Search the Community

I'll just put this here instead of picking an existing topic because crewed Mars is its own topic really

Are you bored of the standard KSP rocket launch experience? Do you like building "reusable" rockets but wish you actually re-assemble them? Have you tried building a rocket verticator vehicle and now have no hair left because you pulled it all out? Do you just generally want to lift massive payloads up in the air and side to side for reasons you wish to keep secret? Then this vehicle is for YOU! Introducing Modular Dual Drive Bridge Crane 5600 by Matsuma! This modular design allows you to lift just about anything you can access by flatish terrain. MATSUMA ORBITAL uses this as a crawlerway-crawler for restacking rockets enabling full rocket reuse. The default design measurements take this into account: it stands about as tall as the interior of the VAB (67m), and exactly as wide as the KSClvl3 crawlerway (35m). However, you can make it as stout or as tall as you need, taking advantage of Procedural Parts. The upper crossbars are in symmetry, while the lower verticals are not (including each drive section). Aside from some struts needing to be reset, size adjustments should be as simple as changing a few Part Action Window values. 205 parts can be further reduced by changing the design of the crane hook and pendant. After all, the 14 winches, their connection, and parent parts add a lot to the part count. The default design winches means something else in the vessel will likely fail before the winch connections. The connection should be Gantry>Structural Part>Structural Part>Winch to allow the winch to Grandparent Strut. Meaning the minimum crane hook could be as low as 4 parts. The wheels are made from Motors + Mk3 Tanks(x2) which have 50m/s and 50G tolerance making them robust. Wheel stretching with extremely heavy loads is normal. Surface speed is variable with the wheel throttle, but future refinement can be done by change the Length of the Driver KALs. MATSUMA generally prefers stock designs, and this crane is based off the CBGC-90S. However, with KSP development 'complete', future designs will likely, like this one, be built with the best mods in mind to reduce part count and maximize function. Booster and elevator sold separately. This crane does the same jobs, with more reliability, as the Stock CBGC-90/60 but with less than half the part count. It also no longer requires the crawlerway as a rail and can drive itself around anywhere (including the crawlerway) 200 tons on the hook causes nominal stretching, still works.

Who here can make an all terrain mobile crane in KSP that looks as close to the real crane as possible? (Actually, I would prefer all-terrain mobile cranes, but any crane from tower cranes to crawler cranes to ring cranes would be fine, as long as they look close to the real thing. EDIT TO CHALLENGE RULES: Participants can either attempt to make the most realistic looking crane, or a crane with the highest lifting capacity, even if it is not aesthetically realistic. Here is the challenge badge or whatever you want to call it. If you want to participate, add it to your signature! I recommend scaling it down to about 256x160. Here are mine, including the Kiebherr KTM 1120-4.3, Kiebherr KTM 1030-2.1, Kiebherr KTM 1300-6.2, and Kiebherr KTC 1050-3.1. Sorry there are so many pictures, but I use Kerbal Space Program more like Kerbal Crane Simulator. As Hans Kiebherr always said, "Why go to space when you can lift the stars themselves?" Check out my YouTube Channel for videos of some of the cranes shown here.

Download the whole set from Matsuma's KerbalX Hangar (all 8 crafts), or individually below. Demonstration of a crew capsule instead of payload. Crawling Bridge Gantry Crane stands almost 90meters, can handle 100t, and can be stripped apart for different applications, as it itself is a reiteration of EJ_SA's gantry concept. It crawls along the 500m crawlerway for operations. Antarro Model S[tock] Block VII - the current Flagship. The Fairing Plate is the only expendable piece in the whole system, costing around $2400 per launch. Important to note that the grip pads shown below the struts (below right) AS to upperstage tanks as it's simply a Jr. holding the payload fairing. The struts then attach to your payload. Aerial Lift Truck is a very generalized cherry-picker style vehicle. Designed for packing chutes on Antarro Upperstages. Comes shelled (214 parts) or unshelled (104 parts) Whatever colour you want, just change the 'solidCOLOR.png' flag. Forktruck is a proprietary design for Antarro Upperstages, but is overengineered to serve any general lifting purpose up to ~32tons. Recovery Barge can launch from the runway or cove, and collect splashed-down capsules or upperstages. Antarro Recovery Trailer is a quite simple Tractor-Trailer with configurations for towing Antarro Upperstages. Remove these configurations and it's a great little flatbed trailer. SUPERTANKER 50m/s top speed, powered steering, ISRU supertanker for refuelling, well, whatever. Future variant (current in mission save) drops ISRU for simple fuel moving from Refinery -> Pad ↓ New demo video ↓ Tank Farm featured in video. Truthfully I use a modded tank farm to save many many parts, but I whipped this up for demonstration and it mostly avoided kraken strikes so there it is. No images at present; currently a very different vehicle in use, see KerbalX for imagery. I'd love to answer questions on how I got the measurements or why I even built such things etc I'm an open book but don't want to post a novella. I learned basic Blender video editing to share a demonstration. A crane-specific guide video is in the works, but this video took me three days, lol. Lost tracks months ago on how much time went into working out kinks in the pieces. They all work reliably with repeatability if you follow safe docking protocols. Snap-dock is a real concern in reusability. I've reused a booster 12 times in one case before I just wanted it to be fresh again.

