting docking procedures. This special orbital craft was build with a docking separation ring, so that the crafts could be separated and then re-docked using techniques practiced only in simulators. The first ever man to walk in space. the Titan missions made this possible. The main craft was undocked from the unmanned dummy, put into a variety of positions, and then Jebediah was tasked with re-orienting the ship and re-docking. Multiple orbits of Kerbin were made in this extended mission giving Jebediah the record for most consecutive days in space. During his time, he did a dozen docking manuevers. Each one more starting farther away and in more complex orientation. Jebediah has actually published his doctoral thesis titled: Line-Of-Sight Guidance Techniques For Manned Orbital Rendezvous. Titan 5 mission was a huge success. Funding was originally only for these 5 missions, but with the success and goodwill they have brought, more missions are planned in the future.

The main Titan V craft. This is similar to the configuration of the Titan 1 mission. Four main engines propel the craft. The original Titan construction was a slightly smaller craft, and the original Titan 1 mission proved that a larger variation could be successful. And using a slightly larger varation could be used to put larger payloads into orbit. Jebediah loves this part. Blasting skyward, reaching for the heavens. With no objective other than to explore and to learn. Jeb is truly in his element. First Stage Separation We have finally reached the point of main stage separation. The main four engines which have powered the Titan craft through the thickest of atmosphere into the upper stratosphere. This bank of fuel tank and main engines is also fully recoverable. A glimpse into the middle stage of the Titan as it continues to accelerate to orbit. Fully recoverable first stage of the Titan V. Hundreds of Kerbal hours were spent perfecting this technique. Countless simulation hours, sleepless nights, and cups of koffee leading up to this. The simulations didn't plan for the landing to be so vertical, but sometimes things on Kerbin just have that way of working themselves out. Stage 1 will float until the rescue ship can arrive to tow it back to space port.

The Titan Missions Titan 1 Mission: Launch Test, Systems Check Titan 2 Mission: Orbital Mechanics, Re-Entry Test Titan 3 Mission: EVA Titan 4 Mission: Orbital Maneuvering, Orbital Adjustments Titan 5 Mission: Docking With brand new funding for a Kerbal Science Center, our team begins on its most ambitious project ever. We will reach the stars! Other space programs have leaped ahead of us, leaving us looking like we are behind. Yet, they don't know what Kerbals can achieve when they are pushed to their limits. The Titan Project has begun in an excersize in education. In order to learn the techniques and technology required for an advanced, sustainable space program, we introduce the Titan Project and the Titan family of missions. These missions have spanned multiple flights with the mandate that every mission expands upon the current Kerbal understanding. There have been five seperate Titan missions, each with their own objectives and each building upon the previous. Our team of specialized Kerbalnauts have been in dedicated training for months. This current vehicle you see is the Titan V. In its final form it achieves a grandness and beauty that, frankly, our marketing team adores. This particular ship has flown 2 of the five missions, and will be used for further flights pushing forward. [Editor's note: built by inspiration from the true Titan lifter used in the American Gemini program that preceeded the Apollo programs.] The Titan V is a mostly recoverable, reusable rocket. Our Kerbal marketing team applauded our use of more boosters as our plans got grander and grander. The original Titan craft did not use solid rocket boosters, but once that technology was perfected, our Kerbal Science Team immediatly adapted it to our craft. The Titan family of vehicles had slight tweaks, but were mostly the same. The pictures below are mostly from the final variation. LIFTOFF! Jebediah, command team pilot, gently throttles up the four main engines, and fires all 6 SRBs. The four small SRBs are disposable, as costs to recover them would actually be more than the cost of the boosters themselves. Two other pilots have flown Titan missions including Bill Kerman and Bob Kerman, the only fraternal twins to be included in the Kerbal Space Program. The Titan V lifts off slowly and steadily, gradually increasing in velocity as fuel burns violently in the side tanks. Dropping the initial solid rocket boosters. These four are disposable and are dropped close enough to the Kerbal Science Center as to enable cleanup teams to clear debris for recycling. Continuing to push to the heavens. The main SRBs provide plenty of thrust to push the massive Titan V continually skyward. She does cut a remarkable profile, doesn't she? This is the shot our marketing team has been blasting across the TV channels for the past month or so. Primary SRB separation. These SRBs are fully recovered. Once detached from the main craft, they coast gently back to terra-firma under parachute canopy. Our pilots don't usually drop them so close to Kerbal Science Center, but Jebediah couldn't resist taking on a bet from Bill and Bob. Here they are awaiting recovery. These two main solid rocket boosters will be refurbished, refueled, and prepared for the next launch.

Are you using any mods? I had a weird bug that would crop up when I had a mod installed wrong. I'd get to the launch pad and one of my thrusters would be sideways on the pad and the rest of the rocket would be half-together, half-in-pieces. Very weird. After deleting that mod, it worked fine. And after I re-installed the mod correctly (just drop the single folder in to the GameData folder next to the Squad folder), everything worked fine.

No. Not that I can find, anyway. It generates lots of unique names, but I can't find how to create your own. Sad, too, because I like throwing in a few women names to keep things even. A Sally Kerman for instance. Valentina Kerman. You get the idea.

Another routine day at the office. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just a 20-ton rocket doing a fly-by. Of course.