[Writing] Kerbal Space Journal: The first industry magazine following KSP

[DrBurst]

Articles Due on June 28th at 12am GMT. For now on, please PM me and other staff completed articles. No worries if you posted your article in this thread already. It will still be included.

I was reading Aerospace America and it hit me, I need to kerbalize this magazine this instant. But, as I started to begin this project I noticed this would take too long on my own. Thus, I am opening this thread for the creation of a bi-weekly journal on KSP. I aim to be as real as Aerospace America and Aviation Week & Space Technology. We could even land real interviews with real figures in aerospace and have them answer 'Kerbalized' questions. This publication will be under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License to respect everyone\'s time.

My idea is to take developments in the game, awesome stuff in the spacecraft exchange and cool mods and 'spin' them into a story about and unfolding space age told through this magazine.

I will be needing:

-Fake ads from the Kerbal World. You can have a fake ad for say Your youtube channel, but the focus should be on being entertaining, not Promoting your KSP Let\'s Play.

-Letters to the editor.

-Articles: Just submit an article proposal and We\'ll give you a space.

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name:

Organization in KSP:

Your KSP imaginary Biography:

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.)

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome):

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

[Lord Wasteland]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Lord Wasteland/ Joseph Ishtav

Organization in KSP: People\'s Republic of Aries Air Force

Your KSP imaginary Biography: Joseph Ishtav is a 67-year old man. Born in the capital of the PRA, he joined the PRAAF, becoming commander of the 3rd Fighter Wing at 37. In the Salzburg Crisis, and the Muliski War, he showed his true faith, as he fought on the front-line in a fighter. He became head of the PRAAF at 61, and so far has approved several new modernization projects and is considered by many a \'true visionary\' and \'willing to put his duty on the line, for the service of others.\'

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.): VTOL Aeronautical Designs and Implications for Kerbal Space Program

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome):

The recently growth of many new technologies, are allowing the growth of new and better designs in Air Forces, and especially in the Kerbal Space Program. Two important designs, the XV-6 \'Odyssey II\' and F/A(V)-26 \'Minot) showcase the growth of VTOL technology. The XV-6 design, pioneered by the Avienne Air Force, is a VTOL helicopter design, never seen before. Using the concept of high-powered servos, it allowed after takeoff, nearly complete forward thrust from the two turbo-prop engines. The XV-6, however is planned to not seen any combat duty, but designed as an experimental craft to prove to concept that would work. The F/A(V)-26, pioneered, by the Taheireaz Air Force, is a fighter and realistic design using jet STOL, and jet VTOL technology. The advent of these two new aircraft can possibly boom more civilian travel with these new aircraft designs.

VTOL, or vertical takeoff and landing, is a method which lifts an aircraft or in the case of the Odyssey II, up, and then allows it to move horizontally. VTOL, can only be used in thrust vectoring in an aeronautical term, or gimballing, in the orbital term. VTOL is used when air is pushed out from the bottom, by controlled valves from the engine used in the aircraft. This allows a vertical control, while fighters are attacking ground-positions. Most believe this can only be done with two engines, so as to prevent loss of control, but it can in fact be done by a single engine, but less vertical thrust though.

Tilt-rotor designs feature moving of the engines to allow for vertical or horizontal flight. This is principally used in helicopters, but can be done with regular aircraft. The design is much simpler in theory than VTOL, but a loss of thrust in one engine if citing the XV-6, can cause a flip, as it causes a loss of thrust in that side, causing a flip in the design. Many of the incidents involving the XV-6 have been associated with this, as well as a Vortex Ring State. The XV-6 designers say that a design using autoration, can significantly improve survival rate, but from what interviews have said, it will slightly increase, due to the design of the aircraft. A statement by Chief Engineer of the XV-6 to us said that, 'The concept of auto-rotation will not significantly improve survival rates lower than a certain altitude. If the loss of power in both engines were to occur, it would be highly impossible for the survival of the crew in the aircraft. Simulation showed that, yet the managers refused to listen to us, resulting in the deadly crash at Charlesburg Airshow, killing the crew of the XV-6, and over 200 civilians who were in the path of the destruction.' At the time of this article, the Chief Engineer has been fired, and put into trial by the company citing 'Company Secrets' and 'Classified Data'.

However, the greatest implication is the Kerbal Space Program. The KSP has started to see less and less available usable aircraft to train future crewmembers with Zero-G. However, the pioneering of VTOL technology, can see a trainer for the KSP, which can drop from 15,000 meters, to 7,000 meters, which there, the primary engines will reengage in a dive, and stabilize itself. Civilian airliners, like the Baiti-462 transcontinental airliner, is used for this, but high stress is indicated on the design, and especially with a declining budget in face of the crash of Julii following launch due to a loss of power to the starboard engines. This indicates a highly needed growth with VTOL technology, in the training of new astronauts, as the Julii was piloted by an entirely new crew. Thusly, importance is needed in the KSP with VTOL designs.

