Northstar1989

My Kerbals have been very busy. After orbiting a Scrapper/Recycler ship around Kerbin, the next obvious step was to send up a Space Dock where the scrap could be turned back into ships again. Being Kerbals, though, they outdid themselves in this- and I ended up sending a rather large initial base to Kerbin orbit. Getting this huge thing off the ground in a single launch was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever successfully accomplished in KSP this far... It wouldn't have even been possible if not for emptying most of its fuel tanks before launch with TAC Fuel Balancer. As you can see, she's a beauty. Rather large, capable of acting both as an orbital science lab for Science production and depleted Uranium Hexafluoride reprocessing (both capabilities provided by KSP Interstellar, as well as the Science Lab part itself); as a dock for orbital construction of small spacecraft using salvaged scrap ("RocketParts") collected by the Scrapper/Recycler ship; and as a substantial fuel depot for passing ships (especially the Scrapper ship- which wouldn't be able to operate for long in orbit without a nearby fuel depot and scrap repository); this spacedock is my largest and most important creation in KSP yet. Too bad I still haven't come up with a good name for her... Given her size and capabilities, it's likely I'll send up an orbital tug (a design from before the OP which I haven't used much) and drag my older fuel depot to orbit around the Mun. Here's an image of the tug I designed for moving my earlier model of depot, by the way. Ignore the bottom part- which is just a lifter stage- the tug is the top part with the upside-down thrusters (the lander can is also constructed upside-down, so I just switch control to it after detaching from the lifter stage). She's a front-end tug- meaning she pulls cargo behind her rather than attempting to push it from behind- after a KAS winch lock is established, of course (otherwise, the cargo will go swinging widely, and the pair will become completely uncontrollable- possibly even disintegrating from the centripetal forces involved. Trust me on this, I've already been there with a fuel tanker I tried to use as a tug for an earlier Mun mission- before I knew about KAS which-locks and what would happen...) Also, my Kerbals have been busy as ever pursuing !Science!. In pursuit of this goal, they launched another sensor satellite (I launched an earlier version to Kerbin polar orbit before the start of this Mission Report, with a gravity scanner and thermometer to obtain readings. Then I eventually de-orbited her.) to scan the magnetic fields near Kerbin, the Mun, and Minmus (a scientific instrument for scanning magnetic fields, that becomes available very late in the tech tree, was added by KSP Interstellar- truly a very interesting and useful mod). The satellite hasn't made it past its initial parking orbit yet, though, so those images will be meat for another posting in the future... Also, because I know how this forum works (it's all about the pictures), here's an image from the VAB of the launch vehicle I used to get my spacedock to orbit. Note that the whole contraption will do a flip at about 6000-8000 meters and nose-dive into the ground if the spacedock's tanks aren't drained first, and the solid rocket boosters aren't launched with only about 60% of their maximum fuel load (all with TAC Fuel Balancer. Note that the SRB's still caused the craft to begin a nose-flip towards the end of their burn time- just as they burn out and are decoupled. It must have been a very nerve-wracking experience for my Kerbals, since the nose angle briefly dipped to about level with the horizon when this happened..) By the way, yes, that's a 5 meter stage on the bottom. From the Novapunch2 pack. Way better for my FPS and more realistic than strapping 4 Rockomax Jumbo stacks on Miansails together for an equivalent lifting power... (twice the diameter ==> 4 times the cross-sectional area) Somewhere in between all this excitement, my Kerbals made another test-flight of my first-generation spaceplane (from the original post) Kerbals, being Kerbals, though, they decided to try for a little too high of an apoapsis- and as a result, ended up stranded in orbit. Not content to leave them to their fates though, I had them jump out and thrust to some of my other orbital craft by EVA. One made it to the Scrapper ship (which has a crew capacity of 2, but launched with just one Kerbal) and the other made it to my Nuclear Science Lab (which also had an extra crew slot- as I only filled 3 of the 4 seats on launch.) It would have made for some awesome storytelling pics, so I'm sorry I didn't think to Screenshot it. Here is the abandoned spaceplane though (my Scrapper ship will get around to recycling it for RocketParts eventually), and here are the ships they escaped to by EVA. A brief note on the design of the Nuclear Science Lab you see here, by the way. You might have noticed those are six 2-meter long LiquidFuel only tanks (from B9 Aerospace) on the nose end, spaced by mechanical decouplers (from NovaPunch2). That's because the NSL hosts a Nuclear Thermal Rocket Nozzle- which gets higher ISP (but lower thrust) from just expelling heated LiquidFuel (which is supposed to simulate superheated, originally liquid, hydrogen being expelled out a Thermal Rocket in real life) than from expelling an LFO mix- which I take it from my dabbling knowledge of rocket science is superheated separately and THEN mixed and allowed to combust. Since the ISP is very high, I broke the staging of the empty tanks into rather small fuel "packets", as each tank represents a LOT of potential energy (the ISP is a little over 915)- so I would be wasting a lot more energy accelerating the empty tanks with fewer stages than with a lower-ISP rocket where it wouldn't be worth the extra decoupler mass. Finally, I present my Kerbals' next project. Shown here (below) is their design for an "Atmospheric Scooper" ship, that is meant to repeatedly dip through a planet's upper atmosphere (by setting an atmospheric periapsis, but a sufficiently high apoapsis to safely return to orbit) to harvest any resources that might be there. In KSP Interstellar mod (which adds the necessary parts to do this), that means Oxidizer from the atmospheres of Kerbin and Laythe, and LiquidFuel from the atmosphere of Jool- the upper reaches of which are assumed to be essentially made out of Hydrogen, like with real-life Jupiter. The process isn't free, of course. Not only do you need to get the proper equipment in position, you also need a sufficiently powerful source of electricity to refine and store the IntakeAtmosphere resource, as it's being taken in. Even with the smaller, 1.25 meter variant of the refiner shown here (the thing that looks like a Radial Engine Body), it takes 6 MEGAWATTS of power to run the thing at full capacity (that's 6,000 ElectricCharge a second). Obviously, the small 1.25 meter nuclear reactor on my design here can't provide that kind of power- but my intention is to dip only through the highest reaches of the atmosphere each time, where the moderate power supply of the craft might have chance of keeping up with the refining module's power demands... If testing shows it's not enough, of course, I'll have to launch one with a more powerful reactor- or perhaps make use of my recently-discovered technology for microwave power transmission to save on weight (yet another feature of KSP Interstellar- though as I understand it the transmission losses are pretty high, and for some reason only collected solar power can be transmitted, rather than, say, power from a large orbital nuclear reactor.) The whole point of the thing is to collect more Delta V (in the form of Oxidizer- and the fuel saved needing to lift it to orbit) than it expends getting into position and accelerating back up after each pass- at least as measured by the ISP's of the highly efficient nuclear thermal rocket nozzle the design is equipped with for its movement. So, since drag is proportional to weight times the weighted drag coefficients of your parts in KSP (unlike in real life, where shape matters more), unless I were to have FAR installed, which improves the aerodynamic model substantially- I'll need to save on weight with the design as much as possible to ensure it turns a net profit. Launching oxidizer to LKO isn't all that hard, of course- but the point of the thing is to create a design that will work well enough for the higher gravity of Jool- which will make fuel collection more challenging (higher gravity means higher orbital velocities. Since drag increases exponentially with speed, but atmosphere scoop efficiencies don't quite keep up with the drag curve in terms of output relative to speed, this means relatively much higher drag losses when scooping from Jool than at Kerbin, and lower losses from Laythe- even with adjustments to scooping altitude based on speed). I aim for the highest Delta-V margins possible, otherwise scooping won't really be worthwhile- even around Jool- so I'm really trying to save as much mass as possible on the craft. By the way, some of you might have noticed the design has no launch vehicle. This is as I do not plan to launch it from Kerbin's surface. Instead, I intend to construct it in-orbit with spare RocketParts from my scrapping operation, at my newly launched spacedock. Given the vessel's relatively low weight, I imagine the RocektParts count of this should be reasonable enough to accomplish. The greater challenge will actually be supplying the craft with Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6 in the resources tab) for its nuclear reactor once built (in the newer version of Orbital Construction I use, craft still need to be filled with all fuel and resources once built, or supplied with it from the constructing dock's stores during construction. Sorry, no free lunches here.) Since I drained the Space Dock's nuclear reactor down to a very low level of UF6 with TAC Fuel Balancer in order to get it to orbit in one piece, I'm not sure I can spare much from the main reactor core for fueling the smaller ship's reactor. Of course, this is another reason for the smaller reactor core other than higher efficiency (lower-drag) atmospheric scooping- so that its reactor can last a reasonable while on the meager amount of UF6 I'll be able to provide it with- before needing to return to the space dock for re-enrichment/reprocessing (since the reactor heats its engines, without UF6 the scooper will be dead in the water, so to speak, no matter how much LiquidFuel and Oxidizer I have aboard. This, along with weight, low thrust, and an advanced tech node, is the price for a Thermal Rocket Nozzle's very high ISP's.) Finally, last, but not least, a little treat for those of you who have read this far. Here is an image of the Mun mission I used to get those pic's from the OP. You might notice it is called the Mk2- the Mark 1 was a lighter version that performed a Munar Apollo-style round trip (except with EVA transfers rather than hard docking) on a tighter fuel budget, with less advanced tech nodes, and without any rovers (the technology for which hadn't yet been discovered).

