BNSF1995

Last night, I stuck a Mercury capsule on top of a Juno IVB just to see what would happen. My conclusion: Shepherd would've beaten Gagarin had the Juno IVB not been cancelled. I didn't get any pictures because I was focused on trying to put up with memory leaks.

I think I've found a solution to the LRV issue. Let's start with my personal issue: none of the rover parts I have installed could build a rover big enough to carry two Kerbals while being small enough to be transported on the LM (specifically the reworked LM). My first idea was to carry the rover parts I needed in the descent stage inventory and assemble a rover on the Moon, but there wasn't enough room to carry anything after packing all of the ALSEP items needed. The second idea was to use the craft file on Page 974, but I saw it required several mods I don't have (ReStock has that blacklisting-whitelisting caveat that scared me off using it for fear of the possibility it could crash the game, and Kerbalism adds life support, which creates too much micromanaging and anxiety for my liking), so that was out. Next, I built a rover in the SPH using the Packrat Mk2 parts, and it worked very well. Since I'm using KSRSS with the Cape Canaveral addon, I drove from the Shuttle Landing Facility to LC-39A via the VAB; and since I'm roleplaying an althist timeline, I'm using Kustom Kerbals to create accurate US astronauts and fictional female American astronauts (plus five members of the Mercury 13 who were selected since the United States in this timeline is a much more progressive country, turning the Mercury Seven into the Mercury Twelve; the five women are Wally Funk, Marion and Janet Dietrich, Sarah Gorelick, and Bernice Steadman), I had David Scott and Jim Irwin drive the rover, and since I had never really driven a rover in KSP, like, EVER, it was a learning experience. Now that I had a good rover design, the next step was trying to get the damn thing to the Moon. My first idea was to use the 1.25m Storage Kontainer from the USI Logistics mod, but mounting it on the side of the descent stage was out of the question because it poked way through the SLA. Next idea was to use smaller containers, but they also either poked through the SLA or can only be attached to nodes. Eventually, I realized that the only way to get the rover I want to the moon without having to download mods that risk breaking my install or adding things I don't want: an acceptable break from reality. This break comes in the form of the LM Truck. Since there isn't an LM Truck part in the mod (yet), I used a Block II AARDV Cargo Module, slapped some radial RCS tanks on, added some Apollo RCS thrusters, put a pair of Packrat Mk2 crates at the very top for retrieval by the crew when the time comes, filled out the descent stage, added my custom-made Saturn V with AlphaMensae MLP subassembly, boom, LM Truck. Not only will this solution help me get a rover to the Moon, it has also helped me practice building an LM Truck for when I get to the late 1970s when Phase I of Altair Base begins construction (the LM Shelter was very easy to build, merely consisting of combining the Apollo CM with the LM Descent Stage and calling it a day). So there you have it. My solution to using the LRV in my KSP playthrough. I'd post pictures, but I'm still in-game.

You know that AU roleplay I mentioned? This has found a place in it. My idea is that, in 1981, NASA introduces a new fleet of reusable Apollo capsules. Among the new features is thermal tiles, to allow NASA to reuse the capsules. Eventually, this fleet of reusable capsules is comprised of eight capsules, each built and introduced into service as the stock of one-use capsules dwindles: Columbia, introduced in 1981 Challenger, introduced in 1983 Discovery, introduced in 1984 Atlantis, introduced in 1985 Enterprise, introduced in 1987 Endeavor, introduced in 1992 Mayflower, introduced in 1995 Constitution, introduced in 2001 Columbia, Discovery, and Enterprise are exclusively used for Lunar flights in support of Altair Base and Space Station Artemis (a wet workshop Skylab), Challenger, Atlantis, and Endeavor are exclusively used for Earth orbital flights in both the Apollo program and whatever space station program NASA has going (when the reusable capsules were introduced, the program was the second-generation Skylab known as "Olympus", followed by Space Station Freedom in 1988 and the International Space Station in 2005), and Mayflower and Constitution are used exclusively by the Air Force and Department of Defense for a military program called Watchtower, which services military satellites, rotates crew to and from a classified military space station, and servicing the "Missile Shield" (AKA the Strategic Defense Initiative).

I just tried PVG and... It worked. I managed to put a Saturn I with a BP Apollo into a 165x164 orbit at a 32.5 degree inclination. And best of all, it did so realistically without coasting to the circularization burn. Just burned the whole way up. Thanks for the assistance!

Oh, good, it's not just me. I thought I had finally descended fully into madness.