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences: The article is expressing how VTOL is changing military designs, and for the future of KSP. KSP can use VTOL designs as trainers, especially with airliners used for this purpose, taking high stress.

[Radion]

Posted here for good measure -

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: James Villanovo

Organization in KSP: Avian Aerospace and Manufacturing Association (AAMA)

Your KSP imaginary Biography: James Villanovo is a 25 year-old from Avia. A city boy by heart, he\'s devoted his life to advancing the corporations and organizations that make modern life a reality. He started his first business, Villa Manufacturing and Mining, at age 19, and made his first million by 23. His corporation helped manufacture parts for the Kerbal Space Program, and provides the raw materials for corporations such as the world-famous Silisko Industries, the NovaPunch Group, and many others. At 25, he was voted the official Public Relations Officer for the Avian Aerospace and Manufacturing Association.

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.): Article and Interview

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome): circa 650

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

Novasilisko recently joined the dev team, so I was thinking on doing an article about Silisko Industries receiving a permanent contract from KSP, and perhaps a real interview with Nova regarding the subject. In addition, I would showcase some of the new things Nova has made for stock KSP.

[Monkthespy]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Hernriech Kraz

Organization in KSP: Monkin Aerospace

Your KSP imaginary Biography:

An inventor and business man, he started engineering aircraft after flying his first prop biplane at the age of 18, proceeding to go to college for Aeronautical Engineering. He designed many award winning personal aircraft, including the Loka Trainer, Rocketeer, and many others, before moving onto working for an Avian company. From there, he built many highly successful craft, including the AL-F, MA-42, and then the legendary, VTOL-102.

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.):

The arrival of the spaceplane, and what will it do for the KSP?

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome): Around 550-650

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

The arrival of the spaceplane, speaking about it\'s cons and pros. How it will affect our future, and what will it do for the KSP?

[Nooblet68]

I won\'t be participating in this, although wish you the best of luck.

[Salamander]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Salamoneus 'Sal' Jones

Organization in KSP: Intelligent Defense Systems

Your KSP imaginary Biography:

Not much is known about Sal. He was a mediocre air force pilot and later an intelligence analyst, when he was transferred for striking a superior officer in unclear circumstances. He made maps and collated intel briefings for at least four years, and then was dismissed from government service without a pension. He emerged soon after as a private contractor, working in the murky, under-regulated Kerbin aerospace industry. He was soon picked up by Intelligent Defense Systems, a company that provides specialized contracts for resupply, surveillance and \'kinetic support\', a handy euphemism for orbital weapons platforms.

Type of Article:

Opinions, editorials, spacecraft capability assessment (reviews), and analysis of current events and conflicts in the Kerbal world.

Approximate Length : 2,000 words, I guess, since that\'s the maximum.

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

Evaluation of spacecraft capability. Anyone is welcome to submit their own craft to me in a PM. It should include a title, design goal, and a few specifications such as range (low kerbin orbit, munar orbit, interstellar, etc.), payload, and top speed if it\'s an aircraft.

[rewdew2]

I think it Could be like a newspaper. I\'m pretty good at newspaper design

[DrBurst]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Lord Wasteland/ Joseph Ishtav

Organization in KSP: People\'s Republic of Aries Air Force

Your KSP imaginary Biography: Joseph Ishtav is a 67-year old man. Born in the capital of the PRA, he joined the PRAAF, becoming commander of the 3rd Fighter Wing at 37. In the Salzburg Crisis, and the Muliski War, he showed his true faith, as he fought on the front-line in a fighter. He became head of the PRAAF at 61, and so far has approved several new modernization projects and is considered by many a \'true visionary\' and \'willing to put his duty on the line, for the service of others.\'

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.): VTOL Aeronautical Designs and Implications for Kerbal Space Program

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome):

The recently growth of many new technologies, are allowing the growth of new and better designs in Air Forces, and especially in the Kerbal Space Program. Two important designs, the XV-6 \'Odyssey II\' and F/A(V)-26 \'Minot) showcase the growth of VTOL technology. The XV-6 design, pioneered by the Avienne Air Force, is a VTOL helicopter design, never seen before. Using the concept of high-powered servos, it allowed after takeoff, nearly complete forward thrust from the two turbo-prop engines. The XV-6, however is planned to not seen any combat duty, but designed as an experimental craft to prove to concept that would work. The F/A(V)-26, pioneered, by the Taheireaz Air Force, is a fighter and realistic design using jet STOL, and jet VTOL technology. The advent of these two new aircraft can possibly boom more civilian travel with these new aircraft designs.

VTOL, or vertical takeoff and landing, is a method which lifts an aircraft or in the case of the Odyssey II, up, and then allows it to move horizontally. VTOL, can only be used in thrust vectoring in an aeronautical term, or gimballing, in the orbital term. VTOL is used when air is pushed out from the bottom, by controlled valves from the engine used in the aircraft. This allows a vertical control, while fighters are attacking ground-positions. Most believe this can only be done with two engines, so as to prevent loss of control, but it can in fact be done by a single engine, but less vertical thrust though.

