Kieve

From a construction perspective, I'm sure everything will be fine. But story-wise, really hoping this doesn't come back to bite him.

Not bad! I like the spaceplane too, very elegant. Wouldn't think a single jet and a pair of 24-77's would cut it for SSTO-to-Minmus use, but after reading more closely I'm guessing the station is in low Kerbin orbit, not Minmus? Either way, neat little configuration. How does the crew / rover proceed on to Minmus from here? Heh, as a side note, you're not the only one who forgot to give their rover RCS. Wish I'd at least had the foresight for a tug, though.

Hm. Should have seen that coming. Did not. Impressed. /Mordin Solus voice.

Tonight's failure is my patience. Also more hiccups in the Welding department. But mostly just patience. Spent a considerable chunk of time putting together a small-scale mockup of a carrier deck and hull. After welding the hull... well, look at the shaded-out piece next to the mockup and see for yourself. Apparently none of the "transform gizmo" uses were kept, and almost every single wing piece was completely out of alignment. Tonight was intended to be a test of the completed concept, on a reduced scale - however, given tonight's issue, that will likely wait for tomorrow night, or the weekend, when I can be assured of more time and opportunity to wrestle with failures and glitches. At least I had some practice making boat hulls out of wing parts.

Oh, I know about changing the root with the gizmo, but "welded" bits are all one, single part. They'll take whatever default orientation the "root" of the weld is, which in this case was that central wing. All it really means is, I need to be careful and pay attention to how my Kraken's hull is "oriented" at the root, when I'm ready to weld it together.

For tonight's test, structural wings! Reminds me of a carpenter ant at work. Hi ho, off the end of the runway we go... The wing has an impact rating of 15m/s, which is significantly less than I'd like, but the same as the HX parts - ergo, if the wing can survive, everything else hitting the water above it should as well. However, the radial decoupler is only rated at 9m/s. Oops. Well, ejection force doesn't really matter anyway. The wing goes skipping away into the waves. And slowly floats off. Keyword: floats! Buoyancy, score! /victory dance So as a structural / hull element, at least they're viable. They can be welded. And they're versatile too - so many shapes means I can be a bit more elaborate with the outer hull. Of course, they also have aerodynamic / lift properties, so Ker knows what that'll do to Laythe reentry profiles. I may be begging for trouble on that point. But it's not like I haven't courting disaster from day 1 already. Speaking of welding, this calls for further testing. Let's make an actual boat. I stuck one of the little RCS balls on it as well - while welding the RCS thruster to it is a bad idea, the tank is safe enough. I want a little propulsion while in the water, if only to get the craft away from my carpenter ant. In fact, I think that's what I'll name the drone! ... and my boat can withstand 40m/s impact? With just those few pieces? At this rate, I could have a hull survive orbital drop and not even need the HPDs for slowing descent, the thing would survive terminal velocity. But we're getting ahead of ourselves - let's see how a welded boat handles itself. It's like a silly hat. I didn't think leaving it in front was a great idea, even if I could just shove it down the runway skidding on its bottom. Surprisingly, the aerodynamics have no effect while driving along. There's a reason for this, but for now I'll just be glad my rover isn't trying to fly away. Quicksave at the end of the runway. It's a little top-heavy and I don't want to flub this... OH COME ON! //reload There we go. Cruisin' on down to the beach. Anyone got a boom-box? Hitting the water at a nice, gentle 7m/s. Even the decoupler survives this time. Aaaaand, there's our fail for the night. I knew things were going too smoothly. So, did you note that small wing-piece in the center? That was what I used for the root part. As I came to realize, the default orientation plays a key role in welding - technically I've had the boat "on its side" this whole time. And since that "boat" is also considered an aerodynamic lifting surface, the lifting part was also on its side. Doing absolutely nothing. Meh. I'm in the water anyway, may go for a little cruise. RCS away! *makes motorboat noises* Overall, I'd call this a success, but it does present an interesting choice. If I construct the hull such that the wings are considered "vertical" by the game, I can nullify any aerodynamic influence they have and let the HPDs do their work as intended. However, that presents the risk that the entire carrier will want to roll over sideways when it lands. Laying the root horizontal brings aeronautics into consideration, but leaves the Kraken far less likely to capsize when it touches down. I suppose.

