What did you do in KSP1 today?

[regex]

I've spent way too much time designing and testing infrastructure for Dres in preparation for setting up a refueling way-station. I need crew quarters, a refinery, and liquid hydrogen storage at the moment, but those are pretty easy compared to an actual mining cragt.

The first mining lander I designed suffered from mysterious phantom forces when it launched with a full ore tank and ended up stuck in a spot in space before it spontaneously exploded, EVERY TIME. I really like the way it looks but I had to scrap it in favor of the second third design which I uncreatively dubbed the "Dres Mining Pig". That has further been refined into the craft at the bottom of this post (note the larger radial tanks). The Pig has a ventral nuclear reactor for power.

 

The other thing I did was redesign my new model fuel slug to be a reusable automated tug which can handle some 30~35 tons with > 6km/s of delta-V. The great part about this is that it is saved as a subassembly with the launcher, so all I need to do is design the payload. You can see I gimped it in the first image above but I de-orbited that and am going to make payloads to fit the RCS rig on the tug like how the Pig is carried below.

 

I'm still debating whether to send what I can of the Ike station to Dres or bring them home and create an entirely new station. I have plenty of time to decide as the survey probe for Dres is still 60 days out and the next Kerbin transfer window is about 120 days out.

Cascadia will be mothballed at Eve for the time-being and its crew brought home, I'm kind of disillusioned with it at the moment.

[Kerbital]

So I did something small for a change. Everything and a kitchen sink. Hidden reaction wheel allows it to flip over also provides stability. Most parts are 50% size.

 

But before I finished the rover though I upgraded the Kolossus from LF to a more futuristic hydrogen drives and added a nuclear reactor. Too bad CryoTanks mod conflicts with many other engines and tanks/fuel mods because I love those hydrogen tanks and NF engines but I had to uninstall it

 

[nascarlaser1]

Yesterday I built my first unmodded (others have been modded) Mun lander, and today I built the unmodded minimus lander. I got all the way to minimus, and realized I left the landing legs out of my design . Who knew those terrier engines can be used to land on them . I got home safely with Jeb (ignore the fact I went there with Jeb AND Bob).

[Zeiss Ikon]

Today Elyris and Leedra finished their voyage home from Minmus, with only 13 days on the mission clock (compared with more than 120 last trip).  The transfer stage still had about 40% fuel left -- that's after going to Minmus, capture and orbital adjustments there, and returning to Kerbin at aerobrake altitude.  Leedra chose to burn off the remaining fuel, first lowering apoapsis (in case of a need for a second pass, not to take another eight days) and then reducing interface velocity.  In the end, the two command pods had most of their ablators remaining at heat shield jettison, and landed only about 200 m apart, within seconds of one another.

Later, Jeb took a couple test flights in a couple of the prebuilt design vessels -- Kerbal 1, Kerbal 1-5 (which just barely makes orbit, needing RCS to circularize if you take the precaution of adding a heat shield) and Kerbal X (which makes orbit pretty handily, with lots of fuel left in the service module).  All three flights were pretty routine, albeit there was doubt, for a short time, whether the Kerbal 1-5 would actually have enough dV to finish the job (wound up coasting up from 45+ km, making a correction burn to keep apoapsis above atmosphere, and then circularizing to bring periapsis above 70 km).  The latter two flights were also used to train for "precision" reentry -- trying to get the final splashdown (or grounding) as close as possible to KSC, inspired by Val's landing within sight of the Space Center after her cancelled Munar landing (decoupler trouble).

Edited February 13, 2017 by Zeiss Ikon
typo

[Kertech]

Well Last month I did quite a lot, but posting has been quite hard to find time to do. so I'm posting short logs to get back up to date here. The first (and probably next) are nothing special, but they're the back drop for a 64scaleinterstellar/nf powered extended habitation and colonization effort! Which is definitiely going to endup with me failing a lot!

Although I've payed for years I've never really used MKS and interstellar, add in USI-LS,dangit, launch failure, keepfit remotetech and KCT and things start to get interesting!

(also I've never really bothered with ISRU-ing cause stock system is quite easy to get around! now with 40 tonnes to LKO being the most my end of mid game agency can manage, those kethane, karbonite and ore deposits look pretty tasty!)

Today(and spoilers) I gave the Intrepid (a reusable kerbin SOI expeditionary vessel, first of its class with two more in the making) its maiden voyage to the mun, to rendezvous with the mun station (Name Ideas needed!!!!) which has the first reusable lander, (Eagle Mk1) first docking and crew transfer and first landing on the mun! 

Docking a vessel like the intrepid require patience! And of course just at the critical moment dangit steps in and breaks a battery,which blares an alarm jolting me into ramming the station!

