What did you do in KSP1 today?

[annallia]

I killed Bill.

I didn't want to, but apparently I picked a bad spot on Duna to do a chute assisted landing. Place I crashed into was at 4400 altitude... no time for my chutes to help slow me down.

[Agent86]

There's just one teensy little problem: it won't take off. I mean, once I drop off that lip at the end of the runway I can climb, so getting to Kerbin orbit isn't the problem, but that's not good enough to take off from Laythe unless you're lucky enough to land near a hill. I need it to lift itself off the runway, but the only way I've been able to get it to do that is to put multiple canards on the front, and I don't want that aesthetic. It shouldn't be necessary, either, given the amount of lift the design has, but at present it just thinks there isn't enough torque around the back wheels to lift the nose.

It might not be the most elegant of solutions, but on some of my aircraft, like a small, heavily loaded Fighter-Bomber I made, I've used a couple of seperatrons stuck to the nose and nozzeled towards the ground. Single use only, but it turns a full runway length takeoff into a 1/3rd runway takeoff.

[Spatzimaus]

I've used a couple of seperatrons stuck to the nose and nozzeled towards the ground.

If I were going to try and bypass the aerodynamics, I'd just strap a couple vertical-lift engines to the bottom and do a VTOL launch. The 0.1-ton Rockomax engines (30kN apiece) are great for this. There are three reasons I don't:

1> Style. Aesthetics are the main difference between a spaceplane and an ugly old rocket. They're what separate us from reptiles and lawn furniture. So I don't want stuff stuck to the bottom of the plane unless it provides a capability I simply can't get any other way. (I mean, I'm trying to do this without a CANARD, even though it'd be trivial to add some.)

B> Reusability. This plane is supposed to be able to take off from Kerbin and go nearly anywhere in the system, most especially Laythe. If I need vertical-lift SRBs to take off from Kerbin, I'll need them on Laythe. And ideally, this plane should be capable of being refueled to repeatedly land on Laythe as needed; eventually, I'll have a space station there, with a plane for ferrying people up and down.

III> The principle of the thing. A lifting-body design with lots of control surfaces SHOULD be perfectly capable of taking off from a runway at 110m/s without any canards or rocket engines. It's 32 tons, with three turbojets, so power isn't the problem. It's just not getting lift from parts that should be generating plenty of lift.

If need be, I'll revert to my previous design (27 tons) that didn't have this issue, and just tack on a few extra fuel tanks. I'd just prefer to figure out what's breaking on the current generation instead if possible.

[Deadweasel]

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[TD]Today, Herfurt, Merfred, Milgan and Bilster came home, having completed their portion of the Duna Explorer mission.

Milgan had piloted Bruin-A, Herfurt and Merfred piloted Bruin-B, and Bilster commanded the Journeyman drive sled. In preparation for the impending crew assembly, all three Sherpa dropships were tasked to assist. DE-1, just returned from a short excursion to Ike, DE-2, standing by at the Cardinal research station, and DV-101, stationed at Bruin-B to assist with maintenance.

Jeb piloted Sherpa DE-1, ferrying Herfurt in the top seat, to rendezvous with Journeyman. Unfortunately, something went badly wrong as the final docking maneuver was completed, and Herfurt found himself floating free of the dropship, still locked in his chair.

He managed to free himself, but that still left Jeb's little ship with a problem.

"Looks like you found a way out of ferry duty buddy," Herfurt laughed, before proceeding to join Bilster as Journeyman's copilot for the flight.

Meanwhile, Sonfry was about to meet up with Bruin-A, which was being abandoned for the time-being, as its cargo of original Kurb Burner rovers had been discovered to be badly flawed. Milgan would be the last kerbal to set foot on Bruin-A's bridge for quite some time

Milgan placed the ship into hibernation mode, shut down all systems, and stepped out of the airlock for the last time.

He arrived at Journeyman only a few hours later, and was asked to fly over himself, as Sonfry had heard of Jeb's mishap earlier.

