Weegee

If the kerbals were an actual civilization (and not fictional characters of a game), colonies on Minmus and Laythe would be good for different reasons. For its close proximity and low gravity (easier to travel around), Minmus would be great for a mining colony that supplies Kerbin with fuel. It could also be used as a re-fueling point for interplanetary ships if then could align properly, especially if said mining operations were emplyed. And, if you imagine that kerbals have tech similar to the extra-planetary launchpad mod, Minmus could even be a launch point for ships heading to other places. However, due to lack of atmosphere, radiation gear would be required, and the crews would have to be switched out to mitigate harmful effects of the low gravity. Another downside is that for said reasons it would not be great for a long-term habitation colony, and because of its location, there wouldn't be that much SCIENCE to do, as it's in the Kerbin system. Laythe however, would be pretty bad for any primarily mining based colony, because of the higher gravity (than Minmus) and atmosphere, and not to mention the logistics of shipping supplies back to Kerbin. The only reasonable use of a mining colony on Laythe would to be self-sustaining. It could also be of use for missions in the Jool system (and potentially other far out planets like Eeloo), but Bop and Pol have very low gravity and no atmosphere, making launches and resource returns much easier than Laythe. The plus-side for Laythe colonies is for long-term habitation ones. The atmosphere would shield at least some radiation, and the air/water could be at least partially used to sustain the colony. The gravity would also slow down any physical deteriorations. Also, on the SCIENCE front, as there are *5* bodies in the Jool system (excluding Laythe itself), many observations could be made from Laythe, and potentially missions to other moons could be sent (though again, Bop or Pol is better for this). So really, it depends on what type of colony you want. For a resource based colony, I would choose Minmus (especially if purpose of said resources is to supply Kerbin). For a living colony, I would choose Laythe, but would also set up outposts on Bop or Pol for any contruction or mining required for the base.

What is this "between sessions" you speak of? In all seriousness, this game indeed is amazingly addictive (and not completely pointless, like others). Though I'm sure no one really minds being addicted, and with good reason.

Well a few days ago when I was recording my first video (not up yet due to Youtube stupidity), I was launching two rovers into space. Instead of releasing the last two boosters when they burned out, I accidentally released the two rovers, which then smashed into said boosters. I've had plenty of other fails, but this is most recent.

I see a few issues... For one, 100 kerbals is a *lot* so I'd imagine that'd get pretty tedious. But hey, maybe some people want to do that, I just wouldn't. The second issue is that for something that size (unless you're trying to reach Whackjovian levels) would require a lot of docking. One or two dockings would probably be fine, but docking such large components (and at frequency) would be hard even with mods. In stock, if your docking ports don't align on the ground, you're pretty much screwed. However, if mods that involve hinges were allowed, you'd have a lot more control over alignment. I'm not trying to say your challenge is bad, it just could be executed a bit better. At the scale it's currently at, I think people will be reluctant to try it as it's quite a large commitment. But that's just my two cents.

Wow! The fairing looks quite impressive.

Ehh, I wouldn't use them but I don't think they're unbalanced, since like you said they have mass and need to be installed, and need to also be fairly small. That being said, I'm sure you'd get more internet respect for not using them I never had that much of an issue with docked things in my previous attempts, but I either made them fairly short or didn't make that big of a craft (mostly for part issues). If you need to improve docked stability though, I'd try dual docking ports (ports on a bi-coupler). They're harder to dock, but the connection is more secure.

That's awesome!

Slowly but surely I'm planning out my next attempt. I'm making new designs for my crafts except the launch vehicle. I spent hours perfecting it and feel it has a nice balance between payload size and the delay between launches, so I will continue to use it. The main difference is that I decided that I will not be writing up my next attempt. I didn't feel like I was doing a great job with writing and I found developing characters difficult, so this time it will be about me doing the challenge and not the kerbals. But not writing doesn't mean I'll just post pictures. I will be making a *video* attempt! (ooh, aah...) I've been wanting to make videos (especially gaming) for a while, and I decided that I would start with this. I'm now officially on winter break (until early January) so hopefully I will be able to crank out an episode or two. So stay tuned for that, and if there's any advice you can give me feel free! As always, stay tuned.

Interesting, I'll try it. EDIT: My attempt: ------------------- Name: Weegee Craft Name: Spacer Time: 2:55 -------------------

I think he meant .rar files.

