What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Hotel26]

I had a lot of fun with this:

Hefty is the little sky crane on top of the center stack.  It launches with Tripod, the base pod platform, which is assembled in lunar orbit and then deposited.

Left rear is an ORB Mk2, which generates the usual fluids.

An Xenon Converter appears center front and it converts Ore and Charge into Xenon (using magic^[tm]).

Right rear is a Tripod Tower (missing its RA-2 (oops) and fairing and Papa Dock, which are used for stacking in space for transfer and for lowering into position).

All up crew is 12 kerbs (not counting the visitor, Hefty).

Oh yeah, at the very center (under Hefty) is Xenon Silo, which sports 30x 5700-size xenon tanks under the hood.  This was the prime mover for the whole project, because it requires a convenient connection to ORB Mk2 for the 'coal' it extracts the xenon from.

The whole kit makes a modest but fun project and I'll likely publish the components shortly!

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Hotel26

[Nazalassa]

10 hours ago, Krazy1 said:

Thanks. I'm familiar with the 2 stock drills but yours looks quite different to me. The actuator mechanisms are different. Could you right click it to see the info if you get a chance? 

I think they use Restock, so the ae the stock drills, but retextured.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

I made a plane similar to the Beechcraft Model 18 - also known among military aircraft enthusiasts as the C-45 Expeditor. 

 

• The Beachcraft on display in the SPH.
• This was meant as a recreational short-range aircraft and not to be used for any serious survey missions. The thermometer was mostly for show, as one would like to know the temperature of the landing spot while on vacation.
• Due to the tailwheel landing gear configuration, I had to tilt the aircraft upward a bit to reduce bouncing when it first gets on the runway.
• Its cargo bay is loaded with EVA repair kits and some science kits, although I do not recommend using this plane for any survey missions unless they're within 340 kilometers of the KSC. The lights are for personal use when you're on vacation or something, like on a beach.
  • You'll be running on fumes at 330 km, so you might want a decent altitude before you start landing at a VERY low throttle.
• The thermometer and antenna were for show, as:
  • If you're going to go on vacation and/or sightsee, wouldn't you want to know the temperature of where you're going?
  • A lot of planes (especially older ones) have antennae sticking out of their fuselages.

 

If you're interested in the in-universe story behind it, feel free to read the spoiler below:

• WARNING: contains spoilers for "A Mystery Beyond Science."

Spoiler

The Beachcraft was commissioned by WinterOwl Aircraft Emporium's CEO, Wynter Kerman II, so she could go sightseeing over the beaches and have short-distance vacation flights. She also brought along her husband and daughter for these trips. Even when jets and/or longer-range aircraft became available, Wynter Two still used this plane because she wanted to "… still experience what flight was like back in my younger years." After she died, Wynter Three inherited this plane and, like her mother before her, used it for occasional sightseeing.

Many decades later - and several years before Irpond Kerman started her interplanetary killing spree - Kerbin’s legislature passed a law mandating that all new planes be equipped with an autopilot program and a means to control it remotely. This Beachcraft was exempted thanks to the Manufactured Before Passage and Purely Personal Usage clauses, but Wynter Four did agree to retrofit the plane with MechJeb. Years later, after she was murdered by notorious fugitive Misty Kerman, her children paid to get a probe core and knockout gas dispensers installed in case the plane got hijacked. Although this particular aircraft had never been involved in any crimes (other than Wynter Three’s alleged adultery a long time ago), Wynter Five and her brother felt like "... being better safe than sorry."

After the last retrofitting was done, Admiral Valentina Kerman agreed to test it.

 

• After a painless takeoff - I didn’t even need to pitch up before liftoff at 80 m/s - I gained some altitude and turned west towards Alt Test Mountains. Sure, the craft was intended for low-altitude sightseeing, but KSP test pilots love to take their vehicles over Alt Test Mountains.
  • So much so I had to include "Clear Alt Test Mountains" as a question in the performance stats.

 

• The Beachcraft clearing the mountains before activating the MJ aircraft autopilot.
• Although the test run flew at an altitude of 7.85 km, it was able to fly over 8 km for a bit.
  • But in the process of attempting to lower the altitude to 8 km, the pilot screwed up and it got stuck at 7.85 km. Rather than try to fix it, Mission Control allowed the cruise to continue as it was.
    • It had already proven to fly as high as the real-life Beechcraft and twice as fast. 

 

• 95 units of fuel left, and the Beachcraft flew 331 km west from the KSC in 28 minutes. It had a good flight, but it was time to land.
• Lucky thing it didn’t overshoot the desert peninsula when the LAND IMMEDIATELY alarm went off, or Val would be in a lot of trouble.

