What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Tyko]

54 minutes ago, Magzimum said:

Still testing the Eve lander. It can now safely land without any problems - it entered the atmosphere radial-out, with all controls (SAS) turned off. It has no movable control surfaces near the top anyway. It just points that huge 10m heatshield forward all by itself. Next step: Testing the launch.

 

 

I love that it looks like a giant lawn dart 

 

 

[Zeiss Ikon]

Last night, Jeb disabused me of a significant combination of miscalculation and memory failure.  I let him test pilot a flight of Selene 2 -- and far from getting to orbit with much more upper stage fuel remaining, due to my imagined lightening of the payload stages, it wound up needing almost half the fuel from the second stage just to get into a circular orbit, where Selene 1 Mod. 2 needed just a circularizing burn from the second (transfer) stage.

Going back and directly comparing the two vessels, I see the problem -- Selene 1 Mod. 2 has a liftoff weight of 259.7 T, while Selene 2 managed to bulk up to 281.1 T -- hence why the ship barely staggered off the pad and needed so much of what was to be transfer dV just to get into orbit.  The Selene 2 design (which was to use a 2.5 m service module under the Mk. 1-2 Command Pod) has now been scrapped, along with Selene 2 Mod. 1 (a monstrosity with three parallel Mammoth based boosters), and work is set to begin on Selene 1 Mod. 3, which will incorporate the original ideas for launching the lander atop the command pod, saving the mass of the primary pilot's service module, but will use an additional stage, hoping to get the transfer/pusher stage to LKO with completely full tanks, which should leave enough dV for (at least) a flyby of Duna as well as landings on either Mun or Minmus (possibly even Ike or Duna itself, if the dV budget can include making orbit and then breaking out for Kerbin again).

[Francois424]

Today I decided to make another addition to the permanent ships I leave in orbit.  The rocket and the payload are thus assembled and dropped on the Launchpad.

 

 

« What a lovely day for the first launch in over 2½ months . . . »

 

« The launcher is performing rather well, I love it when everything works from the get-go »

 

« Booster burn-out, separation... Successful !  »

 

« Main launcher burn-out . . . Separation successful as well »

 

« The orbital stage lights-up it's 4 Puff engines, and takes care of putting the payload in Orbit. »

 

« The payload, the 'Kerbin Fairy Queen', then starts burning for her final altitude, high above Kerbin . . . »

 

« . . . Then unfold her wings at a polar orbit of 60 Million Meters, or 60'000 Km.  Engines are shutdown and this completes the mission ! »

 

That complete my Fairy network of Kerbin SoI. It's not as good as what some other players do, but for me this is going to be good enough.  It should drastically reduces the amount of signal black-out.
So we have the Kerbin Fairy, the Mün Fairy, the Minmus Fairy and the Kerbin Queen Fairy to relay signal outside the SoI to future fairies. 

 

« Hold on there Mr. Crocker, we're far from finished, there's about 15-20 more fairies to go... eventually, of course ! »

[Zeiss Ikon]

And, after a koffee-fueled marathon brainstorming session, which included an accidental fire (allegedly started by too-vigorous erasing) that destroyed the new drawings, requiring recreation from notes and memory, the KSP design team have begun actual construction of Selene 1 Mod. 3 while the maintenance crew work on resurfacing the conference room table.  Now at a (relatively) slim 254.6 T, the five tonnes trimmed relative to Selene 1 Mod. 2 is entirely from the upper stages, meaning less (or possibly no) second stage fuel will be required to reach a stable orbit.  Elimination of the service module from the transfer stage command pod also means the transfer stage need not be discarded with fuel still in the tanks -- the last Munar orbit rescue mission flown with Selene 1 Mod. 2 left close to 30% of transfer stage fuel after Munar capture and circularization; that fuel could have brought the entire vessel back to LKO, had it not been necessary to jettison the transfer stage in order to redock the command/service module with the lander.

Other important upgrades are a two-stage lander, insurance against stranding either on the Munar surface or in Munar orbit (if you've landed, you know you have enough dV to get back up without having to use your EVA jets to circularize, and an abort back to orbit is always available via a large, brightly colored panic button), and repositioning of the Vernor jets on the transfer stage to increase maneuvering authority (though monopropellant RCS will still be required to dock, due to the lack of forward/back and roll jets that use Lf/O).

[Angelo Kerman]

Got the exterior modeling done on my D2 centrifuge:

Now it's a matter of setting up the config file and working on the IVA.

[The Raging Sandwich]

I started a new game and a mission report to go along with it:

 

[cantab]

I pointed at the Sun. D'oh!

