What did you do in KSP1 today?

[obnox twin]

Getting a scanner to Minmus and mun and kerbin in a sandbox save as I want to colonise every planet in game with USI LS and MKS.

[Autochrome]

W.I.P. Block II Shuttle Recreation

Block II Supremacy!

[Ben J. Kerman]

Space Truckin' in my Kania SK 730

https://u.cubeupload.com/Bjh223/screenshot75.png

Space truck crashin'

https://u.cubeupload.com/Bjh223/screenshot77.png

https://u.cubeupload.com/Bjh223/screenshot97.png

No, I didn't use a rocket to get there, I just hit Shift+Alt+F12 and set position. I think I did some screenshots on Vall and some on Moho. Sorry some of the images didn't embed, but I just did a speedtest that says I have a 0.89 Mbps upload speed. 

 

[Axelord FTW]

A few things happened. First, I repatriated the Moho surface-base crew. They used the NSW-ES left in Moho orbit to get back to Kerbin. With that, this particular engine stack has done three Moho roundtrips without getting refueled once. 
The first 'interstellar' shakedown voyage was completed, with the crew taking a shuttle back down to Kerbin while the ship itself boosted back up to the Mun where it got turned to scrap metal at the orbital station.
I decided to do some more housekeeping on the station for a little while, though I had some issues getting everything squared up. I realized I was being stubborn and that I quite literally had the means of making a new station with the current one. Most importantly, this new station would all be a single craft; no modules, no docking ports part of the superstructure. With all that scrap metal from the previous ship at hand, I only had to do three rocket-part deliveries to feed the factory. I could have cannibalized from the station itself and only do two delivery trips instead but that would just lead to more of the same stuff that got me to this point in the first place. All in all, a bit over 20 days to complete...

Meanwhile...

I had also sent the new Interstellar ship on its own shakedown voyage, to Plock/Karen (OPM's analogue to Pluto/Charon). Once there, the onboard factory churned out a small ScanSat probe which handily did it's thing above both worlds before landing on Karen itself. With that done, a choice LZ was designated on Plock, where a crew of 4 soon landed. Although not as outrageous as the previous Lithium-powered lander, this one can do something like 90ms² of acceleration, which is definitely asking for G-LOC if you're not careful. Since it was originally designed to land on Tylo, this bby had absolutely no issue landing on Plock. While the region I was landing it was pretty uneven, I chanced to land upon a very small, almost perfectly flat and level plateau! All I needed to do now was make another Fat Cricket rover-factory using the 6000RPs carried by the lander, and from there do the usual by upscaling into a full fledged ground factory (though, this one is 100% automated, no crew space). That done, the new factory will now be used to refuel the lander (though it could probably easily get back to the mothership with what it still got). That's currently ongoing, though I'm in no hurry.

The Super Mun Station was eventually completed, the crew was transferred over, and then succinctly ate the old station for breakfast. One of the best things about this new station is the upscaled reaction-wheels core. It has excellent attitude control, and doesn't wobble one tiny bit either. Also, the SystemHeat side of things has been beautified too, now using heat exchangers (which I finally figured out recently). Well, there are only two active loops to take care of, but still. Haven't found a good name for it yet.

Spoiler

The Moho Crew's return to orbit was nice, but completely unremarkable. Idem for the return to Kerbin.

The return to Kerbin by the first Interstellar shakedown mission was a more tedious than anything else. Even with something like the Niven NSW engine which has incredible thrust, long burns are long.

The new 'super station' being tarped before construction. It's quite the chonky thing, and will required 140,000 RPs to build. While the station could only ever hold half as much directly, at that moment it was also quite heavy with scrap metal and metal which made up for most of the deficit.

Trips like these from the surface of the Mun are now little more than routine, though this trip was the last needed and also included some thruster modules to help the old station get into the jaw of the new one when it would be ready. Usually the station could have made those by itself, but it was currently busy with something else, obviously.

The IS2 right before decelerating at Plock. Kerbol is very far and dim, out there.

The ScanSat probe/rover now on the surface of karen. It did its job really well. Another design used previously by the other IS ship was made to meet back up with the mothership but this one is 100% throwaway. They're so cheap to make in terms of RPs anyway. Not too sure how I managed to make a smiley face in the scanmap window, though...

Here's the real lander. Dropped some science stuff (for some reasons the RTGs overheated and exploded eventually) and then started working on the rover-factory.

Step two and three. EZPZ.

The new station was completed, and nothing exploded. In this picture, it is already chewing away at the old station.

And here it is in its parking orientation, and properly unfolded.

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Axelord FTW

[Ben J. Kerman]

I am working on turning a Kania PK 370 into a mobile extraplanetary base/base utility vehicle, capable of transporting base modules (All from Kerbal Planetary Base Systems)

More pictures coming later! The crane-looking thing is meant to manipulate base pieces, and the trailer is meant to be capable of dropping off base sections.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Ben J. Kerman
Oh, hey, 1000 rep. points!!!!

