mellojoe

Planes pulling to one side: Make sure your landing gear / wheels are not attached to the core part. For instance, if you use the cockpit as the core part and build from there, do not put a front wheel attached to that cockpit. I have started using a probe as my core, and then attaching the cockpit to the probe. This way I can attach my landing gear to the cockpit. Whenever I put wheels on the core part, I get phantom torque on the runway. As long as I keep the wheels on different parts, I don't experience it.

Be cautious with this solution, though, as the drogues can also be destroyed by speed and temperature. Learned that the hard way ... the kerbal way, i guess you could say.

I like the idea of the Mars-cycler base. The Aldrin-cyle is a little over 2 years, which means basically every two years, for major launches with massive savings. Hop onboard the base at the Earth intercept, do the refuelling and refining over the 5 month trip to Mars. Drop off any crews or changes at the Mars intercept. Then launch the major mission from outside of Mars' orbit. Meanwhile, any remaining tooling or crew transfers or resupplies can return to Earth. For practical purposes, though, the Moon is probably the best bet for a mining base operation.

Ideally I would try to make a coastal landing. Gulf of Mexico would actually be interesting. Semi-sheltered from major ocean currents, the Mississippi River delta, and yet a big enough target that if you miss slightly in almost any direction, you should still safely drift to shore. I'd design some sort of splash down landing with a small motor to cruise toward land if possible. Major problem would be take-off again, so probably not going to happen in any event. Think of how large our rockets are just to launch currently. Even small satellites need fairly massive rockets. Trying to carry something like that to land on this planet will be near impossible with current and near-future technologies. Thus, this would either be a remote landing (a la Rovers) or a permanent base, in which case landing near water would be ideal.

Mun Orbital Cube Base is complete! (... for now ... ) 1st Image: Overview Base is highly inclined around the Mun. This caused each launch to need about 250 m/s more delta-V in order to match inclination, but well worth the trouble to ensure nearly all of the Mun is now accessible from the base. . . And here she is! . . . Finally, a shot showing some of the resources onboard. Mostly, these represent lifesupport and science gear and such. I'm completely stock except for Kerbal Engineer. . . Hope you like. ((edit)) Space for 180 Kerbals in comfort.

My Mk3 space station is taking shape. Still long hours ahead continuing to assemble. I've lost track of number of launches. Tugs maneuvering a segment into place. .. Here is where we stand currently. .. I'm using emptied fuel tanks (emptied before launch) as living spaces. The windowed sections are also living spaces. The far lefthand arm is the power + life support module, again using hollowed spaces to "contain" all the "life-support" elements. Eight arms currently for living space. Using 16 kerbals per arm, that's room for 128 Kerbals. Plus 4 single-seat window pods, so technically 132 available seats. Here's the first 32 kerbalnauts heading to the station. Stay tuned for more! I hope ....

Just got back to KSP after a long hiatus. I realized I had never built an orbiting Mun space station. Decided now was the time. I'm just in the early stages, but I've got most of the layout planned. This is its current state after three launches. Launch 1: Core, unmanned, plus decide on orbit. Went highly inclined at about 200km from Mun's surface. Launch 2: 1st Habitat module. Design test, determined to push orbit higher (out to 300km) to make docking easier. Launch 3: 2nd Habitat module plus space tug. The remote tug was designed with a docking port plus the ARM claw for attaching when not in use. Launch 4 actually was completed late last night, and I forgot to save a screenshot. Launch 4 is the life support / power module. Here is the project I'm currently working on, and hoping to finish tonight. This will be a shuttle that can bring kerbals all the way to the station. 32 passengers at a time. At least that's the hope. Currently having massive design issues.

Thanks, guys.

I'm attempting to make an emergency pod. Where can I find out how much Delta-V I would need these to have in order to go basically straight from a Mun orbit back to Kerbin. I don't need to orbit Kerbin, so the charts I found don't seem to apply. They all show Delta-V from orbit to orbit. I just need to get to where I can hit atmosphere of Kerbin and let natural decay take over at that. I can guesstimate, but since these are for "emergency" purposes, I want to make sure I don't under-guess and strand my team.

Highly impractical, totally working, Single-Stage-to-Orbit passenger vessel: http://imgur.com/a/cVvd5

Kerbal Attachment System is a great way of making "wobbly" docking ports into solid connections. KAS includes loads of parts, and on one of my installs I simply removed everything except for the fuel transfer hose and the modular struct connectors. Those two sets of parts make lots of things possible, including doing exactly what the OP wants. Include a couple of strut connectors near your docking ports so you can EVA and strut them up after docking.

Does this mean it is possible to make a Spaceplane using only liquid fuel? Rocket engines + Nerv + Liquid tanks only? No more oxidizer?

I don't remember where I originally heard about KSP. But I do remember an XKCD.com comic mentioning it as well. My forum join date is 3rd June 2013, if that means anything. I found a free demo from the KSP website, and played that a ton. And then I got it from Steam whenever it came out there. I think I was playing the 0.17 version at one point, and "upgraded" to the 0.18. And then I think the Steam version was 0.20. Stopped playing for a bit before the 0.90, and waited until 1.0 before I dove back in. LOVE THIS GAME. Absolutely love it. In every way possible.

Sattellites orbiting Earth are used as communication devices to connect people all over the globe, transmitting information and knowledge. Medical knowledge, treatment programs, education, jobs ... countless lives have been improved simply by having access to global communication. And we only got there because somebody thought it would be a good idea to strap a man to a rocket.

For extended stay missions, I tend to use the guideline of a single Hitchhiker can per kerbal, or approximatily a 4::1 ratio of availible space to used space. I treat a pair of hitchhiker cans like an apartment layout, two kerbals sleeping in one, and the other is fully empty for living/exercise. I'll even use the structural fusealage as a walkway to connect them, so that the entire space can be connected internally.

