Kerpollo - A Complete Science Mode Run In 9 Acts

[noname_hero]

Okay, I'll go the spoilers route for some of the images.

For Joolpollo, I sent the mothership to Jool, even grabbed some (useless, given my full tech tree) science from Jool's atmosphere, then to Laythe, then worked my way out of the gravity well. I'll try to check what needs posting, though, because I did a few shenanigans with fuel, like emptying my return-to-Kerbin lander to fuel my ISRU-equipped lander around Tylo or Vall, then refueled from Bop and Pol, and I've often launched the lander from a moon with more LF than oxidizer to transfer that fuel to the mothership. And I've hauled two scansats all the way there to realize Communotrons can't relay, so those scansats became simply orbital junk...

[BeanThruster]

@5thHorseman

I’m reposting my previous entry, which probably has gone unnoticed 

On 1/23/2020 at 4:11 PM, BeanThruster said:

Now, here is my Mohollo

 

https://imgur.com/a/ALB20Nq

and my last  mission report, Dunpollo

https://imgur.com/a/KwL7GDc
 

Two more to go, then. The toughest ones. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going

[Superfluous J]

4 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

I’m reposting my previous entry, which probably has gone unnoticed 

Oops sorry! I'll try to get to it in the morning.

[Superfluous J]

On 1/23/2020 at 10:11 AM, BeanThruster said:

Now, here is my Mohollo

Sorry about missing this!

(Psst a pilot can collect science too you know. All they can't do is reset goo and jr experiments)

 

11 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

and my last  mission report, Dunpollo

Very well done! Glad the "passive sepratrons" (I'm going to steal that name) worked for you.

In my experience the best reason to do what you did to return home is because Ike is where it was when you wanted to return home. It's better to hit the return window closer, and both directly leaving Ike as it's passing on the prograde side is just as good as leaving Ike backwards as it's heading retrograde to eject at Duna like you did.

[BeanThruster]

7 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Sorry about missing this!

It’s ok, I guess tending this thread (for so long time) is a demanding task, and it's safe to say that I should thank you for your effort regardless how prompt your response is. I hope you don’t mind if I discretely remind you a pending report, when it become apparent to me that you missed it.

 

7 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

(Psst a pilot can collect science too you know. All they can't do is reset goo and jr experiments)

I KNOW THAT! It is completely spoiling he pathos in Bob's mission. I had this epiphany “hey, wait a min, also a pilot can collect science” just after the submission on the forum, while checking the album. I don’t know why I forgot about this, maybe because of my habit of (over)roleplaying the missions, or just because I always play the game late at night. 

7 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

(I'm going to steal that name) 

Please, help yourself

7 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

In my experience the best reason to do what you did to return home is because Ike is where it was when you wanted to return home. It's better to hit the return window closer, and both directly leaving Ike as it's passing on the prograde side is just as good as leaving Ike backwards as it's heading retrograde to eject at Duna like you did.

Yes, that was my first thought, too. And considering how short Ike’s orbital period is, the two approaches would be almost equivalent in all respects. 

But then considering the thing in the light of the Oberth effect, when burning directly from Ike (or, generally speaking, from a satellite), the highest velocity your vessel may have in the frame of reference of Duna (of the parent planet) before the burn is the orbital velocity of the satellite plus the orbital velocity of the vessel, that in my case was  300 + 350 = 650 m/s. In the way I did, the burn is split into two parts. The first one is done at a not-so-efficient condition, while the second burn is carried out at the Duna periapsis, where the velocity is much higher (almost 1300 m/s), and this *should* be very efficient. So, I dunno...

Anyway, I've got a few questions about the challenge

1)      My next two missions, if properly run, could be a valid entry for other challenges in this forum. Would it violate any forum/etiquette rule, or be otherwise unfair if I submit the same mission to different challenges?

