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Introduction Interplanetary Colonization represents one of the largest technological and logistical challenges on the horizon for manned spaceflight. USI's Modular Kolonization System (MKS) provides a huge array of new gameplay systems and supporting parts to support the experience of designing, building, and maintaining interplanetary colonies in Kerbal Space Progam. For over three years, MKS has been the definitive Colonization mod for KSP, with continued refinement of the parts and core systems (including the resource system now integrated in the stock game) based on extensive community feedback and continued development and design. MKS is not a parts pack. It is a gameplay mod that adds a massive amount of end-game content for KSP, and can serve as the perfect capstone for your career save. It can be soul crushingly hard, and as unforgiving as gravity. But it can also be an incredibly rewarding gameplay experience, bringing back that sense of wonder and accomplishment that many of us remember from our first Mun landing. If you want a parts pack where your idea of a colony is landing a single ship and call it a day, this is probably not the mod for you. If you want something that transforms your gameplay, and gives you unapologetically difficult goals where you have to juggle planning, logistics, and the harsh constraints imposed by space, then you will likely get as much enjoyment playing MKS as I have received building and designing it. Features MKS adds a rich array of new features to support the challenge of building interplanetary colonies, including: A huge assortment of parts suitable for surface and orbital bases and stations, drawing inspiration from real-world parts and concepts from Bigelow, NASA, and others. A clear progression of parts, from simple outposts and mobile bases to larger manufacturing complexes and permanent colonies. Extended ISRU operations with more resources and more complex harvesting, refining, manufacturing chains, and new mechanics. Discoverable resource lodes for more interactive resource harvesting and exploitation Customizable and field-configurable converters and harvesters to allow post-launch customization of your colony. Tools for handling large bases, such as ground tethering and automated resource transfers for disconnected bases Tools for building out your base In-Situ with harvested resources, whether it's by expanding and kitting out modules, or through in-situ construction via the bundled Ground Construction mod by @allista Parts and tools for contructing bases including weldable ports, magnetic couplers, and heavy construction equipment via the bundled Konstruction mod. Parts for mobile bases via the bundled Karibou Expedition Rover Expanded Kerbal traits and effects in support of Kolonization Comprehensive and seamless integration with USI Life Support, including life support, habitation, and homesickness. Kolony rewards, providing ever increasing efficiencies as well as tangible bonuses in career mode, as your Kerbals gain experience colonizing other planets and moons. The ability to support permanent colonies as well as ark-ships as your Kerbals expand their knowledge and become more experienced with off-world colonies. Part disassembly and recycling Wireless power transmission and Geothermal wells Equipment wear and tear along with manual and automated maintenance tools And much more! FAQ I hear MKS is really complicated - is that true? MKS has significant depth and breadth, but provided you don't try to do everything at once, you will find the learning curve can be pretty reasonable. Start with life support, and don't get fixated on trying to build everything at once. The patterns learned with a small base quickly scale for larger ones. What about documentation? Thanks to @dboi88, MKS enjoys full KSPedia documentation. There's also an excellent community maintained wiki available here. MKS Documentation even has its own development thread here. I can't seem to fit a 100% self sufficient base in a single launch - what am I doing wrong? Building a self sufficient colony is hard. Like... REALLY hard. It's going to take a lot of launches and a lot of work. The idea of MKS is that it is not about plunking down a base and being done. Rather, it's the journey to get to that point that is the fun bit. So yeah... you are going to need a few more rockets. I can't find a place to create my base that has all of the resources! Good. Now you get to enjoy some of the challenges that result from resource constraints. Do you ship things in? Do you set up multiple bases? Or use low-efficiency harvesting to get trace materials and salvage the rest from scrapped components? I feel overwhelmed... I try to make a base, and it seems I just need so many different parts! Start small. Start with just a habitation module or two and ship in supplies. Then add some agroponics and ship in fertilizer. Once you get those down pat, you are ready for more complex systems. I am still lost - where can I get help? Ask in this thread. A lot of the folks here have been using MKS in their games for years, and are a pretty friendly lot. This looks amazing, and I didn't have any plans for my weekend anyway - where do I get this stuff? Great question! Links are below Download Links Best place to pick this up is the official USI Github Repo: https://github.com/UmbraSpaceIndustries/MKS/releases Donation Info! If you like what you see, and want to help out (or just buy me a beer!), please consider donating, either via PayPal or Patreon. License Information Configuration files and code are licensed under the GPL v3 license (see attached). Assets, including Models (*.mu) and Textures *.png/*.dds) are All Rights Reserved. If you wish to use any of these assets in your project, just ask nicely This mod redistributes Firespitter, which is covered under its own license. This mod redistributes ModuleManager, which is covered under its own license. This mod redistributes Ground Construction, which is covered under its own license. NOTICE: This mod includes version checking using MiniAVC. If you opt-in, it will use the internet to check whether there is a new version available. Data is only read from the internet and no personal information is sent. For a more comprehensive version checking experience, please download the KSP-AVC Plugin.

