NathanKell

I was thinking of lowering it to 68 or so; that would mean for every ton of mass you can just slap on a radial chute (i.e. 1 radial chute per 1.15 tons total mass) making some calculation easier. But I really wouldn't want to go much below that; remember that engines and tanks have an impact tolerance of 7, and you need 1 radial per ton to get below 7m/s if you're landing much above sea level. http://ksp.freeiz.com/ is your friend.

DE is...kinda ridiculously easy, actually. I almost never use my whole heatshield. Only time I can remember (recently) burning up is finishing a gravity turn too early (1800m/s at 30km) and having some science parts burn up. Bad for sounding rockets (going down) and SRBs (going up) because of G-limits, but for normal reentries? Easy stuff.

Krits in Space, Part 2 First Kerbal in Space Program: Operation AURORA (continued): AURORA BLACK Administered by: Royal Aircraft Establishment Partners: Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Miles Aircraft Limited, Avro Aircraft: High Altitude Research Craft Mk4 WG774 Objective: Launch a Kerbal into space. Outcome: Success. Notes Each day, Krits everywhere read the newspaper or turned on the telly and learned of another space success of the Kermans or Kerbicans. Her Majesty's Government had to do something. Some wag on the AURORA team (now lost to history) had a brainwave: "Why don't we shoot Twiss into space?" The first person to take the idea truly seriously was Twiss himself, and he lobbied incessantly for the shot. The plan eventually made its way to the Air Ministry and then the Cabinet, where the PM favored it as a way to leapfrog ahead of Kritain's KATO partners. After that, the money flowed. The plan was to modify the HARC Mk3 into Mk4 configuration: take the same alcohol/LOX tank used on the Mk1 and place one on each wing, with two B7s per tank. The Mk4 would also feature long-lasting batteries and a vastly improved TPS, further adding weight; the once jackrabbit craft would now accelerate somewhat sluggishly at low altitude with only the turbojet engaged. But the engineers signed off, and so did their political masters: Twiss would get his coveted shot at space. After drop tests of the new configuration and short firings of the rockets, RAE finally gave the go-ahead for the space shot: AURORA BLACK. Twiss would take off in the early morning from Boskombe Down and climb to 25km. Once there, he is to accelerate to as fast as the Mk4 will push him--estimate is just under Mach 4. Then he will enter a steep climb and engage the rockets. Apokerb is predicted to be approximately 75km, putting him well over the Karman line. His suborbital track will take him across Karabia and to the subcontinent; his landing point is to be one of the many RAF bases in the Dominion of Kindia. Limited knowledge about hypersonic aerodynamics and reentry effects precludes any more precise targeting. WG774 "Fireball" is clear for takeoff. Note wingtip tanks. Ignition! Note B7 engines. Rotation! Vrot 160kts. Retracting gear and flaps. Clean ship, climbing to start altitude of 80,000ft. "Fireball" accelerates to Mach 3.7, the "hits the wall." Twiss pulls up sharply and engages rockets. "Fireball" reaches apokerb of 78km just over Karabia. Twiss begins the long descent. Reentry. With the improved TPS, everything looks good. Passing over the subcontinent with high angle of attack. "Fireball" isn't losing as much speed as expected, and Twiss is worried he will overshoot. So he does. "Fireball" streaks southeast over Kindia. Now over the Kindian Ocean, Twiss banks left and makes for Keylon. RAF Kolombo in sight! Just in time, as fuel is almost out. Flaps to Landing, gear down. Lined up. Touchdown! But Twiss never lacks for luck, good or bad--the wheelbrakes have melted during reentry. Now the runway is too short for the heavy spaceplane. "Fireball" rolls off the ramp and onto the grass, thankfully at only a few knots, and finally comes to a stop. Commander Paul Twiss, RN DSO AFC, stands once again on the green grass of Kerbin. Even he can't help but smile--the first Kerbal in space!