Do you think there be robotic parts in KSP 2? Will they be added in the base game or in a DLC? I really hope they add robotic parts in KSP 2, so I can make cranes, excavators, and other equipment in KSP 2. If they do add it, I want them to be procedural, where I can make a hydraulic cylinder really long, really short, wide, or skinny. Also, telescopic crane booms similar looking to Liebherr's TELEMATIK system, and NON-FLOPPY ROTATION SERVOS, SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO CRANE SLEW RINGS. Also for VTOLs and similar things.

Matsuma Heavy Orbital introduces MTS-BCC60S and MTS-BCC90S. Fully stock cranes that ride the Lv3 KSC Crawlerway. Goal: Re-use boosters by stacking new and used upperstages on used boosters that land back on the crawlerway. Problem with a simple static crane: it wanders quite dramatically over time. Solution: Ride the crawlerway. You can see in this gif that the heading is almost nearly locked (footage is at 10x speed) as it travels the rail. It also can re-align itself if it wanders slightly off, though it should want to correct itself by design. More specs on Kerbalx page. I am using it to launch and reuse 2 3 and 5m rockets. I'm very proud of it, and potential operators should find it pretty easy to use. At current it handles up to ~78tons. For me this is plenty, but if you wish to expand you'll face more and more binding on the gantry rails thus the part count increases exponentially. I've sunk easily 100 hours into this crane design, and hopefully it's free of kraken baits. One iteration launched a booster 7 times before I broke my save file. The gantry is a work of art by EJ_SA on Twitch. and I wanted to add controlled axis in all directions and the Bridge Crane Crawler was born. The 60m and 90m versions are 342 and 364 parts respectively. They only come with tiny power supply but users can add on or swap out for modded generation. It comes with a speed controller for speeds between 75mm/s - 1M/s. Below is the link to all images included in the Kerbalx page for quick viewing. Full album here on Imgur. This is my baby at the moment, but do share your criticism as I'd love for it to be improved!! Enjoy reusing rockets! EJ_SA's crane can be found here. ps I have OCD (among other things) and have put off sharing this because I cannot get the 'release page' to be the way I'd like so I'm just typing this all out and sharing it because I think it's worth sharing! *proud kerbineer noises* I'll likely update this post. Shouts out to the LaserDistance mod, without it I couldn't have made the measurements I needed, particularly of the crawlerway itself. I had screenshots of the Krew doing those surveys but they seem lost.

This poll is for crane lovers and construction enthusiasts who want to say what their favorite brand of cranes is. My favorite brand is Liebherr, and that is evident if you look at the other stuff I post on this forum.

Anyone who wants to post cranes, cars, trucks, excavators, loaders, rovers, truck-like rovers, and other stuffs and things, put them here! I myself have built 2 gantry cranes, at least 6 mobile cranes, 2 tower cranes(neither tower cranes work though ), some trucks, a car, 2 forklifts, an ADT (Articulated Dump Truck), and even a wheeled excavator. Also many, many rockets and a ton of aircraft... Check and search the steam workshop for forklifts and cranes by "Bjh223".

