What did you do in KSP1 today?

[JadeOfMaar]

So... I have this one probe on course for Moho.... @CatastrophicFailure Would learning to speak the language of the slaves help me avoid this curse?

Edited September 16, 2016 by JadeOfMaar

[septemberWaves]

2 minutes ago, Technical Ben said:

Very nice! I'm currently porting my attempt at a Falcon 9 to 1.2, and seeing if I can emulate their design. You did a good one there. Have you found any success getting the second stage to flip over for landing? That and keeping any of them from overheating, except for the crew capsule, is really hard!

Well for one thing, mine is a heavily modded design. The solar arrays on the Dragon 2 service module, for example, are only a total of 4 parts from Near Future, whilst in stock they would be around 72 parts for the same appearance. As for landing the Falcon 9 first stage, I have yet to test whether it is capable of being landed (the Dragon 2 launch was the only one I did yesterday) I just know that it should be in theory. It has plenty of delta-v for a boost-back burn and landing, but I would not be confident in my ability to pull that off even using MechJeb's landing autopilot.

I'm not sure about the overheating issue; this rocket worked perfectly on the first test flight. If you're using stock solar panels, that may be part of the problem. That, or you need to be more careful when clipping engine parts.

[Technical Ben]

Thanks. Mainly on re-entry, as the speeds can be fast, and keeping things hidden behind the heat shield, while also being able to land is a trick and a half.

I've found shooting really high with the first stage, orbiting with the second, then switching back to the first *quickly* and I can land it (with mechjeb).

 

As I'm on 1.2.... I'll have to try without mechjeb!   The rest on mine is currently all stock. Though I like your panel design and launch stage.

 

Here is a pic without the new engine designs (may shave some hight off/allow for different first stage engine design):

All stages can be landed (first from sub orbital only, else it WILL burn up), second stage litterally runs out of fuel 5m above the ground, so needs a bit more work/fine tuning on flight profiles. The interstage is a transit/solar array that is either disposed of or recycled for use as a tug etc if refuelled.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Technical Ben

[CatastrophicFailure]

1 hour ago, JadeOfMaar said:

So... I have this one probe on course for Moho.... @CatastrophicFailure Would learning to speak the language of the slaves help me avoid this curse?

I've found black hooded robes and arcane chants to be helpful. The blood of a virgin doesn't hurt either, and you're in luck, there's a full moon tonight and an eclipse. Perhaps the Kraken smiles upon you. 

[SSgt Baloo]

I've been experimenting with STOL planes. After finally deducing that speed at unstick wasn't a good metric, I figured out that distance from the starting point at the moment of unstick (when wheels leave the ground) is more important, so I pause and hit <F3> to find out how far it's travelled when I see that the wheels have left the ground. So far, these planes have done the best. They use all the same parts, but the biplane shifts one of the wing sections down to the same level as the flaps on the monoplane. Both manage to lurch into the air at just over 50 meters from start. I did it in 42 meters (once) with one of them, but after unsuccessfully trying to duplicate that result, I think it takes luck or skill (or both) to make it fly that soon after brakes-off. The tailplane is elevated slightly by mounting it on a (very) small wing or fin to keep the vertical stabilizers and rudders from dragging  when landing on uneven terrain.





More here: http://s28.photobucket.com/user/SSgtBaloo/slideshow/16SEP2016

[kraden]

@JadeOfMaar I also just sent a probe to Moho. My first planetary transfer (just because it's window was up next) and I totally forgot that @CatastrophicFailure swears it's cursed.... until I noticed that because of the difference in orbital planes I couldn't have picked a worse time to launch .  Good thing that probe has tons of extra delta V, I'm gonna need it.

Edit: while sending a satellite to mun for a contract, I got a message saying that my Moho probe's reaction will failed to 50% (Kerbalism). Thought to myself, "50% isn't too bad for a probe that size, I can compensate with a little RCS", then just a little while later I got a new one saying it failed to a further 25%. Turns out I'll be relying heavily on RCS for this probe. I haven't even made it to Moho yet and I can already tell it's cursed!

Edited September 16, 2016 by kraden

[Colev]

The 1.2 is here(prerelease)!  And after 2 days of spinning the Mk1 Command Pod on VAB, we finally got the hotfix for the Chatterer and we're good to go. So, today we got to orbit of Kerbin and that's achievement on itself for me. Next stop, Mün. Go go new career!