Poor, brave little Gus. At this rate, he's more likely to die of Jeb-induced heart failure than fiery explosions... which for a Kerbal says a lot I think.

Empty fuel tanks can be scaled up, and welded without issue - those may work. Intakes are another matter, they can't be welded and at the scale I'm working at, part-count would definitely become an issue trying to coat the bottom of a 500-kiloton super-carrier. Appreciate the suggestions though!

Heh, thank you. But don't worry, I'm not giving up just yet. Only wondering what else I can try to get this thing seaworthy / spaceworthy. I don't like that it obliterates the runway every time, but if that's all it does (and the craft stays intact) I can live with it, given that I plan on having it built on Minmus. Right now, I think what I'll do is look up some craft files for stock ships / naval craft (and even aircraft carriers, where I can find 'em) and try to sort out what works, what doesn't, and most importantly why. I like the clean, flat look of the B9 structural plates, but if they sink like rocks there's no point in using them for a hull.

Well... welding is a non-starter unfortunately. Attempting to weld B9's structural parts causes all the panel types to exist simultaneously in the welded result. I imagine this will be true of any part with a "part variant" feature. After tonight's tests, I'm starting to think maybe the entire project is a futile endeavor as well. I have constructed a box! This sorry structure is intended to test water-landing ability. It houses a 4-pack of HX HPDs with the generator, tanks, and power to supply it for a short hop to the end of KSC's runway, and into the drink. Where it promptly sinks. It landed at around 20m/s - not feather-delicate, but about as gentle as I can expect for something twenty times its size. Notably, none of the components except a battery survived immersion. And of course, let's not forget the sinking. That's kind of a problem too. (I really expected these structural bits to have buoyancy). Let's try again. This time I've given it some extra panels, thinking maybe they'd help it stay afloat. I engage the engines, briefly, testing the "Plasma" hybrid thrust capacity - barely a quarter of the closed-cycle mode, but still enough to lift the cube. It then obliterated the landing strip. Apparently even bumping KSC's runway with this kind of mass causes total destruction. Also, the flat panels on the bottom got stuck in the debris. //Reload from Launch The HPDs get us to the end of the runway on Plasma, but drain the battery much too fast - and more annoying, it's near impossible to hit that sweet spot between "slowing down" and "going up," which results in wasted fuel, power, and time bobbing up and down somewhere around 1600 meters. Finally I just kill power and let it fall a ways, using closed-cycle mode to brake the descent. Light as a feather, my hapless Test Cube touches down. And still destroys everything but the panels, then sinks. Even for KSC, this level of failure is becoming discouraging.

Tonight's update/progress (of sorts) has mostly been theorycrafting. I've continued to find B9 HX parts unreliable/unstable, even based on a reasonably solid framework. No pictures were taken of the subsequent explosions - they all start to look the same after a while. The flat structural plates have proven quite sturdy however, so I'm beginning to think my best course of action is to make use of the nodes on those (or flat attachment, where possible). Sets of downward-facing engines are a must under any circumstance - the Laythe landing will require some form of vertical thrust to set down smoothly. Structural plates have always been part of the plan, due to their high impact tolerance (80m/s), but I'm thinking I may give the welding mod a try and fashion a solid hull to build on. Reduced part count is a perk, although not a huge issue right now. However, this means at least roughly determining the center of mass (for engine thrust) first, since part of that plan was to incorporate the "frame"-type plates as impact guards for the HX engines (at 187.5% scale, the 8m 4-way frames match up quite well with a 4-pack of HX engines). Transform gizmo can be used to fine-tune positioning as needed, but building a solid hull and welding it together, then finding engine frames are misaligned is just not something I want to go through, and I can absolutely see myself doing it. On a related topic, I went hunting for previous topics / pics of Laythe aircraft carriers and was surprised by how little I turned up. The carriers I saw were all stock-ish builds for Kerbin, using either the grey plates or structural wings. BoatParts deserves a mention too, but I've found no indication anyone flew one of those carriers to Laythe either. I know it must have been done, somewhere, but for the time being I have very little to reference. Anyone out there know of some Laythe missions that put a carrier in the water? I'm curious to see the results. Might give me some hints on how to continue assembling my sea-beastie here.

