What did you do in KSP1 today?

[tg626]

Tito Kerman, Tourist, stands flanked by the two Kerbalnauts who chauffeured him to space and back aboard Alliance 32 mission to the KSS. (I use Making History, so my Soyuz DMs are round)

[tg626]

Welcome Home

 

Also, also...  Along with my "Kerman's Start" will come this "KSC2" inspired by the full scene which these buildings were originally from in earlier versions of KSP.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by tg626

[DunaManiac]

Launched Nova-E II: Continuing the mission of Nova-E 1, Nova-E 2 aimed to land in one of the large midland craters on the farside of the Mun, near the Farside Crater. Its nested location, high ore content, and fascinating geology make it a premier spot for a future, if unlikely at this point, base. Due to its farside location, this was the first time a manned mission relied on the satellite network, ironically through the Minmus Operations Command Explorer (MOCX) satellite. Headed by Valentina, and joined by Dudner and Kimny the Radiologist, this will be the second in 5 planned missions in the Nova-E program.

However, a key aspect of the mission was to land at several different locations in this crater, using the excess fuel that the Harpy has.

This is one of the three short-range hops attempted in this crater: to sector North, sector Central, and sector South. Techically this mission made 4 landings: bringing the total number of places visited by kerbals to 5.

At Site 3, just beyond the southern rim of the crater, the crew prepare to say goodbye. This mission is bittersweet: it is the final planned mission to the Mun. The Nova-E program will continue, of course, but the next three missions are aimed at Minmus, not the Mun. In the grand calculus of the program, the Mun was just worth less. However, the future MCTV advanced program's ambitious goal is to make landing on the Mun routine. Perhaps we will make a triumphant return to the Mun one day. But for now, the focus is not on the Mun, but on Minmus.

It turns out that I was right on the money: I was only able to make it into orbit with 3 m/s remaining in the tank! Of course there is plenty of monopropellant, but that was too close for comfort. But it's the last Mun mission anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

After one aerobraking maneuver, MCTV-MRV makes its return to the KSC.

And with the successful landing, the Mun program draws to a close. But it's not the end: the next mission will land boots on Minmus, with its own set of challenges.

Meanwhile, I've been busying myself maintaining my low-orbit space station, Cornerstone. 2 deadlines were coming up: relieving the current crew, and resupplying the station. First up was Merlin IX, carrying Lobas, Hendrin, and Luddock Kerman to replace Agamin, Edson, and Munbree Kerman currently at the station. Reentry took me several tries, but I managed to bring it down safely. Not long afterward, I sent up the first resupply mission to Cornerstone aboard the CRV, carrying enough supplies to completely restock the station's stores.

 

[Krazy1]

9 hours ago, tg626 said:

Tito Kerman, Tourist, stands

how'd you EVA a tourist?

Worked on a hypersonic plane with 100 passengers. Major goal was to put the Mk3 cabins inside cargo bays so they have some view for takeoff/ landing but don't overheat after 30+ minutes at >1700m/s. I found a cargo bay that could fit the cabin OK but the cabin still had drag when the bay was closed. Glad I tested it first. So I did a bug report and got some Minmus gravity scans.

[tg626]

1 minute ago, Krazy1 said:

how'd you EVA a tourist?

Worked on a hypersonic plane with 100 passengers. Major goal was to put the Mk3 cabins inside cargo bays so they have some view for takeoff/ landing but don't overheat after 30+ minutes at >1700m/s. I found a cargo bay that could fit the cabin OK but the cabin still had drag when the bay was closed. Glad I tested it first. So I did a bug report and got some Minmus gravity scans.

Tito (I-Forget-His-Name) was an actual Space Tourist on Soyuz 32. So in sandbox I used the F12 Create-a-Kerbal to make a tourist and put him on the crew. In sandbox they act like any other Kerbal, they simply lack any abilities.

[jimmymcgoochie]

Tested some variations on a plane design to try and make it faster and even managed to land one on the runway without anything exploding.

