Kerbal Space Program

[SouthernKing]

You have a naming convention too? I've been using a X-# system, where X is a letter designating the type of mission (Ship and single-use lander, sTation, Probe, Lander if it is a reusable system, and so on) and the # is a three-digit assigned mission number (increments up from 1). I put the design in parenthesis and add a letter to distinguish repeats. So the Strangelove rocket I posted above was S-002 (Strangelove), and my most recent Mün mission was S-005 (Muntasm II-B). I have a station in 12k orbit above the Mün called T-002 (Münar Orbital Base) and a small lander with just enough fuel to drop to the Mün and get back into orbit so it can redock with the station called L-001 (Trash Can).

I use the titles of Green Day albums starting with Kerplunk (seriously, don't ask) for kerballed missions. So Kerplunk is Earth orbit/screwing around, Dookie is Mun/Minmas, Nimrod (which hasn't actually begun yet but is being planned) will be for interplanetary stuff. I'll probably have to end this after Warning and American Idiot as 21st Century Breakdown does not work very well as a name.

For unkerballed missions I just come up with a creative name based on what the probe is supposed to be doing.

 

[hoplitejoe]

So far I have had the Manelyone and Manelytwo.

 

[warpus]

I was naming mine after Dune characters for a while. Muad'Dib was my interplanetary one-launch rover-included + return vehicle rocket thing. Duncan Idaho was the Mun version, basically the same thing without a giant 1st stage. Before that I'd call my ships M_er 1-whatever

 

[hobbsyoyo]

How do you guys set abort rockets? Are these separatrons put on the command pod? Is there a particular key that causes them to jump ahead in the staging?

1)Attach a small decoupler to the top of your pod
2)Attach some sort of railing or scaffolding on top of the decoupler
3)Attach sepatrons to the railing (I go with sepatrons for their enormous power and light weight, you don't want to have to lift an SRB or liquid system that won't really have any use - plus liquid systems have to throttle up while sepatrons just GOOOO!)
4)Go into the Command button groups tab or whatever it's called (where you assign different functions to your number keys). Select the 'Abort' option in the menu on the left and add the decoupler under your capsule and all of the sepatrons to that button command'. Do not add the decoupler above your capsule that attaches to the escape tower to the Abort button!
5)Select another button (we'll call it 0 for our purposes) and add your sepatrons and the decoupler above the capsule to it.

Go to the launch pad and press the big red 'Abort' button at the top center of the screen. The decoupler below your capsule should let go and the sepatrons above the capsule will fire, pulling the capsule safely away. When you are clear of the rocket, press 0 and the spent sepatron stack will fall away as the decoupler that connects them to the pod will release.

Now if you don't need to abort and get to orbit, press 0 and the decoupler will detach and the unfired sepatrons will ignite and shoot the launch escape system safely away from your ship.

Be careful! If you hit the abort button at the wrong time (say, after you've hit orbit) then you're going to wind up with stranded Kerbals as the layout described above will not have any control systems or retrorockets attached. Worst yet, the sepatrons are powerful enough to take your capsule from LKO to a Kerbol (sun-centric) orbit.

I learned that the hard way when during my testing of the system of various altitudes, I learned there is such a thing as too late to use the escape system in your ascent profile.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

A helpful flow chart I found on Reddit

Spoiler :

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

So I decided to attempt a Mimmus manned landing tonight. As I was descending, I quickly realized I was about to land on a hill. In a panic, instead of hitting the thrusters I accidentally hit the space bar and detached my pod from the rest of the rocket, both of which are now sitting on a hillside on Minmus. Rescue mission time!

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Landing on a hill is usually bad news but the gravity on Minmis is low enough that it isn't necessarily a disaster.

F5/F9 are your friends.

 

[J-man]

When I landed on Minmus I also ended on a hill and my lander toppled over. Fortunately the gravity on Minmus is low enough that with help of RCS and retracting and lowering the landing struts I succeeded in righting the lander.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

After a long journey, Bob Kerman finally comes within range of his target. Though unfortunately, it seems like there isn't going to be enough fuel to get back to Kerbin at this point, so a second rescue mission will be needed.

