1.0.x is hard!

[numerobis]

I hadn't had time to get to 0.90 or 1.0 until this week, so I finally download it, start a hard-mode career, and kill Jeb on my second launch -- I opened the chutes while still hypersonic. Oh, you shouldn't do that? TIL.

Then I go suborbital -- super easy, just shoot straight up. Yay, Valentina got home safe! Orbit time: super easy, up to orbit we go, just enough juice to get back and let's land this sucker with the spent rocket engine and empty tanks. Hmm... I seem to be going pretty fast. Uh oh... I'm going really very fast. What do those green bars mean? Oh, they mean the fins exploded from overheating! Ok. Uh oh, green bars on the cockpit and chute. *BOOM* RIP Valentina, first Kerbal to orbit.

And thus ended my first career: I didn't have enough cash left to hire a new pilot, and I had no path to revenue without a pilot.

[SmashingKirby148]

It's not hard, it's just that it seems you didn't decouple your pod from your rocket on reentry. And also, in the VAB / SPH in Aerodynamics, there is a heatshield. You put that on the bottom of your pod.

[Alshain]

It's not really hard, just new and different from everything you learned in 0.90 and earlier. Practice a few launches in sandbox before trying another career.

Tips:

Never go straight up and down, the drag is not powerful enough to slow you down in time for safe parachute deployment. Instead launch at a wide arc, even for suborbital launches.

Do not use the old 10km to 45 degrees method. Best case scenario, it's

, worst case uncontrollable.

Use fins for stabilization, but don't go overboard. You usually don't need anything bigger than the tier 1 fins. Bigger rockets don't need them at all.

Unless you have a heat shield, avoid coming down at steep angles. Even if you do have one, still avoid it when you can. Set your Pe to around 30km for a very shallow entry.

Avoid building your re-entry vehicle in such a manner that the CoM is high, this will cause the rocket to flip nose first on re-entry. Remember, fuel use will move the CoM.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Alshain

[Enorats]

You have to keep in mind that suborbital flights are more dangerous. You get up to almost the same speeds, but with a much quicker descent. Once you're in orbit you can come down as slowly as you want, whereas suborbital flights generally come down quite quickly and don't get much chance to cool after ascent in the first place. I rarely lose craft to orbital returns, but my suborbital survival rate is much lower.

[numerobis]

Yeah, the heat-shield is a pretty key part of orbital flight now..

Indeed!

You can actually get away with skipping it if you re-enter on a VERY shallow trajectory, but it's generally not worth it. The shield will handle any re-entry profile short of suicidal.

Even better: last night I tried to reach orbit a few times, ended up at best about 200 m/s short (clearly I need to learn how to build and fly again) with Ap at 71km. Coming down each time, I kept the rocket and entered at an angle of attack of about 30 degrees in hopes of bleeding off speed faster than just going in as a capsule, then I'd ditch it as soon as the green bar appeared on the parachute and just be a capsule with heat shield (as soon as I do that, the rocket falls behind). My last attempt, I bounced off at 30km, and started rising again!

The new(ish) aerodynamics is really cool

[Frybert]

Lol yep! You can maintain enough speed in lower atmo to actually re-enter suborbital flight now. This has made SSTO flights much different (easier) and more fun, IMO.

You'll also notice that (for now), only the parts directly exposed to the atmo-shock will explode first. This means that, if you re-enter on top of a rocket, engine-nozzles-first, your engine will explode, then your fuel tank, and so on. This means that you can often survive just by letting things blow up in your stack before the heat reaches your capsule. XP

Ablative rockets.

[Vegvisir]

Yeah it's definitely harder than 0.25 or whatever. But in a good way, things make more sense! (maybe) I've been having a great time getting back into it. Career mode is quite rewarding, as far as playing games goes

[ExtremeSquared]

Heat shields will blow up in easy-setting (50% heating) 1.0.4 on a Mun return if you aren't careful. Billy Bobton died stress testing one on a 90 degree reentry from Mun orbit. I doubt a Mun return could be done without one unless you do several aerobraking passes.

[GoSlash27]

numerobis,

You can handle it.

Best,

-Slashy

[RocketBlam]

The first command module has an included heat shield, you don't even need to add one. You do have to detach the rocket below it though.

[FancyMouse]

The first command module has an included heat shield, you don't even need to add one. You do have to detach the rocket below it though.

I don't think it has ablator. I do vaguely remember there's a mod adding ablator to that pod, though.

[RocketBlam]

It seems I remember mine does, and I don't think it came from a mod. Anyway, I've never had one burn up on reentry.

[numerobis]

It seems I remember mine does, and I don't think it came from a mod. Anyway, I've never had one burn up on reentry.

There's definitely no ablative shield on the standard pod, though it is tough. And I did kill Jeb that way: straight shot up to 200 km and back down. That's how I learned not to do that (then I killed Valentina by doing the same but with a heat shield -- she lived to splat into the ground at hypersonic speed).

Slashy: But all that carefully worked out knowledge of the old aero system -- gone!

[Alshain]

There is no heat shield, but the command pods are both pretty tough to heat. You don't need a heat shield unless you are coming in really steep or from a very far distance. If you de-orbit from anywhere in LKO with a Pe of ~30km you don't really need a shield at all.

[xiej]

When returning from orbit, lower your Periapsis to 45,000 m, and you'll always survive if you have parachutes.

[Wanderfound]

And thus ended my first career: I didn't have enough cash left to hire a new pilot, and I had no path to revenue without a pilot.

1) You can always scrape up some quick cash by trading rep for funds ("bailout grant") in the admin building.

2) You don't need pilots/SAS. Spin stabilisation works; angle your fins a smidge and the rocket will fly straight(ish) as soon as it gets up to speed. I'd recommend trying that with a Stayputnik before risking Bob and Bill, though.