Landwalker

Roger. Thanks for clarifying on both counts. I do like the "different kerbals have different specialties" concept, but not always the way it's implementedâ€â€the way leveling/XP works, the fact that by stock untrained engineers are basically deadweight (at least Pilots can use SAS and Scientists can collect and reset observation experiments). Having specialist kerbals gives a sense of a group being an actual crew where everybody has their particular roles, instead of just being clones of each other. Hopefully when 1.1 rolls around the Kerbal "Class System" will be much improved.[sup[1 At least, I can hope. I'll stay away from RealFuels and any parallels for now and just stick with the stock fuels, imbalance and all. If it gets too much on my nerves, maybe at some point I'll sit down and hammer out what the fuel situation "should be," but for now I think I'm okay. I'm also going to refrain from changing the way SETI handles the scientists and experiment collection/resetting for nowâ€â€it may not be as convenient for me by any stretch, but I can understand the thought behind it and want to get far enough into the career to have more experience with how the new setup works before I go and throw it out. I signed up for some SETI, so I'm going to stick with it as it was created. I kind of wish the kerbals advanced in a sort of "skill tree" format, accessible through the Astronaut Complex. Want a generalist kerbal? Grab lots of different skills. Want a pilot? Load up on piloting skills. Etc.

Ah, I see. I've been wondering about giving Real Fuels a shake, but I don't know how well it actually balances things (as opposed to replacing them). Or for that matter, how well it integrates with other mods I'm using, like HGR, Fuel Tanks Plus, etc. Probably best for now for me to just stick with the stock system and not look at it too closely, unless anyone has any particular recommendations. Ah, I see. I didn't realize the progression was there, and (although I'm using StationScience) I haven't gotten anywhere remotely near a Cyclotron. My main gripe with not letting scientists repeat the experiments by default is that it ends up favoring exactly what you provide as an example: Sending out small, reusable probes on multiple missions, because having a scientist "on-site" doesn't actually provide any benefit. What's the point of sending a scientist on a munar landing mission if they can't actually do anything? (That said, I won't argue with the absurdity of the XP system. Because it's absurd.) It's entirely possible that I'm just not understanding the utility of scientists, though. I've glanced at Tantares and would certainly not object to it being worked in with SETIctt. Nowhere near the chops to actually do any work related to it, so all I can offer is a vote of "yea". Of course, if I ever start using a N1-inspired rocket, I feel like I'm obligated to also start using the Dangit! mod to make sure it almost never successfully launches.

Not sure this is necessarily the appropriate venue to ask, but I've been getting errors that the kerbals in my FASA Launch Tower can't get out because the hatch door is obstructed. So I guess the question is... how do / can I get them out for their walk of fame to the command pod?

While we're on the subject, this always struck me as a bit odd, too. Admittedly, I've never actually used a mobile science processing lab before, but my impression was that they're so heinously slow that it's practically not worth it (especially when you start factoring in things like life support). For a non-MPL person like me, being able to reset and re-run Mystery Gooâ„¢ and Science Jr. experiments is literally the only reason to have scientists (since they don't actually provide a bonus to science collection). As Targa says, I'm sure it's been mentioned before (although I can't be bothered to look through 130 pages of posts for it), and I'm sure (or at least, assume) that there's a valid reason for it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. P.S. The question about realistic and/or well-balanced fuels still stands, for anyone who knows the answer. I know there's the Real Fuels mod, but I don't know how nicely it plays with SETI, and honestly don't know for sure if SETI hasn't already handled the balance issues, just using the stock fuel system.

Just noticed the Lancer II post accidentally included some of my outline notes from when I was actually playing. They've now been removed. Indeed! The KSSLTA is progressing slowly but more-or-less surely. The combination of the SETI-CTT layout and playing at 60% Funds/Science is keeping the progression rate down, but they've finally managed to put a kerbal into space, however briefly. With the recent discovery of liquid fuel options (via General Rocketry), primitive orbital craft seems to be on the horizon. I'm going to have to play around with a few things due to RemoteTech to make sure I can actually get these probes to, you know, work, but I'm hopeful that the KSSLTA will be able to accumulate enough science from various avenues to pick up a handful of the Tier 3 tech nodes, particularly Basic Science in order to 1) Improve science collection, and 2) Unlock the first RemoteTech dish antenna. While the current Department of Tourism request is for an orbital craft, the major near-term goals are upgrading the launchpad, tracking station, and VAB so that we can start attempting to set up a first-generation near-Kerbin communications array.