2020 SSTO Fleet + Ground Support Vehicles! Hey Everyone! I haven't posted here in quite a few years, but now that I've gotten back into KSP, I wanted to share what I've been working on for the past few weeks. We all love Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) spacecraft for their potential for re-usability, so I wanted to create a system that allowed me to legitimately process and relaunch them without recovering the spacecraft and relaunching from the SPH between missions. To that end, I developed a fleet of three SSTOs with a compliment of ground support and processing vehicles that can be used to fully refuel and prepare an SSTO for return to LKO with newly fitted payloads. The fleet consists of three SSTOs, two mobile gantries, three trucks, two trailers, and a crew transport buggy. SSTOs All three ships can reach LKO with between ~500 and ~1,500 m/s of on-orbit delta-V remaining depending on payload mass. All have forward-mounted docking ports and RCS thrusters for rendezvous, docking, payload deployment, etc. All are designed with a center of mass (COM) that remains stationary regardless of fuel levels or payload mass (to the extent that the payload's COM is in the geometric center of the cargo bay). The payload-carrying variants (Mk2 & Mk3) have been tested with maximum-mass payloads (I.E. a fuel tank that takes up the entire cargo bay). All can be de-orbited and landed fully "Dead stick". All have action groups to allow for engine/mode toggle, steering toggle, payload bay toggle, etc. Retract the forward landing gear on Mk1 and both the forward and aft landing gear on Mk2 when towing to allow for steering. Table 1: SSTO Spec. Summary SSTO Mk1 Mk2 Mk3 Max. crew 3 2* 0* Wet mass (t) (minus payload) 16.2 32.0 162.4 Dry mass (t) 12.2 24.0 73.3 Height (m) 3.8 4.4 6.0 Width (m) 6.4 10.1 13.4 Length (m) 13.2 23.0 37.4 Max. payload mass (t) - ~7 ~50 Max. payload length (m) - 4.9 10.0 Max. payload diameter (m) - 1.25 2.5 * Can be exceeded by housing crew in payload. SSTO Mk1 The smallest of the three, the Mk1 is the primary LKO crew shuttle. It has room for three, and can comfortably get from the KSC to LKO with sufficient fuel to rendezvous with an LKO target and de-orbit, but its payload is limited to crews only. The design is Liquid fuel only, so the RAPIERS are set to run on open cycle exclusively. The single Nerva is used to make the final push to orbit, circularize, and perform on-orbit maneuvers. The choice to go "no oxidizer" is partly for simplicity, and partly because the minimal-drag + high TWR RAPIER configuration makes the final delta-V needed to reach orbit low enough that it can be done with the Nerva. It also means that when fully re-fueled in LKO, the single Nerva will yield enough delta-V to go pretty much anywhere, without any pesky oxidizer/tanks to slow you down. When launching, set prograde hold with a ~20 deg elevation due east once you pass 300 m/s. The RAPIERS will take you up to around 1000 m/s at 10,000 km, at which point you activate the Nerva. Even though you're still deep in the atmosphere, the Nerva reaches about 700 ISP and nearly vac thrust at this altitude, plus we need to start our apogee kick early since the Nerva alone will yield a fairly low TWR once the RAPIERS flame out completely around 20 km. The time to apogee may start to drop back down once you're on Nerva alone, so nose up to keep it around ~60 sec until your orbital velocity reaches ~2,300 m/s, at which point you'll be safe to reach orbit after a coast to apogee and circularization. It has 4 linear RCS ports housed in the forward and aft mini cargo bays, which are set to toggle open/closed along with the RCS hotkey. SSTO Mk2 The midsize variant, the Mk2 can take a small payload to LKO along with a crew of two. Its fuel tank, engine, and launch trajectory configuration is virtually identical to that of SSTO Mk1, except with twice the RAPIERS and Nervas. Its RCS ports are contained within the payload bay, so it must be open for any RCS-based maneuvering. The furthest forward and aft tanks are empty; they are for structural/aerodynamic purposes. SSTO Mk3 The largest of the fleet, the Mk3 is a heavy-payload LKO shuttle. The design is RAPIER-only, and the vessel is unmanned. It can deliver an orange tank to LKO without much fuss. Launching is fairly straightforward; set prograde hold with a ~20 deg elevation due east once you pass 300 m/s. You should bottom-out on open cycle mode around 20 km and ~1750 m/s orbital velocity, at which point you switch to closed cycle to push your apogee up out of the atmosphere and reach orbit. Like the Mk2, Its RCS ports are contained within the payload bay, so it must be open for any RCS-based maneuvering. Mobile Gantries The piston array on Gantry Mk3 can be operated using the robotics controller on the side of the claw to ensure that all 10 pistons are operating in unison. Be careful when docking the claw to a payload on a trailer connected to a Truck. Back off the piston right after docking to ensure that the weight of the gantry doesn't force the truck + trailer into the ground and break their wheels. Mobile Gantry Mk2 This ground support vehicle can be used to transfer payloads to and from SSTO Mk2's cargo bay. It has a single XL piston and a claw to use for payload manipulation. Mobile Gantry Mk3 This ground support vehicle can be used to transfer payloads to and from SSTO Mk3's cargo bay. It has a compound array with 10 XL pistons and a claw to use for payload manipulation. It also serves as the primary refueling vehicle for SSTO Mk3. Trucks Trucks A and C have servos which allow for trailer pivoting. Simply unlock the servo and set the torque to zero after coupling. Use the piston before coupling to align the claw. Truck A This ground support vehicle can be used to tow trailers and SSTO Mk1. It has a piston-mounted claw for easy coupling, and the piston is mounted on a servo to allow for trailer pivoting when steering. The spring strength in the tire suspensions sometimes need to be lowered during payload loading/unloading using a gantry, as having Truck A connected to a trailer, a payload, and a gantry can cause the wheels to get a little... jumpy, especially if the gantry piston hasn't been relaxed after connecting. It can be used to tow SSTO Mk2, but this is best done when MK2 is empty after having returned from orbit. A fully fueled Mk2 + payload is best towed using Truck C. Truck B This ground support vehicle can be used to refuel SSTOs Mk1 & Mk2 (Mk3 is refueled using Mobile Gantry Mk3). Truck C This ground support vehicle can be used to tow trailers and SSTOs Mk1 & Mk2. It has a piston-mounted claw for easy coupling, and the piston is mounted on a servo to allow for trailer pivoting when steering. It can be used to tow SSTO Mk3, but this is best done when MK3 is empty after having returned from orbit. Best practice with SSTO Mk3 is to tow it to the runway while empty using Truck C, and refuel and add payload right before launch. A fully fueled Mk3 + payload can only easily be moved using its own RAPIERS and landing gear steering. Trailers Trailer Mk2 This ground support vehicle can be used to carry Mk2 payloads, when towed by Truck A or C. The distance between the two docking ports is slightly larger than that of SSTO Mk2's cargo bay. Trailer Mk3 This ground support vehicle can be used to carry Mk3 payloads, when towed by Truck A or C. The distance between the two docking ports is slightly larger than that of SSTO Mk3's cargo bay. Crew Crew Transport Buggy This ground support vehicle can be used to carry 4 Kerbals around the spaceport. Gallery SSTO Mk1 & Mk2 refueling SSTO Mk1 crew preparing for flight SSTO Mk2 Payload processing and flight SSTO Mk3 Payload processing and flight KerbalX Hangar: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/95963

