Hesitation to launch... checklist?

[THX1138]

Do many of you spend time in the VAB going up and down a vessel trying to see what they might have forgotten?

Some things to go on the checklist include:

1. OX-STAT 1x1 solar panels pointing in at three to eight directions so there's always power to open the deployable panels if applicable
2. Landing lights to help detect the ground and slop at night.
3. Action groups for deployable solar panels, engines, scientific instrumentation and mining equipment.
4. Antennas, particularly given the pending update necessitating antennas.
5. Docking ports for future upgrades, adding stuff I forgot/underestimated previously

The engineer's report is great but doesn't include everything. Would be good to include action groups in there.

[Xyphos]

even with a checklist, the only time I realize I forgot something is during or after I've landed somewhere.
the last time, I finally remembered RCS thrusters, but forgot to pack the rover into the cargobay, landed on Duna and... well...
my neighbors heard me shouting obscenities, knocked on my door and complained.
now she has to explain to her son what a "bleepity-bleep bleep" is.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Xyphos

[Jovus]

So that's what that noise was.

To actually add to the conversation, my biggest bugaboo is staging. I rarely take off without at least enough stuff on the craft to do the job. (e.g. I might not have all the solar panels or antennae I want, but I usually do, and I can't remember the last time I left the ground without at least enough). My problem is getting it all to go off at the right time.

Usually this is fairly innocuous, because it's something like launch clamps before ignition Usually this is also fairly harmless, because I catch it on the launchpad. Sometimes this is hilarious, like the time my upper-stage decoupler and fairings went off at the same time as my booster-stage engines and I had to carefully wobble the thing to space.

[Jimbo Jangles]

24 minutes ago, Jovus said:

...carefully wobble...

Only in KSP. Or my 21st birthday.

[Xyphos]

10 minutes ago, Jimbo Jangles said:

Or my 21st birthday.

and everyday, there after.

[Jovus]

1 hour ago, Xyphos said:

and everyday, there after.

Speak for yourself. Careful Living Through Chemistry!

[p1t1o]

Yup, I often end up in "VABLOCK" scanning up and down my ship and browsing the parts menu in case I have missed anything, or if there is anything else useful I can add.

Can I get any more science on here?

Have I assigned the correct crew?

Do I have enough life support supplies?

Lighting?

Got enough dV reserve?

Battery/MachJeb/KER?

 

Every single launch is accompanied by a vague sense of paranoia.

[PT]

My launchpad checklist begins with "ALT+F5".

And then I end up launching KAS/KIS upgrade mission anyway. At least I have use for those spare engineers from rescue contracts.

[genericeventhandler]

I'm usually good with checking "Stage Recovery" window to see if I have enough chutes, checking with mechjeb that I have enough dV for the mission.

Solar panels are always added, smart part and grouping to deploy passive antennas and fairings when above 57 km.

The only thing that I like to add, which I forget a lot is a KIS container with a spare screwdriver in it, I wish I knew how to add one through mm patches.

As to staging, that generally messes up, last night I had a one stage + payload with 4 boosters strapped to the side.  The boosters went off by themselves and left the payload on the pad. Doh!

 

[N_Danger]

 I always forget that Kerbals will sneak on board an un-kerbaled test fight of a new vessel or a vessel that is sent someplace intentionally with out a crew. (I'm looking at you Jeb)

[Richy teh space man]

This is why I do my designs in sandbox mode, and use hyper edit to test it. Too many times I've gotten to a destination and realized I've forgotten something that's needed.

[Xyphos]

5 hours ago, Jovus said:

Careful Living Through Chemistry!

If you have a problem, according to Chemistry, Alcohol is a solution. (new meta!)

Edited July 6, 2016 by Xyphos

[Jovus]

If your alcohol is a solution, you need to work on your distilling process.

...aaaand now we're really off-topic.

 

Uh...another thing to check is to make sure Jeb hasn't drunk the rocket fuel?

[Randazzo]

I used to worry over these things. My checklist has evolved over time, however. Now it's "Is the TWR high enough to get off the pad? Ok, go."

[Xyphos]

10 minutes ago, Randazzo said:

"Is the TWR high enough to get off the pad? Ok, go."

that depends, is your launch stage completely disposable solid boosters or do you burn a lot of liquid fuel and gain little acceleration?

Edited July 6, 2016 by Xyphos

[Snark]

I've got my standard mantra checklist that I go through-- I've done so many launches now that it's automatic and generally works pretty well, though occasionally I still get tripped up when launching a ship that has non-standard requirements.   For example, forgetting to put radiators on a mining ship. 

The most complex thing to remember, for me, is action groups, since that's heavily part-dependent.  However, since I always assign the same parts to the same action groups (e.g. solar panels are always Custom01, extendable radiators always Custom02, toggle cabin lights in Light, etc.), then that's easily mitigated with DefaultActionGroups, so they're always automatically put into the action groups I want them in, and I never have to remember to do it myself.

[LordFerret]

5 hours ago, p1t1o said:

Yup, I often end up in "VABLOCK" scanning up and down my ship and browsing the parts menu in case I have missed anything, or if there is anything else useful I can add.

Can I get any more science on here?

Have I assigned the correct crew?

Do I have enough life support supplies?

Lighting?

Got enough dV reserve?

Battery/MachJeb/KER?

 

Every single launch is accompanied by a vague sense of paranoia.

And then you get out to the pad and realize you forgot to do the staging..........

[michaelhester07]

I don't do this enough. The one thing missing from these checklists though

• Launch clamps are in the first stage to be activated

 

Hitting the launch button to only to be reminded of how ridiculously strong the launch clamps are has sent me reverting back to the VAB quite a few times.

[SpacedCowboy]

9 minutes ago, michaelhester07 said:

I don't do this enough. The one thing missing from these checklists though

• Launch clamps are in the first stage to be activated

 

Hitting the launch button to only to be reminded of how ridiculously strong the launch clamps are has sent me reverting back to the VAB quite a few times.

Or the opposite situation when there's nothing on the first stage BUT launch clamps! You hit the space bar and,,, ( insert sound here )

[Corona688]

Antennas is one I'm always missing.  Solar panels I'm usually good on.

I also do a pilot in the seat / NOT in the seat check.  Jeb always loves to climb in the cockpit and play in the controls, even when it's a robot mission for rescuing passengers.  One of the days he's going to "rescue" someone and take the duct-tape section home.

[Hodari]

7 hours ago, N_Danger said:

 I always forget that Kerbals will sneak on board an un-kerbaled test fight of a new vessel or a vessel that is sent someplace intentionally with out a crew. (I'm looking at you Jeb)

Or rescue missions.  Had far too many times where I finally rendezvous with their pod, only to find out that Bob snuck on board and there's no empty seats left

[Zargg]

Always check that you have the right crew in there! On numerous occasions I've been meaning to take an engineer, but due to reverting to VAB or whatever, Jeb ends up back in there, but his badSness doesn't fix solar panels

[Rocket In My Pocket]

Whenever I feel I'm completely done designing a rocket I just scroll quickly through each group of parts one by one, If I've forgotten anything it usually "jumps" off the page at me.

Thing I commonly forget:

• Lights
• Solar Panels
• Intakes for jet engines
• Parachutes

[Andem]

Heheh, try playing with construction time.

[Brownhair2]

One thing I always forget to do is refill tanks after emptying them for testing, and resetting thrust limiters 

Edited July 6, 2016 by Brownhair2