2)      A more technical question about ISRU and asteroids. I’ve read through the rules, and I found no item explicitly forbidding to harvest an asteroid for fuel. This basically would open to the possibility to leave Kerbin SOI with huge -albeit lightweight- ships, which could get the fuel needed for the mission from an asteroid in Kerbol orbit. Although this opportunity is not completely unrealistic (just google “getting fuel from an asteroid” and see the results, the bare fuel vs equipment weight efficiency could introduce an unbalance in the challenge (who would ever bother with complex gravitational assists to save some fuel, when you can have fuel for free?).

Anyway, you are the OP, and yours is the last word about that.

3)      General rule #3 in the OP reads:

On 12/30/2018 at 10:22 AM, 5thHorseman said:

These missions must consist of one single launch from the launch pad

Does this imply that launches from the runway – particularly, spaceplane takeoffs- are not allowed?

Edited January 29, 2020 by BeanThruster

[cantab]

1 hour ago, BeanThruster said:

Does this imply that launches from the runway – particularly, spaceplane takeoffs- are not allowed?

They blooming well better be! I'm not reflying the whole dang Drespollo mission because it launched from the runway.

Because yes, it's been a while but I've not forgotten about this. Diablos has completed the Drespollo mission. Inspired by Final Fantasy VIII's gravity-elemental summon, I was constrained a bit by the almost complete lack of black and red parts in KSP, but some lights made up for it.

The full mission album starts here:: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52548818@N05/49460439703/in/album-72157711410945967/

(And sorry if Flickr ads are annoying. They seem to show a lot more than they used to and I might look for a different image host. Imgur was a nightmare for organisation last time I tried it though.)

Some discussion of the craft and mission. (Sorry, this is duplicated inside the spoiler, and I now cannot seem to edit the post to remove it from that spoiler)

Based on the inspiration, I wanted a winged spaceplane for this, and something with straight or swept wings rather than a delta. I tried using the Mk2 parts but couldn't seem to get enough fuel, so switched to the black-and-orange Soyuz parts instead. The Soyuz side boosters also give a "claw" look to the drop tanks.

Four Kerbals are accommodated in the Gemini pod and a crew cabin. Sadly the cabin windows had to be covered up by the fairing, which also holds the science equipment. The hatch on the end of the crew cabin lets Bob EVA into the "unpressurised section" inside the fairing to service the experiments.

I did most of my aerodynamic testing with Panthers on the wingtip nacelles. These don't actually hold any fuel, the tanks are empty, they're just there to put the wheels somewhere. I took the Panthers off the final version to save weight once it became obvious an SSTO wasn't happening - it could barely even get get supersonic.

I put dihedral on the tail for roll stability. With a flat tailplane it was obnoxiously unstable but I didn't want to change the gull-wing geometry. That's chosen to provide space for drop tanks and boosters under the wings and also support the wheels at the wingtips. The angled tailplane sorted the problem out, plus it looks cool.

Having gone for a 1.9 metre fuselage meant no payload bay, so everything would have to be carried on the outside. It's at this point I opted to land the spaceplane and make the orbiter basically a glorified fuel tank holding the fuel for the Dres departure burn, rather than build a separate lander. The "Orbital support vehicle" is in two parts, with the command pod and most of the avionics carried under the starboard wing while more fuel is under the port wing. Once at Dres the two parts get decoupled and joined together. Then it was just a case of strapping on enough boosters to make LKO. The boosters ended up bulkier than I'd hoped, but needs must. They did the job.

I never learn not to build low TWR ships. I. Never. Learn. With the drop tanks full it's a lot for a single Cheetah to push. 0.1 TWR, fun fun fun. Cue the TV reruns while I babysit the ejection burns.

I went for a low-inclination orbit to avoid problems with the return transfer so I missed the poles, but got orbital science from all the other biomes. (Yes, I'm still using the biome view cheat for this.) For touchdown it has 8 cubs more-or-less under the centre of mass, gimbals locked of course, and 8 Vernors at the extremities for balance. I probably could have done it with only Vernors in hindsight, but real engines are nice to have. Like an idiot, I took hardly any screenshots of surface operations. I explored around a bit, looked at a couple of surface features (but obviously took no science from them), and managed not to fall in the canyon.

