What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Lyra]

Built this monstrosity of an SSTO, girlfriend named it the Coelacanth. It's meant to be a long-range SSTE (except Eve), and will hopefully be able to ascend and deorbit in stock IVA mode.

This is the second iteration, it's currently VERY suboptimal (excess oxidizer and no drain valve, terrible nuclear TWR, poor landing gear placement, no ramjets for extra takeoff thrust... the list goes on) and will probably be almost completely reworked in the third iteration.

[Duke MelTdoWn]

On 9/14/2023 at 10:59 PM, space_otter said:

With all the talk about mk2 landers, would it be possible to use the robotic parts to incraese stability/footprint? I don't have the DLCs, but maybe it is possible for at least some extra landing legs and equipment to telescope or fold out from the fuselage

Actually this seems to work great. By now any pretenses about giving a f*** about part clipping are out of the window anyways. I will refine this design and get back to you

I used alligator hinges in this 100 meter drop test. Make sure to disengage the motor and lock them before landing, or you will bounce like crazy.

Spoiler

___

In the meantime, here is the pure stock model. MoEM IX benefits from the findings of my test flight to Moho with MoEM VIII. It now seats three and has multiple other minor improvements.

Art seduces, but does not exploit

'Skyfly XI' cargo SSTO can lift ~ 28 tons payload inside Mk2 bays to Kerbin orbit.
'Nuclear Interim Propulsion Stage' NIPS can transfer a ~12 ton lander from Kerbin to anywhere in the Kerbol system.
'Moho Excursion Module IX' MoEM is a compact lander with built in ISRU that works on most bodies except Eve, Tylo and Laythe.

Skyfly XI + MoEM IX
Total launch mass: 91.2 tons
Total system price: 143,682
Delta-V: ~340m/s left in Skyfly in 100x100 km Kerbin orbit; 4300 m/s in NIPS for Moho Transfer; ~1450 m/s left in MoEM on arrival in 10x10 km Moho orbit 

I followed this guide to get a low energy transfer: https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/The_annual_and_reliable_Moho_Transfer_Opportunity

Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3036242416
Protocol of MoEM VIII Moho expedition: 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn
MoEM IX

[RevanX_LSR]

After learning how to actually make  moon homeworlds without the game crashing, I decided to have some fun.

I didn't take any pictures until I decided to make Vera a binary with Revan. I set the SOI just 1 km above the surface of Vera and the orbit such that the 2 only get 2 kilometers from each other. (vera and revan both aren't tidally locked to each other)
 

Prior experiment: Just a normal binary viewed from high Revan latitudes.

 

MAIN Experiment: this is just an edited version of LSR, here are the body stats:

	Radius	Gravity	Mass (JNSQ Kerbin)	Orbital velocity	usual distance
Revan	2000 km	1.38g	2.156	5200m/s	1.1AU
Vera	1650 km	0.96g	1.020	3800m/s	0.85AU

Vera closing in on Revan

This actually looks pretty cool. If only it could happen IRL:

https://youtu.be/FWS74e4nFpM

Video link. Pls watch from the forums

whole mod is in 2.5x scale

Edited September 16, 2023 by RevanX_LSR

[space_otter]

I threw together a quick, robotic mk2 lander. The design is rather crude, but the craft has over 3000m/s of dV. Instead of landing legs, the craft uses fuel tanks to land. Because I don't have the DLC, I used Infernal Robotics to achieve the robotic parts. The solar panels also foldout from the service bay, which I thought looked rather cool.

[RevanX_LSR]

i made a JNSQ ssto which is easier than it seems. It's just another 1.5km/s which is less than Minmus in stock, and my fuel margins were less tight than on minmus (i still had 700m/s left in orbit!)

Same plane as Minmus SSTO.

Shortly after breaking the sound barrier.

We reached 1576m/s before activating the Nerv's and then going closed-cycle.

Aside from long burn times, it's not all that hard to reach orbit. It's just a lot harder to go interplanetary.

Now in orbit!

Splashdown. I checked and only one part- the second fuel tank - was lost. All the 8 engines actually survived but are below the water. We splashed a kilometer from shore, and the plane with its flawed aerodynamics was basically uncontrollable through the descent, but with heat resistant wings and radiators, it survived re-entry, at least.

[TheKrakenHerder]

Started a new save, trying to play in a "restockalike but realistic" style. Don't have any pictures of my Mercury-Redstone equivalent, but here's Val riding a Hermes (not-Atlas) booster on Polaris 4.

And back down again.

Since taking these pics, I've done some of my Gemini equivalent, so pics of that later today. Might make this a thread.