Lancer II  Paving New Roads With Fire UT Y1-D35-H0-M14 √58,049 – §34.9– Ʀ10% Following the work done by Field Science Intern Bob Kerman, Wernher von Kerman, official court wizard of the KSSLTA, informed the program director that his apprentices now had enough Raw Science Ore Units to complete what he called "the final Tier 2 technology node" ("it's a technical scientific term"). Wizard Wernher claimed that this node's name was "Stability", and since that sounded like rather a nice thing for KSSLTA launch vehicles to possess, the program director authorized the necessary ceremonies. No further work was necessary until the contractors completed their renovations to Mission Control at UT Y1-D36-H4-M6, expanding the facility to accommodate the simultaneous management of up to nine contracts. (Mission Controller Gene Kerman had previously been forced to handle all such matters himself, and was only able to manage three at a time. Gene was, needless to say, very pleased to have enough desks for a couple of interns to delegate all the work to while he took a nap.) During this time, the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters Union delivered materials for an additional minor upgrade, which raised the VAB's sole production line rate to 0.8 BP/s. Following the hiring of Gene's henchmen college interns, contracts began pouring in. Many manufacturers wanted the official KSSLTA stamp of approval on their part designs, and many of these would require no more than a simple launchpad test without any actual mission. Some of the experimental parts, however, held promise in the goal of finally sending a kerbal to space. After a quick design period and a √53.1 simulation to confirm the likelihood of success (with no glaring engineering flaws, unlike Lancer I's simulated run), production began on Lancer II at UT Y1-D36-H4-M6. Mission Objectives Put the first kerbal into space on suborbital flight. Observe Mystery Goo™ in near space. Transmit Magnetometer Scan from near space. Collect and recover scientific data from splashdown in ocean. Recover the craft intact. Recover the pilot alive. Test recovery of jettisoned stages. Test FASA Launch Tower on Launchpad. Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB on Launchpad. Test arming of RealChute Cone Chute within contract parameters (1km-7km, 100-900m/s) [*]Construction Command Stage Mk1 Inline Cockpit RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, Single, Main) Universal Storage QuadCore (2x) Universal Storage Science Bay 2HOT Thermometer PresMat Barometer Double-C Seismic Accelerometer1 Universal Storage Mystery Goo™ Bay Universal Storage Magnetometer Boom Bay [*]Second Stage BACC "Thumper" Solid Fuel Booster (55% Thrust Limiter) (2x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main) (4x) Basic Fin, 200% Scale [*]First Stage (2x) SpaceY 06R Radial SRB, 0.625m×6m (80% Thrust Limiter) (2x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main) [*]Launch Supports FASA Launch Tower FASA 1.25m Redstone Launch Clamp [*]Engineer's Report Total on the Launchpad Part Count: 26 Height: 17.5m Mass: 13,509kg (9,450kg solid fuel)2 Delta-V (Surface): 2,307m/s [*]Command Stage Part Count: 11 Mass: 1,376kg [*]Second Stage Part Count: 9 Mass: 8,015kg (6,150kg solid fuel) TWR: 1.49 (76.8s burn) Delta-V: 1,826m/s [*]First Stage Part Count: 6 Mass: 4,087kg (3,300kg solid fuel) TWR: 1.49 (28.7s burn) Delta-V: 482m/s [*]Construction Time: 9d, 5h, 52m [*]Construction Cost: √13,613 [*]Crew Test Pilot Jebediah Kerman On account of being scheduled for nearly ten days of construction and with no other ongoing projects, once again all unoccupied staff (which is to say, everyone except the engineers and R&D sorcerers) were given further vacation time. And once again, after the folks at R&D finished their incantations surrounding Stability, they took vacation of their own accord. Stability (§16) MRS Decoupler, Radial Mini Procedural Interstage Fairing Adapter Procedural Fairing Base Procedural Fairing Base Ring Procedural Egg-shaped Fairing Procedural Conic Fairing AE-FF1 Airstream Protective Shell (1.25m) A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S. Circular Intake Mk1 Fuselage - Intake LFI Basic Jet Engine, Small AV-T1 Winglet Small Hardpoint LY-10 Small Landing Gear Construction of Lancer II was completed at UT Y1-D46-H3-M58 and rollout began immediately. As soon as the rocket was out of the VAB, the few engineers who weren't fast enough to disappear were put to work preparing for the surface testing of various minor parts in connection with some of the small contracts that were inundating Mission Control. Rollout took just over two hours, with launch at UT Y1-D47-H0-M1. As was becoming customary, Jebediah burned vertically until reaching a velocity of 90-100m/s, then slowly turned the craft to an 80º ascent angle. It was noted a short while later that Lancer II had wound up on a 98º heading instead of traveling due east, and Mission Controller Gene Kerman made a note that upon return they would have Jeb work on his "aim" to improve the ascent headings. The first-stage SpaceY boosters successfully separated at MET 00:29 and parachutes deployed for recovery, with confirmation later coming from Mission Control that they recovery was successful. The second-stage BACC "Thumper" took over, burning out at MET 01:47 with the Lancer II at 33.8km altitude and traveling 1,415m/s. At MET 02:37, Jebediah Kerman became the first ever kerbal in space as the ship passed the 70km altitude mark! Jeb was eventually persuaded to conduct the obligatory crew report and run the requested magnetometer and Mystery Goo™ experiments, and was also successfully talked down from trying to get out of the cockpit and "see what space tastes like." Mission Control made notes not to allow Jeb on future unprovisioned flights unless he had been well-fed in advance, and also to look into what improvements could be made to training and equipment to allow future kerbonauts to go on EVA in space. Lancer II reached an apokee of 101km at MET 04:24. Jeb retracted the magnetometer boom and prepared for descent, separating the still-attached Stage 2 at MET 05:00. Atmospheric encounter occurred at MET 06:13 (total time in space: 3 minutes and 36 seconds), and Jeb was instructed to hold orientation "nose up" during the descent unless it became a danger to the scientific instruments at the base of the command stage. Reentry heating was encountered at MET 06:58 with the craft traveling over 1,500m/s at an altitude of 36.7km, but the heating had largely subsided by the time the craft reached 9km altitude, by which point it had slowed to under 600m/s. The command stage parachute was successfully armed at an altitude of 6.9km and a velocity of 280m/s, satisfying the conditions of its particular contract, and proceeded to deploy without issue. Splashdown occurred at MET 10:03, and Jeb spent a few moments running additional experiments and composing his reports in iambic penatmeter replete with food metaphors. Recovery was at MET 12:00, and Jeb was given a cookie. Science Recovered: §33.00 Salvage Recovered: √8,387 (61.61%) Success  Put the first kerbal into space on suborbital flight. Success  Observe Mystery Goo™ in space near Kerbin. Success  Transmit Magnetometer Scan from space near Kerbin. Success  Collect and recover scientific data from splashdown in ocean. Success  Recover the craft intact. Success  Test recovery of jettisoned stages. Success  Test FASA Launch Tower on Launchpad. Success  Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB on Launchpad. Success  Test arming of RealChute Cone Chute in flight. Complete  Test RealChute Cone Chute in flight over Kerbin √12,857  §2  Ʀ6 [*]Complete  Test FASA Launch Tower at the Launch Site √2,835  §1  Ʀ1Complete  Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB landed at Kerbin √3,245  §1  Ʀ1 Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Water  §3.60 Crew Report whiile splashed down in Kerbin's Waters  §1.44 EVA Report from Kerbin's Water  §1.44 EVA Report "splashed down" in Kerbin's Water  §1.92 EVA Report while "flying" over Kerbin's Water  §3.36 Magnetometer Scan from space near Kebrin  §3.00 Magnetometer Scan from Kerbin's oceans  §1.20 Mystery Goo™ Observation while in space near Kerbin  §10.80 Temperature Scan from Kerbin's Water  §0.72 Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's oceans  §0.72 Recovery of a vessel after a sub-orbital flight  §4.80 Jebediah Kerman First Kerbal in Space Ribbon Research II Ribbon  For collection of 50 RSOUs Splashdown Ribbon  For a splashdown of a vessel in water Multiple Contracts Ribbon  For completing five contracts G-Force V Ribbon  For withstanding acceleration of 5g for three seconds Mach II Ribbon  For flying horizontally at mach 2 below 30km in Kerbin's atmosphere 10% Solid Fuel Booster Ribbon  Awarded for launching with solid fuel booster at 10% of ship mass Although the mission objectives call for a splashdown, the accelerometer was included just in case Jeb missed the water and ended up on land. I finally, for the first time, remembered to remove the built-in monopropellant from the cockpit. Saved me all of 30kg and √9, but still, principles.

Unfortunately, I can't. I have the artistic and graphical chops of a potato. The flags used by the Fifth Kerpublic and the KSA come to us via some great ESA-inspired work from Jossen K. The absolutely awesome Koviet Union flag is literally the only post Yuri's Night ever made. If you're only going to have one, better make it count!