I'm strictly against using HyperEdit in almost any form, so I guess I'll just have to see how the Egret fairs on Duna when I get her there. She's light and solidly-built enough to strap a couple a really big rocket in 2x symmetry without much of a problem- and her part count is reasonable enough for that too (the Egret has a LOT fewer parts than the D'OH did...) Actually, my main focus right now has been building an orbital infrastructure so that when I go to Duna, I'll be going there in force- not just with a couple planes and a rocket. Think something Kethane Traveling Circus-style, only without the Kethane mod, as it's not yet Career Mode compatible (I do, however, have KSP Interstellar installed, and am strongly considering throwing in the HOME mod as well- though that might make it all a bit too easy...) I actually strongly recommend taking a look at my Mission Reports thread on my ongoing Career Mode game... You can find it here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57509-Kerbin-and-Beyond-a-Maturing-Space-Program We'll see how the Egret does, when she gets there. I'll try and remember to submit a thorough post on the thing when I finally send a couple copies of her to Duna...

At long last, I think I've developed the plane I'm going to take around Duna. I present the Mk2 of my most recently presented plane- and boy is she capable. First of all, the images: Capable of maintaining a cruising altitude of a bit over 29,500 meters (and shooting up 2-3k more meters if necessary), and reaching a top speed over land of over 1,200 m/s on Kerbin; I present the Egret- as I've named her. The only really significant change I made to the design was to add a couple of Heavy Control Winglets to the front end to balance the loss of weight at the tail when I launch with a greatly reduced uranium load (only approximately 5% of maximum). The weight of the uranium was close to 50% of the weight of the tail end- so this was an entirely necessary change to allow light loading of the reactor: and even then she's still a bit of a nose-dragger once you reduce the uranium loading. With a 5% uranium load and the extra winglets, the Mk2 was born- and can perform quite impressively for an essentially unlimited-range aircraft... The Egret should be capable of flying at over 13,000 meters above "sea level" on Duna- based on her maximum cruising altitude on Kerbin, even before the beneficial effects of Duna's reduced gravity levels are taken into account. What's more, she should be able to do so extremely quickly for a plane on Duna- at over 1,200 m/s (probably significantly faster, as the reduced gravity should allow higher flight, or nose angles closer to the horizon), the Egret should be able to circumnavigate Duna roughly once every 30 minutes. Actually, the minimum orbital speed for Duna at 42,000 meters is about 950 m/s according to the Wiki- so 1,200 m/s at 13,000 should greatly reduce the effects of gravity on the plane, allowing further increases in speed. As a result, the Egret might well be capable of flying at much higher altitudes than 13,000 meters- perhaps 20,000 meters or more- simply as the top speed will reach a very significant fraction of (and perhaps even exceed) what would be the orbital velocity, as it climbs, IF there were no atmosphere... The Craft file text: ship = 'Egret' Thermal Turbojet version = 0.22.0 description = Max Cruising Altitude: approx. 29,500 meters¨Max Landspeed: 1,201 m/s¨(5% UF6 load performance)¨¨'The Egret' is a nuclear thermal turbojet aircraft capable of remarkable performance for a fuel-independent aircraft on Kerbin. On Duna, her intended operational theater, her performance should be something to be marveled at...¨¨IMPORTANT: Reduce UF6 load to 5% before takeoff. type = SPH PART { part = B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 partName = CommandPod pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,-0.01020099 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 link = B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389184 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389134 link = largeAdapter2_4294389084 link = FSfighterTailGear_4294389024 link = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388852 link = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388816 attN = top,largeAdapter2_4294389084 attN = bottom,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = ModuleCommand isEnabled = True controlSrcStatusText = EVENTS { MakeReference { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Control From Here guiName = Control From Here category = Control From Here guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } RenameVessel { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Rename Vessel guiName = Rename Vessel category = Rename Vessel guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { } } MODULE { name = FSanimateGeneric isEnabled = True startDeployed = False isAnimating = False animTime = 0 reverseAnimation = False animSpeed = -1 hasBeenInitialized = True EVENTS { toggleEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Deploy guiName = Turn cockpit lights on category = Deploy guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { toggleAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = ModuleSAS isEnabled = True EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } MODULE { name = ModuleReactionWheel isEnabled = True stateString = Active WheelState = Active EVENTS { OnToggle { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Torque guiName = Toggle Torque category = Toggle Torque guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { Activate { actionGroup = None } Deactivate { actionGroup = None } Toggle { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = ModuleScienceExperiment isEnabled = True Deployed = False EVENTS { DeployExperiment { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Deploy guiName = Deploy category = Deploy guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ReviewDataEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Review Data guiName = Review Data category = Review Data guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ResetExperiment { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Reset guiName = Reset category = Reset guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ResetExperimentExternal { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Reset guiName = Reset category = Reset guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { DeployAction { actionGroup = None } ResetAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = ModuleScienceContainer isEnabled = True EVENTS { StoreDataExternalEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = guiName = Store Experiments category = guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ReviewDataEvent { active = False guiActive = True guiIcon = Review Data guiName = Review Stored Data (0) category = Review Data guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { } } MODULE { name = ModuleTripLogger isEnabled = False EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } Surfaced { } Flew { } FlewBy { } Orbited { } SubOrbited { } } } PART { part = B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 partName = Part pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,-4.010211 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 link = NuclearReactor125_4294389766 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389596 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389452 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389308 link = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389246 link = ksp.r.largeBatteryPack_4294388930 link = solarPanels5_4294388908 link = solarPanels5_4294388880 attN = top,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 attN = bottom,NuclearReactor125_4294389766 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = NuclearReactor125_4294389766 partName = Part pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,-6.990222 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 link = ThermalTurbojet_4294389724 attN = top,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 attN = bottom,ThermalTurbojet_4294389724 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = FNReactor isEnabled = True IsEnabled = True isupgraded = False breedtritium = False last_active_time = 0 ongoing_consumption_rate = 0 reactorInit = False EVENTS { ActivateReactor { active = False guiActive = True guiIcon = Activate Reactor guiName = Activate Reactor category = Activate Reactor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } MaintainReactor { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Repair Reactor guiName = Repair Reactor category = Repair Reactor guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 2.5 externalToEVAOnly = True } DeactivateReactor { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Deactivate Reactor guiName = Deactivate Reactor category = Deactivate Reactor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } BreedTritium { active = False guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Tritium Breeding guiName = Enable Tritium Breeding category = Enable Tritium Breeding guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } StopBreedTritium { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Disable Tritium Breeding guiName = Disable Tritium Breeding category = Disable Tritium Breeding guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } RetrofitReactor { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Retrofit guiName = Retrofit category = Retrofit guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ActivateReactorAction { actionGroup = None } DeactivateReactorAction { actionGroup = None } ToggleReactorAction { actionGroup = None } } } } PART { part = ThermalTurbojet_4294389724 partName = Part pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,-7.771226 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 attN = top,NuclearReactor125_4294389766 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = ModuleEngines isEnabled = True EngineIgnited = False engineShutdown = False currentThrottle = 0 flameout = False staged = False EVENTS { Activate { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Activate Engine guiName = Activate Engine category = Activate Engine guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } Shutdown { active = False guiActive = True guiIcon = Shutdown Engine guiName = Shutdown Engine category = Shutdown Engine guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { OnAction { actionGroup = None } ShutdownAction { actionGroup = None } ActivateAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = FNNozzleController isEnabled = True IsEnabled = False isHybrid = False isupgraded = False engineInit = False fuel_mode = 0 EVENTS { TogglePropellant { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Propellant guiName = Toggle Propellant category = Toggle Propellant guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ToggleTWRLimiter { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = TWR Limiter guiName = TWR Limiter category = TWR Limiter guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } RetrofitEngine { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Retrofit guiName = Retrofit category = Retrofit guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { TogglePropellantAction { actionGroup = None } ToggleTWRLimiterAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = ModuleGimbal isEnabled = True gimbalLock = False EVENTS { LockGimbal { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Lock Gimbal guiName = Lock Gimbal category = Lock Gimbal guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } FreeGimbal { active = False guiActive = True guiIcon = Free Gimbal guiName = Free Gimbal category = Free Gimbal guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ToggleAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = FXModuleAnimateThrottle isEnabled = True EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389596 partName = Winglet pos = -1.124624,7.284027,-5.827507 rot = -0.7071068,0,0,-0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 link = FSfighterTailGear_4294389546 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389452 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = FSfighterTailGear_4294389546 partName = Part pos = -8.124759,7.284027,-7.516781 rot = 0,-2.980233E-08,0,-1 attRot = 0,4.214685E-08,0.7071067,0.7071067 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = FSfighterTailGear_4294389402 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389596 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = FSwheel isEnabled = True deploymentState = Deployed brakesEngaged = False motorEnabled = False reverseMotor = False reverseMotorSet = False motorStartsReversed = False EVENTS { RaiseGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Raise Gear guiName = Raise Gear category = Raise Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } LowerGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Lower Gear guiName = Lower Gear category = Lower Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } ReverseMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Reverse Motor guiName = Enable Reverse Motor category = Enable Reverse Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } EnableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Motor guiName = Enable Motor category = Enable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } DisableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Disable Motor guiName = Disable Motor category = Disable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOnEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes On guiName = Brakes On category = Brakes On guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOffEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes Off guiName = Brakes Off category = Brakes Off guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = increase friction (d) guiName = increase friction (d) category = increase friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = decrease friction (d) guiName = decrease friction (d) category = decrease friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } suspensionGUIEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = adjust suspension (d) guiName = adjust suspension (d) category = adjust suspension (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ToggleGearAction { actionGroup = Gear } ReverseMotorAction { actionGroup = None } ToggleMotorAction { actionGroup = None } BrakesAction { actionGroup = Brakes } } } MODULE { name = FSpartTurner isEnabled = True steerMultiplier = 25 steeringEnabled = False altInputModeEnabled = False reversedInput = False ignoreTrim = True EVENTS { toggleSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Steering guiName = Toggle Steering category = Toggle Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleAltInputMode { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = QE or AD to steer guiName = QE or AD to steer category = QE or AD to steer guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleIgnoreTrim { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Ignore trim guiName = Toggle Ignore trim category = Toggle Ignore trim guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleReverseInput { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Reverse Steering guiName = Toggle Reverse Steering category = Toggle Reverse Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Increase Steering guiName = Increase Steering category = Increase Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Decrease Steering guiName = Decrease Steering category = Decrease Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleSpeedAdjustedSteeringEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Dynamic Steering guiName = Dynamic Steering category = Dynamic Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { toggleSteeringAction { actionGroup = None } toggleInvertAction { actionGroup = None } } } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389452 partName = Winglet pos = 1.298409,7.284027,-5.827507 rot = -3.090863E-08,0.7071068,0.7071068,-3.090862E-08 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 link = FSfighterTailGear_4294389402 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389596 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = FSfighterTailGear_4294389402 partName = Part pos = 8.298563,7.284028,-7.516781 rot = 0,-2.980234E-08,1.632896E-14,1 attRot = 0,4.214685E-08,0.7071067,0.7071067 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = FSfighterTailGear_4294389546 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389452 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = FSwheel isEnabled = True deploymentState = Deployed brakesEngaged = False motorEnabled = False reverseMotor = False reverseMotorSet = False motorStartsReversed = False EVENTS { RaiseGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Raise Gear guiName = Raise Gear category = Raise Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } LowerGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Lower Gear guiName = Lower Gear category = Lower Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } ReverseMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Reverse Motor guiName = Enable Reverse Motor category = Enable Reverse Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } EnableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Motor guiName = Enable Motor category = Enable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } DisableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Disable Motor guiName = Disable Motor category = Disable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOnEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes On guiName = Brakes On category = Brakes On guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOffEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes Off guiName = Brakes Off category = Brakes Off guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = increase friction (d) guiName = increase friction (d) category = increase friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = decrease friction (d) guiName = decrease friction (d) category = decrease friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } suspensionGUIEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = adjust suspension (d) guiName = adjust suspension (d) category = adjust suspension (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ToggleGearAction { actionGroup = Gear } ReverseMotorAction { actionGroup = None } ToggleMotorAction { actionGroup = None } BrakesAction { actionGroup = Brakes } } } MODULE { name = FSpartTurner isEnabled = True steerMultiplier = 25 steeringEnabled = False altInputModeEnabled = False reversedInput = False ignoreTrim = True EVENTS { toggleSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Steering guiName = Toggle Steering category = Toggle Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleAltInputMode { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = QE or AD to steer guiName = QE or AD to steer category = QE or AD to steer guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleIgnoreTrim { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Ignore trim guiName = Toggle Ignore trim category = Toggle Ignore trim guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleReverseInput { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Reverse Steering guiName = Toggle Reverse Steering category = Toggle Reverse Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Increase Steering guiName = Increase Steering category = Increase Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Decrease Steering guiName = Decrease Steering category = Decrease Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleSpeedAdjustedSteeringEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Dynamic Steering guiName = Dynamic Steering category = Dynamic Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { toggleSteeringAction { actionGroup = None } toggleInvertAction { actionGroup = None } } } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389308 partName = ControlSurface pos = -0.9807844,7.57011,-5.669283 rot = -0.7010575,0.09229588,0.09229604,-0.7010574 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389246 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389246 partName = ControlSurface pos = 1.154569,7.57011,-5.669283 rot = -0.09229607,0.7010573,0.7010575,-0.0922959 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Winglet.6x5m_4294389308 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389184 partName = Winglet pos = -1.004287,7.284027,-0.8894156 rot = -0.7071068,0,0,-0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389134 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389134 partName = Winglet pos = 1.178072,7.284027,-0.8894156 rot = -3.090863E-08,0.7071068,0.7071068,-3.090862E-08 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = B9.Aero.Wing.SW.Wingtip.4x7m_4294389184 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = largeAdapter2_4294389084 partName = Strut pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,1.679016 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 link = warpAtmIntake2_4294389060 attN = top,warpAtmIntake2_4294389060 attN = bottom,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = warpAtmIntake2_4294389060 partName = Part pos = 0.08689253,7.284027,1.868233 rot = 0.7071068,0,0,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 0 attN = bottom01,largeAdapter2_4294389084 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = AtmosphericIntake isEnabled = True EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } } PART { part = FSfighterTailGear_4294389024 partName = Part pos = 0.08689258,6.658819,1.320404 rot = 0,0,-8.742278E-08,-1 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = FSwheel isEnabled = True deploymentState = Deployed brakesEngaged = False motorEnabled = False reverseMotor = False reverseMotorSet = False motorStartsReversed = False EVENTS { RaiseGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Raise Gear guiName = Raise Gear category = Raise Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } LowerGear { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Lower Gear guiName = Lower Gear category = Lower Gear guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 5 externalToEVAOnly = True } ReverseMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Reverse Motor guiName = Enable Reverse Motor category = Enable Reverse Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } EnableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Enable Motor guiName = Enable Motor category = Enable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } DisableMotorEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Disable Motor guiName = Disable Motor category = Disable Motor guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOnEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes On guiName = Brakes On category = Brakes On guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } brakesOffEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Brakes Off guiName = Brakes Off category = Brakes Off guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 6 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = increase friction (d) guiName = increase friction (d) category = increase friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseFrictionEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = decrease friction (d) guiName = decrease friction (d) category = decrease friction (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } suspensionGUIEvent { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = adjust suspension (d) guiName = adjust suspension (d) category = adjust suspension (d) guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ToggleGearAction { actionGroup = Gear } ReverseMotorAction { actionGroup = None } ToggleMotorAction { actionGroup = None } BrakesAction { actionGroup = Brakes } } } MODULE { name = FSpartTurner isEnabled = True steerMultiplier = 25 steeringEnabled = False altInputModeEnabled = False reversedInput = False ignoreTrim = True EVENTS { toggleSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Steering guiName = Toggle Steering category = Toggle Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleAltInputMode { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = QE or AD to steer guiName = QE or AD to steer category = QE or AD to steer guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleIgnoreTrim { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Ignore trim guiName = Toggle Ignore trim category = Toggle Ignore trim guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleReverseInput { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Toggle Reverse Steering guiName = Toggle Reverse Steering category = Toggle Reverse Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } increaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Increase Steering guiName = Increase Steering category = Increase Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } decreaseSteering { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Decrease Steering guiName = Decrease Steering category = Decrease Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } toggleSpeedAdjustedSteeringEvent { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Dynamic Steering guiName = Dynamic Steering category = Dynamic Steering guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { toggleSteeringAction { actionGroup = None } toggleInvertAction { actionGroup = None } } } } PART { part = ksp.r.largeBatteryPack_4294388930 partName = Part pos = 0.08689238,8.153687,-6.132257 rot = 0.7071068,8.432164E-09,8.432164E-09,0.7071068 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = solarPanels5_4294388908 partName = Part pos = -0.5016928,7.872612,-1.873654 rot = -0.270598,0.6532815,0.6532816,-0.2705981 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = solarPanels5_4294388880 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel isEnabled = True currentRotation = (0, 0, 0, 0) stateString = RETRACTED storedAnimationTime = 0 storedAnimationSpeed = 0 EVENTS { Extend { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Extend Panels guiName = Extend Panels category = Extend Panels guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 4 externalToEVAOnly = True } Retract { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Retract Panels guiName = Retract Panels category = Retract Panels guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 4 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ExtendPanelsAction { actionGroup = None } ExtendAction { actionGroup = None } RetractAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = KASModuleGrab isEnabled = False grabbed = False evaHolderVesselName = EVENTS { ContextMenuGrab { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Grab guiName = Grab category = Grab guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ContextMenuDrop { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Drop guiName = Drop category = Drop guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ContextMenuEvaAttach { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Attach guiName = Attach category = Attach guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { } } } PART { part = solarPanels5_4294388880 partName = Part pos = 0.6754779,7.872612,-1.873654 rot = 0.2705981,0.6532815,0.6532816,0.270598 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = solarPanels5_4294388908 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2.Body.5m_4294389800 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } MODULE { name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel isEnabled = True currentRotation = (0, 0, 0, 0) stateString = RETRACTED storedAnimationTime = 0 storedAnimationSpeed = 0 EVENTS { Extend { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Extend Panels guiName = Extend Panels category = Extend Panels guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 4 externalToEVAOnly = True } Retract { active = True guiActive = True guiIcon = Retract Panels guiName = Retract Panels category = Retract Panels guiActiveUnfocused = True unfocusedRange = 4 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { ExtendPanelsAction { actionGroup = None } ExtendAction { actionGroup = None } RetractAction { actionGroup = None } } } MODULE { name = KASModuleGrab isEnabled = False grabbed = False evaHolderVesselName = EVENTS { ContextMenuGrab { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Grab guiName = Grab category = Grab guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ContextMenuDrop { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Drop guiName = Drop category = Drop guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } ContextMenuEvaAttach { active = True guiActive = False guiIcon = Attach guiName = Attach category = Attach guiActiveUnfocused = False unfocusedRange = 2 externalToEVAOnly = True } } ACTIONS { } } } PART { part = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388852 partName = ControlSurface pos = -1.497051,7.715046,-0.2576648 rot = -0.7145786,0.05600617,0.130198,-0.6850469 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388816 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } } PART { part = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388816 partName = ControlSurface pos = 1.670836,7.715046,-0.2576648 rot = -0.1301981,0.6850469,0.7145786,-0.05600618 attRot = 0,0,0,1 mir = 1,1,1 istg = 0 dstg = 0 sidx = -1 sqor = -1 attm = 1 sym = NP.zmisc.heavywinglet_4294388852 srfN = srfAttach,B9.Cockpit.MK2_4294389866 EVENTS { } ACTIONS { } }

