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I was saddened by the fact that there was no thread do talk about all things NASA, instead there was many different threads on more specific topics so I thought I might start my own However this likely won't go very far as I'm not a well known member of the community. Other NASA threads: Now who's excited for LUCY? I certainly am! https://www.planetary.org/video/lucy-mission-trajectory

Not a picture but a video. Finally an on topic reason to talk about cats in a spaceflight themed forum. https://x.com/nasa/status/1736900843813605759?s=46&t=Jd73T2beq0JLNtwTy1uR5A First laser transmitted ultra HD video from space (that is, sent through the space based laser comms test bed) is of a cat.

Yeah, that is a fair take. I hate to indulge in the inevitable drama that results from this kind of ambiguous silly analogy, honestly, but regardless of what he meant, it still feels to me like that's what we're expected to do: Deal with what we have now, because sometime maybe eventually in the future things will be better. And I acknowledge the irony of saying this in the wake of a video where they specifically talk about short term solutions, but... I mean, why would we need to talk about short term solutions? I don't feel the damage they could cause would be outweighed by the sentiment of neglect that I feel has grown, at least in my own experience

Just my 5 cent, but showing that tool with a bit of explaining text and a few pictures would likely be much more informative than this talk was, which just repeated points that were made in the past. And it would be a more convincing demonstration that there is progress and not just talk - the issue with these talks is that people (rightfully or not, different discussion) feel that past communication hasn't bee reliable.

Your drag model has no power over me! Archimedes is a single-seater VTOL SSTO, capable of reaching orbit on Kerbin and Laythe with some dV to spare for docking. It's actually my remake of my friend's stock replica of my 2017 modded craft that itself was lifted off Star Citizen promotional material (talk about a crisis in creative industries...). The defining ring with contra-rotating propellers incurs unpleasant drag and breaking sound barrier is a slog, but the flight thereafter is a rapid and very enjoyable ascent. Same goes for liftoff and landing -- it's got a very low stall speed and you can easily land on a dime in VTOL mode. Powered by 2 RTGs (perfectly balanced). It's a rather useless runabout, except of course if you need to land on aircraft carriers. It's not that large and can hover indefinitely, which makes for nice landings on rough seas of Laythe. I wish I could add folding wings, but it doesn't seem that easy to figure out geometry in stock.

why do you assume that's not what they're going to do? They've been investigating this for a while, so there's definitely a good chance that they've come up with some short and long term solutions that they want to address. Also, wobbliness is what's been the community's biggest issue so far, the fact that they're talking about it makes it communication. The community broadcasted it's concerns about this, and they heard it, and will address it. that's the 2-way you're talking about. or do you want them to hold your hand and bring you on the talk so you can express the same things everyone else has over and over again? let's see tomorrow after the talk if they've discussed possible solutions or not.

Communication is two-way. Sticking your fingers in your ears and announcing “a talk about wobbly rockets” (a talk, not a discussion, not addressing it, not discussing possible solutions — and they are masters in picking their words when it comes to this) without any regards for what has the most attention right now isn’t communicating. It’s broadcasting with a bull horn and showing no interest in what goes on in the community.

The Epstein drive is a literary device, it's not even a theoretical engine. I'm fairly certain it's not going to be in KSP2 and if there are plans for it I'll consider the game an absolute failure. Real talk though, if you want to get to another solar system in a reasonable amount of time you're going to need something which has an isp which is a significant fraction of C. If you use that in-system it will likely trivialize travel but it's worth noting, again, that engines can usually only prioritize thrust or isp so you'll still need landers and utility craft, and you're probably not going to be using something like a nuclear salt water rocket for a lander either because that would constitute landing on a continuously detonating nuclear explosion. The challenge is not going to go completely away.

Since I do not really know about you, there's a risk I'm going to talk some nonsense, but on the other hand, there's also a chance of telling something useful. So I a flipped a coin and… Let's go: Chances are that you will miss it in the future. Try to focus on the good things, and try to accept the difficulties as the price you need to pay to getting such memories. This will not make things easier, but it will allow you to build memories that will be precious later in your life. Christmas is a bittersweet time of the year to me - to the point that 4 years ago I didn't mind having to work December 24 and 25 (my son was visiting his mom, so no parental negligence here ). But yet, I have one big regret about this event: I had a friend, one of that friends that you make when you are a teen and carry on for the rest of your life. And by some reason, we ended up getting into the same troubles in life [EDIT: and doing the same things to fix them]. When I fired my family and moved away from them, I took some really harsh years - I made a bold move, I liquidate all my economies buying a home on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis (that also affected Brazil, only a bit later) and I took me almost 10 years to rebuild my finances - the sad fact of life is that somehow my poor economic state leaked out my network and by then all the job offers I got were paying less (because the <piiii> knew I had little to no choice due pressure on paying the mortgage). EDIT: This friend of mine did more or less the same, except by the jobs offer - he did way better than me on this one. No regrets here, I would not had afforded this home otherwise. But it took a toll on my friendship, because I was working all the time, including holidays, for some years to pay all the bills and rebuild my savings (not to mention trying to keep contact with my son, still a kid and living very away from me at that time) - what it means I neglected that friendship, because he was living a bunch of hours away from were I live and I rarely could spare that time at the same days he could and vice versa. What I didn't knew is that he had a serious health condition, and he were risking dying suddenly sooner or later - and, so, every year I failed to spend some days with him on the holidays meant smaller chances on managing to do it next year. And, then, he died. About a week before Christmas. On the very year I was finally sabbatical and could attend something with him. I can't say I regret all that years I spent the holidays working my cheeks out to pay the bills - my son and I have a comfortable life nowadays exactly because I did all that sacrifices. But, yet, I still regret not spending more time with this friend of mine even at the cost of some economical security on the short run. That friend of mine would die nevertheless - but I would have more memories of such friendship, and he surely deserved such. Buy a cargo cart. Second hand, third hand, build one yourself - but get yourself a cargo cart. One that you could use on the streets. I can't emphasise enough how my life got way less hurtful once I started to get old on the very day I bought one for myself. I bought it in 12 instalments to avoid financial risks on the short run, and so I ended up paying almost 25% more than if I had bought it upfront - but even this way, it worth it because I didn't hurt my back anymore since then and, so, didn't had my DayJob© jeopardised by pain in the back (the upper one! ). Check your home's power, you may have fluctuations sporadically on your electrical system. Additionally, do you have a neighbour engaging on ham radio? In a way or another, a HAM radio emitting near you would saturate your WiFi antennas to the point the MCU could not handle the noise and just crash.