Planes, Brains, and Automobiles UT Y1-D25-H1-M23 √20,145 – §28 .9– Ʀ9% The Department of Tourism's latest pet project was to see KSSLTA take something from Kerbin's surface and put it into Kerbin's orbit. As appealing as this sounded to the program director, the fact of the matter was that the program in no way had the technological capacity to do such a thing, so the boffins at the R&D Lab were cut loose on researching what they called General Rocketry. Nobody was sure who, exactly, General Rocketry was, and several senior staff suggested issuing a standing offer of surrender in case he should ever turn up, but despite these shadowy obstacles the program pressed forward resolutely, if uncertainly. While the R&D rituals were under way, however, work elsewhere had to continue. Rather than try to use the program's existing arsenal of solid fuel boosters in another potentially failed attempt to put a kerbal into space, it was decided to focus on projects closer to home until the latest and greatest explosions were field-ready. The R&D Field Research Team offered the program the proceeds of their Baked Goods & Wine Charity Sale in exchange for the development of a simple transport vehicle that could deliver reports and data around the resort grounds quickly. As most of the Engineering department thought that the lack of rocket construction meant "vacation" and disappeared, only the few remaining behind were tasked with developing a small staff car for transportation around the resort and efficient collection and delivery of that information between facilities. Since the P-1A "Papillon" scout plane and the KSA Science Kart, as well as the Mission Control renovations, would all take over a week to complete, all non-essential personnel were given the week off. R&D took off of their own accord unannounced after finishing summoning General Rocketry. General Rocketry (§16) RT-2 "Grasshopper" Solid Rocket Booster BACC "Thumber" Solid Fuel Booster SpaceY 05S SRB (0.625m × 5m) SpaceY 06R Radial SRB (0.625m × 6m) SpaceY 09S SRB (0.625m × 9m) TT-38K Radial Decoupler TT18-A Launch Stability Enhancer FL-T100 Fuel Tank FL-T200 Fuel Tank FL-T400 Fuel Tank FL-T800 Fuel Tank1 LV-T15 "Dachshund" Liquid Fuel Engine LV-T45 "Swivel" Liquid Fuel Engine The first of the projects to be completed was the P-1A "Papillon", a short-range, propeller-powered monoplane the agency/resort could use to conduct nearby survey contracts for prospective clients and guests. As it happened, the agency had partnered with a leading travel planner specializing in the most exotic destinations, the Anomaly Surveyor Group, who had identified the ruins of a former Kerpublican air base just a few kilometers off the coast from the resort grounds. This air base had been destroyed during the Kermanian Kerfuffle, but ASG believed it would make an excellent tourist destination and was willing to pay the KSSLTA for conducting a visual evaluation of the site. The newly constructed scout plane would be the perfect vehicle for such a job. Mission Objectives Locate the burnt-out space pod in the island airfield's hangar. Climb to the top of the control tower at the island airfield. Return to the KSA resort grounds intact and alive. [*]Construction Mk1 Inline Cockpit D-25 Radial Propeller Engine Mk1 Liquid Fuel Fuselage Tail Connector B (2x) LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear LY-05 Steerable Landing Gear (2x) Swept Wings, 140% Scale (2x) Elevon 5 (3x) AV-R8 Winglet (2x) EAS-4 Strut Connector [*]Engineer's Report Total on the Runway Flight Time at 100% Throttle: 42 minutes Length: 9.6m Width: 13.4m Weight: 5,968kg (2,000kg liquid fuel) Delta-V (Surface): N/A [*]Construction Time: 11d, 0h, 28m [*]Construction Cost: √9,634 [*]Crew Test Pilot Valentina Kerman The P-1A "Papillon" was completed at UT Y1-D33-H2-M26, but as this was in the middle of night and the scout plane had no landing lights, take-off was delayed a few hours until UT Y1-D33-H5-M0. Once on the runway, Valentina conducted a quick systems check and status report before firing up the engines at MET 01:00. The generally poor condition of the runway made "straight" takeoff difficult and resulted in much bouncing as the plane picked up speed, but the pilot was able to get the craft airborne with no serious problems or structural damage. After clearing the beach and barnstorming the sunbathing engineers, she took a heading of 135º (southeast) towards the island destination. The P-1A leveled off at around 650m altitude for the flight, and reached a top speed in level flight just shy of 100m/s. Valentina reported that the plane was unusually "twitchy" about its roll commands, and an engineering intern wandering through Mission Control at that moment surmised that the roll authority elevons had been placed too far from the body of the craft. After a flight time of just under seven minutes, Valentina executed a successful landing at the island airfield and absolutely did not roll the plane over and destroy the right wing due to assymetrical brake torque on the frontal landing gear. After taxiing to the hangars and control tower, Val quickly discovered another engineering flaw, namely that the buffoons had not installed any means for her to deboard the plane without falling to the ground. So Val fell to the ground. The burnt-out capsule was identified, evidence of a young space program destroyed too soon as a result of a K-2 rocket attack during the Kermanian Kerfuffle. The loss of the island program had set the Kerpublic back months, if not years, in their mission to reach space and stay there. Val said a quick prayer in the form of a jingle from a snack commercial and then made her way to the derelict control tower, successfully scaling the tall structure and then descending it rather less gracefully. With the reports completed, it was time to head home, but the lack of a ladder once more reared its head, forcing Valentina to improvise in order to reboard the Papillon. This accomplished, she taxied back to the end of the runway and took off uneventfully, returning to KSC and taxiing to the designated parking spot by the space plane hangar. After a mandatory photo opportunity for the press, Val was allowed back to her quarters for a much-deserved nap. Total mission time was just under thirty minutes. Science Recovered: §10.58 Salvage Recovered: √9,321 (96.75%) Success  Locate the burnt-out space pod in the island airfield's hangar. Success  Climb to the top of the control tower at the island airfield. Success  Return to the KSA resort grounds intact and alive. Complete  Investigate the Island Airfield √15,000  §0  Ʀ2 Crew Report from the Runway §1.08 Crew Report from Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.08 Crew Report from SPH  §1.08 Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Water  §2.52 EVA Report from Runway  §1.44 EVA Report from Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.44 EVA Report from SPH  §1.44 Recovery of a vessel that survived a flight  §0.50 Valentina Kerman Operational Service Ribbon  For completion of a single mission as a pilot Research I Ribbon  For collection of 10 RSOUs Kerbin Surface EVA Ribbon One day after Valentina's successful flight to the island airfield, the skeleton crew of engineers in the VAB finally finished working on the resort's first staff vehicle for quickly navigating the facilities. Mission Objectives Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Astronaut Complex Conduct and transmit temperature scan from KSC Astronaut Complex Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Administration Shanty Conduct and recover Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from KSC R&D Labs [*]Construction Command Stage M-Beam 650 I-Beam (2x) M-1x1 Structural Panel (4x) RoveMax Model S2 Rover Wheels EAS-1 Command Seat (2x) Illuminator Mk2 Headlights (2x) Illuminator Mk3 Taillights Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit Probodobodyne HECS Probe Core Magnetometer Boom 2HOT Thermometer PresMat Barometer Double-C Seismic Accelerometer Z-400 Rechargeable Battery Pack Reflectron DP-10 Extendable KSA Flag2 [*]Engineer's Report Total on the Launchpad Height: 1.5m (1.9m with flag extended) Length: 2.4m Width: 1.8m Weight: 1,361 Delta-V (Surface): N/A [*]Command Stage Part Count: 12 Weight: 1,369kg [*]Stage 2 Part Count: 6 Weight: 3,652kg gross (100% solid rocket fuel) TWR: 1.41 (67.7s burn) Delta-V: 1,369m/s [*]Stage 1 Part Count: 6 Weight: 3,502kg gross (1,350kg solid fuel; 1,100kg oxidizer) TWR: 1.53 (41.2s burn) Delta-V: 731m/s [*]Construction Time: 9d, 4h, 29m [*]Construction Cost: √7,620 [*]Crew Field Science Intern Bob Kerman At UT Y1-D35-H0-M6, Field Scientist Bob Kerman took the kart out for its inaugural drive, assigned to collect a handful of RSOUs from around the KSA center and deliver it to the field research team at the R&D Labs for further refinement. Bob made a quick trip from the launchpad to the Astronaut Complex and Administration Trailer before delivering the information to the R&D Labs. The tech-heads were confused as to why Bob also arrived with so much unnecessary information regarding the KSC Crawlerway, but weren't ones to turn away good RSOUs and happily delivered the proceeds of an independent R&D Baked Goods and Wine Sale. Science Recovered: §12.88 Salvage Recovered: √7,468 (98.01%) Success  Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Astronaut Complex. Success  Conduct and transmit temperature scan from KSC Astronaut Complex. Success  Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Administration Shanty. Success  Conduct and recover Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from KSC R&D Labs. Complete  Run the required tests around the KSC and recover the data √12,655  §0  Ʀ2 Probe Report from Administration  §0.18 Probe Report from Astronaut Complex  §0.18 Probe Report from Crawlerway  §0.18 Telemetry Report from Crawlerway  §0.18 Telemetry Report from Astronaut Complex  §0.18 Temperature Scan from Crawlerway  §0.54 Temperature Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.54 Seismic Scan from Crawlerway  §0.72 Seismic Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.72 Magnetometer Scan from Crawlerway  §0.90 Magnetometer Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.90 EVA Report from Crawlerway  §1.44 EVA Report from Astronaut Complex  §1.44 EVA Report from Crawlerway  §1.44 Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from R&D §3.24 Recovery of Vessel  §0.10 Bob Kerman Scientific Service Ribbon  For completion of a single mission as a scientist Research I Ribbon  For collection of 10 RSOUs First Kerbin Rover Drive Ribbon I really like that SETI puts all of the same-diameter fuel tanks in the same tech node here. (The only outliers are from the Fuel Tanks Plus mod, which I believe hasn't been "incorporated" into the SETI-CTT assignments yet.) Means I don't have to deal with crap like stacking six FL-T100s on top of each other. The KSA Science Kart Mk.1 has a lot of non-essential partsâ€â€the flag, the headlights and tail-lights, parts of the chassis. Because things that look cool are better.