[eddiew]

So let me tell you a story,
All about how,
My rover got flipped,
Turned upside down

Or, more seriously, let me have a proper grumble about the Mohole because geez! I have never in my time from 0.25 onwards found a buggier part of KSP. Literally could not leave the rover stationary for more than 20-30 seconds before it would be launched upwards by the invisible arms of the kraken that dwells therein. Did not matter if I left the crew in it, did not matter whether I extended ladders, opened materials bays, checked goo canisters or made crew reports. If the brakes were on, the kraken hated it. It was like the most brutal short term parking I can imagine.

That aside... Jinx Kerman, Piper Kerman and Fern Kerman survived the ordeal after I cheated reassigned the waypoint to an appropriate altitude and activation distance for SVT's altered terrain. Mission log resumes, I shall fetch some cheese to go with my whine.

It takes a full 18km drive over shockingly rough and ridged terrain to reach the site of interest, and pilot Jinx Kerman is hard pressed to learn the controls to snap the reaction wheel on and off at the right times to avoid spinning, while not rolling forward during acceleration. After a few minutes however, she gets the hang of it, and the brutal slopes and claustrophobic canyons prove to be no problem for Nono's mighty spread of wheels. At an average of 20m/s, progress is slow, but undeniable, and eventually the crew find themselves edging down a severe incline to what they can only compare to the lair of the ancient kraken itself.

Not only is it scary to look at, but the steep terrain also proves terrifyingly unstable, shifting and jolting Nono repeatedly as he tries to find purchase upon the sun-baked basalt. Applying the brakes only makes the situation worse, causing stresses to build up in the rocks directly beneath the tyres until eventually something gives and he is launched up into the... vacuum. Fortunately, Nono's reaction wheels are powerful, and he is able to land on his wheels every time. (Ed: except for the times all of them exploded and/or flew off in different directions.)

Upon hearing the crew's report of massive geological instability, mission control ordered the girls to drive like they had a glovebox stuffed full of Old Toby and the police were behind them. Pausing for only a few seconds to make a lightning-fast EVA to complete the Anomaly Surveyor contract, they legged it pronto. Parking up 1.5km away, where the ground seemed less unstable, Jinx and Piper made EVA forays back to the Sinkhole and Canyon biomes that they had had to skip over previously, taking just enough time to plant flags and grab rocks. Nono had managed to capture a materials study during his brief excursion around the rim, but nobody wanted to take the risk of taking 11 tons of rover back over that elastic, unstable surface, and it was decided that the whole area should be considered a quarantined zone from here on.

The girls decide to make camp some 2km away from that quivering rim, brew some Oolong tea, and tell each other horror stories before bed. Tomorrow, they will get mission control's assessment of the situation and decide whether to ascend for a rendezvous with the Odyssey, or whether they will attempt to retrace their long drive and more in a trek southwards towards virgin biomes.

Edited September 16, 2016 by eddiew

[Firemetal]

Finished my Minimus network. This covers the Kerbin system for communications. I sent the first module for a future Minimus base to Minimus in an SSTO Spaceplane and completed my first round trip to Minimus and back in 1.2. I also built a crude rover trying to make a cool Jeep but ended up with a golf cart.

Got a good amount of stuff done.  

[DaMachinator]

2 hours ago, kraden said:

@JadeOfMaar I also just sent a probe to Moho. My first planetary transfer (just because it's window was up next) and I totally forgot that @CatastrophicFailure swears it's cursed.... until I noticed that because of the difference in orbital planes I couldn't have picked a worse time to launch .  Good thing that probe has tons of extra delta V, I'm gonna need it.

Edit: while sending a satellite to mun for a contract, I got a message saying that my Moho probe's reaction will failed to 50% (Kerbalism). Thought to myself, "50% isn't too bad for a probe that size, I can compensate with a little RCS", then just a little while later I got a new one saying it failed to a further 25%. Turns out I'll be relying heavily on RCS for this probe. I haven't even made it to Moho yet and I can already tell it's cursed!

I sent a probe to Moho in stock sandbox (Caduceus + Lifter). Not quite cursed, although I should have let the MechJeb unit I was using to test it [It is supposed to be a general-purpose disposable interplanetary exploration probe] land it since it fell over on landing.