Heya everyone! Below is the transcript to the AMA we did with Chris Adderley on 8/17 live on KSPTV. You can find the VOD here. If you catch an error with the transcript, feel free to @ me in a response! Thanks everyone, Dakota --- Can you introduce yourself and your position in the studio and maybe talk a little bit about what you work on? (skyzip4k) Were you modding before KSP? What made you want to mod (games) and how did you know a game you wanted to mod? (James M.) What is one thing that was different from your expectations and your change from modder to developer? Are there things that we're challenging as a modder that now make more sense from your perspective as a developer? (moeggz) As a fan-favorite modder turned developer, what's one particularly memorable or satisfying moment you've experienced while working on KSP2 that you'd like to share? (Heretic391) Hey Chris, big fan of your mods in ksp1 and i honestly consider them essential. What have you learned from your days as a ksp 1 modder has helped you in your role in ksp2? (6ar6oyle) from being a mod developer to a dev on ksp2 what has been your favorite moment? (the_tunnel) What mistakes did you learn from making your mods in ksp1 that helped you on issues for ksp2? (Spicat) Which milestone update are you most excited to work on? (tycothepug) Is it fun working on KSP2 intercept games? (noobyeeter69) What’s your favorite mod of ksp2 so far? (Spicat) How closely does KSP2's team follow developments in the aerospace industry? Does it help you guys come up with ideas for parts or other features to add in KSP2? (novaraptortv) what is your favorite part that you can talk about that's been made? Also, what's your favorite type of cheese? (afterglow79, Discord) What are things that you can’t make too realistic for gameplay reasons? (Spicat) Is it true you derive sustenance and nutrients from reading white papers and looking at whitebox models? (Kavaeric) What is your favorite mod you made for KSP1? Bonus question: What is your favorite mod for KSP1 you didn’t make? (Tycothepug) What are your hopes for the future of KSP2? (Heretic391) What other games are you guys playing at the moment? (Burntout) What is the biggest challenge in creating a complex heat system like we will see in a future soon in KSP2? (_gonb_) What do you like about the new heat system? Also, blink 3 times quickly if you're being held against your will and forced to answer softball questions in a positive manner. (RocketmanKSP) In the first AMA, Nate mentioned different reentry colors, what will those looks like? (Spicat) With the heat limit of most parts reduced over KSP1, how do you plan to make KSP2 spaceplanes capable of surviving re-entry? Are conformal heatshields in the plans? (hakko__) What are the biggest differences you can highlight between Science in ksp1 and Science in ksp2? (Spicat) What would you say has taken the most time in the upcoming science update? (Tycothepug) was there a particularly difficult science instrument to design and implement? Why or why not? (no2tm) Will modding support come in small waves, like how heating will be expended with every milestone update, or will it be a (mostly) one time update? (Abelinoss) Will Kerbin recieve visual updates to its biomes to give it a more "alive" feeling? (M4D_Mat7) Are there plans for resources/guides to help modders mod within the planned game dynamics vs. “modders gonna mod” and mod without any clear direction/instructions from dev team on the best way to make stable coherent mods? (picospace) What are your favorite tips and tools for new modders? (Socraticat) If I wanted to get started with modding, what route would you suggest I go down? (James M.) Are there any features you modded into KSP 1 that you are bringing into KSP2? What is your favorite? (Pokaia) KSP is a very physics-intensive project. KSP is also a game that needs to be both performant AND fun to play. When these areas are in conflict, how do you decide where to draw the line? (funphaze) What is your favorite part in the game (If you have one)? (datau03) What's your favourite step of developing a new part? What's your least favourite step? (kavaeric) How has your work in [KSP1 modding] translated to the design strategy in KSP2? (Kavaeric) How do you determine how much detail and fidelity goes into a particular part? Rocket engines, in particular, are very complex things laden with tubes and other components. Where does the simplification start while remaining true to the aesthetic of a rocket engine? The same goes for fuel tanks, science parts, and the like. (no2tm) I'm sure the team reviewed and rejected a lot of theoretical engine design concepts over the lifespan of the project - My question is, what was the most absurd/fantastical one that the team reviewed and rejected? (Profugo Barbatus) how will orbital construction work with all the super big parts that cant fit in the VAB was the VAB kept on the smaller side to make this orbital construction feature more important (cooling.1200) How do you go about designing parts for theoretical technologies that have no real-world analogs to use for reference? (Seth) What process do you guys follow when designing, creating, and importing a part? What design guidlines do you follow? (isaquest) How do you decide how parts are made? For example, with the Mammoth II, how did you decide to make one colossal engine, rather than splitting it into four RS-25's? How did you come up with the plumbing? (failspace) How will the "rotational" artificial gravity ring part showcased in the teasers and trailers work? Will we have multiple iterations of varying sizes? (M4D_Mat7) What do you think is the most interesting part in terms of gameplay, so how, when and where to use it. (rick_huijgen) Will we see more than one engine per ‘engine class’ at some point? e.g. multiple Medium Methalox Sustainer engines, gridded and hall effect ion thrusters,… (The Space Peacock) Is there still the option to add the non-dynamic wings from KSP 1? (bygermanknight) what size scale can we expect for intersellar ship parts? (mgb125) How is the colonies stuff going, there's been some recent concern on whether launching rockets will be free in science. If so, will that be an issue for progression? (Pugnuts) In your previous role as a modder, you did modelling AND scripting, do you still do both of those at intercept? (clayel) Do you sometimes have to revise your ideas because of performance constraints? (piotr) What are you guys working on right now? what is the priority list? (Benozkey) For features that divide the community, we often hear the argument to "just make it an option". For you, when should a feature be an option and when this choice should be made by the devs? (Spicat) What have been the biggest or funniest challenges/bugs in the development of Science and Heating? (paradact) Will rover wheels be changed in the future to be better? How do you figure that out? (jaypegiscool) what will interstellar travel look like ? just a burn and a time-warp until destination or an animation (.lord_octave) Earlier on, I got the impression that there was going to be the potential for vessels/stations with truly massive part counts (far greater than KSP1, which would choke really hard on larger craft), but, as it stands right now, optimization is not at the point yet where you can go very far with part counts. Assuming I was not misunderstanding, is this still going to be a thing eventually, at least by 1.0? (GigFiz) Could we see the addition of a linear aerospike as a usable part for SSTOs? (NovaRaptorTV) will we ever be able to use any fuel type with nuclear engines, instead of just hydrogen? (Spicat) How will Metallic Hydrogen engines play into late game interplanetary travel (german4730) Are there plans to add light sail interstellar probes? (lunarmetis) Will there be inflatable modules in KSP2? (gordonlemons) Will there be more loading screens? (M4D_Mat7) Could we see space telescopes like Hubble and James Webb make their way to KSP2? Will they have the ability to be repaired on orbit and also collect science the player can use? (NovaRaptorTV) Are there more plans for environmental effects? Will there be Kerbal footprints/rover tire marks, etc? Will there be dust in the air on duna, etc (jaypegiscool) When colonies are implemented, will heat be required for habitation modules in colder environments? (Pleysu) Has any consideration been given to procedural fuel tanks? Alternatively, reducing the number of fuel tanks in the list and/or providing more variety in shape by implementing a part switcher? (regex) Considering that grid fins are confirmed for KSP2, could we also potentially see Telescoping Landing Legs(like on Falcon 9 and New Glenn(I believe)) in KSP2 as parts we can use for reusable boosters? (NovaRaptorTV) Are there any plans to implement parts that would enable underwater exploration, such as ballast tanks and pumps? Great work on the game so far btw! (DibzNr) If you were to add another class of spaceplane parts, what would they be based off of? I can see something like VentureStar or Star Raker, or a something more like a traditional airliner. (NovaRaptorTV) How do you pronounce “Nertea”? Ner-tea, ner-te-a, nert-e-a? (jimmymcgoochie) Does Nertea come iced, or is it only hot? (corelar) Any unanounced features/parts/systems that we have had no hints of, but are in the works? y/n (gallitagen) What's your favorite type of donut? (gordonlemons)