Tilt-rotor designs feature moving of the engines to allow for vertical or horizontal flight. This is principally used in helicopters, but can be done with regular aircraft. The design is much simpler in theory than VTOL, but a loss of thrust in one engine if citing the XV-6, can cause a flip, as it causes a loss of thrust in that side, causing a flip in the design. Many of the incidents involving the XV-6 have been associated with this, as well as a Vortex Ring State. The XV-6 designers say that a design using autoration, can significantly improve survival rate, but from what interviews have said, it will slightly increase, due to the design of the aircraft. A statement by Chief Engineer of the XV-6 to us said that, 'The concept of auto-rotation will not significantly improve survival rates lower than a certain altitude. If the loss of power in both engines were to occur, it would be highly impossible for the survival of the crew in the aircraft. Simulation showed that, yet the managers refused to listen to us, resulting in the deadly crash at Charlesburg Airshow, killing the crew of the XV-6, and over 200 civilians who were in the path of the destruction.' At the time of this article, the Chief Engineer has been fired, and put into trial by the company citing 'Company Secrets' and 'Classified Data'.

However, the greatest implication is the Kerbal Space Program. The KSP has started to see less and less available usable aircraft to train future crewmembers with Zero-G. However, the pioneering of VTOL technology, can see a trainer for the KSP, which can drop from 15,000 meters, to 7,000 meters, which there, the primary engines will reengage in a dive, and stabilize itself. Civilian airliners, like the Baiti-462 transcontinental airliner, is used for this, but high stress is indicated on the design, and especially with a declining budget in face of the crash of Julii following launch due to a loss of power to the starboard engines. This indicates a highly needed growth with VTOL technology, in the training of new astronauts, as the Julii was piloted by an entirely new crew. Thusly, importance is needed in the KSP with VTOL designs.

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences: The article is expressing how VTOL is changing military designs, and for the future of KSP. KSP can use VTOL designs as trainers, especially with airliners used for this purpose, taking high stress.

This is epic, accepted! If you have time can you take some pictures. If you can\'t I\'ll do it for you.

[DrBurst]

Posted here for good measure -

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: James Villanovo

Organization in KSP: Avian Aerospace and Manufacturing Association (AAMA)

Your KSP imaginary Biography: James Villanovo is a 25 year-old from Avia. A city boy by heart, he\'s devoted his life to advancing the corporations and organizations that make modern life a reality. He started his first business, Villa Manufacturing and Mining, at age 19, and made his first million by 23. His corporation helped manufacture parts for the Kerbal Space Program, and provides the raw materials for corporations such as the world-famous Silisko Industries, the NovaPunch Group, and many others. At 25, he was voted the official Public Relations Officer for the Avian Aerospace and Manufacturing Association.

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.): Article and Interview

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome): circa 650

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

Novasilisko recently joined the dev team, so I was thinking on doing an article about Silisko Industries receiving a permanent contract from KSP, and perhaps a real interview with Nova regarding the subject. In addition, I would showcase some of the new things Nova has made for stock KSP.

If you can get this interview you\'ll be a god among Kerbals, accepted!

[DrBurst]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Hernriech Kraz

Organization in KSP: Monkin Aerospace

Your KSP imaginary Biography:

An inventor and business man, he started engineering aircraft after flying his first prop biplane at the age of 18, proceeding to go to college for Aeronautical Engineering. He designed many award winning personal aircraft, including the Loka Trainer, Rocketeer, and many others, before moving onto working for an Avian company. From there, he built many highly successful craft, including the AL-F, MA-42, and then the legendary, VTOL-102.

Type of Article (E.I. Opinion, analysis, interview, Fake Book Review of a Fake Book in KSP, ect.):

The arrival of the spaceplane, and what will it do for the KSP?

Approximate Length (max. 2000 words, 500-700 words is awesome): Around 550-650

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

The arrival of the spaceplane, speaking about it\'s cons and pros. How it will affect our future, and what will it do for the KSP?

The perspective of your character will be amazing for this article, accepted.

[DrBurst]

I won\'t be participating in this, although wish you the best of luck.

Thanks ^.^

[DrBurst]

KSP Forums and/or Roleplaying Name: Salamoneus 'Sal' Jones

Organization in KSP: Intelligent Defense Systems

Your KSP imaginary Biography:

Not much is known about Sal. He was a mediocre air force pilot and later an intelligence analyst, when he was transferred for striking a superior officer in unclear circumstances. He made maps and collated intel briefings for at least four years, and then was dismissed from government service without a pension. He emerged soon after as a private contractor, working in the murky, under-regulated Kerbin aerospace industry. He was soon picked up by Intelligent Defense Systems, a company that provides specialized contracts for resupply, surveillance and \'kinetic support\', a handy euphemism for orbital weapons platforms.

