What did you do in KSP1 today?

[scootersoup]

I guess this is more of a, "What I did in KSP last night before I absolutely had to go to sleep." Got my solar ion probe into low Kerbol orbit and sucked up some science there, and then sent another probe on its way to Gilly. Boy, what a pain. I made the mistake of trying to go from an Eve intercept straight to a Gilly encounter. It's sitting in an 8km orbit waiting for landing procedure to download. I was surprised that even that does not count as a low orbit, but it makes some sense considering the size of the body.

What is that part on the top of your rocket?

[Sapphire]

Today I've just been experimenting with things for an upcoming Constellation-alike mission. Tested the interplanetary ship + Orion, currently working on the landing modules. The transfer stages are already set to go and waiting in the VAB.

[Tw1]

DOUBLE EDIT : Can't make orbit. Crapperdoodles!

TRIPLE EDIT : I can't take it, infinite fuel shall be activated (ribbons will not have orbit thought)

QUADRUPLE EDIT : Apparently my other tank wouldn't help my engine, so I would have made orbit...

This was more or less the same as my first ever Duna experience. If only I'd known about aerocapture...

[ZaphodTX]

Trying to make a strange flying wing craft out of mid-game career mode parts. Hasn't gone very well.

[KerbMav]

Managed a landing on the north pole with a probe - forgot to retract the antenna and ripped it off during reentry, opened parachutes before losing contact (remote tech 2 here) to my comm-sats on equatorial orbits ... and bit my nails watching the probe land on a narrow stretch of ice between the ocean and a mid-ice lake ... phew ...

Launched the most high-tech device in my space program so far, a comm-sat in polar orbit with several scanners: radar altimeter, biome mapper, Kethane detector, one short and one mid-range omnidirectional antenna, four sat-dishes, eight extendable 1x6 solar panels and eight low power backups, 1000+ capacity batteries, RCS and still enough fuel in its orbital stage for a excursion to somewhere else, should an upgrade be launched to replace it.

Set it into an orbit of 450km, so the short range antenna of my half-lost polar probe can still send back data.

Began designing a new lander with room for more than one material bay - might get tricky and end in a somewhat larger Mun expedition.

Pondering the launch of unmanned Munar probes too - as well as to Duna and Eve.

[scootersoup]

So, I was using physics warp on my probe around Gilly in the background when I heard some wonderful kablooey noises. Turns out you shouldn't trust map view when trying to gauge whether your ship will impact the surface... Luckily my last quicksave was from just before I retired from KSP last night, but I think the momentary crushing despair combined with sleep deprivation and the missing characters glitch in career mode have put me off for the night.

[ShooManFu]

I'm Working on a project I call "Probe it, Probe it all". I'm trying to Get Satellites orbiting every Planet (and soon, all planet's moons). I have Kerbin (duh), The Mun, Minmus, duna (which was a bit of a pain as it was my first Interplanetary venture), Eve (Which happened when I missed a node for duna and found it would be easy to hit Eve on the trajectory I was going on), and dres. I caught a break with duna though and was able to orbit Ike for a bit for science before getting over to duna. I was pleased. Tomorrow is my last day off for work for a bit and will be spent trying to get a crew to the Mun (and back) and probing the rest of the System.

Seriously, I have landed like four maned missions but never been able to get them safely home. I have rescued Jeb from the moon twice now, (and Jeb and Bill were sent to get another pilot back and got stuck, leading to an unmanned rescue of all three). I have made it to and from Minmus with ease on the first try....The Mun is a fickle mistress for me.

[PlayMp1]

I docked for the first time. It was hell and I wonder how others manage to do it so quickly and easily, but I did it.

The purpose of my first docking was basically the fact I couldn't do my absurdly large launches while using FAR, so I had to build the craft out in orbit. The interplanetary transfer stage is a KSP Interstellar fusion engine with a 3.75m nuclear reactor and electrical generator to power it, and the thinnest 3.75m fuel tank from KW Rocketry filled with nothing but Liquid Fuel using the modular fuel mod.

The crew module/lander is just a bunch of science parts slapped onto a 3 man command pod with four small 1.25m fuel tanks and one small 2.5m fuel tank powering four LV-909s. It's haphazard, but it should be fine on Moho. After all, I only have to get into orbit with it, I don't have to get back on the lander like I'm used to .

I'm on my way to reach the only planet (not moon, I still gone to Bop, Ike or Gilly) I haven't yet reached: Moho. Thankfully the transfer windows are frequent, so I won't have to wait long like I had to for Eeloo (that mission took like 11 years). Once I get there, I'm gonna do a whole bunch of SCIENCE! in high and orbit, land for more SCIENCE!, then head back to Kerbin. That 10,000 science requirement for the Alcubierre Drive in KSPI is just brutal...

[SA_Drone]

I got my first probe into orbit of another planet (specifically, Duna). I used what I learned about rocket design from Scott Manley's intro videos (especially the Minmus lander one) and built a modified version of his rocket around an unmanned probe. Strapped a Science Jr. and some goo containers on it, and managed to make a pretty tight transit. Unfortunately I ran out of fuel just as I was about to enter a stable, if highly eccentric, orbit of Duna and had to use RCS to circularize myself. After that I just spent the rest of my RCS fuel slowly decreasing the size of my orbit to about 1,000km.