Good thing my complaints encompass a lot of statements and content posted for about 4 years and not this one time I was almost wrong. You're doing exactly what Razark is doing below here, which is ignoring the dates of the few ones I quoted: 2 out of 6 messages I found on this forum alone, are from before Dakota's clarification that it was gonna be just two hotfixes. People were expecting more than 2 hotfixes. In fact I'll gladly bet all in that most laymen back then expected this to mean the start of rapidly deployed hotfixes as a concurrent practice, and not just 2 "hot" fixes spaced almost a month from the update they were fixing. Dakota's clarification and not Nate's post is an example of how to properly communicate when looking to create and then manage expectations. I'm totally on board with that, though I'd prefer it if had been Nate's post without the need for clarifications. Asterisks like those have been a consistent theme sadly. This is you assuming their work pace and productivity. I'm sure if you told anyone outside this forum or the discord that they're almost crunching to produce the current volume of content, you'd be laughed out of the internet. Sadly, lack of communication is to blame again, as they really haven't shown any other bar of their productive capacity other than delaying a product 3 years and not being able to produce a roadmap feature for at least 7 months. The "5 years ago" thing is brought up constantly because people seem to forget when development started, constantly, or talk about credibility whilst gladly ignoring that. No, looking away from it will not make it go away. [snip] Maybe if people stopped constructing arguments from erroneous facts [snip] then people would stop bringing those things up. You talk as if deadlines and spec sheets are things of the devil. Which is funny considering we now have the design specs for heating thanks to Nertea, but Science being much closer allegedly hasn't been talked about past a part and a screenshot of what could easily be a KSP1 copypaste in KSP2's UI.

