[0.16]/[0.17] Giant Starship

[blackout11c]

This challenge involves making a giant starship, getting it into orbit around Kerbol, and then getting it back to a 140 km Kerbin orbit. Have fun exploding. And don't forget to post pictures.

ALSO can have [0.17] ships as well.

THE RULES -

1.It can be launched like a normal rocket or deployed in orbit using Orbital Construction

2.It can only use the following mods -

-Stock

-Mechjeb

-Orbital Construction

-That crewtank thingy

-Space Stations

-DSM Pack

-I am thinking of making some mods, so any by me as well

You must -

1. Build you starship

2. Escape Kerbin's Gravity

3. Reach Kerbol

4. Do at least one orbit of Kerbol

5. Return to Kerbin

6. Establish safe orbit around Kerbin

Scoring -

5 points for actually taking up the challenge

10 for non-exploding parts at any stage

10 for hitting 30000 m/s

50 for actually getting the thing off of Kerbin (no orbital construction)

10 for getting past Minimus

20 for getting within 10 km of Minimus on the way past

30 for a stable orbit around Kerbol

20 for getting stranded at this point

40 for getting back to Kerbin

1 for crashing into Kerbin

50 for getting back into stable Kerbin orbit

Enjoy.

Rankings

1 - 216 points, Flaming Stick 2, Jason Patterson

2 -

3 -

4 -

5 -

6 -

7 -

8 -

9 -

10 -

P.S. It can be as many stages as you like -

It just needs to look cool

Edited September 29, 2012 by blackout11c

[spl1nt]

so escape and then burn retro and land again??

[blackout11c]

see the revised main post

[1of6Billion]

no points for size/weight?

[eppiox]

I can't even do this without the restrictions xD

[Colderjake1524]

[blackout11c]

Very nice.

[Markus Reese]

In progress as we speak, work load keeping me busy so kerbaldarn it. Is looking wild though, came up with a new and stylish booster design I like superspaceships, I havent built one since a Tim Barrett challenge.

HEY TIM! If you see this challenge, give us other guys a chance first before posting you extreme machines ^.^

[NetBlitzer]

Well, once I get my new computer I'll definitely try it! I've been... planning a few spacecraft over the past couple of weeks...

Might I suggest giving more points for actually taking off of Kerbin?

And also, losing points for no explosions? Really?

[ElwoodBlues]

Hmm I just might have to take up this challenge.. I have a rocket I've been working on.. but not sure it's quite big enough.. It's got about 300 FL-T32 tanks, 50 or so LV-T30 Motors.. & about 100 RT-B20 SRB's & more bailing wire than the whole state of Texas.. Will that work for this challenge?

Have been having a problem with it though.. Engines.. or Engines attached to 1 T32 fuel tank just falling off in mid flight.. Not during warp.. and the engines weren't even on an active stage at the time.. not a ton of stress on them either.. going at about 350m/s.. Any ideas of the cause..? What can be done.. any workaround?

[blackout11c]

It just needs to comply with the rules. There is no limit to size. At all.

[blackout11c]

The points have now changed. Slightly...

[Jason Patterson]

I took up the challenge with Flaming Stick 2, a 14 stage rocket using only stock parts that I, at least, think looks cool, in a very this-thing-was-built-in-my-garage-by-me-and-my-toothless-brother-in-law kind of way. It was piloted by brave captain Dangel Kerbin, who ultimately did not survive the trip.

After launching into orbit around Kerbin, Dangel went on his way, flying past Minmus as he left my home world.

Using the close pass of Kerbin as a gravity slingshot, Dangel boosted into orbit around Kerbol and arranged for a close pass of the star itself, reaching speeds greater than 30 km/s!

Having realized that he forgot his sunglasses back in his car at the Vehicle Assembly Building, Dangel headed back to Kerbin.

Dangel moved the ship into a 140km orbit around his home world, flying right above the parking lot where his glasses lay.

He attempted to land at the launch site itself, but having failed to take Kerbin's rotation into account, wound up approximately 4 degrees away.

After landing safely with his parachute, Dangel then began the long trek to the Vehicle Assembly Building where he had left his sunglasses in his parked car five years earlier. He walked for most of a day to reach the building. Unfortunately, in his absence, additional security measures had been enacted, and he was killed by an electrified fence at the Vehicle Assembly Building.

I'm not entirely sure how you would score it. I'd give it at least 215 of the points. The one I'm uncertain about is non-exploding parts, I did not get stranded, and though I landed on Kerbin, it was a controlled landing rather than a crash (except for fatally walking into the VAB...)

