Ignition Sequence Start (Terra's KSP Thread)

[Terra_Inc]

Greetings, good folks of the MSFC! This thread is about Kerbal Space Program, which just had it's 10th anniversary last month, and received its final big update on that day. I've been playing it a lot recently, and since we here care about going to space - be it historic or futuristic - I thought I might make a thread about this here.

What is the game about? You're put in control of a literal space program - depending on the game mode you're responsible for everything from designing new rockets and spacecraft and flying the actual missions to gathering science, researching new parts, recruiting personnel and managing the finances of your organization. When not playing around in the sandbox, you start out with not much more than a one-person capsule, a solid rocket booster and a parachute. From there, you work your way to bigger and better rockets, spaceships, satellites, etc., to take the Kerbal species to the stars. The physics simulation is pretty accurate for a game, so you can expect fairly realistic orbital mechanics and aerodynamics.

There are a ton of mods for this game - parts mods, cosmetic upgrades and just plain quality of life enhancements - and as you might expect, I'm running a heavily modded game. I'll post my mod list below, and I'll keep it up to date if I add anything new. I'm using the CKAN mod manager to install and keep track of all the mod packs I have installed. As for parts mods, I especially want to highlight and recommend the fantastic work of Chris Adderley aka Nertea, without whose wonderful mods my install wouldn't be nearly as beautiful and fun.

Well, I'm still waiting for my favorite mods to be updated for the latest version (and for a few bugs to be fixed in that version), but I thought I might already post about some of the missions I've flown in the previous version and show what you can do in this game.

MOD LIST:

Spoiler

B9 Part Switch by blowfish
ClickThrough Blocker by linuxgurugamer
Community Resource Pack by RoverDude
Community Tech Tree by Nertea
Cryo Tanks by Nertea
Cryo Tanks Core by Nertea
Cryogenic Engines by Nertea
Deployable Engines Plugin by post-kerbin-automation
Distant Object Enhancement Continued by duckytopia, MOARdV, TheDarkBadger
Distant Object Enhancement Continued default config by duckytopia, MOARdV, TheDarkBadger
Dynamic Battery Storage by post-kerbin-automation
Environmental Visual Enhancements Redux by rbray89, WazWaz, R-T-B, blackrack
Hide Empty Tech Tree Nodes by ev0
Kronal Vessel Viewer Continued by linuxgurugamer, Kerbas_ad_astra
Module Manager by ialdabaoth, Sarbian, blowfish
Near Future Electrical by Nertea
Near Future Electrical Core by Nertea
Near Future Exploration by Nertea
Near Future IVA Props by post-kerbin-automation
Near Future Launch Vehicles by Nertea
Near Future Propulsion by Nertea
Near Future Solar by Nertea
Near Future Solar Core by Nertea
Near Future Spacecraft by Nertea
PlanetShine by valerian, PapaJoesSoup, prestja
PlanetShine - Default configuration by valerian, PapaJoesSoup, prestja
ReStock by ReStock Team
ReStock+ by ReStock Team
Scatterer by blackrack
Scatterer Default Config by blackrack
Scatterer Sunflare by blackrack
Spectra by Avera9eJoe
Stockalike Station Parts Expansion Redux by Nertea
Toolbar Controller by linuxgurugamer
Waterfall - Restock by Nertea
Waterfall Core by Nertea
Zero MiniAVC by malah, linuxgurugamer

 

[Terra_Inc]

Mission Report: Mun Landing

So, since we just had Moon Landing Day yesterday, I thought it would be cool to start this thread off with a Mun landing! Here are some basics about the solar system we're in - it's pretty similar to ours, only at 1/10th scale. The planet we start our adventures into space from is called Kerbin, the home of the Kerbal species, and it is still the third planet from the sun. Kerbin has two moons, the Mun (or Mün) which is much like our moon, and the smaller Minmus, which is even farther away than the Mun. Today, we'll be going to the Mun!



It is a fine day as the Mun Rocket stands on the landing pad, ready to travel to the stars. Our crew consists of three brave kerbonauts: Jebediah Kerman, the pilot; Bill Kerman, the engineer; and Bob Kerman, the scientist. The rocket they are at this moment sitting in isn't very highly optimized, but this isn't a career game so I don't particularly care. As the countdown comes to an end, the powerful R3-M3 Mainsail engine is lit and the rocket climbs towards the sky. Not long afterwards, having sent the vehicle on the first step of its long journey, the large first stage is dropped and the second stage engine pushes us closer and closer to space.