It is time to have plans made, and almost time to start watching the weather. Climate is a lot more menacing this time around, with the majority of the path being under frequently cloudy regions. In 2017 it was pretty easy to just head out into the desert and be pretty sure it would be clear. Still, this has been a year unlike any other. What are your plans?

Felt like this should be it's own thread (Tianwen 3 still sort of fits into the existing threads) The part where they throw it in the air makes my heart skip a beat thinking about it.

The KSP forum moderator's team presents the Threads of the Month May 2024 Edition 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. There were 283 new forum accounts created in April (a decrease of 18 or down 5.98% from March). Out of the new forum members who joined last month, 11 transitioned from new accounts to being active and participating in the forum. This conversion means that 3.88% of the new users who registered their accounts last month are now contributing members of our community! (This is a decrease from March; 5.98% of the new members became active and contributing members). If you're interested in meeting the new members of our forum, click here! Now, without further delay, I present to you the threads of the month for May: Cinematic-based Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Works: This category features a video or other cinematic form 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 job 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 received the TOTM previously, but it was felt that it wasn't enough for those who 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. In @AnimatedK's cinematic presentation, "Frontiers Await A Kerbal Space Program Animation [Subtitles]," we hope future installments will follow! This month's cinematic post was not shared in that thread but in a separate thread, not by the creator, but was brought to the forum community's attention by @Ariel Kerman. You can find the thread here: Sometimes, the forum software will get glitchy, and an exact post may be hard to find. If this happens, here's @AnimatedK's cinematic presentation, "Frontiers Await: A Kerbal Space Program Animation [Subtitles]." 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 threads (or threads) that, while not directly related to the Kerbal Space Program, may be creative, fan fiction, or other presentations related to the game. I enjoy the nominations from those of you who want to share the mission reports you've enjoyed reading. In this fan-fic featuring Kerbal Space Progam 2, @Uuky does something rarely seen—Valentina and Jebediah work together! Many of the fan-fics have them in competition with one another, often to see which one is the most skilled pilot. Although this thread only has one entry, let's encourage @Uuky to keep writing! @CollectingSP begins the mission report with this introduction in the OP: Here's where you'll find this thread: So, if you're interested in reading a mission report and seeing how others imagine their Kerbal-verse, why not visit this thread? 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 improve the Kerbal Space Program's quality-of-life gameplay. Building colonies on the Mün is the next thing many of us do after landing on Minmus and the Mün without difficulty. And this mod will help you realistically build them. This mod, by @RoverDude, introduces an entirely new tier of gameplay to KSP1. It makes it necessary to plan each mission carefully as you construct your colonies on the Mün, Minmus, Duna, or wherever you're constructing them. The OP introduces the mod: You can find the mod here: We want to thank our family of mod contributors who continue to develop new and exciting mods that support our KSP1 and KSP2 community! So, if you're looking for something that will cause you to take your shuttle fleet to the next level, this is the mod for you! 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. In April, many of us in North America were treated to a total/partial eclipse. Many of us were in the path of totality. Because we all love science - why else would we play the Kerbal Space Program? - it was only a matter of time before a thread was started to celebrate the celestial event. In this thread, started by @cubinator, everything about the eclipse is discussed, including a "pre-eclipse" discussion with some members sharing pictures of the eclipse and even some of their telescopes and related comics. If you still have some eclipse images you would like to share, please do share them in this thread! We would love to see them. On a related note, if you live in the area that was able to see the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) or the aurora australis (Southern Lights) because of the most recent coronal mass ejection on May 10th through May 12th, and you would like to share your pictures or videos, you can visit this thread: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/topic/224806-strong-aurora-forecast-tonight-may-10-11/ General space flight and space science threads of the month: This category features a thread that adds to our forum community's STEM knowledge (science, space flight, and related fields) and doesn't fit the game support/game mod categories. In November 2022, @Minmus Taster began a thread discussing the ongoing race between NASA, the ESA, the Chinese, and other space agencies and the desire to return Martian rock and soil samples to Earth for further studies. Space exploration enthusiasts, amateur astronomers, and scientists are currently debating whether this is a necessary step toward the eventual colonization of Mars. This thread is full of discussion around the various obstacles and the requirements of such a mission, and armchair (and a few actual) engineering experts weigh in on how such a mission might look. So, if you are interested in reading some of the accompanying links and ideas proposed by the forum members and contributing to the conversation, why not visit the thread? 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: JFA (Jeb Far Away) - 1.12.5 (Alpha 0.3.2) by @D4RKN3R Although this month's honorable mention may not have made the Thread of The Month, 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 @AlamoVampire, @Ariel Kerman, @D4RKN3R, 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. It was a decision, and 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. If you missed last month's threads, you can click here.