The weirdest and most disappointing thing was that after having Dangel walk for the better part of a day, real time, to the base was that as soon as I bumped into the VAB, he disappeared and I got a message saying that he had collided with Kerbin and died. I had hoped for a nice picture of him looking for his car, which had been towed. I'm also kicking myself for not getting a screenshot of him walking. It was pretty epic.

Additionally, I'm new to the game. Can anyone tell me why I'm having so much trouble with controls once I escape Kerbin? Once I'm in Kerbol orbit the controls go to pieces; there are regions of the navball that are ridiculously difficult to reach.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Jason Patterson
Adding spoiler tags to images

[Tim_Barrett]

In progress as we speak, work load keeping me busy so kerbaldarn it. Is looking wild though, came up with a new and stylish booster design I like superspaceships, I havent built one since a Tim Barrett challenge.

HEY TIM! If you see this challenge, give us other guys a chance first before posting you extreme machines ^.^

Yea, I think I want to sit this one out and see what others make this time.

But damnit I was already cracking my knuckles and opening KSP! xD

[Jason Patterson]

I think I'm going to give this another go with a bigger ship.

[dnleek]

Additionally, I'm new to the game. Can anyone tell me why I'm having so much trouble with controls once I escape Kerbin? Once I'm in Kerbol orbit the controls go to pieces; there are regions of the navball that are ridiculously difficult to reach.

It's known around these parts as the Space Kraken! Basically, when you enter the SOI of Kerbol, your speed is measured with respect to Kerbol, making it many, many meters per second; so many that the values start to be affected by floating point errors on Unity's behalf. Some parts of your ship end up moving "faster" than others, and it imparts phantom forces to your ship. It used to be worse, the floating point errors used to affect your distance from Kerbol as well! This imparted enough force to destroy some ships. It was fixed by clamping down the altitude to a max value and adding any excess to Kerbol itself, in effect moving the universe around yourself. Version 0.17 will have a similar fix for the velocity errors, and hopefully, the Kraken will finally be banished to the depths from whence it came!

[blackout11c]

Currently, Flaming Stick 2 is winning with 216 points (see main post for scores)

[royalkingofgames]

I took up the challenge with Flaming Stick 2, a 14 stage rocket using only stock parts that I, at least, think looks cool, in a very this-thing-was-built-in-my-garage-by-me-and-my-toothless-brother-in-law kind of way. It was piloted by brave captain Dangel Kerbin, who ultimately did not survive the trip.

After launching into orbit around Kerbin, Dangel went on his way, flying past Minmus as he left my home world.

Using the close pass of Kerbin as a gravity slingshot, Dangel boosted into orbit around Kerbol and arranged for a close pass of the star itself, reaching speeds greater than 30 km/s!

Having realized that he forgot his sunglasses back in his car at the Vehicle Assembly Building, Dangel headed back to Kerbin.

Dangel moved the ship into a 140km orbit around his home world, flying right above the parking lot where his glasses lay.

He attempted to land at the launch site itself, but having failed to take Kerbin's rotation into account, wound up approximately 4 degrees away.

After landing safely with his parachute, Dangel then began the long trek to the Vehicle Assembly Building where he had left his sunglasses in his parked car five years earlier. He walked for most of a day to reach the building. Unfortunately, in his absence, additional security measures had been enacted, and he was killed by an electrified fence at the Vehicle Assembly Building.

I'm not entirely sure how you would score it. I'd give it at least 215 of the points. The one I'm uncertain about is non-exploding parts, I did not get stranded, and though I landed on Kerbin, it was a controlled landing rather than a crash (except for fatally walking into the VAB...)

The weirdest and most disappointing thing was that after having Dangel walk for the better part of a day, real time, to the base was that as soon as I bumped into the VAB, he disappeared and I got a message saying that he had collided with Kerbin and died. I had hoped for a nice picture of him looking for his car, which had been towed. I'm also kicking myself for not getting a screenshot of him walking. It was pretty epic.

Additionally, I'm new to the game. Can anyone tell me why I'm having so much trouble with controls once I escape Kerbin? Once I'm in Kerbol orbit the controls go to pieces; there are regions of the navball that are ridiculously difficult to reach.

yar ye got problems with the space kracken

the devs are hunting her out now yar

[Jason Patterson]

Thanks for the info. It's awfully strange to see the ship go from smooth controls to wild movement and reversed controls (or similar.) I'm hoping to redo this challenge with a ship that stays giant as it goes. I don't think I quite met the spirit of the challenge now that I consider it.