zxczxczbfg

Basically, as these guys have all stated, make it BIG. Also, try to stage it so that the "main engines" jettison as you leave the atmosphere so you don't end up burning a tiny amount of fuel from your still-attached main engines and having to jettison them mid-burn. (It also saves on debris.) If you plan to get ol' Jeb back to Kerbin eventually, you should also include some kind of maneuvering/deorbit stage, probably with the LV-909, which is quite efficient but lacking in thrust, perfect for deorbits, exo-atmospheric maneuvers, and landings, but not much else. EDIT: As DonLorenzo says several posts below, yeah, telling you to "make it BIG" is probably not a good idea for long term rocket design, but in the short term it will give you a nice margin of safety in case you mess something up.

I think the "stupidity" stat is mislabeled, and Bob is not particularly bright. In 0.22 he screamed ALL THE TIME, while Bill, with a higher "stupidity" bar, looked worried when the ship's periapsis went underground but was otherwise pretty much fine. This suggests that reasonable piloting and rocket design gets you a very low score on the application tests ("LESS boosters? You moron!"). Bill, I think, originally applied to become a rocket engineer, but his safety- and practicality-oriented designs got him a low intelligence score on the test, low enough to become one of the Program's eternally-regenerating invincible cannon fodder, the Orange Suits.

Idea/suggestion: Add a "hat" to the muzzle for a more aerodynamic look, like this picture of the GSh-6-30: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GSh-6-30_Hu_Szolnok_1.jpg

I think it might be possible to copy the Mk1 illuminator, change the name of the copy to Beacon Light or something, and edit the .cfg to make it WAY brighter. Make sure to add a probe core, and an RTG or batt/panel combo so it doesn't just get marked as debris.

I personally am no good with drawing, but two quick questions: 1) That ship is awfully tiny for a Mun orbit/rendezvous. 2) Concurrent with above: You'll need RCS If you want to dock. Also, landing legs and/or parachutes might be in order in case of the need for an emergency landing.

I strongly suggest some kind of "rimless" stackable cargo bay part (i.e. remove the frame around the door, and you'd have a great cargo bay). Also, some kind of open-folding nosecone would be nice, as a more debris-friendly alternative to traditional fairings.

I think it would be a very great idea, not only for watching your ship but also for toggling multiple engines if you forgot action groups, allowing you to toggle them all without unbalancing your thrust.

And I STILL haven't found how the Nose Cones affect stability. Any word on it from the devs? Or the mods? Or anyone, for that matter?

Quite a few of the above posts are assuming space-only craft. Ideally, space "fighters" will also be able to function as aircraft as well. EDIT: Just realized the stupidity of my own statement. More than a year late, but hey.

Maybe you could be heavily fined for injuring endangered species, and possibly have to get your aircraft cockpits certified against birdstrikes.

Well, it might not be practical, since atmospheres can be vastly different in composition. However, something like the SABRE engine on the Skylon, which use jet propulsion in atmosphere but switch over to on-board liquid oxygen outside the atmosphere, is much more weight-efficient because it only needs to carry fuel for the trip but only enough oxidizer for the portion of the trip outside the atmosphere. It's basically a jet engine that brings its own air supply. Edit: RAPIER engines in 0.23! Woo!

The Ant really isn't designed for primary propulsion, it's for probe landers and small probe course corrections. It's not supposed to be efficient, it's supposed to be lightweight.

I think horizontal wings would be a problem when nearing the surface (i.e. landing sideways accidentally), but using the standard rocket fins (the pivoting ones) might work: Use the roll keys to tilt the fins, increasing drag, and on the way up just keep the fins vertical for minimum drag.

A mod database, you say? How convenient that the devs have come up with just that: kerbalspaceprogram.com is the official mod hosting site. And as it happens, many, many of those mods are additional flags. Not sure if the Rosjcosmoche is one of them, but I wouldn't put it past the fanbase. Additional note: If you only ever get one mod, MechJeb (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/mechjeb/) is the most incredibly useful and versatile guidance system in the game. It can nail down landing sites to within tens of meters, and can make near-perfect circular orbits.

My General Purpose Lifter Mk I. Roughly analogous to the Saturn V, it has lifted everything from Mun landers to interplanetary tugs.

Personally I think it will somewhat resemble modern BVR (beyond visual range) combat, except with no atmosphere. See a dot on your scope, Press a button, No more dot.

Posting a step-by-step of your flight profile might help us figure out what is wrong. Are you doing a gravity turn? Those are important. When you get to a certain height (can't remember exactly what height), you should start to pitch over so that you have some horizontal velocity. When your apoapsis is high enough, cut engines and coast up above the atmosphere, then burn prograde to make your orbit a circle. If you're trying to do a direct burn towards the Mun without orbiting Kerbin first, you're usually doing it wrong.

My foot. Well.

My recommendation: Use liquid boosters with fuel lines that extend from the boosters to the center stack, with the boosters and center stack on the same stage. That way, the fuel that gets used up by the center engine gets refilled from the outer tanks, and when the boosters run out they will be jettisoned, and your center stack will keep burning because it was kept full by the flow from the boosters. IN SHORT: liquid boosters with fuel lines flowing inwards.

No, it probably isn't. The F-104 in real life was just a really, really cool Cold War jet, and had no space capabilities since the jet engines require air (just like they do in KSP).

In addition to my aforementioned flag behind the Astronaut Complex, I also put one of those black stripes on the ribbon.

I think simply slapping a heatshield on the bottom of the payload would be enough for most designs for landers and stuff. For returns, the capsules and fuselages appear to already have heat shields anyway.

You're now zooming off towards Eeloo. However, due to orbital factors not yet understood, there is a Jool encounter marker right in the middle of your orbit, and the plotted path goes right through the atmosphere. It won't affect you that much, only a minor course correction is needed to get back to Eeloo.. Do you Correct course for Eeloo? Try for a Jool aerocapture?

Can I post two commands? If so: Enter rocket North. Begin gravity turn.

Exit south. (Whee!)