For me, at least, this is a simple answer: I don't look at the masses, volumes, etc. I just slap what I need to together and call it a rocket. I wonder, are there any non-PP fuel tanks mods that you recommend as being particularly well-balanced? I'd like to still be able to use the non-procedural tanks, but I do like me some balance, too. That's assuming, of course, you didn't already tackle stock tank balance with SETI-CTT. (And what's the issue with reaction wheels and EC? I've never looked at them closely. I assume you've already tackled them in SETI-CTT, just curious what the problem actually is because I can't be bothered to look that closely at what I'm building. ) I guess it depends on what they end up being. I'm neutral on them, but I use enough contract packs that I can still pick up a some low-hanging fruit early on (like Field Research and Anomaly Surveyor for KSC science collection and a puddle-jump to the island airfield). Not that I'd complain about free money early in the game by any means!

Lancer I  A Not-Quite-Space Program UT Y1-D12-H5-M32 √80,874 – §16.5 – Ʀ6% The Maginot II had proven to be another solid performance by the KSSLTA's space program division, furthering interest from the Department of Tourism. The mission had generated just enough Raw Science Ore Units for the R&D warlocks to begin investigating another "tech node" (which they insisted was a technical and highly scientific term). As the mounting interest from the Department of Tourism also resulted in mounting pressure of a demonstration that the program could in fact replicate its success with kerbaled flights, the program director requested that the warlocks focus on Survivability, as dead staff (not to mention dead tourists!) would be horrible for business. As R&D began the arcane refining process, the director located the engineering department celebrating in the resort's wine cellar and, after giving them several full seconds to sober up, tasked them with the next great step for the program. The program had proven its ability to get a probe core into high altitude and even nearby space, and now it was time to do the same with a kerbal! Mission Objectives Surpass previous manned flight records by entering upper atmosphere. Send a kerbal into near space on a suborbital trajectory Test Hybrid Rocket Booster from the launch site, per contract with Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Space Parts Co. Return seismic and magnetometer scans from the launchpad Recovery of the craft and safe return of the kerbal pilot. Record scientific data and direct survey reports from the landing site. [*]Construction Command Stage Mk1 Inline Cockpit RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, single primary chute) Universal Storage QuadCore (3x) Universal Storage Science Bay Universal Storage Magnetometer Bay 2HOT Thermometer PresMat Barometer Double-C Seismic Accelerometer (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack [*]Second Stage TR-18A Stack Decoupler RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster, 35% thrust limiter (4x) Basic Fins, 100% scale [*]First Stage TR-18A Stack Decoupler Hybrid Rocket Booster, 70% thrust limiter (4x) Basic Fins, 160% scale [*]Engineer's Report Total on the Launchpad Height: 10.0m Weight: 8,524kg gross - Includes total of 4,162kg solid rocket fuel and 1,100kg oxidizer Delta-V (Surface): 2,100m/s [*]Command Stage Part Count: 12 Weight: 1,369kg [*]Stage 2 Part Count: 6 Weight: 3,652kg gross (100% solid rocket fuel) TWR: 1.41 (67.7s burn) Delta-V: 1,369m/s [*]Stage 1 Part Count: 6 Weight: 3,502kg gross (1,350kg solid fuel; 1,100kg oxidizer) TWR: 1.53 (41.2s burn) Delta-V: 731m/s [*]Construction Time: 12d, 0h, 11m [*]Construction Cost: √8,963 [*]Crew Test Pilot  Jebediah Kerman As the Mk1 Inline Cockpit was not actually proven to be safe for short space-flight, it was difficult to find volunteers despite the historic nature of the mission. The only pilot kerbal enough for such a task was a loud, brash Murikan by the name of Jebediah Kerman, who eagerly (maybe a little too eagerly) jumped at the opportunity to be strapped on top of two barely-controlled explosive devices and propelled beyond the pale. An initial simulation (costing √35.9) revealed a minor potential staging error between the first and second stages which the engineers were instructed to correct before launch. The hope was that this correction would allow the craft to maintain sufficient velocity to escape the atmosphere, as its simulated counterpart had only mustered an altitude of 55.2km. Construction on Lancer I was commenced at UT Y1-D12-H5-M32. While this was underway, the R&D Lab reported the successful transmutation of RSOUs into fresh blueprints. Most of the pilots grumbled that perhaps they should have researched something called Survivability before beginning construction on the first rocket-propelled kerbal-guided craft, although it was later agreed that none of the proposed parts were likely to have been able to save the obviously doomed Jebediah. Survivability (§16) Small Escape Tower RealChute Radial Chute Heat Shield (0.625m) Z-200 Rechargeable Battery Bank Z-1k Rechargeable Battery Bank Fuel Cell Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Bay Radiator Panel Telus-LV Bay Mobility Enhancer LT-05 Micro Landing Strut Illuminator Mk2 Lancer I was completed at UT Y1-D24-H5-M43 in the late morning. Rollout was immediate, but as it took nearly an hour and a half the actual launch did not occur until later that evening at UT Y1-D25-H1-M11. After testing the new scientific instruments on the launchpad, Jebediah performed a perfunctory systems check ("I don't see the snack dispenser...?") before Mission Control disconnected his microphone and remotely triggered the first booster's ignition. As with Maginot II, Jeb had been instructed to hold a vertical ascent until reaching a velocity of 100m/s (which occurred at 880m altitude), then turned to a roughly 80º ascent angle. Lancer I's flight path was set up to take it north across the Bay of Kerbay, and it fell into a bearing of about 343º north-northwest. The Hybrid Rocket Booster that Jebediah himself had provided burned out at MET 00:41, having propelled the craft to an altitude of 5.3km and a velocity of 240m/s. The second-stage RT-10 "Hammer", a more proven engine, took over, and at MET 01:27 Lancer I passed the 18km altitude mark. Jebediah flew into history as the first kerbal on a powered flight into the upper atmosphere. The RT-10 burned out at MET 01:49, 31.2km, 800m/s, and Jeb continued his ascent towards space. Unfortunately, while the staging flaw had been corrected by the engineers, it proved insufficient for penetrating the atmosphere. Much to Jeb's dismay, Lancer I was only able to coast to an apokee of 67.5km, just short of what Maginot II had identified as the boundary of space, before beginning its descent at MET 03:25. Is "practice" for future flights, and to test the maneuver's feasibility, Jeb was instructed to hold the craft retrograde using the cockpit's built-in reaction wheels and descend engines-down for as long as possible before separating the booster and arming the parachute. This proved not to be an especially long timeâ€â€atmospheric friction heat began occuring at MET 05:08, and within ten seconds Jeb had lost control of the craft and was forced to trigger the separation of the command stage for the final descent. The RealChute parachute system worked flawlessly, releasing at MET 05:56 at an absolute altitude of about 3.5km and a speed of 164m/s, with full deployment 18 seconds later slowing the craft to its landing speed of 6.3m/s. Jebediah touched down in the highlands north of the Kerpublican Space Center at MET 07:38, the command stage having been undamaged by the impact. After the scheduled scientific data was collected and the necessary reports made, Jeb relayed that he was ready for the recovery team to arrive, and that all the other pilots could, in a momentous message broadcast across the Kerpublic, "Bite me." Flight Time: 7 minutes, 38 seconds Flight Ceiling: 67.5km Science Recovered: §28.46 Salvage Recovered: √6,145 (68.56%) Success  Surpass previous manned flight records by entering upper atmosphere. Failure  Send a kerbal into near space on a suborbital trajectory Success  Test Hybrid Rocket Booster from the launch site, per contract with Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Space Parts Co. Success  Return seismic and magnetometer scans from the launchpad Success  Recovery of the craft and safe return of the kerbal pilot. Success  Record scientific data and direct survey reports from the landing site. Complete  Manned altitude record of 18km √13,500  §4  Ʀ25 [*]Complete  Test Hybrid Rocket Booster at Launch Site √2,625  §1  Ʀ1 Temperature scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.54 Seismic Scan from Launchpad  §0.72 Seismic Scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.72 Magnetometer Scan from Launchpad  §0.90 Magnetometer Scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.90 Crew Report from LaunchPad  §1.08 Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §2.52 Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §2.52 Crew Report from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §3.24 Crew Report from Kerbin's Highlands  §1.08 EVA Report from Launchpad  §1.44 EVA Report from Kerbin's Highlands  §1.44 EVA Report while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §3.36 Recovery of Vessel  §3.00 Jebediah Kerman Operational Service Ribbon  Completion of one mission as a pilot G-Force IV Ribbon  For withstanding at least 4 g's for three seconds Research I Ribbon  For collecting at least 10 RSOUs. First Landing on Kerbin Those of you waiting on the unveiling of the KSSLTA's first atmospheric plane have a little more waiting to do: The SPH is slow, and planes' increased complexity causes them to demand more Build Points in the first place. Still have a little over 8 Kerbin-Days until it's complete!

