Hodo

Sorry about the internet. And glad to hear the 1 week mission time. The XI-2 is my final submission, and I am running with it. It performed excellently on its shakedown cruise, granted slowly but it did it. And it still had fuel left to head to Duna if the window were there.

After some testing I found the XI-1 will not do as planned.. so staying with the Ion powered theme, we went back to the drawing board. The XI-1 completed her shakedown cruise and was found lacking in fuel and power(electrical) for the amount of work she was going to do. So I give you (if I am aloud) the XI-2. She is headed out on her shakedown cruise and upon return will fit her cargo bay module and the probes for the mission. Completed shakedown cruise, with plenty of fuel to spare. Now waiting on rendezvous with KerSta-2.

1 ton mass, power 2.5kn so REALLY weak. But with the number of batteries I have I can get approximately 5 min max burns with the sun fully on the "sails". Max with out 2 min burn at a total of 10kn. I have found a design flaw that I may fix in a later design, but I will stick it out for this challenge. I may switch out the LV-909 engines with some LV-1N nukes for later designs and add 4 more solar panels to help cut the drain on the batteries. Oh she isn't fast, not by a day in sight, but she has a WHOLE lot of d/V. I think sitting on full xenon gas and fuel she has over 6000m/s d/V.

Finally got the vessel I will use for this challenge. Mods used, B9 parts, no funky engine parts or aero lift parts, just a couple of pylons and the command capsule, it weighs 3.5 tons but has 9.5 torque and a crew of 2 instead of the larger command capsule in the stock which has 15 torque and a crew of 3. But it has a better view. It is mostly Ion engine powered and this is what I am going to do the challenge with if it is cool.

No offense but you may have to read the rules of the challenge. You need to have pictures. From the rules section page 1. 3. Screenshots! Must have screenshots of: -a. Your craft on the runway (preferrably moving). -b. Your craft in flight. -c. Your craft's Flight Log (can be accessed by pressing F3) This is neccessary, as top speed will be measured by Highest Speed Over Land --c1. For clarification, no, you are not allowed to jump out of your craft then take the flightlog screenshot. -d. The resources tab must be open at all times, as proof of appropriate fuel usage. -e. Any staging events that happen, such as drop-tanks, launch stages, wheel drops, etcetera.

I will get that tomorrow when I get a chance to get back on the game and post the pics from that here. Honestly I will just undock it from its cargo module and leave it in orbit around Kerbin, it can more than easily complete the task to the Mun and back on its own. I may also bring the command/drive section down and do a minor refit, change out the docking port on the bottom with a different one, just so it can dock to my standard docking ports on the station I have at 150km orbit.

Ok I will resubmit a pic of the DX-1 without the docked sections and leave them behind on the first mission. Easy enough, thanks for clearing that up for me.

I have three craft currently that can do that, of which 2 are well with in the challenge rules as long as B9 parts are aloud, the other one has a SABRE engine on it and I don't feel like trying to really explain that part. And is that in one launch, from Kerbin to the Mun and back no refueling, and does this include landing? I am asking because I really need the exact rules on what is aloud what isn't, what exactly you want for a submission? So I can find something in my list, or modify one of my SVO line or the DX-1, or build something completely new? If so I have one craft that can do that.. mostly. But it uses B9 VTOL rocket engines, they are 100kn power rockets that have an ISP of 370-390 but can pivot 180 degrees so they can function as VTOL engines. But it is currently my smallest SSTO that can reach the Mun and back from Kerbin without refueling.

Ok, then this is not the challenge for that craft, I may have misread the challenge. I thought this was for a craft versatile enough to do any challenge in space to and from another planet. No big deal I may submit something else later. But I use FAR+DRE+RT2 so I use B9 parts and Procedural wings for most of my space plane SSTOs, and they are the only thing I currently have that is flexible enough to do anything, I built them that way. I may just use the command/drive section.

The DX-1 In the first picture that is a view from bellow the craft. You can see the cargo bay module with two probes loaded in it already, they are mostly communications probes to maintain comms with KSC. You can also see the shielded docking port, unfortunately it does not work on this craft, it is to close to the engines and it bumps them if opened. (I may edit the craft file to try remove it) The second picture is from the top, you can see it uses the standard nuke engines for its drive engines, and has a lander docked on the rear with some radial boosters for launching and landing on planets. The third picture is the front side view. Total the ship has a crew of 6, I think, I haven't checked in a minute, been busy playing another game online. The ship has communications antennas to maintain communications link with Kerbin and with any probes and the lander if it is needed.

The craft I have isn't an SSTO oddly enough, I know thats all I seem to build. And does not have any SABREs, it is just using the hull parts and the cargo bay from B9, otherwise it is stock.. I will post a picture later.

B9 does have some engines that are different. The only one I think that may be a problem is the SABRE engine, but it actually is less fuel efficient than anything in stock KSP. Its only advantage is is two engines in one. It can switch between air breathing and oxidizer, but it is heavier than a nuke engine so its not such a big deal.