Got myself a couple hundred units of science out of it, now I'm going to start an Eve probe of similar design, and then work on building my first space station in Kerbin orbit.

[capi3101]

Today, I proudly display the Moho SOI ribbon on my salad bar. I just wish it had a device on it other than "impactor". But I figured "hell, I've spent all this time getting this hunk of crap space bike here so it could visit Moho, so let's let it visit Moho." And visit Moho it did, travelling at 4,500 m/s...first time I've ever seen a craft disintegrate and not leave any debris. The final crash/explosion was kinda disappointing...

I suppose having the impactor device is better having no devices at all.

Note to self - if using Protractor to visit Moho, add 6,500 m/s of delta-V to the transfer stage design.

Hope to be able to add the rest of the SOI ribbons in a few days. Dres's orbit is in question as is Jool and its moons, but I'm reasonably confident about Eeloo; I know I'll get encounters with all three planets. Meanwhile, I still wait for the next Duna window.

[Geschosskopf]

I built a fleet of ships to explore and despoil Vall. First, the 4-component refueling base: an orbital Kethane refinery as the main fuel station for ships flying to, from, and within the Jool system, a tanker lander to hump Kethane from the surface to the orbital refinery, a roving Kethane drilling rig to fill up the tanker lander, and a "company town" shanty for the pressganged illiterate Kerbal who will spend the rest of his life just pumping gas on Vall via KAS. Then I built a nifty science rover for a couple of highly educated xenoarchaeologists who will excavate at the "Stonehenge" thing and eventually return to Kerbin.

[Jarin]

Rather proud of this one. I had a simple probe headed to Duna and Ike for science transmission farming, and had a bit of extra fuel after charting my flyby. It then occurred to me, Ike's gravity is pretty low, right? What if...

YUP!

Perfectly balanced with reaction wheels, getting surface experiments.

Sadly, this will be the probe's last stop. Only 180dV left says that this is the end of the trip.

[lordlundar]

I docked for the first time. It was hell and I wonder how others manage to do it so quickly and easily, but I did it.

Step one, learn to do a perfect dock.

Step two, screw up your perfect dock the first time you try.

Step three, practice it over and over and over...

Step four, start doing perfect docks without a problem.

And an additional Step five, get this mod and curse yourself for not getting it sooner.

Edited November 24, 2013 by lordlundar

[afarmer]

Designed an awesome new manned rover, and deposited two of it in a highly eccentric orbit of Jool. Oops!

[Deadweasel]

And an additional Step five, get this mod and curse yourself for not getting it sooner.

A million times THIS. LOVE this simple mod!

Once you get the hang of how it works, you become a master of docking without the need to cam all over the place, or bite your tongue trying to see the velocity and target pippers in the lower half of the navball. It quickly results in more precision, almost perfect locks every single time, and no more bouncing and yo-yoing all over the place for five minutes before the docking actually happens.

[toomuchbrew]

I installed remotetech and now I found a new challenge of setting up a satellite network. It isn't going well, but I am having a blast. I learn a little more each time. It's great with limited parts in career mode

[luinux]

I arrived to Eve in career mode, using deadly reentry plugin. I realized too late that the inflatable heatshield generates a lot of drag having little mass, so it was impossible to keep the heatshield pointed prograde...

[jwenting]

Completed the tech tree with a landing on Ike, then launched the already planned mission to Jool which got me a lucky Laythe encounter during the approach, so landed there, about 200m off shore (yes, my piloting skills leave to be desired).

[lordlundar]

What did I do today? Worked a bit on my station.

The core structure is PixelStache's Duna Relay Station with a few modifications, namely some extra RCS on the solar panels because I'm not THAT good at docking and a remote controller between the hitchhiker module and the observation module so I could take it up unmanned. Since then I put Al Kerman up there to man it (hence the one man craft at the bottom) and a fuel tank/docking hub on one side. Yes, the tank is full though the RCS isn't. I intend to put a similar tank/docking hub on the other side. Probably make it an orange tank with one RCS tank on it to trim down some mass. Oh, and a thermoelectric generator or 2 so I don't have to miss my docking window due to low power.

Edited November 24, 2013 by lordlundar

[annallia]

I watched a few youtube videos last night (one of which was titled something like "We failed at KSP" ) which really made me miss the days when I was in the same boat as them, no clue what I was doing, struggling to find a way into space.

So I did a fresh install without any mods that I am going to play for a bit, while even in stock I now know what I am doing and have no trouble getting into space, trying to re-build some of my mission specific craft (like fighters) in stock and getting them into orbit is proving to be a challenge which I rather enjoy.

[Superfluous J]

I got the least balanced thing I've ever bothered flying off the ground, to the Mun, and landed in a crater to mine for Kethane. Seriously, while flying this thing looked like Serenity from Firefly.