 

• Descending at a very low throttle for an off-road landing test along the desert beaches.

 

• After a two-wheeled landing (that tailwheel didn’t want to touch the ground for a bit), the plane managed to come to a complete stop in one piece.
• Due to an unforeseen complication, the hatch was obstructed and Val couldn’t get out for a photo.
  • The ladder was moved several times and the cockpit was replaced, but it was no good. Finally, the engines were moved from the center a bit - and just like that, Val was able to get in and out of the plane.
    • Apparently, the blades were too close to the hatch for it to open.
• While I matched the real-life Beechcraft Model 18's altitude and go twice as fast, I could barely go 1/6th of its range. 

 

• After the problem with the hatch was taken care of, the plane was taken for another test run. This time, it was flying south along the beaches near the KSC.
  • Although its original owner, Wynter Kerman the Second, did fly here sometimes, most of her sightseeing flights were somewhere else on the planet. Furthermore, the Kerbal Space Program didn’t exist at the time.
  • After it was retrofitted with a probe core many decades later, it was brought here for a test flight.

 

Beachcraft Test Run Performance Stats
Crew Capacity	1 pilot + 2 passengers
Power Plant	(2 x R121) x (6 x R-25)
Total Empty Cargo Capacity	12 (6 loaded + 6 empty)
Landing Gear Configuration	Tailwheel
Cruising Altitude	7.85 km (Can go higher)
Clear Alt Test Mountains?	YES
Cruising Surface Velocity	205 m/s
Expected Range	340 km
Blade Angle	38 degrees (45 is optimal)
Takeoff Velocity	80 m/s

 

Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Mars-Bound_Hokie/Beachcraft

[jimmymcgoochie]

21 hours ago, Krazy1 said:

Thanks. I'm familiar with the 2 stock drills but yours looks quite different to me. The actuator mechanisms are different. Could you right click it to see the info if you get a chance? 

Looks like the Restock-ed version of the stock large drill to me.

 

A flurry of rocket launches, flinging cameras and small creatures into space for a few minutes at a time for mostly scientific purposes, a couple of high speed aircraft flights and one rather disastrous attempt to staple wings and a cockpit onto one of the aforesaid rockets to make it a rocketplane, which ended about as well as you’d expect- it ripped its own canards off and then killed the pilot by flying too high and too fast before tumbling out of the sky in an uncontrolled tailspin.

Edited April 16, 2023 by jimmymcgoochie

[Rutabaga22]

Jeb crashed our brand new fighter jet.

So I sent val to save him.

[Krazy1]

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

that tailwheel didn’t want to touch the ground for a bit

Try disabling the reaction wheel in the probe core

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

I didn’t even need to pitch up before liftoff at 80 m/s

80 m/s is 155 knots. That's pretty fast. Are you using flaps? I usually use action groups to activate deploying flaps (down) and elevator (up for conventional tail) with the gear button. 

It doesn't look like you have any incidence angle on the wings. There's no airfoil shape in KSP unfortunately, so adding about 2-4 deg of angle on the wings helps a lot. And a couple deg down for the stabilizer. Otherwise the fuselage is always at an angle to the airstream and it creates a lot of drag. 

21 hours ago, Trann said:

It's gotta be the Restock mod

11 hours ago, Nazalassa said:

I think they use Restock

58 minutes ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

Looks like the Restock-ed version of the stock large drill to me.

Got it. Thanks guys! One more mod to add...

Just finished a test flight of Vizor 100... should be the final test before actual customer service. Left in the afternoon and flew about 7000 km east through the night and landed at S00A in the morning. Could have made it  back to KSC easily but that will be another day. 

More pics: >>> album <<<

Airport map

[Rutabaga22]

I did a flyby of the moon with bill and bob.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

1 hour ago, Krazy1 said:

80 m/s is 155 knots. That's pretty fast. Are you using flaps?

Unfortunately, no. I had to disable that action group (I typically use the R button for flaps on aircraft) when the Elevon 3s between the fuselage and the engines deployed in the OPPOSITE direction. How can I correct the flap deployment direction without it affecting which way those control surfaces go in regular (no flaps on) flight.

• Flaps typically point downward when deployed, they pointed upward.

 

1 hour ago, Krazy1 said:

so adding about 2-4 deg of angle on the wings helps a lot. And a couple deg down for the stabilizer. Otherwise the fuselage is always at an angle to the airstream and it creates a lot of drag. 

How do I do that on KSP at such a precise angle, or is it pure guesswork? Also, won't this affect the way my engines are pointed too?

