Kevin W.

I don't get it. I built as basic a launcher as possible and it's not working. This one rotates during flight so by the time I'm up to 10KM, I'm not even aligned correctly to start burning for the apoapsis. What is going on? Why can't I get this right? I tried the F+D option and wouldn't you know, it still over-corrected and turned past where I wanted it to! Nothing I'm doing is working.

I usually do my turn around 30-45 seconds before reaching apoapsis. How do I set the maneuver node and what does that do?

The upper tri-coupler is part of the part. It's a welded part by UbioZur: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/38577-0-20-UbioZur-Welding-Ltd-Lower-your-part-count Also, I do have ASAS and SAS on the rocket, but pressing the WASD keys does absolutely nothing when SAS is on, and if I turn it off and then try to make a course correction, the uncontrollable spinning happens.

Basically I get the feeling that I'm going to have to spend the whole time micro-managing the WASD keys. That's just fantastic, knowing that the slightest tap of one of them causes the rocket to start spinning uncontrollably.

Here's the new launcher. I'm at my wit's end here. I'm angling the rocket at 10KM and once the apoapsis is at 70KM, I cut the engines to just float up to it. However, every single time I try to course correct to a horizontal heading to burn when I'm at apoapsis, two things happen: it takes too long to turn the rocket so I miss the apoapsis and start my burn after it, since for some reason pressing shift in the orbit mode doesn't throttle up and the rocket ends up over-rotating and it goes into an uncontrollable spin. Why am I having so much trouble? I know this game isn't just a point-and-click space simulator but why does it have to be this freakin' difficult to do a simple task?

OK, so I need to make changes to the probe, switch the canards out for winglets and add more thrust to the first stage. Am I missing anything?

Holy crap, that may be the solution to my problems. I've been using canards this whole time. Thanks for the clarifications.

Now, you might be wondering why I consider these images "awesome" when they appear mundane, and I'll explain exactly why: they are a milestone to me. This launcher and this probe represent the point at which I really started playing this game in earnest. This design is the means by which I started to learn how to really play the game so I can put my ambitions into practice. They are awesome in a sentimental way.

The launcher uses some welded fuel tanks from UbioZur. This is a modified design from what I was working on last night. Now, instead of wobbling, it tips over while the first stage is firing.

Alright, I'll get a screenshot tomorrow. Just a fair word of warning: it's going to be ugly.

Well, easier said than done considering my launcher is an uncontrollable mess that can't seem to make a minor course correction without going into an uncontrollable spin. How do I make it stop when I'm making the course corrections?

I'm still working on getting my orbits down. I'm having some issues. I've finally gotten the mechanics down. I know how to reorient myself at 10KM and doing the gravity turn and getting the apoapsis above 70KM, but I'm running into a problem on my orbital burn. In my attempts to boost my probe up to a high-enough altitude so its periapsis is above 70KM to establish a permanent orbit, my probe keeps flying into an escape trajectory. Obviously, I don't want to do that. What's going on? Also, while it's not affecting the rocket so much as to render it incapable of achieving orbit, my probe launcher does wobble quite a bit during launch. Is it the height causing that? If so, is there a way to fix it besides making the rocket shorter?

Which mod do I need to get those stat readouts? Those would be really helpful to have.

No, as I said, while the initial purpose of the station would be to serve as a fueling depot I would like to build it as more than just that so there will be additional modules.

I'd like to send the individual modules up separately and dock them in orbit. I don't want quite that heavy of a lift vehicle. At least not yet.

Well, I'd like to make a decent-sized station. I won't be making the ISS anytime soon but I know it'll take more than one launch to get everything in orbit. I'm not sure of the exact tonnage though.

I bought the game a few weeks back after playing the demo a bit, but I wasn't able to easily play either of them until a computer crash forced me to upgrade to a computer that isn't nearing five years old. Anyway, I'm having fun even through my constant failures and I'm hoping to get a bit better. I plan to pour myself a nice stiff drink when I achieve my first orbit. Also, I've got a thread in the How To forum about heavy lifting, as even though I still have yet to achieve orbit, I have a somewhat ambitious project in mind.

I'm fairly new to this game and still learning some basic stuff like how to orbit. It's tough to understand all the little details. Anyway, I want to plan something somewhat ambitious for my first "big" project in-game. Obviously it's something that will require me to understand the finer details of orbiting and docking, so I won't be able to put it into practice for quite some time, but I want to put a station in orbit around Kerbin. What I'd like to do is basically make it a fueling outpost for inter-planetary trips. My idea was to put a station with several Jumbo-64s in orbit so I could launch lighter vehicles, have them dock with the fuel tanks, undock the tanks from the station and then use that to fuel the journey. It'd also require replacement tanks. Feel free to tell me that my idea is incredibly stupid and pointless and overly ambitious. I'm open to any and all criticism you may have considering I'm still at the point where I have trouble launching a rocket that doesn't fall apart in flight. Anyway, I'd like to build a station and I do want it to be more than just some orbiting fuel tanks. To build said station I'd like to have a heavy lift vehicle, especially since said HLV would come in handy at other times. All of my attempts so far have been unsuccessful. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to go about building one?