What did you do in KSP1 today?

[NISSKEPCSIM]

I rescued a stranded Kerbal from LKO using my long-outdated 'Bricklayer' spacecraft and Ares IV MOL launcher. And I mean really outdated. I built the launcher and ship when I only had tier 2 or 3 parts. I'm now on tier 8 or 9.

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the ascent, but here's Leake Kerman EVAing to my spacecraft after the rendezvous:

Re-entry:

Parachutes deployed:

After a safe landing, I recovered the craft, and... the game crashed. I still have to rescue another Kerbal from LKO, and two from the Munar surface. And I need to get around to launching the MOLAB. More on that later.

 

[Ultimate Steve]

The fully SRB powered space program is continuing. Britannia V was a science lab. New Britain/New America is now up to the 9/9 return seat capacity.

Oh, yeah, I also got the whole "Sepratron powered precision landing" thing up to a whole new level:

No rover wheels. No prior touchdown. No ions, RCS, or LFO. Just pure solid fuel, dropped from orbit!

Edited February 26, 2017 by Ultimate Steve

[cantab]

So, how do you remove an objectionable docking port that's blocking your hatch? Well, you go and get a spare satellite, be grateful it's got loads of delta-V because it needs to make a 90 degree turn from a polar to an equatorial orbit, you come up to your spacecraft and ramming speed!

And as the smoke clears, it worked! That's an exposed hatch for a Kerbal to get in!

And now Jeb has got in and can come home. Moon missions, just like NASA :-D

Edited February 26, 2017 by cantab

[The Aziz]

I made a wallpaper

Also landed my first Kerbals on Ike.

[DerekL1963]

Actually last night...  but was too late to write it up.




Despite playing for four years...  my first visit to the Island Runway.
 

 

[N_Danger]

Moho 5 mission results

Moho 7 (Please don't ask about 6)

Moho 8 gets to orbit.

And then to Moho.

Now I'm gonna go get a much needed beer.

 

[Ultimate Steve]

Third post of my "Steampunk Space Program."

That moment when you decide that you're going to launch a train to your Mun base using only solid rocket boosters.

Keeping with Steampunk, it is a steam train. The fuel is finite, however, as it is "fuel cell" powered. (Canon: burnable fuel and water that leaks out is the LF and O that drives the fuel cells.)

I'm going to see if it's strong enough to move the ascent vehicles closer to the base.

[eddiew]

After 7 weeks of solidly playing this career...

Holy poopballs that takes a long time at 15% science.

But now... now my personal rules allow me to unleash Kerbal R&D to start improving things!

Also, the most confusing encounter ever...

[astroheiko]

20 hours ago, Brownhair2 said:

Tellumo Ascent Vehicle:

Hello Brownhair2,

I have roughly rebuilt your plane - I do not have the cockpit. I wanted to know how much dV it has. You should have about 3000 m/s dV in the rocket stages, right? I do not know how quickly the whiplash will be on Tellumo, I used rapier engines.
I needed at least 3500m / s dV in the rockets to create an Orbit and was about 1450 m/s fast in Airbreathing mode.

Have you already tested your aircraft? It would interest me very much, because mine was very heavy. Maybe I can still save weight. Yours is incredibly small and light.

 

Greetings

Edited February 26, 2017 by astroheiko

[Brownhair2]

15 minutes ago, astroheiko said:

Hello Brownhair2,

I have roughly rebuilt your plane - I do not have the cockpit. I wanted to know how much dV it has. You should have about 3000 m/s dV in the rocket stages, right? I do not know how quickly the whiplash will be on Tellumo, I used rapier engines.
I needed at least 3500m / s dV in the rockets to create an Orbit and was about 1450m / s fast in Airbreathing mode.

Have you already tested your aircraft? It would interest me very much, because mine was very heavy. Maybe I can still save weight. Yours is incredibly small and light.