Oui, oui! The Koviet Union save was pretty much ruined by all of my incessant mod-tinkering, and with Ussari taking up that particular flavor-torch, I wanted to go a different route. Went with some knock-off France for no other reason than that I really liked the flag Jossen K made for it. As far as challenge, I have enough problems launching from the equator. You have to remember that I, as a player, have actually only ever left the Kerbin subsystem twice, and that was in 0.22 (and those two events were one-way parachuting landing probes to Eve and Duna1)â€â€I've also never used a lot of the "gameplay mods" that I currently have in play, like RemoteTech and USI Life Support. So for me, everything is a challenge! That said, one day (one day!) I do plan to "up my game" a bit more and try out things like KerbinSide non-equatorial launches, 64K scaling, and Ferram Aerospace Research. One day! But not this day... Makes you wonder why I bothered with the Outer Planets Mod, huh? Lofty goals, is all I can say.

Maginot II  Attacking the Darkness UT Y1-D6-H4-M53 √77,635 – §13.6 – Ʀ1% The great success of Maginot I had won the Kerpublican Space Agency a small monetary award from the Department of Tourism, which had in turn been used as bait to trick the agency's absentee engineering department back into the production facilities for the next project after spending nearly a week lying on the beach near the Kerpublican Space Center. Thankfully, their absence did not adversely affect the Maginot I mission, and there was some speculation that the engineers might not even be necessary. While the engineering department was reacclimating to the concept of "work," the folks over at the R&D facility were already hard at work performing their black rituals for transmuting the Raw Science Ore Units relayed from Maginot I into useful blueprints. The considerable success of the mission had generated enough RSOUs to allow simultaneous forays into the most fundamental concepts of any larval luxury travel destination (basic rocketry, simple engineering, and the core principles of aviation). Unaware of, or perhaps indifferent to, the fact that waiting on the findings of the R&D lab, the engineers quickly set to work designing and assembling the Maginot II, with the objective of surpassing the records set by the intern-designed Maginot I and sending a "real rocket" into space itself. Mission Objectives Escape the atmosphere on a suborbital flight. Record and transmit temperature, pressure, and telemetry data from beyond the atmosphere. Record and transmit temperature and pressure data during an overland descent prior to impact. [*]Construction MRS Guidance Cone (1.25m) 2HOT Thermometer1 PresMat Barometer1 (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Packs1 RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster (100% scale) (thrust limited at 30%) (4x) Basic Fins (100% scale) [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 12 Height: 4.0m Weight: 4,042kg gross - Includes total of 2,812kg solid rocket fuel Stage 1: 1.50 TWR (79s burn)  1,984 m/s (Atmospheric) Total Delta-V: 1,984m/s (Atmospheric) Construction Time: 7d, 4h, 29m Construction Cost: √2,080 [*]Crew None It was not lost on the program director (or on the interns) that the final product handed over by Engineering was almost identical to Maginot I, only larger (the chief engineer was quick to point out the addition of a fourth stabilizing fin). Despite this unparalleled display of ingenuity, simulations predicted that the craft would perform as desired, and so approval was given for production to start at UT Y1-D6-H4-M53. By this point, the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters Union had authorized the release of four additional "upgrade points," which improved the production rate of the VAB to 0.65 BP/s, and that of the SPH to 0.35 BP/s. As construction on Maginot II was ongoing, the R&D wizards announced that they had completed summoning a wide variety of foundational blueprints across several critical fields: Basic Rocketry (§4) Reflectron DP-10 Hybrid Rocket Booster Small Inline Reaction Wheel Double-C Seismic Accelerometer TR-2C Stack Separator TR-18A Stack Decoupler TR-2V Stack Decoupler Universal Storage QuadCore Universal Storage Science Bay RT-20 "Sickle" Solid Fuel Booster [*]Engineering 101 (§4) DMagic Magnetometer Boom (and Universal Storage compartment) KIS Ground Base KIS User Guide Wrench EAS-1 External Command Seat EAS-4 Strut Connector Z-400 Rechargeable Battery M-Beam 200 I-Beam M-Beam 200 I-Beam Pocket Edition M-Beam 650 I-Beam M-1×1 Structural Panel M-2×2 Structural Panel Cubic Octagonal Strut (Mk I-IV) Octagonal Strut Modular Girder Adapter Modular Girder Segment (Regular and XL) Pegasus Mobility Enhancer (I-III) Utility Ladder (Mk I-III) Service Bay, 1.25m RoveMax Model S2 [*]Early Aviation (§4) D-25 Radial Engine A7 AeroSport Engine RealChute Cone Chute Swept Wing Tail Connector (A and AB-R8 Winglet Mk1 Inline Cockpit Mk1 Liquid Fuel Fuselage Structural Fuselage TR-18D Stack Separator Telus Mobility Enhancer LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear LY-05 Steerable Landing Gear [*]Modular Wings2 (§1) Variety of Delta Wings, Elevons, Strakes, Structural Wings, and Wing Connectors The program director saw this windfall of technological advancement and realized that, as the Maginot II was not expected to be completed for nearly five more days, the handful of engineers who had gotten lost and wound up in the spaceplane hangar could get a head start on their first hallmark project that would truly be capable of propelling the agency light-years ahead of any competition: A simple propeller-driven plane for sightseeing around the resort. Brilliant! Tragically, such brilliance would take almost four weeks to fully gestate, so attention was turned back to Maginot II as the finishing touches were applied at UT Y1-D12-H4-M38. Rollout was immediate, and the actual launch took place at UT Y1-D12-H5-M23. Maginot II initially followed a very similar path to its predecessor, maintaining a vertical ascent until reaching approximately 100m/s (which occurred at an altitude of 850m), then turned to an 80º ascent angle. Unlike the agency's first flight, however, this turn was to a 270º bearing rather than a 90º bearing, sending Maginot II towards the Kerpyrenees mountains to the west. The full-sized RT-10 "Hammer" thruster burned out at MET 01:19, with the craft having reached an altitude of 26.7km and traveling over 1,050m/s. At approximately MET 02:15, Maginot II surpassed an altitude of 70km and became the first Kerbal-made craft to reach the vast emptiness of space. Fortunately, no Kerpublicans were on board to suffer existential or philosophical crises at the realization of their own insignificance, and instead the probe computer dutifully logged a variety of scientific data and transmitted back to Mission Control. The probe reached an apokee of approximately 89.6km before beginning its unguided descent, reentering the atmosphere at MET 04:42. Maginot II's final transmission contained temperature and barometric data from just above the western highlands before it was destroyed on impact at MET 06:03 while traveling 554m/s. Flight Time: 6 minutes, 3 seconds Flight Ceiling: 89.6km Science Recovered: §9.84 Salvage Recovered: √0 (0%) Success  Escape the atmosphere on a suborbital flight. Success  Record and transmit temperature, pressure, and telemetry data from beyond the atmosphere. Success  Record and transmit temperature and pressure data during an overland descent prior to impact. Complete  Escape the Atmopshere! √15,000  §6  Ʀ50 Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.26 Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §1.26 Temperature Scan from space near Kerbin  §1.80 Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.26 Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §1.26 Atmospheric Pressure Scan from space near Kerbin  §1.80 Telemetry and Probe Reports from space near Kerbin  §1.20 As with Maginot I, these items were placed on the underside of the MRS Guidance Cone, and were then hidden/covered by the attachment of the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster. SETI recommends the use of Procedural Parts and, pertinent to this particular tech node, B9 Procedural Aero Parts. For people like me who aren't using B9 Procedural Aero Parts, this §1 "side-node" exists so that we can unlock a bunch of wing components. For B9-PAP users, they can skip this node and thus avoid VAB/SPH aero clutter.

