What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Cavscout74]

Spent some time tinkering with how I want to set up my next career - this one in JNSQ -  as well as getting a few standard non-spacecraft designs built & ready to go for the career.

 

CFP-01 Hawk prop-driven fighter flying over KSC.  Updated from my last career save, this will be the standard early-career aircraft for getting around.

Argo satellite (Probes Plus) being boosted to orbit by a Luciole upper stage

 

[Spaceman.Spiff]

I updated to KSP 1.11.1!

Getting back into the groove; I haven't played since December 

I should have taken a screenshot.

I made a Soviet style launcher using RS+ parts.

[pyropelush]

Made my own """accidental""" fireworks and watched a vessel implode.
Such great fun!

[SpacePixel]

Rails?! Where we're going we don't need rails!

Introducing the Sandworm, retrofuturistic heavy-duty long-range land train, designed for operation on Duna. It excels at refueling the spaceplanes that can't land precisely; extracting ore from the very best deposits as well as hauling rovers, entire bases and even spaceplanes across long distances. Powered by fuel cells, the engine is capable of accelerating 200 tonnes of mass to 60 km/h, and with powered assist from the cars — up to 600 tonnes to the same speed. However, when underloaded, it is perfectly possible to reach 180 km/h. Even at this speed the train can't turn over thanks to the width of the wheel base and subtle winding of cars. 

[JorgeCS]

45 minutes ago, SpacePixel said:

Rails?! Where we're going we don't need rails!

Introducing the Sandworm, retrofuturistic heavy-duty long-range land train, designed for operation on Duna. It excels at refueling the spaceplanes that can't land precisely; extracting ore from the very best deposits as well as hauling rovers, entire bases and even spaceplanes across long distances. Powered by fuel cells, the engine is capable of accelerating 200 tonnes of mass to 60 km/h, and with powered assist from the cars — up to 600 tonnes to the same speed. However, when underloaded, it is perfectly possible to reach 180 km/h. Even at this speed the train can't turn over thanks to the width of the wheel base and subtle winding of cars. 

1001 cars? Paint it black and make it snow  

Now seriously, what about the joints between the cars? How did you manage to make them work?

Cheers!

J

[SpacePixel]

41 minutes ago, JorgeCS said:

Now seriously, what about the joints between the cars? How did you manage to make them work?

I tried a few options, ranging from the more realistic ones to those of the least part count and settled on something closer to the latter. Essentially the cars are linked by docking ports attached to unpowered and unlocked hinges with 200 damping. Not exactly replica-quality, but it does the job  

[Caerfinon]

Here they come
The boys in the bright white sports car
Waving their arms in the air
Who do they think they are
And where did they get that car

[Zosma Procyon]

Three of my rescue ships arrived at Laythe, Pol, and Eeloo, in the last few days. So I took a few snaps of them in action. One of them represents a massive f*** up on my part.

This is a standard design I use for rescues in Jool's sphere of influence. It's mostly built out of clusters of liquid fuel tanks with four NERVs. The outboard tanks are actually drop tanks. The rescued Kerbal will ride back to Kerbin in their original wreckage, so I can make some extra credits by selling it.

I did not actually design this class of rescue ship for aerobraking, but after a few failures I figured out how to make it work. I turned on the radiators and put the ship into an axial spin. This prevented any part from overheating. The aerobraking saved me about 500 m/s of Delta-V. I didn't actually need the savings, as after arrival this rocket still had over 7000 m/s of fuel left.

To save fuel on my Pol rescue flight, I used Tylo for a gravity assist. I was surprised at how well it worked. It was traveling at interplanetary transfer speeds before the Tylo encounter.

The Pol rescue ship expended its drop tanks during its Jool exit burn, so I put the ship into an axial spin and let them rip.

I didn't put the Laythe rescue ship into a spin, and this is what that looked like. 

Out at Eeloo, I had three Kerbals waiting for rescue, and I wanted to retrieve their shipwrecks too. So I built this.

It Eeloo Triple Recovery features three internal cargo bays, each with a Klaw. The RCS allowed me to easily maneuver the ship to grapple the wrecks.

Here is two out of three.

And the third capture...

