If you were a Kerbal, would you fly in your own rockets?

[Gaurdsman111]

I always build an escape system into manned craft (in my career game anyway) which usually involve decoupling the command module and rolling it one way with sepratrons while the rocket is directed in the opposite direction by more sepratrons.

This works 90% of the time, but there's always the odd time when a radial stack gets in the way and atomizes the command module. Despite this, i rate my chances of getting into space alive high enough to put myself in the cockpit.

[Moon Goddess]

With everything I fly? NO not a chance.. With the Kiwi CTV? Hell yes, it's tested and reliable, It's as tested as a Soyuz (ok, not quite)

Once I'm in orbit, I can dock to other craft I feel quite confident in landing on Minmus, and that would give me a nice long vacation in space going out there and back. If I can only take a week off work I'll probably make a trip to Mun, I feel confident about landing in one of the more tested landers, Then get back to Kiwi for reentry.

Anything outside the Kerbin system I don't like my odds for radiation and life support and all that.... But come on, I'd be really happy to just make orbit.

[Random Tank]

Damn right I would! My Safety record is 100%! Even with SSTO's and stuff going to Jool or Eeloo! Sure I run simulations (with KCT so they are actual ones), but I don't revert, and only quick load for bugs...

As far as I'm concerned, stupid question!

[Mr. Scruffy]

Boredom and bugs (and fear of heights) excluded, i probably would. I´d just triplecheck the desgin, instead of just doublechecking, before launch. I dont use escape systems either. The worst thing that can happen during my launches is a failed radial decoupling tearing of my central booster - in which case i just stage on to the next workable stage that can carry my back safely to the ground. And beyond the launch, an escape system doesnt help, does it? What good is it gonna do, if i didnt notice until landing - on minmus - that i misplaced a fuelline?

I´d train a bit with the jetpacks, too. Jeb would still be alive in my ´ironman´-career game, if i had just thought about getting him out of the capsule, that had run out of fuel unexpectingly (fuellines) during decent on minmus, and used his jetpack to land, instead. And he´s my only loss to-date. Though kerballed activity had been limited to the kerbin system, so far. But Kerbin, Mun and Minmus do have a science station with an escape craft docked (3 Kerbals), in orbit, each.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Mr. Scruffy

[CG_Kerbin]

Am I suicidal !!! I would never fly any of my rockets that's why I let the kerbals do it for me

[theend3r]

Hahaha. Good joke. I wouldn't even if I were immortal because then I'd probably get stuck somewhere in space for 50 years.

[oriramikad]

It depends what difficulty level the game is set to. Because reincarnation. Nuff said.

[Overfloater]

You bet i would... 0.O

Why play KSP other than to make ships you would want to fly in?

I'm also very considerate of my pilots. For interplanetary trips, a single pilot gets a whole mk1-2 capsule for himself, sometimes a whole hitchhiker can. I like to think there would be enough room for a 2~3 years worth of life-support resources if I did that.

My flight paths aren't too long either: year & 10 months for a Laythe round trip, 2 years & 8 months for Eeloo round trip. I think it's reasonable!

Damn right I would! My Safety record is 100%! Even with SSTO's and stuff going to Jool or Eeloo! Sure I run simulations (with KCT so they are actual ones), but I don't revert, and only quick load for bugs...

As far as I'm concerned, stupid question!

Yeah I second this.

Although I'd say my safety records are... ~99%...? But even then, Kerbals can travel back in time ;-P

Edited March 27, 2015 by Overfloater

[Asharad]

I would fly them on one condition: I get to use Alt-F5 and Alt-F9.

[CelticCossack51]

I would fly in my old, unmodded rockets, even though I wouldn't see anything because there would be thirty solar panels covering the capsule.

[Sufficient Anonymity]

I trust my crew-only spaceplane (and I guess I'd tolerate* being strapped in to a pressurised container in the hold of the cargo variant of that SSTO) and my crew bus** rocket, which has a 100% success rate** but otherwise... unless you're pointing a gun at my head, NO WAY. I should point out that if it's one of the horribly dangerous untested launchers, I don't send up kerbals either - I don't min/max my career saves - instead there's a lot of roleplaying going on there with cargo launchers, crew-rated launchers etc.

* significant incentives/threats of physical violence may be needed

** note to self - add an LES - we haven't needed one yet, but eh... you never know

*** we don't talk about that time one of the RCS thrusters fell off - it's basically fine

[Mr. Speed]

I would fly most of my rockets and planes, but not my rovers. they are cause of death number 1 in my saves. I would also hesitate to fly one of my biggest shuttles, since it is slightly unstable at launch and also slightly unstable at reentry, and it has dangerously small wings because it was made to return empty.

[Rath]

I sould get in one of my rovers(I make the rovers have a giant wheel base using i-beams) or my crew shuttle(Anything with a tested abort, really). nothing else really, I might get in my version an areis 3a if I am paid to do it (yay, Abort!).

[Mr. Scruffy]

Okay - one exception: I´d not fly any mission that required hopping around (multiple precise landings). Lost another kerbal (2nd - in the 2nd year of ´ironmanning´) last night. And i had specificly sent him on training missions, so he could repack chutes. He died on kerbin (what a disgrace!) trying to do a series of seismic surveys - the third (of four) had his VTOL/Rover-mix standing on unlevel terrain - a minor confusion during lift off, panic in his eyes, and that was that. It must suck to die on a mission, when your only task on it -your only reason to be on it- was to repack the chutes.

[Flixxbeatz]

All types of missions, anywhere, anytime.

[DMSP]

If I had family ties back home, no.

But if not, yes!

Almost 86% of DMSP missions are one way colony building missions.

[culturekills]

My SuperLuna launch vehicle... absolutely.

My landers.... not so much.

[John FX]

New or poorly thought out throwaway designs? Probably not.

Anything that has launched OK before? Yes.

[Beowolf]

Sure would, on any of my "production" sandbox flights. Those designs have been so thoroughly tested, I'd let my wife and son ride along, too. I can't even remember the last time I lost a Kerbal in production. Honestly, it's gotten kinda boring.

Test flights are a different story. I used to be a software testing pro, and tend to test my rockets the same way. When I test, I'm not tuning until the rocket flies right one time. I'm out there aggressively breaking things to see if I can come up with a scenario my Kerbals can't survive. A good launch escape system and a backup parachute makes them hard to kill, though.

And I wouldn't let my family within a mile of my current BTSM career game.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Beowolf

[Owen5595]

Yes, my death rate is 1%

[Robotengineer]

In RSS I would fly anything that has flown before. In stock, maybe. Test flights, no.

[ArmchairGravy]

Rockets, yes. Space planes, no. I crash space planes way too often.