Sounds like you need TweakScale, badly. At bare minimum, you could set those 1x1 plates to 300% size, rather than using so many. Only hiccup I've seen with it is, it's best to resize the part you need before attaching it. (I've occasionally run into instances where a scaled part reverts to original size when switching / reloading craft - test with a quicksave on the landing pad before launching, just in case)

Some crew tubes from Stockalike Station Parts would cover that pretty well already, and I imagine there's some other components that would work for the skyscraper as well. On the other hand though, the tower is already built and I don't imagine JAD is keen on scrapping the construction after all that work.

Absolutely loving the story. Personally, never much liked Jeb as it was (in particular, his habit of being "first in" on the roster of every module in the VAB or SPH always irritated me), but your writing just feels so spot-on. Well done!

This is a "mission" of a somewhat different sort. My goal is to construct a space-capable aircraft carrier. Currently I am building this in sandbox mode, but when the time comes that it does not destroy itself (and the runway) as soon as I click Launch, the craft file will be transferred to a career mode, and constructed at a Minmus shipyard using EL and Karbonite. That day may be some time in coming, however. (for scale) 99% of my test efforts to merely get this thing to the pad structurally intact have resulted in horrible, spectacular failure and explosions. KSP physics absolutely hates this beast. I named it the Kraken for irony, though I don't suspect I'd have any better luck if I called it something else. Still, it feels a bit like naming a ship "The Unsinkable" - not so much tempting fate as inviting it home for dinner and a roll in the sheets. I will continue to log my progress here, in the hope that sometime this year, I come up with something functional. - - - Updated - - - So far, this bare-bones framework version has been the only one to survive the Launch button. It's even capable of taking off, although it lacks the dV required for attaining orbit (let alone any kind of interplanetary shenanigans). However, the COM and COT are horribly misaligned for VTOL use and the thing flies like a drunken brick (even with HX-scale SAS rings on each engine) I suspect this may be my current "best" approach however - create a stable, working engine system first, then worry about the landing strip.