[fulgur]

I finally built a station for an asteroid I captured a very long time ago.

Pendragon Station + the Cives V SSTO bringing seven tourists to visit an asteroid. The large cupola is 3.75m across from SSPXr and there are also some Near Future Solar and Electrical, and USI Life Support parts on the station.

Spoiler

Four 5m-wide boosters around the station, each with a cluster of six Mainsail engines.

Detachable RCS pods - one of the near future mods has very powerful LF/O RCS thrusters - bring Pendragon Station up to the stone.

Cives V spaceplane launching from the runway.

A perfect landing! (Recovered at Island Airfield, 100% Value).

 

[TheOrios]

Finished the cast & nuo overhauls

[Kerbalsaurus]

Geez, I've been having no luck with the Mun recently. I was trying out Tantares, and for some reason the pre-built N1-L3 stack that comes with the mod puts the LK lander's engines as the very last stage! Ah, soviet engineering.

Shh... don't tell America.

[jimmymcgoochie]

After a few hours yesterday trying to make a new plane, I decided to try just sticking some better engines on the one I already have- and it worked! It's also significantly cheaper than building a new one since the only changes are replacing the engines and some minor fuselage remodelling to make the larger new engines fit properly.

I also tried a two stage sounding rocket, found a serious stability problem on the second stage and solved it with some credit card sized fins to keep the pointy end up and the flamey end down.

[DunaManiac]

Launched Accipiter I - the successor to the long-running Merlin Program that has been launching small satellites and servicing Cornerstone.

Its meant to be a test launch for the most part. It's only carrying two crew - Isapond and Trainee Barrigh - and a dummy payload to prove it can even conduct resupply missions to Cornerstone.

After 6 hours in orbit, Accipiter begins approach.

And we landed! I learned a few things from this mission for the next mission.

First, it's almost too aerodynamic. It can gain speed even during a 30 degree dive at low altitudes! Accipiter II will definitely need some airbrakes.

Secondly, I probably need more yaw authority. I was having a lot of problems with yaw and roll authority during the descent.

More reaction wheels would also be nice.

In short: a new era has been begun.

[Trann]

 Laughing at myself for sinking hours into useless-but-pretty robotics! 

[Dafni]

20 hours ago, fulgur said:

I finally built a station for an asteroid I captured a very long time ago.

Some nice screenshots you have there. May I plz ask where that skybox is from?? Looks gorgeous

[fulgur]

1 hour ago, Dafni said:

Some nice screenshots you have there. May I plz ask where that skybox is from?? Looks gorgeous

It's the Veil Nebula by JadeOfMaar. You can find it here:

I also have Restock, Waterfall and the standard (high-res) clouds that are bundled with Galileo's Planet Pack.

Edited April 14, 2023 by fulgur

[Krazy1]

3 hours ago, Trann said:

 Laughing at myself for sinking hours into useless-but-pretty robotics! 

A giant drill - very nice. Did you make it or a mod? Does it actually work for drilling? If so it's not useless (well not any less useless than this whole game).

[jimmymcgoochie]

1 hour ago, Krazy1 said:

A giant drill - very nice. Did you make it or a mod? Does it actually work for drilling? If so it's not useless (well not any less useless than this whole game).

The yellow lights, not the drill?

[AtomicTech]

8 hours ago, Trann said:

 Laughing at myself for sinking hours into useless-but-pretty robotics! 

That ain't a waste of time.

[fulgur]

Testing an entirely original SSTO which is not at all based off any other intellectual property.

Meet the "StormAvian" cargo SSTO.

[Trann]

9 hours ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

The yellow lights, not the drill?

Yeah, it was all about getting the light transition right.  Testing in the VAB doesn't reflect the actual movement of parts so I was going back and forth to the launch pad to try and get the light drop and rise to match the drill's.  I'm way too excited for such a small visual effect

[Krazy1]

10 hours ago, Trann said:

Yeah, it was all about getting the light transition right.

It is a cool light... but where'd the drill come from? 