[TheKrakenHerder]

Just found this pic as well.
A Hermes-Calypso (Atlas-Centaur/Atlas-Agena) lifts off carrying Prospector-1, an early Munar orbiter.

[Watermel00n]

its coming...

[Hotel26]

Diamond Lake is easy to miss.  The surrounding grasslands are elevated 600m higher than it.  Discovered it on an equatorial ASR sweep of spent boosters and the like.

Meanwhile, my new Bluebird has achieved a stable 218 m/s, 785 kmh, 498 mph across the ice with a full fuel load.

   

It is also capable of surviving a plunge from the ice cap into the ocean -- a key requirement in its amphibian mission.

Next comes the tuning of hydrofoil/planes for good speed across the ocean surface.

Edited September 17, 2023 by Hotel26

[Krazy1]

My (hopefully) Laythe SSTO lander scouted a part to recover on Mun... a Mk3 nosecone. Not small! Won't be easy with JSNQ reentry heating. Then docked in LMO for the first time in this career... in the dark of course. Completely swapped crews and tourists. Lathe SSTO went to high Mun orbit to test some Sepratrons and LJP410 proceeded to LKO where a reentry ship will take the tourists home. 

Spoiler

 

Then I was going to launch a small probe to Mun for a contract but KSP pooped the bed... menus gone. Restarting... 

Spoiler

 

[TheKrakenHerder]

Did some stuff for my equivalent of the Gemini program, Antares.

Lifting off atop a Hermes-Calypso.

And back down again.

Edited September 17, 2023 by TheKrakenHerder

[dci]

Launched some communication satellites.

Spoiler

Used this spaceplane, which is able to lift 25t to low orbit (if lucky enough), usually carrying 15-17t at 400-500km  orbit.


No special name, just Carrier 25 Spaceplane and it is technically not SSTO, because of those two tanks at the bottom.

Satellites prepared for release. This type is part of SLINK constellation, which I currently build at ~500km orbits.

Released and waiting to deploy to final orbit.

Back to KSC. With proper CoM management (by fuel pumping between tanks), spaceplane can aerobake, cruise and land with ease.

 

New lauch, this time with dozen of small satellites to build MicroComm 400 relay ring.

All 12 members share one orbit, placed in regular dodecahedron. Image is cluttered with SLINKs and other communication satellites, but members are still visible.

 

This launch was medially covered. Agency bought some cameras from JSI and tried to make live report.

Vessel launch.

Vessel landed.

 

After mission interview.
As you can see, all were there. Moderator, special guest and spaceplane crew. But JSI cameras are unable to detect kerbals.
So it should look like this:

 

Also populated Ring station at LKO with few kerbals:

Launch was medially covered too.

Arrived at daylight...


...docked at night.

 

 

Speaking of night, there is one of SLINK missions landing:

How it is to land a vessel, when Mun casts shadow to other side of Kerbin and everything goes ultradim.

 

Imgur album here: https://imgur.com/a/rxbL8gi

[N_Danger]

After the stranding of the first crew to land on Niven, Rovers were deemed more appropriate for exploring Niven.

Off goes the first rover.

 

On the way.

Ready for EDL

Entry

The Sky Crane  flys off

And rocks were discovered and analyzed

 

[Duke MelTdoWn]

9 hours ago, dci said:

New lauch, this time with dozen of small satellites to build MicroComm 400 relay ring.

Nice swarm! I like the formfactor of the sats.
___

I am building a mid-tech Mun miner. Requires Heavy Rocketry, Advanced Landing, Advanced Electrics, Specialized Construction and R&D 3 for Advanced Science Tech. Will cost about 102k and can carry 3 Kerbals and 1500 ore. The launcher turned out pretty sleek I think.

Spoiler

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn

[Krazy1]

Tourists and trainees were brought home from the Mun today. LJP410 brought them to LKO and a reentry bus took them down. 

Spoiler

Only pic I got of the bus launch... way too vertical the first attempt... First stage already 200 km AP. 

Then R&D invented a teleportation device to return a stray tourist that didn't stay with the group... he was landed on Mun again. They put the modified transport capsule on the launch pad and fired it... *shazam* he appeared in the capsule. There were some concerns about "unraveling the fabric of the universe" but so far so good.

Spoiler

 

[Hotel26]

5 minutes ago, Krazy1 said:

"unraveling the fabric of the universe"

Ha ha ha.  "A kerbal after my own heart."

Always make a backup of the universe before jiggling with your universe...

[Hotel26]

This is my new international airport on Prince Edward Island, 32N 9E.

