How to refer to things correctly.

[Whirligig Girl]

I may be slightly pedantic, but it hurts when someone refers to "Kerbal" as the planet, "Kermin" as a Kerbal, or "Jeb Kerbol" As a specific pilot. So here's a list of translations to help you know what you're talking about with all these Ker- words, in real world terms.

Kerbol=The Sun (Strictly speaking it's a fan name for the Sun, the Sun is what the Sun is called in-game)

Kerbin=Earth

Kerbal=Human (Kerbal can also be an adjective that means "Like or Similar to a Kerbal", usually stupidly awesome)

Kerbonaut=Cosmonaut or Astronaut. It is not an official term, in game it's the Astronaut Complex, but we use it all the time anyway. I like to think that a Kerbonaut is a player of KSP. Exploring Kerbals.

Kerman=Williams (A very common last name)

Kermen=No such thing.

Kirmin=No such thing.

Kermin=No such thing.

Kirman=No such thing.

Kerbo="Man" As in refering to all humans, it's an old term from before the game was even started. Don't use this term.

Kerbalkind=Mankind or Humankind

Hi... there's some things you haven't covered :-S

While browsing the KSP community I've encountered the following names:

- Kerban

- Kirbin

- Jebodiah

- Jebidiah

What do they refer to?

All of these are not things. They are mispronunciations and incorrect spellings and all the bad stuff. They are also not words.

So there's all the Ker- words explained. But what about the other words that you don't know? Well, here:

Moho=Brown Mercury

Eve=Big Purple Venus

Gilly=A tiny little rock that orbits Eve.

Kerbin=Earth

The Mun=The Moon (Mun can be pronounced "Myoon", "Muhn", or even "Moon")

Minmus=A second Moon for Kerbin.

Minimas=Not a thing. Minimas is not a word in KSP. (In Latin, I think, it means "the smallest of a group", which is interesting.)

Duna=Mars

Ike=Another planet that orbits with Duna (Realistically, the two would be a double-planet system). No real life analog, except perhaps Charon, which orbits Pluto.

Dres=Boring Ceres

Jool=Green Jupiter

Laythe=Ocean Moon of Jool. (Gravitationally it's orbit resembles Io's orbit around Jupiter)

Vall=Mountainous blue Europa

Tylo=Giant White Ganymede

Bop=A Small moon of Jool.

Pol=An even smaller moon of Jool.

Eeloo=Cracky Pluto. (Well, we don't know if Pluto is cracked or not. We don't have any good pictures of it yet.)

What about other phrases that are applicable in the real world and moreso in KSP?

Aerobraking=using the air to slow down. Air pressure and shock heating may cause problems. And it's prnounced "Air-Oh-Braking", not "Air-Ee-Oh-Braking" (I'm looking at you, Andrew Hansen)

Lithobraking=Using the lithosphere, (the ground) to slow down. In KSP, this is usually a destructive process that leads to Rapid Unplanned Disassembly.

Delta-V=Delta V is the Natural Logarithm of the Mass Ratio, multiplied by the exhaust velocity. (It's how much speed you can change, or how much you can fire your rocket) Note, I don't actually expect you to know the above formula, that was a joke. In KSP, it's measured in Kilometers per Second or Meters per Second. Delta-V is not a unit of measurement. You can not have 2,340 Delta-V. You have 2.34 Kilometers Per Second of Delta-V.

Specific Impulse=Also called Isp (Impulse that is SPecific), it's like your car''s mileage. It's the efficiency of a rocket engine measured in seconds. For a bit of awareness as to what this means, because you don't have any reference point, 400 seconds is at the limit of chemical rocket efficiency, while anything below 120 seconds is practically useless. 340 seconds is the midpoint for high-thrust, medium efficiency rocket engines.

Liquid Fuel=A mixture of Gasoline, Alcohol, Acid, and anything else that will burn. Or maybe it's whatever fuel your engine needs to burn. Point is, it's a fluid that burns readily in the presence of oxygen.