Type of Article:

Opinions, editorials, spacecraft capability assessment (reviews), and analysis of current events and conflicts in the Kerbal world.

Approximate Length : 2,000 words, I guess, since that\'s the maximum.

Summarize Your Article Idea in less then 5 sentences:

Evaluation of spacecraft capability. Anyone is welcome to submit their own craft to me in a PM. It should include a title, design goal, and a few specifications such as range (low kerbin orbit, munar orbit, interstellar, etc.), payload, and top speed if it\'s an aircraft.

I like the writing style in your bio, it will be an interesting article. Accepted!

[DrBurst]

Things are beyond epic with these ideas, sorry about takes so long to reply, I didn\';t have time to sit down and process everything. Working on the cover now, this shall be epic!

[Radion]

By when are our articles due for the first release?

Also, I\'d suggest making a separate thread for the actual magazine itself, as it is quite cluttered here.

[Lord Wasteland]

Here is an interview about the XV-6 from the Prime Minister of Avienne. I can not do the pictures

'Why did you decide to develop the XV-6?'

1. The Republic invested in Vertical Take-Off and Landing mechanisms as a means of saving both space and money in areas that are lacking in the aforementioned qualities. Many of Avienne\'s old carriers, such as the AVN Reinstar and the AVN Kenomo, had a very poor record with new horizontal takeoff designs. The computer models performed at Avia University showed that those ships, and any ships of their class, were incapable of transporting and deploying the latest naval plane models designed for the Avia-Class Supercarriers. Seeing as it was much too expensive to scrap the ships and build new ones, the task was given to various private corporations to build a prototype for a craft that could takeoff from ships of their class and still take advantage of the latest technologies. Later, the Oxbolt Corporation presented the XV-6, which appeared to be the best deal available.

'Were you aware of certain problems with the method?'

2. Oxbolt advised us of 4 possible problems -

a) The malfunction of one engine could send the entire plane into freefall

The instrumentation panel could, at times, pop the glass due to the panels having a resonance frequency similarly enough to the frequency emitted by the engines at certain thrust levels

c) The tilt-rotors had a tendency to get stuck mid-transition, which could prove disastrous as per 'a)'

d) The fuel lines were made of a light metal to save money, but some of the lines were forced to run close to the outer paneling. That meant that if a bullet punctured the outer wall of the plane, it could strike a fuel line.

The Ministry of Aerospace worked diligently on the problems before building the first manned prototype, but apparently they didn\'t work hard enough to prevent this catastrophe.

'The safety record of the Odyssey II has been increasing, but awful during the beginning why is that?'

3. The Odyssey program from the onset was plagued with engineering problems mostly because of the newness of the mechanisms which were employed for VTOL. However, as the team of the Odyssey worked on the project longer, experience was gained and new people were brought in from across the nation to work on the dilemma. Now, a full team of highly-trained specialists have been working to make the Odyssey II fully operational and safe.

'Why are you still believing the principality of tilt-rotors, even after the Charlesburg Airshow Disaster?'

4. Tilt-rotors are a necessary part of the future of aerospace and the Republic is not willing to let itself be left behind. In addition, in the long run it is much cheaper to research these new technologies than to continue to use outdated methods of travel in places where it is simply impossible to use them. As I mentioned before, the ships, which are perfectly capable of operating normally, are simply incapable of using the new aircraft. Where expense out does funding, it is necessary to research new technologies which offer coming in under budget. Money drives the world, and the world\'s supply of it is quite limited, including the lavish Republic\'s.

'The Chief Engineer of the XV-6, after being interviewed has been fired, and in trial against his company. Why have you not forced it to end?'

5. The Republic will pursue any and all persons and entities responsible for the catastrophe, and no one is above reproach. The Republic will not end a trial simply because it is bad PR, that is both against the Grand Republic\'s ideals and its laws, and we will not intervene in the matters of private enterprise, that being faulty design on the corporation\'s part, but also the failure of the government ministry to properly examine the design and find the faults before rushing it into production. Both parties are to blame, but we will not cover things up to avoid reprimand, but rather, learn from it.

'Do you believe that tilt-rotors, are important or not?'

6. Tilt-rotors are very important to the future as I have outlined above, and they are the key to future of en-atmospheric aerospace.

'Thank you, and do you wish to make anything important about the tilt-rotor development?'

7. No problem. I don\'t really have much more comment that I\'m allowed to disclose, but if you want to talk about the future of orange juice, I\'m all ready. Did you know the market, which is currently trending towards milk, will quite soon rush to the juice market? Why? It\'s quite simply really, as you can see by the numerous charts I have prepared. You see, Figure A-1 shows the increase in...

[Salamander]

I will get started on mine today and post it here when I\'m done. I have some experience working in a desktop publishing environment, setting type, ads and headlines in Quark at a college newspaper, so I could give you a hand with design if you wanted. I\'m assuming you\'re aiming at a PDF format?

