What did you do in KSP1 today?

[BDelacroix]

Almost certainly the problem is that the bicoupler on the back is the last to drain its fuel, which does make it back-heavy on landing. You'll either need to redesign the plane so it drains sooner or manually pump it forward when you hit orbit.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I tweaked it a bit. Removed some of the intakes. Changed the top wings for a sturdier version and added elevons to them. Moved the landing gear so I could rotate before having to be flung off the end of the runway. Added some more RCS jets (was missing one DOF, making docking very painful). I added two more tail/wing structures to push the lift vector back a little more. Now, it works much better. Actually, I find I have a lot more LFO when I reach orbit now that I am getting the hang of getting a space plane to space. Perhaps enough to get to duna once I refuel at the station, but I'm not planning on trying that yet.

[Toshogu]

Cheesing the contracts system for easy science, that way I can get parts.

Currently designing and preparing a 4 communication satellite constellation. Using DRE, FAR, RS, Kethane, Remote Tech2.. set on hardcore. Chewed through 12 kerbonaughts so far most of them lost on the runway messing around with airplanes. Can't wait to get my communications constellation up so I can start sending unmanned missions.

[NecroBones]

Making parts must be addictive or something.

I'm experimenting with a new Orion-style LAS (Launch Abort System). I have the pod-shroud together, but still need to make the actual LAS unit (probably functionally similar to the stock LES, but with slightly different stats).

Image shows it attached to a command pod with a docking port and radial parachutes.

[KandoKris]

I've been sending out my 2nd set of ships to Duna in my 0.25 career save

<$200000 for all u see below

As they all traveled to orbit on my MULLET cargo SSTO

the new tug craft seems to handle the task well

[capi3101]

Got the Moneymaker 7 - a probe - into the proper orbit for the conclusion of a FinePrint contract to put it in an equatorial orbit outside the orbit of the Mun. Realized only when I didn't get credit for it that the design called for the inclusion of an antenna. I use KAS, so plans for the repair mission are already in the works...I'm thinking of hauling the Auk IV (my 0.23 K-prize entry) out of mothballs for the job. Obviously the ship will need some re-design work, but that's not a challenge I'm adverse to.

Landed a five-Kerbal Mun base module, also for a FinePrint contract. That one got credited - made some good science there.

Finally I tweaked my Sparrowhawk (the replica of Cirocco's Sparrow spaceplane) design by taking out the probe core (I don't have that tech unlocked yet - main reason for the redesign), and replacing the half-dozen Reaction Wheels with two Inline Stabilizers (same amount of SAS, fewer parts). Went ahead and added a monoprop tank and some RCS thrusters. The new design is called the Chickenhawk 7, and I've got her deployed on a Kerbal rescue mission at the moment. I'm not sure the RCS capability was worth it just yet; she didn't want to hold her attitude very well during the ascent and I imagine that had to do with the monoprop tank. I'll have to let y'all know how the rescue mission plays out.

[Spacepigu]

to kandokris:

Now that is a cargo SSTO.

How much can it carry? something like 15 TONS!

Well done!

*exaggeration was needed*

[DunaRocketeer]

I made a bunch of refinements to my rocketplane design to give me a number of efficiency gains;

- deleted the external battery and emergency parachute hardware

- changed the placement and type of air intakes so it can climb to higher altitudes before the rapiers switch modes

- made an action group for opening/closing air intakes

- substituted the centre rapier engine for a aerospike that is used only for the final climb to orbit and in-space manoeuvers

- improved wing design for lower angle of attack in horizontal flight

I love vehicle design!

Edited October 23, 2014 by DunaRocketeer

[herbal space program]

I've been working on a VTOL-capable SSTMAB (single stage to Mun and back) space plane. I'm using all stock parts except for the wing-mounted vertical rocket engines, which I think are from KW. So far, I've only been able to land and get back to a low Munar orbit, but I think I can still shave a few more units of bipropellant off of my ascent to Kerbin orbit. I'm also having some recurring problems with balance using the vertical engines at low fuel levels. It's really hard to design it so that it stays balanced the whole time without using any fuel-balancing addons ! If I ever get it fully working, I'll post it in Spacecraft Exchange and solicit others' designs with the same capabilities....

[Korkin]

Is that the Astronomer's pack?

yes, Astronomer`s pack. really makes the game look amazingly nice.

here i landed on Pol tonight. i like the views over there.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Korkin

[Slam_Jones]

Got my SSTO stable enough to land without parachutes (after achieving orbit and launching its payload), so I moved on and started orbital cruiser assembly. Got two rocket pods hooked up and a third one nearby before I had to get to bed. Once I get it ready for its voyage, I'll post some screenshots.

