mellojoe

Would there be a way for me to edit them anyway? The smaller size makes for easier screenshots since you can fit everything in. With the "correctly" large chutes, it makes it hard to share the craft hanging under the chutes. Would you get upset if I poked through the code and tweaked this? Obviously, only for my personal use.

I love the bigger parts. The double-tall ones are most useful.

Here: It got buried in an earlier post, but we DO have video of CRS-3. See for yourself. RAW: REPAIRED:

Here's Our New Power Station! http://imgur.com/a/0uCbN One of the tallest rockets we've launched to date. The payload was tall, but not heavy. It created an interesting experience for the remote controlled landing sequence, but the engineers pulled it off. And there was much rejoicing. The crew on the ground was tasked with attaching pylons to the ground. This time, we are using 3 ground pylons to go with loosely docked tether cables. This has stopped the problem of things going all explodey. Using the rover to clear debris was essential, once again. Jeb and the twins must have spent hours dragging pieces away to a refuse pile, in order to keep it clear of the science that will be starting up soon. Revised girders and improved solar panels means more power with less cost/weight/part-count. The boys are very excited to watch it open. Next on the agenda is hooking it all up.

Most of my missions use a very simple setup, single core plus two boosters with crossfeeding into the core. Rarely have I gone more than that. With this simple one-layer asparagus, not only do I get decent payloads to orbit, but also I don't get mind-numbing part lag. And it feels more real.

FYI: SpaceX released the video of the reusable booster with landing legs touching down in the ocean. http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/04/29/first-stage-landing-video They are asking for help, or offering up anyone with the hobby, to try to salvage and/or fix the video. The recording is just very poor, and its hard to make out anything. But somewhere there is a video guru waiting for a project. Hopefully one of you out there can have a little fun and do SpaceX a favor in the process.

Have you considered using the airplane cockpits? The design looks good, but your two back pods could eaisly be replaced with the inline-cockpit to sort of smooth things out. I kind of like the weird bulbous front end, but in case you were looking for a different solution, the in-line cockpit works great for these types of things. I've even used 3 inline cockpits, and put a docking port on the front, just like this layout.

OH THE KERMANITY! The Kraken has eaten our power tower! Apparently, when you load into the base and the physics loads, it absolutely destroys my new power module. It explodes in a brilliant display of fireworks, kraken saliva, and broken dreams.

A funny sidenote to our power station. When the power tower landed and was still folded up, it had no way to generate power on its own. And in fact due to a delay in landing to setting up, the batteries drained completely redering the precious solar panels locked in the closed position. Ruh-roh ..... But, Jebediah, being competent as only Jebediah can be, drove the rover over to the now-dead powerstation. He hooked up the refuelling line, and recharged the power array's batteries using the solar panels on the rover. Yeah, you read that right. Jeb jump started the tower of power from the rover. Of course he did, why not? That's just Jebediah being Jebediah. There is still a lot of work to be done. The power station is not yet hooked up to the base. The landing stages and debris still has to get moved out of the way. Lots of little cleanup.

Phase 4, we need MOAR POWARRRRR! KSC originally determined that Phase 4 would include a large power grid as well as a resupply vessel. It turned out that mission was abit on the optimistic side, and cutbacks caused a major comprimise. Phase 4 would ONLY be a power module, extending the time Jebediah, Munlin, and Tomlin would be without fresh supplies. There was much groaning, as Jeb's undies are getting a bit ripe. In fact, all the boys are starting to feel the strain of the extended mission with just the three of them required to do so much work. Hauling debris, verifiying systems, keeping Tomlin from eating all the cheese puffs .... much tougher work than they originally expected. However, Phase 4 is now complete. Sure, it brings more debris for the boys to cleanup, but it also massively increases their power, and thus, their ability to run auxiliarry systems like that Kintendo 3dS Munlin snuck onboard. The present that was delivered: Landing stage dropped off, and Jebediah is tasked with securing the ground cables. These tethers will secure the power pylon to the ground to ensure no accidents topple it in the long run. Four cables will be attached to anchor points, and then winched tight providing a strong structural base. Power station secured: Now, to unwrap this present: Now, its starting to look like something. Munlin didn't know what to expect with all the talk of Infernal Robotics, but apparently the boys back home at KSC know what they are doing. We are really getting somewhere. The last thing to do is to hit the button to unfurl our solar panels: Beautiful! Jeb even made an audible gasp. The crew back on KSC stood and cheered. Everything worked as expected. She looks great, and she opens the doors to finally having a fully operation base off-world that can sustain itself for extended periods of time. Tomlin was also thinking how he might "borrow" Munlin's 3dS... One last shot to send home for the marketing team to start the advertising work:

Phase 3, just a rover: Here she is, landed on the Mun near our base. Jebediah was the first to test it out. It includes two storage boxes from KAS with parts for later use. Here is the crew USING the rover and those parts. First off, we take an attachment point from the onboard storage and connect it to the debris. Secondly, we use the winch on the back of the rover to grab that attachment point. Now, the rover is in full Tow Truck mode, and is able to drag the debris off into the distance, away from our living and science quarters. Once the crew determines the debris is safely away, they simply detach the winch, retrieve the attachment plug, and return everything to the rover. We created it with a bit of RCS to help keep it all stable. Parking the rover for the night includes attaching fuel and resupply lines to the base. Again, Jebediah retrieves a pipe-end-point from the onboard storage. By connecting one to the base and the other to the rover, we can now create a safe connection for RCS fuel, electric cables, and a solid tether. Job well done, boys. Finally, our full base in all its glory. Phase 3 is complete. And it gives our trio something to do outside once in a while. Gotta have a chance to stretch our legs, eh?

Bill, Bob and Jebediah have been tasked with creating an extended stay mission on the Mun. This mission is to demonstrate the capability for KSC to safely land and maintain a base of operations on the Mun, as a gateway to the rest of the kerbol system. Jebediah, and the twins Munlin and Tomlin will be our first pilots to land, and will be tasked with assembling the modules as they land. We will be using brand new technology in construction and assembly to properly ensure adequate support for all missions. These new technologies include Infernal Robotics, Kerbal Attachment System, as well as a few key components from B9 Aerospace, namely the light sources. The first module to land was Habitat One. Hab1, as it is nicknamed, was flown up by Jebediah and Tomlin. A site had been targeted previously for this mission, so their job was simply to get it there in one piece. They did just that, and brilliantly so: Phase 2 was a bit trickier. Munlin took the task to land Habitat Two, or as he calls it The Extender. Except, now, the task is made a bit tougher since he has to execute a precision landing near the existing structure without damaging it. Then, to drive it over close to Hab1, again without damaging anything. And finally, to get the boys on one page to assemble the two units: Two halves getting real close. The docking ports on both are open and ready for mating. ".... heh heh heh ... mating ...." Quiet, Jeb! Infernal Robotics to align the docking ports. We haven't had much luck in the past docking things while on the surface, so this was a method to ensure we could align them perfectly, regardless of terrain. Made up of three parts, two hinges and an extending pole. The two hinges allowed me to raise or lower the port while keeping it parallel to the other one. The extension was just in case our struts and landing stages got in the way. They didn't, thankfully, but it still gave me the vertical range to get the ports alligned perfectly. Once it snapped to docking, it was a simple matter of letting Munlin retract the arm and locking everything in place. ((I'm role-playing the arm built to the sides of the pathway, giving Kerbals a free range to walk throughout the structure.)) And finally, our fully assembled Mun base. Hab1 + The Extender = one fine base. This will hold more than a dozen scientists and researchers for an extended period of time. With plenty of space for living quarters and science modules, our Mun stationed Kerbals should be plenty comfortable.