I want to do what I can, to give them feedback that might help them make a better KSP2, because I hope that one day the game might approach the heights they've laid out a plan for. I won't ignore the incongruity of the things they've hyped up versus what they've produced, so my practical expectations are not high. What can be done to match hopes with expectations? Since most talk is discarded out of hand, what talk do we feel would be appreciated? I for one would love to hear some reasoning behind their very specific 'Fridays are communication days' kinda idea. I get that they want to have a regular predictable report, but it becomes a pain point when some Fridays pass and there's no word on what progress was made, for example, that very week. Just as an example. Trying to get the ball rolling on that train of thought

Welcome. I'll be documentation the colonization of the soon to be released KSS2 interstellar mod for KSP1. This system contains a number of unique and interesting features. Get yourself a nice beverage that tastes almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea and follow along. I will be primarily focusing on the needful for FTL trips out to the Aethera system. Unless you are doing this in sandbox mode, there will be considerable buildup of infrastructure and resources (particularly graviolium and fusion pellets) to support the 4-9 day trip. Note: My primary mods Blueshift FTL drive KFS gravatic drive Buffalo2 for rovers Pathfinder for habitat DSEV for various ships Other mods: Custom Barnkit: This provides for a Level 4 Tracking Station. You will need this for communication across interstellar distances GU Parts (legacy): In particular, this provides the antennas with the necessary range to talk back to the KSC. This is desired if you are going to do anything with probes. I'm not sure where this can be obtained now. DM me if you need it. Kerbal Attachment System / Kerbal Inventory System : In particular, KAS in conjunction with DSEV has parts that make the construction of a shuttle craft able to carry all the needful to a planet A note for STL cats: Do not think that you can use stock engines for Aethera. If you are new to Interstellar travel, get yourself acquainted with the numerous mods available to provide blowtorches with the required ISP to get you there - and more importantly - settled into an orbit.

SpaceWarp 2.0: Help Us Shape the Future of Modding! Dear KSP 2 Modding Community, We're thrilled to have grown alongside you as the SpaceWarp modding API project evolved from its inception in version 0.1 as a simple mod loader, to a community-driven modding API in version 1.0, to where we are now. Your continuous support and feedback have been invaluable in making SpaceWarp better. As we look to the future, we're excited to announce that we are beginning work on SpaceWarp 2.0, a new chapter in our modding journey! Learning and Growing Together Our journey through 1.x has been filled with learning experiences. We've listened to many of your suggestions, and have recently introduced some significant updates, such as: specification versions - allowing for major changes while still keeping older mods compatible, codeless part mods - to empower non-programmers who want to make KSP 2 mods, Lua support - for simple scripting without the need to learn C# and .NET, experimental support for the official mod loader - to help us prepare for the future. Those are just a few of the new features that SpaceWarp has seen added during the 1.x development cycle. Your valuable feedback has helped shape SpaceWarp 1, and we're grateful for that. SpaceWarp 1.5 - A Smooth Transition Before we dive into the details of SpaceWarp 2.0, let's talk about SpaceWarp 1.5, the next transitional step, and the last update in the 1.x series. We are going to mark all APIs that will be removed or changed as deprecated, and introduce their replacements, giving you a sneak peek of the changes coming in 2.0. That way, while your existing 1.x mods will continue working in 1.5, you will have enough time to prepare them for the major update ahead. Preparing for the Future We hear you loud and clear – KSP 2 modding shouldn't have to be tied to an external mod loader when there’s an official one on the way. That's why we're working towards making SpaceWarp fully compatible with both BepInEx and the currently unreleased official mod loader. That way, your mods written for SpaceWarp 1.5 and later should require only minimal changes to support the official mod loader once it arrives. SpaceWarp 2.0 - Modularization and Flexibility One of the key architectural differences in SpaceWarp 2.0 is the shift towards modularization. As the library has grown over the past few months, it has gotten to a point where a single project containing all the very diverse APIs and features is simply not sustainable anymore. We want to make SpaceWarp more flexible, so it has enough room to grow in the future without unnecessary complexity, in both the development phase, and in the integration, testing and release phases. Here are just some examples of the module structure we're considering: SpaceWarp.Core – The core mod contract and everything necessary to make a simple mod load in-game. SpaceWarp.UI – Including app bar buttons, UI skins, and other UI-related functionalities. SpaceWarp.Game – Abstractions of game APIs, enabling seamless interactions with many parts of the game’s code without having to worry about game updates breaking your mods. SpaceWarp.Audio – For handling of audio-related features and functionalities. The Right Approach We are currently considering two different approaches to the modularization of SpaceWarp: Approach 1: The Modular Monolith: We would split the SpaceWarp modules into individual projects and .DLL files, while keeping them all part of a single mod, single version, and single release zip. This approach maintains the current setup for end users and modders, keeping SpaceWarp as a monolithic, but not as tightly coupled library that covers various functionalities. The separation of concerns into multiple projects within the SpaceWarp solution will enable easier code management for contributors. Approach 2: Modular to the Max: SpaceWarp would be divided into separate smaller mods, each with its own swinfo.json file, versioning, and independent releases. Modders and players can then selectively use only the modules they need, improving customization and reducing unnecessary bloat. Community contributions to specific parts of SpaceWarp become more streamlined, as contributors can focus on individual modules without affecting unrelated components, making it easier for multiple people to work on many distinct parts of SpaceWarp at the same time independently. *For the sake of transparency – this is the approach that we are currently leaning towards the most, but we want to hear your opinions! Simplifying Installation for Players We understand that ease of installation is crucial for players. While approach 2 (Modular to the Max) brings with it more complexity when it comes to user experience when installing SpaceWarp, we're exploring solutions to mitigate this, such as always providing an always updated all-in-one download option for those who prefer simplicity, or the possibility of only installing the core SpaceWarp mod as a lightweight entry point, which will then prompt you to either download the modules your mods depend on manually, or even download and install them for you. We Value Your Feedback! Your opinions matter to us! We're building SpaceWarp together, and your insights are integral to shaping its future. We'd love to hear what you think about the two approaches we've shared: Are you more inclined towards Approach 1 (The Modular Monolith) or Approach 2 (Modular to the Max), and why? How do you think we can enhance the installation experience for players? Do you have any other suggestions for what you’d like to see in SpaceWarp 1.5 and 2.0? Please share your feedback here, or in the KSP 2 Modding Society Discord server, where the development of SpaceWarp and most KSP 2 mods takes place, for a more real-time discussion! Join Us on This Exciting Journey! SpaceWarp 2.0 promises a more flexible and future-proof modding experience. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Your contributions and feedback help us make SpaceWarp better every day, and we hope that we can all help the KSP 2 modding community one day reach the inspiring heights of its predecessor. Let's shape the future of KSP 2 modding, together!