At the same time, Charlie was approaching IPEV Venture, preparing to refuel his Sherpa and help the three crewmembers stationed there to gather their gear.

He would no sooner achieve docking when the call came that Venture's computer was showing its docking mechanism missing. Confirming the bad news, Charlie was waved off by the crew, and he proceeded to Bruin-B to help Sonfry that crew instead.

Herfurt had already departed when Sonfry arrived, and he took up station-keeping a short distance away to provide lighting, as Merfred performed the hibernate and shutdown procedure on his ship.

A few hours later, Merfred was the last to join Journeyman, berthed with his co-pilot in the drive sled's crew quarters.

"This is what those softies came out in?" Herfurt cried as Merfred doffed his suit. "Man, just look at this!"

He held out handfuls of assorted snacks from a cabinet packed full of them.

"Well it's our turn now," Merfred winked as he snagged a Kit Kat from Herfurt's hand and munched it gratuitously.

"Gentlekerbs," came flight commander Bilster's voice on the shipwide, "we are preparing to make way for home. Assume your safety stations now, and stand by for escape burn."

Once their plotted course had been verified free of traffic or debris, Bilster nodded to Milgan, giving him the honor of initiating their voyage. With the touch of a button, Journeyman roared to ferocious life for the first time in almost three years.

All were glued to the viewports as Duna and Ike rapidly shrunk rearward.

Weeks later, despite the comforts available in Journeyman's crew lounge and quarters, all aboard were quite ready to be done with the trip, so it was with particular excitement that Bilster's announcement was greeted.

"After 1,035 days, 4 hours and 11 minutes of flight time since departure from home, this vessel has just officially returned to Kerbin's sphere of influence."

The cheers were deafening in the small spaces aboard.

Bilster deliberately neglected to mention the flaw in their course that he had discovered far too late in the journey to correct, but it was clear to all something wasn't quite right by the time the capture burn had begun.

"Is that the south pole?" Herfurt asked, peering out one of the viewports, "because I thought we were supposed to come in right on the equatorial plane."

The kat was out of the bag: though Journeyman had successfully completed the capture burn, its approach into the Kerbin system was drastically off-angle from the planned course. Worse, their fuel reserves were too low to completely correct their orbit, and the tanks were run dry before they'd made more than marginal progress in the correction.

Herfurt, taking his turn in the co-pilot seat, suggested they try using Kerbin's atmosphere to help stabilize their orbit at the very least. Bilster agreed, and all aboard were soon treated to a teasingly-close flyby of home.

Mission Kontrol, having already been made aware of the situation, followed developments closely as plans were made to assist.

Hours later, Journeyman had completed two full orbits, shaving millions of kilometers from its apoapsis in the process, before Bilster called a halt and used Journeyman's well-fueled RCS system to raise their "lower" orbit above the atmosphere once again. It seemed the crew's anticipated return would be postponed yet longer by the awkward orbit they remained in, despite their efforts.

Kontrol had a little surprise up their sleeve for the seemingly-stranded crew though.

"Journeyman, stand by. We're sending an automated shuttle your way to assist."

"Umm, right Kontrol," Herfurt keyed-in, only barely containing his disgust, "so we're just supposed to leave her like this, then?"

"Negative," came the deadpan reply, "she'll take you home later, but for now you can make use of her fuel converters to recharge your tanks. We had her in orbit running some shakedown tests already, so you'll see her approach in about an hour."

"Thanks Kontrol, we'll stand by," Bilster cut back in, at once rolling his eyes at the thought of the likely cobbled solution being sent to them, and giving Herfurt a warning side-eye to hold his tongue.

An hour later, as promised, the crew spotted a glint in the distance. Milgan squinted, then reached for the binoculars.

"What the ever-loving Breaker is that?" he whispered in shock.

Merfred snatched the binoculars away and had a look for himself, his jaw quickly falling open in surprise.