Operation Second Breakfast, A short KSP screenshot novel I-Covert operation The dimly lit mess hall of the Kerbal Space Center was nearly empty, save for Major Jebediah Kerman, who sat hunched over a cluttered table in the far corner. Maps, digital pads, and open dossiers lay scattered before him, illuminated by the weak morning light filtering through the blinds. He was deeply engrossed in a satellite image when Captain Valentina Kerman entered, her footsteps silent on the cold linoleum floor. She approached, her shadow falling across the papers. "Looks like you’re planning a rather bold flight, Jeb," Valentina observed, her voice low and steady. Jebediah looked up, a hint of a mischievous grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "Val, I need to chase the horizon. Today's mission: a second sunrise for a second breakfast." Valentina raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her lips. "I’m your pilot then. Agreed?" "Agreed," Jeb nodded, pushing the maps aside. "That keeps my hands free for important matters—like my breakfast." Together, they finalized their plan, their whispers blending with the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. II-The heist Major Jebediah and Captain Valentina, dressed in flight suit, approached the high-security hangar that housed the Osprey MK I. The night was still, broken only by the distant call of a night bird. Using a cloned security badge, they bypassed the biometric locks at the facility’s entrance, slipping inside without a sound. The hangar was a fortress, designed to protect some of the most advanced aircraft of Kerbin. The Osprey MK I sat under halogen lights, its sleek, supersonic frame casting long shadows on the polished floor. They climbed into the cockpit, a tight space crammed with state-of-the-art avionics. Valentina keyed in the start sequence, and the engines roared to life, the sound muffled by the hangar’s soundproof walls. They taxied the aircraft out of the hangar, the massive doors sliding open silently, revealing daylight. The thrill of the heist pulsed through them as they lined up on the runway. III-High stakes takeoff Valentina strapped herself into the pilot’s seat, her hands steady on the controls. The runway stretched out before them like a road to the stars. She glanced at Jeb, who nodded back, his face set with determination. She pushed the throttle, and the Osprey leaped forward, its engines screaming. The g-forces pressed them into their seats as they hurtled down the runway. Valentina pulled back on the stick, and the aircraft’s nose lifted gracefully into the air. They were airborne, climbing rapidly, leaving the world behind. The cockpit was bathed by sunlight, each gauge and display meticulously monitored as Valentina set their course eastward. IV-Ascension tactics With the coastline disappearing behind them, Valentina initiated the climb to 12,000 meters. The Osprey responded beautifully, its engines designed for both speed and altitude. At 12,000 meters, she leveled off briefly, adjusting their trajectory for minimal radar signature. Valentina was ecstatic. She felt like she was a part of the plane. Then, pushing the aircraft to its limits, she climbed again, reaching 18,000 meters where the air was thin and the curve of the planet visible against the pale blue sky. The aircraft, now at speeds approaching Mach 3, sliced through the atmosphere, beginning to glow from the friction. V-Into the Black They pierced the night, the sky around them turning an inky black as they outran the spinning Earth below. The Osprey, like a comet, blazed a trail through the upper reaches of the atmosphere, its surface glowing from the heat. Inside the cockpit, the temperature remained controlled, the only sounds the hum of the aircraft systems and their controlled breathing. Valentina watched the horizon intently, her eyes scanning for the first hint of sunlight. VI-Dawn Chaser As the first rays of the sun touched the peaks below, Jeb unwrapped his carefully prepared second breakfast. The cockpit was awash in a soft, orange glow—the reward for their daring night flight. Below them, rugged mountains gave way to the expansive ocean, the world seemingly unrolling beneath them. "Perfect timing," Jeb muttered between bites, his eyes fixed on the breathtaking view as the Osprey sped across the sky. VII-Fuel Critical Alerts began to sound within the cockpit as their fuel reserves dwindled to critical levels. Valentina’s training took over; her responses were calm, her actions deliberate. She began preparations for an emergency water landing, knowing that their chances were slim with the fuel running out. The Osprey was now at the mercy of gravity, slowly losing altitude over the vast, unforgiving ocean. She deployed the drogue chutes at 5,000 meters, stabilizing their rapid descent. VIII-Emergency water landing With a masterful touch, Valentina managed to hydroplane the Osprey onto the ocean’s surface. The aircraft skimmed across the water, its empty fuel tanks unexpectedly aiding in its buoyancy. Inside the cockpit, the mission computer lit up with the message: "Successful Landing." "Not the typical runway, but it’ll do for breakfast," Jeb joked, relief evident in his voice. "Next time, we pick a landing strip before we depart, maybe?" Valentina retorted, already thinking ahead to their next adventure. IX-Epilogue: Stranded Kerbals Adrift on the open sea, Jebediah leaned back against the fuselage, his meal finished. Valentina scanned the horizon, her mind racing through potential rescue scenarios. "For our next sortie, we’ll need a craft with better amenities. And fuel," Valentina mused, her voice tinged with humor. "Agreed. But you're still the pilot, Val," Jeb replied, his confidence in her skills unshaken. Their laughter echoed over the waves, a sound of victory against the odds, as they awaited rescue under the vast, endless sky.