Kickstarting early career mode science: a guide for the first two missions

[TrueProphet]

It's harder to accumulate science in career mode in 1.0 than it was in 0.9. With that in mind, I've tried to develop a checklist to maximise the amount of science you can earn in the first two missions. If people can improve on this, I'd like to hear from them, but I think this is the most you can earn on normal difficulty of stock KSP (at least, without the tedium of walking a kerbal around the space centre). I've tried to include every step so anyone should be able to follow it. For every step where science is collected, select "Keep data" rather than reset or transmit:

First mission:

1. Take contracts for Launch Vessel & Gather Scientific Data from Mission Control.
   
2. Enter VAB and build a rocket with:
   
   • Command Pod
     
   • 'chute
     
   • Flea SRB @ ~40% thrust (right click on the part and set the thrust limiter)
     
   • Choice of pilot is unimportant
     
   • Set Staging so that parachute is after the engine
     

[*]On Launch pad:

• Right click on the command module and take a crew report
  
• Select your pilot at the bottom right and select the EVA button
  
• Right click on your kerbal and select EVA report
  
• Right click on the command module and select Take Data
  
• Right click on the command module and select Store experiments
  
• Board
  
• Engage RCS & SAS if available (R key and T key)
  
• Launch!
  

[*]In flight:

• Crew report
  
• Tilt marginally: you want to land on land near the space centre
  
• After descent has started, deploy 'chute
  
• Land
  

[*]After landing:

• EVA again
  
• Take data from command module
  
• Store experiments in command module
  
• Board
  
• Crew report again
  
• EVA again
  
• Descend from vehicle
  
• EVA report again
  
• Recover vessel
  
• Recover rest of vessel (it should be visible when you're looking at the space centre, if not you can find it in the tracking station
  

Total science: 31.3

Unlock Engineering 101 & survivability for 20 science in total in the R & D centre.

Total science: 11.3 + 20 spent

Second mission:

1. VAB:
   
   • Command Pod
     
   • 'Chute
     
   • Science Jr Materials Bay
     
   • 2x Mystery goos (symmetric, with one close to command pod hatch)
     
   • Flea SRB @ ~40% thrust
     
   • Crew: scientist Bob Kerman
     
   • Set staging
     

[*]On Launch pad:

• Observe Goo next to hatch
  
• Observe Materials Bay
  
• EVA
  
• Right click on the goo beside the hatch and select remove data
  
• Right click on the same goo and select Restore
  
• Maneuver your kerbal a little way down the ladder
  
• Collect data from materials bay
  
• Restore materials bay
  
• Climb back up
  
• Store experiments
  
• Board
  
• Engage RCS
  
• Launch
  

[*]In flight:

• Tilt further towards the water to land in different biome (i.e. water)
  
• Observe Goo
  
• Observe Materials Bay
  
• After descent has started, deploy 'chute
  

[*]After landing:

• Observe other Goo - the one further away from the hatch
  
• Crew report
  
• EVA
  
• Collect data from materials bay. This is the data we took in flight.
  
• Reset Materials bay
  
• Observe Materials bay again to get data in the water.
  
• Descend from vehicle
  
• EVA report
  
• Board vehicle again if possible (if not, you'll need to recover the kerbal and the vehicle separately, like for the first mission)
  
• Recover vessel
  

Total science: 65.7 + 20 spent

Unlock Basic Science to gain access to the thermometer, which gives more opportunities to collect science on future missions.

Total science: 20.7 + 65 spent

As I said before, I'd love to hear improvements and suggestions.

[Kaervek]

If you wish to maximise your early Science, then this is something you can do for your first mission which will vastly increase your science income.

Note: This did destroy the SRB due to weight when splashing down.