"Transponder says it's called 'Starlance', but you can bet it's probably more wishful thinking," Herfurt sneered, though he too was at least inwardly amazed at the lines of the sleek vessel approaching.

The ship seemed to maneuver with a strange but accurate precision, halting its momentum only a couple of dozen meters away from Journeyman's hull, before centering on one of the ring docks and shuffling in.

The gentle thud that issued throughout the ship told of Starlance's smooth and solid lock on their ship, and Bilster's eyes went wide as his displays began to scroll information rampantly, too quickly to read. A few moments later, Journeyman's computers all reset at once, startling the crew.

When they returned online, instead of the usual flight dynamics information, the screens all showed a simple line of text.

"ONLINE. TRAJECTORY CHANGE REQUIRED, **NO FUEL AVAILABLE**" it said.

"Doy," Herfurt sniffed. A gentle but pervasive hum then issued through the hull, and the screen's message changed.

"REFUEL IN PROGRESS. TIME TO COMPLETE: 20 MINUTES".

The master fuel gauges on one of the secondary panels twitched, then began slowly climbing upward.

"I'll be damned," Bilster uttered.

Twenty minutes later as indicated, the needles were at full, and the humming stopped.

"REFUEL COMPLETE. DISENGAGING CONNECTION, STARLANCE WILL RENDEZVOUS AFTER PLANNED TRAJECTORY CORRECTIONS." the screens said.

Bilster smiled as the instruments resumed their normal displays, and happily continued the course corrections they'd been attempting previously, as the shuttle fell away to ostensibly follow.

Hours later, Journeyman was in its intended orbit, and the crew began final shutdown and egress operations as Starlance hovered nearby. Milgan was the first to depart.

"You guys are gonna love this!" he exclaimed happily when he'd gotten near the shuttle.

Soon, only Bilster remained aboard, putting Journeyman to sleep. He patted a bulkhead on his way into the airlock with a sentimental sniff.

"See ya around big guy," he said to the empty and darkened corridors, "it's been an honor."

He exited the cockpit airlock for the last time, anticipating his retirement in the weeks following his return home.

As he approached the open passenger cabin, Merfred looked his way, gesturing to the front bulkhead of the cabin.

"Check this out!" he grinned, "Satellite TV!"

The others were already engrossed in the multi-view screen that dominated the fore-wall of the cabin.

As Bilster took his seat and secured his straps, one of the segments of the screen enlarged itself to take up the whole display.

"ALL CREW ABOARD AND ACCOUNTED-FOR. CABIN SHUTTERS WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR VIEWING DURING DEPARTURE. STAND BY."

Starlance turned smoothly to give the crew one last look at their ship, then began its de-orbit burn as the cabin shutters closed.

Throughout the descent, the shuttle kept its passengers informed of each stage of the flight. Were it not for the display, they might not have even noticed the inferno that had begun to rage outside, so smooth and sure was the ride.

The sun was low in the sky, the mountains bordering the western edge of the space center grounds beginning to cast long shadows as Starlance crossed them.

The initial approach and landing were exceptionally smooth, but was marred by a tremendous impact and explosion at the rear, causing the blood to rush out of everybody's faces in shock and surprise.

The crew were so instantly frightened that they almost missed the message displayed on the now-red screen before them.

"**IMPACT** LOWER ENGINE NACELLE DESTROYED. LANDING PROFILE UNAFFECTED. STAND BY"

The passengers were shoved forward as the shuttle's brakes took hold, slowing the ship tremendously. Afterward, views from external cameras popped up on the screen, clearly showing the damage. Starlance's lower engine pod had struck the ground and been sheared off due to its minimal clearance. Otherwise, the futuristic plane was intact, and it proceeded toward the main hangar to park.

When the engines had finally quieted, the cabin shutters opened once more, and the crew were instantly assailed by the camera flashes of hundred of reporters and well-wishers that had gathered to greet them. One-by-one, they exited the shuttle and shared handshakes or hugs with the crowd.

