How did you solve the initial FOUR contracts?

[uboats]

I just finished the initial 3 by a single launch using 3 solid propeller.

Seems that one launch can solve all initial 4 contracts.

[BelgarionNL]

how do you complete the simple radial separator etc! I just made a command pod, put the the separator on it! started mission! kerbin check, landed: check! so I activate the separator and nothing...

[No one]

I did all 4 in one launch using explosive decoupling.

[metaphor]

how do you complete the simple radial separator etc! I just made a command pod, put the the separator on it! started mission! kerbin check, landed: check! so I activate the separator and nothing...

If you read closely some experimental missions say that it has to be activated as a stage, not by right-clicking on it.

[r4pt0r]

If you read closely some experimental missions say that it has to be activated as a stage, not by right-clicking on it.

yeah i had to restage the 909 to activate it during the proper window.

[AlexanderB]

I made a single stage rocket with the LVT-30 and 4 of the small fuel tanks to do liftoff, 5000m and space (>70km), straight up. No problem there.

Built a second rocket to do orbit, got decoupler contract to do it, Orbit achieved, went well untill Jeb got eaten by the kraken (parachute dissapeared? and the pod obviously left a crater.)

Only then I got the solid booster contract, Together with retrieve [some guy] Kerman from a 108x108 orbit. Easy.

As for the rest of the randomly generated missions, getting within the required window for completing it can be quite tricky. For example: I got one for the parachute that honestly doesn't work on the way down, the airspeed in the contract is just too low. and ripping it open on the way up seems like a baaaad idea too, but would match the speed and altitude combo better.

[Superfluous J]

Command pod.

3 of the starting struts radially attached to the command pod, sticking radially out from the lowest point that is still the side of the pod. The front two don't block the door, the back one is radially 180 degrees from the door.

14 fuel tanks.

1 rocket.

I got this into a stable 75x75 equatorial orbit, and then deorbited it into the desert with just enough fuel to arrest my downward speed enough to lithobrake through the engine and 12 of the fuel tanks. The radially attached struts protected the capsule better than a parachute would have.

Edited July 18, 2014 by 5thHorseman

[SRV Ron]

Just got back and had a chance to play a little with 0.24 with contracts. The two simple suborbiters on the two flights have done a lot already. If you can land in the ocean close by, you can recover the booster on Basic Jeb. It reached an allitude of 33,680 meters at 50% power on the SRB. Cost$1,347.

Basic Jeb 2 reached 203,100 meters. ( Was figuring a lot less in that design but had contracted to exceed 57,000 meters) Cost $2,072 with the test decoupler. The first SRB just reaches the required speed for the decoupler test at burnout.

Have enough tech unlocked to build an inexpensive orbiter by grabbing the radical decoupler test contract.

New users may be better off experimenting with sandbox before tackling the new Career Mode. But, if not, they can always start a new career if they should fail miserably.

Edited July 18, 2014 by SRV Ron

[Godot]

First one the same way as Scott Manley (i.e. Command Pod + Booster) ... whcih also allowed me to fulfill a contract regarding testing the yellow booster

Second and Third ones via a rocket that had 2 Fuel Tanks + LV-T30 + 3 Chutes on a stack decoupler and 3 yellow boosters on radial decouplers, as well as 2 Mystery Goo. This way I was able to get science from Goo and also could recover the stage with the 2 fuel tanks + the LV-T30 (it is true that any separated stages that stay within 2.5 km during descent (and safely land) can be recovered and give you money).

The fourth one (orbit) still is open, as I am currently busy fulfilling test contracts with small spaceships (as you can get back 80-90% of the money you spent on your spaceship if you recover all parts, the contracts pay very well)

[regex]

Did all four in a single launch and landed the ship @ 2.2km from KSP on parachutes.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[khyron42]

I did the following:

- launched just a pod, got a crew report on the pad, got jeb out and eva reported & sampled on the pad. Recovered.

- spent 5 science on the first science tree node.

- launched a contraption with 8 FL-T400 tanks, a LV-T30 engine, two SRBs just straight on the side of the bottom tank, a decoupler, a pod, and a parachute to orbit. The pod's torque was enough to steer it once the SRBs burned out, and it still has half a tank for doing the deorbit burn.

[McFarnsworth]

How? Tired and drunk mostly, but I just had to quickly try playing 0.24.

Single launch, command pod + chute, 5 fuel tanks, an LV-T30 engine, and some boosters with lots of explosive decoupling going on. Forgot to do any science or pay attention to where I was going to land though.

[WanderingKid]

Two capsule checks on Launchpad and Runway, second with goo, then a multi-stage launch to complete all four. 2 tank/command pod/LVT-45 on top with 3 chutes, 4 3 tank LVT-30's on the bottom, separated by a seperator. Got a little science during my orbit, and horribly missed my landing, but safely downed.