Since I'd come in something with rockets and wheels, I did try emulating Evel Knievel.. It didn't really work. Without a ramp, I was ending up off the ground well before I reached the speed needed to cross the canyon - at that point it doesn't really count as a jump IMHO. This was all reverted of course.

Not for the first time in my Kerpollo challenge Kerbin re-entry was dicey. Diablos does not like to re-enter empty, the centre of mass is too far forward and there's no Vernors to help with control. It survived it during a (reverted) shakedown run to Mun and back at the fastest re-entry I could manage, but my first attempt at a Dres return hit Kerbin's atmosphere even faster. So I had to opt for a later Dres-Kerbin transfer with lower ejection delta-V requirements and lower atmospheric re-entry speed. And I still blew up two nosecones and the tail bumper wheel. I had considered Starship-style fins, but dropped them because I wasn't sure the wimpy hinges I have would cope; with hindsight such fins could have helped a lot.

Overall for Drespollo, the design process took quite a long time. Maybe I'm just bad at it, but I find planes a lot harder than pure rockets. But once I had an airframe I was happy with, the rest came together relatively easily. Having a decent range of parts means I've really put the troubles of the early missions behind me. But I do need to test more thoroughly. The fuel transfer bug and the re-entry speed caught me out.

 

Required screenshots I'll post here.

 

Tech for Drespollo by cantab314, on Flickr

Diablos standing by for launch by cantab314, on Flickr

Periapsis kicking. by cantab314, on Flickr

Releasing the orbital support vehicle by cantab314, on Flickr

Landed! by cantab314, on Flickr

Boop by cantab314, on Flickr

Home Sweet Home by cantab314, on Flickr

Some discussion of the craft and mission.

Based on the inspiration, I wanted a winged spaceplane for this, and something with straight or swept wings rather than a delta. I tried using the Mk2 parts but couldn't seem to get enough fuel, so switched to the black-and-orange Soyuz parts instead. The Soyuz side boosters also give a "claw" look to the drop tanks.

Four Kerbals are accommodated in the Gemini pod and a crew cabin. Sadly the cabin windows had to be covered up by the fairing, which also holds the science equipment. The hatch on the end of the crew cabin lets Bob EVA into the "unpressurised section" inside the fairing to service the experiments.

I did most of my aerodynamic testing with Panthers on the wingtip nacelles. These don't actually hold any fuel, the tanks are empty, they're just there to put the wheels somewhere. I took the Panthers off the final version to save weight once it became obvious an SSTO wasn't happening - it could barely even get get supersonic.

I put dihedral on the tail for roll stability. With a flat tailplane it was obnoxiously unstable but I didn't want to change the gull-wing geometry. That's chosen to provide space for drop tanks and boosters under the wings and also support the wheels at the wingtips. The angled tailplane sorted the problem out, plus it looks cool.

Having gone for a 1.9 metre fuselage meant no payload bay, so everything would have to be carried on the outside. It's at this point I opted to land the spaceplane and make the orbiter basically a glorified fuel tank holding the fuel for the Dres departure burn, rather than build a separate lander. The "Orbital support vehicle" is in two parts, with the command pod and most of the avionics carried under the starboard wing while more fuel is under the port wing. Once at Dres the two parts get decoupled and joined together. Then it was just a case of strapping on enough boosters to make LKO. The boosters ended up bulkier than I'd hoped, but needs must. They did the job.

I never learn not to build low TWR ships. I. Never. Learn. With the drop tanks full it's a lot for a single Cheetah to push. 0.1 TWR, fun fun fun. Cue the TV reruns while I babysit the ejection burns.

I went for a low-inclination orbit to avoid problems with the return transfer so I missed the poles, but got orbital science from all the other biomes. (Yes, I'm still using the biome view cheat for this.) For touchdown it has 8 cubs more-or-less under the centre of mass, gimbals locked of course, and 8 Vernors at the extremities for balance. I probably could have done it with only Vernors in hindsight, but real engines are nice to have. Like an idiot, I took hardly any screenshots of surface operations. I explored around a bit, looked at a couple of surface features (but obviously took no science from them), and managed not to fall in the canyon.