Oxidizer=A compound made of oxygen and maybe something else. Dinitrogen Tetroxide, perhaps? Maybe it's just Liquid Oxygen. It's what makes the fuel burn, because there's no air in space.

Monopropellant=Also called a "monogolic fuel", it's a fuel that decomposes with a catalyst instead of burning with another chemical. Hydrazine or Hydrogen Peroxide are good examples. It's used in RCS thrusters, but they have bad efficiency.

There are also some neat-o Kerbals in the world which we all love, here are their names, roles, and if applicable, their real-world counterparts.

Jebediah Kerman=Our number 1 astronaut. Be he Alan Shepard, Yuri Gagarin, or Neil Armstrong, he is our most beloved and most badass Kerbal.

Bill Kerman=He's the engineer. He is also very stupid. BILL is the STUPID one.

Bob Kerman=He's the Scientist. He's rather smart. BOB IS THE SMART one.

Seriously please stop mixing the above two up.

Valentina Kerman=The first female kerbal of the list, and the only one in-game with a non-randomly-generated name. Her name derives from Valentina Tereshkova, first ever woman in space, launched by the soviets in 1961. No woman followed her into space until almost exactly 20 years later, when Sally Ride became America's first woman in space.

Wernher von Kerman=The chief scientist at the Kerbal Space Center. He's a reference to Wernher von Braun, the German rocket scientist who invented the V-2 missile and later the Saturn 5 moon rocket when he worked with the Americans.

Gene Kerman=Gene Kranz, head of mission control. Not to be confused with Gene Cernan, who was Apollo 10, 17 and Shuttle astronaut.

Bobak Kerman=He doesn't appear in the game, but he does appear in the official short animated trailers. He's the mission control guy with the mohawk, just like Bobak Ferdowsi on the Curiosity rover team.

Mortimer Kerman=The old wrinkly money guy at KSC. "He's an accountant, called Mortimer. He doesn't have many friends, but he likes things to be under control and arranged in right angles. This job is pretty stressful for him."

Linus Kerman=Wernher's intern. "Linus is Wernher Von Kerman's Intern. Because Wernher himself is too important to be bothered with these boring strategy meetings. He sends his intern in his stead."

Walt Kerman=PR guy for the Kerbal Space Program. He wears the hazmat suit, which was originally an alternate space suit model that Squad scrapped. "Walt Kerman is the spokesperson for the Space Program. He wears a hazmat suit. Which isn't strictly required for his job, but it seems appropriate for someone working in such a toxic environment."

Gus Kerman=The head of engineering and operations. Think Scotty from Star Trek. "Gus Kerman is head of Space Program Operations and all-around repairs guy whenever something around here breaks down. We hope nothing catches fire while he's here." Perhaps based on Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, a Mercury/Gemini astronaut and Apollo astro... oh my god I just got that joke at the end and that's horrible, Squad. Yeah, Gus was the guy who made Gemini less like Mercury and more like a proper fighter plane type ship, and also one of the astronauts who died in a fire on Apollo 1. That's just... Wow. I'd heard people mention the fire joke and how bad it was, but I didn't see why until just now. Squad, you have to remove that.

Okay, so on a lighter note, but still very serious, VERSION NUMBERS!!!! Yay!

0.90 is NOT 0.9. 0.9 added struts among other things, 0.90 added giant spaceplane parts and upgradeable buildings. Numbers are not decimal.

1.0.2 is NOT 1.02. There was never any version 1.02.

1.0.2 is NOT 1.2., etc.

It works like this:

0.21.2

Major Version Number (Alpha/Beta)

Minor Version Number (21st since development started)

Revision Version Number (Revision Patch two)

Some people don't quite know what SAS and RCS means. Here's a bit of help.