I've found it not to be too badâ€â€memory usage related to this mod is practically insignificant compared to memory usage for graphical enhancement mods (*cough*Astronomer Interstellar*cough*). I'm only running a 4GB RAM machine, and although I'm forcing KSP into DirectX11 mode instead of running it "normally" (which one has to do with 80-something mods), I would venture that zero of my performance-related problems are attributable to OPM.

Great to hear! Now game harder, comrade, and report the exploits of valiant Yuri!

If I may make a recommendation that has worked very well for me: Force-run KSP in DirectX 11. That's what I do for my mod-overloaded mission log career (87 /GameData/ sub-folders and hopefully not counting anymore!), and I've only noticed a couple of very minor graphical glitches. And unlike OpenGL, it doesn't erase shadows. I've actually had screens similar to what you experienced (I noticed you didn't link the image here, but I saw it in the SETI thread), but my game "recovered" after a second or two rather than crashing.

You're probably referring to RemoteTech, which requires probes to have an unbroken communication relay back to Mission Control (whether it's KSC, or a mobile command center set up by the player) in order to control them. AntennaRange is a similar, more "lite" version, with the option to turn on "Connection required for probe control" as well. Edit: monophonic probably has this one rightâ€â€I'd never heard of that mod. Pretty nifty.

I'm all about the detail. Which is why it takes me an outrageous amount of time to write up each mission report, unfortunately. I'm gradually developing "templates" that I can use to help expedite my end of it, though, so hopefully as I get into the swing of things it won't take me an hour to write-up a report for an uncrewed high-altitude probe mission. Which reminds me, I forgot to add Stock Bug Fixes to the ModPack.Thanks for the tip! I've added Claw's Stock Bug Fixes to the Kerpublican Space Agency career as well. Hopefully it'll prevent me from glitch-killing poor Bob the first time I get a "Science from around KSC" Field Research contract. (Would also help if I designed KSC rovers that weren't prone to flipping onto their front grill when reaching the bottom of a hill or running into a minor change in elevation...)

Looking forward to this! I particularly like the Divisional Office Of Funding and Unbiased Safety. I sympathize with the tragic loss of Jebediah, as this happened very early in my (unfortunately defunct) Koviet Space Program mission log. I'm hoping to keep him alive a little longer in the Kerpublican Space Agency's new mission log.