Thanks for the encouragement Geschosskopf. I really appreciate it! And, with that said, I present my new, and GREATLY improved, Thermal Turbojet design. Still in need of some optimization (this model takes the high-lift, low thrust approach instead, for ease of landing: but I think I took it a little too far- and am looking at adding a little more of both) I think the second picture says it all. Without using an ounce of conventional fuel (for that matter, without bothering to reduce the uranium loading this time), and with two Kerbals INSIDE a modern, high-tech Mk2 cockpit actually designed for use in spaceplanes; this Nuclear Thermal Turbojet design can stable cruise at nearly 27,000 meters on Kerbin (and with a little more optimization, and a reduction of the uranium loading, which is currently at 1 TON- a significant fraction of the craft's entire weight- certainly at least that). This craft should be able to fly indefinitely at over 11,200 meters on Duna (BEFORE accounting for reduced gravity) according to my calculations! For those wondering, yes that's a 2.5 meter Ram intake of sorts. Actually, to be precise, it's a 2.5 meter "Atmospheric Intake" from KSP Interstellar, which produces only the IntakeAtmosphere resource instead of the IntakeAir resource- which can be collected on any planet with an atmosphere, and fed into thermal turbojets, which require no oxygen. The KSP Interstellar mod also modifies all the pre-existing intakes to produce this resource in addition to IntakeAir as well- though I found this encourages a mixed use of both resources for thermal turbojets, which can run on either resource, to obtain maximum efficiency from a design if you are using both types of intakes. This is what I did on my fighter-like design, primarily because I decided to use Engine Nacelles for the fuselage. For this design, I went with the Mk2 cockpit/fuselage system, which is heavier relative to its length- but provides increased surface area and a better shape to attach more wings. The cockpit also has the same mass-to-pilots ratio as a stock Mk2 cockpit- 1 ton per pilot- and a more powerful (but less energy efficient, and less powerful relative to mass) reaction wheel system. Technically, after testing this design, I see I would have probably been better off with the Mk1 cockpit and two stock Mk2 cockpits, if I could find a way to make it work. My primary insights/improvement over the three-engine fighter design were just to use a large atmosphere intakes instead of a smaller one and radial standard intakes, so I could get maximum efficiency out of the air intakes without using three engines (two running of IntakeAtm, one on IntakeAir- as the atmosphere scoops are more efficient as they aren't designed to inject oxygen into combustion chambers, and the design featured a hybrid of both intake types), and to use a longer fuselage so I could fit in a lot more wing area. The design works great, and takes off on a dime (literally within 25-50 meters or less on Kerbin's runway) on Kerbin. Its takeoff roll will be longer on Duna, of course, due to the thinner air- but it should still be more than capable of field use- rather than only working well between pre-built runways, like the fighter version probably would have. By the way, the altitude conversion calculation to use: Take the max cruising altitude, divide it by the scale height of Kerbin (5000 meters). Raise e (2.718) to the negative value of this power (2.718^-3.85714 in this case). You now have the fraction of Kerbin sea-level atmospheric pressure the craft can fly at (0.274112% in this case). Multiply this number by 5- as Duna's atmosphere is 1/5th as thick as Kerbin's at sea level. You now have the fraction of Duna's sea level pressure this equates to (1.37056% in this case). Take the natural logarithm ("ln" on a calculator) of this number (this yields -4.28995 in this case). Multiply this number by the scale height of Duna (3000 meters) and remove the negative sign from the result. You now have the approximate maximum altitude the craft can fly at on Duna- BEFORE accounting for the reduced gravity levels on Duna (approximately 12,870 meters in this case).