Seems like all my best adventures happen around the Mun for some reason... The Munar Orbiter was, quite frankly, overkill. Everyone in the Center knew it. The contract they'd picked up to build a Munar orbital station wasn't worth half the funds they were pouring into the Orbiter's construction. But Command refused to be satisfied with the rickety collection of struts and girders that had been the initial (and cost-effective) design. They wanted something with longevity and purpose, and Ker help anyone who tried to say otherwise. Jeb, for his part, was pleased. He still remembered the first Orbiter, which had been little more than a span of solar panels above a spine of empty docking ports. The others had taken to calling it "the Jellyfish." He'd spent several months in it, bored out of his mind. This new Orbiter gave him tingles though - certainly Command would not sink half a million into a station only to see it rot. Gene Kerman was no accountant, but he did have plans for the Munar Orbiter. Despite the considerable expenses of sending the station skyward, he felt confident it would earn its keep. Three new contractors had come forward during its construction, requesting survey and exploration data. He intended to kill several birds with one rocket. Well, one rocket with a number of much smaller ones attached. Beneath the station's long solar arrays hung three sophisticated satellite pods, and a trio of Cricket rovers. Scientific instruments and other equipment lay secured in the storage lockers at the end of each pylon, easily attached to either satellite or rover as needed. By the time the Orbiter launched, that half-million had already balanced itself out on the ledger - provided its crew could make good. Gerbus rode in the jump-seat of the Orbiter's "Lander Can" module, just below the pilot's cupola. Bill Kerman sat to his right, where the controls would have been if the Can was expected to do any Landing. Instead, the veteran kerbonaut poked at monitor controls, keeping a wary eye on the payloads docked above. The satellites and Crickets were holding now, but who knew how much those little Clamp-O-Tron Jr's could hold? The engineers had never used them until now. Hard to put stock in stuff ain't been field-tested. Gerbus himself was an engineer of the most practical sort. Unless he'd used it, worked with it, and tinkered on it personally, it couldn't be trusted. The assignment ahead made him very nervous indeed. Shortly after the Orbiter had reached its destination and stabilized itself, the engineers found a flaw in the Crickets' design. Though they had ample fuel reserves for deorbit, Mun-roving, and return to the Orbiter, they lacked a key element for the rendezvous: RCS controls. No RCS thrusters or monoprop had been included, making docking a nightmare for the pilots. A secondary module for the Orbiter's lower half was already in the works, though its primary function was to carry karbonite-scanning satellites out for survey purposes. The engineers quickly scrapped together a lightweight RCS tug-drone with a grappling claw, but the module would take another day to reach the Munar Orbiter. If there was one thing Gerbus disliked more than untested gear, it was waiting. Moments later, he was suited up and sitting in one of the Crickets' command seats. Powered by a tiny-but-efficient Atlas low-profile engine, the Cricket packed nearly 3,000 d/V into its tiny frame. With conservative maneuvering, Gerbus felt certain he could align the craft with the contracted survey points. Passing over them at orbital speed wasn't ideal, but both contractors had requested readings several thousand kilometers above the Mun's surface. On Kerbin, that would've meant a small Recon flyer. In airless space, it meant keeping periapsis above surface level. The next few hours were a nerve-wracking blur of wait - burn! - wait - reading - wait - burn! - reading!!! - wait... that threatened to drive him insane. The little lander was amazingly nimble, and several times he wasted fuel correcting a burn that went a few seconds too long, but as he passed over the last of the gravity-scan sites, he realized he still had plenty of fuel to tackle some of the other regions near the northern pole. When the Cricket finally began running low, only one point remained. It'll have to wait. Not getting stranded out here. "Stranded," was the immediate concern of both the Orbiter's remaining crew, and Command back at KSC. They determined there was still enough fuel for rendezvous and matching orbit, but without RCS it looked like Gerbus would have to abandon the Cricket. Some suggested he could use his EVA pack and push the lander back into its dock, but that ran the risk of bumping it into (and through) the Orbiter's solar panels or damaging other key components. The better option was to simply leave the Cricket adrift, EVA back to the Orbiter, and let the RCS grappler pick it up when it arrived in a few hours. Gerbus wasn't having it, however. Less than 200 d/V remained in the tank as he began his slow drift towards the station. Jeb's voice crackled over his headset, urging him to drop the rover. "The Orbiter doesn't have a tenth the impact tolerance of that skiff, Ker damn you! Leave it, the tug will be here in less than two hours!" "And who's going to make sure it doesn't hit the station, if no one's piloting? I'm bringing 'er in, son." Jeb snorted, not because he was related to Gerbus in any way, but because it sounded exactly like something he would do. Still, it was very risky. The Cricket could easily whack into one of the station's pods, the solar panels, or accidentally detonate the fuel-laden satellite in the dock beside its target. "You've got an OCTO sitting right behind your head. It'll operate remotely just fine." "Never trust those newfangled probe cores. Now cut the chatter, need to focus here." With a heavier rocket, it would've been madness to even try. The lightweight little lander practically danced under Gerbus' hands, however, sliding neatly along the Orbiter's spine as he lined it up with the empty Clamp-O-Tron Jr. He felt a sudden jerk as the magnetic field took hold, pulling the Cricket solidly into place. As much of a joy as it had been to pilot, Gerbus was still very eager to get back inside where there was air pressure. He felt the pumps cycling under the deck as he climbed back into the Orbiter. Filling a Cricket barely put a dent in the reserves the Orbiter had in her tank. Bill twisted around in his seat as Gerbus strapped himself in. "You alright there, Ger? You look a bit dazed." Gerbus shrugged. "First time I've ever docked," he said vacantly. "RCS really spoils you kids." ...So yeah, I sent up a whole beautiful station, then forgot to put RCS on the rovers. Derp. When Gerbus finally made it back to the station, tracking said the Satellite module with the grappler would hit Mun SOI in another hour-thirty (and my latest contract satellite was due for a burn in about an hour). He spent way more time spinning around that grey ball than I realized. Had I been a little smarter, I could've lined up his orbits better and taken all the readings, but ah well. Gives other crew something to do. Initially I was just going to match orbit with the station and wait for the tug, but after piloting it for about an hour (IRL time), I figured it might be maneuverable enough I could coax it in even without monoprop, as long as I was careful on the throttle. Fortunately, nothing exploded! ...this time. http://imgur.com/a/6gkQB Sadly, I have no pics of the actual orbital paths as he worked his way through the readings, but that's the dull part anyway. Set up a node, wait / time-lapse, burn, and wait / time-lapse again.