Rocket Construction:

• 1 x Mk16 Parachute
  
• 1 x Mk1 Command Pod
  
• 12 x Mystery Goo Containment Unit
  
• 1 x RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster
  

Flight Plan:

1. Crew Report from Launch Pad.
   
2. Open 4 of the Goo Containers.
   
3. EVA Report from Launch Pad (should give EVA Report Flying over Shore).
   
4. Take the reports from the Command Pod and board your ship.
   
5. Turn on SAS and launch 45 degrees East (you want to splash down in the water).
   
6. Open 4 more Goo Containers and take a Crew Report while flying over the Shores.
   
7. Once Splashed Down in the water, open the remaining Goo Containers.
   
8. EVA. (If holding the Command Pod proceed to 9, if not proceed to 10).
   
9. If still holding onto the Command Pod do an EVA Report (should give EVA Report Flying over Water). Proceed to 10.
   
10. If not holding onto the Command Pod do an EVA Report (should give EVA from Water). If haven't done 9 grab hold of the Command Pod and do 9.
    
11. Board the Command Pod and recover vessel.
    

Total Science I gathered from this launch was 53.5.

[TrueProphet]

Total Science I gathered from this launch was 53.5.

Wow, that's impressive. I hadn't considered repeating measurements to eke out all the available science from them: I assumed repeated measurements yielded no science, rather than a fraction of the science. Your gaining enough in that first mission, that the second mission is all but guaranteed to reach the thermometer.

[Kaervek]

Wow, that's impressive. I hadn't considered repeating measurements to eke out all the available science from them: I assumed repeated measurements yielded no science, rather than a fraction of the science. Your gaining enough in that first mission, that the second mission is all but guaranteed to reach the thermometer.

Science in each Biome has a maximum amount of available science. Some experiments will give you 100% of the available science in a single report, such as Crew Reports, EVA Reports, Temperature Reports. Others only give a fraction of the available science and thus need to be done multiple times to get all of the available Science such as Goo Canisters, Science Jr, etc.

When you do your Science Experiment you will see a Green Bar and a Blue Bar (sorry at work at the moment so working from memory). The Green bar shows you how much of the available science is being discovered with this experiment, a full bar is 100%, an empty bar is 0%. The Blue bar is how much of the researched science you will gain if you transmit the data rather than return the experiment. Some experiments, like the Crew Report, will give a 1:1 ratio if you transmit, so you will get 100% of the data. Others like the Goo Canisters will give you less science if you transmit. Trick is to always physically return the science data if you can, either by bringing the experiment part back or having one of your crew remove the data from the part and store it in the cabin.

In regards to progression I like to get the basic Plane parts as early as possible, including the wheels, and at least through to the Thermometer. I think I can get all that after my second launch which I generally do with the Rocket listed above (although I take off some of the goo and install a Science Jr) and land in a different biome. At that point once I have the parts I need/want, I make myself a simple car and I visit every building in the Space Center using a Scientist to extract and reset all of the science experiments. With a single Goo Container, Science Jr, Thermometer, Crew Report and EVA Report from each location within your Space Center you can get well over 100 science, if you have the time and patience to the Goo and Science Jr at each location 4 times (this means 4 separate trips, but you should be able to get some more Experiment parts to add in the process) you will be able to extract the maximum science from each area.

Space Center Biomes are:

Launch Pad

Launch Pad Trackway

VAB

SPH

Runway

R&D Center

Tracking Station

Flag Pole

Contracts Building

Administration Building (the one where you can trade one resource for another)

Crew Building

KSP Space Center (pick an area of grass near the Space Center, but not within the area of one of the buildings, I generally do this one when travelling in a straight line from the Runway to the R&D building).

By the end of doing all this, and before I have even left the atmosphere I can have all of the first 3 tiers unlocked and has started working on tier 4.

[Elexorien]

Space Center Biomes are:

Launch Pad

Launch Pad Trackway

VAB

SPH

Runway

R&D Center

Tracking Station

Flag Pole

Contracts Building

Administration Building (the one where you can trade one resource for another)

Crew Building

KSP Space Center (pick an area of grass near the Space Center, but not within the area of one of the buildings, I generally do this one when travelling in a straight line from the Runway to the R&D building).

