What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Grand Ship Builder]

1 minute ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Tested the XV-2:

Seats two crew and four passengers, but is extremely range limited... those big VTOL rotors are fuel thirsty.

 

Case in point of this:

Even the refined UV-2 needs to top up after ~250 km of flight, despite 6 times the fuel and only 2 seats.

The V-2 family, however, is a respectably stable and easy to handle VTOL, with better range than I could have hoped for.

The V2 is a pedant missile that terrorized London. Heck, even the Dragon V2 was renamed to Dragon 2, partly because of the V2. Better to name it something else.

[MaverickSawyer]

7 minutes ago, Grand Ship Builder said:

The V2 is a pedant missile that terrorized London. Heck, even the Dragon V2 was renamed to Dragon 2, partly because of the V2. Better to name it something else.

I am aware of history, GSB, and the particular significance of that designation. Please do not lecture people on the assumption that they are ignorant.

The name is the result of my naming scheme, with it being the second V/STOL design to be made in the spaceplane hangar, NOT as a deliberate reminder of the WWII weapon.

[Grand Ship Builder]

Just now, MaverickSawyer said:

I am aware of history, GSB, and the particular significance of that designation. Please do not lecture people on the assumption that they are ignorant.

The name is the result of my naming scheme, with it being the second V/STOL design to be made in the spaceplane hangar, NOT as a deliberate reminder of the WWII weapon.

I never said you were ignorant, it's just a common thing that happens. Eventually someone is going to argue about that (not me) and basically your signature.

[Confused Scientist]

On 8/16/2017 at 7:19 PM, qzgy said:

smaller more practical version.

Compared to launching Mount Everest on a Jool intercept trajectory, maybe. We salute you!

[Ultimate Steve]

RSS/RP-0.

I designed a 20 module space station. Launches will start soon-ish.

I launched a Jupiter probe. It was the maiden flight of the Mu IV, but it broke up on ascent. I might have time to build a second one before the Jupiter window ends.

[invision]

mission to jool for 2.7mil woot

the eggsplorer is on it

main engine de-coupled  

using the moons to  slow us down for easier intercepts

i was going to try and crash into laythe but didnt have enough fuel so we plunge into jool instead

[Geonovast]

Yesterday actually, but I moved my Mun miner base, since it was on a hill.  (The Thud engines at minimum throttle essentially turn it into a hovercraft that slides around with the RCS)

Then I completed my first surface docking with the fuel shuttle.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Geonovast

[capi3101]

Spent a good chunk of my day researching CommNet (since I jumped straight from 1.1.3 to 1.3) and what was involved in setting up an effective network of satellites around Mun and Minmus (I realized that if I wanted to be able to do use the exact same drone craft I had been using in order to conduct mining and refueling operations, I needed to have full control over all the craft involved at all times. To that end, I built a dedicated communications probe, which I have dubbed White Noise 7:

White Noise 7 communications probe after launch.

Spent much of my time launching and getting three of these things into a polar orbit around Mun. Didn't have sufficient time to finish setting up the recommended "triangle orbit"; on the agenda today is getting them all plane-aligned and then working out the math of getting them spaced properly - right now there's maybe a ten degree arc between the three of them. I think I can reduce the periapsis and then circularize at the apoapsis again; just a matter of figuring how how far down the periapsis needs to be.

Also took the time to get Necessary Evil docked up with Munport:

Necessary Evil (foreground) on final approach to Munport. Strange Cargo is also docked at the station, but the station itself is obscuring it.

A Spamcan 7 craft was also send up to rendezvous with Munport, with the intended job of being a craft I could dispatch from the station to conduct rescue missions as needed. I have one over Mun at the moment; will be a while before I can arrange to get said rescuee back to Kerbin, of course.

With some crucial techs still unaccessible, another Fireball 7b science mission was launched to Mun, with scientist Kirmund Kerman in the pod. Intended targets are the Poles, Polar Lowlands, Polar Crater and maybe some of the nearby Northern Basin. Hoping I won't have to send more fuel for this hop.

Pretty much it. I might've done more but I was pretty lax in keeping my log up yesterday.

[roboslacker]

Since my last post, I sent a third nuclear reactor to my minmus base, rescued Jeb, and planted a science probe on an asteroid, 

[Geonovast]

41 minutes ago, capi3101 said:

The dish / solar panel overlap would drive me insane.  I don't know how you live with that.  I've aborted entire missions because of overlap way less than that!

[capi3101]

1 hour ago, Geonovast said:

The dish / solar panel overlap would drive me insane.  I don't know how you live with that.  I've aborted entire missions because of overlap way less than that!

Eh. If it works, I'm usually golden. Plus it's something I intend to drop in place and forget about (until it stops working like it should, of course...and I'll go with until instead of unless...).

[DerekL1963]

3 hours ago, capi3101 said:

Spent much of my time launching and getting three of these things into a polar orbit around Mun. Didn't have sufficient time to finish setting up the recommended "triangle orbit"; on the agenda today is getting them all plane-aligned and then working out the math of getting them spaced properly - right now there's maybe a ten degree arc between the three of them. I think I can reduce the periapsis and then circularize at the apoapsis again; just a matter of figuring how how far down the periapsis needs to be.

When I played using Remotech, here's how I did it:

1. Choose one bird as the "reference" bird, and get it into the "perfect" orbit and note it's orbital period.

2. Move a second bird into the "perfect" orbit, and then move it into the proper position relative to the reference bird.  If it needs to move East, drop the Pe and let it drift, then circularize.  If it needed to move West, raise the Ap.  When you're at the proper relative position, match periods (or preferably match periods by matching the semi-major axis).