As you can see the Munstation (again name needed) has room for expansion! and lots of it,with the 4 construction welding docking ports! It can support a crew of 4 for a year and a half. The intrepid is designed for a duration of 80 days with a crew of 5. Considering it was only Jeb, Bill and Bob on this trip everything was severely over designed!

Barely visible under here is the Alcore (so glad it's back!!!)

Mandatory group shot

Set up the surface experiments (grab them from the dra round the back!)

[cantab]

Probably sorted out my booster sep issues. I had been having some epic RUDs as the boosters scraped the rocket and blew stuff up. Since I don't have sepratrons or twitches and larger engines would be kind of heavy, I put basic fins on the top of each booster angled outwards to make the boosters fly away after separation, and that seems to work.

But got too salty about an annoying bug I've had since I started playing RSS, and so I closed out of the game. Until the RSS folks can get back to me about it, I might not play.

[Servo]

I tried (and failed) to refuel my F-35 in-flight. I'm getting the hang of recording shots though, so expect more of that soon. Also, some cools shots of the F-35 in action, if nothing else.

[Benjamin Kerman]

Downloaded KER, all near future mods, and the space station extensions mods for the first time (also first time downloading modes ever!). Had a lot of fun playing around with the new engines and girders, and making a new, better looking station! 

 

[kraden]

This is not 100% complete, but all it's missing are two landers.  My newest ship, the Kodiak, has enough DV to travel to Gael, it's moons, Iota, and Ceti, as well as a trip out of Gael's SOI and back to it's 100km parking orbit.  It carries a crew of 2 and is intended for up to 6 passengers.  It can carry more than these 8 kerbals, however they would likely start to go nuts and starve become displeased with the accommodations before the trip was over.

The Kodiak's primary assembly was done in two large stages; Jeb and Bill flew the propulsion, fuel, docking, and power systems up, while Val and Rosphe flew the command, crew quarters, life support, and passenger quarters up.  Val handled primary docking but Jeb was standing by as backup.  After successful docking, Bill welded the docking ports together (Konstruction mod) and Jeb and Bill disembarked to return to the surface.

Hopefully I'll have time before the night is out to fly up the landers and top off the Kodiak with a refueler and its first crew and passenger compliment (likely to be a training run for those less experienced kosmonauts).

Edited February 13, 2017 by kraden
minor fix

[Guest]

The Fenghuang tanker-lifter has continued to see a lot of changes. Below: models III and V side-by-side.

[DBT85]

Took on a Rescue contract which has the stranded Kerbal out in an elliptical orbit out near Mun. 

Got out there and performed a perfect rescue only to realise that, true to form, I didn't have enough fuel to complete my retrograde burn to get back down to Kerbin.

So in a first for myself, I plotted 2 manoeuvres that gave me an intercept with Mun which in turn threw me back toward Kerbin. I was then left with 25m/s to spare. Mission saved!!

[Martian Emigrant]

Heho Kerbal-Kind.

The last few days were spent building Shuttles, Orbiters, flying bricks, whatever.

Anyhoo today I placed a 40.0t tank in orbit. That's nothing I have to come and get it back in a few days.

What I am pleased with is I started the next phase which involves placing satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

I have placed my first one. Up there. Where it should be. Almost above the KSC too. I was lucky. No way I can "Plan" that.

Here is a short vid:

Really pleased. Now I have to fly the other one up.

 

ME

 

[capi3101]

Hey all. Haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, just haven't done any KSP since last Wednesday. Spent three days last week building a DBG prototype that played pretty well in its initial playtest over the weekend, and I'm in the process of moving, so the missus had me sorting, shredding, boxing and hauling stuff out to our storage unit all weekend. Glad to be at work this morning - I'll get a chance to rest...

Am hoping to play some KSP today. Going to have to look to see what I'm supposed to be doing again...

Edited February 13, 2017 by capi3101

[Red Shirt]

Last night I downloaded Coatl Aerospace ProbesPlus. Has a lot of neat stuff in a small download. Then I did some revisions to my probe and was able to reduce the launch vehicle fairing quite a lot.

 

This little rocket has two stages + probe. The second stage circularizes and still had all but 200 dv needed to transfer to Plock. The probes ion engine handled the rest of the transfer. Several mid-course adjustments were needed. 45 years later the probe arrives. Thanks to warp everywhere the journey took mere moments.

Transferred to Karen next

I've had OPM installed since it was first released (2014?). This is the first time I've been to Plock/Karen. I'm thinking a lander may be needed in the near future.

[TheKorbinjer]

Nothing. I'm grounded.  Always fun!

[regex]

2 hours ago, Red Shirt said:

I've had OPM installed since it was first released (2014?). This is the first time I've been to Plock/Karen. I'm thinking a lander may be needed in the near future.

That's awesome. I think I just realized the long-term goal for my current save.