Alright, by soon I guess I meant a month. Time really slips by, doesn't it? *** CHAPTER 8: SETTING THE FOUNDATION YEAR 2, DAY 120 - DRUZHBA 1 Crew: Bardok, Spokoynyy, Alisa For 60 days the cosmodrome may have seemed completely silent. But inside, it was the perhaps busiest place on Kerbin. Workers for both the CKR Space Program and the Korolev Design Bureau (KDB) have been working hard day in and day out on the CKR's newest manned spacecraft: the Druzhba Spacecraft. The Druzhba Spacecraft is capable of carrying three Kerbals into orbit at once, complex rendezvous maneuvers, and even has the capability to dock to other spacecraft! The CKR hopes to use it in future manned missions to the Mun and Minmus. The rocket, called the K-8 Druzhba, has had a... complicated design history. Originally the rocket was going to be a standard K-8 Grom. But simulations showed that the rocket would be too top heavy, and go crashing into the ocean after the gravity turn began. So, instead, a whole new rocket was designed. The rocket, while sharing some of the core design design choices of the K-8 Grom, is much more it's own thing now. However it's still similar enough to be part of the K-8 lineage. And, guess what it includes now. That's right, a Launch Escape System (LES)! The LES is designed to fire it's motors away from the rocket, carrying it to a safe distance to deploy it's parachutes. Originally, the abort systems on our spacecraft would just be the landing retro-rockets, which could hopefully pull the command module away, and then the Kerbonaut onboard would possibly be able to jump ship manually. And, according to simulations, this would probably work only about 60% of the time. Not good odds. This increase of safety aboard our spacecraft will hopefully carry on to the future, providing more reliable spacecraft for long term missions. Only time will tell. Anyways, where were we? Oh, right. Off with the mission! "Engine ignition, and liftoff on Druzhba 1!" - Gen Kerman "Go for booster sep." - Gen Kerman "Roger, booster sep." - Bardok Kerman The spacecraft fairing separate, revealing our glorious machine! "Druzhba 1, you are go for orbital insertion." - Gen Kerman "Shkiper reignition successful! We are on our way!" - Alisa Kerman Stage 2 is ejected, and Druzhba 1 is now floating freely in orbit! The crew look down on Kerbin in awe, and stretch their legs in the increased space inside the spacecraft. Due to complaints from crew during the Zapad and Zakat missions of the very little leg room during their missions, engineers added a little extra habitable area sort of like another module, and the crew can move into and out of the area at will. Also, this extra habitable area doubles as an airlock! Instead of carrying around that bulky inflatable airlock, Druzhba flies with an airlock built into the spacecraft! Maybe it's still not all that practical, but it's better than that crappy inflatable one. Now, back to the mission. Once in orbit, Druzhba 1 will perform several tests of its systems. The first of these tests will be a test of its monopropellant systems. This will require the spacecraft to fire it's thrusters, forward, back, up, down, and side to side. This is done on Flight Day 2. Que the montage! Once done that, Druzhba 1 will perform an inclination change to align with Minmus's orbital plane on Flight Day 3. This will really just be a test of how well the Druzbha's engines behave on orbit. Que montage again! "Inclination change proceeding smoothly, mission control." - Bardok Kerman Oh, I guess there wasn't much of a montage there. On Flight Day 3, Bardok steps into the habitat/airlock, and upon opening the hatch, his breath is taken away from the completely unobstructed view of Kerbin. "Looking down at our planet, I've had an amazing realization. A realization that make shake our entire world view. I'm in space, and those losers aren't! Haha, I win!" - Bardok Kerman While on EVA, Bardok has to make a visual inspection of the spacecraft. Make sure everything stayed in place and what not. Everything looking good, he takes a chance to look out towards the Mun. Someday, he thinks to himself. Someday I'll be there. Maybe he will. Only time will tell. After about 15 minutes on EVA (the longest yet!), he makes his way back aboard Druzhba 1. He says that it was sad stepping back inside the spacecraft, but hopes that his EVA experience will not be his last. His optimism is paying off though, as the CKR sees him as a valuable pilot in the future. Druzhba 1 spends another three days in orbit, collecting data and photographing Kerbin. However, as missions do, it eventually comes to an end. Druzhba 1 faces its engines retrograde, and begins its journey back down to Kerbin's surface. "Mission control we are beginning our de-orbit burn. Ignition of the engines was successful." - Alisa Kerman Druzhba 1's main command module now makes the trip back alone, as it was the only part of the spacecraft meant to return to Kerbin. "Chutes deployed successfully." - Alisa Kerman "And a perfect inflation! Prepping landing retro motors." - Alisa Kerman And like that, Druzhba 1 safely lands in the deserts of