What did you do in KSP1 today?

[HazelPine]

Today I made the decision to expand my running challenge, and so I launched 4 airport building around various locations around kerbin. They're all loosely based on having a cupola as a control tower, and having space for the kerbals.

It was kinda boring to be honest.

I did make a very cool stock jet to go around hand-picking airport locations though! Really like how the wings look, so I'm gonna abuse this design for the rest of my KSP gaming days.

 

Although it has a habit of getting into a flat-spin if not careful. A flat-spin that was not recoverable no matter what I did.

 

Also, after not having time for much gaming in general, I finally got time to wait 45min of time warp to continue my science career! Something big is about to happen...

 

Also, @Kenobi McCormick, what mod are those wheels from?

[Bloojay]

13 hours ago, purpleivan said:

That's my new wallpaper.

[Francois424]

I started assembling my new "Grand Tour" ship... which includes OPM.

Not sure if final or not, but so far I got this one (See below) which without extra fuel payload and the Landers, can easily make 5k dv.  The Ring can actually land on low gravity world, and has 4 drills and an ISRU refinery, a Nuclear reactor and 4 Radiators (these radiators I am using are as powerful as the middle ones from stock).  It also uses the AresExploration capsule with room for 6 kerbals (the trio + Valentina + 1 extra engineer and Scientist for the lab).  The only mistake I have so far is the solar panels clips thru the nuke engines... so the lab module will only deploy it's panels when either disconnected from the ring or when orbiting while the lander is on a mission.

This is sandbox game, so I could've used my end-game high-tech engines, but I stayed with the stock spirit of parts for now and went the ISRU road instead of the 30-60k dV mothership road.
So now I am off making the Lander to anywhere but Eve.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Francois424

[Sharpy]

1 hour ago, Pine said:

Although it has a habit of getting into a flat-spin if not careful. A flat-spin that was not recoverable no matter what I did.

 

Have you tried disabling one engine - the one on the outward side of the spin? Burn with the inner-side engine at full thrust, with outer shut down.

It might very well send you into a spin in opposite direction, but hey...

[Justicier]

Made a new multipurpose SSTO, capable of deploying a satellite in Munar orbit or a robot rover/skycrane to the surface.

With testing, it has NOT done well with re-entry, and just does not want to fly straight no matter how I balance fuel. So, version two is in the works, and will likely have an inline docking port which will move the CoM forward, as well as a couple airbrakes for added stability.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Justicier

[Dire_Squid]

What I did today: Well... scrapping the Lab Truck Idea, I chose the "airless skycrane" idea for my mobile Lab Module (which is more like... *sigh* an upright trash can with wheels, rather a proper lab vehicle)... everything WAS going well... until the final stage had such poor torque that it slowly spun out of control just KILOMETERS away (direction AND above the surface) from the waypoint on Minmus... I'm just glad there are revert points, because I was raging SO.... HARD!

Edited September 5, 2016 by Dire_Squid

[Van Disaster]

Quack.

Chomp.

Panic.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Van Disaster

[DBowman]

I finished up a TAC-LS low mass to Eeloo mission for the low budget Eeloo challenge 41 ton runway mass split across two 'winged R.A.P.I.E.R. booster' vehicles.

 

The first uses the ion Eeloo lander to push a supply cache with return fuel and life support via a low deltaV KEKJEe gravity assisted trajectory.

The second nukes Valentina direct to Eeloo and back on fast trajectories.

 

Here Valentina has returned from Eeloo surface. The crew and re supply vehicles are docked (Xe meets mk0 tanks). The mk1 tank docked to the capsule was going to be a drop tank, but I decided it would be a wet workshop as living space / occupational therapy for Valentina during the near six year trip.

Edited September 5, 2016 by DBowman

[Kamuchi]

Abusing @RoverDude mods again, sorry! 

The "USI Bootched"

Spoiler

With a small matching lander

Spoiler

 

Edited September 5, 2016 by Kamuchi

[Firemetal]

On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 5:28 AM, purpleivan said:

 

 

 

Why is it so asymmetric?

[ThatPilot]

My Jeb fell from the sky:

 

and I've made a Trello Board to track my campaign missions

Edited September 5, 2016 by ThatPilot
link missing

[purpleivan]

3 hours ago, Firemetal said:

Why is it so asymmetric?

The "One of Everything" challenge was to use a vehicle in which only one of any part could be used. So Inevitably my entry ended up looking a little more Kerbal then usual

[Firemetal]

So let me update on my Laythe SSTO.

Spoiler

 

(Used a Vall assist because Tylo and Laythe weren't showing up. It worked out fine)

(Apparently, Flags explode now)

I reached Jool, captured using a Laythe assist, then slowed down using Tylo, Vall and Laythe. It was tough trying to get the Jool AP down significantly without lowering the PE too much. I eventually got a good Laythe encounter but this plane can't stand that much heat so I ended up capturing using a 400 m/s retrograde burn. I then did two aerobraking passes and then pinpointed one of the bigger islands like a pro.

I messed up the landing first and then landed it with swag on the second try. However I landed on an incline and the plane just wanted to slide down. I decided to drive it down a steep-ish slope. It got so steep, brakes couldn't slow it down. But it got flatter and flatter until I ended up at the bottom. I planted a flag which decided to "Crash into Laythe" and Jeb, who had been in his seat for 119 years got out and stretched his legs.

Then it was time to return. I ascended, got the right Tylo encounter on the 2nd or 3rd try. However, that alone, would not reach Kerbin so I burned 200 m/s prograde.

