Is it Possible to build bridges between celestial bodies?

[michaelsteele3]

I understand it would be hard. VERY hard. Nearing IMPOSSIBLE hard. But can HyperEdit stop planet rotation? Or perhaps get two celestial bodies that are tidally locked?

I understand it would take a LONG time. A VERY VERY VERY LONG time. But what I'm asking is if it's possible? In just the right conditions? (HyperEdit involved)

[tntristan12]

I believe you would have to get them within physics range of one another, which should be theoretically possible with hyperedit, but I have no idea how the engine would handle that. It is very possible that you would simply clip through the other sirface, and you probably wouldn't be experiencing any gravity from it either.

[Richy teh space man]

Anything you build is currently limited to things that are 2.5 km long, anything beyond that has weird effects such as not loading.

[TimePeriod]

A bridge..

Between two planets...

KRAKEN RAILGUN DRIVE.

NOW!

[katateochi]

I've had trouble trying to build a bridge over Mun canyon, let alone between planets!!

I had more success "bridging" two asteroids (although I didn't think of that as a bridge at the time, but it kinda was). But the game started getting really glitch, mad oscillations ensued, the outpost on one asteroid exploded, lives were lost.

In theory (the kind of abstract this-really-isn't-going-to-work type theory) it is possible. You'd need to increase the physics distance and/or bring two planets close together. I guess with hyperedit or using the process behind mods like RSS that reconstruct the solar system you could put two planets close together and make them tidally locked. But you'd need a physics distance greater than sum of the tallest mountains on each planet (or very smooth planets). Then you'd need some very long parts, like several km each or you'll have a silly part count. Even with all that (and partly because of all that) you're going to get some really odd bugs, glitches and probably a small puddle of molten plastic and metal that was once your computer. I would advise against even attempting this!

[Renegrade]

I've had trouble trying to build a bridge over Mun canyon, let alone between planets!!

I had more success "bridging" two asteroids (although I didn't think of that as a bridge at the time, but it kinda was). But the game started getting really glitch, mad oscillations ensued, the outpost on one asteroid exploded, lives were lost

Were you using klaws? I've noticed that if you attach two objects via the klaw backwards (as in, the object without the klaw is the active ship and maneuvers and attaches to the klaw, rather than the other way 'round), very bad things happen.

[Commissioner Tadpole]

The easiest place to do that would be in the Duna-Ike system, as the two bodies are already tidally-locked with each other and are pretty close, in comparison with other bodies. But even then, it'll be hard as the distance is still freakingly huge, and Ike's orbit still has some inclination and eccentricity.

[katateochi]

Were you using klaws? I've noticed that if you attach two objects via the klaw backwards (as in, the object without the klaw is the active ship and maneuvers and attaches to the klaw, rather than the other way 'round), very bad things happen.

Yes I was using klaws. Was a little while ago now, what I think I did was have a klaw with a structural extension coming off it ending in a docking port attached to one asteroid. Then the mirror of that on another asteroid and then I shunted one asteroid towards the other with a tug on the opposite side. Was not an easy docking and then things started going wrong so I've not tried it again since.

[wolfedg]

The easiest place to do that would be in the Duna-Ike system, as the two bodies are already tidally-locked with each other and are pretty close, in comparison with other bodies. But even then, it'll be hard as the distance is still freakingly huge, and Ike's orbit still has some inclination and eccentricity.

Assuming that the distance between them is 2,800,000 m and that a Modular Girder Segment XL is 3m it would seem to require 933,333.3... Modular Girder Segment XLs end to end just to span that gap, talk about high part count . Hmm I think i know how to defeat that evil AI system (Skynet, HAL, GLADOS Etc...) that is coming to take over the world.

Edited April 21, 2015 by wolfedg

[Commissioner Tadpole]

Assuming that the distance between them is 2,800,000 m and that a Modular Girder Segment XL is 3m it would seem to require 933,333.3... Modular Girder Segment XLs end to end just to span that gap, talk about high part count

And let's not forget that, in order to be a proper bridge, it'll need several ladders attached to the girders, upping the part count even further up. I wonder how long it'd take for a Kerbal to climb such bridge all the way up to Ike from Duna's surface...

