# Kerbal Space Program **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824 "2011-08-23T22:07:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/421 "2013-11-11T19:58:28Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Good news! I was able to get Jeb back on board the orbiter, and he’s on his way home. > > [Here](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=oad7k5&s=5) is the rocket. The combination of the X200-16 fuel tank and the atomic rocket gives it incredible range - it’s still going to have at least two thirds of a tank of fuel left after a trip to Munar orbit and back. > > …and I just realised I forgot to put the RCS tank back in. So even if the lander had made it back to orbit, Jeb still would have had to spacewalk. Sweet! Maybe you should stop by Minmus on your way back. You can actually descend to the surface and return with just your EVA suit (which refills when you enter the capsule). ---
**Author:** ![fanganga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fanganga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fanganga)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/422 "2013-11-12T00:40:26Z")
Finally made it to Minmus and back with my materials bay intact, at a cost of 74,540 Kerbal Dollars, 76.055 tonnes, and 6.086 km/s of delta V. Now to see if I can do it a second time and I’ll be ready for a kerbed mission. The flight engineer helped a lot - thanks for putting me onto it. I was using the ER-7500, with the reel-to-reel tape - does it add anything over the flat Kerbal Engineering system and flight engineer? ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/423 "2013-11-12T03:30:00Z")
> [@fanganga](#): > > Finally made it to Minmus and back with my materials bay intact, at a cost of 74,540 Kerbal Dollars, 76.055 tonnes, and 6.086 km/s of delta V. Now to see if I can do it a second time and I’ll be ready for a kerbed mission. The flight engineer helped a lot - thanks for putting me onto it. I was using the ER-7500, with the reel-to-reel tape - does it add anything over the flat Kerbal Engineering system and flight engineer? The engineering system just does the build assist, the flight engineer does flight calculations and the tape recorder does both, i think. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/424 "2013-11-12T05:06:39Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Sweet! Maybe you should stop by Minmus on your way back. You can actually descend to the surface and return with just your EVA suit (which refills when you enter the capsule). I’ll do that in career mode. At the moment I’m just waiting for them to fix science so that transmission is less exploitable - hopefully by by splitting science pools into (transmit or retrieve) science and (retrieve only) science. Plus, doing it on a new trip means I’ll be able to refuel the lander and send it down again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/425 "2013-11-12T05:23:06Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I’ll do that in career mode. At the moment I’m just waiting for them to fix science so that transmission is less exploitable - hopefully by by splitting science pools into (transmit or retrieve) science and (retrieve only) science. Plus, doing it on a new trip means I’ll be able to refuel the lander and send it down again. I’ll start another career savefile when they put in more improvements. I’ve finally landed and returned a Kerbal from every body in the system (other than the sun and Jool). I look forward to doing the same thing on a budget, or with more difficult science. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/426 "2013-11-12T06:40:27Z")
Jeb returned safely to Kerbin, as did the second crew, who aborted their Munar mission once I realised I’d forgotten the RCS fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/427 "2013-11-12T07:51:59Z")
I’ve got a new rocket on its way out. This time I’m going to do as you suggested and try to land on both Minmus and the Mun in one mission. All the lander has to do is get back into Munar orbit and the orbiter will be able to pick it up and fly it to Minmus. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/428 "2013-11-12T19:57:53Z")
Will you be able to take surface samples from both Minimus and the Mun? Also do you need to bring the lander back to Kerbin to get the sample or will it transfer over to the command module? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/429 "2013-11-12T22:09:20Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Will you be able to take surface samples from both Minimus and the Mun? Also do you need to bring the lander back to Kerbin to get the sample or will it transfer over to the command module? I did a mission where I landed on Gilly and Ike (Eve’s and Duna’s moons) in one mission, taking samples from each, and I was able to store samples from both successfully. I’d guess you have to bring the lander back, though. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/430 "2013-11-13T01:34:53Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I’ve achieved a new personal best for jet-only flight, with a couple of the new attempts reaching 230 kilometers. Unfortunately that seems to be the upper limit. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Woot–300.9 km! A trick: [![](https://i.imgur.com/tyjmM8z.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/tyjmM8z.jpg) Don’t take that as a challenge or anything. The important thing is to participate. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/431 "2013-11-13T01:45:19Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Don’t take that as a challenge or anything. The important thing is to participate. Oh, suuure I won’t take it as a challenge :). In fact, I had already achieved 322 km. But apparently I need a bit more work! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/432 "2013-11-13T01:49:44Z")
BTW, I hadn’t seen that “prevent jet flameout” option before. I’ll have to try that. My previous efforts have been full throttle all the way. I suspect I can squeeze a bit more by modulating those last few seconds of flight. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/433 "2013-11-13T07:48:46Z")
