3 kerbal capsule too heavy?

[Vegetal]

I mean, the Mk3 cockpit takes 4 kerbals, a lot more mono and electric charge, is more resistant to temperature (and impact i guess).....and is lighter.

I just don't use it anymore

I think it should weight 3.something tons, it just feels nerfed now. Anyone here agree?

[Wjolcz]

I don't use it either. Don't really like it. For crew transport I always choose the hitchhiker.

To me it could stay as a low-tech capsule (Apollo-like) if there was a hi-tech one added (DragonV2-like) later in the tech tree.

[Vegetal]

I like your idea sir.

PS: I don't even use the hitchhiker, i use the mk2 crew pod. Same amount of Kerbals, half a ton lighter....it also fits a big LF tank nicely for nuke ships

[mikegarrison]

That's an interesting thought.

For the most part, the career part progression is just based on size. First the size 1 parts are available, then the size 0 and size 2 parts, and finally the size 3 parts. But with rare exceptions, we don't see earlier (less sophisticated, less efficient, heavier) parts of the same size get replaced by later (more sophisticated, more efficient, lighter) parts. In fact, there seems to be an effort to balance all the parts across size, which undercuts the idea that later parts might be better than earlier parts.

[Windspren]

5 letters: Orion

Edited July 1, 2015 by Laythe Dweller

[Retread]

4 letters: Orion

Um...

Huh...

[mikegarrison]

Um...

Huh...

Is "UmHuh" also four letters? I guess maybe it is just as much as "Orion".

[Geschosskopf]

Is "UmHuh" also four letters? I guess maybe it is just as much as "Orion".

Orion only uses 4 different letters .

But anyway, the Mk 1-2 pod is a bit inconvenient due to its hatch placement. Otherwise, it's not so bad.

If you want a 3.75m, 7-seat pod (with a lot of extra features and other cool parts), you could try the Taurus HCV mod. I really like this mod, especially for the Quad-Poodle 3.75m OMS engine.

[Windspren]

Um...

Huh...

Is "UmHuh" also four letters? I guess maybe it is just as much as "Orion".

Ahhh.... 4 letters, I see.... :D :D

Good thing I don't run a space program, with errors like those....

Oh, wait

[Pipcard]

Even the mass of the Cupola was decreased from about 4.5 to 1.8 tonnes, indeed, that capsule is too heavy.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Pipcard

[Michaelo90]

Yep, it definitely needs to lose some weight. The 2 man lander can is even heavier per kerbal though, it weighs more than the hitchhiker for half the crew capacity! Of course it's a pod with much more capability but still, it's way too heavy too.

[Arsonik]

You guys all got it backwards, the other parts are just to light.

Yep, it definitely needs to lose some weight. The 2 man lander can is even heavier per kerbal though, it weighs more than the hitchhiker for half the crew capacity! Of course it's a pod with much more capability but still, it's way too heavy too.

It may have some guidance computers on board, electric charge, and mono-propellant but it says right in the description that it is hardly a shell and couldn't withstand very rigorous conditions if I recall correctly. Although I may be mistaken.

Personally I feel that all the pods should be balanced against their relative parts that don't have guidance or control systems on board. For example, the Mk1-2 Pod could be weighted against the Hitchhiker + SAS + Battery + Monoprop. The mass of the two should be relatively similar. While the pod should be somewhat heavier, this shouldn't be much of a difference. Heat shields are now a secondary part adding even more mass to the pod. We don't need to add mass to pods themselves anymore since the old argument was that they were heavy to withstand the rigors or re-entry. Therefore the pods should all have their mass' reduced and vise-versa for the heat shields. I will leave my opinion on where the numbers should be out, balancing is Squads job. I think these are fair assessments to make however.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Arsonik

[Seshins]

i like the idea of the keeping the current 3 man capsule as a low tech, maybe low distance (if life support was added) option, and adding Orion and/or Dragon as a top tier capsule. Should make Orion and Dragon 4 or even 5 man capsules too.

[mikegarrison]

If you want a 3.75m, 7-seat pod (with a lot of extra features and other cool parts), you could try the Taurus HCV mod. I really like this mod, especially for the Quad-Poodle 3.75m OMS engine.

I line Near Future. They have a 2-man, size 1-2 pod that is basically a replacement for that 3-man pod and looks better (with a better-located hatch). They also have a 6-man, size 2-3 pod that is my workhorse pod for most of my late-tech missions.

[Jouni]

Almost all command pods are too heavy for their size. Most of them are quite balanced with one another, because their weights are off by roughly the same factor. The Mk3 cockpit is an outlier, because it's so light compared to the rest.

[tutike2000]

You can go into your GameData/Squad/Parts dir and edit the command pod in Notepad.

Set its weight to whatever you think is right.

[Falkenherz]

Lander can, adaptor, Hitchhiker: lightest 5-man cockpit ever! Mk1-cockpit instead of lander can looks better with just minimal weight increase. The Mk2-Appollo-style cockpit cannot compete, being only 3-man and still heavier.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Falkenherz

[KerbMav]

A basically oversized 1.25m two-kerbal lander can would be my wish - the 2.5m parts are sometimes to large/late in the tech-tree and the lander can is really big but only has room for two kerbonauts??

[Jouni]

Lander can, adaptor, Hitchhiker: lightest 5-man cockpit ever! Mk1-cockpit instead of lander can looks better with just minimal weight increase. The Mk2-Appollo-style cockpit cannot compete, being only 3-man and still heavier.

Now that we have aerodynamics and reentry heating in the game, command pods have other relevant properties than just mass and crew capacity. With the Mk1-2 command pod, the center of mass of the reentry capsule will be close to the heat shield. You can also attach parachutes and other radial parts to the command pod, and they will be protected by the heat shield during reentry.