[fulgur]

@Mars-Bound Hokie You can right-click in the SPH and select something like "Deploy Direction Inverted" to change which way the flaps go.

There are mods which allow you to select the exact angle of your wings, such as

or you can do it by eye.

 

Launched something really big.

Edited April 17, 2023 by fulgur

[Krazy1]

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

deployed in the OPPOSITE direction.

Like Fulgar said... there's a button when you right click the elevon to switch it. And be warned there's a bug in KSP (well one of many) that randomly switches the deploy direction... like when you revert to the SPH or you move the wing the elevon is attached to. I always have to check and check again. You can switch it on the runway if you need to.

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

How do I do that on KSP at such a precise angle, or is it pure guesswork? Also, won't this affect the way my engines are pointed too?

I use the low tech approach... I set the angle increment to 1 degree... I don't remember if you can do that in stock or if you need Editor Extension Redux - I always use that anyway. Then zoom in and put your finger on the screen (or a post-it works too) at the tip of the leading or trailing edge. Then grab the wing with the rotation tool... it will jump all over the place but that's why we marked the original position, so while holding the mouse button move your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen so it's more precise, rotate the wing back to the original position first, then just carefully count how many degree "steps" you want as you rotate it. Then do the same process in the opposite direction to rotate the engines back to 0 deg.  

How do you set the optimal angle? Just experience. Start with 3 deg. It's not super important to set this angle unless you're going for range or supersonic, but it helps. 

[Trann]

Nice

Edited April 18, 2023 by Trann

[jimmymcgoochie]

Added external drop tanks to a plane to increase the flight time, cruising at Mach 2 drains the internal tanks in under 10 minutes and the new tanks almost double that. The cockpit still heats up like a sauna (internal temperature over 60 degrees Celsius and plenty of glass to let in the blistering Australian summer sun) but that’s a problem for another day.

[suicidejunkie]

Collected some graviolis in high space over the flats... in my rover.

Wasn't the intended goal of the drive, but I'm not gonna say no to science for dinner.

 

Also; performed some emergency rocket surgery with KAS on the way to Minmus after one of the fuel pods stopped feeding the engine, despite still being in 3-symmetry with the others.

Went from 50m/s to 700m/s remaining, so we won't end up needing rescue ship assistance to capture and land.

[DunaManiac]

Today I had my first honest-to-god failure in quite some time.

The probe in question. The Eve Survey Mission was planned to be an orbiter that would gain Kerbalkind's first look at Eve. Essentially what happened is I understimated how much launching it 70 days off-window would affect my fuel margins. I had enough fuel to boost into orbit, do a plane change, but 300 m/s short of being able to get into Orbit. Thus, my orbiter becomes a flyby.

Ironically it was doomed by its sister probe, the Cloud Piercer. The Cloud Piercer was given priority for launch over ESM, and that is what sealed its fate.

To add insult to injury (even though technically the mission was doomed with or without this happening): this happened. A good old stage-separation failure. I could have quickloaded but it was actually rather funny, so I kept it.

Thankfully though, the probe was completely unharmed, allowing me to boost it back up into orbit. The fact that this mission also meant that I had to delay my much more important manned Minmus attempt is what makes this even more humiliating for the space program. Lessons will be learned from this one.

[xendelaar]

I finished editing the finale of my Grand Tour through the Kerbal Sized Real Solar System! Join Jeb and Bill as they journey to the far reaches of space, exploring the moons of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and even Earth itself.

It took us over 1,232 years to complete this incredible journey where we planted 25 flags on different celestial bodies, but every moment was worth it. I made a small clip about the journey, which you can find here below.

 

 

[tg626]

Artemis-Alliance Test Project (Apollo Soyuz, and I used Artemis before they did )

(Sorry for the clutter, I seemed to have turned off "autohide UI" in historian)

Later after bringing Artemis home, I spotted a discoverable base and sent an expedition.

Stock plane, but whatever...

[jimmymcgoochie]

Engine failure seconds after launch put an end to the mission, and unfortunately the early failure meant there was insufficient altitude to get the parachute open in time to save the only passenger on board, Hammy the hamster.

Er, I mean, Hammy went to space just fine and then went to live on a farm in the country, he’s absolutely fine, please stop crying before your mother finds out I stole your pet hamster for a science experiment…

[tg626]

Rounding out the day, Pointless Orbital Object 1.

Simply an excuse for me to launch something on a 3 stage SRB booster from that new site I found.

Edited April 20, 2023 by tg626

[Krazy1]

Pics from the first revenue flight for Vizor 100. Took 100 kerbals on a 4 leg trip in JNSQ.

