NASA’s full Artemis plan revealed: 37 launches and a lunar outpost

Still missing? The total cost. And that’s probably by design.

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In the nearly two months since Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA to return to the Moon by 2024, space agency engineers have been working to put together a plan that leverages existing technology, large projects nearing completion, and commercial rockets to bring this about.

Further Reading

Last week, an updated plan that demonstrated a human landing in 2024, annual sorties to the lunar surface thereafter, and the beginning of a Moon base by 2028, began circulating within the agency. A graphic, shown below, provides information about each of the major launches needed to construct a small Lunar Gateway, stage elements of a lunar lander there, fly crews to the Moon and back, and conduct refueling missions.

This decade-long plan, which entails 37 launches of private and NASA rockets, as well as a mix of robotic and human landers, culminates with a “Lunar Surface Asset Deployment” in 2028, likely the beginning of a surface outpost for long-duration crew stays. Developed by the agency’s senior human spaceflight manager, Bill Gerstenmaier, this plan is everything Pence asked for—an urgent human return, a Moon base, a mix of existing and new contractors.

One thing missing is its cost. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has asked for an additional $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2020 as a down payment to jump-start lander development. But all of the missions in this chart would cost much, much more. Sources continue to tell Ars that the internal projected cost is $6 billion to $8 billion per year on top of NASA’s existing budget of about $20 billion.

The plan also misses what is likely another critical element. It’s not clear what role there would be on these charts for international partners, as nearly all of the vehicles could—and likely would—come from NASA or US- based companies. An international partnership, as evidenced by the International Space Station program, is likely key to sustaining a lunar program over the long term in the US political landscape.

Three miracles

Although the plan is laudable in that it represents a robust human exploration of deep space, scientific research, and an effort to tap water resources at the Moon, it faces at least three big problems.

The first issue is funding and political vulnerability. One reason Bridenstine has not shared the full cost of the program as envisioned is “sticker shock” that has doomed other previous efforts. However, if NASA is going to attempt a Moon landing with this specific plan—rather than a radical departure that relies on smaller, reusable rockets—the agency will need a lot more money.

So far, the White House has proposed paying for this with a surplus in the Pell Grant Reserve Fund. But this appears to be a non-starter with House Democrats. “The President is proposing to further cut a beneficial needs-based grants program that provides a lifeline to low-income students, namely the Pell Grants program, in order to pay for the first year of this initiative—something that I cannot support,” House science committee chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has said.

Congress is also not going to give NASA an unlimited authority to reprogram funds, with an apparently open-ended time frame, which Bridenstine has sought.

Further Reading

The big SLS rocket was supposed to have been fairly straightforward to develop, as it relied on space shuttle components, such as its main engines and solid-rocket boosters. By contrast, the three-stage, reusable lunar lander envisioned by NASA to get humans from the Gateway to the lunar surface will require new engines and systems, including fuel management at very low and high temperatures. Is five years enough time for this if it has taken NASA, Boeing, and the rest of the SLS contractors a decade to deliver the rocket?

Finally, NASA’s architecture for a lunar return requires completion of a more powerful version of the Space Launch rocket, known as Block 1B, to be ready by 2024. In the new architecture, the SLS Block 1B booster carries a crewed Orion spacecraft to the Gateway along with “surface logistics”—likely air, water, food, and other consumables needed for a multiday journey down to the surface and back to the Gateway.

The key new technology in the Block 1B rocket is an upper stage, known as the Exploration Upper Stage, for which Boeing is also the contractor. In recent months, NASA has urged Boeing to complete the initial version of the SLS rocket and halted work on this new upper stage. Given Boeing’s performance on the core stage, it is possible NASA may seek an alternative provider, such as Blue Origin with its existing BE-3U upper stage engine, to build the Exploration Upper Stage. This is a big ask for Boeing, Blue Origin, or anyone by 2024.

Three outcomes

So what happens next? NASA took a key technical step Thursday in awarding contracts for two of the three elements of its proposed lunar lander design. The more dicey questions will come in the political arena.

NASA is in danger of becoming a political football. Democrats are unlikely to support Pell Grants as a source of funding, and some space industry sources have speculated that this may have been a “poison pill” from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to undermine a long-term, costly program. If Democrats wanted to push back in a political way, they could tell President Trump they will only support NASA’s lunar landing with Department of Defense funds earmarked for the “Space Force.” Under such a scenario, the politicization of NASA would be bad for an agency that has mostly flown above the partisan fray.

And what happens if President Trump loses reelection in 2020? By early 2021, when a new administration moves in, it won’t see much tangible evidence of a lunar return. The SLS rocket is unlikely to have made its first flight, there will merely be some drawings on lunar landers, and the Lunar Gateway will remain a year or two away from launch. This would make the lunar program very vulnerable from a funding standpoint, especially if the new president is more concerned about climate change and Earth science and wants to pivot toward a lower-cost space program that capitalizes on the launch successes of the new space industry.

Further Reading

Finally, if the Trump administration wins, and truly cares about the 2024 landing—given the anemic $1.6 billion budget supplement and tapping of Pell Grants, it is far from clear it does—there is a path forward for NASA. With a more robust expenditure in fiscal year 2021 and some successes with the SLS rocket, it’s possible that the agency could remain on a plausible path back to the Moon with this plan. It probably won’t happen in 2024, as two sources told Ars the year 2026 is a more realistic date even given the new sense of urgency.