WOW, if *THAT THING* can fly on Duna, my electric planes from before certainly could have too. They have essentially the same general design- but mine was upsized and optimized a bit for higher thrust (about 1/3 greater relative to mass), higher lift (maybe 25-30% more), and about the same wing load... It probably flies that high on Duna (whereas that design wouldn't have reached even 17,200 meters cruising altitude on Kerbin) due to the lower gravity... Actually, about the solar panels Geschosskopf- the atmosphere on Duna is going to be similar at max cruising altitude on Kerbin and Duna in terms of thickness (a bit less on Duna, as the reduced gravity means cruising is possible at lower atmospheric pressures). What I'm pretty sure the main difference is, is the scale height. Since Duna's atmosphere has a smaller scale height than Kerbin's (that is, it falls off more rapidly), you have less atmosphere above you at a give pressure level there. Which means less atmosphere to interfere with the sun's light, even though solar radiation *IS* weaker there... Unfortunately, somehow my craft files got corrupted for the electric planes I designed for Duna (I think it might have been from some additional mods I installed- all my SPH designs but one were corrupted- they fell through the runway and crash the game when launched. On that note, I also lost some traditional jet designs,and an adaptation I made of my Duna flier for the Kerbal Airliner Challenge that never circumnavigated due to the severe lag from all the External Command Seats I strapped on for crew capacity...), and I don't have the heart to design it all over again. However, I downloaded the KSP Interstellar mod, added it my Career save, and developed an even better design! I introduce, the Nuclear-Powered Thermal Turbojet! Here's a couple images, and I'll post a craft file just as soon as somebody can tell me how to get the darn Forum file attachment system working right now (I can't find the button to attach files?) Note that the second image is a slightly earlier version than my current working one- I moved the parachutes a tiny bit closer to the COM and adjusted them so they weren't clipping into (read- almost completely concealed by) the front winglets, which I added into the design after the parachutes. I've found it's an excellent design, able to reach 18,750 meters cruising altitude on Kerbin- shattering my previous record with electric propellers. Because it's a type of jet, rather than propeller, the engines still work very well at that altitude- so it could conceivably fly much higher if I could find a good way to reduce its wingload or increase its thrust further. It's still in the prototype stages- I'll send an improved version (with crew capacity for 2, instead of 1) to Duna. I've also FINALLY developed SABRE engines not long ago (the tech node is really expensive, and advanced)- so I'll be able to use that to get it off Kerbin- since I assume you won't take kindly to my using my newly-installed (but thus far largely unused- except for an orbital scrapper/recycler ship I built with it and an Extraplanetary Launchpads recycling part to clear debris from Kerbin orbit...) Orbital Construction mod to simply build a copy in-orbit... Which brings me to another point- there are actually TWO ways to increase a plane's altitude ceiling. ONE is to increase lift relative to its mass, or decrease mass relative to lift (reducing "wingload"). The OTHER is to increase thrust relative to wingload- thus increasing max speed and making the existing wings effectively provide more lift, and reducing the effects of gravity if flying in the direction of the planet's rotation... I've taken more this approach with my Nuclear Powered Thermal Turbojet, since I find adding too many wings and winglets drastically increases my game's lag... (my electric propeller design I was going to launch to Duna, while it did carry 5 propellers- which could only be fully powered near maximum altitude where the sunlight was strongest- still mostly relied on minimizing wingload to raise its altitude ceiling- as propellers work very poorly at high altitude). As a side-note, the high mass, high thrust approach actually works BETTER on Duna than on Kerbin- where the lower gravity means that you essentially get penalized less for the extra mass, whereas you still see the same benefits from the TWR. Now, finally, you must be asking by now "What exactly is a Nuclear Powered Thermal Turbojet?" Well let me tell you. A turbojet, as you know, relies on pushing exhaust out the rear of the plane to achieve thrust. A traditional/conventional turbojet achieves this by combusting jet fuel. However, as we all know, jet engines don't work on Duna thanks to the lack of any substantial amount of oxygen there... A thermal turbojet, on the other hand, works on a slightly different principle. Rather than relying on combustion to generate thrust, it relies on heat transfer to air passing through the engine- superheating it and then pushing it out the rear of the engine. "How do you heat this air if you can't combust fuel?", you might ask. Simple. You pass it over a small nuclear reactor. Now a nuclear reactor isn't exactly light- but if you can manage to lift one into the air on a plane, you have a very efficient means of propulsion- one that can last for YEARS without needing refueling (provision of fresh uranium supplies for the reactor). The plane's reactor's uranium supply doesn't last forever, though. That's where the other components of the KSP Interstellar, and the Kerbal Attachment System (or hard-docking, if you're feeling really masochistic) mods come into play... Since KSP Interstellar mod introduces nuclear reactors that *DO* consume Uranium Hexafluoride (the "UF6" in my screenshot resources tab) at a very slow rate; it also introduces a way to replenish that nuclear fuel supply- albeit a slightly expensive/unwieldy one. The nuclear fuel doesn't simply disappear as the reactor utilizes it. Instead, like in real life, depleted uranium rods are left over (the "DUF6" in my screenshot resources tab). The mod allows these rods to be reprocessed, re-enriching the uranium at a Science Lab with a sufficiently powerful nuclear reactor attached to it (which is used as a breeder-reactor: look it up if you're not sure what that is). So, you can recycle the uranium, prolonging the service life of your nuclear-powered craft essentially indefinitely. I've never actually used the re-enrichment system yet, as I just installed the mod, and like in real life the nuclear fuel supply is consumed VERY slowly- with most nuclear reactors taking something on the order of years to exhaust their uranium supply. However, I know the reprocessing can be done- and since I intend to greatly reduced the uranium loading of my plane's reactor to save weight (like in the screenshot- the three reactor cores it hosts can normally hold up to 0.60 UF6- however I only have a bit less than 0.03 loaded on the plane for the test flight- thanks to TAC Fuel Balancer...), I might have to do it sooner rather than later. The UF6 isn't light, by the way- a single reactor (which is already rather heavy to begin with) holds only 0.20 UF6- but that much fuel weighs a solid 1.0 TON of weight in the game... Hence why I reduced my plane's loading for the test-flight to determine maximum cruising altitude (a bit over under 19,000 meters on Kerbin- but I rounded it down to the nearest 250-meter mark for safety). The strategy of increasing thrust (and thus airspeed) relative to wingload in order to raise maximum altitude has another benefit, by the way. The plane moves a lot FASTER! Which means, it won't take me nearly as long to circumnavigate Duna (even with a greatly reduced nuclear fuel supply, my design should easily be able to fly for several weeks or more of continuous flight- which is more than enough time to get anywhere my Kerbals are going, and then eventually return for some freshly-enriched uranium from a Science Lab base-site on Duna. In real life, the thermal turbojet engine would probably need maintenance long before the fuel supply ran out.) So, it's not a cheat-mod. The thrust isn't free (the necessary nuclear reactors are VERY heavy, and still require a constant UF6 fuel supply), that's for sure. Initially, given the weight of my craft, I was surprised it even made it off the ground at all on Kerbin. As-is, the thing barely clears the end of the runway on Kerbin due to its weight- but it should lift off much quicker on Duna, thanks to the reduced gravity... I might also install a level deployable-runway or two on Duna using the Extraterrestrial Launchpads mod- if that's allowed (I won't be using it to build the ship, and I probably wouldn't be bringing the necessary Rocket Parts warehouses to build things there anyways- at least not at first, though maybe eventually for future expansion of my operations there- just not for this plane challenge), just for the permanent bases of course. By the way, one last bit before I cut this post off. The Nuclear Thermal Turbojet Plane I built is capable of using a couple SMALL parachutes in "drogue" mode in level flight- thanks to its very high weight, and thus significant momentum. They don't exert enough torque relative to weight/rotational inertia to tilt the craft, at least not in slow flight close to the ground. This should prove ESSENTIAL to safely landing the thing on Duna, thanks to the much thinner atmosphere at landing altitudes there requiring some sort of way to further slow my craft down in landing, thanks to its relatively high wingload... I DO have to cut the chutes before the fully deploy in its current configuration however, else the thing will probably still lawn-dart when they open all the way... (though I haven't let them stay open long enough to see if that happens yet- and Duna gravity is lower, so the lawn-dart might be at a safe speed). Since cut chutes obviously can't be re-packed, this means I am probably doing to have to either restrict their use on Duna to landing sites too high up for full deployment before touchdown, or find a way to attach KSP's stock drogue chutes to the thing somehow- which are problematic for their ability to only be connected to a proper attachment port, rather than radially. OK, I lied, one more thing. I'm looking at building upgraded (larger) versions of the plane, using either 2.5 meter stacks or additional outboard fuselages, to further maximize thrust-wingload ratio. So the design I eventually launch to Duna might not even too closely resemble this one. Larger designs would of course have the benefit of being able to carry more cargo- as it stands, I'm worried about the drag effects of just slapping more than a couple lawnchairs on the thing, to increase its crew capacity (currently only 1- so it doesn't yet meet the minimum requirements- though a single centrally-placed External Command Seat, or larger/additional cockpit, should fix that). I hope you like the Nuclear Thermal Turbojet idea- and don't consider use of the KSP Interstellar mod cheating (let me know if you do). As is, I'm not even using the highest level of upgraded nuclear reactors (better reactors equal more Thermal Power, and higher core temperatures- and thus more thermal turbojet thrust, though at the cost of higher fuel consumption) for the thing- since I haven't developed the tech nodes for anything beyond solid-core reactors (level #2- upgraded once from the basic version, but not to the most advanced level) yet... Needless to say, I'd get an even higher thrust return on my mass with an Antimatter Reactor (which I haven't developed the INSANELY expensive tech node for yet)- though the process for refueling that thing's a huge pain-in-the-rear (it requires MASSIVE amounts of electrical power to produce Antimatter, and a Science Lab- which by the way, is huge, and weighs 3.5 TONS). Those things also require antimatter containment tanks, rather than carrying their fuel internally- which makes for an even more unwieldy plane design... Regards, Northstar1989