"Why bother Matt's Thunderbirds when you may simply leave space exploration to droids?" is our motto! Mavnor Space Solutions aims mostly at small subassemblies that helps all those afraid of losing kerbals in manned missions yet longing to get the raw outcome of their experiments, without transmission penalties. Tired of caring for life support? You don't want any accidents involving killing kerbonauts? It's your lucky day! This thread will be updated with new units as I progress in this career save. Right now I'm working on getting RAPIERS, 1-0 action groups and fancy stuff like that. Taking a stroll to our hangar is encuraged: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/25059 Designs I'm thining of: Relay systems <check> Stock Automatic Science Bringer for Duna&Ike (probably Apollo-style with suitable relay/return stage staying in orbit) <check, in testing> Stock Automatic Science Bringer for Laythe (definitely Apollo-style with suitable relay/return stage staying in orbit and flying drone penetrating Laythe's biomes) Science rover mk2 (with material's bay) SSTO Spaceplane designed around mk3 cargo Stock Surface Refillment Unit <check, in testing and optimalisation> Although I'll try to keep it stock, it works really well with following mods: Bon Voyage, USI, Scansat, x-science. I also play with USI MKS. 1. Stock Automatic Science Bringer for Kerbin SOI This subassembly is designed to collect basic experiments from 6 biomes (a number of goo units attached to the rover) on Mun/Minmus and return experimental storage unit full of science to Kerbin. The lander has a lot d/v (in terms of Mun/Minmus landing) so feel free to make mistakes, note that some fuel is going to be pumped to the return stage. Using this rover with science relay mod (https://mods.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/252171-science-relay) generates so much science points that I'd almost count that cheating. Centre of thrust is a lil bit offset centre of mass, be careful. Mass: 9.22t Part count: 56 d/v: ~1,5k Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Mavnor/MSS-Stock-Automatic-Science-Bringer Feel free to download and comment ;x

