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CPWE - Configurable Planetary Wind Effects (v0.8.6-alpha) This mod is under active development and is a WIP. Everything in here is subject to change. Please report any bugs and issues to me so I can fix them. CPWE is a plugin designed to provide a framework for defining wind patterns for any celestial body, including custom/modded ones. These wind patterns will then affect any craft that fly through them. In the time I spent on flight simulators, wind was always a persistent challenge element, and I've wanted something similar in KSP. However, none of the (admittedly very few) existing wind mods for KSP had what I wanted. Namely, I wanted to be able to configure the wind based on location to allow for interesting wind patterns. At the same time, while I loved the sheer depth that Kerbal Weather Project brought to the game, I felt that running a climate simulation for other celestial bodies might be a bridge too far (especially if we include custom bodies which may not necessarily be grounded in reality). CPWE is my attempt at filling the need I created for myself. It is designed to be relatively easy to configure and provides many options for configuring wind patterns and prevailing winds. The structure of the config entries is included on the GitHub wiki page, which will be updated as I update this mod. NOTE: CPWE does not add any visual effects to the game. However, integration with a mod that does is something I am considering. API (Coming Soon™) At some point in the future, I intend to include an API to allow other mods to not only retrieve the wind vector that CPWE is using, but supply CPWE with their own wind data. Exact details are not yet finalized. Planned Features (in order of priority): Support for dynamic wind patterns (i.e. ones that can change with time) The aforementioned API Possible integration with other mods I am open to ideas and feature suggestions. If you have any, please leave them below. Installation: Download: GitHub: https://github.com/CashnipLeaf/CPWE/releases Download includes some (kinda terrible) configs for Kerbin, Laythe, and Duna. Dependencies: ModularFlightIntegrator Toolbar Controller ClickThrough Blocker ModuleManager Source: https://github.com/CashnipLeaf/CPWE Mod Compatibility: Recommended Mods: Kopernicus KSPCommunityFixes Compatible With: FerramAerospaceResearch Most, if not all parts mods Conflicts With: Other mods that modify the stock aerodynamics system Documentation (WIP): https://github.com/CashnipLeaf/CPWE/wiki Known Issues (as of 03/09/2024): Changelog: Credits and Acknowledgements (not necessarily in order of contribution): @sarbian, @ferram4, & @Starwaster for making the ModularFlightIntegrator that allows interfacing with KSP's physics system. @cmet24 for creating Kerbal Weather Project, which was a big source of inspiration for this mod. License Information: The plugin, source code, settings & localization config files, and toolbar icons are licensed under the MIT License. All other config files and textures are licensed under the WTFPL license ( http://www.wtfpl.net/ )

In November of 2022, a Space Launch System Block I took to the night sky of Florida. But... what if a very similar vehicle flew much, much earlier? What if Orbital ATK didn't demand no less than 5 segments for Solid Rocket Boosters? What if Constellation was much less considered than another option? A proposal going by the name of... "DIRECT" Space Transportation System Derivative ____________________ Common Core Stage Every rocket in the series would utilize a Common Core Stage. This would take the External Tank from the Space Shuttle, remove the feedlines on top for the orbiter, attach a thrust structure to the bottom, remove the nose cone LOX tank, and attach a liquid oxygen tank extension and cap with a forward skirt for mounting instrument rings/payload fairings or interstages. This new core stage would be common to every flight of the vehicle. I will refer to it as the CCS. Naming The name given to each Jupiter launch vehicle had three digits; the first digit being how many stages the rocket has, the second being how many engines are on the Core Stage, and the third being how many upper stage engines it has. For example, the Jupiter-246 has 2 cryogenic stages, 4 main engines, and 6 upper stage engines. Jupiter-130 The Jupiter-130 was the first variant of the v3 family. A new thrust structure would allow for the mounting of RS-25s, which this variant would use 3 of. The instrument ring and payload fairing would be mounted straight to the top of the CCS. This medium-lift vehicle could lift about 50 tons into LEO, and was designed for the sole purpose of servicing and rotating crew on the International Space Station Freedom using Orion. There was no ISS in my timeline. Instead, Space Station Freedom will be the "ISS" of this thread. Jupiter-246 The Jupiter-246 is very similar to the Jupiter-130, but includes a forth RS-25, and most significantly, the Jupiter Upper Stage; a very large hydrolox tank powered by the existing RL10B-2s used on the Delta IV. The instrument ring and payload fairing would sit on top as they would on the CCS of the Jupiter-130. This launch vehicle could put over 100 tons into Low Earth Orbit, which would allow for a crewed return to the Moon and eventually flights to Mars. These two rockets would be the backbone of crewed spaceflight, for decades to come; allowing for continued and much safer servicing of Freedom, a return to the Lunar surface, rides to Near Earth Objects, eventual flights to Mars, and much more... ____________________ On January 1st, 2011, a Jupiter-120 prototype roars into the morning sky of Florida. The age of Jupiter has begun.