RCS=Reaction Control System. It's the little attitude thrusters. Almost every manned spacecraft use this system. Saying RCS system is redundant for the same reason saying ATM machine is redundant.

SAS=Sickness Avoidance Scheme. It got more complicated in version 0.21 when SAS was overhauled. It became an automated system inside tha capsules, and Advanced Stability Augmentation System units became Inline Stabilizers/Reaction Wheels. It got even more complicated in 0.90 when only pilots were allowed to use it. So it became not a computer program at all, unless you are using probes. So in the current, 1.0 version of the game, this is how it works.

When there is no pilot, probe core, or fly-by-wire module installed=SAS is a dark grey light on the Navball that does not work or mean anything.

When you have a pilot=Sickness Avoidance Scheme (The pilot himself is actually holding the ship stable, not a computer module. Turning on SAS is just communicating to Jeb, "please stabilize the ship. You can do it buddy. You're a pilot!"

When you have a low-tech probe core.=Such as the Stayputnik probe core, where SAS is a dark grey light on the Navball that does not work or mean anything.

When you have a probe core.=Stability Augmentation System. Turning it on is giving a computer command to the device to stabilize the ship.

When you have a Fly-By-Wire module=Stability Augmentation System, but the kerbal thinks it's a Sickness Avoidance Scheme. Turning it on is telling the Kerbal to input a computer command to stabilize the ship. FBW modules are only used when you have no pilot and you want your ship to be flyable.

Note that Reaction Wheels and Inline Stabilizers are NOT SAS modules

A gentle reminder on the most mispelled simple words.

Your=Something that belongs to you. (I believe this is your Turbopump design, Dr. Von Kerman?)

You're=Short version of You Are. (You're a pretty good pilot, Jeb.)

Two=The number 2. (One Two Three)

To=expressing motion in the direction of a particular location. (I am going to fly my spaceship to the moon.)

Too=More than what you want (I was going too fast for orbital insertion!)

They=Those people.

Their=The stuff they own.

They're=Short version of They Are.

Kerman's=Something that Mr. Kerman owns.

Kerbals=Multiple Kerbal.

Kerbal's=Something that a Kerbal owns.

Do not use Apostrophes (') when making things plural (multiple/more than one.)

And a bit of a thing from ParameciumKid:

SSTO: Single Stage To Orbit. This means nothing about which way the ship is facing on takeoff or landing or about whether it has wings.

Spaceplane: A plane in space, but not necessarily an SSTO. The Space Shuttle is an example of a spaceplane that rides a rocket to orbit and is then able to fly as a plane on the way down.

SSTO Spaceplane: A spaceplane which is also an SSTO.

VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Synonymous with VTVL (Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing).

Thanks a lot ParameciumKid!

Hope this helps. This has expanded further than I had originally thought back in late 2014!

Edited June 8, 2015 by GregroxMun
Added a bit about SAS/RCS and some common grammar mistakes.

[technicalfool]

"Laythe=Ocean Moon of Jool."

I would say Laythe = Pandora minus the blue catpeople and glow-in-the-dark flora, but I suppose that might end up with trademark and copyright disputes.

[dbmorpher]

We have these great images of pluto

[Whirligig Girl]

We have these great images of pluto

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Pluto-map-hs-2010-06-a-faces.jpg

Great? They're better than white splotches on more white splotches, but they're hardly good.

[Overfloater]

Hi... there's some things you haven't covered :-S

While browsing the KSP community I've encountered the following names:

- Kerban

- Kirbin

- Jebodiah

- Jebidiah

What do they refer to?

p.s. - "muhn" is my favorite pronunciation xD

Edited December 25, 2014 by Overfloater
Moar words

[astropapi1]

Can you also add "Minmus, not Minimus"? It's makes me unreasonably mad to see that for some reason, although I always try to be nice when correcting new players.

[Overfloater]

All of these are not things. They are mispronunciations and incorrect spellings and all the bad stuff. They are also not words.

Ah, good.

