PakledHostage

[shrugs] Iuhno? Some may be inclined to believe that the book was handed down from on high?

I've exposed some variables but the functionality would need to be coded into whatever plugin you want to use with your GPS. SirJodelstein contacted me and asked if I could expose the number of visible satellites so that he could use that value to enable/disable logging of persistent trails, depending on whether or not a GPS signal was available. I guess this was something that his users were asking for, so he implemented it as a "hardcore" mode.

@ZaPPPa: Welcome to the forums! I responded to your question by PM.

I agree. It would be like some sort of list of achievements. Right now, the science archives are a bit underwhelming. I find I am motivated to do science to unlock more parts, but being able to go through and look at a catalog of photos or data about places my Kerbals have been would be an extra incentive. Photos could even be used to increase public support (and therefore support increased funding from public sources) for our space programs once money is introduced.

The Canadian Space Agency put a job ad for astronauts in the paper a few years ago. I too wouldn't have had a snow ball's chance in heck of being selected, but I applied anyway. I was hoping that I'd get a rejection letter on CSA letterhead so I could frame it. I made it through a couple of rounds before they sent me a very politely worded email telling me that they weren't interested. I didn't make it as far as an interview and I didn't get a rejection letter to frame. Somehow the email just wasn't worth framing...

I just updated Figaro for version 0.23 of the game and posted it to Spaceport.

UPDATE I have posted a new version of this mod to Kerbal SpacePort this evening. Changes include the following: – Updated KerbalGPS plugin for version 0.23 of the game – Exposed some variables in the plugin to allow in-game integration with other mods such as SirJodelstein's Persistent-Trails plugin.

I recall reading that Mike Collins was offered a chance to command Apollo 17, but he chose to retire from the astronaut program instead. And I think it would be important to avoid the Buzz Aldrin trap... Buzz may not have been the first person ever to walk on the Moon but he was still the second, yet he's never seemed to get over the fact that he wasn't first. Anyone in that position should keep in mind that even the command module pilots have done something that only a handful of people have ever done. Their place in history is still assured.

Great, I think we are in agreement that commercial drones will be implemented, we seem to differ only on the time frame. The current FAA regulations allow unmanned aerial systems (drones) to be operated by public agencies such as law enforcement, wildlife management agencies, etc. Certification and operation of commercial UAVs over urban centres still hasn't been addressed in the regulations. And while Mode-C does exist and is fully implemented in some areas, the transponders and associated TCAS systems are extremely expensive when compared to the cost of an electric quadcopter such as those that have been shown in Amazon's PR. Those systems only represent a portion of the cost, too. The cost of building delivery drones that meet the certification requirements and the cost of meeting the operating regulations will certainly impact the business case. As a pilot yourself, you should know the impact of aviation regulations on your costs all too well.

For the record, I never said that delivery drones wouldn't happen. I just said they won't be in widespread use any time soon. And not because of theft, but because of the regulatory compliance issues and lack of maturity of the technology. I was only pointing out that saying thefts from delivery drones won't happen because shooting into the air is dangerous and illegal isn't a very good argument. Neither, really, is the credit card argument. Stealing an old lady's credit card at gunpoint is one thing. Installing a credit card RFID tag reader in a subway turnstile to charge everyone who passes by $0.25 is quite another. More sophisticated and less sophisticated thefts happen to credit card users, just as more sophisticated and less sophisticated thefts from delivery drones will happen if they are ever implemented.

There are laws against hacking computer networks too. It doesn't stop it from happening. A person putting down their banjo to take a potshot at a passing drone would be about the equivalent of a script kiddie hack, but more sophisticated attacks will certainly happen precisely because they are hard to pull off. As I said above, that challenge will inevitably be enough to encourage the behavior.

@Macca82: So what's your point, and what do overzealous cops have to do with UAVs? That delivery drones will get vandalized, intercepted and stolen is as certain as the fact that people write viruses and hack computer networks. Both types of actions are destructive and uncivilized, but that doesn't stop one type from happening. Why should the other be any different? There will inevitably be "cred" in certain circles for successfully interfering with a drone in one way or another. On the other hand, the argument that stealing from a drone is no different than stealing from a postal worker or delivery person doesn't hold water. I can't imagine there is a lot of "cred" in any community for holding up a delivery person.

While the technology required to deliver pizzas and small packages by drone may be feasible, there are many significant practical hurdles that need to be overcome. As Nibb mentioned, they are susceptible to vandalism and there is a risk of injury and damage. There are also the equally difficult problems of how to integrate them into the existing air traffic system. Even if they are restricted to flying outside of controlled airspace in daylight VFR conditions, they would need a means to "see and avoid" other air traffic. You can't rely on the human piloted aircraft to do all of the seeing and avoiding, and the entire fleet of existing aircraft is not currently equipped with transponders suitable for electronic collision avoidance. Visually recognizing an aircraft that represents a collision threat is not an easy problem either, because it is the object that doesn't move in your field of view that is most likely to be on a collision course, and the object can often be difficult to pick out from the background clutter. Regulatory agencies are developing legislation to govern operation and certification of unmanned aerial systems that address these and other concerns, but complying with those regulations won't be cheap. Some hobbyists may currently be illegally operating UAVs similar to those proposed by Amazon1, but a company like Amazon will not be able to operate their fleet without adhering to the regulations. I expect that a more realistic applications of UAV technology will continue to be in law enforcement, aerial photography, wildlife management and movies. 1By this I mean autonomous RC aircraft and FPV RC aircraft that are operated outside the restrictions that apply to RC aircraft.

I agree that these parts are beautiful! You can just rename the hexsat's antenna part. Just add "name = FigaroTransmitter" to the part.cfg file in place of the existing part name. The Figaro GPS plugin looks for parts named "FigaroTransmitter" in your orbiting spacecraft to decide whether those spacecraft are GPS satellites or not.

It looks really good so far! I just hope it has a better story than Gravity...

Does anybody know what opportunities there would be to use spectroscopy to investigate the composition of these geysers? What are the limitations of the currently available instruments?

There was also the proposed joint EJSM/Laplace mission to send two orbiters to study Europa and Ganymede. According to the Wikipedia article, the Europeans backed out of that project to go it alone with their JUICE mission because of uncertainties about NASA funding. And with the recent introduction of the H.R. 3625 bill to protect Orion and SLS from cancellation, you can bet that NASA funding for planetary science missions will be even less secure going forward, as cost overruns on the sacred cow programs will bleed everything else dry.

I don't want to be pedantic but aren't most of our rockets assembled from parts that were found laying by the side of the road?

Really only the chorus applies, but how about "I Got You" by the Split Enz:

@fatfluffycat: nhnifong's answer is less tongue in cheek than mine... I wasn't meaning to be impolite, but Google really is your friend

Try: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=fracking or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing

I think he's making a reference to the movie "The Princess Bride". For what it is worth, I may not agree with your opinion, but there's nothing wrong with how you chose to use the word "incompetence". But back on topic: Thanks for sharing the video. I am looking forward to seeing footage from the rover after it lands.

But I think where people here mention that it is rooted in reality, they are talking about the capacities of the physical partitions within the tank assembly being fixed. You may be able to customize the fuel load for a rocket that is on the pad by loading more or less fuel/oxidizer, but you can't realistically expect to be able to change the size of the partitions within the tank assembly on the pad.

Arg (on)!?!... The same joke was posted on page 2 of this thread!

Sorry. When two mice love each other very much...