The KSP forum moderator's team presents the Threads of the Month February 2024 Edition February is here! And that means it's time for the thread of the month. This month, we have a lot of great threads to highlight for you. So, without my usual blathering, let's get to it! Instructions on using the TOTM images: If your thread has been selected as a TOTM, you can copy the image's link above, go to the area of the forum where you want to place it, and then paste the link. Press the <CONTROL> button when the image appears and right-click on your mouse. A menu will drop down and allow you to edit the picture. You can resize it - the first number can be changed as large or small as you want. Eventually, I will add these images to the thread I've created as a repository. For those out there who like the nerdy parts of the TOTM: To continue what I started in May 2021, I have kept some forum statistics to respond to those claiming the forum was dying or interest in the Kerbal Space Program was declining. 279 new forum accounts were created in January (a decrease of 241, or down 46.34% from December). Out of the new forum members who joined last month, there were 34 who transitioned from new accounts to being active and participating in the forum. This conversion means 12.18% of the new users who registered their accounts last month are now contributing members of our community! (This is an increase from December; 5.00% of the new members became active and contributing members). If you're interested in seeing the new members of our forum, click here! Now, without further delay, I present to you the threads of the month for January: Cinematic-based Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Works: This category features a video or other form of cinematic of a Kerbal mission report using in-game video recorded gameplay. Note: This has changed. Instead of awarding this to a thread, this is a *post of the month* since most new cinematic works are posted in a single thread. We have a lot of great content creators, but because they've been posting their mission reports as videos in a single thread, most of their work goes unnoticed by the general forum audience. Hopefully, this change in the category to a Post of the Month (POTM) will highlight the great work done by these deserving content creators. Other threads containing cinematic posts will also be featured in this category. Many great content creators deserve this recognition since we were aware of the thread by @Halban: Post Your Cinematics Here! (Cinematic Enthusiasts) that serves as a repository for cinematic threads. The thread has received the TOTM previously, but it was felt that it wasn't enough for those who have shared your fabulous creations featuring our favorite Kerbalnauts. Instead of being a TOTM, I've changed it into a CPOTM - a Cinematic Post of the Month. This month, we had a lot of great nominees for this category - in fact, more than we have ever had since we began this category. Unfortunately, there can only be one CPOTM. The rest become honorable mentions and are carried over for consideration for next month's CPOTM. But for this month, there was a nomination that had the most nominations and received the most notice from the forum community - it was "Sending Steamboat Willie to Space" by @minerbat! You can find the cinematic here: Sometimes, the forum software will get glitchy, and an exact post may be a little hard to find, especially when it is buried in a long thread. In case this happens, here's @minerbat's cinematic presentation: If you encounter other cinematics you feel are worthy of being recognized as this category's post of the month, please nominate them! You can use the exact instructions to nominate a post containing a video as you would use to nominate a thread. Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Works: This category features a thread (or threads) that, while not directly Kerbal Space Program related, may be creative, fan-fiction, or other presentation related to the game. Each month, I share how I love the mission reports section of the forum. I enjoy reading the various fan fiction stories because it gives me insight into how many of you play the game. The stories and mission reports range from the whimsical to the more serious alternate history and include historical recreation. In this alternate timeline of the post-Apollo and Space Shuttle (STS) era, @Toaster355reimagines the progress of NASA. Here's where you'll find this thread: So, if you're interested in seeing some great screenshots of what KSP1 looks like, a "what if" construction of vehicles inspired by a "what if" reimagined post-STS American space program, this thread is a good example of what KSP can do! Forum Member Created Challenges and Missions: This category contains missions and challenges created by you, the members of our gaming community. Many excellent missions and challenges threads are created that expand our fun with the game and press our skills, creativity, and sometimes, luck beyond what we get accustomed to. Let's face it: we all have our go-to design basics and our go-to vehicles we like to use. Sometimes, a good challenge can cause us to think of another way to achieve our goals. There was no submission for this category this month. Game Support/Game Mod of the Month: This category features either help with the game (stock or modded) or mods that add quality-of-life gameplay improvements to the Kerbal Space Program. Sometimes, some mods are nominated, and my gut reaction is, "Yeah, we've needed this for quite a while!" This is one of those mods, and so far, this mod from @CashnipLeaf is showing a lot of promise! Since the early days of KSP1, most of us have wanted four things - more planets, clouds, weather, and hoses! Well, this mod strives to give us a part of