Edit: Almost forgot... finally landed a Kerbal on Laythe, thereby increasing my income by a rather huge amount

Edited October 23, 2014 by Slam_Jones

[michaelhester07]

I had the maiden flight of the Mk 2 Torus hull last night. Well 2 nights ago. I'm going to build one over duna soon. Turns out trying to get a strut out from KAS from a box attached to a stanford torus will most likely destroy it. I guess a Jeb boson was hiding in the box.

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PS: that torus was utterly useless: it didn't have a recycling bin, docking port, orbital construction dock, or antenna. I couldn't even satisfy the space station contract it was for. I'm going to them like: you want a station? I'll give you a space station! Then they come to me and go " it doesn't have an antenna. Impressive but no."

I also had a rover launch from a minmus base to check out anomalies. You can see the base truck in the first slide, the rover in the second.

The rover had 2 probe cores, some fuel, and a docking port in the center so I could control it properly while flying.

[Barney]

At a glance, it looks a might light on the "number of wings" department...how well did the test flights go, out of curiosity?

It handels pretty good, little slow on turning.

[numerobis]

Today in KSP, I pointed my spacecraft the wrong way.

[cantab]

here i landed on Pol tonight.

Pol here as well, though sans dust clouds for me.

The place is basically mountains and hills everywhere, I aimed for a "flat" area and it was still pretty steep.

Gotta get the second Kerbal down for carrying rocks, and then it'll be back home to Kerbin for the conclusion of my most epic mission. Although maybe I should flyby Dres on the way?

[Red Dwarf]

Whenever I'm tired or stressed, I build cool planes.

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[Duke23]

*mumbles, grumbles* I forget things. But I'll get to that. The other day I deployed an interplanetary capable Kethane scanner from a cargo bay (even though it almost got stuck), which I was kind of proud of. Just think of the launch costs I could save by adapting more payloads to cargo bays! Well, you guys probably already know that. But I've been pretty slow on actually *using* spaceplanes for anything other than playing around or dropping off / picking up small contract satellites in LKO. The small engine / tank will get it on an escape trajectory from Kerbin and the ion drive has enough juice to take it probably clear out to the Jool system if I wanted to. Actually that's not a bad idea. It was originally going to Gilly, and still might, but I'm putting that mission off for now as a whole. I just don't see any purpose in reaching my colonization efforts in that direction at this time, so I'm headed to Ike instead. But not with this probe, I just wanted to share that. I actually have a Kethane scanner already in orbit of Ike, it went out with my Duna colony missions and had plenty of DV left over. I figure if I put a self sustaining fuel depot at Ike I can take less extravagant ships for a detour on the way to Jool. I'm thinking long term cost of sending massive rockets out that far. Also, the bugs are *officially* worked out of this SSTO design and it flies beautifully now, no more crashy crashy.

Not that any of this was cheap... Here is the Refueling Depot station and Kethane refinery, all this is empty except the descent engines on the refinery to save on the cost of getting it out there. Here's where I stopped thinking things through. I sent up a transfer stage (shown in bottom pic) to dock with this and push it out that direction because there was no way I was engineering all that into one payload AND getting it safely to orbit. They're almost guaranteed to be functional together because they were designed together, but sent up in two pieces. I'm also not completely sure what I was thinking when I made that hazardous looking docking assembly. Actually I do, I think that design is vestigial from when I wanted the refinery itself to fly back up to dock with the station, but decided that was silly and just slapped a decoupler in there to get rid of the reaction wheels and docking port once on the ground. There is now a separate ship that will arrive after this to transport the refined fuel (liquid fuel, oxidizer, monoprop, and xenon) from the surface to the orbital station.

What I didn't think about was flex due to the idiotic way I made that docking assembly. As soon as I tried to turn the whole thing around, things got squirrely. So I sent up a refueling ship which was needed anyway since I burned a little more fuel than I planned while getting the transfer stage into orbit. I tried for a while to build an SSTO for this job, but I'm just not comfortable with more than doubling my highest mass spaceplane and getting it off the ground yet. The only reason the refueling ship was even manned was because I was going to send up a box of KAS struts and the pilot was to attach them to the weak points of the assembly, a dual purpose mission. BUT, I forgot to send the struts. So the refuel was fine but I still had the same problem... Enter the new and improved V3m-X, now with a small liquid fuel drop tank, a KAS box, and docking capabilities. By using the cheap drop tank to cruise up to around 18km on Kerbin while carrying more oxidizer than before (and running on airbreathing mode until 28km / 1700m/s), I am able to get into a stable ~150km orbit with an extra ~200DV, which is very useful on such a short range craft. (If I use the drop tank I have about 550 DV during final rendezvous approach). The drop tank is actually more of a throw tank, it sits on a decoupler in the cargo bay with 45 units of liquid fuel piped to the tank directly behind it, and when its empty we simply pop the cargo bay and fire off the decoupler and two separatrons.