Krits in Space, Part 1 The HARC's Debut Program: Operation AURORA Administered by: Royal Aircraft Establishment Partners: Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Miles Aircraft Limited, Avro Aircraft: High Altitude Research Craft Mk1/Mk2 VX350, Mk3 WG774 Objective: Conduct high altitude / high speed research. Outcome: Success. Notes Following the success of the JRC aircraft, the RAE ordered a followup craft to research flight at extremely high altitudes and airspeeds. Avro won the contract with its Model 702, which borrowed heavily from Miles's work on the JRC Mk4. The HARC would have the clipped wing (though even lower-aspect) and sharp nose of the JRC Mk4 without the shock cone nose intake, a streamlined canopy, more sharply raked tailfin, and (eventually) a new hybrid turboramjet. Its main innovation, however, was the area-rule fuselage. Kritish researchers found, when testing higher-performance engines in the JRC Mk4, that they were not getting the performance they expected. In response they developed the "wasp-waisted" or "Coke-bottle"-shaped fuselage, where the fuselage narrows just at the point where the wings extend; this reduces the change in drag, which matters greatly in transonic and supersonic flight, and therefore greatly reduces drag. The HARC as designed had three versions. The Mk1 tested the basic aerodynamics of the craft; it was air-dropped by an Avro Lancaster to test flight characteristics, and later equipped with Kritish copies of the Kerman B7 rocket engine, surplus from when Armbrusts were manufactured in Kritain, to test aerodynamics in the transonic and supersonic regime. The Mk1 featured four of the engines; any number from one to four could be lit, to vary the thrust. The Mk1 was then rebuilt to Mk2 standards: the rockets were replaced with a Rolls Royce Kene turbojet, as used on the JRC Mk3 and Mk4. This allowed the RAE to test the HARC in longer-duration flights, and allowed the test pilots to get a better feel for the aircraft. Finally, the Mk3 would be the main test model: it featured the new Bristol JTR-4 turboramjet, and an ingenious design where the mid-aft section of the fuselage itself operated as a shock cone for the intakes. To fly the HARC, the RAE tapped Commander Paul Twiss RN DSO. Twiss was a highly decorated Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot who flew from carriers (and made ace) in the Mediterranean and Black Sea theaters before returning to Kritain to work as a test pilot for the RAE. He was the third Krit to fly a jet, the backup pilot for MERCURY, and an obvious choice for AURORA. (Legend has it he won the slot from Sayer in a game of draughts.) The HARC Mk1 - VX350 in Mk1 form. The basic shape of the HARC. Sharp nose, streamlined cockpit, area-rule fuselage, raked tailfin, swept low-aspect wings. Note lack of intakes. Note quad B7 engines. The HARC Mk2 - VX350 in Mk2 form. Note inline intakes refitted to the Mk1 when the B7s and alcohol / liquid oxygen tanks were replaced by a Kene turbojet and kerosene. Note Kene turbojet replacing quad B7s. The HARC Mk3 - Twiss scrapes the heavens. After qualifying the airframe--and himself--with the Mk1 and Mk2, Cmdr Twiss took to the skies in the Mk3 just short of four years after Sayer broke the sound barrier. After four test flights to shake out the Mk3, Twiss was ready to break some records, and on flight five, he did. WG774 "Fireball" is clear for takeoff. Note ramscoop intakes with fuselage forming shock cone. Flaps to Takeoff. Note new JTR-4 turboramjet, speedbrakes flush with the intakes. Ignition! Rotation! Vrot 120kts. Retracting gear and flaps. Clean ship, climbing to test altitude of 70,000ft. "Fireball" breaks the sound barrier in climb! After cruising at 70,000ft and gaining speed (to Mach 3), Cmdr Twiss puts "Fireball" in a moderate climb. Here is "Fireball" at apokerb of 91,000ft (28km). Twiss must throttle back to avoid flameout of the ramjet (compressor stall killed the turbojet at 60,000ft / Mach 2.8). "Fireball" accelerates enough on the downslope to see some slight reentry effects. Twiss hears some pops and hisses, but nothing appears wrong. Thermal Protection System appears to be working fine. Max speed reached: 2,235 KTAS (Mach 3.9 at altitude). Mission accomplished! On the way home, not to be outdone by Kerry Sayer's antics, Twiss tries again. He breaks his own just-set record: apokerb of 121,000ft (38km), speed of 2,475 KTAS. Down to a quarter-tank, playtime is over: Twiss must take a straight shot back to RAF Boskombe Down. Fireball suffers far worse from reentry this time, however, and disaster strikes: the JTR-4 won't relight. Transcript: "Control, Fireball, declaring emergency." "Control copies. State nature, over." "Turbine's buggered. Something must have melted that last time." "Copy. Wait on---" "AURORA Actual here. Get over land and punch out, Twiss, no heroics." "Negative Control, I can land her. I'm getting a glide ratio of five to one..." "Don't be a bloody fool, Twiss!" Twiss comes in high and fast at the start, planning to dump speed at the last moment. Flaps to maximum, gear down. Speed loss higher than planned--Twiss will be lucky if he misses the ramp! A sudden, friendly gust gives Twiss the lift he needs. Twiss makes it, barely. Ambulance and fire trucks are scrambled to the runway. Touchdown! Raising flaps, brakes engaged. A shaken but elated Cmdr Twiss descends the ladder to Mother Kerbin. Twiss would later receive the Air Force Cross for his actions that day--along with an official reprimand. Author's Note: I didn't actually know Twiss dead-sticked WG774 in for a landing after engine failure in real life until writing this post (well after I had decided the story). Life imitates art, eh?