Spoiler :

Bob managed to land within a few hundred meters of the flag Bill planted indicating his intended landing site. Not a bad job considering I've never done a targeted landing before this and had always just landed wherever the ship ended up. Bob nearly accidentally landed on a hillside himself, but managed to steer his ship away.

Spoiler :

Bill realizes that he is stuck inside his ship, as it has rolled over to a position where it is lying on top of its door. Bob has to jetpack over to the ship and get it to roll over so that Bill can escape, which he eventually manages to do.

Spoiler :

Bill is very excited to be rescued, so much so that he over does it on the jetpack and ends up crashing into the surface of Minmus at a high velocity, dying. Bob facepalms.

Spoiler :

Bob makes it back to his ship safely, and in memory of his now departed colleague, plants a flag dedicating the Bill Kerman Memorial Crater and Gift Shop. So with that, Bob gets back into his lander, and awaits the arrival of the next rescue mission.

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

 

[Antilogic]

I'm certain that's what caused the failure of the Mars Climate Orbiter mission. They just left time-accelerate on for too long and the Kraken messed up their communications dish.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Everyone on my real life satellite team plays KSP. That explains why we never win the competition.

 

[Luckymoose]

Minmus landing mission went wrong. I looked away from the screen while burning and ended up in encountering Eve by chance. So, I decided to land on Gilly. I tried using just the tiny landing stage but the gravity was too low for it to stop, so I landed the nearly depleted nuclear stage to help weigh it down. The engine broke off on landing. The flag I planted floated away. Jeb is either coming home in his landing stage or staying for a rescue mission.

Jeb surveys the damage.

Spoiler :

The engine rolls back down the hill at Eve rise.

Spoiler :

 

[Antilogic]

That is some MAD luck, accidentally getting to Eve with a Minmus burn.

You could probably try to detach the rocket body, and then flip the command pod right-side up by toggling the landing gear and using the control keys to roll the pod. Gilly's gravity is pretty low.

 

[Luckymoose]

You could probably try to detach the rocket body, and then flip the command pod right-side up by toggling the landing gear and using the control keys to roll the pod. Gilly's gravity is pretty low.

I landed with the fuel tanks because the gravity was too low to stop the lander from endlessly bouncing and sliding. I plan on orbiting with the RCS, which is only on the rocket body, then decoupling and firing Jeb either home or at Eve. He does have a parachute, but I don't know if it is enough.

 

[Antilogic]

I landed with the fuel tanks because the gravity was too low to stop the lander from endlessly bouncing and sliding. I plan on orbiting with the RCS, which is only on the rocket body, then decoupling and firing Jeb either home or at Eve. He does have a parachute, but I don't know if it is enough.

It's a shame the landing gear doesn't include grappling hooks.

A parachute is more than enough to survive the descent to Eve since it's atmosphere is even thicker than Kerbin's, but you might not be able to escape. The thicker atmosphere (at sea level, over 5 bar if I remember correctly) extends further up than Kerbin's (Kerbin's reaches to around 70 km, but Eve's extends to around 96 km) and the gravity is comparable. The best idea is probably to send two rockets to Eve--one massive system to get back into orbit, transfer the crew to the second, and take that back to Kerbin.

 

[cardgame]

Do you want grappling hooks? Kerbal Attachment System.

 

[Luckymoose]

Jeb said screw it. He would rather wait his time out on Eve than risk being stuck in deep space for years.

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

 

[Antilogic]

That is probably the tiniest landing pod to ever land on Eve.

Can Jeb even get back into the pod without a ladder?

 

[Luckymoose]

That is probably the tiniest landing pod to ever land on Eve.

Can Jeb even get back into the pod without a ladder?

Yes, but it took ten minutes of aggressively jumping on the landing gear. Remember, it was designed for Minmus gravity.