I present, my next major projects I've gotten off the ground so far (also, my Mun Rover is currently sitting on the steep edge of a large crater I can't safely descent into. I'm meaning to circumnavigate it to a safer degree of slope, and descend for possible Science points... So I've also got that waiting for me to get back to at the moment) First of all, my Experimental Nuclear Science Laboratory (or Nuclear Science Lab for short). Putting nuclear science to greater use than just propelling rocket engines, my brave Kerbals decided to strap themselves to a 2.5 meter nuclear reactor for a couple months or more and see what they could learn from the experience. Or, well, maybe see what they could discover about nuclear science in the ship's Science Lab module (from KSP Interstellar). With the new R&D system in KSP, the mod's science lab now produces science points that go towards tech nodes to upgrade the propulsion and energy systems it offers. Not quite sure how you best retrieve the Science points yet though, since the lab appears to be too large and heavy to easily land back on Kerbin. I'll have to see if I can transmit the data with the ship's antenna once I have a few science points saved up... If nothing else, I guess this will be a learning experience- though advice from anyone more experienced at playing with KSP Interstellar mod would be greatly appreciated. In other news, my Kerbals also had a very eco-friendly idea. Instead of ruining Kerbal's environment launching rocket after rocket into orbit; only to design the launches for the boosters to fall back to the planet and be obliterated, and leave further up transfer stages littering the orbital planes until I decide to shoot them down with missiles (read "Terminate" everything I don't need anymore to save FPS/lag)- how about if we recycle the metal frames of the rockets, and reuse some of the mass to eventually build new ships in orbit? In keeping with this idea, my green-conscious Kerbals (hey, eco-friendliness is in their skin, right? Or maybe that's just a love of all the imaginary money they'll save by doing this...) have designed and built their first "Scrapper Ship". Equipped with a front-mounted "Large Recycling Bin" (I may have the part-name a bit off here) from the Extraplanetary Launchpads mod, and a Medium Parts Module from the Orbital Construction mod; this craft is capable of scooping up orbital debris at LOW speed (if you decide to design a ship like this, don't try it at high speed- either your recycling ship, or the debris, or both, will explode- depending on their relative mass values) and recycling them for a rather substantial portion of their Rocket Parts cost. Already, by recycling an abandoned design of the Nuclear Science Lab (the one I was working on earlier- with the Plasmodynamic thruster that ate through its fuel supply way too quickly to be useful- and a bunch of then worthless super-heavy battery banks to support it) I had left in orbit- after transferring the Kerbals to the newer version pictured above by EVA of course- I was able to recover approximately 2,885 Rocket Parts from the front section of the ship (it had a 2.5 meter reactor, a Science Lab, and a ton of battery banks- don't expect these kinds of returns from your average-sized rocket payload), three of its drop tanks, and I think a used sustainment stage I found lying around in orbit. I was also able to refuel its fuel tanks just as it ran out of fuel, from leftover fuel in the decommissioned Nuclear Laboratory (I had a KSP attachment port on the ship for refueling, and couple of winches on the Scrapper- as well as a couple extra attachment ports that I could have detached from the Scrapper and re-attached to any fuel tanks lacking a KSP port if I wanted...) before I scrapped the main section of the ship- but left the completely full fuel tanks in orbit so I could drain them later, rather than scrapping them then and losing all the fuel in the process... One other note on the Scrapper. I used TAC Fuel Balancer to launch it with an only 50% full Parts Module (5000/10000 Rocket Parts). This was absolutely essential to get it to work right. Otherwise, I would have needed a super-heavy lifter stage just to get it to orbit efficiently (a single completely full Medium Parts Module weighs *over 25 TONS*), and wouldn't have had any free space on the ship to store the ELP/OC mod Rocket Parts from the recycling operations... My next priority, of course, is to establish an orbital Parts-Warehouse/Spacedock, at which to store my Rocket Parts and construct new ships- since I already filled my Scrapper to more than 3/4th capacity with my recycling profits and the launch load parts- and otherwise I'm just going to waste a lot of fuel just hauling all that weight around chasing the occasional orbital booster (even with a Fusion Nuclear Propulsion Engine from the Near-Future mod: which is basically just like a more compact stock nuclear engine with higher thrust and a slightly improved TWR). For a reminder, a full Medium Parts Module weighs in at a little over 25 tons- so I estimate I'm already hauling around 19 tons of scrap metal (aka Rocket Parts) around in that tiny little ship...

Thanks for the support! I wouldn't exactly call mine a slow and measured approach (I landed on Minmus before I even landed on the Mun- thanks to a fortuitous gravity assist that put what was supposed to just be a Munar flyby on an intersect with Minmas...), but just a carefully-engineered one. Most of my missions carry far more Delta V than they need (which I sometimes use to add on extra destinations- such as Ike on a Duna mission, or Gilly with my Eve probe), and I tend to obsessively see how little non-fuel mass and how few parts I can use in my rockets... I've decided to add two more mods in, by the way (about to see if my save still loads up correctly with it installed) OrbitalConstruction Re-Redux r1.1 Extraplanetary Launchpads v3.3 These mod adds the ability to construct rockets in-orbit or on other planets *AFTER YOU SEND THE NECESSARY PARTS*, which are a resource that can be transferred, like fuel or Monopropellant. For that matter, this version also requires you separately send up any necessary fuels- the RocketParts resource is only useful for the Dry Mass parameter of a rocket... (think of it as the metal and electronics and stuff that makes up the solid parts of a rocket) This OrbitalConstruction version also has the ability to land the spacedock-marked ships on other planets, and launch rockets from them in a similar manner (although the rockets don't spawn right next to the docks- they spawn a few km up, and magically levitate down to the near the space dock, to avoid clipping/explosion issues). Useful, and non-cheaty. You still have to haul all the mass and fuel out- just you assemble it on-site. I could have just gone with OrbitalConstruction, and used its planetary launch feature- however it doesn't come with a proper launchpad. While I can see constructing ships in-orbit with nothing but maybe a few structural trusses and a small manufacturing crew (not technically required- but I'll roleplay them in to be sure), I feel that there should be a proper (and heavy- which adds difficulty) launchpad on the ground, since it can be uneven- and to simulate the ground construction infrastructure, which would be much heavier than orbital infrastructure in real life (in-orbit construction, while not really utilized in real life, should in theory be easier and require lighter infrastructure- it's easier in many ways to build massive rockets in zero-G environments, as you don't have to hold things up, just still...) Of course, I might still just use the (much lighter) OrbtlCnstrctn docks for near-zero-G environments like Gilly, Pol, or Minmus- just not for higher-gravity environments like the Mun, Duna, or Laythe... Ahhh roleplaying.

Is there going to be an update of the Leaderboard? I believe at this point we have several rearrangements and new entries in order... I guess more time wouldn't hurt though- I realized that my electric airliner model really doesn't have to worry much about weight, as long as it can still outrun the sun at max cruising altitude- since it has essentially unlimited fuel- and so upgraded it to carry about 64 passengers. Problem is, even though the part count is only in the low 100's, it's still a flying lag machine on my weak computer. Given enough time though, I'll eventually get the willpower together to fly it around Kerbin and land successfully (which should place me at the top of the Leaderboard, if I can make the runway with that much lag...)

1. Been using 1/4th resolution for a long time now. Still looks great (I don't really notice a difference unless I set it to 1/8th res) 2. I have antialiasing set down to 2x. The jagged edges really bother me, but 2x is fine for me. 3. The "Scatter Enabled" box is unchecked, and the density set down to 10%- as I sometimes still seem to encounter a little scatter regardless. 4. VAB/SPH lag is a complete non-issue for me, even when editing computer-crashing part counts that kill my FPS once they make it to the launchpad/runway. See below. My game isn't laggy at all in the SPH or VAB. It's most laggy on the ground- and gets exponentially less so the further I get from a thick atmosphere. i.e. Duna isn't laggy at all even near "sea level", Kerbin is quite a bit so on the ground- but far less in the upper atmosphere, and not at all above about 120,000 meters; and Eve is so laggy on the ground it's nearly unplayable for me (I am *NEVER* setting up a base there anyways, given the atmospheric density and gravity, so whatever. It will only affect a couple probes and manned missions there for !SCIENCE!) I think it has something to do with the rendering of the horizon and terrain in an atmosphere- since my FPS are MUCH better if I face the camera straight up, and to a lesser degree if down into the ground... Glad to see you've been following Specialist. I've already sent several probes, tankers, and even permanent space stations to the Jool and Duna systems in previous saves. I just never landed anywhere in the systems- partly because I tend to *VERY* carefully engineer my rockets (no 20-tank lag machines for me- I find I can often pack in way more delta V than I need anyways with a carefully designed rocket that carries no excess weight and stages in a clever manner- and maybe a little orbital refueling...), and I spend a LOT of time designing efficient lander-equipped missions when I make them... I am currently working on an efficient design to deliver an orbital science lab (from KSP Interstellar- it generates science at a very slow rate, and only becomes available near the very end of the tech tree- it appears it should be most useful for reaching the super-expensive nodes it adds a couple tiers after the tree normally ends) to Laythe orbit. So far, I tested using the Near Future mod's plasma magnetoplasodynamic thrusters (impressed by its 24 kN thrust and ion engine-like ISP's), but found that even a single thruster burns through Rockomax-64 sized hydrogen tanks at an incredible rate, due to the *very* low density of the mod's "HydrogenGas" fuel... So unless I want to pack about 80 of the largest Hydrogen tanks into a single rocket (which many tanks would still only weigh about 0.8 tons in total- full), and probably have to refuel them all once, getting a relatively heavy payload (more than 5 tons- the Science Lab alone is 3.5) to the Jool system in a reasonable amount of time using that system is out of the question...