Maginot I  Stepping Up to the Line UT Y1-D1-H0-M0 As the program director looked out from his office at the awkwardly-assembled, undeveloped rawness of his new space agency and future tourism mecca, he could not deny the power of the moment. Here history would forever remember the first precious decisions that would shape the future of a world-changing organization. This was truly a time for greatness, and a time for action! UT Y1-D1-H0-M2 As the program director opened his eyes from a short power nap and looked out from his office, he realized that if he didn't start getting some work done, he might soon only be able to afford the discount-aisle snacks, and greatness demanded better. Unfortunately for the fledgling agency, greatness would have to make do with limited initial means on both the scientific and engineering fronts. The assemblykerbs in the VAB had awkwardly chosen this historic moment to walk out in protest over only receiving three hours of break time in a six-hour day, so management was forced to press the facility's interns into service, and to these interns was dealt the momentous task of designing and assembling the agency's first rocket. While some critics pointed out that the KSA was relying primarily on parts left behind by fleeing Kermanians at the end of the Kerfuffle, and while accusations were made that these "rocket parts" were actually Kermanian bombs that had failed to detonate, the program director defended the agency's decision to press ahead with the materials at hand, and further retorted that if the project did hypothetically include components of Kermanian bombs, the Kerpublic couldn't just have these things lying around, and that it would therefore be not just a stride forward for science but a public duty to dispose of them by shooting them into the sky. Mission Objectives Surpass previous powered flight records by achieving an altitude of 18 kilometers Transmit scientific data collected by onboard instruments [*]Construction MRS Guidance Cone (scaled down to 0.625m) 2HOT Thermometer1 PresMat Barometer1 (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Packs1 RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster (scaled down to 0.625) (thrust limited at 24%) (3x) Basic Fins (scaled down to 50%) [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 11 Height: 2.0m Weight: 543kg gross - Includes total of 352kg solid rocket fuel Stage 1: 1.58 TWR (69.8s burn)  1,739 m/s (Atmospheric) Total Delta-V: 1,739m/s (Atmospheric) Construction Time: 5d, 2h, 36m Construction Cost: √861 [*]Crew None A short simulation was run by the one engineer who forgot that there was a strike scheduled in order to gain confidence that the Maginot I design would be capable of reaching the desired altitude, and after assuring the program director that success was likely, he demanded four keuros as compensation and then joined his coworkers on the nearby beach.2 Construction was begun at UT Y1-D1-H0-M2 and completed at UT Y1-D6-H2-M38. Rollout was delayed until the following morning, followed by launch at UT Y1-D6-H4-M46. Once set up on the launchpad, the Maginot I transmitted back several data recordings as a test of its systems, and then promptly lifted off. The craft followed a vertical ascent until reaching a speed of approximately 70-80m/s, at which it turned to a roughly 80º angle of ascent and continued burning with the guidance cone's stability systems engaged to hold the heading, continuing to transmit data back to Mission Control. About a minute and a half into the flight, Maginot I surpassed the target 18km altitude and continued into the upper atmosphere, where it continued to gather and relay data back to the ground. After reaching an apex of 22.1km, the craft began its descent. When the program director asked Gene Kerman, the mission controller, when they would be able to recover the craft, it was pointed out that the Maginot I actually had no means of returning to Kerbin's surface in a survivable manner. Resigned to the loss of the first powered craft to leave Kerbin's lower atmosphere, the program director poured himself a glass of wine and sat back to watch the remainder of the descent until it struck the surface of the Sea of Kerlin at nearly 130m/s, destroying the craft instantly. Although a number of spectators wrote to the local newspaper the following day accusing the KSA of dropping bombs into the Sea of Kerlin, the overall response of the public was predominantly positive, and the government bureaucrats funneled a small stipend to the agency in order to lure the striking engineers back to their workstations. Flight Time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds Flight Ceiling: 22.1km Science Recovered: §11.64 Salvage Recovered: √0 (0%) Success  Surpass previous powered flight records by achieving an altitude of 18 kilometers Success  Transmit scientific data collected by onboard instruments Complete  Altitude Record of 18km! √7,200  §2  Ʀ12 Temperature Scan from Launchpad  §0.54 Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §1.26 Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Water  §1.26 Temperature Scan from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §1.62 Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's surface  §0.54 Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §1.26 Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Water  §1.26 Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §1.62 Telemetry Report3 from Launchpad  §0.18 Telemetry Report3 while flying at Kerbin  §0.42 Telemetry Report3 from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §0.54 Probe Report4 from Launchpad  §0.18 Probe Report4 while flying at Kerbin  §0.42 Probe Report4 from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §0.54 These items were placed on the underside of the MRS Guidance Cone, and were then hidden/covered by the attachment of the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster. I am running KCT with "paid" simulations, rather than free simulations. Telemetry Report is a very minor experiment that can be run by a probe core, such as the MRS Guidance Cone. For some reason, another of my mods (I believe it's the Cloud Sourced Science Reports) adds the Probe Report, which is identical to the Telemetry Report. I didn't bother figuring out how to remove this duplication because the value involved is so low. And frankly, I'm getting little enough science already at 60%! Additionally, I have updated the original post with a more comprehensive (but non-exhaustive) list of mods I am using.

Unfortunately (for the Mission Log's purposes, at least), I don't actually use CKAN, so I can't screenshot it or export the list. I will update the Mission Log's original post with, to the best of my ability, a complete list of mods in play as soon as I finish writing up the first actual mission (which was as resounding a success as an 18km-altitude suicide probe can be!)

The Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony The original plans for the Kerpublican Space Center and Vacation Resort were grand, befitting such an esteemed and prestigious societal role as catering to wealthy international tourists with the finest snacks and facilities. Unfortunately, the groundbreaking of what would become known as "KSC" was mired by budget overruns, laborer strikes, and a brief kerfuffle with neighboring Kermany. So while the agency was supposed to be, and would undoubtedly ultimately become, the premier space exploration operation and exotic vacation destination, its beginnings were rather humblerâ€â€the spaceplane hangar was propped up with spare wood beams, the facility administration office was forced to be housed in a trailer home bought at a "family discount" from the program director's Murikan in-laws, and the impressively-named "Astronaut Complex" that would house both the leading facility staff and the glamorous guests lacked even the most basic amenities like a swimming pool or massage parlor. But one day, this picturesque seaside resort would become a global juggernaut of technology and relaxation. To make matters more difficult, the ramshackle facilities were operated by equally ramshackle staffers who spent most of their time drinking wine. Despite a desire to whip these layabouts into shape, the agency was allocated a meager 15 "upgrade points" by the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters (KCT), which were allocated 8:4:3 between the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB (for the agency's aspiring space exploration program); the Spaceplane Hangar, or SPH (for the resorts future sight-seeing tours); and the Research & Development Labs (for the development of higher-quality amenities and vehicle components). This yielded embarrassing production rates of 0.5 BP/s in the VAB and 0.3 BP/s in the SPH, and a Development Team capable of processing 4 Raw Science Ore Units per day. In order to demonstrate its worth, not just to the Kerpublican government that occasionally deigned to give the agency with official funding, but also the general public who would be the agency's principal customers, the first and most imperative. To this end, the program director had accepted basic government contracts as a stipulation for receiving a small amount of start-up capital. While the initial technological resources of the agency were not impressive, consisting primarily of scraps found various alleys and stolen salvaged equipment from the Kermany Kerfuffle incident, it would have to do. Or, if it would not do, then at least the breeze off the sea would make for a pleasant napping atmosphere. FASA 1.25m Redstone Launch Clamp ER-7500 Computer Flight Unit Kerbal Engineering System MRS Guidance Nose-Cone Probodobodyne HECS Probe Core Aerodynamic Nose Cone Small Nose Cone Basic Fin Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster PresMat Barometer 2HOT Thermometer FL-A10 Adapter Communotron 16 Illuminator Mk3

FAR is one of those things I really want to get used to using... but right now I just don't have the patience. I really see the appealing factors of PP and B9P, and I can certainly understand the preference for them. I was pretty on the fence myself, but I think it comes down to two things: First, while I'm certainly paying attention to mission and vessel planning/design, my main focus for this mission log is on the explorationâ€â€both for "storytelling" purposes and because I, as a player, have never made it very far down that road in the past, and want to try to force myself down it this time. Second, like you said regarding your "exploration install," I can pretty much get "close enough" with TweakScale, and it seems to work very well. (A third, lesser element is that I like being able to communicate in the clearest terms what my ship designs consist of, and it's easier to communicate to most people that I'm using, for example, AV-08 Winglets than some particular configuration of B9P). I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks the CoL of the swept wings seems... displaced. Fortunately, I think I'm finally getting used to it. In other news, I have started my mission log! Scowl in disgust at it here. I'm working on the first "opening scenes" post now, and will hopefully have the first mission (Suicide Probe Into Upper Atmosphere) later tonight.

