People have all these elaborate spaceships.
and I'm just sitting here barely even able to get to the Mun and back.
Baby steps. The thing is to just continue to have new ideas, new ambitions.
As long as you have fun, you will. I'm 450 hours into the game.
With 1.0, it could very well start from beginning again.
More sauce: http://youtu.be/iqLF...AUGCP3Ubdfh1Wa6
<Sigh> My Banshee won't be the first manned & return mission to Laythe then.
I'm basically there. I have the ship that can do it. But I do not have the strength to do the trip before 1.0 hits. I have been through serious surgery and am not well enough to spend the time. And when 1.0 hits, it's the end of my atmosphere dipping and violent re-entries, because of the new heat model.
I'll just have to start over again. New designs with heat shields. Should be difficult.
Edit: P.S. 
No, actually, one can set the amount of heating in the difficulty setting. So I can probably still do my long pursued, manned, return trip to Laythe.
...Then I'll start a new game and start over from zero with realistic settings.
Edit: P.S. 
No, again. Actually, I now need separate fuel systems for nuclear and chemical rockets. Both my Angel and Banshee train designs rely on a common fuel system. Major redesign needed. 
I feel your pain. When 0.90 came out I was in the middle of a 0.25 Jool Mission I was determined to finish. I didn't start 0.90 until a month or so later.
I'm not letting that happen this time. 
What changed about the LV-N? I didn't see that in the videos! Does it just use rocket fuel now w/o oxidizer like it's supposed to?
I feel your pain. When 0.90 came out I was in the middle of a 0.25 Jool Mission I was determined to finish. I didn't start 0.90 until a month or so later.
I'm not letting that happen this time.
What changed about the LV-N? I didn't see that in the videos! Does it just use rocket fuel now w/o oxidizer like it's supposed to?
Yes. No Oxidizer.
Meanwhile, my unmanned Banshee12X did it. It really did it. It is made for a crew of three, but I made a full Laythe test flight unmanned, just to be safe. I had placed it in orbit around Laythe earlier. Today I landed it (smashed the landing gear somewhat, but ok), re-launched, reached stable Laythe orbit, escaped Laythe, escaped Jool, made it to return trajectory, braked into orbit around Kermin, braked to re-entry, and landed.
One hell of a triumph. I'm totally wasted. I really did it. ...Now I only have to do it again with the 1.0 rules. A pity I didn't have time to do it with a crew. That would have been so cool to have three Kermans climb down and plant a flag and take a surface sample.
Look at the last one: "Recovery of a vessel returned from the surface of Laythe". 
Well, those were the days, because the new heat and aerodynamic models make everything new. An entirely different ball park.
Entering and braking in an atmosphere is now a genuine problem to solve (just as it should be). On the other hand, getting into space seems easier, less initial drag at low altitudes, which I suppose will be beneficial for large payload rockets.
The heat can be set in difficulty settings, but for my new game I'm gonna leave it at 100%, even if that means it will be a long time before I'm back with manned missions to Duna, and Laythe should be nearly impossible. Realism is fun! 
Two things of note! The atmosphere now feels very thin. A very shallow angle of re-entry is a must! Which means aiming the landing spot will be almost impossibly difficult. At least until we get new aides into the game.
Point the heat-shield in the correct direction! The only way that works for me currently, is manual control with SAS. Retrograde with SAS is a disaster. I'm not sure why, might be quirks in the new aerodynamic model. Beware of running out of electrical power!
Otherwise, most components have been slightly tweaked in attributes, which means that the rockets I had designed previously, in my pre-v1.0 game, contain "experimental" parts and refuse even to move out to the launch pad.
I'm totally fine with that. - New game! Start from scratch again.
I have mixed feelings about this 1.0 release. I mostly played stock with only a few mods. No NEAR or FAR. So this new aero and engine tweaks have thrown me for a loop, literally. My craft want to flip nose first during reentry.
I just made a return from a Mun landing mission. The lander depends on the 4 LV-909's during Kerbin landing because the chutes can't do it alone. This combo worked fine pre 1.0 but now the LV-909 only produces 15 kN thrust at sea level. I though I had accidentally though I had left the thrust limiter slider set to 25%. Squad boosted the LV-909's thrust in vacuum to 60 kN. Sadly the limiter was reset to 100% and I smacked over 20 m/s killing Jeb, Bob, and Bill. I tried to revert back to VAB, thinking this is a bug, but I switched control to another craft during the mission and I couldn't. The only save I could revert to was several days old. All that science gone.
I did some digging and I also found the following engines have been significantly nerfed for use in atmosphere.