Kerbin! Rescue teams are quickly dispatched to their location, so they should be back at the cosmodrome in a few hours. Druzhab 1's success means that future missions are coming, and continued testing of the spacecraft may finally prove capable of the Mun and Minmus flight it was meant for. All we have to do is see where the program goes. *** YEAR 2, DAY 130 - MUNA 9 While the crewed division was quite busy with Druzhba, they at least had a plan with what the payload looked like. Muna 9 was the exact opposite. The payload was in a constant development hell, and coupled with the current cosmodrome expansions, issues piled up high. Engineers, scientists, and even janitors were throwing around ideas for what the actual lander should look like. The lander had 500 different designs thrown around, some cheaper and more realistic, and others so outrageous and bizarre that nothing short of mining out every resource on Kerbin would make them possible. In the end, a "little" two stage lander was picked. The probe will fly to the Mun, do some science experiments, pick up some surface samples. and then return back to Kerbin after a day on the surface. Pretty straight forward... on paper. "Liftoff on Muna 9, on its journey to and back from the Mun!" - Gen Kerman "Clean booster sep!" - Gen Kerman Muna 9 enters LKO with no error. But the journey's not over yet. Mission control immediately gets to work setting up the spacecraft's TMI maneuver, and before you know it... "We are go for TMI!" - Gen Kerman We are go fo- hey! I was gonna say that! Muna 9's deep space tug stage finishes up the burn, and Muna 9 enters the coast period. The probe will be put on hibernation mode to save energy on the way there. "We are go for our MOI burn." - Gen Kerman "Roger, re-igniting LV-909s." - Kris Kerman Muna 9's de-orbit burn "We are 700 meters from the surface, continuing suicide burn." - Gen Kerman "Contact!" - Gen Kerman Muna 9 is now standing on the Munar surface! However, the job is STILL not done, as now Muna 9 has to collect science. A lot of it. It's brought practically the whole suite of science experiments, and most importantly Mun rocks are picked up. Many Mun rocks. Scientists back on Kerbin simply drool at the thought of having their very own Mun rocks to pick at and study, and if money was still a thing in our society, we're sure these rocks would go for millions. After a day on the Munar surface, the upper stage of the lander is separated and fires it's engines, beginning its long journey back to Kerbin. Interestingly, engineers wanted to launch the spacecraft into a retrograde orbit. This was essentially a stress test of all of the lander's systems "Ignition of the ascent stage engine. We're on our way home!" - Kris Kerman "Kerbin return maneuver in 3,2,1... re-ignition of ascent stage engine, we're on our way back to Kerbin." - Gen Kerman The return capsule has quite a fiery re-entry, entering Kerbin's atmosphere at speeds of over 3,000m/s! "Chute deployed, and we are back home!" - Gen Kerman Yes, after 4 days in space, Muna 9 returns with the very first samples of the Munar surface! Recovery teams quickly circle the spacecraft, pick it up, and carefully extract the load of samples the spacecraft collected. These will be handed to R&D immediately, who will study the rocks and further distribute them to other labs around Kerbin. The data collected from these rocks will give us further information into not just the birth of the Kerbin system, but the birth of the entire Kerbolar system! It's an exciting for the CKR Space Program, and more exciting are certainly to come. *** YEAR 2, DAY 148 - YEVA 1 Kerbalkind once again prepares to extend its influence even further than the Kerbin system. This time, we have our focus set much closer into the Kerbolar system. Her purple majesty, Yeva. Many have speculated what may be waiting for us on Yeva. Some say that, due to it's purple color, it may be very similar to Kerbin. Couple this with the fact that Eve is a similar size to Kerbin, Kerbals who suspect this may not be too far off. Yeva 1 is pretty much a sister probe to Duna 1, but with... oh, no, it is the exact same probe. With the exact same launcher. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. "Liftoff on Yeva 1, carrying Kerbalkind to the planets!" - Gen Kerman Is this just me, or is it kinda funny to see the hammer and sickle on the side of a building meant to look like NASA's high bay assembly building. Yeva 1 finds itself racing a comet on liftoff. Yeva 1 firing its engines for orbit Once in orbit, ground teams immediately begin preparing for the burn to Eve. This is easier said than done. At the time of launch, the Mun was positioned in such a way that it would always get in the way of every burn we did. And its position was annoying enough that we couldn't use this to our advantage at all. In the end, spamming skip orbit enough got us a good position for a maneuver. And now... We're off to Yeva! "Setting probe to hibernation mode. Good luck, Yeva 1." - Gen Kerman *** YEAR 2, DAY 160 - MYATNYY 8 Myatnyy 8 will follow the exact same mission profile as Muna 9. Nothing else to add. The