The next morning, one of the photos taken at the event monopolized the front page of every newspaper, the headline repeating what was on the lips of the enthusiastic public:

-all credit for the "Bill Kerman" image goes to Rareden![/TD]

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[annallia]

Why does Bill in a suit remind me of the most interesting guy in the world commercials?

[Superfluous J]

Why does Bill in a suit remind me of the most interesting guy in the world commercials?

Because that's exactly what Rareden made the image to represent.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/15228-KSP-Fan-Art-MkII/page12

[KerbMav]

Stole an idea I read a few days ago and launched two polar comm satellites in opposing 5000x150km orbits to always have an interplanetary connection. As of now they only have the range to reach Duna, but are equipped with a docking port for upgrades.

Launched a new long range probe - this time with a big enough dish ... waiting for optimal position of Mun for gravity assist (and disposal of last stage).

Will have to rethink my Duna probe insertion sequence before the launch window comes up in 10 days - seems the assembly of decouplers, fairings, engines and shielding is not optimal. But relaunching a different design is not an option anyway.

(Mostly roleplaying this one, as I play without DR.)

[Xyd]

Did my first flyby of Minimus today without relying on Mechjeb and also did my third Mun landing using my own designed lander.

[Trann]

Successfully landed on Duna and Ike!

This wasn't the most well-planned: plenty of fuel to reach orbit again but not to safely get home, so they're waiting patiently in orbit for a lift home.

Sent my first mapping/science sat to Moho, while 6 others are in 100km parking orbit, waiting for their transfer windows.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Trann

[Kasuha]

Today I finally landed at (and returned from) Tylo North pole.

The lander ended up on quite a steep slope, fortunately it was wide enough. It was just funny to get my Kerbals back in after they planted the flag as due to slope they weren't able to climb the ladder without falling back down on top. In the end they climbed up on one of lander's legs instead.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Kasuha

[Landwalker]

Landed my first 0.22 surface probe on the Mun!

Maybe underwhelming in the grand scheme of Jool Cruisers and everything else that gets thrown around here... but I'm pleased with myself.

[Col_Jessep]

I had a little adventure on Eve. Read the whole story here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/59653-Eve-Extreme-EVA

[Geschosskopf]

I launched 32 ships, 8 of which were tugs docked to 8 stand-alone payloads, so I ended up with 24 ships in LKO. And no expended boosters because I sent them all down to crash (you can see the last one going down in this pic).

The above took over 6 real hours to make happen (after about 100 hours of design and testing of the various ships). Tomorrow, I send them all off to Jool in the same launch window. That should be another long grind. Geez, there's something wrong with me.

[Galileo Kerbonaut]

Today, I killed Jeb.

I love deadly reentry... I bet Jeb doesn't

[Deadweasel]

Today, I killed Jeb.

I love deadly reentry... I bet Jeb doesn't

Good thing there's no more command pod. That would be pretty gruesome to clean up. Heeey... I wonder if that's why the old pod is out there in the Island Runway hangar!

[FlamedSteak]

I watched my rockets blow up on the pad and not make it into orbit. I really hate having to put heavy loads into orbit.

[Galileo Kerbonaut]

Good thing there's no more command pod. That would be pretty gruesome to clean up. Heeey... I wonder if that's why the old pod is out there in the Island Runway hangar!

Even scarier... who landed that pod

[User Unrelated]

Launched a jool probe

had to go to work

got back from work... let's see if I can get anything interesting with the path I lined up for myself

literally could not be more dead-on straight into jool. I didn't even mean to do that.

Also didn't even try to get a Laythe encounter... one-in-a-million shot if you ask me!

Definitely going to try and go for a Laythe aerobrake into Jool orbit.

this is my first time going further out than Eve, I'm excited!

Edited November 26, 2013 by User Unrelated

[annallia]

In an effort to keep Jeb out of trouble I promoted him to commander. His last flight was supposed to be the station core of my new Minmus station where he would be in command. Unfortunately a mixup in staging caused the lifter to explode and Jeb had to bail out.. He doesn't seem to mind though.