I scaled the runways back to 1200 meters, in line with constructing a reasonably compact airport.

I had my surveyor stand at the seams of components (runways, taxiways, ramps etc) and examined his shadow in the morning sun in order to verify precise alignment to avoid bogey bumpity bump...

Edited September 19, 2023 by Hotel26

[Wizard Kerbal]

Got screwed over by the kraken.

 

[TheKrakenHerder]

"The nation was blessed to have Agary serve in our space program..."

State funeral for Agary Kerman, who died in a botched bailout after a heatshield failure on Antares VI. The mission commander, Jedediah, can be seen paying his respects at the front. I've renamed the KSC to the Agary Space Center after this.

Edited September 19, 2023 by TheKrakenHerder

[Kimera Industries]

I did a mission to validate a new craft, the Korolev. It's a Soyuz derivative, and I give a mission report about it in my Wrong Red Moon series:

More coming soon.

Meanwhile, I made a plane, and that's about it...

[TheKrakenHerder]

The crew of Antares VIII, the final mission of the Antares program, become the loneliest kerbals in history, as they reach their apogee of 4000 kilometers from Kerbin. The capsule is docked to the Calypso Docking Target, which boosted them to this altitude.

 

Spoiler

And back down again.

"End of an era."

Valentina and Bob, the crew of the last Antares mission, stand outside their spacecraft, now destined for a museum.

(Not gonna lie, I actually got kinda sad retiring this thing. It was fun to fly. Still, onwards and upwards.)

Speaking of...

Soon...

 

[miklkit]

I was returning from a rover repair contract and the clouds got really bad.  Was quite happy to find I had missed the mountains.

Edited September 22, 2023 by miklkit

[Duke MelTdoWn]

I was doing some math regarding the optimal setup for orbital refueling after seeing the huge Eve ship of Tony Swallow.

tldr: use Mk0 or Mk1 LF tanks instead of ore tanks, and convert the ore to fuel on the surface.
Details here: 

These results made me think about possible improvements to the 'Behemoth' Mining System.
Quick prototyping shows I could build a new orbital fuel ferry out of lots of MK1 tanks that is compatible with the Leviathan Mk.3 Miner. This Miner stage holds the drills, converter and the strong engines (Darts) and OX needed for takeoff; also some excess LF for landing on Nervas.

Spoiler

On further thought, I decided to split the whole process into three stages instead of two for even more optimization:

• Orbital Fuel Fairy: will bring the fuel to the target ship: 4x Nerva, lots of Mk1 LF tanks, airbrakes for efficient return to Kerbin orbit, maybe small crew compartment to ferry tourists to the Mun and back.
• Mun descend/ascend stage: Landing legs + excess LF for landing; high TWR + OX tanks for takeoff and getting the payload back into Mun orbit; will be left in Mun orbit waiting for next Fairy
• Refueling Rover: This should be a Samaritan like Rover so that it can easily connect to the landed Fairy. Drills, converter, thermal, solar, fuel cells, science experiments etc. Maybe buffer some ore here while we wait for the next Fairy? All this heavy equipment can be left permanently on the surface.

This way all the gear stays where it is needed and not lugged around unnecessarily. I will continue to refine this

___

'Sindri' Refinery Rover is coming along nicely, I used a Sandworm chassis as basis, switched out the lab for ore tanks and added 4 additional drills. It uses Breaking Ground parts (robotic refueling arm) and can only run 3/6 drills with a 5* engineer before running out of electricity. Do you think I should build a full stock version and go for 5*? I only got 2* engineers in my campaign.

Spoiler

Orbital Fuel Fairy next.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn
'Sindri' Refinery Rover

[TheKrakenHerder]

An Aegis I rocket with a Columbia Block I capsule on top is rolled out to Launchpad 39A at the ASC.

Spoiler

And back down again, with this cool "reentry pod" design.

 

[Lyra]

Finished all but the finishing touches of Athena VII, my newest Jool 5 SSTO candidate. It's vastly superior to the previous design I made (Procyon X) in almost every way except the range of its Tylo lander and its nuclear TWR, but both are more than enough to get the job done. I don't want to show the whole craft just yet - that's a surprise for when I make a video on the mission - but here's a shot of a slightly older version's engines firing. The landing gear on the wingtips has since been removed; the craft lands fine on its own without it.

This thing has 3700+ m/s in a 100 km orbit and is fully ISRU-capable, although not the fastest at mining. Had a ton of fun designing it and trying out some new ascent profiles I found both on the forums and old Reddit threads, and I can't wait to fly the full mission.