Ah, the Far Side. Between that and Calvin & Hobbes, you pretty much have my childhood in a nutshell... (And yes, I know exactly the panel you speak of) Think I've decided to diversify surnames though - already have suits & faces for TextureReplacer, may as well take it that extra mile. Memo to self: edit default face to add some grey in the temples. Jeb's starting to show his age a little. Unless anyone has further thoughts, current plan is to send "restored" Kerbals on a quick tour of Mun & Minmus, restore XP, then start anew with a fresh .90 career, and a new thread. Also gives me a chance to experiment with Karbonite and EL structures. I have a set list of goals in mind (of increasingly absurd ambitiousness), and the endgame stages will require orbital shipyards. If only certain B9 HX-size parts weren't so buggy and fussy...

Hm, not sure if you've got enough intakes there... Can't say it's exactly the prettiest SSTO I've seen, but function > form and it certainly did get the job done. The replaceable engine system is clever too. On that note... re: the screenshot about "I got back more money than it costs," you really didn't. Your plane came back down with a different engine pod, remember - check the hangar and see what it costs sending your 'Gull up with the LVN trio. Also figure in the cost of fuel, the Mk3 engine-delivery rocket, and whatever it cost to build the rover you left behind. Not trying to rain on your parade, just saying it's not quite so cut & dried. All in all, nicely executed, even with the rogue engine plotting its escape. You mentioned the station starting to wobble like crazy when you docked with it - betting you had both RCS and SAS active at the time? Shut them both down, at least until things stabilize, then just switch SAS back on and see if it stays settled down. Generally I leave RCS off except when I actually need it for maneuvers (otherwise you're constantly 'leaking' mono the whole mission), and let SAS do the stabilizing as much as possible.

Thank you both for the suggestions! That is kinda the direction I've been leaning towards, particularly with building destruction being a feature. Plus there's the "getting the gang back together" aspect - at least for the different kerbonauts I've mentioned so far. (Including a fun side-note about Calger's favorite racing game, Ker-Kart, getting a "Mun Rally" edition as a sequel, with unlockable Centipede. Calger's become a personal favorite of mine since the Centipede Mission and finding out he's Bad-S.) Those are good points to consider. I don't intend to go into heavy detail on political backstory - I want to stay focused on KSC and the missions, of course - but it's stuff I hadn't given much thought to other than "because my .23 career is toast and I need to wrap this up." To #1, it'll probably just stay "the government" and "because Money." Private entities have a more personal / vested interest, like having their satellites in orbit. Not to mention Kerbodyne and Rockomax would probably go under if KSC wasn't building and launching their junk on a regular basis. For the KSC boffins though, it's still all about the Science. In a cultural sense, lineage. From a storyteller's perspective though, just individuality. I dispute the notion that all Kerbals in the space program are disposable clones created on-site in the Complex. Someday, I hope to see a mod that adds cities here and there around Kerbin, even if they're just "Flight Sim '95"-quality boxes with skyscraper textures. From a gameplay perspective, it's hard to keep track of several dozen Kerbals when every single one is "[Random] Kerman." I'm still open to other thoughts and opinions though. I play the game for me, but I post / share the stories for others' enjoyment.

I'd originally asked for thoughts in my current Mission Reports thread, but have yet to receive a response. Hopefully I have some better luck here. The short version is, I had an old .23 career that the updates brought to a close. I'm looking to continue with .90, but I want some feedback on how to go about it. Things I'm definitely doing: -Restoring certain old crafts to their proper location (A munar base and rover). -Restoring old crew to the roster (albeit they won't have any XP, sadly) Basically, using save-edits to keep some sense of continuity between "KSC closing down" and "New funding and private contracting career" Things I want feedback on: -Every Kerbal's surname is "Kerman." Now with save-editing, I can change this and spice it up with some variety (McKermak, Kerbington, Kerlysle, etc). Gene, Wehrner, Jeb and the others are all established Kermans though, so the question is if I should or not - I'd like to, but if it's going to raise too many eyebrows, I shan't bother. -I did start a new .90 game, about two weeks ago. Tech tree is unlocked, all buildings upgraded, about 6m funds to play with and a working fleet of cost-saving SSTO's for those satellite contracts. Would it be more interesting to pick up from that point, and lampshade any "backstory / continuity" questions as needed (going from "We're mothballing the place," to having plenty of money and tech again), or would it be more interesting to follow the early stuff too, as KSC is rebuilt and slowly ramping up the research? ->Per the notion in my head, this involves "Hurricane Beta" absolutely leveling KSC, which gives me a nice reason to be starting over with Tier-1 buildings when it had been left T3 from the previous career. Although this is mission-report focused, my intent is to keep a running storyline and a heavy focus on writing and RP interaction, filling in the white spaces between "I accepted a contract," and "This is the launch, and result." All constructive thoughts are welcome!