Well now, [look at that](https://www.dropbox.com/s/yjxopfhkvc58d97/screenshot26.png) :). ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/434 "2013-11-13T08:32:14Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Well now, [look at that](https://www.dropbox.com/s/yjxopfhkvc58d97/screenshot26.png) :). Nice work so far. Of course, the thing that inspired this was the idea of launching a ballistic probe out of Kerbin’s SoI - probably using a gravity slingshot around the Mun. In other news, Jebediah returned safely to Kerbin after landing on both the Mun and Minmus. I’m getting some good practice at docking, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/435 "2013-11-13T08:45:57Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Nice work so far. Of course, the thing that inspired this was the idea of launching a ballistic probe out of Kerbin’s SoI - probably using a gravity slingshot around the Mun. For me it was the minimal Mun mission. You just can’t beat the jet engines in terms of weight efficiency. Nevertheless, I like rockets better. Jets also don’t really scale up well to large rockets–it takes 6.6 to equal one Mainsail. Still, they’re fun to play with (BTW, a few more tweaks and I’m at 382.6 km). > [@Grumman](#): > > In other news, Jebediah returned safely to Kerbin after landing on both the Mun and Minmus. I’m getting some good practice at docking, too. Excellent! I am pretty terrible at docking. I’ve managed it, and my space station is slowly coming together, but it’s painful. Yet another thing that I tend to leave to Mechjeb. I’m not sure what my next project is, to be honest. Maybe set up a Duna colony or something. Unfortunately, there’s only so much to be done. Once there they just kinda sit around. Maybe it’s time to look at some more mods… the [interstellar mod](http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43839-0-22-KSP-Interstellar-(Science-Integration-Heat-Mechanics)-Version-0-7-4-(Beta)) sounds interesting. ---
**Author:** ![PacifistPorcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/436 "2013-11-21T16:11:51Z")
I have a newborn at home and needed a game I could play one-handed and could pause, so I decided to get back into KSP a couple of weeks ago. I’m loving career mode, it revitalized the game for me. First getting out of the atmosphere, then into orbit, then out to the Mun and Minimus, and an unmanned Eve lander. I even created a stable plan for the first time and got it to the North Pole. My latest accomplishment is an Ike landing and return to Kerbin. Next goal is a large ship assembled in orbit that can serve as a ferry/base for landers for the other planets/moons. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/437 "2013-11-24T16:57:55Z")
Why did no one tell me about this game??? Without knowing much of anything, or reading the wiki or using any addons, I’ve stumbled my way in career mode into orbit and (slightly) beyond. At first I didn’t even do the orbital tutorial, and my initial attempts were highly elliptical orbits that still intersected Kerbin. Add moar power and eventually you just hit escape velocity without actually achieving anything. Oops. So I did the orbit tutorial, and then things became obvious and much easier. I knew I needed more lateral velocity, but it hadn’t been obvious to me how to get it. So, now my designs easily got into orbit, albeit wildly varying ones. Big rockets want to go all over the place during launch, and reaction wheels don’t steer things very well, and the controls are twitchy. But I got a decent orbit with a good amount of fuel left and decided to take a shot at getting to Munar orbit. And I did, with fuel to spare, but foolishly ended up orbiting the Mun counterclockwise with the result that escaping the Mun had me on an escape from Kerbin as well. I juuuuust managed to get into a highly eccentric orbit with a periapsis dipping into the atmosphere with my last bit of fuel, allowing Jeb to aerobrake his way back to the surface. Then I learned that SAS is built into the MkI command module, and I didn’t have to be trying to maintain attitude manually all the time. Oops again! Wow, things get easier at that point. And what the heck is this add maneuver thing? You mean I can actually _plan_ burns and have the results predicted before I perform them? Oh wow, that would mean that I don’t have to burn in the dark, as it were. But now my issue is that I unlocked the second science module (the 9001 thing, that comes after the goo container) and I’m trying to move that much more payload around and I’m having trouble getting into Kerbin orbit with enough fuel for fancy stuff like Munar transfers. Ah well, I shall land on a few more Kerbin biomes and unlock a few more parts and learn how to dock (don’t tell me the easy way, this learning things the hard way first is fun!) and eventually make that one giant leap for Kerbalkind! ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/438 "2013-11-24T18:19:28Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > But I got a decent orbit with a good amount of fuel left and decided to take a shot at getting to Munar orbit. And I did, with fuel to spare, but foolishly ended up orbiting the Mun counterclockwise with the result that escaping the Mun had me on an escape from Kerbin as well. For future reference, it doesn’t matter if you’re orbiting the Mun clockwise or counterclockwise, what matters is if your burn to escape the Mun’s sphere of influence is in the same direction the Mun is orbiting or in the opposite direction. All the clockwise or counterclockwise orbit means is whether you want to burn while you’re over the side towards or away from Kerbin. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/439 "2013-11-24T19:47:24Z")
Well that makes sense, I guess. A lot about orbital mechanics is kind of counterintuitive. I was basically trying to do the reverse of my transfer orbit on the way out, but that turned out to make my orbital axis around Kerbil bigger rather than smaller. Got me out of the Mun’s influence, but took me away from home rather than towards it. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/440 "2013-11-24T22:37:41Z")
Of course stranding Kerbals in interplanetary space is always good fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824.md?page=23)