 

I did reload the quicksave and fly the mission of the John Lennon successfully, a free return (ish) round the Moon and returning the science to Earth. Inside the small-tiny adapter is one of those new science storage gadgets, and a heatshield on the bottom, it did the job nicely. Got about 240 science out of that.

[DerekL1963]

Continued working on my exploration airship....



My new 'invention': droppable navigation beacons.  I.E. marking points of interest along the way without having to stop and land to plant a flag.  There's a probe core and a battery inside each one.

[Magzimum]

1 hour ago, DerekL1963 said:

My new 'invention': droppable navigation beacons.  I.E. marking points of interest along the way without having to stop and land to plant a flag.  There's a probe core and a battery inside each one.

I like the looks, and it's cool to drop a physical item to the surface as a marker. However, I just wanted to mention that if you run out, you can just start Kerbnet and leave a waypoint. It costs nothing, and is always visible in map mode and optionally on the navball.

[Guest]

It was a disappointing day for the Cascadian Space Program. Although we added two new modules to Ike Station and made three landings on Ike, we also lost a crew member on the Cascadia due to KSP not checking the exit hatch for obstructions. Figuring it was a bug, I lost crucial science parts after exiting the second crew member. The dead crew member was one of the two scientists so our mission isn't exactly proceeding right now. I'm kind of mad about that right now. Also, the Cascadia is in need of refueling due to anemic TWR and sub-optimal burns. Also kind of mad about that right now, but it won't take much to get it back to Kerbin. The EEV returned to Kerbin safely, about the time that EVE bugged out on the cloud texture, so I shut the game down.

Next up, the Jool probe arrives and I figure out how to get the Cascadia out of this mess.

Edited February 2, 2017 by regex

[elpollodiablo]

17 hours ago, Sharpy said:

Printing it locally may be a problem - VAB gave me an estimate time of some 2.5 giga-kerbal-hours. But a smaller, non-tweakscaled runway is totally viable, just weld it, because...

Well i think i can third it in size (at least) but that is still a lot of time. Guess i have to test it's re-entry capabilities when i find the time to play some more KSP again

[DunaRocketeer]

For about ten years of game time, I used a rather awkward little mobile ore miner/processor for refueling ships on the surface of Duna. Well, the thing finally krakened out of existence a few weeks back, and now I'm shipping a proper mobile facility to the surface of Duna.

This ship is one of three that refuelled in Kerbin orbit, and delivered crew and components for assembly on the Dunian surface.

[Alpha 360]

I have been working on a Minmus base. No pictures yet, but it can so far mine all resources(that I have storage for, that will be the next launch), and has two planetary science labs attached to a rover which will transport small numbers of crew. It has a single engineer(five star because I am playing sandbox), two scientists, and three pilots. It is attached together using KAS. It is quite messy right now with three modules, including the rover, and has a total capacity of 42 kerbals. Pictures and development coming soon!

Edited February 2, 2017 by Alpha 360
"Kouston, we have several problems, but that doesn't matter so we want to continue on with the mission."

[Modboxer]

I sent a probe to the Jool system to recover lots of science from each of its moons. It's easily my most successful mission of all time; I haven't even gone to Bop yet and I've already got well over 1,000 points of science. I will have pictures later.

EDIT: Alright, now I've gone to Bop, and I have more than 2,200 science points. Probably not going to have pictures, because I crashed it into Bop's north pole.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Modboxer

[Kyrt Malthorn]

On Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 0:38 AM, regex said:

1 hour ago, Alpha 360 said:

 

 

^^^^ Bugged, Cant delete this junk up here from my post, please ignore .   Sorry for false pings... ^^^^

 

 

 

 

Today I sat back, dusted my hands, and decided I'm ready to play.

...Well, I've BEEN playing, I mean I just finished setting up / assembling a majorly modded game and making sure everything works. I've just about crammed every feature I could possibly want in it (except kerbal construction time - I decided against introducing yet another possible bug source for the ability to.... timewarp. I'll use my own conventions and KAC to determine my own build/research times).

Biggest features are SigmaDimensions (x6.4 scaled solar system), Outer Planets, Interstellar Extended, Extraplanetary Launchpads, collections of stuff from Nertea and RoverDude, tons of random this's and that's.

Huge thanks to @Francois424 who shared his personally tweaked cloud configs for Tekto, originally made by Galileo.

It takes, like, 30 minutes to drift to the surface of this planetoid. O.o. Pretty, though.

 

Edited February 2, 2017 by Kyrt Malthorn
THIS FORUM HATES MY PHONE.