I\'ll think up some fake ads too.

Since its an industry magazine/journal, you\'ll probably have a large graphic on the front, plus your headliners, the title and issue number. The first page would be short news briefs from the industry, your author credits, and your table of contents. After that you would just start placing ads and articles until you hit the end. Since we\'re making up all the ads instead of taking a real person\'s specifications (thank god, that was a pain in the ass), we can be pretty loose with how we format it.

[Monkthespy]

Alright, getting started on mine, I\'ll post it here once I\'m done.

The spaceplane?

The spaceplane, what is it for? What\'s it do? And how does it change everything?

The spaceplane is, as the title says, is an aircraft capable of atmospheric flight and as well as being a spacecraft. This combination doesn\'t seem exactly great unless you think: It\'s reusable, it uses less resources over time, and does not need a rescue craft, it has recently appeared after the success of recent aeronautics achievements and such. It even introduces larger, and better cargo bays.

Although, this does not free it from problems.

Before getting to that, let\'s EXPLAIN what the spaceplane does and how it works, to understand how this affects the KSP. Everything starts with design. Design of spaceplanes are difficult and challenging, it has elements, which are required in all spaceplanes. The first and most important, structure. The spaceplane must be able to withstand the rigors of the atmosphere and space as well, and require minimal maintenance for quick and spotless research missions. Second, aerodynamics. The spaceplane must be able to sustain flight, or else the idea of the spaceplane falls apart, and never works. Third, Space travel. Without the ability of space travel, it will never work, and won\'t serve it\'s purpose.

Then, you have flight. Flight starts with take off, take off goes to flight. Take off has two modes in a spaceplane, horizontal, and vertical. Horizontal is the most difficult mode, and should only ever be used if it\'s absolutely necessary. Vertical still has it\'s own problem, the spaceplane creates an asymmetrical design due to many features including tail, cockpit, and other things. It requires SAS, ASAS, and many things just to make it from tipping over. It also requires a huge amount of lift to get it off the ground, and most likely require big bulky stages to get it up, including large amounts of LFE, SRB, and others. Now, this can be lessened with correct usage of control surfaces, even on the spaceplane itself.

Now, let\'s say you got past those problems. Now, that the spaceplane itself is now acting like your run of a mill spacecraft (except for stages), you can do a simple paraphrase for the next two steps: Orbit, where you achieve orbit, can be achieved simply by rotating 90 degrees at your apogee and firing, and then circiulizing slowly at your perigee and apogee. The next step, the goal, can be achieved by the many things the spaceplane offers.

The next step is reentry. Spaceplanes arrive with a problem here: How to reenter without the standard heat shield? And how to even slow down once you get through? Kerbin\'s atmosphere is dense, causing a large amount of friction and then so: heat. The solution has been found of putting heat tiles on the bottom of your spaceplane, and then tilting up to let the heat absorb around there. This is a good solution, but not a permanent one. These tiles can have many problems, and if just one falls off, disaster can strike. The tiles also have to be constantly replaced, causing delays and issues, which what no space program wants. Many solutions have been brought up, but, for now, we have to deal with those tiles. The second problem, slowing down. Not slowing down sufficiently, even if Kerbin\'s atmosphere is so dense, causes many problems: First off, gee forces. These forces could rip off your wings and cause disaster, or kill your kerbalnauts/knock then unconscious. This problem has been circumvented mostly by using a maneuver in which you slowly turn at a high pitch, which causes a lot of downwards drag, slowing you down without too many gee forces.

The final part, landing. Most spacecraft do not have an atmospheric engine, and this is where atmospheric design really comes into play. Your craft must be able to glide safely towards the runway, and not require power. It must also be stopped in time, before problems arise. Parachutes on landing, and such have drastically increased safety with these craft. Large delta wings give spaceplanes. good gliding time, and then so allow landings much easier and safer.

But, how will this affect the KSP?

The KSP has been known for trying new things, and the spaceplane is obviously one of their next goals. But it brings many pros and cons they must know, and have been discussed above, to summarize the pros: Allows for reusage, no need of a rescue craft, larger and better research, through use of cargo bays and such, able of atmospheric flight so it can land easily where ever it needs. The cons however, are equally as powerful: The heat tiles have to be replaced constantly, and reentry could easily kill your crew. Large rockets are required just to get them into space, and horoziontal take off is near impossible.

The KSP have to take these into account, but however, nearing the current situation in which the old and wearied out unreusuable rockets are taking it\'s toll, the spaceplane seems like a great option, but until the KSP makes it\'s move, we will never know the spaceplanes future, but it looks like a good one with many tasks for it\'s life.

AAAAND DONE. I hope you like it, I\'m not the greatest writer.

