I Will Not Be Going To Space Today--The Aldrin 1 Disaster

[The Jedi Master]

I wanted to bring a rover to the Mun. So, I made this thing:

Bob, having helped test the HMS Jeb, with photo op, was happy to get into the rocket. He was surprising cheerful, so I launched the thing.

That was when his smile turned into a concerned frown, as realization dawned on him...

The ship got off to a slow start, but it got up. Unfortunately, I started my gravity turn late, because the size of the rocket scared me. This was my first mistake, and probably the biggest.

I set up my maneuver node at the apoapsis to get into orbit , thinking everything would be just dandy. When I got there, I quickly realized how slow getting into orbit was. But I stuck it out, hoping I could at least get a low orbit and rescue Bob later, and I did get a periapsis... inside the atmosphere. During reentry.

It was about here I realized the hopelessness of the situation, so I sat back and enjoyed the reentry.

RIP, Bob Kerman.

[thes50]

Should've put parachutes on it.

Ah well, we live and learn. Well, we live, poor old Bob didn't get that far.

[Huojin]

Should've put parachutes on it.

Ah well, we live and learn. Well, we live, poor old Bob didn't get that far.

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic Kerbal. Bob Kerman will be that Kerbal. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster.

[The Jedi Master]

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic Kerbal. Bob Kerman will be that Kerbal. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster.

And, hopefully, less wimpy.

[ROFLCopter64bit]

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic Kerbal. Bob Kerman will be that Kerbal. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster.

This will require tools outside the known universe... we will have to delve the editing depths of... THE PERSISTENCE FILE!

[Qumefox]

You just discovered a difference between KSP and reality.. In KSP, wider is actually better than longer, due to the current aerodynamic modelling (or lack there of).

It's better to add(and drop as they are expended) radial boosters/stages than it is to build a really tall rocket currently.

Now far in the future when we get better aerodynamic modelling, and wider rockets actually get punished with higher drag, that might change. but currently.. Asparagus staging is about the only way to go.

[ComradeGoat]

Will it change that much, given that we don't tend to push through the atmosphere faster than terminal velocity anyway? I just wonder if drag is ever going to make wide rockets all that inefficient, because they don't go terribly fast until the air is getting tenuous anyway. Kerbin's atmosphere peters out much faster than Earth's.

[Qumefox]

It should matter a lot.. Right now drag is calculated by each part having a fixed drag variable.. it doesn't matter where the parts are, they have the same amount of drag. When switching to a more correct model that actually calculates drag based on exposed surface area in the direction of travel, you'll find terminal velocity will end up being MUCH lower for an asparagus staged rocket than it is for a long pointy one due to all the added drag from the vastly increased surface area.

[chainedlupine]

Here's the lifter I use for a similar sort of rover:

As Qumefox said, wider is better than taller in KSP, due to how its physics works. Tall rockets are inherently unstable, unless you strut the hell out of them.

[Qumefox]

I actually wonder if they will ever implement 'correct' drag modeling.. As in your above example.. if they did, that ship would probably disintegrate fairly soon after launch due to drag.. The more I think about it, the less i'd like it. If they did, it'd make the game much more like a simulator than 'playing with legos full of rocket fuel'.. The sim buffs might love it, but It'd likely end up not being liked by the population in general.. Would be an instant end to humongous launches and ships etc..

[chainedlupine]

I hope not. I sure would miss launching giant bricks into space.

[Nobody_1707]

You could always bundle your wide ships in large aerodynamic payload fairings...

[Exal]

Why not have it so that I can turn off the correct aerodynamics. To me that would b the best of both worlds u could ah e two careers going one a more challenging one with correct aerodynamics while the other one just as a mess around type of game.

[ManaaniWanderer]

Or they could have the aerodynamic parts like nose cones and the like subtract from your drag value giving them a reason to exist and, if the took off enough nudging you towards more "real" rocket designs.

[Fredonia]

we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic kerbal. Bob kerman will be that kerbal. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR KERBAL

Ignore this, this is just so the bolded stays in caps.

[Splode]

A better drag model would be better. It'd be a lot more intuitive than the current system, and brick tickets would still work, they just wouldn't be optimal.

[rosenkranz]

Actually, if you stick to terminal velocity, launch shouldn't be too much of a bother. It's the drag losses that will cost you dV. But try to land that sucker from orbit through an atmo and it'll likely disintegrate without some sort of wind shield. That isn't even considering heat sheilding when re-entry heat is in.

[Tw1]

My asparaguses tend to have the components fairly spread, on that radial decoupler with the extended frame. I do this in hope that it will be like flying a collection of aerodynamic rockets when proper drag is implemented.

[The Jedi Master]

BOB KERMAN...

IS BACK...

WITH A VENGEANCE...

[Enzo03]

That reminds me, I dunno what's going on, but I have three Jebs from regular gameplay alone. I work carefully to keep them from encountering one another. If they did, who knows what might happen.

[Nobody_1707]

Or they could have the aerodynamic parts like nose cones and the like subtract from your drag value giving them a reason to exist and, if the took off enough nudging you towards more "real" rocket designs.

Having realistic aerodynamics does this, by definition.

[Malaugrym]

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic Kerbal. Bob Kerman will be that Kerbal. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster.

This time, include cognitive capacity.