[DunaManiac]

Finished my final launch to the Kerbin Starbase in LKO. I'm adding the last two modules before it'll be complete.

Rendevous and docking went smoothly. As of yet, the gravity wheels and solar panels haven't been deployed. Now, to deploy the modules.

My loyal tug undocks (I'm really regretting the lack of reaction wheels on this thing) to take out the first module from the Beluga.

That was the logistical loose storage module. Now, to get the unpressurized storage and computer core.

The completed section. And with that docked, the 3 kerbal inspection team along for the ride is ready to do their work and get the station ready for permanent habitation.

First, the solar panels deploy.

These are followed by the gravity wheels. And it's done! 1 month in the making!

Bill seen here checking a utility crawl way. Now for the dirty work - making sure that every habitat is on (man I wish that was on by default), activating the life support systems, fixing the thermostat, unloading the equipment, getting the control centers in order, etc.

Once that's over, it's time to say farewell. Those inspectors unfortunately won't be part of the permanent starbase crew, that's above their paygrade. The real engineers and scientists will be arriving shortly.

The only problem with that, is that I plan to include a crew of over a dozen. The only crew transfer vehicle I currently have is the majesty-class SSTO seen above (below it is Jewel 2, a mothership in use around the Kerbin system). It's small and reliable, and its served me well up until this point, but as you can see, it's small, with a crew capacity of 4. If you have a crew of 16 that's going to be a problem. So I'll have to design another mk2 spaceplane, maybe even making the Majesty obsolete.

Meanwhile, the Beluga is getting ready to leave Starbase.

Glorious night reentry.

And touchdown! The greatest station I have ever built is complete (probably second only to the planned VENTURE in Minmus orbit, which was incomplete at the time of its unfortunate RUD during eva construction (NEVER AGAIN), in which where I lost not only the station but a spaceplane as well).

[Rutabaga22]

Realized my landing legs were too short and went home from lunar orbit. Jeb was sad.

[Kerb24]

Downloaded Waterfall and Waterfall Restock config.

[fleventeen]

2 hours ago, Rutabaga22 said:

Realized my landing legs were too short and went home from lunar orbit. Jeb was sad.

We've all been there.

Nothing wrong with using the engine bell as landing legs in a pinch though.  

[ColdJ]

Today I found out that when it comes to trying to get an animated model to walk in KSP that the Air is a highly viscous liquid and the land has no friction.

[dci]

 

Sent mapping satellite from Dessert airfield through KSC to Mun polar orbit.

Carefully loaded probe into transport airplane and transferred to KSC.

Spoiler

Airplane used is low on thrust, but can transfer 10t payload with no problems.

15 km from KSC I ran out of fuel, but there was some in probe I transported, so fuel transfer resolves it and I did it to destination.

 

Unloaded container and satellite and moved to temporary place.

Spoiler

Detach container and dock it to tug.

Cargo was stuck a bit, so I needed to lower gear and partialy close bay doors.

Used MULE to move cargo.

Satellite refuelling

Prepared rocket plane and moved satellite in. This took some quickloads, but finally satellite was docked.

Spoiler

It is pure LF/OX, no airbreathing or nuclear engines are present. When used well, it can put 15 tons into 100km LKO.

Transfer satellite to rocket plane

 Ready to send satellite to orbit.

Spoiler

1x vector and 6x spike are at full throttle and lowered as plane climbs through atmosphere. Terriers are started at about 20km height and are the only engines running during final orbital insertion.

Succesfull deploy

 

Satellite deployed and ready to its trip. Return rocket plane back to KSC.

Spoiler

 

Vessels I used in this mission:

Spoiler

...except tanker car and container tug, which I used at Dessert airfield to load cargo into airplane.

Satellite was sent to routine transfer to Mun orbit and now is mapping surface.

Spoiler

[Axelord FTW]

Did a sun-diver probe thingy, just for kicks. Got some near-the-sun science before it turned to dust.
I was also working on sending an automated factory to follow after the first interstellar relay I sent a few years back. It's basically just an automated factory with some RP containers strapped on top of a NSW engine. The 'catch up' burn is still over 200,000ms, which is still happening in the background as I type. This factory doesn't have a stadium-sized dish on top of it, though, and will need to contend with being in range of the relay once it nears its destination. On these sort of scales, it's all too easy to miss the mark entirely or screw up my timing. If I screw up, this thing will just coast past the target system at roughly 200 kilometers per second. Since the relay is already about 15 times as far from Kerbol as Plock is, my options are either to cross my fingers and hope for the best, or burn for an encounter with the relay earlier and then match velocity again once it gets near so it stays in range.

Still a long burn to complete. I started it while in low Munar orbit, and I'm only a quarter of the way through it even as I've long since left Kerbin's SOI altogether.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Axelord FTW

[Akagi]

The E Program is back!

Strato-1 courtesy of @fleventeen

Download the E here!

[KerbalX is broken! Will try again. Anyone know any fixes?]

