Kerbal safety and stuff

[montyben101]

Do you have any sort of safety stuff? do you use escape towers? i know there are a lot of people who see kerbals as disposable as the rocket they launch them with, but since I have two launch pads now at my KSC I will always have a Space Shuttle on standby if anything happens to the one going to orbit

[Bluntie]

I feel it's against the proper Kerbal mentality to have access to safety equipment. Pretty sure it's against the law in Kerbania to waste funds on safety equipment that could be better spent on more boosters. You, sir, are a criminal.

(that said, 2 launch pads? Whaaa? How? Or do you mean the runway?)

[montyben101]

Nope with kerb town its very easier to place a second one if people want me to i might make a tutorial

Here:

Edited September 7, 2014 by montyben101

[Wanderfound]

Abort system, kills engines, decouples capsule, deploys parachutes, triggers Sepratrons to get the capsule clear of the boosters. Homebrew rather than escape towers.

The EVA Parachutes mod also helps to keep the Kerbal bodycount down.

[montyben101]

Actually my shuttle dosent really have any abort mode when the SRBS are firing but after they separate i can do RTLS abort where i fly back to the runway

[dryer_lint]

I'm so biased... I only protect them if they're an important Kerbal, like Jeb, Bob, or one of the more well-known white suit Kerbals. If the mission is dangerous/might result in a permanent base, I send one of the unknown Kerbals from far down in the list. I'm evil like that...

[Tw1]

I use them, but I don't regularly design spacecraft with detachable crew pods any more. The majority of my spacecraft rely in the hope that they will work as intended (Which is not exactly a backup plan....), though both my current deep space mother ships have 1km delta V the crew modules, so they could be detached from the other paraphernalia and maybe get home in the event of an emergency.

I also recently made a tiny SSTO plane which is ideal for returning kerbals lost in LKO. I don't to Munar or Minmal rescues from kerbin any more, as I have extensive bases on each. Though I used to have a cool little ship for doing that too.

[Frank_G]

I'm so biased... I only protect them if they're an important Kerbal, like Jeb, Bob, or one of the more well-known white suit Kerbals. If the mission is dangerous/might result in a permanent base, I send one of the unknown Kerbals from far down in the list. I'm evil like that...

Shame on you... every Kerbal is important... and if the mission is dangerous, Jeb, Bill and Bob volunteer... for sure

I always use safety procedures. Very much like Wanderfound posted just above.

[Pecan]

Working backwards; landers can be rescued by space-only tractors (except Tylo, Laythe, Eve), stations have Whimchaser or DERP escape pods, tractors or escape pods rescue tractor crews if needed, only crews to launch from Kerbin go up in a spaceplane with detachable command pod and parachutes.

Edit - anyone wanting more/better bases on Kerbin might like to look at Kerbinside too, which includes Kerbtown.

[Dat_Spacewaffle]

What is this "safety" you speak of, but in all seriousness, why waste money on boring safe stufs when you can has MOAR BOOSTAS!!!!!

[SkyRender]

Safety equipment? Psh. My "safety equipment" is "I am an awesome pilot". That's all I need.

[qromodynmc]

Safety? Escape tower?.. I use them,But for braking in my planes..

[Fiddlestyx]

Can we get a better picture of the space shuttle? Is it a mod? Does it actually work?

[The Jedi Master]

I try to keep my kerbals alive. If they get stranded much farther out than Minmus, though, then it's a 'long-term research outpost.' Also, I have been known to transfer kerbals that (BEEP) me off especially to the SSTO program...

[Taki117]

I always have at least 3 launch abort modes. Mode 1: Pad abort using LES. If something goes wrong on the pad and I need to abort action group is set up for LES activation, pod decouple and all engine shutdown (I've never had to use this one) Mod 1A: Launch to AP 70km. In the event of catastrophic failure abort action group is used. Mode 2: After LES separation (usually after second stage ignition) to orbitPod is jettisoned and dependent on remaining dV an ATO is performed. If there is insufficient dV the pod will be left on a suborbital trajectory and oriented for reentry. The parachute is also armed at this point in the event the crew does not survive reentry.

[problemecium]

I admit it - my launch safety system is Esc -> Revert to VAB. If something goes wrong I just call it a "test" and say it "isn't canon."

Now as far as space infrastructure goes, I have plenty of safety measures. All my stations either always have a return vehicle docked (and no more than the vehicle's carrying capacity on board) or enough escape pods for the whole crew to fly back to Kerbin individually. My motherships always include at least one cushy Hitchhiker container as well as "private quarters" (lander cans) and escape pods for each crew member. Combined with my obsession with single stage lift rockets, "Gravity" never happens in my Kerbal world.

I also generally try to keep crewed launches under 3 Gs so as not to make them too uncomfortable.

[montyben101]

Can we get a better picture of the space shuttle? Is it a mod? Does it actually work?

Yeah its the CSS shuttle. so few people know of this great mod...http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/71360-Component-Space-Shuttle-dev-thread-IMG-heavy%21

[TimePeriod]

Nope, never had any safety gear at all.

Most of my aircraft/rockets have way too low part count for that.

[juanml82]

Safety you say? What's the fun in that?

[razark]

I use an abort system on all my launches. Kill the engines, decouple the capsule, fire any retrograde sepratrons.

Oddly, though, I don't require my space stations to have docked rescue vehicles. I might have to add a requirement that all stations must have sufficient return vehicles docked at all times.

[Aragosnat]

When starting out yes. I make sure the Kerbal has a way to live some how. But, if the design is clearly a useable one. Then no need.

[cantab]

I set some sort of abort procedure up, unless I forget. Sometimes using the LES or some sepratrons, sometimes just with the upper stage. And if I'm launching things that are asking to go wrong I send them up uncrewed.

[Fiddlestyx]

Yeah its the CSS shuttle. so few people know of this great mod...http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/71360-Component-Space-Shuttle-dev-thread-IMG-heavy%21

Thank you, I think I tried it before when the landing gear didn't work. Will test it again.

[Mr_Brain]

I use probes.

On the rare occasions when I do a kerballed launch, I use what I have anyway. Why install an extra safety system when you can just mash space bar until you get to a stage that's not half exploded and can get you out of the BOOM?

[Boomerang]

Standard shut down LFO engines, do not decouple SRBs, decouple pod, activate homemade escape tower (that doesn't burn out in half a second) all assigned to ABORT for rocket launches.

I use the VNG ejection system mod on all of my planes, and that automatically assigns itself to ABORT, so I generally don't have to do much in that vein. Though I'll include a fuel-dumping part for planes that ferry monoprop and such to orbit, in case I need to abort the mission.

Edit: I run TAC:LS and DRE, so wherever my kerbals end up, they need to have a sure way back home. With some redundancy, if possible, like an extra return pod/ship at a busy station.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Boomerang