What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Galacticruler]

Why waste a good skycrane?

[Kaleb]

This is actually all from last night. No KSP tonight.

First, I returned Jeb from his first Minmus landing, and refueled his lander from the tug's excess. I'm going to attempt a second landing to investigate an anomalous mapsat reading, just as soon as I can figure out a good orbit for this non-equatorial site. No pictures here, because I intend to write up a proper mission report at a future date.

Then I used the Ordan Industries Telescope to attempt to photograph a Kerbolar Eclipse. Unfortunately, my telescope's highly inclined orbit wasn't quite lined up where it needed to be. Note the Mun ever so slightly to the left of Kerbol, half-hiding in its glare.

So instead, I started mapping the Kerby-Way Galaxy. Bear in mind, this is just a scaled image. The full size is (IIRC) something like 18000 pixels wide so far, and I haven't gone all the way around yet...

I don't generally build "replica" spacecraft, but I made this Boeing Delta IV Cryogenic Upper Stage using Stock + Spherical Fuel Tanks (+Aviation Lights, because I throw them on everything as a general rule).

Reference image:

Kerbalized version:

Then I kept playing around with the spherical fuel tanks, and accidentally built a SSTO UFO (Unfeasible Flying Object) which Dudski Kerman was kind enough to test fly.

Of course, just because I can haul all those empty side tanks up to orbit doesn't mean it's a good idea. I'll bet this thing does really well with asparagus staging...

[lammatt]

Launch a rocket into a retrograde suborbital trajectory and landed my skycrane+rover at the pyramid complex. (a little off the target tho'... took me ~40min game time to drive there)

- this mission was to test if my rover+skycrane can provide enough thrust for landing on a planet with similar gravity as Kerbin

- finding: i overshot by ~40km... totally overestimated the thrust of the 4 little orange radial rockets (couldnt kill the lateral speed quickly enough)

- Ronald Kerman was thrown out of the cart when it landed... need an even softer touch down (~5m/s is too much for the seat to handle apparently)

Edited July 24, 2013 by lammatt

[Captain Sierra]

testing rover lander

A) what mods did you use?

are you willing to share the .craft file? I'd kill to dissect that thing.

[Captain Sierra]

Duna colony design;

How you gettin it there?

[chrischambers]

I have been testing and Building new Bases, in readiness for the release of 0.21

[Felix Maxwell]

Built a large number of standardized launchers to take more of the guesswork out of my missions. Now if I could just fly the things I would be set.

[Whackjob]

Building the Arkingthaad Duna lander colony ship. 3 of 9 modules constructed and attached.

[Koren]

The KSP launched his first "Kerbal on the Mun" program. It was a failure.

Koren Kerbal, the former director of the KSP built his first rocket able to leave Kerbin orbit, Apolol 13. It exploded at lauch.

He said failure came from the liquid fuel that was not able to reach the central engine, nobody seen it but all trusted him. They started a new rocket model more reliable after that.

Apolol 14 was launched with success in Kerbin Orbit. The travel module was launched to leave Kerbin orbit and join the Mun's one.

It took 6 Apolol 14 and 18 Kerbals. 6 of them are still in orbit without fuel in a 1kk orbit around Kerbin, and 1 of them is in orbit out of the rocket.

All the others Kerbals are crashed on the Mun landing without enough fuel at 500m/s, where we noticed parachutes don't work.

Koren Kerbal was fired and replaced by another Kerbal, Koren Kerbal.

Several hours later, the last Apolol 14 was launched, with minor modification to the fuel capacity. It orbited nicely around Mun and landed almost perfectly but had not enough fuel and the Kerbal in commands did bad at controlling the landing module. It landed at 10m/s on the side, everybody is now safe.

Here are the pictures of this Mun conquest.

Next operation of the KSP is to rescue the crew.

(Sorry for bad english, now the pictures)

(Apolol 14 at launch)

(Landed à 500m/s, no survivor)

(Well, you know the story)

Such Happiness ! We are alive !

Sunset on the Mun

[SRV Ron]

Launched four Vanguard Probes in four directions straight up for testing. Only the Jool probe, launched at dawn made it to its destination and is in polar orbit around Laythe. Probe three, launched 18 hours later, missed the Jool window. The other two I couldn't get a proper intercept. Probe four, launched at noon for EVE, was the quickest one to reach Kerbal escape velocity. However, its intercept window was not there for the first orbit. While I was able to get into the Moho plane, an intercept was just out of reach and fuel reserves for an orbital capture not available for this design. That probe mission was cancelled. Jool appears to be the best target for the Vanguard C design.

[capi3101]

Began a Munshot in order to make an entry in the "Doing it Apollo Style" challenge; aborted the flight when the third stage wouldn't separate. Design flaw with the LEM. Fresh attempt tonight.

I also tried to send a Hellrider 7 rover on ahead to the Neil Armstrong Memorial so I'd have a navigational reference for landing (didn't know where it was before yesterday). The skycrane ran out of juice 2000 meters above the surface and lithobraked at over 100 m/s. The ironic thing is that bits of the rover debris landed within three hundred meters of the memorial, so I suppose I do still have a reference......