Since I'd come in something with rockets and wheels, I did try emulating Evel Knievel.. It didn't really work. Without a ramp, I was ending up off the ground well before I reached the speed needed to cross the canyon - at that point it doesn't really count as a jump IMHO. This was all reverted of course.

Not for the first time in my Kerpollo challenge Kerbin re-entry was dicey. Diablos does not like to re-enter empty, the centre of mass is too far forward and there's no Vernors to help with control. It survived it during a (reverted) shakedown run to Mun and back at the fastest re-entry I could manage, but my first attempt at a Dres return hit Kerbin's atmosphere even faster. So I had to opt for a later Dres-Kerbin transfer with lower ejection delta-V requirements and lower atmospheric re-entry speed. And I still blew up two nosecones and the tail bumper wheel. I had considered Starship-style fins, but dropped them because I wasn't sure the wimpy hinges I have would cope; with hindsight such fins could have helped a lot.

Overall for Drespollo, the design process took quite a long time. Maybe I'm just bad at it, but I find planes a lot harder than pure rockets. But once I had an airframe I was happy with, the rest came together relatively easily. Having a decent range of parts means I've really put the troubles of the early missions behind me. But I do need to test more thoroughly. The fuel transfer bug and the re-entry speed caught me out.

Edited January 29, 2020 by cantab

[Superfluous J]

3 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

I hope you don’t mind if I discretely remind you a pending report, when it become apparent to me that you missed it.

Not in the least. I prefer it actually

3 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

1)      My next two missions, if properly run, could be a valid entry for other challenges in this forum. Would it violate any forum/etiquette rule, or be otherwise unfair if I submit the same mission to different challenges?

I'm not one to answer general etiquette questions but I've done it and have seen others do it and no one has complained. My Kerpollo Jool 5 also won me the Jool 5 challenge.

3 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

I’ve read through the rules, and I found no item explicitly forbidding to harvest an asteroid for fue

I see no reason to ban using them for fuel. It's a lot of work for the benefit so in my book that fuel is not free by any means.

3 hours ago, BeanThruster said:

Does this imply that launches from the runway – particularly, spaceplane takeoffs- are not allowed?

It does but it should not. I'll edit it at the first opportunity but for now rest assured that the runway is fine.

@cantab I'll score you when I can I'm on mobile right now so it's a huge pain.

Edited January 29, 2020 by 5thHorseman

[cantab]

Any rules against clipping? I don't like doing it, but I have a design concept that wants it. (Specifically, five Kickbacks clipped into one.)

[Superfluous J]

24 minutes ago, cantab said:

Any rules against clipping? I don't like doing it, but I have a design concept that wants it. (Specifically, five Kickbacks clipped into one.)

I have no personal problem with clipping, as rockets are all about mass not physical size (except in atmosphere which I assume you're doing). But they make me all squeegy.

Is it to look cool or to get through the atmosphere?

[Superfluous J]

@cantab I finally got through Drespollo. Awesome ship but yeah, I could never stand such a low TWR. I'll go under 1 but not by much. Were those Periapsis kicks done in atmo? That looks like shock heating on the craft there.

In any case, check that bad boy off

[cantab]

Welll ... it's to look cool (or, arguably, absurd) getting through the atmosphere. I'll try and avoid doing it though. My preliminary tests indicate the design needs loads of work anyway.

And not shock heating, though that would have been suitably awesome. It's actually just moody red lighting.

[BeanThruster]

 @5thHorseman

It took me some time but here is my new entry, Evepollo

https://imgur.com/a/PuqBT39

eight down, one to go. Jool, we'll have you soon

[Superfluous J]

On 2/25/2020 at 11:23 AM, BeanThruster said:

It took me some time but here is my new entry, Evepollo

Well done! That rocket was mighty pretty on the pad, too. I like me a rocket looking rocket.

[cantab]

Though it wasn't used for the final touchdown, I still chuckled at seeing a Rhino-powered Gilly lander!