Ion drive (not that it was any use in atmo to begin with)
LV-1 (chemical version of the Ion)
LV-909
Poodle
I have mixed feelings about this 1.0 release. I mostly played stock with only a few mods. No NEAR or FAR. So this new aero and engine tweaks have thrown me for a loop, literally. My craft want to flip nose first during reentry.
I just made a return from a Mun landing mission. The lander depends on the 4 LV-909's during Kerbin landing because the chutes can't do it alone. This combo worked fine pre 1.0 but now the LV-909 only produces 15 kN thrust at sea level. I though I had accidentally though I had left the thrust limiter slider set to 25%. Squad boosted the LV-909's thrust in vacuum to 60 kN. Sadly the limiter was reset to 100% and I smacked over 20 m/s killing Jeb, Bob, and Bill. I tried to revert back to VAB, thinking this is a bug, but I switched control to another craft during the mission and I couldn't. The only save I could revert to was several days old. All that science gone.
I did some digging and I also found the following engines have been significantly nerfed for use in atmosphere.
Ion drive (not that it was any use in atmo to begin with)
LV-1 (chemical version of the Ion)
LV-909
Poodle
Yes. I just abandoned all old stuff and started all over with a new game. The heat model complicates rockets and re-entries quite a lot. The weird behavior of the game I noted at first, disappeared after a couple of patches, and the game now seems rather rational to me. I no longer need to do the re-entry on manual, for instance. Retrograde and SAS works just fine.
I have progressively worked my way back to Minmus and Mun.
Valentina and Tandan says hello.
Valentina's rocket on Minmus is my 'Exokerm 2'. Tandan's is the Exokerm 3'. The only difference is the extra fuel. You can see the four extra tanks mounted on top of the four jettisonable tanks (which also are the mounts for the landing gear). More fuel is needed to get up from the Mun, so that's why. Exokerm 2 is the Minmus version, 3 is the Mun version. The rocket is very safe, easy to fly and land, and reliable.
There was an Exokerm 1. Jebediah did a Minmus landing mission with it (the first moon landing). But while he made it, and made it back, it was scary. It didn't have any solar panels, so there was only the stored battery capacity, which felt very marginal during maneuvers. Also, it wasn't structurally stable enough, and prone to snaking and oscillating. More struts took care of that.
Now, I'm going to develop a three-man return vehicle, and evolve landers and rockets on that. For the Mun and Duna. ...And beyond that.
Well, I got sofar. Three-man/woman moon-rocket. Firebrand_X5 aka Firebrand_A.
I tested it extensively throughout development of course. But the real trip with crew is the final test.
There were a few small problems. The ladder system turned out to have a small gap when the rocket leaned in a way that made the ladders overhanging. A problem I've encountered before but didn't expect. As it turned out, I was able to jump and grab past the gap with all characters, so got them aboard again.
And tumbling is back again. I must have made at least a dozen re-entries with this vehicle, and it hasn't tumbled once. But now it does. Maybe a patch to the aerodynamic system again? Or the added weight of three crew members?
It went well, because most of the speed had bled off by then, and the vehicle survived intact. Still, what do I do about it? Might need a major redesign of a vehicle I'm otherwise quite happy with now?
I have this heat shield strapped outside the end of the soft-landing engine. It's probably a big part of the problem. But it's what the new heat model requires, and parachutes alone aren't enough for a soft landing.
Firebrand_B is now in production. It includes more scientific instruments, thermometers and gravity sensors, has solved the ladder problem and adds some solid boosters for slightly better lift-off performance.
And this is the Firebrand_B. The third mission of this ship. It's now completely reliable and safe. Great Moon rocket.
At the same time I'm surprised I haven't come farther. I am working on something new. The 'Genesis'. But including a mobile science lab seemed entirely worthless, so there's some redesign going on there. It will be the basis for the return vessel for a manned Duna mission though. Need more science points though, so it will be some more Firebrand missions to the Mun.
- I'm back!
...on Duna. Jebediah, Bill and Bob landed on Duna with their Ikaros_A rocket.
My first manned interplanetary mission since version 1.0. The rocket ship borrows heavily from both my previous (pre-v1.0 rules and components) Angel and Banshee rockets. Some 1.0 complications have been solved, but also there's some straight 'better ideas' as well.
Fuel for the home trip is kinda marginal, but there's no good way to solve that in the current 'Ikaros' design. The landing gear is now ejectable, so that will translate into some fuel improvement.
why dont we build spaceships in space?
why dont we build spaceships in space?
I'm sure we will.