Designed my first challenge. Haven't read the updates yet; probably folks complaining...

[Tw1]

Two months after Bob and Bill, Jeb and crew made it home.

The two week out correction burn didn't put them as close to the planet as expected, then I warped past periapsis, but fortunately the vessel had more than enough to Delta V achieve powered capture, and re-orbit itself after dropping the capsule on a trajectory for KSC.

The abort system separations finally got their moment, and were used to get closer to the space center.

♪this is my moment, my moment...

And they got home after 473 days in space.

I also played around a bit, trying to use extraplanetary launchpads..

And discovered a beach. This was in attempting to turn my shuttle's orbiter into an SSTO, which made more of a one-way long distance plane.

Can't really do much when half the engines fall of during landings..

[potoes6]

Sending Probes to faraway planets

[Geschosskopf]

I built a STOL (not VTOL, but rather better) jet and flagged all the islands of the Airfield Archipeligo. Runways are overrated .

[Aragosnat]

Well yestarday for myself. Tested out some simpleNuke powered refuelers after smoking myself while roasting marshmellows over an open fire. Today found out the servers are under heavy heavy load. Only to find out when I pause downloading some of my updating steam games that KSP went 0.21. Now waiting to download so I can plot killing Kerbals off in pretty fireworks.

[Superfluous J]

Today, I launched, transferred, reached orbit, and finally circularized the orbit of my VLMO, or Very Low Munar Orbiter.

Then I learned that there are mountains on Mun that are over 5000 meters tall

[capi3101]

Built an entry for the Rocket Artillery challenge. Remembered too late that a) I don't do so well with fixed-wing craft and KSP's aerodynamic model is one of the chief gripes people have about it. My initial design flew for about five kilometers; a very stripped down design flew for about fifteen. Definitely not in the medium-range category.

Tweaked the Castle Romeo design to allow the third stage to separate. Forgot to put the struts holding it to the payload back into place and didn't realize it until this morning.

Now I'll have to build those damn fairings all over again...

Tested a new rover design. Making an X200-8 your base chassis = bad idea. Particularly during rollover tests.

Launched another Hellrider towards the Neil Armstrong Memorial. Actually set it down without blowing anything up on it (skycrane came down hard, but it's supposed to do that, right?). Stupid thing flipped over twice - first time broke off the ladder and one of the engines it would use for righting itself after a rollover. Second time, the other two self-righting engines blew off. I could see the memorial and knew I was heading in the right direction, but I could've sworn the damn thing was moving away from me at the same rate I was heading towards it...

Didn't have time to download 0.21.

All in all, a pretty rough day.

[bogpad]

Today, I learned that 4000m is too low for a minmus satelite orbit

[MinerEdgar]

I sent my first .21 Kerbonuats Kiring, Alding, and Rowin Kerman around the Mun. In this http://imgur.com/rGfXQYD

The mission went perfectly ab lit with the loss of a solar panel, and at the end their parachute ripped off at the las... well look http://imgur.com/iPZGSzB

[Aragosnat]

Tested rocket after the new 0.21.1 came out. Finally the I.R.W. works at holding spot. Tested my space plane after hearing that while S.A.S. is engaged. The nose drops when pitching to the left or right. Which I confirmed for myself that it happens to my space planes too. Other then that Bill Kerman is happily sitting in that plane whiledrifting upon the big blue wet thing.

[annallia]

I started a new save finally. Decided to take all that I have learned over the months and put it into a new game.

Designed a new rocket capable of lifting up to 19 tons into orbit.

Launched two massive satellites (with said rocket)

Redesigned rocket for heavier payloads.

After 4 failed launches (difficulty maintaining trajectory during gravity turn) I slapped a few more fuel tanks on it to slow it down and allow me to preform the gravity turn at a higher altitude and still make orbit. This ended with stage 1 of my new station in place.

Launched a refueling satellite (Basically a fuel tank with solar panels and docking port)

Currently designing stage 2 of my station and a new Munar lander.

[Whackjob]

[WooDzor]

I cleaned up the Mun, Minmus and Duna and only kept my proud achievements. Tried to dock my Gemini V and VI. Epic fail again. Landed my Springbok V on the Mun. Crashed during launch because as always I had switched off the gimbals.

I found the ride somewhat shaky, but managed to get everything into orbit and to the Mun. Landing was a breeze with the new SAS.

[Tw1]

Spent the time I'd allocated to playing KSP taking Mods in and out of the game, and trying to find out which one was making all the parts but Damned Robotics disappear. Turns out it was Damned Robotics...

Then discovered my Rescue rocket's lander likes to dance when I go to it from the tracking station. I'll need to find a way around this if I'm to get my crew off the Mun.

[Fernbhoy]

finally completed my first ever dock, attaching a hitchhiker to my new "Unity One" space station.

the return trip went well until i miscalculated my return burn, ended up over the mountains west of KSC and time accelerated too much so didn't have a chance to launch my chute.

first casulty of the Space Program