(Copied from my thread) *Facedesk* My computer just got upgraded to Windows 8, and my save file got lost. I'm really into this challenge, so I'm going to make another go. At the very least, I still have my launch vehicle (it was backed-up elsewhere) which is great cause it took a few hours of perfecting. But just like the last time I had to restart, I think I can do better. My crafts weren't that imaginative (which I can only try to help) and I could have used my launches more effectively. I also noticed I didn't have the best options to get my kerbals home either, so that was going to be an issue. But anyway, I'll be trying again. Hopefully it will go a lot better, and I'll probably be using a different backstory and different characters. Once I get that going, I'll post a link here and it'll be in my sig.

*Facedesk* My computer just got upgraded to Windows 8, and my save file got lost. I'm really into this challenge, so I'm going to make another go. At the very least, I still have my launch vehicle (it was backed-up elsewhere) which is great cause it took a few hours of perfecting. But just like the last time I had to restart, I think I can do better. My crafts weren't that imaginative (which I can only try to help) and I could have used my launches more effectively. I also noticed I didn't have the best options to get my kerbals home either, so that was going to be an issue. But anyway, I'll be trying again. Hopefully it will go a lot better, and I'll probably be using a different backstory and different characters. Once I get that going, I'll post a link here and it'll be in my sig.

I'm getting the same issue.

Well If you look in my signature, I have an on-going mission report for a challenge, so I think that qualifies... But besides that, I've been playing since June, so I'm pretty experienced. (Including docking) If you need more specifics, feel free to PM.

Oooh, fancy... Any restrictions for being a pilot? I wouldn't mind test flying those!

Whew, I hadn't read this for a few months and I just got finished catching up today. I just gotta say, I really love this story. Keep it up!

Very nice video, looked great and it was relaxing. Please do more!

Awesome!

Cool! Is launching from the Mun is a loophole on the United Nations of Kerbin's statement that "no one shall leave Kerbin for a landing on Eve"?

Cool! Just read all your stuff today, and I'll be looking forward to the next chapter. Good luck!

Very cool! I'll be looking forward to the next one.