So without further ado here is the cluster **** I created... Refueling station, Kethane rig, interplanetary transfer stage, refueling ship, AND the spaceplane with a cargo bay full of struts. I will probably end up flipping either the cargo bay or the docking port on this plane, it's awkward to use the bay while docked.

Now tomorrow... I will actually send this stuff on its way. I think. Judging by the number of missions I've started and not finished lately, I'm not holding my breath.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Duke23

[astropapi1]

Built myself a basic SSTO.

It can comfortably reach LKO with a turbojet and two 48-7s, and it's able to perform VTOL maneuvers with some cross-range capability due to its winged profile. I'd say it looks kinda ugly at the moment, but it's just a very early prototype.

[capi3101]

Last night was frustrating. The redesign of the Auk-IV did not go as planned; I wound up with a craft that was four tonnes heavier and far less capable than the original, which made it as far as 30 kilometers before flaming out but only made it that far by my lighting the nukes at takeoff for extra thrust. I did calculate that I didn't have enough thrust for the increased mass - I guess that shows that the calculations were sound. I've also been plagued with ongoing issues with my mouse on that particular box and they were really hitting hard last night, so construction itself was a chore (middle click is fine, right click is fine, left click either doesn't register or registers twice - and it's a brand-new mouse, which I got because the previous one was doing the exact same thing; changing USB ports didn't help). Doesn't help when the computer registers a double click and immediately takes off that bit you just spent twenty seconds getting into just the right spot...

Still haven't figured out why I wound up four tonnes heavier. I imagine it may have had something to do with part redesigns since 0.23, but I won't know for sure without doing research.

[WWEdeadman]

Yesterday I landed an entire interplanetary ship on Gilly using RCS. No screenshots, but the video footage will be part of my KSP let's play series next week.

[optimusjamie]

I did some satellite launches and aerial survey missions for Fine Print.

[NecroBones]

Completed my new LAS (Launch Abort System), meant to be an alternate to the stock LES. The stock one is modeled to look like the Apollo-era LES, so I made mine reminiscent of the Orion LAS that's in development, complete with optional shroud that fits over the 3-man pod with a docking port and radial parachutes and the like. I showed in-progress images earlier, but the rocket tower is done now. It has about 20% more kick than the stock LES. More detail on the MRS thread.

Edited October 24, 2014 by NecroBones

[Francois424]

Messed around trying to get an electric propeller.

Got firespitter and got the turboprop part (and files for animation/sound/etc).

Still testing and adjusting but the part wasn't build with the same lines of code the regular KSP parts are, making the whole thing very time consuming. Looks promising tho.

Then tried fixing one of my launchers that when pushed 100% throttle in space always pull off course 90° at constant pace. 3h later, and multiple partial rebuild I still don't understand why it does it. I guess it's a complete rebuilt coming up whenever I have time to do it.

Managed to launch another "Fairy" (comm-sat with the 4 small science instruments) towards Dres. Will get there eventually.

[herbal space program]

I finally got my VTOL SSTMAB space plane designed so that it's always balanced for both the rear-mounted jet engines and for the 4 downward-pointing RMA3 engines. Alas my screencaps are all on my home machine. I got it to a low Munar orbit with it with about 600 units of fuel, but I suspect that will not be quite enough for me to land and get back to Kerbin. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there's any way I can beef up this 6-engine design so that it can make the whole round trip, but I'm proud of myself that the dern thing even flies without constantly shifting the fuel load around. It took hours and hours to figure that out.

[cantab]

Then tried fixing one of my launchers that when pushed 100% throttle in space always pull off course 90° at constant pace. 3h later, and multiple partial rebuild I still don't understand why it does it.

Misoriented controlling part is the usual suspect there. If you're doing something like putting a small probe core on a cuboct strut on the side of a fuel tank, it's easy to get that probe core facing the wrong way. Or if you have radial docking ports for some reason you might be controlling from one of them.

[Felsmak]

I just completed the entire tech tree with a single Eve landing probe. I suspect that the outsourcing strategy might be a little overpowered.