I find that I end up making a new maneuver node after each successive burn. Make your original burn. It shows 30 minute burn time. YIKES! Set up about 5 minutes before, start burning full throttle. Keep burning until about 5 minutes after. Delete that node. Go back and make a new node. It will show about a 20 minute burn time. Rinse. Repeat.

Holy smokes! I've been experiencing this EXACT SAME BUG. My struts are not auto-splitting when the decouplers fire, causing major explosions. The solution I've found that temporarily works: Just before staging, cut your engines. Then right click on the engine fairings and manually jettison them. Then stage. Then throttle up. This seems to help.

Is there a way to tweak the size of the displayed open chute? I understand that the open size is procedurally generated depending on the values used in the editor. However, I want to reduce their overall viewing size, as I like the clean look of fewer, larger chutes, than many many smaller ones. Except, sometimes the scale just seems way off compared to stock. Is there a value somewhere where I can scale them down visually without effecting their drag characteristics?

Phase 3, just a rover: Here she is, landed on the Mun near our base. Jebediah was the first to test it out. It includes two storage boxes from KAS with parts for later use. Here is the crew USING the rover and those parts. First off, we take an attachment point from the onboard storage and connect it to the debris. Secondly, we use the winch on the back of the rover to grab that attachment point. Now, the rover is in full Tow Truck mode, and is able to drag the debris off into the distance, away from our living and science quarters. Once the crew determines the debris is safely away, they simply detach the winch, retrieve the attachment plug, and return everything to the rover. We created it with a bit of RCS to help keep it all stable. Parking the rover for the night includes attaching fuel and resupply lines to the base. Again, Jebediah retrieves a pipe-end-point from the onboard storage. By connecting one to the base and the other to the rover, we can now create a safe connection for RCS fuel, electric cables, and a solid tether. Job well done, boys. Finally, our full base in all its glory. Phase 3 is complete. Phase 4 will be a resupply mission as well as a large power station. We will also be delivering our second crew to the surface. This next crew consists of mostly scientists to enhance the capability of our base. Currently, the three Kerbalnauts on the Mun are test pilots with military backgrounds: Jebediah, and the twins Tomlin and Munlin. Their job has been delivering the station, constructing the station, and ensuring a safe platform for long-term usage. With their successes piling up, it is time to make this station work.

Absolutely! I stole this concept, too. NO MORE NUBS! Everything I've built in the last two days have used those things and then all my struts run to them. Dropping them onto the surface leaves my ships clean. Also, they blow up VERY easily. I've just done a mission where Jebediah walked around kicking any that survived, and they all summarily blew up. No more debris!

Phase 2: Here's the 2nd half of the Mun Base being delivered. Using RCS and plane landing gear to drive it across the surface. We landed about 1km away before our landing engines completely ran out. RCS driving the rest of the way across the surface wasn't too bad. Two halves getting real close. The docking ports on both are open and ready for mating. .... heh heh heh ... mating .... Quiet, Jeb. Infernal Robotics to align the docking ports. I haven't had much luck in the past docking things while on the surface, so this was a method to ensure we could align them perfectly, regardless of terrain. Made up of three parts, two hinges and an extending pole. The two hinges allowed me to raise or lower the port while keeping it parallel to the other one. The extension was just in case our struts and landing stages got in the way. They didn't, thankfully, but it still gave me the vertical range to get the ports alligned perfectly. Once it snapped to docking, it was a simple matter of retracting the arm and locking everything in place. I'm role-playing the arm built to the sides of the pathway, giving Kerbals a free range to walk throughout the structure. And finally, our fully assembled Mun base. This will hold a dozen scientists and researchers for an extended period of time. Currently only three are onboard to setup and construct. With plenty of space for living quarters and science modules, our Mun stationed Kerbals should be plenty comfortable. Phase 3 will be a Rover of some kind (still some debris to drag away) and a bigger power station. Our scientists have plenty of projects planned, but currently are using only minimal power to prevent full drain of the batteries at night. A big power station will solve that. I don't know if we can accomplish this in a single mission, or more likely, two missions (Phase 3 and Phase 4).