In a move the wisdom of which is yet to be revealed, I have added the following mods: (and backed up my savegame) TAC Fuel Balancer (Utility) KSP Interstellar Mod (extremely futuristic technologies- more advanced and EXPENSIVE than even the NearFuture Mod, I think of it as a sort of far-off future mod...) I'm also toying with adding the HOME and/or Kethane mods... Oh, and MechJeb, once they work out the bugs in the current version. I'm worried about what the Kethane mod will do to my already laggy game though (for that matter, I'm worried about KSP Interstellar for the same reasons)... Basically, I'm going for resource gathering and expansion of my interstellar reach. Especially with new, more distant locations to visit thanks to the PlanetFactory mod... Still looking for new ideas though. Is anyone reading this???

My Eve probe (see main thread) makes a pitstop on Gilly for some extra SCIENCE! And, a beautiful sunset. I love how low the gravity is on Gilly. Reaction wheels alone are capable of righting my transfer stage and all with enough force to actually jump it quite a few meters off the ground (from nudging the ground on the way up).

THIS THREAD IS CLOSED, AND A NUMBER OF THE MORE RECENT IMAGES HAVE BEEN LOST FOREVER (THANKS TO IMGUR). IT'S FINISHED. KAPUT. PLEASE SEE MY NEW THREAD, "KERBIN AND BEYOND: A NEW BEGINNING" IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MY MISSIONS IN KSP. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86535-Kerbin-and-Beyond-A-New-Beginning APOLOGIES, NORTHSTAR Kerbals love exploring space. They love exploring it so much that they developed their first rockets before they developed wheels! Already, brave Kerbal explorers have set foot on the Mun, Minmus, and most of Kerbal's biomes (excluding the Tundra and Badlands, if I have the second name correct, which are both harder-to-find with a low-res orbital map...) They've designed aircraft that can circumnavigate Kerbin TWICE (image below), and they've sent probes off towards Duna and Eve (neither has yet arrived, but see images below). Oh, and they also placed a fuel depot in orbit of Kerbin to facilitate heavier missions (images below)- and plan on putting another identical one high in orbit of the Mun. EXTRA PICS in SCREENSHOTS thread (hasn't been updated in a long while though) http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57508-Kerbin-and-Beyond-a-Maturing-Space-Program Double-Circumnavigation Jetliner (designed for the Kerbal Airliner Challenge) DUNA Probe EVE Probe Fuel Depot (note the KAS winches for fuel-transfer) Now, however, as three brave Kerbal explorers (Enrick- the pilot, Jerbo, and Neddred, from left to right) stand on yet another biome of the Mun (Highlands biome- picture below), the question arises- where to next? What should they do when they get there? (For those who were curious- the lander only holds one Kerbal, but two more rode down on the rovers. They can get back into orbit by re-attaching the commands seats from the rovers to the lander- using KAS.) I've developed this thread to try and solicit good/creative/interesting mission ideas. I've developed quite a bit of skill in rocketry over several months playing KSP, though I still mostly launch my payloads straight up- as I only recently developed my first spaceplane (images below). I haven't yet actually landed on any planets outside the Kerbin system with anything more than a couple light probes on Duna and Ike in a previous save (none yet in this one- the last one was unmodded Career Mode, and I deleted it after starting my current modded Career mode save), but I could easily send a manned mission anywhere in the solar system- I've sent at least 8 or 9 orbital probes, manned orbital labs, fuel tankers, and fuel depots (tankers to refill the fuel depots, in prep for planned manned missions, in previous saves- now deleted), probably more, to the Jool, Duna, and Eve systems in previous saves- though the labs all got eaten by a couple universe-crash bugs shortly after arrival- so I never got to attempt an EVA-only landing on Pol from one of the Jool labs- which I was planning. Updated Mods List: Kerbal Attachment System v0.4.5 (useful for transferring fuel w/o hard docking, and in-field minor modifications to spacecraft and rovers) B9 Aerospace R4-0c (the larger wings are indispensable) Procedural Dynamics v0.7 (aka. Procedural Wings- the customizability and size of wings it allows is unimaginable- now I can design EXACTLY what I want/need) Stretchy Tanks v0.2.2 (same idea- customizability and scalability- but with fuel tanks) Firespitter Mod v6.1.1/Pre3 [REDUCED] (I love the electric propellers- extraterrestrial aircraft just became a lot more feasible!) Novapunch 2.03a (My computer is very slow/weak- so the larger diameter tanks/engines help a LOT with reducing heavy launch platform part counts) with TEXTURE REDUCTION Multipanels 1.0 (A tiny mod that adds scaled-up static solar panels. They are proportionally heavier and larger, but save on part count. Saves FPS mostly.) NearFuture 0.33 (Decent mod- a little over-simplified and unbalanced compared to, say, KSP Interstellar- but still very cool/realistic- as much as KSP ever gets) KSP Interstellar v0.10.1 (AMAZING mod- adds a ton of features, especially many focused on realistic and difficult resource extraction. Beats Kethane Mod hands-down for long-term mission sustainability- at least as far as realism and greater difficulty go...) Krag's PlanetFactory Nov8 2013 version (first mod EVER to add new planets and moons to the game, that aren't just re-textured versions of the ones Squad made. I GREATLY look forwards to exploring them- but they are analogs for Saturn- "Sentar", big comets like Haley's Comet- "Ascension", and a few dwarf planets mostly- so they're much harder to reach than the original destinations... Off-world bases should come in handy here though...) Kethane Pack 0.8.4 (this is a new one for me- I'll have to see how I like being able to mine methane, *cough*, Kethane all over the place- even places I shouldn't realistically find it, like the Mun... It DOES enable Extraplanetary Launchpads' ore-mining though...) Extraplanetary Launchpads v 3.7 (it's not as easy/cheaty as you may be led to believe- at least not if you play it legit in Career Mode like I do. The tech nodes to unlock it are pretty advanced, and the infrastructure it requires is HEAVY. The rockets aren't free once you can build them either- you still have to haul every last ton of Dry Mass to the launchpad from Kerbin as the "RocketParts" resource, and ALL the fuel the new craft will require too... You can also mine "Ore", much like Kethane, which can be refined into "Metal" and then into "RocketParts") Orbital Construction Re-Redux (shares the "RocketParts" resource with ExLchnpds, but without the need for all the heavy infrastructure for ground construction... May sound easier- but this is realistic- it's actually much easier to build large, massive things like rockets in zero-gravity environments in real life...) Utilities: TAC Fuel Balancer v2.1 (a simple utility- it adds the ability to launch with empty tanks, partial fills, etc.- and a better system for balancing you fuel tanks in-flight) Ferram's Kerbal Joint Reinforcement v1.7 (ESSENTIAL until the next update stabilizes joints, and hopefully physics loads. I only added this just before establishing my mountaintop launchpad [see page 13] and I'm glad I did. Before adding this mod, I was having a lot of trouble with ships inexplicably exploding or losing parts when landed, Kerbals glitching into said ships or the ground and exploding, etc. Not nearly as often any more. Once again, an ESSENTIAL mod for KSP in its current state as of 0.23) MechJeb v2.1.1.0 DevBuild #168 (useful if my computer is being too laggy to fly a craft properly, or if I just don't want to be bothered making that hour-long burn for an ion probe...) MechJeb/RemoteTech for All (I'm only using the wildcard utility to add MechJeb2 to all my cockpits- the last thing I need on my laggy computer is an extra part...) Kerbal Alarm Clock v2.7.0 (Useful when I have 6-7 ships en-route to Duna at the same time, and I don't want to miss a SOI transition!) Active Texture Management Texture-Compressor Plugin (sort of a utility- compresses and reduces all textures in the game, including those of mods. Takes less RAM memory to compensate for reduced textures by running at full-res than to run game normally on half or quarter-res.) I eagerly await new and exciting ideas. SPECIAL MENTION: I feel Krag's Planet Factory is important enough it deserves a shout-out for the link. I think EVERY player should install it- even if you normally only play stock. The vanilla game is sadly poor in planets and moons to explore- and this adds more variety... http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1q008p/expansionkrags_planetfactorysentar_system/ P.S. I won't beg for reputation points- but don't forget that if you like this thread, you can "award" me reputation for it- which helps to show my dedication to this game. Regards, Northstar

In relation to my budding space program (thread in Mission Reports http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57509-Kerbin-and-Beyond-a-Maturing-Spac.e-Program), here are a couple of particularly beautiful and scenic screenshots I took of one of my Mun rovers at the edge of a Mun crater at sunset. Enjoy. (For those who saw earlier pics of the two rovers- I reallocated all the solar panels and scientific instruments to one using KAS, and terminated the other, to reduce the # of flights in progress. Stripped the command seats from both rovers and attached them to the lander to bring the extra two Kerbals back to orbit.)

