A Newbie with a few Questions (ranging from Image Sharing Sites to Rocket Designs) on

[Turk_WLF]

First of I hope I have this in the correct section, if not Moderator please move it (& please let me know why & where it was moved.)

1)I’m looking for an Image Sharing website so I can post KSP pictures as neededbut I just want to know of a good & easy to use site but most of a family friendly (lack of questionable ads/content), any Ideas?

2)When you’re building a rocket is that any clues that can warn you that it’s too heavy to launch?

3)Is there a visual clue that to match the Terminal Velocity without mods like MechJeb 2 or Engineer Redux 1.0?

4)I’m just wondering if when you made your 1^st Rockets you built in a Command Module for a retrograde burn to get back to Kerban.

5)I would like to thank SRV Ron for posting the 2 rockets that he made in my Welcoming thread, that helped me launch my rocket career Launch , but I’m wondering if there are any tips for making a Rocket for the Mk II capsule (the 3 Man default Capsule) using default parts.

Thanks,

[Lheim]

1. Most folks I know round this forum just use imgur.com

2. Not really in game stats, yet, so with the base game it's just a matter of getting a feel by experience. If you right click on a engine in the VAB it'll give you more stats, like max engine power - there's also a mod like kerbal engineer, which shows you explicitly calculated thrust-to-weight ratios (TWR) - hint: if it's less then 1, you're not leaving the ground.

3. Nope. Though if you see white cloudy things zipping past in your rocket's wake you're just going WAY too fast.

4. Not entirely sure whatcha mean!

5. The three-man pod is quite heavy. but seriously, it + orange tank + skipper + two side mounted boosters *ought* to get to orbit.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Lheim

[Frank327]

First of I hope I have this in the correct section, if not Moderator please move it (& please let me know why & where it was moved.)

1)I’m looking for an Image Sharing website so I can post KSP pictures as neededbut I just want to know of a good & easy to use site but most of a family friendly (lack of questionable ads/content), any Ideas?

2)When you’re building a rocket is that any clues that can warn you that it’s too heavy to launch?

3)Is there a visual clue that to match the Terminal Velocity without mods like MechJeb 2 or Engineer Redux 1.0?

4)I’m just wondering if when you made your 1^st Rockets you built in a Command Module for a retrograde burn to get back to Kerban.

5)I would like to thank SRV Ron for posting the 2 rockets that he made in my Welcoming thread, that helped me launch my rocket career Launch , but I’m wondering if there are any tips for making a Rocket for the Mk II capsule (the 3 Man default Capsule) using default parts.

Thanks,

1) I just use dropbox. You can upload pictures and it creates a link for you. Others probably have better ideas.

2) In general, you don't want to build too tall. To make an educated guess, for every "point" of thrust an engine has, it can carry 0.1 tonnes. So if you've got a 10 ton rocket you need at least 100 thrust to lift off. Still, that'll take forever so in your first stages try to have at least 15 thrust for every tonne your rocket weighs. Try to build your stages so that you start small and lightweight at the top and put heavy engines and solid fuel boosters at the bottom.

3) Not that I'm aware of. I generally just try to keep my velocity under 200m/s below 10km in my ascent.

4) I don't know what you mean by this.

5) Yes, most of the rockomax parts are 2.5m wide just like the MkII capsule. There's also a rockomax adaptor in the "structural" tab. If you play career/science you need quite some of it to unlock it though.

[cantab]

Imgur seems to be most popular, partly because you can embed whole albums. Personally I use flickr, they offer loads of space and no worries about dodgy ads there.

In stock you can find the mass of your rocket by sending it to the launchpad, switching to map view, then click the i icon on the right. You can find the thrust of your engines in the VAB. You'll need thrust/weight to be at least 10 kN per ton to liftoff. As regards mods, Kerbal Engineer Redux will tell you all you need to know about your rocket.

Terminal velocity in stock is the same for nearly every ship, so you can just read off the values from a table, such as here: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Basic_maneuvers

[MarvinKitFox]

3) terminal velocity.

IF you know what your rocket TWR (thrust-to-weight ratio) is...

Look at your acceleration meter.

When that is at TWR-1, you are flying at terminal velocity.

Vice vesa work too, of course.

If you know you are at terminal velocity, then your current TWR is accelerationmeter + 1

More practical, although it ruins your current launch, but it does help to give you a feel for it...

if you are flying more-or-less vertically, and you cut your engines completely, your acceleration meter will show you how much drag you are experiencing.

at -1 exactly, you are being slowed down at 1g by air friction, i.e. you are at terminal velocity.

Not so handy for *this* flight, but now you get a feel for how fast you should be at a given altitude.

(yes, you can use someone else's tables, or install mechjeb or engineer. This is just in case you actually want to find out for yourself.

[Tsynique]

4)I’m just wondering if when you made your 1^st Rockets you built in a Command Module for a retrograde burn to get back to Kerban.

If you are asking do people put rockets on a command module for the deorbit burn like Gemini capsule or alike I would say that that's one way to do it or you can just deorbit using the service module which you detach before reentry - like the Apollo spacecraft. Both ways are good, it's just a matter of application.

Note that all manned command modules have monopropellant in them which could be used via two RCS thruster as retro burn rockets.

[Pecan]

1. imgur does for me too.

2. Not in stock KSP. Squad think giving us the numbers would take the fun out of it. 80%+ of players think giving us the numbers would save having to copy everything to a spreadsheet by hand. Most people intall one or more of the mods: Kerbal Engineer Redux (known as KER), VOID (whose real name is too long to type ^^), MechJeb (MJ, also an autopilot if you wish to use it for that).

3. As has been mentioned a) if you're going much too fast you'll see white, then red, atmospheric effects around your vehicle as the air heats up, eventually to plasma. You'll also see this on re-entry although there is no danger of burning-up in stock KSP.

4. Every vehicle needs a probe core or command pod to control it. If you want it back from orbit you need to provide enough fuel for it to de-orbit, but that doesn't take much.

5. Lots of vehicles in my tutorial ^^.

Start small and, especially, light. More mass means MUCH more complicated, especially at launch.

[SRV Ron]

I would like to thank SRV Ron for posting the 2 rockets that he made in my Welcoming thread, that helped me launch my rocket career Launch , but I’m wondering if there are any tips for making a Rocket for the Mk II capsule (the 3 Man default Capsule) using default parts.

An early version 2 stage to orbit using a Mainsail and Skipper. You can try it and refine the design to be more efficient. (You need solar panels but don't need the fins or the SAS.)

[SRV Ron]

Here is a variation for 23.5 and newer. Use the design on the left as using the cupola on the right is unstable in flight. Maybe switch a fuel can from the second stage to the first as I was playing with the new engine part.

And in orbit.

As always, using the Kerbal school of hard knocks, play with designs. Find out what works and what doesn't. When it does work, tweak the design to get it to work better, more efficiently, and cheaper where possible.

Edited July 30, 2014 by SRV Ron

[MarvinKitFox]

3. As has been mentioned a) if you're going much too fast you'll see white, then red, atmospheric effects around your vehicle as the air heats up, eventually to plasma.

If you are seeing white shockwave, they you are already moving about 50% to 100% too fast (1.5 - 2.0 times the correct speed)

If you are seeing red flames, even a little, you are at 2.0+++ times the ideal speed. (and thus burning about 8 times the fuel you need to!!!)

[Pecan]

Hence "much" too fast - however inadequate it is the only indication stock KSP gives you. Oddly enough though, now you quote that bit, I have no idea what "b)" was going to be!