[Salamander]

Here is my article

Salamoneus Jones

Orbital Weapons

10 June, 2012

ORBITAL WEAPONS AND THEIR USE

By Salamoneus Jones

Technical Correspondant

Ever since Kerbals climbed out of the muck and stood upright, they have sought new ways to kill each other. The first weapons were incidentally sharp rocks, and the first battlefield, one of the vast grassy plains that dot our verdant world and (so far) only home. In time, Kerbals discovered steel, gunpowder, mustard gas, airplanes and machined parts. Each time, the field of battle widened, from the distance of an outstretched arm, to a few hundred yards, to several miles,

and finally to every continent and the vacuum above. Space: the last battlefield. It is the new high ground that all militaries seek to hold over their enemies, and there has been frantic development in the areas of space weapons research since Jebediah and his crew first pioneered the new realm.

The doctrine of orbital weapons use is similar to that of nuclear weapons: strike first, strike hard. Prevent your enemy from firing as many salvos as you can, and disable his constellation of weapons, either by ground based interceptor missiles, or by other orbital platforms.

There are two main categories of space weapon: kinetic, and energy based.

Let us examine the first, as at present it is the more practical, cost-effective option by far. Kinetic weapons can take the form of anything from a bullet to an ICBM, and everything in between. At the small scale, defense cannons and emplacements can fend off attacks by hostile craft, and in an offensive role can down satellites. These are crude, unguided projectiles, with a high rate of recoil, and as such are difficult to employ effectively and generally should be considered a weapon of last resort.

On the larger scale, the ICBM is universal, but again, it is a ground based weapon, intented to hit a target on the ground. Space-to-space missiles would have a variety of ranges. The largest category would be able to reach any spot above the atmosphere and guide itself onto the target via a heat or electronic signature. The smaller categories would be like the cannons, primarily for defensive purposes. The second type of missile would be space-to-ground, able to guide itself to any target on the surface of the earth, visible or otherwise. There would of course be a limited firing window as the platform passes overhead. Missiles that try to work against their orbital momentum are inefficient.

There is, however, a third type of kinetic weapon: the infamous 'rods from god'. At orbital velocities, almost anything can be turned into a devastating kill vehicle, as the cleanup crews who constantly scrub the Kerbin atmosphere of debris will tell you without hesitation. If a highly dense material is used, such as tungsten, a shock effect similar to a conventional warhead can be achieved for a much smaller price-tag. Although lugging a bundle of tungsten rods, each the size of a telephone pole, into orbit is highly fuel intensive, their trajectory can be predicted almost as easily as that of missiles, although without their course correction ability.

A single platform could hold dozens of such rods, raining terror and death down upon anyone who thinks themselves safe inside a bunker or hardened structure. If penetration is not the aim, the tip can be serrated for greater surface disintegration upon impact, and the shrapnel scatters like a charge of bribery fired into a session of the grand Kerbal congress.

The second category of space armament is that of energy weapons. These can vary from tightly concentrated pulses of plasma to solid state, wave motion lasers. There are many different varieties and power sources for these weapons, but practicality is limited at this juncture. Solid state lasers diffuse quickly, even in the vacuum of space, and are thus not suited to surface strikes, but rather useful for meteoroid defense and close combat, should it occur. Plasma can be built up into larger magnetic envelopes to form torpedoes with a superior range. Like lasers, they will simply be defused should they be aimed at Kerbin, but can be potent long range, anti-ship weapons. These weapons can be powered most efficiently by reactors or solar panels. The former can provide enough power for devastating strikes on demand, and lasts a long time, but cleaning up after a meltdown or malfunction on one of said reactors would be difficult and dangerous in the extreme. Solar panels provide a second level of self sufficiency, but are very limited in power output and obviously don\'t work when not in direct sunlight (although advances in battery technology could change this), negating their area of operation over a large portion of Kerbin\'s surface.

At present, no nation or private entity has enough platforms operational to conduct a real shooting war in space, but all must prepare themselves for that day, for it is coming. The stations currently operational are either testbeds for ground strikes, possess short range anti-ship capability, or are intended for debris clearance. It will not be long before the dominant political powers turn their attention to this new arena, however. As of yet the level of technology is not sufficient to permit advanced missile or projectile trajectory guidance, and the range of warheads is limited to a few yards at most, but betting on Kerbals to stand idly by while a new killing tool is in sight is not a smart use of money.

[Salamander]

AAAAND DONE. I hope you like it, I\'m not the greatest writer.

That is actually quite good. No spelling or grammar mistakes, nice flow to it.

[Radion]

I got the interview. Now to write the article!

[Selrahc4040]

Does it have to be completely legitimate? I\'m asking because I have a pretty decent idea for an article. 'The Effects of Muon Radiation on Rocket Engines'.

[DrBurst]

I will get started on mine today and post it here when I\'m done. I have some experience working in a desktop publishing environment, setting type, ads and headlines in Quark at a college newspaper, so I could give you a hand with design if you wanted. I\'m assuming you\'re aiming at a PDF format?