By the way, isn't Kermen plural form of Kerman?

Source

Edited December 26, 2014 by Overfloater

[John FX]

"All of these are not things"

You will attempt no landing there...

[Norpo]

How about:

"Jebediah Kerman: Official BadS Kerbonaut, who is by default the first in every save."

"Jeb: Shorthand for Jebediah Kerman."

"Jebidiah Kerman: Not a thing"

"Jebdiah Kerman: Not a thing"

"Jabediah Kerman: Not a thing"

"Jabedieahdaahjeb Karman: Really not a thing"

[Immashift]

I may be slightly pedantic, but it hurts when someone refers to "Kerbal" as the planet, "Kermin" as a Kerbal, or "Jeb Kerbol" As a specific pilot. So here's a list of translations to help you know what you're talking about with all these Ker- words, in real world terms.

*Hey someone like me!*

Kerbol=The Sun (Strictly speaking it's a fan name for the Sun, the Sun is what the Sun is called in-game)

Kerbin=Earth

Kerbal=Human (Kerbal can also be an adjective that means "Like or Similar to a Kerbal", usually stupidly awesome)

Kerbonaut=Cosmonaut or Astronaut

Kerman=Williams (A very common last name)

Kermen=No such thing.

Kirmin=No such thing.

Kermin=No such thing.

Kirman=No such thing.

Kerbo="Man" As in refering to all humans, it's an old term from before the game was even started. Don't use this term.

Kerbalkind=Mankind or Humankind

Y U NO mention "RCS Systems"? I mean them Reaction control system systems are something else. Almost like Automated Teller Machine Machines.

*cough* Scott Manley *cough*

I have this itch to rant about your/you're, they're/their/there, and the general abuse of apostrophes to "pluralize" things ("kerman's"). But I shall not indulge myself here as that's not the point of this thread.

Nice work chap.

[Whirligig Girl]

I have updated the list.

[basic.syntax]

I recall a discussion with some input from a Squad person, about the Gus on KSC staff being a reference to another Gus, not Grissom. I've searched the wiki, this forum and reddit, but haven't turned it up yet. perhaps it's in a different area than standard searches look in. Or I remember it from another site. If someone else could find this, please link

[problemecium]

OMG WOW.

I'm so glad this thread exists and that I found it before making one myself xD

If I may nominate some things:

Kermit = A green frog from Sesame Street with no affiliation to KSP

Kerbals' = Something that multiple Kerbals own.

Gus's = Something that Gus owns.

Gus' = Not a word! Despite what KSP's built-in plural possessive generator would suggest, this is grammatically incorrect. Sorry to say it but KSP is wrong on this point. The apostrophe without an S afterward is used ONLY for plural possessives that end in S (so it also doesn't occur in "Men's").

SSTO: Single Stage To Orbit. This means nothing about which way the ship is facing on takeoff or landing or about whether it has wings.

Spaceplane: A plane in space, but not necessarily an SSTO. The Space Shuttle is an example of a spaceplane that rides a rocket to orbit and is then able to fly as a plane on the way down.

SSTO Spaceplane: A spaceplane which is also an SSTO.

VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Synonymous with VTVL (Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing).

Now that I think about it, it might help to have this diagram I made displayed here: http://imgur.com/l03WwUv

[Yasmy]

ellipse = shape of a closed orbit

egg-shaped = shape of an egg. not the shape of an orbit

oval = not mathematically well defined. means egg-like. not the shape of an orbit

KSP = Kerbal Space Program, a game filled with little green astronauts of questionable courage and intelligence.

KSC = Kerbal Space Center, the place on Kerbin where Kerbals build and launch planes, rockets and other dangerous vehicles.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

Don't get me started on 'THE kerbal space program', that annoys the hell out of me. You don't say 'The runescape', 'The club penguin' do you? It's just 'kerbal space program'

[Nathair]

Periaps, periapse, periaxis; See my sig ->