weather - WIND EFFECTS! As noted in the OP: So, if you want to add another layer of infuriation challenge and realism to your game, here's a mod you need to check out: As always, we want to thank our family of mod contributors who continue to develop new and exciting mods that support our KSP1 community! General community threads of the month: This category features a thread that adds to the community and doesn't fit the game support/game mod categories. Sometimes, we get nominations that do not neatly fit into any of the categories we already have. This nomination is one of these. It's not a mission report but offers a downloadable craft file for Kerbal Space Program 2! The thread's OP, @Mister Spock, sought help from the forum community for an issue with something that, for many of us - docking - became pretty simple in KSP. But, as we all know, there's a bit of a learning curve in KSP2. And our forum community, known for its genuine helpfulness, did not fail to disappoint. The TOTM award is not just for the OP but for everyone who offered advice. So, a big thank you to the community for reaching out! Thank you, @Bej Kerman, @The Aziz, @Dakitess, @gluckez, @Kerbart, @steveman0, @Meecrob, @Scarecrow71, @HebaruSan, @boolybooly, @Bingmao, and @jmbailey2000 (the only ones at the time of the TOTM was posted) for lending a hand). This thread is a great reminder of the vision of what our forum was always meant to be! The moderation team desires to thank everyone who extended their knowledge and assistance in the thread to help a fellow Keralnaut! General space flight and space science threads of the month: There was no submission for this category this month. Honorable Mentions: Sometimes, choosing which threads will be selected as the Thread of the Month for our five categories is challenging. We get many good nominations each month but limit it to one for each type. Threads nominated but not selected as a thread of the month become honorable mentions. The honorable mentions for this month are: 10 Kerbals Eve Mission by @ww1612 Happy New Year SSTO by @Madishmike How Chuck Yeager broke the Sound Barrier - The Complete Mission - KSP RSS/RO by @kurgut Minecraft space program by @minerbat Under Pressure KSP2 Mission, Land 10 Kerbals on Eve and back by @astrobond The honorable mention for this month may not have made the Thread of The Month, but if you think it might be worth another opportunity, please renominate it! Congratulations to all the winners of the Thread of the Month! We want to thank our forum members @Mikki, @Poppa Wheelie, @Royalswissarmyknife, the moderation team members, and the staff who nominated this month's contenders. Thank you so much for helping us identify noteworthy threads and bringing their awareness to our forum community. We'd appreciate your continued help in the future. Odds and ends: TO NOMINATE A THREAD FOR CONSIDERATION: If you find a thread you feel should be considered for next month's thread of the month, use the "Report a comment" feature (the three dots on the upper right corner of the comment box) to report the thread. Please put in the text field of the port post "Nomination for the thread of the month," and we will do the rest! You can always nominate more than one thread, too. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT GOES INTO THE DECISION WHEN CONSIDERING THE TOTM: Wonder no more! This helpful guide is to help you understand what we use to help determine what makes a thread a really good thread and one that becomes a thread of the month/cinematic post of the month. It's everything you did or didn't want to know and includes helpful tips. And the last word for this month's post: I'd like to thank a few people who trust me enough to continue supporting and allowing me to contribute to the forum. I want to thank the Lead Moderator, @Vanamonde, for bringing me on as a moderator, a decision I'm sure he has had moments where he often wonders why he did it. I'd also like to thank @PD_Dakota, our community manager, and @Nerdy_Mike, the KSP Franchise Community Lead, for tolerating me and allowing me to continue to serve our Kerbal Space Program forum community through the monthly Threads of the Month post. In case you missed last month's threads of the month, you can click here.

I used to dock all the time in KSP1, but it's been a while, and I'm struggling here in KSP2. I've matched inclination (after some struggle), and my PE and AP are close to (though not identical to) my target's. I get within 800m of my target, relative speed about 28 m/s. But this is where I get stuck. How do I close the gap? If I point at the target and burn, the relative speed between us increases. I try burning prograde to slow down (if I'm ahead) or retrograde to speed up (if I'm behind), but neither helps. I've watched several videos, and none of them explains precisely which way to burn in this situation, or how to set up my navball. Can anyone advise me? I did find this video helpful, but he makes it look so easy. He seems to point his ship at the target and use RCS to close the gap and decrease relative speed to zero, but I can't duplicate his feat. Also, the UI has changed since that video was made. And maybe not for the better! I often have trouble distinguishing my craft's orbit lines from the target craft's orbit lines -- they're close to the same color. I couldn't figure out whether I was working with an ascending node or a descending one. Likewise, I sometimes have trouble distinguishing between a maneuver node's hypothetical course and my actual course. Can anyone point me to a remedial rendez-vous course? Once I'm close enough to use RCS to dock, I've got Docking Alignment D. installed, and I'm hopeful I'll be able to handle that. It's the getting to 100m range, 0 m/s relative speed, that's tripping me up. Thanks in advance.