Ok, so, first of all, my airliner. Bit of a ungainly albatross of a plane, but she has great lift, good stability (I've pulled out of many tailspins with her on test flights) and I'm very proud of her incredible fuel-efficiency... The plane has: 850 fuel capacity 2 pilots 34 passenger capacity (in Firespitter passenger fuselages) 1 turbojet engine (from B9 Aerospace) And, I went for an extra bit of challenge, and made this in my newest Career mode game, with limited technology (hence the biplane wheels and the reason for the multiple-fuselage design in the first place, instead of just another giant cargo bat filled with command seats). So NO, I'm not going to hire 27 additional Kerbals (I have 9 in active rotation- I only used 4 on this mission) just so I can fill it up- and be stuck with all of them afterwards. I filled both pilot seats, and one of the passenger modules (I took a screenshot before liftoff of the crew hatch screen for it, but I'm not sure what happened to it...) You'll just have to trust me on this, those 17 things with the windows and the yellow stickers are all indeed passenger modules, and can hold 2 Kerbals each... Second, an in-flight picture: And finally, my attempt at landing on the island runway. I massively overshot the KSC because I got so focused on maintaining level flight and cruising altitude (no MechJeb for me) that I didn't realize I was past the KSC until I was already halfway across the ocean to the east of it. As a result, I performed a steep dive down, and turned towards the island runway, as it was closer (and worth more points)... This should have been relatively easy- but lately my computer has been acting up, and it slowed down to about 12-16 frames per minute- so I couldn't control turning well if my life depended on it. As a result, my approach angle was way off, and I crashed, lightly (no parts were destroyed, no Kerbals killed, and the G-forces didn't even exceed my peak of 3.2 when I was performing a rapid dive towards the end of my flight)- right into the air controllers' tower. So, first of all, the last of my three flyby's, thanks to lag making accurate line-up near impossible (the plane has under 100 parts, by the way) As you can see, I had 371 fuel in this screenshot. After that, I just got fed up with it, and attempted to land at a terrible angle- straight towards the control tower. I knew from experience my plane could stop very quickly once it touched down- so I figured I could stop short of it. I probably could have. However, I forgot that the tower's collision box goes way beyond the actual tower, thanks to all the debris scattered in front of it- so I didn't have to hit the actual tower for my plane to break apart first (and then skid to the resting spots shown here) As you can see here, the fuel got broken into multiple pieces, so it's impossible to get an accurate count in just one image: The landing was a FAIL. However I did manage to carry a 34-Kerbal payload around Kerbin, *PAST* the KSC, circle around to the island runway and make no fewer than THREE flyby's before attempting landing on the fourth, and finally, land without killing anyone (even if the plane had been full- no parts were destroyed), all with 369 fuel left over (I did my last approach, where I crashed, mostly on glide mode- as it was costing me about 10 fuel/flyby when powered, even on minimal throttle- due to very-low atmosphere inefficient Isp and high drag). For the record, I could have done it on far less than half my fuel- I had 450/850 left when I realized I had massively overshot the KSC, and decided to turn around... Finally, the flight log: As you'll notice, I cleared Mach 3 (even huge planes with tons of wings like mine can reach very high speeds when flying at 27,000-30,000 meters). I flew for over 2 hours and 15 minutes. I traveled a ground distance of over 4,284,000 meters (for reference, Kerbin circumference is 3,769,911 meters). And I had enough fuel left upon (crash) landing that I could have done it again without refueling (remember, it took me 400 fuel from a full 850 to *massively* overshoot the KSC.) I would normally complain that the fuel-scoring system favors big, heavy planes that waste lots of fuel (50% of an 850-fuel plane's fuel is still a LOT less than 25% of a 8400-fuel craft's fuel). IMHO it should be based on PERCENTAGE of fuel left at landing. But I did crash at the end, so I'll be happy if I'm just given the points for the fuel I had left... In finale, the score: Pilots 2 x 15 = 30 pts Passengers 34 x 30 = 1020 pts Fuel 4 x 10 (rounded up to 400) = 40 pts Speed 3 x 50 = 150 pts Penny Pincher = 100 pts Blackout = 25 pts Engine shortage = 100 pts B9 Aerospace Mod = -90 pts Firespitter Mod - -90 pts Total = 1285 pts Could've had 50-85 more pts if not for my darn overshoot of the KSC, and that lag-induced crash landing, but oh well- it wouldn't have changed anything. I still place in 2nd either way. Coming NEXT, if I ever get the willpower to fly for that long: my heavy all-electric model (it's a bit smaller- but still with three fuselages), just for kicks (and to be a "Green" CEO). It doesn't travel that fast (it hits a high of a bit under Mach 1 in a very steep high-altitude dive- and could sustain around 200 m/s in level flight in an earlier version I made, before I stripped off 6 of its 9 engines to reduce lag- which is still very impressive for an electric plane... I haven't tested the newer, weaker version, much yet), its altitude ceiling isn't all that high (16,000 meters with the 9 electric propellers), though once again, impressive for an electric; and it's solar-powered, so it has to fly WEST from the KSC, leaving around late afternoon (it flies faster than Kerbin rotates), to circumnavigate the globe successfully. On last though: I originally designed the electric model as a heavier derivative of a mid-sized plane I designed for the "Flying Duna AGAIN" Challenge, inspired by the Kethane Traveling Circus... Unfortunately, I still wasn't impressed enough with its altitude ceiling to justify the enormous effort in launching it on a SABRE engine stage (from B9 Aerospace) or spaceplane, to get to Duna (17,200 meters on Kerbin, with 5 propellers, and a lot less mass)- so I decided to put off the challenge until I develop the Career Mode tech node for Structural Wings and Wingboards (which I plan to use to create an all-electric plane without fuselages beyond the cockpit). Still, the link if anybody's interested in attempting the Challenge themselves. It's not easy: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/50619-Flying-Duna-AGAIN

By the way, did you try placing the parachutes right on the center of mass of the plane? In my medium-altitude electric plane design (the one I just posted about) I was having the same problem, until I moved the parachutes to directly on top of the center of mass. Basically, parachutes tend to exert torque on your craft if they're placed off-COM, which is what makes your plane lawn-dart. So, you're left with two options- try and balance the torque with parachutes on both ends- which is tricky to get right at best unless your craft is front-to-back symmetrical as well- or place the parachutes right on the COM. The plane will still tend to tip some- you'll never get the 'chutes exactly on the COM- but if you're close enough you can stop the thing from tipping tail or nose-up (depending on which end the parachutes are on) with control surfaces alone.

Difficult challenge Geschosskopf- but the hardest part is getting the thing to orbit from Kerbin! Inspired in part by your Kethane Traveling Circus episodes, I already built an all-electric plane that's almost up to the challenge- it can cruise at 16000 meters on Kerbin (that's the same pressure as 4770 meters on Duna) and is plenty maneuverable and powerful for the job. The first problem is, after about 16000 meters, the Firespitter electric propellers I used (and you used in the D'OH) start to leak coolant (FSCoolant)- and stop working soon after that when they run out! How did you get your plane to over 6000 meters on Duna? The propellers should have lost all their coolant long before then... The second problem I face, is, as I said, getting the darn thing to orbit. You see, I built the thing in Career mode (bonus points for doing it in Career mode before discovering all the nodes, anyone?) and I haven't even discovered Ramjet engines yet, nonetheless SABRE ones (I'm running B9 Aerospace, KAS, Firespitter Mod, NovaPunch2, Near-Future mod- which is balanced and realistic advanced ion engines and nuclear power, and Multipanels 1.0- which basically is just a static panel weld mod)- either of which would be required to get the thing high enough to orbit it like a spaceplane. So it's going to be a real hassle getting the thing into orbit- I'm pretty sure the lift of the thing would tip any rocket over I sat it on top of or on the side of... My only option (before discovering more tech nodes) seems to be sending TWO copies of the plane to Duna, on each side of a huge rocket- but the part count for that on the Launchpad would kill my weak/slow computer (or invite the Kraken over for dinner)... Let me know if you have any ideas- otherwise, it's waiting until I get better propulsion methods (SABRE, or at least Ramjet engines) so I can send the thing to orbit via spaceplane, like you did in the KTC... That is, if I don't lose interest in the challenge before I get to the node... As a side-note, I've recently been experimenting with using Turbojet engines alone to get to orbit (they pop up on the tech tree intermediate between basic jet engines and ramjet engines when you have B9 Aerospace installed). They make it to a vaguely suborbital trajectory (63,350 meter apoapsis), but I haven't quite been able to get up to 80,000 meters or so with them yet (where I'd have enough head-room for an orbital burn)