I did not bother with a transfer window so it is going to take me 72 years to reach a 41 m/s correction to a Kerbin encounter. This is only the first flyby. It might take me one more to slow down enough to aerobrake at Kerbin. Also I have only about 175 m/s left. This mission is going to end, well over 3 centuries.

Anyway, I am still time-warping now.

23 minutes ago, purpleivan said:

The "One of Everything" challenge was to use a vehicle in which only one of any part could be used. So Inevitably my entry ended up looking a little more Kerbal then usual

Oh. Neat challenge. And that ship is sooooooooo Kerbal. Nice job!

[XB-70A]

Have completed my first flight to Moho. I'll try to share a mission report.

[Dire_Squid]

Last night: Was finally able to get my Mobile Lab unite to Minmus... with two amusing results:

1: Eight Twitch engines might not be QUITE enough for a normal airless Skycrane drop, but if you pivot the craft in a circular motion around the retrograde point, it somehow slows it down better than if you were to have it point straight down at the retrograde. If there isn't a nickname for such a trick, I'm going to call it "Aerosoling" (mostly because it felt like I was making a spray can move in circles).

2: Minmus is NOT the best place for anything with wheels... unless you can figure out how to make a craft "gallop", which I did. It was VERY annoying, but I was able to get it to the 3.5 km (at a 'brisk' pace 1.0 - 2.2 m/s) to the base AND docked up. Oh, the delicious delicious science I did accrue, let me tell YOU (atm, I've transmitted 1,500 Science points, in three 500 point intervals... and I'm not even close to being done, what with a Materials Bay that will give me a fat pile of science, when the rest of the science is used up from the Lab Module). This whole trip to Minmus will has helped me get a lot of new parts (station parts, ore scanning, building material), and it'll help me get a lot more new parts (bigger rockets, better electrics, MORE science, and maybe I'll bother with the Space Plane parts a bit more, for a particularly pesky contract for a far away location on Kerbin).

 

Edited September 5, 2016 by Dire_Squid
WHY didn't the screenshots keep?!

[Crocket]

30 minutes ago, Dire_Squid said:

1: Eight Twitch engines might not be QUITE enough for a normal airless Skycrane drop, but if you pivot the craft in a circular motion around the retrograde point, it somehow slows it down better than if you were to have it point straight down at the retrograde. If there isn't a nickname for such a trick, I'm going to call it "Aerosoling" (mostly because it felt like I was making a spray can move in circles).

Hmph. I might test the validity of yer new-fangled aerosoil doodad t'day.

[Dire_Squid]

7 minutes ago, Crocket said:

Hmph. I might test the validity of yer new-fangled aerosoil doodad t'day.

Mind you, it was part of an airless skycrane, so the "doodad" isn't existant on the current base... BUT I can give you a screenshot of the craft in the VAB.

[purpleivan]

I docked a pair of nuke tugs to my Mining base and took it to Laythe. Unfortunately I picked the landing side based on how Jool on the horizon would look in screenshots instead of practical things like availability of ore, of which there is none where I landed.

Hmmm... sounds like an excuse for a rescue mission methinks.

Hopefully I'll get around to giving one or two of these the wallpaper treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dire_Squid]

16 minutes ago, Crocket said:

Hmph. I might test the validity of yer new-fangled aerosoil doodad t'day.

Ok, as promised, here's the craft with which I "done did" the "Aerosoling". I dubbed it the "Show Pony" (since I needed to make the darned thing "gallop" to the base, since it wasn't quite "heavy" enough to drive it normally).

[Crocket]

So, as promised, I tested out your aerosol technique on a craft of my own creation: just a Minmus lander, nothing special (although she weighed 16 tons!). The skycrane performed admirably in both situations, however I noticed no difference while aerosoling. There might have been a slight difference that slipped by me, but I'm not entirely sure.

[Dire_Squid]

Hmmm... it may have just been how my craft was specifically made, on my part, then. Still, it's weird how it's no different for you on whether you landed straight down or aerosoled... yet it was detrimentally important for me. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for testing it out.

[Crocket]

18 minutes ago, Dire_Squid said:

Hmmm... it may have just been how my craft was specifically made, on my part, then. Still, it's weird how it's no different for you on whether you landed straight down or aerosoled... yet it was detrimentally important for me. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for testing it out.

No problem!

If you can harness what makes your craft so easy to aerosol, you might have something revolutionary on your hands. 

[Firemetal]

My god. This plane is not heat resistant enough. I don't know what to do except add more fuel so I can do another gravity assist. Anyway I reloaded to the artificial quicksave. I did one gravity assist which put my ap to between Dres and Duna, and PE below Eve. I re-entered at 4600 m/s. Another gravity assist would bring the orbit under Duna. However I had only 28 m/s left and my AN/DN was 1.3. So I better add more fuel.

Overall, it was pretty successful anyways so I'm happy.  

[RizzoTheRat]

Started a new career game at the weekend.  Usually go to the Mun first but after a Mun flypast contract (with 3 sets of science results for high Kerbin, high Mun and Low Mun) I've got a Mun orbit contract but not the explore one, but have got an explore Minmus contract, so decide to land there next.

Jeb landed his massively over dV'd lander perfectly on the Flats, but then planted his flag too close to the ship and this happened.  Shame I didn't get an action shot, the ship leaped majestically over Jeb's head and ended up like this.  Luckily no damage done and the reaction wheels were enough to get it upright again or Jeb was going to have  along wait before Val could cobble together a craft to rescue him.

 

[Kenobi McCormick]

22 hours ago, Pine said:

Also, @Kenobi McCormick, what mod are those wheels from?

 

I honestly have no idea. I download pretty much every good rover part pack and use bits from each in the creation of my vehicles. It *might* be from the buffalo rover? Idunno. Know the chassis blocks are.