Well, okay, it resembled it.

Okay fine, it didn't look that much like it, but it was just as unbalanced!

[Deadweasel]

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[TD]Today marked the start of ground deployment procedures for the Duna Explorer mission.

Two platforms are orbiting the red planet: IPEV Venture (carrying the Cardinal research station, Sherpa dropship and the three ground crew), and LRCV Bruin (carrying the rovers and two new Sherpa II dropships).

The first stage of deployment began at Venture, with the dropship prepping for release of the Cardinal station by retrieving its tug adapter plate from the hull of Venture's vehicle bay.

Once attached to the station's tug collar, Venture released Cardinal from her embrace

The Sherpa then entered hover mode for best control stability, and performed the necessary burn to send the station on the trajectory to reach its intended deployment location. Burn completed, the station was released, and the dropship returned to a stable orbit until the next pass.

Once the on-board systems had been verified, the automated deployment program took control and jettisoned the station's protective shell.

The station's computers maintained the orientation necessary to allow the descent engines to slow its initial velocity and fine-tune its trajectory, fired the jets for a short burn, then deployed the chutes and ejected the docking ports and fairing frames.

In Duna's thin atmosphere, the chutes finally opened at a relatively low altitude, but open they did, slowing the station's fall drastically and quickly.

Near the ground, the jets fired again to halt the station's descent, then guided the facility to its actual target location.

Once finally landed at the proper coordinates, the jets were shut down for the last time and discarded, while the communications array was powered up to establish a broadband link back to Venture and Bruin. The station's computers then entered standby mode to await the arrival of its first crew.

As the original Sherpa design was not suited to carry the new rovers brought by the Bruin, Bob volunteered to stay with the ground mission to offer his ship's flight capability to the research team, should they need to travel farther than the Kurb Burner rovers could take them in a reasonable amount of time.

Bob burned to de-orbit. The tug plate, no longer of use to the mission, was discarded to impact with the planet surface.

Early during the descent phase, Bob discovered the Sherpa's flight control systems had been damaged somehow, and was unable to keep the little ship balanced properly while braking in hover mode. Now aware of a problem, he opted for a gentler approach, rather than the standard "suicide burn" the ship should have been able to normally perform.

At a more sensible ground velocity, Bob noted the control authority returning to a more normal range, and he made his final approach to the station, guiding the Sherpa to the designated parking area, and heading inside for some much-needed rest.

Though he couldn't resist hamming it up for the station cameras and waving to the envious ground crew, still waiting on Venture for their ride down.

Meanwhile, at the Bruin, the crew had begun their portion of the deployment procedures. One of the new Sherpa II dropships disconnected from its berth, then joined with the first of the rovers to be deployed, beginning internal checks of the vehicles' systems while Sonfry readied for action in his own dropship.

Cleared for departure, Sonfry disconnected, aligned himself, and burned for a rendezvous with Venture.

Upon arrival, he docked with the shuttle pod, and to his dismay, discovered the designers had committed a massive screw-up when building it. The landing legs were on backward! The shuttle pod could not be safely landed and re-used for crew retrieval.

Undeterred by the general shrugs and mumbled "Don't know what to tell ya"'s from Mission Kontrol, the ground crew opted to shuttle down one-by-one on the Sherpa's external topseat. They were assured that Duna's atmosphere was sufficiently thin for the maneuver to be relatively safe.

The Sherpa II's control systems, being more refined and powerful than its predecessor's allowed Sonfry to bring the little ship into the atmosphere directly and under complete and stable control. The primary descent was performed flawlessly, bringing the ship in-line with the research station and on a rock-solid course.

On final approach, Sonfry guided the ship into the landing pattern, giving Jebediah a nice bird's eye view of the facility and the surrounding area he and the others would be calling home for the next couple of years.

Finally landed and parked in his assigned space, Sonfry powered down the engines and began re-charging the systems for his return trip to Venture, while Jeb bade him goodbye and joined Bob for some shut-eye in the station, and to await the arrival of the first of the mission's two rovers.

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[chgrogers]

My flyby probe got close and personal with Bop. Was setting a near sun flyby course and next thing I know it hit the surface of Bop at 14 km.

[User Unrelated]

I decided to see what was the biggest thing I could launch was...

so I launched 86 tons of Interstellar mod Aegletes nuclear reactors into orbit... in my... career save?

I was tired, don't ask me why.

I will try for a stack of 4 tomorrow.

those are all skippers, too, I haven't unlocked mainsails. The skippers do great, though I'll probably keep them for all that extra burn time.

My original plan was to see what was the largest portion of a LKO space station I could launch at one time was.

I'd say I could PROBABLY do 80 tons with this launcher? It got those reactors to a stable 120kM orbit...

I tried to shoot for munar orbit, but didn't have enough juice.

they really are super heavy

Edited November 15, 2013 by User Unrelated

[FlamedSteak]

I launched a refueling craft to dock with my Duna mission craft in LKO and put the damn senior docking port on the wrong way again......on both ships. Deorbited the whole hot mess and will start again tomorrow.