[Frank_G]

A rocket is a bridge between planets. We got it, lets cross it...

[Deutherius]

Assuming that the distance between them is 2,800,000 m and that a Modular Girder Segment XL is 3m it would seem to require 933,333.3... Modular Girder Segment XLs end to end just to span that gap, talk about high part count . Hmm I think i know how to defeat that evil AI system (Skynet, HAL, GLADOS Etc...) that is coming to take over the world.

You could use the biggest SRBs, emptied, as structural elements to lessen the part count.

Or just get UbioZur Welding mod and pray to the Kraken that it will be able to weld together 1000-part segments of empty SRBs.

[magnemoe]

No, simply enough, even if tidal locked the orbits are not perfect circular. and the planets will wobble, if plausible like an dual planets very close to each other it would be more like an slack wire you use as an space elevator.

In KSP forget it.

[asialsky]

As of 0.90, only one planetary object is loaded (collision-wise) at a time. If you HyperEdit the Mun to be just above the launch pad, you will usually not collide with it.

Note: I say usually because the game is rather inconsistent.

TL;DR No interplanetary bridges without mods.

[Blake81]

Stairway to Kraken...

[KerikBalm]

So in 1.0 the physics draw distance is suppose to increase 10x to 25 km, right?

Can you use hyperedit to put gilly in a realy really close orbit of Pol, and then make them tidally locked with 0 eccentricity/libration/oscillation?

If you can put 2 bodies in orbit such that their surfaces are 25km apart, then I suppose you could put something to allow a kerbal to climb from one body into the soi of another.

Note that patches conics can't model binary systems, and I'm sure there would be very funky behaviour

[Endersmens]

This sounds like major kraken bait...danny, where are you? You need to hear this idea...or not. Definitely not. Nobody tell danny!

[Frozen_Heart]

Anything you build is currently limited to things that are 2.5 km long, anything beyond that has weird effects such as not loading.

Don't think anyone has tested this to verify it. Can we call whackjob in to make something longer than 2.5km?

[Endersmens]

Don't think anyone has tested this to verify it. Can we call whackjob in to make something longer than 2.5km?

No need, with the "offset" feature, you can edit the craft file to offset a part 2.6km away from the center of the craft.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

Actually, I believe it would be impossible.

The current SOI of a craft is relative to the COM. So it cannot be in two SOIs at once and anyone who has played around with hyper edit should know that if a craft hits a body when it is out of its SOI, it just clips through, hence no space bridge.

[BDelacroix]

Perhaps you can build a wormhole that can toss chunks of star around..... Oh wait, that was Farscape.

[michaelsteele3]

Anything you build is currently limited to things that are 2.5 km long, anything beyond that has weird effects such as not loading.

Including docked parts?

[TheXRuler]

Even with docked parts, the physics engine does not calculate physics for anything mor than 2.5 km away. Subsequently if you have a ship larger than 2.5 km you will get some very very crazy bugs. Apart from the fact that a ship with 933333 parts would melt any computer. Most people start having serious trouble somewhere around 300 parts. Also there is a hardcap because unity 4.? (the KSP engine) is a 32-Bit application and can only use like 3.5 GB of RAM. Every part loaded on a ship increases RAM usage, I used to have a mun station with many many parts (700+) and after a certain point it would crash the game as soon as the physics engine tried to load it. Of course this was before I got ATM and reduced ingame texture quality. But still I can't imagine anything above 2000 parts not crashing the game, sorry about that

[L33TLobster]

Build a space station that goes all the way around Kerbin, trapping it like the bell inside a cat toy. Build a similar one around the Mun, like a smaller but similar cat toy. Connect the two. Wait for the city to come ask about your electricity consumption. Success!

[BDelacroix]

Linked torsion rings?