interesting thing about this mission is more the destination itself. The past few missions to Minmus have shown that Minmus itself is an interesting place. Despite not having an atmosphere, Minmus does in fact have weather! However, the exact way this happens is quite a mystery. Samples of both Minmus's "clouds" and surface ice will be collected, and scientists on Kerbin will use this data to understand more about Kerbin mintiest and most mysterious moon. Launch Sequence Once Myatnyy 8 enters orbit, well, you know the procedure. "Go for TMI!" - Bobak Kerman Myatnyy 8 begins the coasting period of its mission. I will tell you all that I did not get any pictures of the whole orbit process around Minmus, as at this point I was just so sick of the mission. I already had to redo it twice, so I gave up on screenshots and just flew the craft. But I did get pictures of the landing, and that's the cool part. "We are beginning our descent down to Minmus's surface, I need all controllers on standy in case anything goes wrong." - Bobak Kerman "1km up, speeding up suicide burn." - Kris Kerman "Almost there..." - Bobak Kerman "Contact! Myatnyy 8 is standing on Minmus's surface!" - Bobak Kerman After a quick celebration in mission control, work begins on running the experiments on board the spacecraft, as well as the collection of samples on Minmus's surface. After a day on the surface, the ascent stage fires its engines and Myatnyy 8 begins its journey back to Kerbin. Another success under our belt! Myatnyy 8 is quickly recovered, and the mission comes to an end. Myantyy 8 has brought back perhaps some of the most important data in spaceflight to date. However, our engineers and scientists have one more idea for Munar and Minmus exploration, and they expect it to fly sometime late in the year. You all will have to wait to see that. *** YEAR 2, DAY 180 - DRUZHBA 2&3 Crew: Dzhebediya, Bob, Bill; Valentina, Stadun, Derdas We always talk about the capabilities of the Druzhba spacecraft, now it's time to put them to the test. Druzhba 2 and Druzhba 3 will be a test of rendezvous and docking. The spacecraft is, after all, equipped with a docking port. Once docked, both spacecraft will spend a week in space together. Dzhebediya and Valentina will also perform an EVA together, much like Zakat 3 and Zakat 4. Afterwords both Druzhbas head back home one after the other. It's a pretty straightforward mission. Also, due to the expansion of the Kerbal Cosmodrome, pieces of the spacecraft no longer have to be sent to the Dessert Cosmodrome for launch. All of our rockets can be sourced right here. It really streamlines the whole assembly process, as well as save a lot of fuel for the spacecraft during rendezvous. Granted, the changed inclination would be good to do further stress tests on our spacecraft, but really it's better for the engineers this way. The Dessert Cosmodrome is better for satellite launches, anyways. "Liftoff on Druzhba 2!" - Gen Kerman "LRBs depleted of fuel, separate now Druzhba 2." - Gen Kerman "Clean sep, Baikerbanur!" - Bill Kerman "Ignition confirmed on stage 2." - Bill Kerman "Alright mission control, starting our coast to apoapsis." - Dzhebediya Kerman "Rog, Druzhba 2." - Gen Kerman "Druzhba 2 orbital entry established. Good flight!" - Gen Kerman "Alright, thanks Baikerbanur! Tell Druzhba 3 that we can't wait to meet up with them." - Dzhebediya Kerman "Will do." - Gen Kerman With Druzhba 2 in orbit, it's now Druzhba 3's turn to liftoff from the Cosmodrome. "Woooo, I love that feeling mission control! You gotta send me on more missions!" - Valentina Kerman "Clean booster sep, mission control!" - Derdas Kerman "Good to hear! And Druzhba 2 reports that they can in fact see your contrail from liftoff!" - Bobak Kerman "Orbital entry established, Druzhba 3." - Bobak Kerman "Rog, Bobak." - Valentina Kerman With no time to waste, Druzhba 3 immediately gets to work setting up their rendezvous with Druzhba 2. Inclination changes, rendezvous burns, the works. Before you know it, they're already at the spacecraft. Slowing down at rendezvous. "Approaching Druzhba 2." - Valentina Kerman "Docked! Miss me, Dzheb?" - Valentina Kerman "Tease me all you want, I still hold the title for farthest flying Kerbal." - Dzhebediya Kerman "For now." - Valentina Kerman Dzhebediya and Valentina face off outside their spacecraft. For the next five minutes, the words "I'm" and "better" were exchanged in that order continuously. Dezhebediya and Valentina boarded back into their spacecraft after a very mature discussion, and Druzhba 2&3 stayed in orbit for the next week. During that time, much of Kerbin's surface was photographed, and the crew played a game of Linkor, perhaps one of the best board games the CKR had created. It's not a very eventuful mission otherwise. After the week is over, both Druzhba 2 and 3 separate and go their separate ways. Druzhba 2 on re-entry, with the airlock module burning up behind it. Druzhba 2&3 with their parachutes deployed We've proven long duration spaceflight, and we've proven that two spacecraft can dock together in orbit. But what if we did... both at the same time?