Oh noes! second page of fanworks! This'll fix that... --- Chapter 3: Orbital Ballet Today was another big day at the KSC. The first payload essential for kerbals to live on Duna was being launched: the base, which will also serve as a hab module on the way to Duna. If the launch succeeds, 3 more crucial missions would follow. A load of food would first be sent up and docked to the base. It would land after the base when it arrived at Duna. Then, a tug would be docked, and finally, a heat shield would be docked to the front. Because the base will serve as a hab module, the kerbals need access to it, so I can't just stick a fairing on. The fairing would also be pretty heavy and honestly look pretty stupid (). Unfortunately, the hard working kerbals in the SSTO task group were not able to produce a crew shuttle (I got tired of trying to make one and using someone else's seemed kinda cheaty), so the kerbals would also be shipped with the heat shield, with extra supplies for the wait. Anyway, after that heap of text, here is the first launch! --- Day 154 --- Tension was again high at the KSC. These next four missions all needed to succeed or they would miss the window (by about 8 days, but it would also look bad for P.R.). Media coverage would be high, because these were the launches that were crucial to kerbal inhabitation of Duna. Ednand again, in his signature calm and clear fashion counted down until launch. "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!" Sucess! 1/4 done. Preparations for the next launches resumed almost immediately, they had to get these next few launches right. In fact, the Deputy Administrator of KSC for Missions to Duna and Other Celestial Bodies which Start with "D" (DAKSCMDOCBSD), Weegee Kerman was right there in the MCC making sure everything was going right. Satisfied, he returned to his office to do important DAKSCMDOCBSD things. --- Day 190 --- Another important launch. 675 days of supplies were being shipped up. They would last the Duna crew a long time, but they had to get into orbit first. People at the KSC were a bit distracted, and with the thought of that many snacks, who could blame them? Snack day dreams aside, the launch and docking went off without a hitch. Though there was a noticeably large crowd around the vending machine afterwards... Back at the astronaut complex, final training was being completed. It was mostly review, so the kerbals just kind of let Donner be hyper. "Hope he gets it out before I have to be with him for hundreds of days..." The thought of being in a confined space with Donner that long made Elming a little queasy. But it wasn't that bad, Donner mostly ran around the complex yelling about how he was going to be in space in 72 days. Elming didn't want to think about how he would act in the hours before the launch. But Donner aside, the weeks up to the launch were fairly normal. The crew was finishing up training in simulators and dummy equipment and it was mostly review. The other 3 kerbals destined for Duna were excited too, they just preferred to show it on the inside rather than be a nuisance. --- Day 226 --- Today the tug for the MPS-1 (Multi-Part Ship 1[Consisting of the last two launches]) was being launched and docked. The naming department at the KSC wasn't all that great after they named the first few mission components, but it would do. Donner was even more ecstatic. No one really could blame him on this one, because after all, they had all been like this at one point. They were just a bit more... reserved about it. But Donner's antics aside, there was a rocket to launch! Another successful launch! The clock was ticking until Elming, Donner, Mitzer and Hadfurt would be up in LKO too. The big launch: Day 262 This was it. The big day. The KSC staff forced Donner to clam down (miraculously) before he got in the cockpit. But besides that, the pre-launch sequence was pretty normal. "This is Elming. Pre-flight check list is good. Endnand, feel free to start the countdown." And after he closed the comms link, he added "and try to sit still, Donner." "Sigh... Fine." Donner sat a bit stiller. Ednand's voice then entered their headphone. "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!" The rumble of the M.U.L.E.'s engines were... Well, loud. Donner was having a blast, despite the crushing forces. After a while in the flight, Elming was getting ready to separate the first pair of boosters. "This is Elming. First booster pair drop on my mark... Mark." The explosive bolts of the decoupler sounded like a pin dropping compared to the rocket. The boosters did look cool tumbling out of view though. The rest of the flight was fairly standard. Nothing interesting happened until they were ready to drop the booster and begin the rendezvous with MPS-1. Elming prepare to radio in. "No Elming, you need to set up the rendezvous with MPS-1. I'll handle the booster." said Donner on the ship's closed comms circuit. "I don't think that's the best-" Elming was cut off by Donner again. "No, really. I know I've been hyper and annoying. It's just been my dream to go to space, and as soon as they announced Project Irata, Duna. I know you've been there. Sure, maybe I wasn't acting mature then. But I will try now. There's a reason they made me your flight engineer, you know. I'm not stupid. Now let me de-orbit the booster, and you can set up the rendezvous." The 3 other kerbals were taken aback. "Okay Donner, you're right. I guess I haven't been fair to you. None of us have. We've all felt that way, we just didn't think of it that way. I never thought I'd say this, but I've glad you're on this crew Donner. Now let's get moving!" Elming replied. "Yes sir!" Donner said. He was glad he finally had the respect of Elming. Now, he had to just do his job. "KSC, this is Donner. We will be separating from the booster on my mark." He lifted the lid on the stage button. "Mark." As they were in space, the couldn't hear the decoupler, but they could feel it. "Assuming remote control of booster. Am I okay for booster de-orbit?" "Yes Donner, you are clear." Replied a KSC crew member. "Booster is pointed retrograde." "Engine ignition... Now." With that, the booster sped away (slowed away?). "This is KSC, our telemetry confirms sub-orbital trajectory. Good job Donner." "Roger, KSC." Elming then got on the line. "Elming here. Flight computer confirms rendezvous with MPS-1 on next orbit. We'll check in when we are close." "Roger, Elming. We will await your transmission. KSC replied. A while later, Elming radioed back in. "Elming again. Reducing relative velocity... Now." The engines were firing at less than 1g, so it was barely noticeable. After some finagling, Elming radioed in again. "Target less than 50m. Donner will shortly align target's docking port remotely." "Roger. Report when docked." replied KSC Donner then accessed one of the probe cores on MPS-1 and pointed it towards them. After some "orbital ballet" as Donner called it, they were close. "Cmon, easy does it..." Said Elming. Clunk. They were docked! Elming radioed in: "KSC, we have docked! Man, the feeling never gets old. We will shortly begin transferring to the hab modules." "Roger. Let us know if anything happens." Donner was first to EVA. But he didn't miss the opportunity to have some fun. He radioed Mitzer's suit comms system. "Hey Mitzer, buddy! Look out the window!" Mitzer chuckled. "Now that is the Donner I know! Now get into the pod, I wanna use one of those jetpacks." Donner fake huffed "Well fine then. Have it your way." He said with a grin on his face before jetting to the hab module. The rest of the EVAs were normal, and the crew was situated, two to a pod, with plenty of space. What Elming thought would be what drove him insane wasn't going to be that bad after all. But he still had work to do. "KSC, Elming here. We're all in the base/hab module. I will now be re-aligning the sections to fit under the heat shield." "Roger, Elming." First, he undocked the heat shield to line it up with the length of the base. With skill, he quickly docked the heat shield in the correct orientation. He then lined up the tug with the supplies. Finally, he redocked the supplies and tug to the base. Here's the end result. After all the docking was ifnished, he topped off the fuel tanks from the crew pod's fuel. It had more than enough to deorbit, so it was quite useful. He then radioed in."KSC, Elming here. All docking repositions are finished. Donner says all systems check out as well, so we won't have anything to report. Let us know when to burn when the geniuses down there figure it out, okay?" "Gotcha Elming. We'll let you know." "Hey Elming?" Mitzer asked. "Yeah?" He replied "This ship doesn't have a name, and you're the commander. I think it's about time it has one!" "Good point, Mitzer. I'll radio KSC." "Yo, KSC!" "Yes, Elming?" a kerbal replied. "I'm giving MPS-1 a proper name. It shall be named 'Ambition' for reasons I am sure are obvious." He said. "Got it, Elming. Good choice." "Thanks. I'll radio if something comes up." Now they had to wait 28 days until the window. The whole world was filled with anticipation, but no one was nearly as anxious as the crew of Ambition. ---------- But that's for next time! This chapter is already plenty long as is. Hope you guys enjoyed it, because I certainly enjoy making them! I'll hopefully be setting up the base soon so stay tuned! And the obligatory mission log: Day 154: Base module launch Day 190: Supplies launch and dock. Vessel becomes MPS-1 Day 226: Tug launch and dock to MPS-1 Day 262: Heat shield w/ crew launch and dock to MPS-1