I\'ll think up some fake ads too.

Since its an industry magazine/journal, you\'ll probably have a large graphic on the front, plus your headliners, the title and issue number. The first page would be short news briefs from the industry, your author credits, and your table of contents. After that you would just start placing ads and articles until you hit the end. Since we\'re making up all the ads instead of taking a real person\'s specifications (thank god, that was a pain in the ass), we can be pretty loose with how we format it.

Sounds like you know more about this then me. Do you have the time to help out, this project is bigger then I thought it would be. It\'s going to be a huge commitment to pull this off, but the end result with be an epic PDF full of Kerbalness. What do you think of scribus?

[DrBurst]

Alright, getting started on mine, I\'ll post it here once I\'m done.

The spaceplane?

The spaceplane, what is it for? What\'s it do? And how does it change everything?

The spaceplane is, as the title says, is an aircraft capable of atmospheric flight and as well as being a spacecraft. This combination doesn\'t seem exactly great unless you think: It\'s reusable, it uses less resources over time, and does not need a rescue craft, it has recently appeared after the success of recent aeronautics achievements and such. It even introduces larger, and better cargo bays.

Although, this does not free it from problems.

Before getting to that, let\'s EXPLAIN what the spaceplane does and how it works, to understand how this affects the KSP. Everything starts with design. Design of spaceplanes are difficult and challenging, it has elements, which are required in all spaceplanes. The first and most important, structure. The spaceplane must be able to withstand the rigors of the atmosphere and space as well, and require minimal maintenance for quick and spotless research missions. Second, aerodynamics. The spaceplane must be able to sustain flight, or else the idea of the spaceplane falls apart, and never works. Third, Space travel. Without the ability of space travel, it will never work, and won\'t serve it\'s purpose.

Then, you have flight. Flight starts with take off, take off goes to flight. Take off has two modes in a spaceplane, horizontal, and vertical. Horizontal is the most difficult mode, and should only ever be used if it\'s absolutely necessary. Vertical still has it\'s own problem, the spaceplane creates an asymmetrical design due to many features including tail, cockpit, and other things. It requires SAS, ASAS, and many things just to make it from tipping over. It also requires a huge amount of lift to get it off the ground, and most likely require big bulky stages to get it up, including large amounts of LFE, SRB, and others. Now, this can be lessened with correct usage of control surfaces, even on the spaceplane itself.

Now, let\'s say you got past those problems. Now, that the spaceplane itself is now acting like your run of a mill spacecraft (except for stages), you can do a simple paraphrase for the next two steps: Orbit, where you achieve orbit, can be achieved simply by rotating 90 degrees at your apogee and firing, and then circiulizing slowly at your perigee and apogee. The next step, the goal, can be achieved by the many things the spaceplane offers.

The next step is reentry. Spaceplanes arrive with a problem here: How to reenter without the standard heat shield? And how to even slow down once you get through? Kerbin\'s atmosphere is dense, causing a large amount of friction and then so: heat. The solution has been found of putting heat tiles on the bottom of your spaceplane, and then tilting up to let the heat absorb around there. This is a good solution, but not a permanent one. These tiles can have many problems, and if just one falls off, disaster can strike. The tiles also have to be constantly replaced, causing delays and issues, which what no space program wants. Many solutions have been brought up, but, for now, we have to deal with those tiles. The second problem, slowing down. Not slowing down sufficiently, even if Kerbin\'s atmosphere is so dense, causes many problems: First off, gee forces. These forces could rip off your wings and cause disaster, or kill your kerbalnauts/knock then unconscious. This problem has been circumvented mostly by using a maneuver in which you slowly turn at a high pitch, which causes a lot of downwards drag, slowing you down without too many gee forces.

The final part, landing. Most spacecraft do not have an atmospheric engine, and this is where atmospheric design really comes into play. Your craft must be able to glide safely towards the runway, and not require power. It must also be stopped in time, before problems arise. Parachutes on landing, and such have drastically increased safety with these craft. Large delta wings give spaceplanes. good gliding time, and then so allow landings much easier and safer.

But, how will this affect the KSP?

The KSP has been known for trying new things, and the spaceplane is obviously one of their next goals. But it brings many pros and cons they must know, and have been discussed above, to summarize the pros: Allows for reusage, no need of a rescue craft, larger and better research, through use of cargo bays and such, able of atmospheric flight so it can land easily where ever it needs. The cons however, are equally as powerful: The heat tiles have to be replaced constantly, and reentry could easily kill your crew. Large rockets are required just to get them into space, and horoziontal take off is near impossible.

The KSP have to take these into account, but however, nearing the current situation in which the old and wearied out unreusuable rockets are taking it\'s toll, the spaceplane seems like a great option, but until the KSP makes it\'s move, we will never know the spaceplanes future, but it looks like a good one with many tasks for it\'s life.

AAAAND DONE. I hope you like it, I\'m not the greatest writer.

