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hmmm... looks like a very interesting challenge, with about as randomly unbalanced a mass as you can get without going outside and picking up the first rock you see. Yes I know it's a spherical mass of tanks, but you know what I'm saying. It's giving me ideas for an epic scenario, this is. (BTW, my solution is to use KAS struts in lieu of large docking ports to secure the thruster to the mass, hack in some fuel transfer lines via KAS as well to drain evenly and use the fuel available to "nudge" the mass into Munar orbit. I managed to get it in a 24 degree orbit at 38kmx31km using a ring of Luvodicus super atomics. Total fuel used from the mass: 15l. I had expected to have to use a lot more since my launcher was 282 tons on the pad (mostly engines in single-stage pull configuration a la my Starflight One launcher and ditchable tanks with barely enough dV for a direct burn intercept).

Kerbolar escape in airbreathing mode in a 12-ton SSTO (no oxidiser) do you? (sorry, no screenshots yet. Going to run it again and try and get some.)

soooo... where's the challenge?

Challenger's Entry (so far): The Core: seats 9. 500+ tons on the pad (that's the fuel/monoprop tanker) being lifted by 24 Luvodicus Super Atomic rockets. And yes, with a pad TWR of barely 1.5, it took about twenty minutes to get into orbit. Bringing the Core to dock with the tanker. The power grid. Went for nuclear, it's a lot less of a strain on the CPU than solar. The science module, with most of the sensors available. Also has a comprehensive communications array and a functional infrared telescope! The escape system, with its own power generating capability, seating for 7, and full crossrange capability and tail landing ability. Might even be capable of a roundtrip to Mun on one fuel load. $Random Kerman taking a look outside at the complete structure. All systems deployed, total mass (without spaceplanes yet, still need to design them) 508t. 174 parts(! with no welding!) and still above 25fps! $Random Kerman going to give the helium tank a kick. Ballpark score: 2.92 TBC...

no flight computer? That's not insane, that's just plain insane. I wouldn't take anything more advanced than a Cherokee up without an autopilot.

That's doable with a little config hacking to add the relevant parts. I'm looking at adding the long girder, among other extremely useful parts that aren't included with stock KAS.

my Starflight One Tube Rescue would be the one for you... "DISASTER! The first stage of our new Space Colony construction has hit on one or two little snags. For a start, some dimwit forgot to attach the Clamptron Senior to the ass of the beast to allow the attachment of major station parts including science, a docking hub with escape pods, and long-term life support systems. The second crew capsule sent up with constructors including Bill and Bob also carried an unwanted passenger. A computer virus invaded the guidance system, and sent the station core on a direct course into the Sun, right before it jettisoned the entire propulsion system! The last communication we had from the crew suggested that the docking port had taken some damage when the propulsion systems were jettisoned as the rockets were still firing. The last bit of that transmission indicated that they had in fact enough air and power to survive until impact, but radio range of only about 3,000km. Suits and EVA systems are all nominal. THE CHALLENGE: Using the provided Save package (just unpack into your "saves" folder), create and execute a mission to rescue the seven stranded Kerbals before the station crashes into the Sun, and return them to Kerbin. Your FIRST and ONLY priority is the crew! The station is fully expendable." This is probably unique in KSP Challenges being that it has a Death Clock on it. Literally. Fail to rescue the Kerbals from their stricken station in 30 days, it crashes into the Sun killing them. Nice, huh? And definitely unique in that the only way to rescue them is to perform a suborbital rendezvous and freeflight EVA transfer.

I think you meant the (permanently) dark side of Moho, since that's the only body in the Kerbol system which is tidally locked to Kerbol? And no, ya can't use that. That one's mine. (you'd have a problem getting a geostationary orbit around Moho, too, unless you sent up two shepherd satellites; one in front and one behind, in which case you'd be looking at a minimum distance of 11206km on PRECISELY the same orbital track and even then, you'd have a strip at the "midnight" line still in permanent darkness).

Simple challenge: build the most massive space station you can in an equatorial Kerbin parking orbit (0-30 degrees inclination, 70-200km altitude) and dock two spaceplanes. THE RULES: - Your station MUST be modular. No attempting to cover all other requirements with a single launch platform. - Maximum of TWO additional requirements may be fulfilled and claimed per additional module. This means that your station will be made up of 4 modules minimum (including the core but not including your two spaceplanes) - ANY structural mod valid. - NO infinite fuel, hack gravity or unbreakable joints. HOWEVER, part welding of STOCK PARTS ONLY in the VAB phase is permitted. - NO other exploits, known or unknown. - The core MUST be manned. - The spaceplanes MUST be manned. - ALL additional modules MUST dock directly to the core. - at least one additional module MUST carry science modules (goo, science jnr., magnetometer etc.) - at least one additional module MUST carry communications gear. - at least one additional module MUST carry an electric powerplant of some sort (solar array, nuclear generator, superhuge battery stack, RTG, or anything else that generates and stores electricity). - at least one additional module MUST consist of accommodation enough for all resident Kerbals and any additional arrivals via spaceplanes (so for a one-man station you must use at least 3 berths to cover two solo planes. It is acceptable to integrate this requirement into the core module). - at least one additional module MUST carry fuel and monopropellant (for refuelling spaceplanes). - at least one additional module MUST consist of a specifically tasked escape system capable of retrieving all hands and returning them safely to KSC. - Your spaceplanes MUST be the last items docked. Aside from those requirements, this is a free design challenge. Scoring will be based on all requirements being met, and the total mass of the fully assembled station in orbit divided by the total number of parts used (ie, the average mass of each part in the whole. A station that masses 500t and has 500 parts in situ (including docked spaceplanes) will score 1.00 point. One that masses 500t and has 250 parts will score 2.00 points. Densely packed massive fuel tanks will obviously score higher). Advance warning: for those who love struts, this will test your computer to its absolute limits. (Challengers' Note: I have screenshots somewhere of supermassive, superdense stations (for which I unfortunately no longer have the craft files) which were flown in one shot, I wanted to shake things up a little by making the modular requirement because frankly, the TWR and efficiency of the Luvodicus nuclear engines make it far too easy to launch two thousand tons to LKO in one go. My entries will appear soon.)

