Ladder Troll Physics

[MaxL_1023]

Hello,

When a Kerbal climbs a ladder and runs into any obstacle (like a lander can sticking out 20cm from the ladder) climbing into the blockage will cause the entire ship to rotate about its center of mass, including the Kerbal which should be pushed the other way as opposed to turning with it. 

Basically, a ladder can be used as a torque source by having a Kerbal climbing on it. 

Is this known?

I am using RSS/RP-0 if it makes a difference. 

[Stargate525]

2 hours ago, MaxL_1023 said:

Hello,

When a Kerbal climbs a ladder and runs into any obstacle (like a lander can sticking out 20cm from the ladder) climbing into the blockage will cause the entire ship to rotate about its center of mass, including the Kerbal which should be pushed the other way as opposed to turning with it. 

Basically, a ladder can be used as a torque source by having a Kerbal climbing on it. 

Is this known?

I am using RSS/RP-0 if it makes a difference. 

Yes it is. It's not torque; it's a force. If you design it right, you can build a 'spaceship' that a kerbal can literally CLIMB to orbit with.

[Chemp]

9 hours ago, MaxL_1023 said:

Is this known?

Or you can do that: Bill pedals around Kerbin. In fact, there's even a challenge from @Geschosskopf that takes advantage of this glitch feature.

[MaxL_1023]

Ok, thanks guys. I flipped a couple landers and was wondering what was up. 

[swjr-swis]

23 hours ago, MaxL_1023 said:

Basically, a ladder can be used as a torque source by having a Kerbal climbing on it. 

Is this known?

The KSP Ladder-Drive, the most fuel-efficient engine in the game, driving Kerbal expansion over the solar system since v0.18. A video showing it in action:

 

[MaxL_1023]

If I was better at that kind of engineering I would try and use it to get into orbit.