Thanks for informing me of the flag pole, I tried it last night on a whim, but didn't see that it was it's own biome (I'll try again tonight).

However there are a few more that I have found:

SPH Main Building - separate from the SPH area, just have your rover/car physically touch the SPH building while doing your experiments (Building was upgraded to level 2 each time I've run my experiments).

Tracking Station Hub - found it last night, same as above, just have to be touching the central building (It was also upgraded to level 2 at the time).

Also I have found a few spots near KSC that identify as Tundra (no clue why), one of which is almost due south of the Launch Pad. Another one I found while driving from the Tracking Station to the Grasslands to the west. Having a mod that tells you the biome is handy for this (I use KER).

[Kaervek]

Nice tip there on a couple I didn't know about.

The Tundra to the west is tiny, when flying over you have to get it at exactly the right time as it switches from Shore to Tundra to Grasslands all in the space of a second.

[ouyin2000]

On 2015-05-18 at 3:39 PM, Elexorien said:

Thanks for informing me of the flag pole, I tried it last night on a whim, but didn't see that it was it's own biome (I'll try again tonight).

However there are a few more that I have found:

SPH Main Building - separate from the SPH area, just have your rover/car physically touch the SPH building while doing your experiments (Building was upgraded to level 2 each time I've run my experiments).

Tracking Station Hub - found it last night, same as above, just have to be touching the central building (It was also upgraded to level 2 at the time).

Also I have found a few spots near KSC that identify as Tundra (no clue why), one of which is almost due south of the Launch Pad. Another one I found while driving from the Tracking Station to the Grasslands to the west. Having a mod that tells you the biome is handy for this (I use KER).

The SPH Main Building works if you park on the ramp up to the large front door. You don't have to actually touch the building. This works at any upgrade level.

I just learned about the Flag Pole and Tracking Station Hub. Kudos!

[wumpus]

I'd also suggest a few more missions.  Following the Scott Manley tutorial:Unlock the Kerbalnaut building to allow EVAs.  Go into space (this is complicated.  Not the going there, but getting back alive is tricky.   I'd suggest a 45 degree path to survive, but would need to test this first.  It gets worse when you realize that Bob is optimal for science but can't enable SAS).  Once in space, do an EVA and EVA report.  Also learn to do the "science dance" and get the science from any instrument and then reset the instrument.

A cheap way to orbit is using BACC  SRB and Terrier upper stage rocket.  Experts can try to recover the terrier, but I've given up on it.  Again, Bob is optimal for science but lacks SAS (I don't think this rocket can bring the Science Jr along anyway).  Note the "science dance" proper involves storing the science in the capsule (and Jeb and Valentina can do it as well, they just can't reset the instruments).  Practice doing this by hanging onto the capsule as Kerbin whizzes by and do an EVA report as something new whizzes by.  For each different biome you can collect different EVA reports, but each time you have to store them in the capsule (you can only hold one type of each scientific report ("report" or measurement)).  Once you feel you have all that you are going to get, get back in the capsule and return to Kerbin (thrust at retrograde to reduce your perigee (not sure you can see your perigee at this point) to ~30km.  Dump everything below the capsule (a heat shield is a good idea but shouldn't be required) and when your parachute icons turn green (*after rentry*, they might be green in the upper atmosphere but won't survive rentry if you open them then) hit the space bar to open them.  Experts can amuse themselves trying to salvage the upper stage engine: I gave up after awhile and don't think it can be done with unmodded KSP with a minimal tech tree.

[Quijote]

On 5/1/2016 at 6:29 PM, wumpus said:

Scott Manley tutorial:Unlock the Kerbalnaut building to allow EVAs

Hi, 

Sorry I need help, I can´t find this tutorial

[RattiRatto]

Thanks for the tips!

This thread made me discover scott manley videos, which were extremely helpful and clear. And the added extra science is a great bonus!