What an epic solution! Points calculated as follows: #01: 25 #02: 100 (scoring system adjusted because I didn't think anyone would actually crash a hulk into another planet!) #03: 10 #04: 500 (scoring system adjusted for turning junk to useful!) #05: 200 #06-#09: 12 #10: 50 #11: 5 (we'll call that a kinetic missile destruction) #12: 3 #13: 3 #14: 300 #15: 300 #16: 500 Total: 1738 Love the hack, btw. I was looking for an "easy" way of adding parts to the KAS repository, and here it is. Now, answers on a postcard please, apart from using infinite fuel (thanks Manley for that little hint), how do we get KAS-attached thrusters to work?

Well... yeah, pretty much implied in the one about "Your pod must remain intact"

well, the rules do stipulate wheeled landing only... so, by strict interpretation, that's a DQ. Sorry.

love your solution, Claw! Great little design, I'm'a haveta steal that!

I was thinking something like this (the Mun in 13 seconds post from last July)

ooh, decoupler spam, here we come!

hmmm... problem: you went from a zero inclination orbit. Entry fail.

ah, the paperclip weight on the nose technique. I like it.

Random Kerbal (actually it's Bartdred) does a close inspection of a Poseidon's Revenge engine on the way to becoming a chargrill. I mean, on the way to rescuing some friends who are about to become chargrills. (answering the Starflight One challenge) (these things don't have a habit of yanno, spontaneously firing, do they?)

so here's me sat there wondering where the kerbal was, and he's getting ready to land it Richard Hammond style!

hmmm... well, I did hit a controlled descent from 7600m with a Kethane mining rig at 181.4m/s, after a straight-line journey on bearing 021 averaging 124m/s for 399 surface km (57 minutes flight time so factor in planetary rotation and you could probably double that for total distance covered - sorry, didn't get an F3 shot but below is a shot of the aircraft in situ drilling kethane) just this morning. Had 101l fuel left as well. (mods used: Kethane, KAS, KWRocketry, Firespitter, B9, MechJeb, RemoteTech)

depends if they encounter an errant rocket stage while you're making your docking/capture approach or knock it with a Kerbal on EVA (oh yeah, *that*'s fun!)

Mode: Sandbox. Addons/Plugins: MechJeb, KAS, Firespitter, HL Partystarter, Kethane, Remotetech, Bobcat Industries H.O.M.E., Kosmos, Luvodicus OP Engines, B9, KWRocketry, Interplanetary, Texture Reduction. All craft files available on request! 1. First up, we need to overcome the RT limitations by installing a system-spanning comms network. Here it is, an entire six satellites which should have coverage of all but the far sides of any body that isn't Kerbin: OK, set up for a 5-hour orbit of the mainstage with apoapse at 2868.75km (not really worrying about setting up kerbostationary orbit at this time, I just want a good starting altitude for the final insertion burns to take place one orbit apart), and now we have all 6 satellites in equidistant Keosync orbits, and sending Bill, Bob and Jebediah off on an 80,000km holding orbit - because I feel like it: Next up, a kethane scanner in a polar orbit around Kerbin, to sniff out that green goodness: ...which gives me confirmation that all six comsats function (at least within KSI) as intended - at the same time as the kethane scanner passes over the North Pole: Thought I'd try something a little different with extraction: this puppy is, as you might have guessed, a helicopter. 1 ton kethane tank, 1,000 fuel (four 100l drop tanks), otherwise pretty minimal. Dry weight (less drop tanks) about 8.2 tons. Range (not including kethane): about 450-475km: Beelining for the nearest kethane deposit to the North: ...and 57 minutes later, I'm extracting kethane on site: One thing I did forget was to pack the smallest methane, xenon, oxidiser and other consumables tanks available just to give the refinery a buffer to fill. I might send out another helicopter with the requisite parts attached (can't pack them in a crate - d'oh!) and return this one for retirement.

yep. It's actually a sensible place to start. The inner orbiting junk has no attachment points, you'll have to use anchors or some sort of capture frame to literally push it out of orbit, the outer stuff has Clamptrons. They may or may not be spinning by the time you get there.

there's an even harder one: on top of the VAB roof, there's a "runway" - those two helipads provide a very short run, and a bit of a step off the end!

Why on Kerbin would I want to *not* use MechJeb, when I have it available??