[Spatzimaus]

Also didn't even try to get a Laythe encounter... one-in-a-million shot if you ask me!

It's actually not that unlikely. Laythe has a fairly large sphere of influence (3.7 Mm) compared to its semi-major axis (27Mm). If you do the math, that means each time you pass through Laythe's orbit on a hyperbolic orbit you have at least a 5% chance of intersecting its SOI. (Laythe's orbit has a circumference of 2*pi*27Mm, and about 7.4Mm of that circumference falls within the SOI at any one time.) The shallower your transfer, the better the odds get (scaling as 1/cos(theta)). And then the odds get even better if you come in on the prograde direction, because the planet will be sweeping along its orbit at the same time you are, effectively increasing the amount of time in which an intercept can happen. So it's not uncommon at all to encounter Laythe.

For comparison, Mun's SOI is 2.4Mm at a distance of 12Mm, Tylo is 11Mm at 68.5Mm, and Ike has the best ratio of all (1.05Mm at a distance of 3.2Mm). So a descent into Jool's well often results in an encounter with either Laythe or Tylo (or in my most recent trip, both), even if you weren't aiming for one of the two.

The problem is, coming straight in like that is bad if you wanted to change your orbital inclination (to get a polar orbit, for instance). But if your goal was to land on Laythe, and you have enough engine power to offset the massive velocity difference you'll have entering Laythe's SOI, then that's a great outcome.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Spatzimaus

[Col_Jessep]

Definitely going to try and go for a Laythe aerobrake into Jool orbit.

this is my first time going further out than Eve, I'm excited!

You can try to bounce back and forth between the moons instead of going into a low Jool orbit. It can net you a metric ton of science. Just spam your experiments while you are flying by. Aim for Tylo.

[larsmaehlum]

Stranded a guy on Duna.. Poor guy.

The flag he put down read "First landing on Duna: No matter what happens, I was here and it was worth it!"

Then he tried lifting back up only to run out of fuel with an apoapsis of 10km..

[KerbMav]

Not much, flying on the unlucky side at the moment:

Sent my long range probe into Kerbol orbit. Not that easy to get a good gravity assist from Mun. As of now no encounter with Duna/Eve. (Cannot remember which way I went in the end, poked my maneuver nodes numerous times to get as far away from Kerbins orbit as possible.)

Sucked the science available on the way and around Kerbol dry and unlocked some more parts.

Launched a manned Minmus mission, had not enough dV, Minmus insertion stage had to establish parking orbit around Kerbin. Mun was also out of range, so no alternative mission could be done. A mere flyby was deemed a waste of resources.

Now waiting for unlock of KAS parts to refuel and continue with mission.

Made my 1000th post.

[Bishop149]

ylo is 11Mm at 68.5Mm, and Ike has the best ratio of all (1.05Mm at a distance of 3.2Mm). So a descent into Jool's well often results in an encounter with either Laythe or Tylo (or in my most recent trip, both), even if you weren't aiming for one of the two.

The problem is, coming straight in like that is bad if you wanted to change your orbital inclination (to get a polar orbit, for instance). But if your goal was to land on Laythe, and you have enough engine power to offset the massive velocity difference you'll have entering Laythe's SOI, then that's a great outcome.

Yeah often when messing around in Jool orbit my biggest challenge is AVOIDING a Tylo encounter.

Pol is a frequent target of mine and I often have to orbit Jool a few times to get a good encounter oppotunity with Pol. . . . any more than about 3 orbits and it seems the likelyhood of Tylo getting in the way at some point is near 100%.

I quite often areobrake directly into Laythe orbit from interplanetary approach. . . . its a DeltaV of about 6-7000 m/s.

Laythe Pe of around 17-18km usually does it.

[Mazlem]

I finished another episode of Kerbal Munsion. Did a little landing, a little dancing / kickboxing, and finally got to convert some Kethane:

http://youtu.be/4psZob_pTiU