At last, the Mun rocket has reached space, and the second stage has depleted its fuel. Now comes a very important step, as the command and service module must separate from the rest of the rocket and retrieve the landing craft from on top of the second stage. Unlike the Apollo program, which did this on the way to the Mun, we already pick up our landing craft in space around Kerbin. The second stage will then fall to the planet below and burn up in the atmosphere.



And now the journey to the Mun begins. The solar panels of our command and service module are unfolded so we'll have enough electricity to power our spaceship - and we also don't want the population on the planet below to miss this historic moment!



Having reached the Mun, the spaceship pulls into an orbit around it. There's Kerbin, far away in the distance. Below us, the target of our journey awaits! Since our landing craft needed to be light and fit into our rocket, it can hold only one person, so Jebediah will descend to the surface alone. After undocking, the lander fires its engine to leave orbit and gracefully fall towards the surface.



The view from the landing craft's front window, showing the alien landscape of the Mun.



At last, Jebediah is the first Kerbal to walk upon the surface of the Mun! He puts on his spacesuit, exits the lander - presumably saying some inspiring and historic words to the people on Kerbin who are watching this on their black and white TV screens - and proudly plants the MSFC flag at the spot of the first Mun landing! Now it is time for some science. The landing craft carries some scientific equipment, which together with the reports of the crew will be very useful to the researchers at Kerbal Space Center.



About a kilometer away from the landing spot, Jeb stands at the edge of a large crater, looking out at this beautiful and strange sight.



After all the science and exploration, it is at last time to depart. Jebediah returns to the lander and as the engine fires once more, we leave the munar surface behind. You can see the large crater we were looking down into from up here! The next task is to return to orbit and meet up with Bill and Bob aboard the command and service module. The landing craft doesn't have a lot of fuel, so it will be their responsibility to pick us up.



The final docking approach... this takes some delicate maneuvering



After the rendezvous and docking is complete, Jeb returns to the capsule and the spaceship leaves the munar orbit. Having made history, our three kerbonauts must now safely return home. This is easier said than done, as burning up in the atmosphere is a risk even to the command capsule with its heat shield. As the spacecraft finally reaches Kerbin, its engines fire one last time to brake and reduce our reentry speed. The lander and service module are left behind, as they have no protection from the heat and will find their fiery end in the atmosphere of Kerbin.



The capsule races toward the planet at over two thousand meters per second, cloaked in a furious inferno. Once it has slowed down to subsonic speed, the two parachutes are deployed and gently land it in the ocean, where surely a rescue team stands by to retrieve it and welcome the three heroic kerbonauts back. This Mun mission is now over, but doubtlessly the next one is already being planned!



And, just because I can, a blueprint for today's Mun rocket.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this. More coming soon, I think. I'll do something more high-tech next time and show off some of the great mods I have installed. And please let me know if you're interested in more of this.

EDIT: Switched over to full images. If these are obtrusive or bad in any way, let me know. Still not sure if this is the right way to post these. I feel like spoilering them all would be just as annoying.

 

[Jetfreak]

I know a few of my Ace Combat contacts who are pretty active in Kerbal. Pretty amazing on what you guys can build with game engine in relation to real world physics.

Some have straight up re-created the original superfighters lol

 

[Terra_Inc]

I know a few of my Ace Combat contacts who are pretty active in Kerbal. Pretty amazing on what you guys can build with game engine in relation to real world physics.

Yeah, there are some really cool things you can do with planes, and quite a few parts for them as well. So you can build simple biplanes, or sleek fighter jets, or even passenger / freight planes. There's a small abandoned airstrip on an island close to the space center, it's fun to just take off from KSC and see how clean you can get the landing there. They're a bit more difficult to build than rockets, since rockets are pretty simple (long stick with fire coming out on one end, and try to point that end toward the ground).

And thankfully, Kerbals can withstand very high G-forces without any issues, so they'll forgive you some very aggressive piloting

Of course, once you unlock the right parts, you can also build proper space-planes and shuttles (although the latter is considerably more complicated to fly due to the shuttle stack's unbalanced weight/thrust distribution) and there's even another planet with an oxygen atmosphere, which you can explore by plane if you want to.