APOLLO-SATURN REVAMP WOES PART 2: I can't get the revamped Saturn IB OR Saturn IC to make it to a 165km orbit on a 2.5x system using KSRSS, launching a Block III CSM to an inclination of 32.5. After MECO and S-IB/S-IE separation, the S-IVB absolutely refuses to follow any of the turn shapes I create when editing the ascent path in MechJeb. It goes off on a new course, and as a result, either falls back to Earth, or the apoapsis gets to 165km BEHIND the rocket, and MechJeb shuts the engine off and activates timewarp to get to above the Karman line (in a 2.5x system, it's roughly around 90km). It's clear that either I'm doing something wrong (I've taken the prior advice to use a turn shape between 60-75%, but no matter which shape I use in this range, the S-IVB won't follow; it may be that I'm staging too late, but I can't activate automatic staging in MechJeb because BDB has a bug that causes the rest of the vessel to stage in quick succession, regardless of any defined staging limits; manually launching is out of the question because it's too hard for me, and the one time I tried manually launching a revamped Saturn I with the BP Apollo, I got the apoapsis I wanted, but I didn't follow a very efficient profile and thus had too little fuel to circularize), or the Saturn engines were specifically designed for launching from Kerbin at the equator and not from Florida in KSRSS, and need to be tweaked to enable them to efficiently launch on a 2.5x KSRSS Earth before they go public. Note that this mainly applies to whenever the smaller Saturn rockets are launching Apollo spacecraft (I haven't tested the Saturn V or Saturn INT-20 yet, but I assume they'll be fine); I can get LEO satellites into orbit with just a baseline Saturn I just fine, and for anything else like Surveyor or Mariner, I add 4-6 UA1205 SRBs (specifically for Mariner, I also add a Centaur-D to create a logical hybrid of the Saturn IB-CE and Saturn IB-D), which would help my Apollo issues, but I'm trying to stick to reality in my current roleplay of a personal alternate timeline based on the Kaiserreich mod for Hearts of Iron IV.

I don't think Cormorant is compatible with 1.12.3, though. And here's a new guess: the National Launch System from 1991.

I'm gonna say...you guys are gonna make Shuttle-C parts compatible with SOCK and reDIRECT?

These are my current settings: Turn start when Altitude is 4.5km or Velocity reach 98.9 m/s Turn end altitude: 76km Final flight path angle: 0 degrees Turn shape: 40%

KSRSS (one of the mods in your signature) with the 2.5x rescale option and the Cape Canaveral pads made specifically for KSRSS. I use it because it's a happy medium between RSS and my desire for balanced parts.

I use MechJeb because manual ascent is too hard for me. Also, I'm using KSRSS, so the launches are happening at LC-34. I usually launch to an inclination of 32.5 degrees for orbital launches, and use MechJeb to launch into the plane of the Moon for lunar launches (such as Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, and Surveyor; with lunar Apollo missions, I do what NASA did and wait for a full moon). It's strange, because the pre-1973 H-1 engines of the current stable build of BDB can launch into my standard 32.5 degree inclination, as well as to polar orbits, with ease.

Tried that. Didn't work. I should add that I'm playing in a 2.5x solar system, and not a stock-sized system. Also, the only part on the Saturn I I've found can be ballasted is the boilerplate SM, so either you're using a newer dev build, or the new Saturn I parts have yet to be balanced for a 2.5x-sized system.

I found an issue with the boilerplate Apollo CSM: It's way too heavy. The Saturn I can't make orbit with it unless I slap four UA1202 SRBs on. This may be because I'm not using the right engine config for the H-1s, but I'm playing career mode, and I haven't unlocked that upgrade yet. Either the boilerplate CSM needs to be lighter, or the pre-1973 H-1s need to be buffed.

I do indeed have the Real Name patch. And I found said part. Thank you.

I'm not finding it in the VAB. Like, at all. And it's in the parts folder in GameData.

So, I downloaded the latest dev version. I'm loving what I'm seeing so far, but I do have one big issue: There's no 2.5m fairing base, which has nerfed the Saturn I for any use other than launching the Boilerplate Apollo/Pegasus. Every other size is represented, but not 2.5m. Is this being made, or was this a conscious design choice?

Of all the mods I wanna see ported over the KSP 2, this is probably second on the list (first being MechJeb, because I can't fly worth a damn, and I'm too impatient to learn).

Good, I'm not the only one who got that warning.

And just after you posted that, KSP was updated to 1.7.3.

Yes, it's out! Now Kopernicus can be updated!

You. Are. A lifesaver. Couldn't have asked for a better birthday present (actually I could, but I'll take anything since my party isn't until Sunday). So, thanks for that, man!

I can't log in to the KSP Wiki. Here's what happens: my information is auto-filled, so I enter my correct password, then a text box comes up saying that "the Terms" were updated on March 6, 2018. So I agree, but it resets the fields, and gives me an incorrect password error. So I try again, but even though I agreed, THE BOX ASKING ME TO AGREE TO THE TERMS STILL COMES UP. And this didn't just start today. It's been going on for a YEAR. I can log on to the wiki on my phone, but not my desktop. Why has this bug not been caught and fixed?

Do you plan to add Pads 34 and 37? This would aid in simulating the early Apollo flights.

I've been trying to use Kustom Kerbals in 1.7.2. My goal is to make Kerbals representing NASA astronauts. There's just one problem, though: Kustom Kerbals hasn't been updated since 1.2.2. I downloaded a version recompiled for 1.4-ish off GitHub. Both versions have various errors: the 1.2.2 version doesn't create a Kerbal no matter how many times I press the spawn button, and the 1.4 version will spawn a Kerbal, but with a random name (I tried to spawn Alan Shepard, but all I got was a warning saying he already existed, and it instead spawned a Kerbal with the Kerman surname). Does anyone know how to get Kustom Kerbals to work with 1.7.2? Or am I just gonna have to go through the process of recruiting Kerbals, closing the game, and renaming them in the files? Because my install has so many mods that loading takes upwards of eight minutes. EDIT: Disregard this thread. Turns out what I thought I downloaded wasn't truly Kustom Kerbals. It's working fine now.

32-bit should've never even been an option in the first place. For people who love modding the game such as myself, getting the dreaded File Access Error hung over our heads, to the point I had to divide my mods into two installs: one for a Kerbin playthrough, and one for a pseudo-Earth playthrough. When 64-bit came out, the nightmare was over.