KSS Ocean Master KerbalX .craft download I've always wanted to circumnavigate Kerbin, but the clumsy-glitchy nature of rover tires has always sort of turned me off to the idea. The KSS Ocean Master was designed to be able to circumnavigate via water, and also to recover crashed down debris. Uniquely included, is a stock recovery crane on the rear of the boat. I've built upon my previous "ball-joint hinge system" to increase reliability and reduce part count. Stage to set the crane onto the boat and use the "Free Pivot" option to give yourself free range of motion to recover debris. Utilize the ore balancing system to pick up heavier debris efficiently. The engine pack on the back can push this boat along at a cruising speed of 38 m/s, and a speedy 48 m/s on afterburners. At cruising speeds you will have 4 hours of fuel, with plenty of room to add more fuel if you'd wish. **Only 232 parts!** KSS Ocean Master also has the equipment to act as a mobile Relay Station that can go anywhere on Kerbin, though admittedly I have not tested to see if it actually works that way! As far as boats in KSP go, KSS Ocean Master is extremely reliable and capable of full speed FULL time warp turning. You will need SAS activated to maintain correct roll orientation, however. Controls: 1. Main engine Toggle 2. Main engine Afterburners 3. Toggle left turn engine (for turning while stationary) 4. Toggle right turn engine "" "" 5. Toggle Reverse Engine

Shark Expedition Another team project with Klond and his amazing Engineering Gadgets. I have to say his talents have been inspiring me to push myself to do better. This project started when Klond requested a Boat to be built for a Crane which I thought was cool enough then he said wait I am going build a Shark........I said A SHARK??? Couldn't wait to see it! This was something that he was already working on and finished it for this project. I think he surprised himself with the outcome. Now we have a 62 Passenger and Crew Diving Vessel, Cranes, Shark Cage and a fierce looking Mechanical Shark, it was time for a movie short. With ideas from Klond I followed his lead and we decided on Shark Expedition for the title. We hope you peeps like the finished work. Thanks for the downloads, rep and comments from us both and please give Klond Rep on his comment to this post. Also a BIG thanks to Klond for his work that makes my Boat look so much better with his talent (Cranes, Shark Cage & Shark). Operations: At launch switch control to the remote under the Diving Vessel you will see it between the Engines in the center. High Speeds will break the Automatic Doors you can avoid this by pressing Action Group Abort. Pressing Spacebar will Engage the Main Engines, the next press will be done in the water to release the small steering gear on the bow, this will reduce drag while traveling on the water. The third press of the Spacebar will release the Anchor the Fourth press will release the Port Crane (Left Crane) then pressing the Spacebar again will release the Starboard Crane (Right Crane). . Maneuvering: Set Throttle at Full and use the Action Groups for short burst of Thrust, 1 to toggle Main Engines, 2 will toggle Reverse, 3 to turn Left (To Port) 4 to turn Right (To Starboard). Action Groups 1 Main Engines 2 Toggle Reverse 3 Toggle Thuds to turn Left 4 Toggle Thuds to turn Right 5 Toggle Lights and Scanners 6 Toggle Lights 7 Toggle Lights 8 Toggle Lights 9 Toggle Lights 10 Toggle Lights Craft File: Diving Vessel Parts: 1241 Mass: 743.610t Height: 18.1m Width: 13.5m Length: 47.9m

KerbalX download We can change rotary motion into linear motion :-) Credit to Erasmusguy again (he has so many good ideas). I borrowed the slider rails w/wheels idea from a transmission or something he was working on. If you lift stuff, or flip stuff over, post a pic. Edit: pure stock