I have an update, and some questions: -Through the magic of save-editing, the old Arc Luna outpost and the Centipede can both be restored to the Mun. Likewise, all the old crews - Calger, Bartbles, Burhat, and the rest - can join the roster for my .90 game. So basically, yay continuity! Of course there'll be plenty of fresh faces as well, I just like being able to maintain consistency with past kerbal'ing. Right now, I'm working through the kinks of getting the two craft and my roster "restored," which has so far resulted in magically teleporting some unassigned kerbals to "empty" spots in the Centipede. Hopefully I figure this out for myself but I'll ask on the off-chance I can't: best way to revert the Arc Luna situation to a proper ghost town? I'd rather not have to burn funds launching a rescue op for teleporting kerbonauts. EDIT: Went with the stupid-simple fix and sent all kerbals on EVA, saved, then imported the now-empty base & rover. -Much as I would like to restore the failed Duna Orbiter (as it was given over to foreign riff-raff, but still very much operational), it uses .23-era B9 parts, and is basically broken. So that's out. (Yes, I know it can be fixed, just too much hassle to do it). -Biggest question is, should I start a new thread for .90, or keep adding to this one? All the tales / missions above are outdated, but since I'm keeping a sense of continuity here... "question mark!" And on the topic of continuity, I've been asking myself "Why are they all 'Kerman's?!?" Again with save-edit magic, I can give out actual last-names (Kerbington, Kerlysle, McKermak, etc), and give the little greenbeans a bit more individuality. On the other side of the scales, the veteran trio, Gene, and Wehrner are all "Kerman" per Squad's continuity. Any thoughts there? -I started my .90 career over a week ago. Every building is Tier 3, the whole tech-tree is unlocked, I have a healthy stable of SSTO planes, and currently working on putting down bases on Mun / Minmus, and expanding KSC's reach out into the Kerbol system. The question becomes, should I toss all that, start fresh (again) and chronicle the whole thing from scratch? Or just pick up from where I am now and fill in any gaps as-needed? I'm not overly fussed about restarting, as I'll still have all my designs and subassemblies saved (just a matter of doing the grunt-work and contracting to restore the tech and building upgrades - and most of that I worked through in two days). All input is welcome. EDIT: Just an amusing little by-note. Apparently Calger has badS = True. This explains so much...

Those are cute little lamp-rovers. When you said lamp-posts, I was expecting small stationary assemblies, on legs or adapters of some kind. Wasn't thinking they'd be mobile, but that's very nifty. I tried some VTOL experiments - only thing I can say is "Make sure your COM is balanced for both the plane and cargo." Seriously. My first attempt, I gave the lifter four grappling hooks, thinking they'd be more stable that way. Ha ha. After about the thirteenth fireball on the landing strip, I decided maybe the single (stock) grabbing arm might work better. Still ended in hilarious, flaming failure. Key points: -Your throttle behaves very differently between loaded and unloaded mass. Kinda obvious, but worth remembering all the same. -Unless your cargo is set up with specific docking points that balance mass, don't try to air-lift it. Grapples and grabbers may seem cool, but their ability to latch on anywhere is actually a huge design flaw, since your carefully-balanced VTOL will suddenly find its COM shifted in wild and unpredictable ways. The higher the mass, the worse the effect. Having said all that, the experiment was not without some modicum of success. -Lift Capacity: ~30t After abandoning the grappler idea, it has a single docking port on the bottom. Handling is a little sluggish, and the high TWR (7.5) means the throttle is super-touchy about hovering. It's all stock though, since I didn't recognize any KW or B9 parts in your structures. I mostly just built it because I've been on a VTOL kick anyway with the KAV-4X series, but hopefully it gives you some ideas. Or you can have the ship itself if you like, though I know building & overcoming challenges is a big part of what KSP is all about.

