H2O.

So, as promised, here comes the ship, now fully adapted for KSP 1.04. I removed a bit of fuel and fine-tuned the rocket so that the automatic gravity turn works again. Enjoy ! 2.14 version Booster size reduced to take into account the new atmosphere settings In consequence, the automated gravity turn and the automated second stage are functional again parachutes tuned for safe re-entry 129 parts instead of 128 imgur album modifications to match changes rewriting of some of the manual's sections to match changes

It is because it is my only ship with a slice of originality, so I take care of it!

Hotfix for the new KSP version! 2.13 version fix the exploding fairing nuclear stage now able to burn infinitely without exploding 128 parts instead of 131 The launch vehicle is now massively overpowered and the automated gravity turn and automated space handbrake u-turn don't work as precisely anymore but the ship is totally usable. I'll make the necessary tweaking later this summer, but this small fix will allow you to enjoy the Kassandra like before!

An interview with Philippe Gaudon (CNES project manager for Rosetta), on 20 minutes. Quick summary: _2 min of communication, 40 s of data transmission. _lander at -35°C, batteries containers at 0°C (ie: recharge is possible) _1 communication possible every 12h30 _ESA is OK to modify Rosetta trajectory to acquire a better signal _a 15 min signal is needed to run experiments. Priorities as follow: 1. gaz composition 2. tv cameras 3. drill (in any case, not before july) _communication probable until october _teams are thrilled and at work. Summer vacations cancelled.

I am with Nibb31 on this. The problem of high cost for space access is not a technologic one, what we need is a reason to go up there. And frankly, besides a few satellites there are none. Imagine how the cost will drop if there were payloads for 100 Ariane a year. Trying to solve this problem with technology will probably fail. We need to figure out something to do up there.

No it is not, or only in your head. The ultimate goal is to make launch economical. SSTO are borderline doable in theory, forget about them being profitable. Servicing them will cost far more thant a expendable (or partially) rocket. I get that SSTO are elegant, but elegant doesn't matter, what matter is the bottom line. Comparing spaceships to a 747 is irrelevant. Apart from being in the sky they don't have anything in common.

It is not entirely CGI, on the link I provided, there is a photo album with pictures of a small scale demonstrator. (Now, how old are those pictures, I don't know?). For those who don't read french, a quick summary of the article: _work started in 2008 _whatever happens, it won't fly right away on Ariane 6 _engine + avionics are 70-80% of the cost of the first stage _a first launch date is 2025 _contrary to what the CGI show, flyback of Adeline is purely balistic until it turns on his propellers. @ sojourner: I don't have any source right now but if I recall correctly, the wind limit is lower for the landing of the first stage than for lift-off of the rocket.

@ Captain Sierra: Yes please, go ahead. I will put it on the dropbox folder (with credits for you obviously).

Thanks DMSP, I use them on a regular basis too. Landing is hand-free, so it is not a pain to bring back on Kerbin.

Yes that is what I was trying to say, actually. But yes, you will have to be patient to make that into a business. It is basically grinding. Although I found fuelling your ship with a truck before launch pretty fun. I definitively need to add a truck for the factory to be really useful.

@ TheWanderer; No I haven't, but you don't need mechjeb, the rocket literally fly by itself! (when you hit 100m/s, activate SAS and "follow prograde" ). The whole procedure is in the manual, but is is the easiest rocket to fly into orbit there is on the market. @DMSP: Vall is OK, definitively and a very good choice!

The tank cost is pretty low, especially if you build them in quantity. Wings+propellers+landing gear have a weight cost but the fuel+rcs+landing legs on the spaceX solution have one too. Well, we don't have enough informations to run the numbers, but a winged design allow some comfortable cross-range capabilities (wich will make the design less weather sensible than spaceX).

I just had an idea: this ship is a big exploit for career mode. If you launch empty and drill for fuel, then recover it; you will end up making a profit!

Yes indeed, if they manage tu pull off the deployable propeller, the weight penalty of this concept can be very low indeed. It might actually work.

Today in the French press, there were several articles about recoverable first stage for the new European rocket. The idea is to use wings and propeller to bring back the avionics and the engine on a commercial airport and to discard the tank. On this link (challenge) you will find a video (at the end of the page).

That is true, but as you advance in career, your rockets become bigger and bigger. Due to the nature of the rocket equation, the relative cost of fuel to payload increase. So it actually makes more sense to use this technique with huge rockets than small ones.

Save money on your career save! A good way to keep the cost of your rockets down is to bring them empty on the launch pad and fuel them on it. For that you need a rocket fuel factory. At only 52 parts once deployed, you can let it just next the launch pad. Put engineers on the pod and there you go! Stats: 45360 units of liquid fuel 55440 units of oxidizer only 12 hours and 30 minutes to be full (works day and night) Comes on wheels, press "stage" once you are on the desired spot. Action group 1 start fuel cells and deploy drills. Action group 2 start drilling and converting. (Truck to go from the factory to the launch pad with the fuel not included) download link (dropbox)

@ DMSP: thanks! @Commander Jebidiah: no offense taken, it is very slow on purpose. It doesn't have real action, it is all about movement, and going nowhere. I recorded with VLC, which makes smooth capture even on low-end computers. Although mine is more than decent. edit (for precision): I did not make a cinematic but a movie. There is a reason why I choose this particular piece of music, there is a reason the music is synchronized with space apparition and Jool rise, there is a reason why I choose a rotating ship and why the rotation is slowing down all along the movie, there is a reason the ship is slightly misaligned, etc. I did not just put music on a long scene and call it a day, I took a lot of shots before I was satisfied with it, just because the whole thing is supposed to say something.

So I decided to give a go at video editing. This is my first film so I went for something very simple. The film is slow and contemplative but I think it works pretty well. Camera is fixed. Please give me your opinion!

It is always sad to see such equipment not been taken care of with the respect they deserve. On the other hand, those pictures are stunning, the sight of those two spacecraft in the same hangar is quite something!

You sir, are never going to sleep again .

Congrats, very inventive and inovative. I love your choices for staging. And you solve the problem of having a capsule atop the rocket with a ridiculously long ladder very elegantly.

@ ShiftER20: go ahead! (although I don't exactly now what you mean by "in a page"?)

@ Brownhair2 : without getting into to much details, one of the boosters is ever so slightly turn inward. So the thrust is offset a little bit. And voilà! The best way to see that is to open the craft in the VAB with KER and to look for the torque column. Balancing an asymmetric spacecraft was a little challenging but hey! That is KSP. As you can see, Torque is at 90.5 Nm for the first stage, and zero for the second and the nuclear. One of the challenges was to make sure the 90.5kNm was to remain roughly constant throughout the flight (well, during first stage flight only actually, because after that the ship is perfectly balanced).

Version 2.12 is out! Automated gravity turn, nothing to do until you reach space! Air-brakes on the second stages ditched (they were totally useless as the stage already orient itself correctly and is stable) 131 parts instead of 133 Since a lot of people found that getting into orbit was tricky, I tweaked the rocket so that it turn by itself! It is like having MechJeb, but without MechJeb! There is no need to do any turn anymore (or just very little corrections to be sure you stay on the 90° direction). I'm quite satisfied with the launch sequence. The new procedure is way more simple (you can find it in the manual). @ KingPhantom: thanks!