The first module of my extended-stay Mun base has been deployed! I have recently learned that the grey pylon decoupler things that nobody ever uses actually decouple cleanly without leaving any marks (like struts or radial decouplers). I have now used this technique to strut everything, then drop them off when landed. Most of the small debris has been cleaned up. The skycrane used to drop this onto the surface is still visible, but not in this image. I'll have to eventually push some of the larger pieces away for further missions. In any event: This is a habitat / command base that can technically hold 35 Kerbals, but will only house 12 for extended living quarters. Each of the 3 booms will be home to 4 Kerbals with living space. The central stalk is a science / work / command module to organize the rest of the base. We have a docking port door at the base to enable the next modules to connect for permanent installation. This is all stock except for the lights, which are from B9. I also have Infernal Robotics and Kerbal Attachement System installed, but will only need to use them on future parts to ensure good docking on the ground. Next up will be a rover with cleanup attachement. Pushing the little debris away was a pain in the butt, so I'm thinking I want a rover with some sort of scoop to pick up the pieces. We'll see....

Baby steps. China successfully delivers unmanned rovers to the Moon. China successfully delivers manned capsules to the moon. China delivers a long-stay manned capsule to the moon of a small crew. China maintains a long-stay manned capsule on the moon of multiple crews. China successfully delivers resupply mission to extended-stay crews on the moon. Then, and only then, will we be able to discuss the possibility of manufacturing and development off planet. We have a long way to go to get there. But in a decade a lot can happen depending on how aggressive China wants to be. I haven't seen their interem steps yet, and their initial Rover has some issues to solve. But at least they have started Step 1.

I, uh, don't play career mode. I started once, unlocked a bit of science, then immediately went back to Sandbox. I've never used the Science Jr nor the Science Lab for anything other than role-play / aesthetic appearance.

I recently re-read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein. I think it is from 1966. But a good book. The whole thing is written in kind of a space jargon, based around what would happen if you colonized the Moon using prisoners and "forced volunteers" as your base/initial colonists. Plus a self-aware computer. Some very cool concepts and a good read, once you get a hang for the creole-computer slang thing.

A real probe logging temperature data will send 100% of that temperature data home via transmission, ie: the temperature logged = 23*C Current KSP probe transmitting temperature data doesn't? Which means it is transmitting: the temperature logged = 2.... For more realism, certain data should be 100% when either taken by a Kerbal or sent home via transmission. This is more of a realism mod than anything else. Granted, it will change how many science points you get in total, which could end up in a "cheating" situation where you are unlocking things faster in the science tree than the KSP devs expected. You could easily ammend that by tweaking the numbers required to unlock in the tech tree. Then again, you can also just go straight to sandbox mode (which is how I play) and ignore the tech tree completely, but still want the feel of realism wherever possible.

Can you tell I've been having fun with Porkjet's Spaceplane Plus parts pack? These parts are beyond beautiful. SSTO cargo spaceplane. I forgot to take a shot with the cargo-bay doors open, but the entire length of the fuselage opens up for cargo. Again, its mostly Porkjet's Spaceplane Plus Mk2 parts, but also includes B9's compound RCS thrusters as well as some misc lights. Also, I have used Infernal Robotics to enhance the landing gear: Here is the front wheel extended for take-off. And here is rear wheels extended for landing. By adjusting the length of landing gear, I make take-off easy by angling the entire plane upward on the runway. And for landings, making the rear taller than the front means I can adjust the flare at landing and still gently touch the rear gear down. Slight tapping of the breaks brings the nose down, and then the angle at landing keeps me on the ground even over bumpy terrain. Much more stable platforms both in take-off and landing, and all it takes is a simple extending pylon. PS: I've also put an extending pylon on the docking port on the bottom, just to ensure enough clearance if/when docking in space.

12 Passengers + 2 crew SSTO spaceplane. Hits a 100x100 orbit with over 1900 delta-V left. For tourists who REALLY want to see the world ... and beyond.