I'm more impressed that you found flat ground to set down on that wasn't KSC or the old airstrip on the island across from it. I force all my SSTO planes to land at KSC simply because I'm afraid of setting down on rough terrain and snapping the wheels off / exploding. Congrats on getting your flyer orbital!

That's quite the beast indeed! I thought at first you were using the fuel tanks as ballast, to keep your rover steady, but it looks like you have rockets as well? Were those to help it up inclines? I can well imagine the dedication it took driving that sucker out there. Reminds me a bit of trying to pilot the Centipede on its road-trip, but at least that wasn't hauling several tons of telescope assembly. I've been playing around a lot with VTOLs lately. No expert, but I will say that four turbines are better than two - a quad is much easier to stabilize, particularly if you give each turbine assembly SAS rings. If you're using .90, take one of the probe cores (a HECS at least) and position it so that it faces downward. I'm not saying your bird should be unmanned but you can shift control to the drone core and use SAS to make it stabilize retro, which should make landing much easier than trying to eyeball it. Other than that, all I can say is lots of patience (given the drive out there, I'm sure you're good) and a steady hand on the throttle.

As it turned out, Command's decision had nothing to do with Bob. A final mission was already underway to pull Bartbles and the rest of the Centipede and Arc Luna crews off Mun, and pick up Jeb as well. The Duna mission was scrapped entirely, with the final two transfer stages never having launched. A skeleton crew would remain at KSC to monitor Deepshot's progress and arrange for their retrial once the craft made it back to Kerbin. Beyond that, KSC was shutting down. Gene Kerman hung his head, as dour as anyone had ever seen him. "Our funding was cut off," he explained to the distressed Kerbonauts. "We have what we need to bring our boys home, but nothing more. The Mun Retriever will be the last rocket off the pad, I'm afraid." Some hung their heads in shock, others balled their tiny fists angrily. They had put stations in orbit around Kerbin and the Mun, landed a base there, walked on minty little Minmus, and were preparing for their greatest journey yet - leaving Kerbin's orbit entirely for the red planet of Duna! It made no sense! But while KSC depended on the ingenuity of so many contractors for the parts they sent skyward, it was the Kerbin States that paid for those parts. And they were no longer writing checks. Within a month, the Kerbin Space Center had been completely mothballed, its Science dolled out to universities and labs across the country. The Duna Orbiter was sold to the Kerbistan goverment, who used the single attached transfer pylon to move it into a higher orbit, where it was repurposed as their own science station. Without monitoring, the Orpheus fuel station and Mun Orbiter degraded and fell - the fuel station was still nearly full when it burned up high over Kerbin's desert, leaving a fireball that could be seen over three hundred kilometers away. The Orbiter scattered itself across several hundred kilometers of the Mun's surface, leaving a fresh track of craters atop the old ones. Arc Luna and the Centipede sit abandoned on the Mun's surface, sentinels to the end of an era. But where one era ends, another one begins... Author's Note: So I let KSP sit idle for a while, during which time it updated. And then updated again. Lazy sod that I am, I couldn't be bothered to try keeping up with both the changes, and the requisite "new versions of mods I was using, since the update broke them." I read about KSP hitting "beta" status, then being "Feature-complete" and ready for full release. That excited me. But it wasn't until I sat down, pre-Super Bowl, and caught October Sky playing, that the KSP bug finally bit me again, hard. I'm loathe to leave a story unfinished however, so the "Second Phoenix" tale above has been rounded off. I never did send the Duna mission on its way, sadly. For all the time I've owned KSP, I have yet to leave Kerbin's SOI with anything more than a Probodyne. At least not legitimately - in a moment of weakness, I had installed a cheat-mod, thinking it would help me test things and avoid disaster. Which it did, I suppose, since I was able to see first-hand that the Phoenix would not fly on Duna. But it also killed the sense of challenge and exploration that I love about this game, since being able to put a ship anywhere / any time is pretty much the exact opposite of that. And now here we have a revamped career mode, with Funds and Science and Reputation all tangled up in contractually-binding agreements! So for the few poor souls who were reading this and wondering if I'd continue: rejoice, for my rendition of KSC will return. KSG may not be funding them any more, but it seems Rockomax, C7, Probodyne and the rest are all more than happy to help the Kerbin Space Center return to its former glory. We just have to sign on the dotted line, first...