Does anyone know how to increase the explosion power of parts?

[Piatzin]

23 minutes ago, Akagi said:

[KerbalX is broken! Will try again. Anyone know any fixes?]

It's site-wide, everyone is having the same issue, apparently (check the KerbalX forum thread).

[Akagi]

I built an SU-35, took off, almost hit my Kerbin refinery, cobra'd, passed so low over the refinery while cobra-ing that the engine thrust sent a Kerb flying, and flew it safely to landing!

[Akagi]

WIP: Guess the plane!

After you guess, look here:

Spoiler

DC-10 with walk-on boarding!

 

[TrackerAerospace]

Over the last two days I’ve finally gotten around to finishing this beauty: 

Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady. Getting the part colors to match was very difficult, but worth it in the end. I’ve been wanting to finish her for months.

[Akagi]

5 minutes ago, TrackerAerospace said:

Over the last two days I’ve finally gotten around to finishing this beauty: 

Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady. Getting the part colors to match was very difficult, but worth it in the end. I’ve been wanting to finish her for months.

I love the Dragon Lady...

What mods?

[Admiral Fluffy]

Brought some Kerbals home from Laythe.

Spoiler

Sploosh.

Also tested an SSTO.

Spoiler

 

Had some problems with landing though. 

Spoiler

 

Ended up bringing them back with a floatplane.

Spoiler

 

Used the Lurker SSTO to launch a Xenon Comsat.

Spoiler

 

 

The re-entry worked, I promise.

It crashed on the runway and lost a wing, but the kerbals survived!

I should add a drogue chute to it.

[N_Danger]

Launched satellites:

And sent a lander to the Mun.

[Axelord FTW]

Though I don't think I'll be using AM engines all that much (if at all) in this career, I still feel like some facilities would be appropriate anyway. Antimatter storage is very power hungry, and since I'm trying to keep my Kerbals out of the field as much as possible at the moment, that means solar power was the answer. That said, the problem with solar energy is having pesky planets and moons get in the way of that sweet Sunny-D. Solution: Batteries. Lots and LOTS of energy storage was needed to live through Munar orbital nights and the occasional solar eclipses.

Next step is either refine AM on or around the Mun (which is boring!) or have an AM collector ship being sent up to Jool for that sweet Spacedust. Heck, I could probably also send along a Jool diver with an atmo scoop. Haven't done that either yet.

Anyway, here's the AM storage facility. A small AM tug will be sent up to it eventually, as directly docking with it with larger ships could be a problem. It has attitude control, but no ability to translate.

[xub313]

I tested an experimental minishuttle. The Mk1 plane parts are difficult to bring down without overheating, especially with 1.2x reentry heat. The Condor X-1 is a barebones glider for dummy testing. Recent attempts have all burned up, I might just use the Mk2 parts instead.

I also launched a direct ascent Mun landing fulfil the "return from the surface of the Mun" contract. Jeb likes BIG rockets and BIG landers!

The big lander let me bring lots of cargo so I finally got to check out the EVA construction. The stamp-o-tron works well as a lift for rover construction. Here bill is building the gang a rover while Jeb holds the flashlight.

 

[ColdJ]

13 hours ago, Akagi said:

Does anyone know how to increase the explosion power of parts?

Don't think it is valid anymore but try looking at this thread, Especially the post by harvestR

 

[ColdJ]

Uploaded some pics for somewhere else, thought I'd share here 2. BB8 is great, Gonk can't walk due to the physics engine but I am working on other methods.

[Piatzin]

I'm trying to make a mining vehicle that can do short hops from the ocean (Kerbin) and to the mainland. It's intended to be a refueling craft for a fleet of navy ships I want to steer around the planet (Elcano challenge) but it's getting pretty heavy, and large, and relatively part-intensive, and I'm thinking it might be better to invest my time into a rover.

The specific series of steps it would theoretically work across look like:

1) Empty vehicle detaches from tugboat, takes off from the ocean and travels inland to a spot with high ore concentrations.

2) The craft lands with one set of parachutes and a little bit of help from the engines.

3) ISRU operations proceed until the vehicle has filled its ore tanks and replenished the fuel it used for the hop.

4) Fully-loaded vehicle hops back to the ocean, lands with a second set of parachutes and some fume-fueled puffs from the engines.

5) Tugboat reattaches, then other navy ships attach to the tugboat, and the ore is consumed.

6) Repeat or move on as needed.

Current (very early) prototype looks like this:

The landing gear would need to be significantly wider to ensure stability, and I've also come to realize that it has nowhere near enough fuel for significant hops. As it is, I might as well just fit the navy ships with drills and design them so that they can sidle up to the shore and suck up whatever meager resources it may have to offer.

Assuming I continue with this thing, the weight would also need to be redistributed so that the rig doesn't tip nose-down, and get flipped when the parachutes deploy. Admittedly it looks very cool, but testing concluded that it was impractical for the lifespan of the equipment

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Earthlinger