I've found that airbrakes (on the fuselage at least) generate max drag at less than maximal deflection. Watch your Cd as you deploy them. 50 works way better than 80, for instance. That said, it won't change your Cd much, alas. Which is a shame, because I needs me some brakes.

A question. For the more obscure references, shall I start posting links? Also, I'm having to split the Kritish update into three parts, not two. So you'll have to wait a little longer for Twiss's HARC Mk4 flight.

The Kritish Are Coming! The Kritish Break the Sound Barrier Program: Operation MERCURY Administered by: Royal Aircraft Establishment Partners: Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Gloster Aircraft Company, Miles Aircraft Limited Aircraft: JRC Mk3 W4041 and W4046, JRC Mk4 WL206 Objective: Test the new high performance jet engine and break the sound barrier. Outcome: Success. Notes The Kritish had invented the jet engine shortly before the Second World War, and during the war had led the world in high-speed research. After the war, the Kritish continued their research, and embarked on Operation Mercury, an attempt to break the sound barrier. Unlike the Kerbican attempt, the Kritish rejected the easy solution of rocket propulsion, instead using jet engines. This was moderately less dangerous (while jets could flame out, it was much harder to make them explode), and allowed much longer, more easily controlled supersonic flight. Two aircraft were used for Mercury, the Jet Research Craft Mk3 and the Jet Research Craft Mk4.The Mk3 was produced by Gloster, a pioneer in jet aviation, and was to demonstrate certain features needed for the Mk4. It featured two innovations crucial to supersonic flight: a swept wing and a flying tail. In the transonic region, compression forces conventional control surfaces to remain level; a flying tail, however, keeps forces in balance and makes control much easier. The swept wing greatly lowers drag in the transonic and supersonic regime. The Mk3 would also test structure and aerodynamics for the Mk4: both aircraft shared the same fuselage with the exception of the nose, though the Mk4 had its clipped wing mounted higher and had various modifications to reduce drag. While the Mk3 had conventional intakes, the Mk4 featured a shock cone intake optimized for supersonic flight and a sharply tapered nose leading up to it; further, it added speed brakes to the fuselage, aft. All told the Mk4 in particular represented a quantum leap in jet technology and included many then-new features now standard--even required--for jet flight. With RAF ace and Gloster test pilot Squadron Leader Kerry Sayer at the controls, W4041 "Violet" soared into the sky on May 31. This was the final test of the Mk3, before Sayer was to take up the Mk4 for the first time. W4041 is clear for takeoff. Flaps set to Takeoff. Ignition. Rotation! Vrot 112kts. Retracting gear and flaps. Clean ship, climbing to cruising altitude of 9000ft. Leveled off, max speed 545kts. Heading home. Downwind leg, gear down and locked. Clear for landing. Lined up, a little fast. Hot ship. About to touch down, on glideslope. Note flaps set to Landing. Touchdown! Raising flaps, brakes engaged. Sqn Ldr Sayer in front of "Violet" after successful conclusion of the flight. ====================================== JRC Mk4 Flight #6: Breaking the Sound Barrier After five test flights of the Mk4, RAE and Sqn Ldr Sayer felt comfortable with a supersonic attempt. On October 14, Sayer took up the Mk4 WL206 "Violet II" for his date with history. The most rigorous of crew checks completed, Sayer boards WL206. Note shock cone intake, revised forward gear mounting point, wings at mid-level. Flaps down, control surfaces check out. Note clipped wings, sharper nose. Clear for takeoff. Ignition! Rotation. Vrot 135kts. The acceleration presses Sayer back into his seat. Gear up, raising flaps. Clean ship. Zoom climb to 45,000ft. Accelerating even in climb! Leveled off, commencing speed run. "Violet II" exceeds 575kts; Kerry Sayer is the first Kerbal to fly faster than the speed of sound. Control calls "Mission Complete" and orders Sayer home. But on the way he decides to see how far he can take the Mk4. This speed record in level flight (817kts), obtained at 46,000ft, stood for two years. Descent. Brakes out, flaps down. Clear for landing. Downwind leg, lowering gear. Lining up, a little low. Lined up. A little low, but speed right on target, 133kts. Touchdown! Raising flaps. Flaps raised, wheelbrakes on. "Violet II" comes to a halt, taxis to ramp. A very happy Sqn Ldr Sayer, fastest Kerbal alive, stands next to his mount.

