Strange bug in KSP

[VincentThacker]

Hello,

I've read this forum a long time and found it very helpful to me in KSP. So today, I launched a Space Shuttle to service one of my Space Stations. During re-entry, it tore apart at 20,000m above the glistening sea. Luckily, the Mk3 Command Pod (and the Kerbals inside) survived the splash. However, when I entered the Tracking Station, this happened. It's a 99 Large Landing Gear. What could have happened?

[Corona688]

I bet the landing gear didn't properly collide with the planet and fell right through, straight into the planet's core and out the other side.  When things fly that close to the center of a planetary mass in KSP, they get a gravity assist on steroids, because -- quite unlike a real planet -- gravity just gets stronger and stronger all the way towards the core, where its potentially infinite.

As for why it fell through -- 20,000m is significant.  That's the point debris is supposed to "disappear" when it falls into the planet from above.  Your debris didn't fall through 20,000m, it appeared already below it and rapidly fell out of contact.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Corona688

[VincentThacker]

I get the infinite gravity part, but what I don't understand is why the object will fall through the planet. It is going at a near straight-down path from the solar system. I terminated it already (to prevent any possible lag).

P.S. Why does my content need to be "approved by a moderator" when my profile says "no restrictions"?

[technicalfool]

10 minutes ago, 100055 said:

 

P.S. Why does my content need to be "approved by a moderator" when my profile says "no restrictions"?

Because you're new. Don't worry; after your first few posts, you're off the queue and don't need to wait for someone to approve your content.

HTH

Edited August 5, 2016 by technicalfool
Semicolon pedantry

[Corona688]

2 hours ago, 100055 said:

I get the infinite gravity part, but what I don't understand is why the object will fall through the planet.

Probably because it was very small and moving very fast.  Like most 3d games, KSP physics objects don't move, they teleport -- and check if they ended up inside anything else after.  If it's moving really fast, its path will become a dotted line with gaps that don't get checked for collisions, . . . . . .

So it teleported right through the planet's surface . . .|. . .  then got a gravity-assist from an infinitely dense singularity.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Corona688

[Corona688]

3 hours ago, 100055 said:

I terminated it already (to prevent any possible lag).

Debris causes lag when it approaches other objects and gets checked for collisions.  Nothing's ever going to catch up with this thing! 

[edit[ Wow, that thing's going 25% of light speed.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Corona688

[something]

Wasn't yhere a video from someone who 'stabbed' Jool with a few girder segments and somehow the vessel was moving at 8.5 c afterwards? Don't remember the name though. Maybe someone else does...

 

[Corona688]

I saw Scott Manley break light speed like that (8:30):

 

[SchweinAero]

1 hour ago, something said:

Wasn't there a video from someone who 'stabbed' Jool with a few girder segments and somehow the vessel was moving at 8.5 c afterwards? Don't remember the name though. Maybe someone else does...

Here you go. There's really only one name in the business with stuff like this.

Danny2462: Research & Destruction

[something]

Yeah it was the one of Danny2462. Gotta remember that name. ..