Challenge: Can you send a small (10-20g) payload into orbit for less than 1000GBP ($1700 USD)? Solution: Run to Hobby Lobby and buy all the model rocket kits during a 75% off sale. HA HA! BET NOBODY THOUGHT OF THAT YET, HUH? TAKE THAT

I've started launching my spaceplanes vertical, anyway. Strap a couple of SRB's to the thing, stand it on its butt, and fire away. Get a ton of speed vertically and plenty of distance from the ground, then point horizontal. Most of your lateral speed is gained above 15km anyway.

Actually, I find the best videos to be more organic. I found your short video to be a bit mechanic, but the longer video was very fine. Your video wasn't full of "uhms" and whatnot (which is good), but when they are perfectly scripted and perfectly executed in the same pacing and same tone, they start to get boring and uninteresting. Think of a teacher in school who was monotone and never changed pace: you zoned out after a while. Be entertaining. Be fun. Smile while you talk, as that makes a big difference on the listener's end. Change volume, change pitch, change pace, and remember: if all I want is information, wikipedia exists. If I'm watching a video, its cause I want something more. Good luck! Video was great. Look forward to more.

What I do for my nosecone is to use the stock Mk2 adapter (that goes from the MK2 shape to the 1.25m circular) and then empty all the fuel out of it. Works fine as a nosecone. I usually end up putting the shielded docking port on front of that even to make a useable nosecone, but you could easily add a simple aerodynamic nosecone and be done with it.

Porkjet, have you ever considered asking one of the other talented mod developers for help with making the Internals? Some really great internal views have been made on many different mods, and I'm sure someone would love to collaborate with you to make some internals to match your excellent parts. Currently, I added the Mk3 internal to the cockpits (the stock is unfinished, but at least it fixes portraits) and I added the hitchhiker can to the inline crew cabin (it makes for a weird internal view, but at least it fixes portraits).

Porkjet, Do the open bay doors have collision mesh? Playing with the docking port, it looks like even when extended it still is slightly below the outstretched arms of the open doors. Which means, mating two of them will have the doors clipping through each other. Or mating one to a mostly flat surface will end up with the doors just hitting the surface. Will this interfere with actual docking? ((edit)) And yes, my favorite plane is now dead. But I'll get it back up and running soon.

Did you break my favorite plane? The old jet fusealge is now a new name? So my most favoriteist plane I've ever made is now dead? But WAIT! That means I get to make it ALL OVER AGAIN.

PHASE 7: New Crew http://imgur.com/a/M3nYD With this mission, we finally demonstrate the capability to safely and effeciently land multiple Kerbals on the Mun and bring them home again. Essentially we have created a Space Bus. With a capacity of 7, our pilot and bus driver Patbo can bring 6 new crewmen to the Mun and bring home anyone who needs to leave. Our stable now consists of a cargo shuttle and a kerbal shuttle. Our base is fully operational. Dropping off his passengers, Patbo returns home leaving behind a 10-kerbal crew. Another round trip is planned to bring another 6 scientists to the extended stay base. From there, the rest is icing on the cake.

PHASE 6: Getting to Work http://imgur.com/a/ZhcVn Phase 6 was basically letting the guys get to work. With 6 Kerbals currently on the Mun, the work should go pretty quickly. The resupply vessel was piloted by Bill and Bob, with Kenlorf tagging along as the electrical engineer. They were joining up with Jebediah, Tomlon and Munlin (the twins) who were already at the base, and have spent so much time assembling. The majority of the work would be connecting the Power Tower to the rest of the base. To do this, first the guys attached connection points between the two stations. Then they ran cables the entire length. Kenlorf's job was to ensure everything was connected properly and done in a safe manner. Jebediah kept pushing to hurry, but Kenlorf was able to keep him in line. Once all the cables were laid, Kenlorf had the guys swap the empty containers on the truck with the resupply containers in the shuttle. Finally, everything was switched on, and the full power of the Solar Array was available. Finally, Munlin and Tomlon (the twins) said their goodbyes, boarded the shuttle, and headed home. Their job, for now, was done. The remaining crew consists of Jebediah, Bill, Bob, and Kenlorf. They await the first of the long-term scientists.

I would, but I've stolen so many individual parts from different mod packs, that I honestly don't remember what goes where. For instance, all my RCS pods are using the B9 rcs pods. And most of the lights are B9. I've got parts from KAS, AEIS, KWRocketry. I was testing stuff out of the Near Future pack, and I don't remember if I'm using any of those or not. I'm also using SDHI, but I moved the attachment node up since I'm not using the heatshield since I'm not using Deadly Re-entry. And the radial engines on the resupply pod come from a pack that I don't remember the name of, and I scaled them down so they are smaller, less thrust, less effecient (the originals were basically light-weight nukes, and I felt they were a bit too cheaty). I was also trying out Kosmos and Interstellar to see if there were parts I could use. And again, I don't remember if I kept one or two or not. There's also the 6S Service Compartments, including the extra large ones someone else made to go with them. The big solar panels might be AIES, but I adjusted their power usage to be less, as I felt these were too effecient compared to stock. Launch clamps are FASA. There's also Infernal Robotics. Essentially, my goal would be to find a specific part (for example, the large solar panels). Then I would install every single mod ever that has large solar panels. Then I would test them all, look at them all, play with them all. When I found the ones I wanted, I would delete everything in those mod packs except the solar panels I wanted to keep. This way I get the specific part I want without lagging my load times by overflowing my part catalog. Does that make sense? So while I'm flattered you would love to use my crafts, I can't properly share them without requiring you to have every mod I do, and even then I've adjusted a few parts to make them less "cheaty" and more "KSP".