[Roastduck]

I'm such a science whore, when I unlock the science jr, i immediately make a horizontal pod+science jr. rig, launch it on the runway, and roll off to the side to get materials study at KSP

[magnemoe]

I'm such a science whore, when I unlock the science jr, i immediately make a horizontal pod+science jr. rig, launch it on the runway, and roll off to the side to get materials study at KSP

Thanks has to remember that one.

[Aragosnat]

I made a single stage rocket with the LVT-30 and 4 of the small fuel tanks to do liftoff, 5000m and space (>70km), straight up. No problem there.

Built a second rocket to do orbit, got decoupler contract to do it, Orbit achieved, went well untill Jeb got eaten by the kraken (parachute dissapeared? and the pod obviously left a crater.)

Only then I got the solid booster contract, Together with retrieve [some guy] Kerman from a 108x108 orbit. Easy.

As for the rest of the randomly generated missions, getting within the required window for completing it can be quite tricky. For example: I got one for the parachute that honestly doesn't work on the way down, the airspeed in the contract is just too low. and ripping it open on the way up seems like a baaaad idea too, but would match the speed and altitude combo better.

That parachutes are easy. Just have it activate on a stage you are getting rid off. Just time it so that the current in use stage has the chutes. Sometimes it is handy just to do it even if the stage still has fuel in it.

Very possable I could have done it with 3-4 SRB. Just Might have a Kerbal left in Orbit minus ship. Get 736 km up. Eject and jet pack orbit.

[The Destroyer]

Did it all in one launch, but required getting out and pushing a 7 ton craft... a lot

Also, turns out I nearly made a ssto craft...

[CalculusWarrior]

I just stacked fuel tanks until I had enough, then stuck on parachutes. This completed all four contracts, but I did have to aerobrake in order to land.

[KerbMav]

After testing a pod on the launchpad and runway for ... rain-proofness ... as well as sampling them plus KSC grounds I unlocked a few nodes.

(First time in many months playing purely stock: old soupy unferramed atmosphere, no engineer to crunch my numbers, no editor stuff ...)

This one made an orbital hop and finished 3/4 missions in one go.

After that I put a (solar-panel-less) satellite into an orbit with basically the same design but with a probe and a smaller orbital stage.

Next came a probe with batteries and an empty pod to get science from space (again..), pick up a new recruit in orbit and get some data from high orbit (lovely efficiency of 909s) - but this is going off topic?

[Sky_walker]

I did my in a two GOs:

1) Sounding rocket made it to the orbit - it was very simple, just 2 fuel tanks, engine, chute.

2) Mounted 3 staged SRBs on it to push myself up and then done circulation. at 70km.

Easy peasy

[Mars Mullo]

I solved the LVT-45 contract with this rocket.

But in saying this I'm a little sneaky.

I downloaded the new game and installed the new 64 bit version ... then copied my previous career game saves straight in to it and it allowed me to run the contracts on my current tech tree.

But it was still hard to solve.

Its amazingly fast speed at a small band of elevation

I used the "modular Girder adapter" to sit the LVP-45 engine on the top with the smallest fuel tank and a remote control pilot. I then sat it on a solid fuel booster and de-rated it by about 50% so that it would get the right speed by the right altitude.

All I needed to do was start the engine and it gives a success.

Hope this helps.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o75/Martin_Ellis/Martins%20KSP%20screen%20shots/Contractwinner.jpg' alt='Contractwinner.jpg'>

[magnemoe]

I used three SRB with 75% trust the two outer was fired first then the core one.

This was able to reach space, fulfilling the first three, see no reason to go for orbit in the first flight, better to unlock some tech first.

[Kerano]

I completed the first two contracts with a single fuel tank + engine, using a parachute to slow descent and then doing a last-second burn to achieve a safe landing.

Then got a bunch of "part test" contracts, which delayed my approach to orbit because I was busy having fun with those. Achieved the "enter space" contract on one of those part testing missions with a vertical launch. Finally achieved orbit much later, after completing 20 or so part tests.

[SRV Ron]

The first three contracts used these two budget designs with tweaked thrust on the second stage. A pair of Goo canisters allowed for science to be collected. Aiming for a water landing allowed for the SRB recovery.

For orbit, a proper orbiter was then built complete with Goo canisters. The one on the left was the lowest cost one used. It is Mun orbital capable.

[AndrewBCrisp]

I finished the first four contracts gradually. My basic "first career rocket" is a Mk1 capsule on top of an FT-L200 tank and a LV-T30 engine, with a parachute and an antenna - the result lets me travel up 5 km and return safely. After completing the 5,000 m contract, I noticed that the World's 1st Society has other altitude contracts between 5,000 m and "escape the atmosphere", so I went through those in turn, trying to test parts along the way (the parachute tests were the hardest, I found, as their altitudes and speeds presented a VERY narrow window for the test).

In all, 6 missions to escape the atmosphere, and a 7th to achieve orbit.