[limeyptwo]

5 hours ago, SSgt Baloo said:

I've been experimenting with STOL planes. After finally deducing that speed at unstick wasn't a good metric, I figured out that distance from the starting point at the moment of unstick (when wheels leave the ground) is more important, so I pause and hit <F3> to find out how far it's travelled when I see that the wheels have left the ground. So far, these planes have done the best. They use all the same parts, but the biplane shifts one of the wing sections down to the same level as the flaps on the monoplane. Both manage to lurch into the air at just over 50 meters from start. I did it in 42 meters (once) with one of them, but after unsuccessfully trying to duplicate that result, I think it takes luck or skill (or both) to make it fly that soon after brakes-off. The tailplane is elevated slightly by mounting it on a (very) small wing or fin to keep the vertical stabilizers and rudders from dragging  when landing on uneven terrain.





More here: http://s28.photobucket.com/user/SSgtBaloo/slideshow/16SEP2016

What mods are you using for the cockpit and wingtips?

[luizopiloto]

Designed a prototype for a bigger project...

 

[SSgt Baloo]

45 minutes ago, limeyptwo said:

What mods are you using for the cockpit and wingtips?

I think they're from SXT - Lack's Stock Extension.

[XB-70A]

About a year ago I tried a Saturn-Shuttle stock prototype based on this picture :

It  was a complete failure and after a lot of "Return to the VAB?" I just give up and switch to something else. Then two days ago I saw the great creation of @ZooNamedGames on its topic, and it clearly re-inspired me to make another attempt!

I got some free time today, and here comes my stock Kerbalized Saturn-Shuttle, Kronos-Demeter. This inaugural test flight was to send a space lab on a 300 x 300 km orbit and try to survive :

Really, really Kerbalized...

Everything here is possible with the five Vector great gimballing.

About 250 000 funds at launch, talk about efficiency!

Kronos III first stage separation.

There was still about 1100 unit of fuel in the external tank at the separation. Apoapsis was put at 302 km and will required 171 m/s to circularize.

Passing by the North Pole.

One small burn and...

Demeter flight 101 is on its 302 x 301 orbit.

So stubby! But I don't know, there is something I like with her...

The journey will end after a few days up there.

Edited September 17, 2016 by XB-70A

[kraden]

2 hours ago, luizopiloto said:

Designed a prototype for a bigger project...

 

I MUST see whatever you're doing this for!

[limeyptwo]

4 hours ago, SSgt Baloo said:

I think they're from SXT - Lack's Stock Extension.

thanks

[Haruspex]

It's Year 49, day 391 of the Kerbal Space Age. The Fifth Interplanetary Expedition has reached Pol.

( Previously on Roley Kerman and the Five Moons of Jool )

So many contracts are fulfilled at once.

One of the four survey satellites separates from the probe docking section and establishes a polar orbit. Now we know where to land. Unfortunately, most conveniently flat places lack ore!

The Explorer module separates from the science orbiter. It will take five or six ore runs to fully refuel the mothership.

First Kerbal landing on Pol! Those are weird rock formations... One can only hope it's not Kraken droppings.

Glory to the people of New Keralonian Republic! One small step, but a big leap, etc., etc.

Tangy can't stop herself from doing the actual Big Leap!

...It took a day and a half to fill the Explorer's ore tanks. Bye, Pol... We'll be back!

Edited September 17, 2016 by Haruspex

[Leopard]

With both Station Mun One and Minmus Base One munching on science I needed a mission that would take a while to let them get on with it. Hence the return to Duna...

This time a manned mission, the profile was to explore Ike (as per a contract), then move to Duna, return science from space (contract again) and attempt a landing, before returning. On board science lab to process results and fuel for a re-usable lander.

That was the plan.

Heaviest launch to date, roughly 45T to LKO, made it with only one revert (to add sepatrons to the boosters...).

Got a node set for the Duna burn, took three orbits of Kerbin to get it with the nuclear engine but off we set. Miss reading of the node meant we were not due a 150,000km pass but a 150,000,000km pass which is too far for the capture. Resulting in burning a heck of a lot of fuel and catching Duna on the second orbit, the ship now incapable of return so a rescue/refuel mission is planned for later (will need to add a new tank module, likely to cause issues so most likely a rescue mission with a similar craft).

Ike exploration completed, the lander had _just_ enough DV to land, take off and dock - the mother ship slowing rotating due to a lack of SAS (design flaw), but docked anyway, then a second time after the "no target" bug occurred again.