...which nearly perfectly fits.

Eeloo Triple Recovery is the f*** up I mentioned. While it did the job and and has enough fuel, I must have been drunk when I launched it. It has no parachutes or heat shields or radiators. I launched it half finished. The nose mounted Klaw is unoccupied, so I will use that to dock it with a reentry module. The Eeloo to Kerbin window opens in 169 days.

[Cavscout74]

Did some more mod testing in preparation for my new Out of the Sands career using the JNSQ planet pack:

Almost reaching orbit with a tiny communications satellite.  I think a better launch profile would've made orbit - according to the dV calculator, it should've had slightly more than enough for LKO

Titov launcher with Capella upper stage reaching for the upper atmosphere (from the Completely Non-Aggressive Rocketry mod)

Capella upper stage pushing its experiment package to the limits of the atmosphere

 

 

[Astrionix]

@SpacePixel The design reminds me of the New York Central "Hudson".

[Caerfinon]

Barnstorming for fame and profit...

[CoreI]

Today I conducted some aerodynamics tests of my new vertical-launch spaceplane (named Pallas, after the bird, not the asteroid), before it's launched into space.  I wanted to see how it would fly with empty fuel tanks during final descent, so I dropped it from an Osprey carrier aircraft. 

I was worried about the planes colliding after separation, so I tied the decoupling to an action group, which slows Osprey by deploying the flaps, activating the airbrakes, and reversing the engines.

Successful landing!

The next steps for Pallas include another drop test, this time with full fuel tanks; an in-flight abort test; and finally an uncrewed orbital/reentry test flight.

[Rocket Witch]

With my Munar expedition rover unable to obtain sufficient solar power from its mostly broken panels as it travels toward the north pole, I devised an upgrade package to switch it over to fuel cells and give it better lighting. But I haven't played for quite a while, and put a heavier variant of a rocket under a lighter than normal crew craft.

Space is closed for the night.

[Cavscout74]

My new Out of the Sands career launched today, using the JNSQ system for added challenge.  I'm starting the same, limiting myself to the desert space center for the first few months.   Got off my first three launches with mixed results, plus some aircraft and surface operations.

First launch, Tituv with Capella upper stage.  Lost signal moments after stage separation, preventing science gathering from the upper atmosphere

Also did some part testing - and what better way is there to test a heatshield than to fire an SRB at it?

Final launch for today was the first complete success

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Cavscout74

[septemberWaves]

Did some testing of a prototype crew transport spacecraft for JNSQ scale. Designed as a Duna shuttle for three kerbals, or an interlunar shuttle for up to nine kerbals which should be suitable to most moon systems (a nuclear reactor is required instead of solar panels for destinations far from Kerbol, but I have yet to design this module). Powered by an argon-fueled ion thruster. I have yet to design supply modules, two of which will be docked at the central docking location. Without them, the life support system lasts 200 days per kerbal (i.e. 200 days for one kerbal, or proportionally fewer days for more kerbals). I also have yet to configure a proper OMS for the vehicle.

Additionally, here is the vehicle that will launch crew to orbit for spacecraft of this new series of mine. This is the low Kerbin orbit version, but there is also a version designed for use as a shuttle to Mun or Minmus.

Edited February 4, 2021 by septemberWaves

[vv3k70r]

On 2/2/2021 at 3:37 AM, Cavscout74 said:

CFP-01 Hawk prop-driven fighter

Beautifull construction.

On 2/2/2021 at 4:40 PM, SpacePixel said:

Rails?! Where we're going we don't need rails!

So I'm not the only mad about using extraterestial trains.

On 2/2/2021 at 5:28 PM, JorgeCS said:

Now seriously, what about the joints between the cars?

You can use robotic parts (telescopic joint and two servo/hindges to build kardan) but after some gameloads robotic is crapy mispositioned.

You can use KIS/KAS tow bars.

 

On 2/2/2021 at 6:15 PM, Caerfinon said:

Here they come

Where did You get hats?

 

[Caerfinon]

38 minutes ago, vv3k70r said:

Where did You get hats?