Edited February 13, 2017 by regex

[HalcyonSon]

On 2/11/2017 at 3:42 PM, eddiew said:

Also, got an unexpected contract to move Tripover rover around Rald a little - specifically straight down into the volcano I'd left him parked on the edge of...

Turned out to be surprisingly lucrative, chasing a chain of 4 waypoints. Didn't know that was stock  

I pulled one of these contracts last night on my stock game.  Just a touch frustrating, because Bob had already left the Minmus surface to refuel in orbit.  In the end, it provided a decent amount of funds but slowed my science collecting ambitions.  It required that I set down in the Lowlands three more times instead of hitting three different biomes.

Between this and the "collect temperature reading below XX height" contracts, I ran out of fuel long before I ran out of science to collect.  I've really come to hate those contracts - you can't orbit Minmus that low!  I had to all but land to collect each of the four readings on that contract because they were all 5 km or lower.  Each measurement point was in a valley so it required breaking and then reestablishing orbit.  All Bob managed to hit was Lowlands, Greater Flats, and Flats biomes.  Now I'm debating sending fuel to him vs. bringing him home.

Edited February 13, 2017 by HalcyonSon

[Haruspex]

Built from scratch and tested a stock space shuttle. 

[dboi88]

I made some cool lights

[dangerhamster]

Jeb took the prototype RFA (Reasonably Fast Airship) out for an extended test run. Bundling two recently recruited scientists and Bill on board he set off north in search of the "lost tribe of no stars"...... otherwise known as Val, Bob and Lenfal the only members of the roster not to have visited the big black yet. They were reported somewhere in Kerbin's Tundra region bobbing around in the exploration airship.

Nothing loath Jeb climbed to a reasonable altitude and cracked open the throttles. Handling was reported to be "looks like a fish, moves like a fish, steers like a cow". Disregarding instructions to avoid turning an expensive piece of kit into a mountainside mural he ran through gaps in the mountains at 150 m/s. #Badass. Just under 2 hours later they spotted the target and eased down to park alongside.

Whilst the scientists and pilots swapped places Bill fitted a couple of new experiments, earning a commendation for starting a new outpost and performing a docking.... go figure.

With the changeover complete Val took the RFA back home at a slightly more relaxed pace only realising much too late they had left Bill behind. He is currently fixing the recycling unit and swearing revenge.

 

[Kerbal01]

Realized I've been playing this game for nearly 5 years. I bought it Feb 28th 2013 and had played the demo for 6 months or more before that.

[Planetace]

Completed my Geostationary Orbit relay network!

One of the satellites is off by a bit. But at least It's actually in a sort off triangle formation!

And...

A new spacestation, welcome Spacedust!

I Shoved the Minmus space station construction too the side, the Mun was closer, larger, and did not want me to tear my eyes out in frustration as my modules that were ready to dock with the Mentha spacestation had no communications and couldn't slow down... So yea, welcome Spacedust as a nice little spacestation (that will grow )

[septemberWaves]

5 hours ago, Red Shirt said:

I've had OPM installed since it was first released (2014?). This is the first time I've been to Plock/Karen. I'm thinking a lander may be needed in the near future.

If you're visiting Plock-Karen, there's another mod that can add a couple of moons to it that you should check out: Xen's Planet Collection. When using OPM, the moons from XPC that would ordinarily be around Eeloo are moved to orbit around Plock (or Plock-Karen if you also have SigmaBinary installed). It's nice because it provides more analogues of Pluto's moons.

[Red Shirt]

11 minutes ago, eloquentJane said:

If you're visiting Plock-Karen, there's another mod that can add a couple of moons to it that you should check out: Xen's Planet Collection. When using OPM, the moons from XPC that would ordinarily be around Eeloo are moved to orbit around Plock (or Plock-Karen if you also have SigmaBinary installed). It's nice because it provides more analogues of Pluto's moons.

I just checked to see if Plock Plus was still around to dowload. It's not, so definitely will check this out. I had some of Xen's stuff in a previous install so I feel comfortable with the quality.

Thx.

[eddiew]

Testing out a new compact rover. 

Admittedly it may look a bit like a Google car, but what it ACTUALLY is - is a gigantic steel roll cage. Which may be what's inside a Google car too, but the important point is that everything indispensable, including the crew, is protected from impact from every possible angle. Flip it, roll it, spin it - the first point of contact with the ground is always a wheel, or a steel plate. Also, it has enough torque to flip itself upright whatever side it lands on. Unless it lands on the wheels, because it's so darn stable right-side-up that you have to hit a bump (or a wall, or turn a tight circle while SAS rolling to the outside) to get it to waver. 

Small rocks are actually the biggest threat, since they can get between the flanges at the front and rear and take out the solar panels - but worst case there's an RTG and 600 units of electricity, so you can always get home even if it's in bursts.

Best of all, it fits inside a Space Y 2.5m service compartment. I believe this shall be part of my next mission to Niven