Missile Development Part 1: IRBMs Before turning to the Kritish successes in flight, here is a brief update on the guided missile programs of the Union of Kerbican States and the Kerman Empire. Both these great powers, who unlike the Kritish did not have colonies spread across the globe, had to depend on missiles to deliver blutonium weapons. Long before Explorer or Wikinger sailed into the sky on their suborbital test flights, other payloads were being launched on other missiles. Wallarmbrust Building on their success with the Armbrust, the Kermans developed the Wallarmbrust: essentially an Armbrust sized to take a 2-ton warhead, with two changes. First there was a single engine and thrust chamber; second, the thrust section was detachable and only the top half of the missile would reenter. This would reduce drag but also mass, since only the nose section needed to be shielded for reentry heat. Started just after the war and rushed to completion, the new C2 engine was far less efficient than the highly-developed B7. All-up mass was just shy of 13 tons. The missile had a range of 420km with an apokerb of 63km. Granite The Granite missile was the first missile in the world capable of delivering a blutonium warhead. Designed to be stationed on the Kritish Isles and strike targets in Krodina, it was not finished before the war ended, work on it slowed without the pressure of wartime, and it was not until four years later that it began testing, made possible only because of advances in both rocketry and warhead miniaturization and lightening. The Granite used a LR37 engine, essentially four LR32s sharing a single turbopump. Fuel flow was impacted, and the LR37 never could develop the thrust that four LR32s could. The LR32 would later become famous when a much more efficient later version was chosen to power the K-I upper stage (c.f. Koddard launch vehicle). Show here is the production-variant Granite with the Mk2 Reentry Vehicle; the first prototypes used slim, narrow noses (like the Kerman Wallarmbrust), but early computer modeling showed a blunt nosecone was necessary to survive high heat on reentry. While such a shape was unnecessary for the short-ranged Granite, the Kerbicans elected to test the RV on the Granite while waiting on their first true ICBM. The Mk2 RV had a mass of 1.75 tons, lighter than the Kermans' warheads of the time, evidence of the Kerbicans' lead in blutonium technology. All-up mass of the Granite was under seven tons, half that of the Wallarmbrust, but the range nearly matched it: 350km with an apokerb of 57km.

That's what the top node is for, to simulate that!

Use Custom Fairing Base. Interstage is for...interstages, and is therefore working as designed. (The point of the intertage fairing adapter is that the fairings support what's above it. Decouple the fairings, and what's above it decouples.) Or you can use, for the lander, the node whose height you can't adjust; reserve the node whose height you can adjust for the CSM (and don't place the CSM directly on the lander). Then, too, it should work for you, and decoupling fairings will decouple CSM but NOT the LEM.

Not just you. At _most_ I'd double G-limits; it's just weird that my planes break at 7G when they ought to be stressed for at least nine. (or >6G accel when tanks are almost dry...can't remake the Scout for this reason). But like I said, I do want about 80% of the current G challenge.

Check just a few posts above yours in this thread. Delete config.xml in your KSP/GameData/MissionController/Plugins/PluginData/MissionController folder.

I'd dearly love config. When I had time, I was going to change it so it loaded all its constants (used in the G-force tolerance calculation) from the DRE confignode. ...haven't had time yet, obviously. I refuse to play without any G-force damage (some aerobrakes just shouldn't be survivable) so I'll stay with current for now, but even what you've just posted will be awesome for so many people!

The Lone Wolfling, IIRC ialdabaoth's works are CC-sharealike. Ah, here we go: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/31706-0-20-Modular-Fuel-System-1-3-realistic-fuels-reconfigurable-fuel-tanks-and-engines?p=462889&viewfull=1#post462889

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/mechjeb-and-remotetech-for-all/

Optional goals are paid to the player _immediately_, not on mission finish. That's why it doesn't get added when you hit finish--it was already added if it shows as completed.

Not sure it'll make a difference in this regard, but are you using my fix for the heatshield?

This is great stuff!