Currently in Ike orbit, with enough fuel for Duna, the lander will drop at Duna but I don't think it will be able to get back up to orbit.

 

Hence Duna #3 is in the planning stages, swapping the science lab for a larger lander with the mission of going out, rescuing whoever is on Duna surface then loitering while the lab processes the data, then bring everyone home safely.

 

All good fun, no casualties yet...

[eddiew]

Fortunately, the Mohole kraken does not follow as the crew drive Nono southwards through the heavily creased terrain. It takes some 85 kilometres and 20 degrees latitude before the Mohole's pucker begins to loosen and the canyons and crevices become less severe, and the girls still haven't found another biome. Oddly, despite the incredibly long days on Moho, the sun rises noticeably in the east as Nono heads south, but this finally starts to put some charge through the big solar panels and power shortages quickly become a thing of the past. 

On the whole, in the absence of kraken attacks, Nono performs excellently. A minor defect was found whereby his SAS-toggled torque was inverted between the command pod and the main reaction wheel, leaving him with either unwanted authority, or not as much as he should have had. With this issue sorted, he now has much better balance and can easily flip himself upright during the times when he inevitably takes to the air. Jinx Kerman determines that if the wheels are not on the ground, that's the time to engage SAS, and with this simple technique, forward progress improves significantly.

Mission control radios in several points of interest along the route, netting an additional 220,000 roots for the space centre, and edging the Odyssey expedition ever closer towards a positive balance sheet. 

 

[JadeOfMaar]

Attack of the Probes!

OmniProbe DU departs the Mun. It passes within a few Megameters of Kerbin as Mun happened to be somewhat on the far side of Kerbin relative to Duna, but not far enough that it could slingshot off Kerbin with an impressively low Periapsis. If it was bound for an inner planet then that would've been just fine and there'd be +1 map view screenshot.

The golden Starprobe, previous generation OmniProbe makes its Normal burn the next day, 1600m/s worth to maintain its course for the cursed planet! ..errm, Moho. I don't remember how much dV the transfer stage had remaining afterwards, somewhere in the upper 3000's maybe but the probe itself runs on Argon Gas and has 8km/s dV. That's good stuff because there are 2 maneuver nodes ahead then Mission Control can party hard.

And on the third day, the same OmniProbe from Mun was launched again, targeting Eeloo. Under Fort NOX's influence, KSC launched ballistic style like they did for Moho. No orbital insertion, no waiting for the phase angle in space. 4~5km/s in the launcher. Its mission is in part to find Karborundum. This small success or failure will significantly impact the upcoming, very large Team NANC "Nancy" Borderworlds mission and the R&D directives to follow.

Edited September 17, 2016 by JadeOfMaar

[billbobjebkirk]

I decided to get back into Macey Dean-style military gameplay, and to that end built this autonomous battle station:

http://imgur.com/a/Dal5t

Edited September 18, 2016 by billbobjebkirk

[Francois424]

@Haruspex I'd just like to say I really love your Mothership/lander design for these Jool missions you are doing.  It's very close to many design I used to do in 0.24.2 before getting into mods.  One of my Jool-5 missions (which I cancelled because of heavy lag from 425 parts, KSP1.2 cannot come soon enough), my design looks eerily similar to yours, complete with the big tank in the middle, the Lab, the Hitchhiker pod, and the "4-Legged lander"/cockpit.  Plus POL is such an awesome place it makes a really good contrasting background.  Of course ISRU did not exist back then, but the ships are very very close in design.

Amazing work, keep-it up !

Edited September 18, 2016 by Francois424

[kotomikun]

Sent a little nuclear space-tug out to the Mun and Minmus. Also discovered that the game really hates this rocket design for some reason, it kept crashing mid-launch. Well, that's what prerelease testing is for, after all.

For "fun," it only had 3 solar panels and no batteries, so keeping it from running out of power was a little tricky. Had to turn it towards the sun with RCS at one point.

 

Mmm, radioactive exhaust.

 

After using much more fuel than expected to reach Munar orbit, the lander heads down.

 

Val takes in the gray vistas. Or is it grey vistes?

 

Could be a nice place for a space resort. Or maybe a rover-dunebuggy course.

 

After burning the fuel supply down to dangerously low levels, she reaches Minums... where Jeb, apparently, already planted a flag, but forgot to tell anyone. Val swears she didn't vandalize the plaque or anything.

