StrandedonEarth

As long as you’re in the same orbital plane

Ah yes, that would be my complaint too. The only cool and cloudy days for the last week and next week are on the weekend, wrecking my chance of seeing the Perseids. And setting me up for another boiling week at work, where the temperature in the shop hits 35-36 degrees centigrade. (95+ Fahrenheit)

SpaceX would probably want to stay away from names like “Albatross” or “Turkey,” as those have negative connotations and are more applicable to the SLS... But a Condor, Heron or Swan soaring across the void sounds... impressive.

First landing attempt was not really successful. Later attempts fared better, but the landing legs (36? of them) seemed to be mostly crumple zone, as none survived but the girders they were attached to (which was the ultimate plan for the girders anyways). But on my later successful landing, with a last second engine blast to reduce the landing speed from 5.5m/s to 3.6m/s, I discovered I had no way to move the science to the Kemini pod. I couldn't even pull the science from the RGU while on EVA once it made it back to space (not quite orbit, with one more stage to light)! So now I'm about to hack the save file to add science collection to that particular Kemini, before attempting lift-off again. That strap-on booster separation is tricky; I found my rocket floating in a cloud of Vectors many times!

Ah yes, The 100. There was science involved in that show? I didn't mind watching it, but I realized pretty quickly not to think about the science involved. Orbital mechanics, radiation resistance humans, etc... Nothing really made a lot of sense from a scientific perspective. They appeared to land in the Pacific NW, sure, but they didn't seem to be all that far from "Ton DC." The main problem on the Ark appeared to be running out of oxygen, which should have been relatively easy to regenerate, especially if they could manage orbit-to-surface-to-orbit (but I don't recall them specifically having that capability). As for asteroid resources, I think that was pure conjecture from the OP; I don't recall that ever being mentioned in the show. Fun, if gory, to watch, but realism? May as well watch Star Wars.

EAV-2 is currently making a slow descent to Eve, where the orbit has decayed to 89x86km. Full science gear and the "elevator" pod have been moved over from the original EAV. It'll take one more "orbit" before touchdown at this rate, so it'll be awhile. Fingers crossed....

There are many things that were apparently planned but fell by the wayside. Back in alpha the parts in the editors had a "quantity" number, suggesting production was going to be a thing. It seems many of the features had placeholders roughed in, intended to be fleshed out later. But these placeholders have become finalized, when there is potential for sooo much more. R&D, Mission Control, and the Astronaut Complex could be so much better with an overhaul. Kerbal skill progression should be much more than a passive, automatic system. I'd like to pick my skills, thanks.

*sigh* After realizing the original 2-seat EAV couldn’t survive entry at Eve, the EAV-2 passed simulated testing (Mission Builder) and was sent to Eve. After establishing a very low 90x95km orbit, I realized that this iteration didn’t have any science gear, or the “elevator” pod! Luckily, the original EAV is still in orbit, and managed to rendezvous with the EAV-2 ( no mean feat at 800 tons and 600 tons). Now I just have to move the science gear over, thank Kod for KAS! Hopefully I can move the Telepod over too, but I’m not optimistic. Rendezvous maneuvers dropped my Pe to just under 88km, and now I only have 6 minutes until entry, but I don’t think that will be too hazardous. I just hit F5 and am taking a break. And I was so hoping to be waddling around the surface by now... EDIT: Yeah, that's not working. Having these massive ships sailing broadside (turning them is hard) through the upper atmo is dropping my AP too much And Seandan got cooked working out there. Time to back it up and arrange a rendezvous at a slightly higher altitude. Also need to reboot the game and let my laptop cool off...

Haven't seen this mentioned yet... https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/09/nasa-signs-off-on-spacexs-load-and-go-procedure-for-crew-launches/

Which is pretty much what I meant. By going pretty much straight up, you avoid high AoA's, and gets you into thin air before the speed builds up too much. By 40km, aerodynamic effects aren't very strong. Good warning about not pitching over too fast. And the number of times I've flipped out and continued to orbit are too many to count. But come to think of it, I don't think I've recovered a flip lately. But then I tend to fly huge beasts these days...

I have no issues with manned before unmanned. Organic guidance systems have been around a lot longer than mechanical or electro-mechanical ones

I haven’t tried the mission, but have you tried flying mostly straight up out of the soup, then turning to the horizon at 30-40km? That’s the best way to get to orbit with unstable vehicles (aside from modifying the vehicle to be more stable). Throttling down if it threatens to flip may still be necessary

All equations are created equal. But some are more equal than others

Names are mostly for the public. The Shuttle Orbiters were always known internally as “”OV-101, OV-102”, etc

Does this count?

Why do I get the feeling that NASA is trolling the people that think that by launching at night, the probe has a better chance of surviving its encounter with the Sun?

11. :Several thermonuclear explosive devices. For melting a lot of ice, quickly. 12. Now you'll need sunglasses after all.

True, but they could get funding if they agreed to open a factory in another state for the express purpose of manufacturing aux equipment like ECLSS. Musk could also leverage factories for his other ventures like Tesla and SolarCity(?)

So now they'll take this booster apart again, to show that they didn't have to take it apart again

From the article:

Is that not the same "long distance communication device" used in Crocodile Dundee? As for generating lift, I believe that's just centrifugal force. Swing any weighted cord around fast enough and it will tend to rise up so that it spins in a circle instead of a cone.

Oh, and did I mention the streaker?