After the unexpected tinkering-related demise of the savegame for the Koviet Space Program, I have spent some time playing around with mod combinations and trying to get to a better place as far as the actual setup of the game is concerned before starting anew with a younger, fresher, more progressive space agency. And having finally reached that point, I believe it's time to introduce the Úáß's successor! The goals of this Mission Log remain the same as before: The encourage me to stick with a career for longer than it takes to get a probe into orbit around Kerbin. To act as an avenue for my own improvement. Part of this is because I will [hopefully] be forced to pay more attention to what I'm doing. The other part is that readers are encouraged to offer critique/ridicule of my missions, ship designs, etc. I'm hear to learn, so if the opportunity arises, feel free to educate me. To [hopefully] amuse readers with my overall incompetence and bumbling. So, mods? Well. There are eighty-six eighty-seven eighty-eight eighty-nine ninety-one ninety-four subfolders in my /GameData/ folder. So clearly I have a problem. SETI Career Mods (Community Tech Tree, Contracts, and Greenhouse) Outer Planets Mod (w/ Kopernicus) Active Texture Management Adjustable Landing Gear Astronomer's Visual Pack  Interstellar Background Processing Blizzy's Toolbar CapCom Mission Control Chatterer Claw's Stock Bug Fixes Community Resource Pack Community Tech Tree (dependency for SETI-CTT) Connected Living Space Contract Configurator Contract Pack - Anomaly Surveyor Contract Pack - Field Research Contract Pack - Kerbin Space Station Contract Pack - RemoteTech Contract Pack - SCANsat Contract Pack - Tourism Plus [*]Contracts Window [*]Critical Temperature Gauge [*]CrossFeedEnabler [*]Crowd Sourced Science [*]Cryogenic Engines [*]Custom Barn Kit [*]DDS Loader [*]Distant Object Enhancement [*]DMagic Orbital Science [*]Docking Port Alignment Indicator [*]Environmental Visual Enhancements [*]FASA Launch Tower/Clamps [*]Field Experience [*]Field Scientist Pack [*]Final Frontier [*]Firespitter [*]Flag Decals [*]FuelTanksPlus [*]HeatControl [*]HomeGrownRockets [*]Interstellar Fuel Switch [*]JDiminishingRTG [*]Kerbal Alarm Clock [*]Kerbal Attachment System [*]Kerbal Aircraft Expansion [*]Kerbal Construction Time [*]Kerbal Engineer Redux [*]Kerbal Inventory System [*]Kerbal Joint Reinforcement [*]Kerbal Planetary Base System [*]Mk2 Expansion [*]Mk3 Mini Expansion [*]Modular Rocket Systems [*]ModuleRCSFX [*]Near Future Tech (Construction, Electrical, Props, Propulsion, Solar, Spacecraft) [*]PlanetShine [*]Procedural Fairings [*]RealChute [*]RemoteTech [*]SCANsat [*]Science Alert [*]Ship Manifest [*]Simple Science Fix [*]Space-Y Heavy Lifters [*]Stage Recovery [*]Station Parts Expansion [*]Station Science [*]SXT Mk3 Loading Ramp [*]Take Command [*]Texture Replacer (w/ PimpMyKerbal and KerbalHeads) [*]Trajectories [*]Transfer Window Planner [*]TweakScale [*]USI Life Support, Exploration Pack, and several others (but not Sounding Rockets) [*]Universal Storage [*]VenStockRevamp [*]Waypoint Manager In case you're thinking about particular, commonly cited mods, here are some notables who didn't make the cut: MechJeb Ferram Aerospace Research TAC Life Support Deadly Reentry Note: I don't use CKAN, so unfortunately (for convenience) I can't just screenshot my whole mod list. But there's most of it! If you ever see anything going on that you don't recognize or want to know where it came from, by all means, let me know. Allow Reverting Flights1 Allow Quickloading1 Missing Crew Does Not Respawn No Entry Purchase Required on Research2 Destructible Facilities Starting Funds: √50,0003 Starting Science/Reputation: Zero Re-Entry Heating: 30%4 Science Rewards: 60%5 Funds Rewards: 60%5 Everything Else: 100% I should point out up-front that this is, foremost, a gameplay mission log rather than a brilliant piece of storytelling, so there will be a lot of references to decisions I'm making and "metagame" information like KCT upgrade points, Science points, etc. I will, however, generally try to couch these in a cheeky shroud of kerbalness, more for personal amusement than anything else, but also to make them marginally more tolerable for whatever unfortunates happen to make up the reading community. So with the formalities out of the way, I may finally introduce: Fifth Kerpublic Space, Science, and Luxury Travel Agency This and more excellent flags originally designed by Jossen K. KSA Employee, Guest, and Visitor Guide Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Maginot I  Stepping Up to the Line Maginot II  Attacking the Darkness Lancer I  A Not-Quite-Space Program Planes, Brains, and Automobiles Lancer II  Paving New Roads With Fire Clervoy I  Trying to Hit the Ground and Missing Lancer III  One Step Back, One Spacewalk Forward Lancer IV  Round and Round We Go J-3 Epee  Stepping on the Toes of Giants Lancer V / ComSat Ker-1-E1  The Sound of Silence Lancer V / ComSats Ker-1-E2 and E3  Radio Free Kerbin Due to some general game instability caused by nearly 1.7GB GameData folder and the fact that I'm running this in DirectX 11 in order to allow me to (barely) get away with using Astronomer's Interstellar Pack. However, reversion/quickloading is only permitted under these circumstances. Bad decisions by Landwalker means I have to suck it up. I thought about this, but right now the tech tree I'm working with has entry purchase costs all over the placeâ€â€a particular structural girder piece might have an entry cost of √0, while another structural girder piece in the same technology might have an entry cost of √7,000. Seemed silly to deal with all of that, and I won't have that much money anyway, so we're going with free parts unlocking. To give myself a small initial financial boost instead of starting at √25,000. Chosen based on some testing done by Geschosskopf to strike an acceptable balance between not being too trivial in the Kerbin subsystem and beyond, and not being completely malicious when doing interplanetary aerocapturing/aerobraking. As recommended for SETI.

DirectX 11 still displays dynamic shadows without any issues (I tried OpenGL and it drove me crazy not to have shadows). I don't know off-hand how stock EVE compares to EoO in terms of computer resources, but I know that I never had any hiccups running EoO on my 4GB RAM. And that's even with me running something like 80 others mods, all in DX11. Of course, I also use Active Texture Management. (Edit: My /GameData/ folder has 85 folders in it. Eighty-five subfolders. Congratulations to SQUAD for making the cut! Geezus, I have a problem.)

I don't have Trajectories (yet), but I'll definitely take a look at it. I'm trying to finalize my mods for a Mission Report career, and just have a couple of lingering "maybes". Yemo, I'm curious, do you recommend FAR with something like this? I've looked at it, but it seems a bit over-technical for me. I'm wondering if I'd be better off keeping the game's physics (if nothing else) simpler, or if it's really worth adding and getting used to. (I ultimately opted against Procedural Parts, but I'm still on the fence about B9 Procedural Aero Parts, too. The idea has appeal but it runs into the same problem I have with FAR, namely "I think I'm doing it wrong and it might be better not to bother"). ----------Edit---------- On further review, I think I'm going to commit to "No FAR", too. Mostly because after giving it another go it still just seems like more trouble than it would really add to the experience (particularly on the reader's side). And also when writing it just this moment, it struck me that it has the same initials as what is widely regarded as the most unpleasant section of the CPA exam, so there's no need for me to bring those memories back if I don't have to. Just accidentally glitch-killed Bob in my preliminary test career (I think it's an issue with TakeCommand, or at least an issue with running into something on a rover so hard that the kerbal falls out of the EAS-1 Command Seat and gets treated as Debris instead of as a Kerbal), so it might be time to finally start this thing. Will do some work and hopefully get it started later tonight.