>>> album <<<

[suicidejunkie]

Added a 250`000 spacebucks crater to Mun after I was too stingy with the orbital refuel and also overestimated the TWR on final approach of my Megaminer base.

Followed that up with a 330`000 version which descended from the launch clamps to the pad after adding more fuel and engines to the upper stage, but thankfully it was recovered with only losses from fuel burn.

After another aborted rollout due to extra BACCs being too floppy, it finally made its successful landing with 190m/s to spare, thus completing the 150`000 spacebucks contract, and adding some heavy duty infrastructure for future missions.

[tg626]

Another Mün landing...

A Reusable Kerbal Transport System launch to the Interagency Space Station...

Some atmospheric neutral buoyancy studies...

and... questioning some life choices.

[Kuansenhama]

Landed a rover on Eve. First time going there in about 7 IRL years. Only broke one wheel due to Kraken.

Crewed mission to Gilly.

 

[DunaManiac]

Today, I launched Nova-E III - the 3rd in a series of 5 missions to the Mun and Minmus. Today is the first mission to Minmus.

The Ascent

Spoiler

This mission will go a little differently: USI life support imposes habitation constraints. You can't stick kerbals in a tin can and expect their sanity to remain intact for the entire month-long expedition. Separation is done in LKO, and reorganization is done early because the exhaust of the LV909 rendezvous and maneuvering engines' exhaust was blocked.

After about a day in orbit (launch-time was poor), we rendezvous with the Oasis Habitation module, where there are supplies and space for the entire length of the mission.

Not long after, we set out for Minmus.

After 12 days in transit, the Oasis-Nova-E assembly arrives at Minmus. 

Landing is standard fare, the lower gravity of Minmus compared to the Mun gives us enormous fuel reserves.

A key part of the mission was sampling multiple areas near this sheltered corner of the Great Flats. Of particular interest were these isolated flats, 3 arranged in a sideways peace-sign fashion, a region called Terra Pax. Are these all part of the Great Flats? Or are they separate entities. What are the flats anyway?

Spoiler

We set up the mobile experiments. I made a massive blunder: I forgot to bring an engineer! Unfortunately, these experiments are just for show rather than functional.

Landing 2: an olivine formation. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any samples: it was too hard for our drills! Edson found out the hard way when it cracked his chisel while enthusiastically trying to get a sample. Some dust was salvaged from the olivine, but nothing substantial.

Also set up a seismometer station. This will be critical for a future project, as well as a planned base in this area. We must know about the frequency of Minmus-quakes!

Landing 3: Green sandstone.

Landing 4: Final landing. Up in the highlands overlooking Terra Pax.

After operations on the surface are finished, the lander rendezvous with the Oasis Assembly.

Return will be a little more complicated than most minmus missions. We need to be able to reuse that habitation module. This means we have to return to LKO - and at 3 km/s that's pretty tricky. Even with a fairly unrealistic maneuver - transfering all the liquid fuel aboard the lander into the propulsion module - we still don't have enough to completely circularize. A little more oomph is needed.

And that extra push comes in the form of aerobraking. I don't want to think about the realism of this maneuver.

We get back into LKO with the barest of margins: 4 m/s! Nova-E 4 may need to improve fuel capacity somewhat. However, we're here. Now returning the crew is straightforward: taking that plane we've been carrying around this whole mission and landing it back at the KSC.

We undock from the Oasis module, leaving it for the next mission. The nuclear propulsion stage is also left in orbit, presumably to be self-destructed in orbit.

After a relatively tame reentry and approach, we have landed! I wonder, can I claim that I have launched to Minmus, and both launching from and landing at the KSC? Isapond, Sisby, and Edson  Kerman receive their heroes welcome. And the rest of Kerbin turns their focus to grander ambitions.

Edited April 22, 2023 by DunaManiac

[N_Danger]

Deorbited an unmanned station.

And launched a kerbaled replacement.

then launched a mission to Minmus with new vehicles.

 

Spoiler

Stage separation, LES jettison and faring separation.

Trans - Minmus burn

The burns last 100 m/s are done by the lander.

After the Minmus burn the SM separates, then flips and docks with the lander.

Spoiler

The mission arrives at Minmus and has to wait until a solar storm passes before landing (The lander has no radiation shielding).

Jeb nails a landing on a slope.

Bob is the first scientist on Minmus. He puts his Geology degree to work by finding a rock.

Spoiler

Bob coming back from a field trip.

Takeoff!

And the crew is getting ready to go home after arriving  back at the SM

And a routine reentry and landing was had by all

[TheOrios]

Overhauled Roud's look

Spoiler