When we have the money, a goal and a design to build. ...Okay, - if we have the money.
Even in KSP it is the proper way to do it. ... If you're on a budget. But I'm playing the 'Science Sandbox' model, and in that I get all the money I need - just not the rocket parts that I need - so I can just as well build big monster rockets, that can go all the way. And I'm lazy and haven't learned to match orbits and dock. That is actually difficult and time consuming.
And this is the Ikaros_B.
fuel
And the first all-female Kerbal Duna landing. From left to right, it's Madly, Valentina and Kimene.
I added some equipment, lights and surface analyzer, and I added fuel for the return flight. The increased weight now resulted in outward-bound fuel being marginal instead. I was left with so little that I had to wing the landing, so I'm not earning any much science points this time (same area as last time). It should be easily fixed in the next version - Ikaros_C. Unlike the increased fuel for the home flight, which was rather fiddly to add, requiring a lot of rebuilding.
Back when I played more, docking was one of the things I was actually pretty good at. After a few mishaps, anyway. We don't talk about what happened to Jebediah.
Though I need to play more again. I can barely get into orbit now since I haven't played in forever.
Back when I played more, docking was one of the things I was actually pretty good at. After a few mishaps, anyway. We don't talk about what happened to Jebediah.
Though I need to play more again. I can barely get into orbit now since I haven't played in forever.
The new aerodynamic model means you can't make as violent direction changes as before, without starting to tumble. Go straight up, or almost straight up until the atmosphere starts to be really thin. Then head east as usual, but carefully.
At about 40,000m and 900-1000 m/s cut the engines and go to map mode and place a maneuver node on the top of the parabel, make a somewhat circular orbit anywhere above 70,000 m.
KSP has dominated my life for the last couple of years. It's basically a lifestyle for me now.
Anyway, here's my current workhorse SSTO.
KSP has dominated my life for the last couple of years. It's basically a lifestyle for me now.
Anyway, here's my current workhorse SSTO.
Think I'm gonna kinda copy that 
, later, when I build space structures.
And this is the Ikaros_C. As you can see I added a fifth fuel tank for outward bound trip. I also had to add twelve more solid fuel boosters to the lifting rocket, to compensate for the added weight. Anyway, that now left me with enough fuel to maneuver at leisure, when arriving at Duna. So I did. And went into a low-energy orbit around Ike. Despite not having done any estimate of the required fuel, and despite that the rocket had a three-kerman crew, I decided to attempt a landing. So I did.
Ike turned out to have a really uneven landscape. And this is why I love wide landing gear.
Anyway, though a good part of the fuel was spent on the soft landing, there was no problem getting home to Kermin again. The gravity is very low.
I also sent my Journeyman_A1 deep space probe to orbit Dres, and then back again with the data.
I'll try reach Eeloo too.
Well, my probe to Eeloo haven't reached rendezvous yet.
The big solar panels are because of the distance to the sun.
Meanwhile I've landed two 3-man expeditions on Duna. One on the South pole.
Kimene inspecting damage to one of the landing gears. Due to the steep incline and somewhat less than optimum piloting in the very last moments of the landing, the strut bottomed out so hard it broke and got stuck. A dangerous situation, the rocket was very close to falling over. All is well though, and this damage is zero problem. The struts did what they were supposed to, completed their mission. They won't be used again.
And one in the Low Lands.
They'll stay on Duna for a year or so, until the planets are in a good position for a return flight. But the guys and gals are comfortable. The rockets are big and have a roomy and well equipped habitat module.
Both these rockets are type Ikaros_D. A further development with even more homeward bound fuel, because my Ikaros_C turned out to be faulty (even if it worked). That extra half tank could only take monopropellant. The wrong kind of fuel for the nuclear engine. Good thing I landed on low gravity Ike instead of Duna.
While all this was going on I did a probe mission to Moho, the innermost planet.
And boy was that difficult! I didn't expect such challenge. Despite getting a feel of that the fuel situation might be critical very early, and doing my damnest to save fuel, I had to scrape with my nails to recover that drone. Last brake was on the last fumes in the tank. The heat situation was also bad. It's hot close to the sun, so my heat shield I relied on for the return re-entry was very damaged. Only some percent left. But I did it in the end, and learned a ton.
Probes going inward need cooling system. Landing on Moho and returning is not possible without a separate small lander and docking maneuvers. And regardless, fuel fraction is going to be a big problem.
My Journeyman_A type of probe has done its last trip, I think. I will instead evolve my earlier Helios probe for inward missions. And evolve my Journeyman_B for missions outward.
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