You're also a braver man than me landing in a lander can. After I killed Kerbals doing that I insist on real pods/cockpits for my Kerbin landings.

[BeanThruster]

22 hours ago, cantab said:

Though it wasn't used for the final touchdown, I still chuckled at seeing a Rhino-powered Gilly lander!

I admit the lander may look somewhat unconventional, but I wanted the Rhino for the final burn to Eve, so I took it down o Gilly and back.

22 hours ago, cantab said:

You're also a braver man than me landing in a lander can. After I killed Kerbals doing that I insist on real pods/cockpits for my Kerbin landings.

I had 600 m/s to slow down the vehicle before hitting the atmosphere, so the reentry was not that harsh. @5thHorseman was much braver than me, he landed on Kerbin on a lander can without any heatshield (and he didn't even have fuel to burn)

On 1/17/2019 at 12:46 PM, 5thHorseman said:

Evepollo, at over 15 minutes, is more video than the first 5 missions (in three sub-5-minute videos) put together. It probably took that much more real-life time as well

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

[Superfluous J]

35 minutes ago, BeanThruster said:

@5thHorseman was much braver than me, he landed on Kerbin on a lander can without any heatshield (and he didn't even have fuel to burn)

That wasn't so much by choice as necessity, and I had a heat shield. It was just a fuel tank before it became a heat shield

[Grogs]

@Superfluous J, are you taking submissions for this challenge? Now that I've (mostly) figured out the science system I'd like to put together an attempt. I'd be doing normal (no changes) science mode on Making History 1.9.1.

Mods:

o ForScience - I'll try to remember to turn it off during liftoff and reentry

o Docking Port Alignment Indicator - I doubt I'll need to use it for kerbed vessels

o Kerbal Alarm Clock

o MechJeb2 - I plan to fly everything manually and just use this for information and maneuver planning

[Superfluous J]

3 hours ago, Grogs said:

@Superfluous J, are you taking submissions for this challenge?

Yep! This is an open ended challenge that I have no plans on closing. Submit away! Your restrictions sound fine, similar to my own.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Grogs]

 

11 hours ago, Superfluous J said:

Yep! This is an open ended challenge that I have no plans on closing. Submit away! Your restrictions sound fine, similar to my own.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Thanks. In that case, here are my submissions for Kerpollo and Munpollo. Sorry, no fancy videos, but I did take screenshots like I was on vacation!

 

Kerpollo:

Spoiler

Starting settings

I used some "Prepollo" capsules to gather enough science for the thermostat, barometer, and materials bay. Rolled like a square wheel, but got the job done.

 

Here's the tech tree before the first real flight. The second and third tiers are finished, plus Basic Science in tier 4. All of the early science instruments are now available.

 

Kerpollo II uses just the small "Hammer" boosters on the bottom and all liquid-fueled engines on the top stages. The initial stage is 4 Hammer SRBs to get started, then they drop and the 4 swivel engines mounted on the sides fire. A Reliant engine in the center finishes the orbit, allows for any orbital changes, and then de-orbits.

Science instruments: Mystery Goo, thermometer, barometer, and materials bay.

I decided scientist Bob could fly this one by himself since it's just a simple orbital flight. That way he can reset the Mystery Goo and Materials Bay as needed.

 

Initial polar orbit is secured. Bob was able to fly up and get some high in space science. Then he came back down and spent a few orbits on EVA collecting reports. He also dipped briefly into the upper atmosphere for some "flying high over Kerbin" science.

 

After firing the deorbital burn, Bob realized that Bill and the rest of the engineers had screwed him. If he separates the capsule he'll lose the materials bay and won't be able to take readings under parachute or on the ground. What to do?  Maybe just try to land the entire upper stage?

 

It worked! Bob and the materials bay made it safely back to Kerbin, landing on the southern ice shelf. The ship came down a bit fast because the parachute wasn't meant to carry that much weight. Luckily, Bob had an engine to slow things down. Bill would later claim this design was intentional and, in fact, the decision to put an engine on the re-entry vessel had probably saved Bob's life. I'll just say now that I wouldn't want to be sharing a capsule with Bob and Bill when they fly the planned Dunpollo mission later.