Last weekend I flew  a hypersonic passenger plane named Vizor, featuring a Mk2 cockpit inside a Mk3 cargo ramp. It provides enough visibility for takeoff and landing but protects it from the heat at 1700+ m/s. 

Also found a new bug... with the ramp closed the cockpit has no drag but it still has lift.  

Still working on the 100 kerbal hypersonic plane... time to add struts. Hope it holds together and the landing gear vibration bug isn't too bad.

More pics:

>>> Imgur album <<<

[DunaManiac]

Two low-orbit launches:

The first is of Accipiter II. By pure coincidence, I happened to launch during a solar eclipse! An interesting backdrop to the launch. The aim is to deliver a Nuclear Rocket Demonstration Vehicle into low orbit - critical (or at least, in my mind) for my Minmus mission, as I plan to use it on that mission. This mission was improved over the last: I increased the yaw-authority and added airbrakes, and as a result it performed noticeably better.

The payload Accipiter II is dropping off today is basically a nuclear rocket with a probe core attatched. It was decided it was too dangerous to leave in orbit, too dangerous to smash into kerbin due to the radiation content. So it was decided that it will be disposed of by smashing into the Mun. It will be Kerbin's second lunar impactor, but it will also give us a chance to study how the radiation would disperse in the event of catastrophic failure of an NTR.

During the reentry, Accipiter deploys its fancy new airbrakes installed after the first mission.'

And Accipiter is down.

Meanwhile, I deploy the second LKO rocket I've been using - Merlin - this time for its 10th mission. This will also be its last, and be retired for good. From here on out Accipiter will be acting as Kerbalkind's sole way of reaching orbit. Honestly, I'm glad to be rid of Merlin's shaky ascents. Despite Accpiter looking unstable, it's actually much less noodly than Merlin's long spindly structure is.

Once in orbit, we release Kerbin's first interplanetary probe: the Interplanetary Demonstration Probe. It doesn't really have a destination in mind other than interplanetary space. It's designed to be a test run for the future Eve orbiter probe I'm sending aboard Accipiter III. It's also a good way to end the Merlin Program: it's already been running for 5 years!  One last record broken before retirement.

The magnetometers are for studying Kerbol's magnetic field directly: it will give us an idea of the radiation that interplanetary vessels will face.

And we're down. It wasn't without one last hiccup. Even though Merlin was quite stable, it would occasionally stall. Thankfully, I was able to recover and bring it down successfully.

[N_Danger]

A set of space craft were sent to Eve.

Spoiler

The set consists of a Mapping Sat and an Atmosphere Probe/Lander. On some kind of  kerbal engineered bus.

 

But smooth sailing to orbit.

 

 

After a course correction 50 days later, The APL separates with a 30 KM PE around Eve. 

After that the Mapper and the deceleration stage course corrects with RCS to a 105 KM PE around eve.  We are about 56 days away from Eve encounter now.

The timing is not too bad between entry and capture burn for the Mapper. Plenty of time to switch.

The APL arrives.

Chute out and science under way

Landed

Arrival of the mapper.

Disposed of the decel stage.

Edited April 15, 2023 by N_Danger

[Trann]

15 hours ago, Krazy1 said:

It is a cool light... but where'd the drill come from? 

Oh, sorry, I completely missed your point!  Pretty sure it's part of the base game?  The larger https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/'Drill-O-Matic'_Mining_Excavator and the Junior https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/'Drill-O-Matic_Junior'_Mining_Excavator which you can find in the Tech Tree under Advanced Science Tech https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Technology_tree

The best way to (almost indefinitely) tour the system by processing your own fuel.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Trann

[Krazy1]

17 minutes ago, Trann said:

Pretty sure it's part of the base game? 

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? 

[Trann]

18 minutes 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? 

Oh, I see what you mean now; I totally forgot what the original looked like (and I was looking at it on the wiki page like a doofus).  It's gotta be the Restock mod (it's listed in the hidden items) https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/182679-1123-restock-revamping-ksps-art-feb-25/

Edited April 16, 2023 by Trann