Good to see more people trying the challenge! I've been busy, so you can check out my report at the link in my signature. Keep up the good work guys!

Chapter 2: The First Landings (This chapter won't have stuff about the crew, I'm not as good at writing those and they don't seem to have any relevance currently. I'll have that later though, don't worry!) --- Day 82 --- The MCC was again busy. On top of the upcoming encounters of the probes and the first Korvair, the second Korvair was being launched today. Ednand again began the countdown: "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!" Now that that was out of the way, the MCC fell quiet. All that could be heard was kerbals busily typing at computers to plan the fates of the two ships speeding towards Duna. --- Day 109 --- This was it. By the end of the day, the 1st Korvair would be in Duna orbit. The atmosphere in the MCC was so thick you could cut it. They were glad it was finally over. Between the importance of the mission and the predicted path varying seemingly at random, it was ridiculously stressful. Cheers and applause erupted in the MCC. They had finally got something in Duna orbit, which they hadn't done in ages. But in just few more days they had the probes arriving and they would have to do it all again. --- Day 114 --- Another tense day in the MCC. First, the ship would need to go into polar orbit, then the ComSats and scanners would be deployed. There were probes already around Duna, but they were mostly science probes not fit for full on comms usage and had no kethane scanners. Another triumph for Project Irata! They had a basic comms network, and kethane scanners. Once the kethane scanners had finished their jobs, they wouold land the Korvair to scout for a flat area, then land the miner. They would serve as a beacon when the crew came to land later. --- Day 118 --- In just a few days the kethane scans would be doen and the Korvair and miner would land. But first, they had to launch the Korvair fuel tanker. It was nice to have something repetitious in the midst of the flurry of activity. After the launch, the MCC staff went right back to observing the scanner's observations. --- Some days later... --- The scanners had finished their work. Much to the delight of the KSC crew, there was 2 deposits right on the equator, and one was next to a point of interest: a large ravine. It was a no-brainer, they wanted kethane to refuel ships ascending to LDO, and wanted to explore the ravine. Shortly after, the Korvair began its descent. After the successful landing, the MCC went wild! They had landed a component on Duna! It was broadcasted across the globe, and it certainly didn't hurt the KSC's standpoint with investors! After a short break, the kethane miner would be landed, though some maneuvering would be required. --- The MCC again broke out in applause. They were on a roll! Both components had landed intact, and very close to each other! The MCC crew took a well deserved break. Their next launch wouldn't be until day 154. Phew! ---------- Alright, that's it. Feels good to get that posted. Next time will mostly be launching the base, supplies and crew. Stay tuned! Edit: Though it's said fairly well from the time gaps, here's the mission schedule for this post: Day 82: Korvair 2 launch Day 109: Korvair 1 Duna arrival Day 114: Probe Rack Duna arrival Day 118: Korvair Tanker launch Day 119/120: Korvair #1 and Kethane Miner (from Probe Rack) land on Duna

Yay, someone gets it. Anything I've referenced here is much older than me, blame my dad (thank?) for that. He owns Corvairs, and had a Commodore hardware/software business in College. I guess I was just destined to be nerdy Anyway, I just succeeded in landing my Korvair and kethane miner (within 900m!) so I'll be posting a whole slew of things, as that was holding me up.