 

The initial Kerpollo mission earned 364 science.

 

Munpollo:

Spoiler

The new science finished all of the tier 4 techs, plus stuff for bigger engines and fuel tanks, and fuel ducts. I (intentionally?) avoided miniaturization, so no docking ports yet.

 

Here's the Munpollo vessel. Eight "Thumper" SRBs start the craft, then the four swivels on radially mounted tanks and the Bobcat in the center fire. The Swivels and radial tanks are asparagused and drop off 2 at a time, leaving only the center Bobcat. The Bobcat and center tank should have enough dV to put the lander in a polar orbit of the Mun. The lower tanks are the new and bigger FL-TX900 1.875-m tanks.

I used two capsules so that I could take a scientist and a pilot on the mission. I put the pilot (Jeb) up top and included a decoupler in between the two capsules in case they weren't stable together on re-entry.

Science instruments: Goo, thermometer, barometer, materials bay.

 

Jeb flew the craft to a polar orbit around the Mun, then Bob went EVA and collected science for several orbits.

 

Jeb performed a picture-perfect landing that would have made Neil Kermstrong proud, gently touching down at ~ 0.5 m/s. And then promptly rolled over. Doh! I probably could have managed to get that off the ground, but it would have been mighty embarrassing to Jeb and Bob in the publicity photo. Let's call this one a "practice run" and try again.

 

Take two (or maybe take five? I'm not telling!) Jeb finally got the lander down and kept it upright. Welcome to the Mun boys.

 

Safely back on Kerbin. The re-entry was stable, and both capsules landed together.

 

Bob and Jeb brought back 1,082 science for that little mission. Not bad, boys!

 

I finished off the fifth tier of the science tree, then added big engines and small engines from the sixth tier. The small engines and fuel tanks will be very useful for the next mission: Minpollo!

 

Full album for both missions is here: https://imgur.com/a/sbe1zVx

[Superfluous J]

9 hours ago, Grogs said:

here are my submissions for Kerpollo and Munpollo

And well done on both counts! Keeping the engine on the way down was probably the best way to keep the materials bay even if the decoupler was under it. Those things love to blow up on re-entry. Looking forward to Minpollo and your first mission with an orbiter.

[Grogs]

On 5/27/2020 at 8:31 PM, Superfluous J said:

And well done on both counts! Keeping the engine on the way down was probably the best way to keep the materials bay even if the decoupler was under it. Those things love to blow up on re-entry. Looking forward to Minpollo and your first mission with an orbiter.

Yeah, so a funny thing happened on the way to Minimus... I started flying the mission and got all the way into Minimus orbit when I noticed I wasn't getting science reports from the materials bay. Was it a bug in ForScience? No problem, I'll just EVA Bob and reset it manually. Wait a minute! I have Jeb and Bill in the orbiter. Where the heck is Bob? It looks like Bill slipped into the right seat and took Bob's spot when I wasn't looking. That's two missions now where that guy has caused trouble. I sure hope he doesn't "accidentally" get left somewhere on a future mission. Like Eve. Fortunately, I had the original revert save and I relaunched the mission with the proper crew. 

After the reboot Minpollo was a great success, pulling in 1270 science for the program. All but three of the 160-point techs are now researched. It feels like I should be farther along, but it looks like that's about where most people were at this point. Next flight will be Drespollo! Hopefully the KNSA (Kerbal National Security Administration) doesn't censor my report when I prove that it really does doesn't exist.

 

Mission Summary:

Spoiler

 

Starting tech tree

 

Minpollo craft on the launch pad. It had to be maneuvered carefully to keep the pointy end upward and the engines were a bit undersized, but Jeb managed to get it into orbit with a whopping 26 m/s of dV left in the lifting stage.

 

On the way to Minimus, the crew sets up one of those crazy capture/inclination change maneuvers to come into a low polar orbit.

