Hello from circular Kerbol orbit!

[Stez]

Hello fellow Kerbonauts, I've been playing the demo since it popped up on Steam and plan on buying the full game soon.

Meanwhile I thought I'd share a bit of my adventure (even though I failed to realize Printscreen wasn't the screenshot button for about...say...six launches).

So, before starting my fledgeling space program I did the responsible thing and looked online for some tutorials--shoutout to Scott Manley and pebble garden for their amazing videos!

Afterward I did the totally irresponsible thing and decided I could do better on my own. My first launch went well, and I reached orbit without anything blowing itself up or crashing into the surface; Jeb was a happy camper that day.

Then I got cocky.

I decided I would go straight for the Mun and, thanks to some luck and a high school physics education a few years removed, I managed to get there! That's right, on my second ever mission the Alice I made its way all the way to the Mun, then promptly crashed into the surface. Which is a bit of a good thing, 'cause poor Jeb didn't even have enough fuel to land let alone get back in one piece.

With Alice I's sucfailcess, I moved on to build the Alice II, the first spacecraft ever to time-accelerate itself directly into a collision with the Mun. But at least I had enough fuel! So I decided to call that a trial-run and tried again.

Luckily, I figured out how to take screenshots just in time to catch the real Alice II's landing on the Mun! With enough fuel to get back this time...or so I thought.

See? Plenty of fuel!

Bill Kerman takes his historic first steps on the Mun.

Once I'd done my exploring of the surrounding seven or eight meters, it was time to go home. Sort of. It hit me mid-flight that I was forgetting something important, something thrust-to-weight-like...

So, a few empty fuel tanks and a completely under-shot delta-v goal later, Bill Kerman not only had the distinction of being the first Kerbal on the Mun, he also managed to be the first Kerbal to orbit the Sun in the same flight! He's still there, y'know, in a 12 million km circular orbit. I wondered if I should attempt a rescue, but then realized I still had failed to get to the Mun and back. To the VAB!

The Alice III, a much simpler design.

This time I did manage to make it there and back, although I had some issues with plane corrections and almost didn't have enough fuel for the voyage home. Also, like the dingus I am, I relapsed into thinking printscreen was the screenshot key, so no shots of my historic achievement in luckology. I wonder if Bill saw the flight...

[Pursuedtank]

Nice one! Congratulations on your first landing even if you didn't bring him home. Then on your second flight where you got him there and back.

[Tw1]

Good luck recovering Bill! You'll need a lot of delta v. Maybe you'll have to wait a long time....

[sal_vager]

Welcome to the community Stez

I like your craft! It's rare to see another player who knows to build small, most beginner ships are monstrous!

Have fun experimenting with small craft design, and fly safe

[Stez]

Thanks!

I can't take full credit, though. I essentially copied Scott Manley's demo Mun rocket, but improved on it a bit so that I'd have enough fuel to give myself a reasonable margin of error. Turns out those modifications saved my butt once i realized i needed a plane change to get back to Kerbin!

[Malakai030]

Greetings, Stez!

I like your design too, an "only-what-you-really-need-solution", pretty good.

And congrats for your first Mun landing! I'm sure everyone here knows how hard this was and how proud you feel

It's rare to see another player who knows to build small, most beginner ships are monstrous!

Funny to hear that, my first Mun lander was a nearly 200tons beast carrying a rover, I guess I shoud think over some designs

[Capt'n Skunky]

Happy Launching!

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

KSP Community Manager

[Ruedii]

I've sent a good number of kerbal Mun landers into solar orbit. I think we all have.