ScriptKitt3h

As I'm already starting a colony there, I'm likely to start a Duna circumnav. attempt sometime this weekend or next week! Wish me luck! (Also, would it be better to go with a fancy, overbuilt rover or a mobile-base type deal with a 4x4 garage built in?)

Protip: when fighting land battles on Duna, always make sure your weapons aren't placed too off-center, as the low (but still dangerous) gravity can be... troublesome.

I did some testing today, including a rather unfortunate incident where Valentina decided to see how fast she could land a prototype VTOL... Another test was the first orbiting of my new dedicated Duna Transfer Vehicle, a massive LF/O fueled freighter with 3 max-size MK3 bays, and a massive heat/debris shield to aid in protecting the ship. (The seemingly white solar panels and other parts are simply lit by the ship's running lights.) Finally, I test-launched a survey probe into a polar orbit around Kerbin...

I'm nearing completion on my big colony pack, with my next important segment complete: The drilling rig for precious, precious Ore! I've also started work on a new, smaller atmospheric VTOL to act as a pure-crew companion to my big cargo ones Cargo VTOL: (The jet version of my previous one with the aerospikes) Passenger VTOL: I also realized that I needed a new transfer ship for Duna, so I whipped one up quickly. It still needs testing, but my hopes are that the massive cargo capacity and giant heat/debris shield will keep it safe during Dunan aerocapture and possibly on aerocapture back at Kerbin. (Return trips, anyone?)

That mini-dropship looks really sleek. I like. Glad to hear the big one is Tylo-capable!

I've been debating making an SSTO based off that game's ship designs (or at least design schemes). Good job, you've got me building today.

Well, it looks like I'm at 5 dark green rep bars... Here I come, light-green group!

Looks good man! I've got a couple tips for large dropships (since small onces have never been my thing ). 1.Chutes are a necessary evil, at least for any dropship going to Kerbin, Laythe or Duna. 2.(A little more picture-specific) Aerospikes work great for LF/O VTOLs, since they now weigh about the same as an LVT-45, and have only a slightly lower TWR with much better ASL and Vacuum ISP. 3.Landing burns start much earlier than with smaller VTOLs (increased mass due to size and cargo). 4.I always add a nose-and-tail mounted set of small (pre-9.0/1.0) landing gear to help prevent hard landings from wrecking the ship. 5.Going overkill with RCS/Vernors is good, since large dropships love to buck easily the second you hamhand the controls. (That, and fuel flow, even if it is balanced, can alter the TWR to the point where a tiny burn sends you flying 200 meters up. )

Boosters. Lots and lots of boosters (and then a large transfer stage). What's not shown up in the pic (besides the stuff I strapped on to take it to Duna) is also the massive ring of disposable ASAS modules I had to use to turn the darn thing. And yes. Dropships are very cool.

Hold over 1300 kerbals and weighs over 600 tons... My biggest station ever. It dwarfs my puny little Kerbal crew, and isn't even complete yet.

Mmmm... there is no kill like overkill, especially with stations...

Working on a giant space station for my Duna colony led to this ridiculously oversized core segment. 1344 Kerbals (at max capacity), with two medium S3 LFO tanks and ship/module add-on potential... I might need a better PC if I want to complete this.

1/10 I think I might have spotted you before...

Continuing my colony setup mission, I landed the first of a new breed of Duna SSTO Dropships (they can SSTO from Duna's surface to LDO and back) on Duna, delivering a 4x4 dune buggy in its belly-mounted cargo hold. Now the dropship (classified as the VST-01 SkyPiercer-class VTOL Dropship) system has been Duna-rated and the colony has its first exploration vehicle!

I just completed a Duna SSTO (can act as an orbit-surface-orbit cargo and crew ferry) VTOL Dropship, and I've started working on a purely jet-powered version for Kerbin and Laythe... Both can carry cargo (my two-man "Pitbull 4x4 by default), and can haul up to 2 pilots and 4 passengers. (Passengers in a MK2 Crew Cabin in the bottom of the tail)

Hey Cupcake, I've been experimenting with a Duna SSTO dropship (VTOL of course ) It can (with a quick top-off of the tanks) easily go from surface to orbit and back, with cargo!

While it is true that armor only really is beneficial if you add it to a strong structural spine, I still have to disagree with you on the matter of its effectiveness. There's still more a much more severe drawback to making unarmored combat vessels than there is to making armored ones in terms of survival rate, probability of 'bouncing' munitions (where a missile hits at a angled portion of the hull and ricochets off), and finally, the SRB-5 is nice, but it's not a a guaranteed kill against armored craft 100% of the time (compared to weaker craft). That's why I still think strong armor is absolutely necessary (for capital ships, not carriers) and will continue to encourage others to use it.

I'm much the same.

Lemme PM you...

While I don't disagree with the fact that NASA is not getting the funding it needs and that the US is absolutely falling behind in space exploration, has it occurred to any of you guys that even just TRYING to be optimistic about human spaceflight in the near future might help push other you come into contact with to support it?

I ran two major tests in anticipation of a forthcoming colonization attempt on Duna... The first test was to make sure the lower half of a VTVLSSTO crew return vehicle could land safely back on Duna in case of an emergency. (The upper half had airbrakes, chutes, and a heatshield for protection.) After being refueled in orbit, the ship retro-burned and split up. The lower half struck the upper atmosphere of Duna soon after, deploying its airbrakes. The ship's smoke/contrail plume was quite visible from a long way off... The landing was smooth as silk... The second test wound up serving as the first mission of the colony program. The MU MegaHab base lander retro-burned, and smacked into the atmosphere fast, using airbrakes and engine thrust to decelerate. (At 3x physwarp) The ship then started approaching the ground at an uncomfortable rate of speed, leading me to pop the chutes, max out the throttle, and jettison the landing boosters just before touchdown. Amazingly enough, the base SURVIVED. However, with the loss of the core engine (which hit the ground and blew up), the base is forever stuck in its new home. Which is just fine. Only AFTER I landed did I realize this all played out at 3x physics warp. Also, the base has a giant fairing on top to act as a "hollow" habitat, complete with internal rooms.

So many darn WIPs... So little time.

I'm trying to make this work... It hasn't reached orbit yet, but it most definitely has the fuel load and propulsion to do so. If anyone's willing to help me nail down a workable flight profile (I suck at flying 1.02 SSTOs), I'd be happy to send the craft file.

I tried to crew transfer to inside a fairing (I'm trying to make a "hollow" base module), and then crew transfer seemed to not work at all. Possibly related, or an intentional part of "stowing"?

I'll have to try this-I've got fighters waiting to see some use. Great design. I will say, though, that the reason most stock militarist players don't use aircraft-carrier-type hulls for our carriers is that carriers with internal hangar bays are often more efficient and are better at shielding their onboard crew and ships from harm.