Mond 1 Munar Impact Attempt Mission: Mond 1 Mission Control: Reichsraumfahrtamt (Imperial Spaceflight Office) Launch Vehicle: Langschiff-A(M) [Armbrust-Repulsor IIM] Objective: Munar impact probe Description: Launch the Mond 1 impactor probe on collision course with Mun. Outcome: Partial Failure Details: LV used is the Langschiff-A(M) launch vehicle with a stretched upper stage. Mond 1 will launch on Munar intercept; Repulsor II(M) will fire both engines from separation, then on burnout Mond 1 will engage its own final stage to complete injection into Munar transfer orbit. Mond spacecraft features same guidance module as Wikinger series but with no parachute, new inline battery, and small additional kerolox tank and E1 engine for final injection burn. Background: To the RRA it looked like the Kerbicans were taking the lead. Not only did they have a lighter, cheaper launcher for low-Kerbin orbit satellite packages (which they proceeded to launch with great abandon), but the Koddard launcher was even easily expandable, as the KSA had proved by launching the first kerbostationary satellite cluster. The Kermans had to respond, and what better way than leaving Kerbin itself behind and investigating a whole new planet? Well, moon. Thus the Mond series. Mond 1 was intended to be an impact probe: it would use a stretched Repulsor II upper stage named the Repulsor II(M) where both engines would fire from stage separation; the Langschiff-A(M) launcher would also incorporate various aerodynamics updates developed during the later launches of the Wikinger program. The Mond spacecraft would be a revised version of the satellite used in the Wikinger program, with parachute delete, battery banks rearranged, and a small final kerosene-liquid oxygen stage with E1 orbital engine added to fulfill the high delta-V requirement of trans-munar injection. Mass above the Armbrust would be unchanged due to savings in the payload. Results: Armbrust and Repulsor II(M) stages fired without issue. However, guidance module failed on Mond spacecraft. The spacecraft misoriented after separation from the Repulsor II(M), and proceeded to wait two and a half hours before finally igniting its E1 engine. Mond 1 thus entered a moderately eccentric orbit around Kerbin halfway between Kerbin and the Mun. It was, however, the highest-flying object in Kerbal history and brought some success to the RRA. Notable Flight Events T-06:00:00 Mond 1 during assembly. Note stretched Repulsor II(M) upper stage, new interstage fairing for reduced drag, and new satellite payload. T-00:00:10 Mond 1 on pad. T+00:00:00 Liftoff! T+00:00:12 Pitch program begins. T+00:01:10 Stage separation. Note ignition of both B7 engines. T+00:02:23 MECO, Repulsor II(M) fuel exhausted. Apoapsis 5,237km. T+00:02:38 Mond 1 passes Karman line. Fairings and Repulsor II(M) staged away. Guidance program error: Mond 1 reorients to wrong attitude. T+00:19:12 At this point E1 engine is supposed to ignite. However, a second error occurs, and it does not ignite for another two hours. T+02:29:23 E1 engine finally ignites. Mond 1 enters eccentric 5,455x4,628km orbit around Kerbin. But the RRA had one more disappointment in store, and the KSA too: the Kritish announced that Commander Paul Twiss DSO, Fleet Air Arm fighter ace and latterly Royal Aircraft Establishment test pilot, was the first Kerbal in space! Cmdr Twiss in front of his HARC Mk4 WG774 "Fireball" at RAF Boskombe Down.

While I too would love to see that changed, it's the way e-dog talked about the interstage: the fairings support the weight of what's above them along the ring they themselves form. If they don't decouple, the weight is still supported.

No problem--KSP drag is...strange. Speaking of that, though--there's your problem right there. KSP drag is per unit of mass. So you have to multiply the fullyDeployedDrag by the part's mass to get the actual drag. A radial chute (500 drag/ton * 0.15 tons) has 75 drag. Four radial chutes will support 3.68 tons of other stuff (4.28t total).

Nope, it uses fullyDeployedDrag. Parachutes don't even have to open when you stage. Check your ksp.log afterwards, it will tell you exactly the mass of the parts on your stage and the total drag MCE found. Sounds like you're just under the drag required. Search for *MC* in the log. Look for "*MC* Vessel [your_stage_name, i.e VesselX debris] (unloaded) destroyed." It will tell you body and SOI and then go through the parts of the vessel, mentioning mass and fullyDeployedDrag (if any). (Heck, if you haven't restarted KSP since this happened, check KSP.log now!) Remember, you need 70 drag for each ton of dry mass in your stage. So if you have 1ton of vessel AND .15 tons of parachute, you have less than 70 drag per ton.

Auto-recycle only piggybacks on existing KSP code: it does something more when "OnDestroy" is already called for a vessel (i.e. the vessel is _already_ destroyed). If you weren't running MCE, the same thing would happen.

Yay! Problem solved. Thank you, ferram! As always, obviously, but a bit especially right now.

I was...sorely tempted. But reread the OP...the Kritish are going in a different direction. We're in 1959 now, and what _else_ first flew then?