I really like it. It addresses the future well and it held my attention. The only thing is that you could try to cite examples of popular craft in the space craft exchange. But other then that, it\'s epic.

[DrBurst]

Here is my article

Salamoneus Jones

Orbital Weapons

10 June, 2012

ORBITAL WEAPONS AND THEIR USE

By Salamoneus Jones

Technical Correspondant

Ever since Kerbals climbed out of the muck and stood upright, they have sought new ways to kill each other. The first weapons were incidentally sharp rocks, and the first battlefield, one of the vast grassy plains that dot our verdant world and (so far) only home. In time, Kerbals discovered steel, gunpowder, mustard gas, airplanes and machined parts. Each time, the field of battle widened, from the distance of an outstretched arm, to a few hundred yards, to several miles,

and finally to every continent and the vacuum above. Space: the last battlefield. It is the new high ground that all militaries seek to hold over their enemies, and there has been frantic development in the areas of space weapons research since Jebediah and his crew first pioneered the new realm.

The doctrine of orbital weapons use is similar to that of nuclear weapons: strike first, strike hard. Prevent your enemy from firing as many salvos as you can, and disable his constellation of weapons, either by ground based interceptor missiles, or by other orbital platforms.

There are two main categories of space weapon: kinetic, and energy based.

Let us examine the first, as at present it is the more practical, cost-effective option by far. Kinetic weapons can take the form of anything from a bullet to an ICBM, and everything in between. At the small scale, defense cannons and emplacements can fend off attacks by hostile craft, and in an offensive role can down satellites. These are crude, unguided projectiles, with a high rate of recoil, and as such are difficult to employ effectively and generally should be considered a weapon of last resort.

On the larger scale, the ICBM is universal, but again, it is a ground based weapon, intented to hit a target on the ground. Space-to-space missiles would have a variety of ranges. The largest category would be able to reach any spot above the atmosphere and guide itself onto the target via a heat or electronic signature. The smaller categories would be like the cannons, primarily for defensive purposes. The second type of missile would be space-to-ground, able to guide itself to any target on the surface of the earth, visible or otherwise. There would of course be a limited firing window as the platform passes overhead. Missiles that try to work against their orbital momentum are inefficient.

There is, however, a third type of kinetic weapon: the infamous 'rods from god'. At orbital velocities, almost anything can be turned into a devastating kill vehicle, as the cleanup crews who constantly scrub the Kerbin atmosphere of debris will tell you without hesitation. If a highly dense material is used, such as tungsten, a shock effect similar to a conventional warhead can be achieved for a much smaller price-tag. Although lugging a bundle of tungsten rods, each the size of a telephone pole, into orbit is highly fuel intensive, their trajectory can be predicted almost as easily as that of missiles, although without their course correction ability.

A single platform could hold dozens of such rods, raining terror and death down upon anyone who thinks themselves safe inside a bunker or hardened structure. If penetration is not the aim, the tip can be serrated for greater surface disintegration upon impact, and the shrapnel scatters like a charge of bribery fired into a session of the grand Kerbal congress.

The second category of space armament is that of energy weapons. These can vary from tightly concentrated pulses of plasma to solid state, wave motion lasers. There are many different varieties and power sources for these weapons, but practicality is limited at this juncture. Solid state lasers diffuse quickly, even in the vacuum of space, and are thus not suited to surface strikes, but rather useful for meteoroid defense and close combat, should it occur. Plasma can be built up into larger magnetic envelopes to form torpedoes with a superior range. Like lasers, they will simply be defused should they be aimed at Kerbin, but can be potent long range, anti-ship weapons. These weapons can be powered most efficiently by reactors or solar panels. The former can provide enough power for devastating strikes on demand, and lasts a long time, but cleaning up after a meltdown or malfunction on one of said reactors would be difficult and dangerous in the extreme. Solar panels provide a second level of self sufficiency, but are very limited in power output and obviously don\'t work when not in direct sunlight (although advances in battery technology could change this), negating their area of operation over a large portion of Kerbin\'s surface.

At present, no nation or private entity has enough platforms operational to conduct a real shooting war in space, but all must prepare themselves for that day, for it is coming. The stations currently operational are either testbeds for ground strikes, possess short range anti-ship capability, or are intended for debris clearance. It will not be long before the dominant political powers turn their attention to this new arena, however. As of yet the level of technology is not sufficient to permit advanced missile or projectile trajectory guidance, and the range of warheads is limited to a few yards at most, but betting on Kerbals to stand idly by while a new killing tool is in sight is not a smart use of money.

I like the humor, I see this style all the time in the industry magazines. You gave a nice overview, it would be cool to follow this up with a in depth look at one program in the next issue. IF you want, you can make the article more 'Kerbal' by renaming tungsten to Kungsten or something silly that is still associated the the RL object. Very nice!!!

[DrBurst]

I got the interview. Now to write the article!

OMG, king of the world.