How do you use/play the Kethane mod?

[lyndonguitar]

I'm asking this because I had just installed the mod and I am not finding any reasons to start mining operations on the mun. Because If I needed fuel I can just launch tanks from Kerbin.

So tell me guys how do you play kethane? Do you roleplay pretending to sell these resources back on Kerbin? Do you restrict yourself into only using kethane converted fuel once you set up a decent mining colony? Do you have some sort of other mods that makes it interesting to mine kethane? or what?

Please give me a reason I really wanna do some mining

also: how do I place the kethane drilling unit? I can't seem to attach it almost anywhere

Edited May 13, 2013 by lyndonguitar

[warmadmax]

regarding the drill,it has problems with clipping,

if you enable clipping parts in the debug menu you'll be able to add them.

if you have a watch of scott manley's reusable space program, you'll see a reason to keth mine,

basically it costs less parts to mine and fuel in a low gravity moon and get to orbit than it is to launch from kerbin.

[lyndonguitar]

Nice suggestion, I have a similar idea, If for example I wanna get a mission to duna or any other planet, ofcourse I would need alot of delta-v just to get out of kerbin, So I just launch from kerbin with a small ship, with just enough delta-v to get to mun, but not for duna, then proceed refuel it at the mun station(with fuel from kethane) To easily get extra delta-v

with more delta-v, I can head straight to other planets, seems like a nice method.

Any more suggestions?

[Loocas]

Well, that's the only way I play kethane. It's easier and faster to simply send a refueling craft to Mun's orbit than to get it out of Kerbin and into Mun's orbit.

[maltesh]

Nice suggestion, I have a similar idea, If for example I wanna get a mission to duna or any other planet, ofcourse I would need alot of delta-v just to get out of kerbin, So I just launch from kerbin with a small ship, with just enough delta-v to get to mun, but not for duna, then proceed refuel it at the mun station(with fuel from kethane) To easily get extra delta-v

with more delta-v, I can head straight to other planets, seems like a nice method.

Any more suggestions?

If your spacecraft has enough delta-V to get itself into a circular orbit around the Mun, it has enough delta-V to reach Duna if you depart during a launch window. Duna-intercept-course from LKO is about 200 m/s more delta-V than a Mun-intercept course.

As far as what I'm doing with Kethane, I've set up mining stations over the Mun and Minmus, but they've been basically just practice: Learning how to deal with mining and transporting Kethane, and getting it into orbit.

The real targets are places like Ike, Pol, Bop, Dres, and Eeloo, where shipping fuel to a station from Kerbin will take months or years.

[OgreMagi]

I have tried to play kerbal much like a real space program, I.E. you cant launch a rocket every time you run out of monopropellant. granted you can launch a resupply mission from kerbin but to explore and move on it is much cheaper to mine fuel in space. ( hopefully there will be a minning mod to allow you to build something on other planets)

My program is based on a permant presence on the MUN, Munar orbital station ( mainly science and hitchhiker pods with some fuel, mono, kethane) with manned/robot landers that carry half fuel and half kethane and processors that land, mine, and fill their tanks then orbit the Mun.

the tankers, nuke rockets, launched with just enough fuel to get to the Mun ( the kethane mod gave me the idea that I can launch larger volume payloads if I simply don't fill all the tanks on the rocket)

then transfer to the mun, Orbit and have the fueler/miner meet them, fill them up and make a return to kerbin making several aerobraking orbits to save fuel.

when they get low on fuel ( I leave enough to transfer and brake to orbit at the Mun) I send them back.

current fleet.

I have 3 miner/processors ( went thought a few designs) all can be robotically piloted or manned. so I can send them anywhere to explore when needed.

a single mun orbting space station, just a few pods and hitchhiker containers.

and 4 refuelers , 2 with twin Lvn motors which act as tugs for the other 2 fuel pods that mount smaller rockets to make rendezvous with other ships, when they transfer the std rocket fuel pods dock to the rear of the LVN equipped ones. I use aerobraking to save a lot of fuel when I return to kerbin and they don't weigh much when they are empty so the fuel to move them between kerbin and the mun is much less.

I have sent a few mission out so far and I plan to have kethane mining every where I can. Just seems simpler to have it with you so you can refuel those craft to make exploring fun.

[psyper]

I have a large fuel depot in LKO and a kethane mining operation on minmus. Whenever a launch a mission to anywhere - duna, moho etc I bring up the parts and the fuel tanks empty and then construct the ship in orbit or docked with the fuel depot - fuel up and then leave. It saves having to lift the parts off of kerbin along with the fuel.

If it seems like a hassle then you could argue that it would be easier to edit the persistant file and add the fuel in yourself. I'm trying to be more realistic - if we ever IRL get a permanent presence in space we will need to not have to rely on Earth to bring the supplies up - if we can mine H3 from the moon, water & iron from asteroid etc that would be more cost effective in the long run. Same with kerbal - if I can supply resources without having to ship it from kerbin then all the better.

Long term I'm thinking of exploring Laythe - if I need more fuel for the excursions it'll be better to source it more locally than to lift it from kerbin and then take the year or so long route of shipping it out to the jool system. If I can manufacture it from one of the moons then all the better.

Medium planes is a mining operation on ike - I already have the equipment on-route - any future missions will only need the Delta-v to get to ike and the fuel needed to land and take off from duna will be supplied by the mining operation.

Also building mining outposts are cool: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/67411-just-wanted-to-show-off-my-minmus-mining-base