[capi3101]

(1.1.3) Another slow day yesterday owing to exciting events in RL (upgrading from a rental apartment to a rental house, which is still plenty a big deal for my own self). I decided to accept the two easy contracts being offered me, to test an Ant engine at the launch site and mine 400 units of ore on Minmus. An Ant engine was loaded aboard a Lusitania 7 testing rig and the test was conducted, and then I went over to the Deepwater Horizon refinery on Minmus and mined the required amount of ore. Came back to Mission Control; the replacement contracts were essentially identical, except that a Hydraulic Manifold was the subject of the test and this time they wanted 600 units of Minmus ore. Lather, rinse, repeat as the saying goes. A pair of LKO junk hauling contracts came up next, and I'm debating as to whether or not I want to do those.

I also decided to accept the mission to put a Class C asteroid in orbit of Kerbin. To that end, I designed and performed a test launch of Tater Catcher 7, designed specifically for high-end class C rock-catching duties. Design performed well at launch, though I am not wholly confident in the rig's ability to steer 192 tonnes of errant space crap. Reverted the test flight, accepted the contract and then went looking for an unknown class C rock. Promptly found one - and on a collision course with Kerbin, no less. Rock will arrive in Kerbin's SOI in 72 days; I will be following Claw's advice for affecting a rendezvous in interplanetary space. Pretty confident I can pull the mission off with the craft designed.

Honestly hoping to get more done today...

[eddiew]

12 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Got the exterior modeling done on my D2 centrifuge:

Nice

I wonder, is it possible to make a version that has the rotating hub, but the arms just end in attachment nodes so you could put whatever on the end of them? I could see a lot of people wanting to build their own toruses off a base like that  

[Sharpy]

6 hours ago, elpollodiablo said:

Well i think i can third it in size (at least) but that is still a lot of time. Guess i have to test it's re-entry capabilities when i find the time to play some more KSP again

1/3 in size is 1/27 in volume - and mass - and construction time.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Sharpy

[NISSKEPCSIM]

@eloquentJane you have introduced me to an amazing mod. Olei Planet Mod is so much fun!

[Jett_Quasar]

Realizing the greatness of mods...

-Jett

Edited February 2, 2017 by Jett_Quasar

[DarkOwl57]

So..... Yeah, yesterday I may or may not have gotten distracted with starting a Communist Civil War in Hearts of Iron 4... I'm planning on creating a new race-car; Something similar to a Formula E car. (If you don't know what FE is, it's basically a tinier version of F1 but the cars are all electric.) The cars are going to take part in the MCRC (Multi Class Racing Series), and the test course is going to be in the R&D section. Wish me luck!

[Planetace]

A Habitation module has been added! Now I realllyyy need to add the fuel and branch sections !

[Angelo Kerman]

3 hours ago, eddiew said:

Nice

I wonder, is it possible to make a version that has the rotating hub, but the arms just end in attachment nodes so you could put whatever on the end of them? I could see a lot of people wanting to build their own toruses off a base like that  

DSEV already has a hub, spindle, and counter torque ring built for Infernal Robotics for exactly that purpose.

[HalcyonSon]

10 hours ago, Magzimum said:

I like the looks, and it's cool to drop a physical item to the surface as a marker. However, I just wanted to mention that if you run out, you can just start Kerbnet and leave a waypoint. It costs nothing, and is always visible in map mode and optionally on the navball.

Is Kerbnet Stock?

[HalcyonSon]

di di di dddii ticka ticka ticka.... !!NEWS FLASH!! This just in!

Ladies and Kerbs, the world's first Mun Tourist has returned!  Jeb, Bill, and Sambro are home!  Our Kerbs in (Lab)Coats score two more victories for Kerbal Kind!  Those slide rules came in handy again as our boys' rescue mission was upgraded to also include a Klaw booster for that little extra kick to get the tourist home.  Our little penny-pinchers designed the Klaw to re-enter right behind the tourist for another small bonus, but unfortunately it slipped out of radio range and was lost after the parachutes were already partially open.  Those pocket protectors keep the black ink (and the funds) flowing, by also returning a mysterious piece of space junk from Minmus orbit.  What will they find next?!

In other news, darling Val and her pals have invented a new card game as they wait for their Minmus encounter.  No one Kerbin-side quite understands the rules though... perhaps it has something to do with effect of micro-gravity on Kerbal brains?  More geeks are working on it!  The real work begins as soon as their training mission hits orbit in just a few more days.  Further penny-pinching - in the greatest spirit of adventure! - has also sent a small probe that already completed its mission out from polar Kerbin orbit for a trip around Kerbol and eventually (hopefully), an encounter with Duna.  Don't hold your breath though, you excitable Kerblings!  We're talking YEARS before it (maybe) happens.  And Bob... yeah, we're still waiting for him to get to Minmus.  He's a touch dull, isn't he?  Just sits around munching on noms.  We'll let you know when he finally returns some actual science.

This was your Kerbal Network News !!NEWS FLASH!!  di di di dddii ticka ticka ticka....