 

Greetings

The cockpit is from Airplanes Plus. I used it over the regular Mk 1 Cockpit because it can hold 2 kerbals, but if you don't care about that you can always just use the normal cockpit. It works on Kerbin, but I haven't tested it on Tellumo. It was originally built for Titanus from New Horizons, which has roughly the same properties as Tellumo, except for a much taller atmosphere. My only real concern was it not being able to get high enough for the rocket engines to be effective, so in Tellumo's short atmosphere it should be up to the task. I put on a drone core so it could fly unmanned, so if you don't want to risk your kerbals you could try that first. It should have barely over 3700 m/s delta v. You can't see from this angle, but the wings actually detach, saving quite a bit of weight. Hope that helps

Edited February 26, 2017 by Brownhair2

[eddiew]

Noticed that Kerbal R&D isn't working with 90% of parts in my install. Ain't gonna lie, after 7 weeks holding off using it, planning the whole career around this day... I'm a tad irked. Not KR&D's fault, should have checked. Just... basically I would have done this entire career differently had I noticed earlier.

*goes to bed*

[astroheiko]

@Brownhair2

 

3700 m / s sounds much better. Mine weighs 57 tons. However, with ISRU, science and 3 kerbals. I wanted to get all biomes .If you are interested I have some pictures here in the Forum ... searching ....

Here are some from my mission report.

Tellumo Spaceplane

 

Greetings

 

[Kertech]

Whoops, posted the mission report into the wrong tab, I'll leave the cat (poppet) here though cause that really was today!

High lights:

First kerbin SOI reusable ship (the Intrepid)

New space stations (identical core around minmus and Mun, though no lab there)

First landing with an eagle mk 2

Added trusses to kerbin space station, will eventually add labs and more docking sites for the three intrepid class ships (the Intrepid, the Valiant and the Kydonia).

New heavyreusable tug/ dropship lander for mun/minmus, first se wasto take a fuel pod to mun station

 

And this is just the highlights! more detail here 

Found this photo which sums up my current mission infrastructure nicely

 

Apologies for the long post, unfortunately there's more to come (not getting much chance to do this atm) your reward for getting this far is a madame who nearly ruined todays flight by walking on the keyboard during docking, hitting, space and confusing translation control stuff...  [from earlier]

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by Kertech
numptyness

[Zeiss Ikon]

(Science game)

This time, the engineers found and fixed the problem with staging in the Munar Explorer series (or so they claimed), and in the process built the first example of Munar Lander.

As previously noted, both Munar Explorer and its outgrowth, Rescue Alpha, had exhibited staging issues with the parallel staged boosters.  Instead of pumping fuel from booster to booster and thence to the core, they were running all tanks dry simultaneously, remaining attached even though the radial separators had fired, and essentially operating as a "big, dumb booster".  This was enough for a Munar orbit mission, and sufficient to rescue Sigemy after he'd flown his tanks dry doing a Munar flyby with a ship that wasn't really up to it -- but it was clearly going to be unacceptable for an actual Mun or Minmus landing mission.

Much coffee later, a nameless intern was caught in the VAB with a tape measure.  After convincing security to call Gene before hauling her off the base in chains, she was allowed to report to the Design Committee with her findings: the strap-on boosters were being compressed too much at mounting, causing the radial decouplers to fail without sensors reporting the failure.  The excess compression also blocked the fuel lines between boosters and the core, preventing all the fuel transfers from taking place (fortunately, the transfer pumps weren't powerful enough to burst the transfer pipes, else the resulting fuel/oxidizer venting would likely have resulted in a spectacular fireball well before the first staging event should have occurred).

With this knowledge in hand, the engineers and mechanics in the VAB assembled a new Munar Explorer booster, and could easily see the corrected spacing between boosters and core.  Based on that visible correction, they upgraded the upper stage into a two-stage lander -- using the only landing legs available, which carry a caution to avoid hard landings, and splitting the tank previously used in the final stage (the one that orbited the Mun and returned to Kerbin) into separated descent and ascent stages, with another Terrier engine between.  They incorporated RCS, in part because they could, in part because there was reason to believe it could be used to make short hops between points on the Munar surface without burning return fuel, and in part because it would give a last chance to peel off velocity before reentry, improving the likelihood of externally mounted experiments surviving the landing.

