SRV Ron

Needs to get much closer to his subject. And, you can't get much details anyways when you take your picture directly into the sun, even the Kerbal one.

Steam places KSP in a folder located in C: Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\Common\Kerbal Space program. Since Steam is not required to run KSP, it is recommend that you copy the Kerbal Space Program folder to another location on your computer, doesn't even need to be on the C drive, open the copied folder, create a shortcut icon to KSP.exe, and place that shortcut onto your desktop. From there, you can add mods to that copy leaving the Steam version untouched so it can be updated automatically. You are allowed to make as many copies of KSP that can be placed anywhere, even on other computers, so long as those computers are for your own personal use.

You can still fly with the Stayputnik, you just have to add a small SAS and control the probe manually at all times during powered flight as there is no built in stabilizer. The same goes for non pilot Kerbals in single Kerbal pods.

This demo rocket did a mum orbit and return This demo rocket made it to Mun and back with ease. The game is as easy or has hard as you make it in playing career. Go easy steps at a time to build up your skills.

Tweak the thrust down and you will greatly improve the performance of that powder keg.

How about a very Kerbal looking Moon Ship? BTY, Moya from Far Scape happens to be a life form.

You can give the updated FASA mod a try. It features accurate looking replicas of NASA rockets from the Redstone to planned on paper Nova. Those rocket parts are in the career parts tree. Set FASA up in its own game with no other parts mods as there is so much loaded in that it can crash KSP upon loading.

Prior to 0.90 Beta, this minimal ship placed a probe on the surface. (The ship on the left.) No landing gear but safely down and fully functional.

In 0.90 Beta Career, Jeb can fly the ship but Bill and Bob cannot. That is why the error message appears when you press the T key. However, you can still fly the ship manually using the SAS for control response. It is just that only pilots can do so automatically.

You are lucky that tippy thing landed upright. Getting back will be tight. Fly carefully and aim for aerobraking.

Keep in mind that you can control the forces of the Sepratrons by tweaking their thrust and fuel loads.

The plane change by doing so will be minimal.

Jool would be the best bet for that much of a plane change. Being further out from the sun, you could probably get close to the full 90* change needed with a slingshot around Jool. This slingshot around Ike shows the possibility of achieving that much plane change using little delta v.

Testing landing gear is easy in Career due to being massless. You don't need to place two on the test vehicle for balance either for flight or orbit testing.

This experimental Kerb Fu design uses two stages of gunpowder rockets, then the large Whale Oil stage to orbit and head for Mun, Minmus, or Duna and return. In orbit Ready to land on Minmus Landed where even the lower stage survived. Stock SRBs can be mixed and tweaked to give onion staging with an ideal TWR. With an extra SAS and fins, you can get a good start on an orbital turn before they burn out.

A couple of mid career mun landers.

The Stayputnik has no automatic controlling authority in Beta 0.90. You have to add an SAS to your probe and manually control it at all times.

Given the limitation of needing to have KSP portable across platforms, the graphics are quite good with modders proving that they can be even better. When KSP 1.0 gets released, I would not be surprised to see it become available for X-Box, WII, Sony Playstation, and other gaming systems.

As quick as Career lets me, I use robotic probes for most of the missions and test contracts. Jeb is too valuable to lose to a miscalculation in fuel or flight accident.

One of the first ships posted.

The advantage of a recoverable heavy lift aircraft is to get the rest of the space craft up to 40,000+ feet at either subsonic or even to supersonic speed. Being well above the thickest part of the atmosphere, The rest of the space craft could be easily capable of placing its payload into orbit and returning. Best if an aircraft is designed for that purpose as opposed to bolting on a payload to an existing one as was done by the Air Force during their X program.

A better solution is using a pair of the three types of SRBs with the RT-10 being the first to stage followed by the BACC , then the KD25k. If you do tweak the thrust, do so evenly among the three types of boosters. Plan on having to do an orbital turn with the KD25k still burning.

Testing contracts have allowed me to unlock tier 4 tech tree . I now have the tech from that limited resource to start interplanetary exploration by low cost probes. The Minotaur 5 probes are on their way to Mun to fulfill that contract. They are Duna capable. The SRB is steered by the SAS during flight into a proper orbital turn as it will lift the second stage to sub orbital altitude.

Would require massive amounts of electrical energy to use. As far as the gun itself remaining in orbit, it would accumulate enough energy to kick it out of orbit. Example, just the effects of gravity from the moon on the Earth's oceans are causing the day to get slowly longer as well as causing the moon to speed up in orbit causing it to move further away by a couple of inches every year. Still, have fun with the concept.

If coming down fast, rockets can be used to slow down to a safe landing speed at the last minute. Why would one still have rockets attached? to recover their cost during career.