 

Arriving at Minimus Pe and preparing for the final circularization burn that put the craft into a 15x15 polar orbit.

 

Bob drifted off on his own for several orbits collecting EVA reports and got a bit too relaxed. Don't go into the light, Bob!

 

Despite having no comms or pilot, Bob was able to land safely and plant the flag.

 

Bill had said the moon was made of ice cream. Bob was steamed when he found out the truth.

 

Bob did all of the return piloting while Jeb caught up on his sleep. Who needs maneuver nodes for a rendezvous? Not Bob! Score one for the scientists.

 

Safely back down in the desert, Bob collects the last of the science. Sure looks hot out there. I hope the recovery team comes soon.

 

Final mission report. 1270 science collected.

 

Final tech tree. All of the 160-point techs are complete except the ones for airplane parts and the claw.

 

 

Full album is here: https://imgur.com/a/bn1PLWn

[Jacke]

5 hours ago, Grogs said:

No problem, I'll just EVA Bob and reset it manually. Wait a minute! I have Jeb and Bill in the orbiter. Where the heck is Bob? It looks like Bill slipped into the right seat and took Bob's spot when I wasn't looking. That's two missions now where that guy has caused trouble. I sure hope he doesn't "accidentally" get left somewhere on a future mission. Like Eve.

Besides "CHECK YOUR STAGING!", there's also "CHECK YOUR CREW!"

[Superfluous J]

On 5/29/2020 at 9:28 AM, Grogs said:

I sure hope he doesn't "accidentally" get left somewhere on a future mission. Like Eve. Fortunately, I had the original revert save and I relaunched the mission with the proper crew. 

Reminds me of the time Jeb hopped in the pilot chair of a 1-seat ship that was specifically launched to return someone home from Mun. I had respawn on, so I made him hop out about 10km up (which is when I realized it) so he'd fall off and die. He held on for a few seconds.

I didn't feel bad at all.

Quote

After the reboot Minpollo was a great success, pulling in 1270 science for the program. All but three of the 160-point techs are now researched. It feels like I should be farther along, but it looks like that's about where most people were at this point. Next flight will be Drespollo! Hopefully the KNSA (Kerbal National Security Administration) doesn't censor my report when I prove that it really does doesn't exist.

Don't forget to       for success. Also I just checked my own Minpollo report and you have the exact same number of nodes that I do, though I chose different ones on that highest tier. I opted for the Claw and not for... something else. I don't know all the nodes by heart

Edited May 30, 2020 by Superfluous J

[Jacke]

1 hour ago, Superfluous J said:

Reminds me of the time Jeb hopped in the pilot chair of a 1-seat ship that was specifically launched to return someone home from Mun. I had respawn on, so I made him hop out about 10km up (which is when I realized it) so he'd fall off and die. He held on for a few seconds.

Just because Jeb learned a few tricks from Captain Scarlet doesn't change it being painful.

I take it this was before stock Kerbal parachutes, otherwise Jeb could have done a return-to-launchsite.

[Grogs]

19 hours ago, Superfluous J said:

Reminds me of the time Jeb hopped in the pilot chair of a 1-seat ship that was specifically launched to return someone home from Mun. I had respawn on, so I made him hop out about 10km up (which is when I realized it) so he'd fall off and die. He held on for a few seconds.

I didn't feel bad at all.

 

On 5/29/2020 at 3:14 PM, Jacke said:

Besides "CHECK YOUR STAGING!", there's also "CHECK YOUR CREW!"

 

That Bill guy is sneaky. I think he puts on Bob's uniform and heads to the launchpad with the visor down like Clint Eastwood in that old movie Firefox. He was at it again on the latest mission, but fortunately I caught it before launch. I know I set the crew beforehand, but it must be that when I go back and make changes it reverts to the default crew again. Anyway, I'm told he has declined an offer to join the ground crew for the upcoming Eve mission due to rumors it would be a one-way trip.

Speaking of the next mission, it's finished and it was a great success. I just have to put the Imgur album together, which sometimes takes longer than actually doing the mission.