The first launch of the new Munar Lander was a resounding success, with the parallel staging working exactly as the Design Committee had always insisted it should.  Maltrey was chosen for the first Munar landing attempt, in part because of his outstanding work in rescuing Sigemy, and in part because he was the only pilot other than Jeb willing to fly the landing after seeing the so-called landing struts.  At the time of this report, Maltrey was in parking LKO, with (reportedly) enough fuel remaining in the transfer stage for transMunar insertion and Munar capture.  He has four goo canisters, and four each barometers and thermometers, and hopes to not only plant the first flag on the Mun, but also retrieve enough science from the surface to keep R&D busy for weeks.

[Servo]

I have been messing around with air-to-air missiles, with pretty good success. Since short-range missiles have limited targeting capability, I've moved to medium-range missiles with jet engines. My current standard model has a top speed of 270m/s and 10 minutes flight time. That's plenty to chase down and destroy most of my replica craft. The best part is that it's a fire-and-forget missile. The longest-range kill I've gotten was over 2km away, with the target flying orthogonally to the missile when it started.

It's not 100% lethal, but in testing against a passive target, it hits its mark 80% of the time.

I cut the video that I had from testing into a mini-cinematic as a preview for the larger one that I'm working on (think Top Gun).

And some more formation flying. Using target hold with two identical craft creates a nice semi-wingman effect. I plan to use this to have 4-5 craft in the air at the same time, which hopefully won't ruin my computer.

I was flying the lead F-14 for a good 10 minutes with minimal input on the second one, while making multiple turns and maneuvers. Main flaw is that it only works for craft that have very similar top speeds, otherwise the faster one turns into a guided missile.

[septemberWaves]

I built and uploaded some tiny launch vehicles. Details in my launch vehicle catalog.

[Brownhair2]

@astroheiko Well I'm very glad to hear that Tellumo takes only 3500 m/s to get to orbit. This is exactly the kind of info I need. I guess we both helped each other

Actually while we're at it, when was your transfer window?

 

2 minutes ago, Kertech said:

Apologies for the long post, unfortunately there's more to come (not getting much chance to do this atm) your reward for getting this far is amadame who nearly ruined todays flight by walking on the keyboard during docking, hitting, space and confusing translation control stuff...

 

Cats, amiright?

---

I sent up another MOTHER. This one's going to Tellumo.

I actually sent it up with the planes already docked, since I was having difficulties getting them into orbit. All I need to do is refuel and figure out when the window is and I'll be good to go.

Still don't know what to do with the first MOTHER.

 

[DerekL1963]

The Norge and her crew conducted a difficult practice landing in the mountains West of KSC.   Many lessons were learned, not the least of which...  there were a couple of significant design errors.  (Details in the mission reports thread.)

  
 

 

[SleepyMan]

I docked two ships for the very first time  

Arty screen shot to commemorate the occasion.

Wasn't as hard as i expected just took a very long time. My first approach failed as I hadn't realised the station was slightly rotating so when I finally got the docking clamps together my ship was now at right angles to the station. By this time we were in the shadow of Kerbol and I hadn't turned on the station lights.

Ooops

So a quick retreat, swapping to the station and turning its lights, RCS and SAS on. Then switched back to the supply ship and 15 minutes later success. Took Jeb off the station, gave the scientists some data to research and transferred excess fuel over. Then it was a quick trip home which had to be repeated as Val exploded when she exited the landed supply ship to obtain a soil sample.

Later that night launched a mission to Mun with a orbiter and a separate lander. After some practise launches  I finally got into a decent orbit with enough dV to finish the mission. Deploying the landers legs early ( didn't want to repeat the mistake I made at Minmas of forgetting to lower them) I suddenly realise that the extra fuel I had added late to the lander design meant that the legs would no longer reach the surface ...

Decided it was time to go to bed.

