Why you should always read the missions before you accept them

[RocketBlam]

So I came upon a mission while playing a career game, and it looked really good: 1,690,000 credits, and 2,300 science! All for just capturing an asteroid! Well, sure, it was a Class C asteroid, but that's not too bad, right?

So I captured the asteroid and put it in Kerbin orbit, but somehow, the mission did not show as complete. So I looked at it more closely to see what I hadn't done right.

Class C asteroid? Check.

In orbit? Check.

Around Bop? Ch--

Uh, wait, what? Around Bop? Around... Bop?

I'm supposed to haul a Class-C asteroid to BOP?

Some day I will learn to read the missions completely. If there is a big payoff like that, it's probably because the mission is really hard, and this one was definitely hard. I mean, I've returned a Kerbal from Eve before, and this mission was HARD. I considered abandoning the mission many times.

One of the biggest problems was that asteroids that big are really hard to move around, just because the Claw tends to flex a lot, so it's hard to keep it oriented right. Then of course the asteroid weighs something like 80 tons.

I don't want to tell you what it cost me to launch several missions to connect to the asteroid, then connect a transfer stage, then refuel the transfer stage.... let's just say I made a profit on the mission, but not a lot of profit. I spent at least 750,000 credits on launches to accomplish this.

Anyway, here are the pics.

This is the accursed mission. Notice how small the word "Bop" is. Of course, anyone could miss that...

The final transfer stage. Note that it has some mod parts involved (from Infernal Robotics), although as it turned out, they didn't do any good at all.

The Asteroid, now named "Exeter" (I don't know why), in orbit around the hellish hellhole moon Bop.

Edited December 29, 2014 by RocketBlam

[Janos1986]

Minmus outpost? Piece of cake.

THERE! I landed it, and it's all in place. Batteries, solar panels, antenna, a 5 kerbal habitat... and I left the bloody RESEARCH LAB AT HOME.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

I haven't got a single asteroid re-direct mission in ~24 hours of playing career mode.

What am I doing wrong?

[Janos1986]

You may need the Level 3 tracking station, or you can't track unknown objects.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

You may need the Level 3 tracking station, or you can't track unknown objects.

That explains it.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Minmus outpost? Piece of cake.

THERE! I landed it, and it's all in place. Batteries, solar panels, antenna, a 5 kerbal habitat... and I left the bloody RESEARCH LAB AT HOME.

I wounder if it would count if you attache a Lab with the claw to it.

[Janos1986]

I tried to add a crew module to an existing base and connect it with a fuel line (K.A.S.), but it unchecks the "Launch a new station" checkmark since the modules that are already in place are not a "new outpost" but an existing one.

[Col_Jessep]

Equatorial orbit around Kerbin? Sure, can use the sat from last launch. Oh, 180° inclination? Well, damn! xD

[rcp27]

Satellite in equatorial orbit around Kerbin, fine no prob. Orientation 180 degrees, just remember to launch west rather than east, should be a piece of cake. Get satellite into transfer orbit to the required orbit, fine. Set up manoeuvre node for final insertion, so that I can fine tune the peri/apo and, hang on a minute, I have an encounter with Mun. No wonder that contract is high paying and high rep: the orbit is deliberately an anti-Mun orbit, so you have to get the orbital alignment just right with a single insertion burn after transfer, no going around a few times tweaking orbital parameters. That was hard (in a satisfyingly fun kind of a way)

[Amahula]

Equatorial orbit around Kerbin? Sure, can use the sat from last launch. Oh, 180° inclination? Well, damn! xD

I had that same problem! Got it the wrong way around. thank god my periapsis was 75km so I needed 10 extra deltav to turn myself around

[helaeon]

I tried to add a crew module to an existing base and connect it with a fuel line (K.A.S.), but it unchecks the "Launch a new station" checkmark since the modules that are already in place are not a "new outpost" but an existing one.

Reeaallllly wish there was a version of the contract for expanding an existing base.

[Grumman]

I have to ignite a Turbojet engine while landed? Sure, easy money.

Then I realise I'm supposed to do it on the Mun.

[bartekkru99]

There's a lot of stupid contracts in Mission Control. What are your most absurd contracts ever signed?

My was to put BACC Solid Rocket Booster on orbit around Mun.

[CaptRobau]

After a lot of unnecessarily difficult tech testing missions, I read very carefully now. Want to test an engine in flight at a sane altitude/speed, which I'll probably be able to do on one of my normal missions. Sure. Want me to test the parachutes at a gazillion meters per second, at an altitude for which that speed is very high/low. Depends on what you'll give me. 500 credits? No thanks.

I'm glad their are enough contracts so that I can choose not to take the stupid ones, otherwise I'd play career even less than I do now.

[Janos1986]

When contracts were first introduced, Gene tried to make me test the launch stability arms in orbit around Minmus.

What the heck, Gene.

[Thomas988]

Testing Turbojets on the Mun's surface was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire history of KSP.

[Miles Teg]

Testing Turbojets on the Mun's surface was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire history of KSP.

Annnnnnd... Did you manage it?

Because I will be really curious how?

[Rune]

Testing Turbojets on the Mun's surface was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire history of KSP.

Bottled air FTW. But doing it on a SSTO would have been the extra style point we all strive for.

Rune. And of course, you forgot to take pics, right?

[_Augustus_]

I don't play Career because of this.

That and it's impossible to fly to the Mun when Stella is beckoning for you to visit it's planets.

[Javster]

Testing Turbojets on the Mun's surface was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire history of KSP.

You do know you don't actually have to run the engine to test it right? You can literally right click the part, click "Run test" and that's it.

[Guest]

Test jet engine while splashed on Kerbin. What are they thinking? Basic Jet Engine would not run on water, and it is very wrong way of building motor boats ...

What's next? Test parachutes on the Mun?

[Joonatan1998]

Seems like a very difficult mssion, hard to say if the reward is fair without knowing the difficulty settings you are using.

[SmashBrown]

On the mun, in a crater, on the side of it, landed at a 70% angle..... ok..... dammit i hate mun contracts.

[Liowen]

On the mun, in a crater, on the side of it, landed at a 70% angle..... ok..... dammit i hate mun contracts.

Sounds about like 90% of all my Mun landings to be honest. Never seems to fail that I find the oddball crater in the middle of a nearly endless flat ground.

[Sirrobert]

Testing Turbojets on the Mun's surface was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire history of KSP.

They don't actually have to work though. Just stage to activate, and succes. Than report that, according to your testing, a Turbojet won't work on the Mun, without any fuel feeding into it. SCIENCE

Test jet engine while splashed on Kerbin. What are they thinking? Basic Jet Engine would not run on water, and it is very wrong way of building motor boats ...

What's next? Test parachutes on the Mun?

That's exactly what they wanted to test. They are Kerbals. Someone wanted to make a boat, and they needed to check the different engines that already existed to see which one would work best