B9 is just a parts mod. FAR is Ferram Aerospace Research, which adds actual real(ish) world aerodynamic physics to KSP, which makes flight harder and more realistic. DRE is Deadly Re-Entry, which gives every planet with an atmosphere a realistic affect on re-entry, come in to fast or to steep and your craft will burn up. It also adds G-force limitations on the crew, pull more than 20Gs and the Kerbal inside is SPAM in a can. RemoteTech2, is a communications satellite mod, which makes it so any unmanned craft or transmission to send research reports, has to have a communication link back to the KSC on Kerbin. If an unmanned craft or probe gets out of communications range or out of communications sight it will no longer work, it will drift until it reestablishes communications. Kerbal Engineering Redux, is just a engineering readout for construction and flight, it does not in anyway aid in flying the craft, or have any function other than information on d/V, altitude, mass, TWR and velocity horizontally and vertically. KSPX, is another parts mod. It might as well be stock, because the parts it adds are the missing stock parts that make sense.

Actually drop DRE2.3 I dont think it is supported anymore. Now the current version is DREv3. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/54954-0-22-Deadly-Reentry-Continued-v3 I have to add to your list with a couple others. Life support. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/58127-asmi-s-ECLSS-Mod-%28current-version-1-0-4%29 Better tech tree, or one that makes sense. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/58135-TechTree-0-22-Realistic-Progression-LITE-V0-17a-%28Pre-Release-via-TreeEdit%29

Simple fix. You have to many antennas. One omni directional antenna, the one that is always on is perfect. And a decent sat-comm network will keep control of that drone the whole time. I have currently I think 6 LKO comm sats around Kerbin, that orbit around 150km above kerbin. Each is the roughly the same distance apart. (very roughly, but they all have the same orbital period so they stay where they need to be) I have 3 at a much higher 350km X 350km orbit. And I have a space station at 125km orbit with 6 kerbals on board acting as a mission controller from orbit. It is overly redundant but it works. This problem you are having has nothing to do with B9 unfortunately.

So can I use B9 and or KSPX and Kerbal Engineering Redux? Oh and I may have an additional problem I have remotetech2+DRE+FAR so it could be additionally fun for me. Because I have been looking for a challenge like this and may have a design that meets this and might be up for the challenge.

I see a lot of "Space planes aren't useful for moving heavy loads into orbit" statements, that is just down right false. I have a space plane SSTO that works in FAR+DRE that regularly hauls up to 72 tons into a 100km x 100km orbit without much of an effort. It for one is great for building a space station at 100km x 100km with as few parts as possible. I have had more success with my SSTO space plane program than my rocket program. Other than my medium and heavy lift rockets which max out at 25 ton lift capacity, the only way for me to get anything that weighs more than 25 tons into orbit is by way of my SSTO space planes. FAR keeps me from building those so common and horrible and not at all realistic asparagus launch monsters of a million and one stages and over 9000! mainsail boosters, that have the same chances as getting into space in the real world as a fat kid sitting on a 2x4 plank throwing a bowling ball on the other end. While I am on my soapbox.... I have less problems with people who use mechjeb than those horrible asparagus monstrosities of pealing rocket stage launches that have no aerodynamic properties at all. I know it is a game but COME ON try and build something that at least looks like it would work. But I digress, it is not my place or anyone elses to tell them how to play the game. Actually VTOL SSTO space planes have better efficiency than a "rocket" style jet powered launcher, but are slightly worse than a SSTO space plane that takes off conventionally.

Here is two of my current Mun going SSTO Space planes. One can make it without stopping to refuel the other can make it to orbit the mun and come back, it can land on the Mun, but it has very little fuel left. I dont have any current pictures of my KerSta-2 at 100km X 100km orbit. I use it for refueling on missions outside of Kerbin orbit.

I almost thought you said, kerbacon....mmmm bacon.

B9 works with DRE. I have both and use bother. B9 does not have the ablative shielding but most of the parts that matter have decent heat ratings.

It is stock and FAR usable. This was from the Maching Bird Challenge.

I honestly lost it on that one... +1 here. LOL.

So in short he created the "Warp 5 Gun".

For me I am 35, and am often inspired by something, be it the dropship from "Aliens" or the shuttles in "Elysium". All of my craft are useful in some way shape or form, I try not to have any useless things in my designs in Career mode. But the sandbox is different. Even then each one of my improvements on a SSTO is just that an improvement something is gained with each progressive design. It is to the point now that my basic SSTO space planes are so efficient that I can take off from Kerbin fly to altitude get to orbit, then go straight to the Mun and back with out stopping for fuel. My rockets on the other hand, I also design for form and function, they have to look good and still function, not only in KSP but with FAR and DRE, otherwise they are a waste of time for me. It does not mean all my craft are "beautiful" fact is some of them are just down right ugly, but sometimes looks takes a backseat to utility. Not like anyone at Lockheed went and said, "Hey, lets make the C-130 Hercules look prettier", after all it is currently the oldest cargo plane in the US Airforce service and one of the most successful cargo planes world wide. Like my DSR-1 (Deep Space Rescue-1) ugly as all sin, but had over 6000m/s d/V in space and a TWR of .54:1 in space with the capacity to hold 12 Kerbals and a crew of 2. Or my SVO-3A pictured below. The first successful Kerbin to orbit SSTO VTOL planes. Or my XF-141 Mach 6 in FAR craft for the machingbird challenge. But sometimes I get great shots of some of my craft that make them look so much better like this one of one of my SVO line leaving Ike after it visited Duna and Ike and returned to Kerbin, this was just after .22 and before I started my career mode, and the last flight I did in sandbox.

I for one would like the partless version. It's one less part on some of my crafts and it is an ugly part that often conflicts with the overall aesthetics of many of my vessels.