[TimePeriod]

Working on some new lifters, maybe found some new kind of kraken-drive. *cough*.

[eddiew]

Resolved my Kerbal R&D issue! Or at least, brought it down to a shortlist of 7 mods that might be breaking it. Going to suspect Tweakscale, tbh, since I know that rescaled parts do not carry any KR&D improvements with them. Will figure it out properly later  

[astroheiko]

9 hours ago, Brownhair2 said:

@astroheiko Well I'm very glad to hear that Tellumo takes only 3500 m/s to get to orbit. This is exactly the kind of info I need. I guess we both helped each other

Actually while we're at it, when was your transfer window?

In the year 23 and 160 days, I was in no hurry. Before I was still at Niven and I have maximized my TechTree. A few years before I sent a ground probe and a sattelite to Tellumo. But I do not know anymore when the start window for the Probe.

[astroheiko]

The Gratian SSTO has now reached all the required biomes and has met with the transfer stage for the return to Gael.

 

I leave the plane in orbit. Maybe I need it again sometime. There is still fuel left, so I can always return to the planet's surface.

 

Jeb has also ordered a new toy. It is not quite finished yet but there is a small pre-taste. I have to build a larger rocket. My biggest can "only" 200 tons into orbit.

Greetings

Edited February 27, 2017 by astroheiko

[HalcyonSon]

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

   Days of simulation and weeks of tweaks have culminated in the successful launch of Kerbal-kind's greatest achievement.  The Moho Inspection Research Vessel not only made orbit last night, but has completed its burn to leave our little gravity well forever.  Wish it well folks, for better or worse, MIRV won't be coming back.  Our boys in labcoats are looking far into the future with this mother... ship.  They've loaded her out with twelve research drop pods to collect all the science known to Kerb.  She's also got three relay satellites to ensure that sweet science makes it home.  And in the case of an eventual Kerbed landing, she's also going to measure ore concentrations to make sure our brave explorers can make it home.  It's been a sleepless night for the fellas in Mission Control too, as the ion engines on this mother require extremely long burns.  Burns so long that Gene himself may have slipped a bit on his slide-rule.  

     The 28 Dawn ion engines provide over 10,000 m/s of delta V, but at only 0.38 TWR in Kerbin's SOI.  The 2,000 m/s ejection burn took 28 minutes, and couldn't be completed from a standard parking orbit at 70 km, or even 75 km.  No! Kerbs and girls, this mother had to be boosted out to 610 x 350 km orbit (Oh Gene, what have you done!  Any junior Kerb-cadet could tell you that you didn't need to boost that high opposite the ejection point!)  Well at any rate, that same cadet would have had quite the show, with MIRV burning straight down the barrel of his telescope.  That loooong burn meant MIRV nearly scraped Kerbin's atmosphere again on the way out.  Next up is a plane change burn in about 50 days, with an eventual Moho meetup in about 115 days.  Let me tell you folks, that capture burn is going to be a doozy.  Your faithful reporter is told that MIRV may not have enough juice in the tanks for the roughly 7,000 m/s to hit a 1,000 km orbit.  Deliberations continue on whether refueling is necessary, and the best way to get more go-juice out to MIRV.  No one wants to think of how long that capture burn will take... Good thing Jeb was already on his way out to capture (and land!) an asteroid.

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

[capi3101]

(1.1.3) Spent the weekend with my ongoing move. No KSP done as a result. Made up a little of this lack of activity this morning by putting The Great Artiste into orbit around Minmus and then docking it successfully to the Minmusport space station. If I get time to play later today, I'll be sending engineer Phovie Kerman down to the Deepwater Horizon refinery on the surface to relieve engineer Barna Kerman along with a couple of other KSC staff for "training" and one tourist. Strange Cargo is due to arrive at Minmus in another five hours or so at this point, so I'm hoping to get The Great Artiste's expeditions secured and get her on her way to Mün and get the station's fuel stores restocked before Strange Cargo arrives. If it doesn't happen, it's not that big of a deal; would be nice, though.

Edited February 27, 2017 by capi3101