Those USAAF guys had no real choice. Their casualty rates were insane, too. I went to an 8th AF luncheon, and sat with a few old guys. A fighter pilot (P-47) gave the talk that day, and he talked about them all being kids and that they felt invulnerable. He said, "If you had told us at the briefing early in the morning that 9 out of 10 of us were not coming home, we all would have all looked around the room and thought, 'You poor bast*ards'."

I've managed to talk to quite a few, and all of them basically say, "I was just doing my job" and/or something like, "The real heroes are all still there, buried."

None* of them want to talk about it, which means remembering it, when they'd just as soon forget it * - (in general, I'll assume there are exceptions).

And I'm hearing that the second installment will be quite good. ...possibly good enough for my spouse to actually enjoy! I got bored last winter and started digging through this box of old paperbacks in my basement; books I've had (and kept because I loved them) going all the way back to the 70s and 80s. That's ownership; most are reprints of classics, with some like the Julian May (Many Colored Land) series being 'new' when I was reading them. There's a lot in there that did not age well. I'm actually okay with that; my daughter is the only one in the family that really enjoys SF... and she enjoyed watching the show. Plus - I can talk math with her!

Honestly I think it is bad. Well it also highlights the currently bad state of development process, so maybe it is good? The reason for me is: Basically every answer about a feature in the post goes like this: Q: "What will be the mechanics of feature X" A: "Well if you do X you have to think about A, B and C and balance them." Then there are some further explanations about A, B and C and how they interact. And that's it. He is usually not answering the question but only explaining some of the things which you have to consider. So the amount of information I got from it was pretty limited because all the talk about "you have to balance different things" is not that complicated actually. Doing the balancing is however difficult and he does not really say how they will even try to balance it. And I think that is what some of us don't like. Another example of this is "New features in 1.5". But they don't say which feature. The feature could simply be the new Unity version. Maybe they do talk a lot. But the amount of information is very limited. Actually I am starting to think that they haven't even started to think about anything on the roadmap yet. Which is probably why we have not seen any gameplay for science yet.

However, considering a few years ago the other "government officials meeting" in Singapore - Their news is quite a lot of nighttime footage of bustling Singapore. And said that "hey look that's Singapore." Meanwhile, many of them have been to China and Russia as foreign students. So, it's very likely that what you think they're going to talk to you about, "I can't find the money for my next meal", but they actually going to talk to you about "how well DJI drones can be modified and carried".

@Superfluous J @Hotel26 I don’t think it has anything to do with logic or whether we could build a simulation with our understanding of computers. In my opinion, if there is a simulation it was built by something of such great knowledge and power its actions would be indiscernible to us, just as a fish isn’t really capable of discerning complex human behaviors. But yes, the question of “Are we in a simulation built by ourselves/other humans” can be answered with a pretty certain no. Unless we start getting into questions of whether “we” is literally us, as in I built this simulation for myself but wiped my memory as I went inside. Which isn’t really a question about “are we living in a simulation” but could begin slipping into arguments about solipsism. Pretty much. Insofar as it isn’t a scientific idea but is being peddled as a sort of “higher truth” “within the boundaries of science*” it basically hits all the marks for New New Age theological thinking without the theo. *At least this is the strong vibe I get from such believers who talk about their ideas. EDIT- It should also be noted simulation theory can be an idea held while being religious too. Look up Philip K. Dick’s 1977 speech in Metz, France.

Some content has been removed, and a number of posts quoting said content have also been removed. Feel free to state your opinions as you wish. We don’t care if your opinion is for or against. It doesn’t matter. That’s what the forums are here for. What we don’t allow is to make comments about a person, or people in general. Do not tell others how to post, or what to post. Do not make comments about others motives or intent. If you disagree with another person, use facts, logic and reasoning to counter their arguments. Even then, they may still disagree with you, and that’s OK. Reasonable minds can disagree. That means we don’t need to delve into the same arguments in every thread. If a comment had been addressed in a previous thread, it’s often best to reference that thread and continue the discussion there, as the topic has been covered. Granted, given the state of the game right now, that might not give us a lot to talk about. Until we do get more stuff to talk about, rehashing the same arguments over and over won’t do any good.

we questioned what you know of phisics because you do not talk like an expert. Except for a few throwaway line that do hint at technical competence, like mentioning the physics of two spaceships orbiting each other (without whom I'd just dismiss your claims of MS as internet bravado), most of your messages come across as just ranting about things that have perfectly reasonable explanations. what you described in your first post was perfectly compatible with orbital drift, so the simplest explanation was that you were experiencing orbital drift and had no physical knowledge. even now, you boast of a MS in aerospace engineering but you never correctly describe orbital drifting. Their guidance code and whatever else they covered for their masters definitely won't pertain to the "space" in aerospace if they're having trouble coming to grips with the fact two orbits will behave differently to one another. I think that their qualifications are likely irrelevant to the discussion.