 

Before returning home, we've got some unfinished business with the Mun...

 

...a.k.a. the impromptu radioactive waste dump. In space.

 

Her capsule, thankfully, swings back to Kerbin and gets bathed in a different classical element.

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by kotomikun

[Guest]

Started a new career in the 1.2 public beta. Figured out a better way to make low-tech, cheap lifters. I'm sure others here have as well because it's pretty obvious really: just strap together and stage SRBs. I could do basic Mun and Minmus missions easily with a three-stage lifter, consisting of four Thumpers (one central, three radial) in the first stage, a single Thumper as the second, and a Hammer as the final stage before orbital insertion; with this, the orbital inseration is more about adjustment than boost. These are cheaper than liquid-fuel equivalents, they're not as tall, and they're way less noodly and easier to fly. Once I got adjustable tail fins and radial decouplers, I turned that into an asparagus-staged medium lifter: the base is a seven-Thumper bundle; in the first stage, four of them fire, then are discarded, then two, which are discarded, then the last, central one. The second and third stage Thumper and Hammer were dropped. Works great, is very easy to fly, and not noodly at all. Basically after the gravity turn (5 degrees around 100 m/s), you just hold prograde and watch it go.

I also made a series of low-tech space tourism rockets, dubbed the Deathtrap series. The Deathtrap 1 was born of necessity: low on funds but with a five-tourist LKO contract, I had to do something. So I stuck a command module on top of a hitchhiker storage container and an Okto on top of that, and the whole thing on the heavier SRB lifter described above, with a small LF stage for orbital manoeuvring. No heat shields, no nothing. It worked! It did tumble out of control late in re-entry as the Okto lost contact with KSC and for a while there it looked like it was going to burn up, but it survived, just, as did all my satisfiied customers.

The Deathtrap 2 introduced a second hitchhiker storage container and, finally, a heat shield, and that one is actually quite manageable, much better aerodynamics on re-entry as well as proper heat resistance. Only annoyance was that Mission Control somehow failed to note that the VIP wanted to orbit Minmus, not just fly by Minmus, and now I'm going to have to do that again.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Guest
Less noodly. Less, not more.

[eddiew]

Spent 3 hours driving from the Mohole down to a crater near the equator. Got about 6 biomes worth of rocks, which will be good, but ugh... this is a tedious mission.

Perhaps it is no surprise that after several hundred kilometres of scorching rock and sand, tempers become a little frayed. In particular, Fern Kerman, surveying the low, flat, dark crater around Nono has a squabble with mission control, who insist on classifying the area as 'highlands' and are not interested in any data that might be gathered.

Finally however, the first of the distant waypoints is reached, and the girls enter one of Moho's minor craters - which mission control does acknowledge as a unique area and requests samples.

Performing one of her regular walkaround inspections, Piper Kerman notices that Nono has lost one of his toroidal tanks. Which doesn't really matter, since it was empty and there is still plenty of fuel left for the ascent, but it is a curiosity as to where the heck it went. Perhaps one of the excessively solid rocks they passed was to blame. Who knows. Nobody is interested in retracing their 500km route to see if they can find it.

One more waypoint remains, a southern lowlands area just south of the equator and some 100km still to go. Jinx Kerman has been adapting to the harsh conditions of Moho and has concluded that choosing the flattest route is much more important than heading in a straight line. With this in mind, progress becomes more erratic, but on the whole a little faster.

As slow as this expedition was at times, mission control considers it highly successful. With 6 biomes worth of data, and 2000 science points already transmitted, this is surely an adventure that will drive kerbal technology forward for years to come.

With the Odyssey in a perfect polar orbit, it doesn't take long before Nono and the ship are in alignment (well, 11 days, but it's not long with timewarp). Jinx Kerman launches with incredibly lucky precision timing that results in a trajectory that meets the Odyssey at apoapsis. From here, only minor adjustments are needed for the final approach, and Nono docks up in record time.

Flukey as it was, I'm really pleased with that launch   Velocity match was a little sloppy because I didn't realise just how close the approaches would be until it happened, but Nono had excess ascent fuel (1600m/s budget) so it all worked out.

And home at last! Sort of. Mission control instructs the engineering team to begin building a craft capable of bringing ten kerbals and Nono back to ground.

Edited September 18, 2016 by eddiew