The key here is to watch the difference in orbital periods between the reference bird and the bird being moved into position.  The larger the difference, the faster the relative motion, the harder it is to brake precisely into position.  So, if it needs to drift a long way you can start with a large relative difference in orbital period and then slowly lower the relative difference as you get closer.  (Tweaking your thrust down is a massive help as you're making the final adjustments.  Correct that, it's not a massive help, it's the only way)  It took me a huge amount of practice to nail the procedure, but in the end I could nail position +/- 1 degrees and period to +/- .01 seconds.  I'd typically use tweaked RCS for the final persnickety adjustments.

3. Repeat with the third bird.

Using a mod such as MJ or KER that gives you a readout of the relevant data (Ap, Pe, period, semi-major axis, angular position relative to target) is a massive help.  If you do use such a mod, matching orbits by matching semi-major axis is much easier than trying to match period by matching Ap and Pe.

Just out of curiosity why did you use those massive RA-100's when all you need are HG-5's?

Edited August 18, 2017 by DerekL1963

[capi3101]

51 minutes ago, DerekL1963 said:

When I played using Remotech, here's how I did it:

1. Choose one bird as the "reference" bird, and get it into the "perfect" orbit and note it's orbital period.

2. Move a second bird into the "perfect" orbit, and then move it into the proper position relative to the reference bird.  If it needs to move East, drop the Pe and let it drift, then circularize.  If it needed to move West, raise the Ap.  When you're at the proper relative position, match periods (or preferably match periods by matching the semi-major axis).

The key here is to watch the difference in orbital periods between the reference bird and the bird being moved into position.  The larger the difference, the faster the relative motion, the harder it is to brake precisely into position.  So, if it needs to drift a long way you can start with a large relative difference in orbital period and then slowly lower the relative difference as you get closer.  (Tweaking your thrust down is a massive help as you're making the final adjustments.  Correct that, it's not a massive help, it's the only way)  It took me a huge amount of practice to nail the procedure, but in the end I could nail position +/- 1 degrees and period to +/- .01 seconds.  I'd typically use tweaked RCS for the final persnickety adjustments.

3. Repeat with the third bird.

Using a mod such as MJ or KER that gives you a readout of the relevant data (Ap, Pe, period, semi-major axis, angular position relative to target) is a massive help.  If you do use such a mod, matching orbits by matching semi-major axis is much easier than trying to match period by matching Ap and Pe.

Just out of curiosity why did you use those massive RA-100's when all you need are HG-5's?

The procedure you're outlining here is about what I was thinking about doing. I was also considering using Precise Node and KAC's closest approach alarm system to tell me when I'd be in the ballpark.

Yeah, forgot to pack RCS on these things. I wonder why...it's not like I have to do any sort of precision station-keeping with them, right? 

As to the dishes, I was thinking ahead to other locales, just swapping out the booster and transfer stage as needed. I'm well aware of the fact that what I've got is waaaaay overpowered for Mun. Good practice run overall.

[Kerbital]

4 hours ago, Geonovast said:

The dish / solar panel overlap would drive me insane.  I don't know how you live with that.  I've aborted entire missions because of overlap way less than that!

LOL, me too. Same thing, ha, ha! For that reason I like the Near Future Solar. The large deployable panel "sticks out" further from the mount point allowing more flexibility.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Kerbital

[1101]

A perfectly nominal re-entry procedure:

 

[Julien Kerman]

My Space station keeps growing...

This is how it looks at the moment:

And do you remember this? This is the picture which I posted when I launched the station core:

Spoiler

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by Julien Kerman

[Geonovast]

This 501 piece monstrosity is theoretically about to take Arbas, Napond, and Mitden on a one way trip to Eve.  Packaged is the lander, decent sized rover, and a relay satellite to drop into Kerbol orbit on the way there.

[Goddess Bhavani]

SpaceSheepOne mixed-propulsion aircraft prototype returning to KSC after a Mach 2 test flight at 54,000ft. 

[DerekL1963]

Building a space station in the sandbox just because.  I devised a simple and elegant way to move the RCS on my delivery tug close to the loaded/average COM.

Edited August 19, 2017 by DerekL1963

[CatastrophicFailure]

1 hour ago, carmenara said:

SpaceSheepOne mixed-propulsion aircraft prototype returning to KSC after a Mach 2 test flight at 54,000ft. 

That looks baaaaaaaaaaad S. 

[qzgy]

Completed another Shuttle challenge and tested out the Endurance Mini. Yes, Mini. How Ironic, considering it uses 10 rhinos. Also put up a space station , again for that shuttle challenge.

[CatastrophicFailure]

In my test game, landed on Rald at 6.4 scale.

This thing did NOT want to fly S-first.

 

Had to pop chutes to really slow down and get it stable for touchdown. (.5 ATM @ sea level in my setup)

 

Dat view doe. 

(Credit to @KerikBalm for Rald)

 

Now to find out if it can take off again...

Edited August 19, 2017 by CatastrophicFailure

[Jett_Quasar]

I posted a video of my latest Star Wars fleet.

I will be uploading the craft to my Star Wars Kerbal-X hangar over the weekend.  Check in or follow my hangar for notices on updates.

 - Jett

[KandoKris]

I went a little crazy finishing of testing of 2 variants of my latest idea a 'laythe ocean landing pad / outpost  complete with subs,boats, rovers and an SSTO.

Still some bugs to work out and some fine tuning all round but both made it to the surface thank god and nothing but a broken antenna and a sigh of relief.

[qromodynmc]

I was working on a su-47 replica today, had tons of fun with it