Comes in Kerbal Hacks: Wearable KIS Props, but  read the forums you need to modify some configs to get everything to work 

 

[jimmymcgoochie]

Suffered a mission loss after multiple engine failures during launch. One booster engine failed late in its burn, which was manageable, but then the core sustainer engine blew up  too leaving an awkward dilemma: the second stage has only one engine ignition and the craft is still very much sub-orbital, so do I burn to orbit then try to salvage the Venus transfer (very unlikely due to where the transfer burn needs to be done) or just burn prograde and see where it goes, most likely into interplanetary space forever? In the end, I went with c) waste the ignition because MechJeb PVG is still trying to get into orbit and blipped the engine for half a second. Solid motors intended to brake into Venus orbit caused uncontrollable spinning and the probe ended up limping to a low Earth orbit with no fuel left and no purpose.

I could have done what I often do and just reverted the flight, but really, what’s the point in using an engine reliability/failure mod if I just revert every time it makes an engine fail? An earlier launch of an identical probe/lander combo went well and is on its way, and the transfer window will stay open long enough to launch a replacement if I feel like it.

[Cavscout74]

Continued with my JNSQ career, with the first flights into space and the first manned flight to break the sound barrier, along with the good old fashioned exploration:

Jeb discovered some ancient ruins while patrolling east of the desert space center

The new Luciole-Capella launcher is capable of lofting the Capella upper stage above Kerbin's atmosphere, sending back the first scientific observations of space.  I kept getting nice launches, unfortunately

Finally, Jeb takes up the CX-01 "Arrow" rocket-plane to break the sound barrier.  He does it in style, reaching mach 1.25 then gliding back for a safe landing on the runway.  This did take some sandbox testing before it was approved for career use.  It does glide surprisingly well.  I did not think I was going to make the runway when I took this shot

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Cavscout74

[InfernoSD]

I set out to build a modular lander that would be useful for many different locations, thinking maybe I could use it on a grand tour contract in the future. It's an efficient little thing with one Nerv engine and ISRU capabilities. I got the whole thing to fit inside a 2.5m footprint with no significant clipping.

So far I've landed and launched from a few different bodies including Duna. With good planning it can get around with no additional vehicles involved. However, I couldn't find a path from Gilly to Moho for only 3600 dV, so I had to dock some fuel tanks for that trip.

That's weird, I'm sure Bill was walking around here a moment ago.

[vv3k70r]

Mission to Moho being prepared and waitng for fuel. Engineer adding newest developed scanner took a photo. Next hauler will be doublle that long - I figured out how to set it in orbit on same kind of LFB with 1.07 TWR (but just for few seconds) without necessity to develop another booster (this one is proven good).

Ore from Minmus were pasing over KSC in its descent to Kerbin:

Career is a bit crowdy:

On Kerbin pilot took new, economy fuel plane:

Turn out it to be very stable (alowing me watch YT during 4speed flight corecting in between 300m and 800m few times):

Hair dryer with atached plane:

Hauler to give speed for Moho in light:

Landing tanker passing spece hauler after refueling it (Mun orbit):

I need faster fuel mining, so I send a... baloon?

Fairings hiding a mine:

Decoupling LFB:

Testing power supply for mining operation:

Back to chores, LFB landing succesfully again:

Targeting it targets manualy:

Near enough:

 

[JorgeCS]

I was just thinking that it is amazing, after having watched the years go by and play styles evolve, how many people nowadays works their launches with fully (or almost) reusable first or even second stages. Elon got into our minds, maybe? Anyway I like it! 

[SpacePixel]

So what if you combined Thomas the Tank Engine and Firefly?

Boy, editing is hard. 

 

[Caerfinon]

Just another day of pulling Navy pilots out of the ocean... Drinks are on them when we get back.

[Guest]

working with a couple of others,

Operation Mun Arch has begun

My next big project after helping finish [REDACTED FOR SECRECY] will be colonizing the great easter eggs of KSP:

As such here is some cool photos of base modules we have so far. These are WIPs, In the order; Werner Von Christian, Me, Snosisnob, and Greg.

We also plan to make a duna face base and more.

And of course the big easter egg base will be:
The Mohole Base

We of course would like more people to help with the project. Links are here:

https://discord.gg/y7veEDV8Hq