But at least, finally, there’s a plan of record to debate.

A Basic Guide for Mission Planning & Rocket Construction

This quick guide will help you plan and build rockets for missions you are looking to undertake, and follows the technique utilized by the KSA to plan all their missions. While we’ve had some rockets fail due to design issues with the rocket itself during the ascent to orbit, none of our craft have failed to achieve their objectives once they have made it into space. This includes multi-part missions to Mun, so we will be using a Mun trip as the example for this tutorial. Our goal will be to place a communications satellite into equatorial orbit around Mun.

Define your mission requirements

The first step is to decide what you want to accomplish in your mission. In this case, we want to go to Mun and deploy a communications satellite. Since we won’t be bringing along any kerbals, life support isn’t an issue. We will need communications equipment, batteries to run them on, and solar panels to charge the batteries. We should also want a means to move the satellite after its been deployed and of course a probe core is required to control it.

Now that we know what we’re sending to Mun, let’s figure out what we need to get it there. To do this, we’ll make use of a Delta-V map that will give us the numbers required to get to various places in the Kerbol system. Here is the piece of the map we need to get to Mun, click on the image for the full map.

So, in total we need at least 4,570m/s Δv to get to Mun. Our requirements are set – let’s start building!

Construct your payload

When building rockets, always build from the top down. The top of the rocket will contain our payload, the communications satellite we defined during our mission planning. Throwing together all the parts needed to match the requirements we made during planning gives us this:

The satellite has RCS thrusters to control its position and even raise/lower its orbit as needed to meet changing mission requirements after it has been placed into orbit. We can use RCS Build Aid to show us how much Δv our little ComSat will have once it’s deployed:

Well that’s a lot! But, since we want it for after deployment, we are not going to factor this directly into our mission planning. What we are going to do however is make note of it, as well as using Kerbal Engineer Redux to write down the mass of our payload. We like to keep our notes close at hand with this notepad.

Build your transfer stage

Next we need the part of the rocket that will take us from orbit around Kerbin to orbit around Mun so we can deploy the satellite. As defined earlier, we need at least 1,170m/s Δv to do this. Slapping together some small fuel tanks and strapping on a highly-efficient vacuum engine and we get the following:

Atop our transfer stage, the first part that we created for this craft was an NRAP test weight. You can see that we set the weight to match that of our payload. We’ve also attached a Procedural Fairing base, but note that we haven’t created any fairings. The weight of the fairings is too small in this case to bother factoring into our calculations. Larger rockets with larger fairings you will want to take into account.

Now, KER gives us the Δv of our transfer stage, which is more than enough at 1,602m/s. Once we subtract the weight of the NRAP from the total weight, we will also have the specific weight of our transfer stage. Make note of both these items again. Save this and each following craft separately.

Build your lift stage

Next up, we need the part of the rocket that will get us from the atmosphere into space. As mentioned before, this will take 3.4km/s of Δv, but we don’t need all of this for the lift stage, as the transfer stage contains enough Δv to take up some of the work of getting into orbit, and we’ll also be building a booster stage. So, slapping together a decoupler, tank and suitable atmospheric lifter engine we end up with:

Note that we are still using vacuum Δv! This is a consideration that is made thanks to our booster stage. As with the transfer stage, this craft was constructed first with an NRAP set to the combined weight of the transfer + payload. Now let’s record our weight and Δv for our lifter, save it, and move on to the final, lowest stage.

Build your booster stage

We at the KSA are big fans of boosters, especially solid fuel ones. Boosters are great thanks to their high TWR, and serve well to get your rocket out of the densest part of the lower atmosphere so that your lift engine is more efficient when it finally kicks in several kilometers up. We’re also big fans of recovering our boosters, and so they are designed as such:

Note that we are using atmospheric Δv here for our boosters, as they will be firing only within the densest parts of the atmosphere. Even if we take into account the atmospheric Δv for our lifter stage, we still have 3,450m/s of Δv combined, which is enough to satisfy our 3.4km/s Δv requirement to get to 70km orbit. Any inefficiency in the ascent can be made up for with the surplus Δv available in our transfer stage.

Here is the complete breakdown of our rocket:

1.230t @ 1,042m/s Payload
1.813t @ 1,602m/s Transfer
8.630t @ 2,806m/s (2,573m/s atmo) Lifter
8.138t @ 877m/s Booster
————————-
19.811t @ 6,327m/s (5,285m/s minus payload Δv)

Important: It’s easy to get to this stage in the build process and see you have much more Δv than you need and assume everything is good. Think again!! The reason we made sure to break down our Δv amounts in stages is because you will be using different amounts of your total Δv at different stages in your mission. It’s totally possible to build a rocket with this much Δv that won’t even make it up into orbit because the majority is in your transfer stage, making it too heavy to get up to orbit after your lifter burns out low in the atmosphere. Make sure each stage of your mission has the Δv required in addition to being larger than your minimum mission amount.

Stage your rocket

Go back now to each craft stage you created, and pull everything under the NRAP out into a sub-assembly. Do this right before staging, not after creating the craft stages, to ensure you have everything set the way you want:

Now return to your original payload craft file, pull out all the sub-assemblies in order and attach them to the payload:

You now have a complete rocket! The first thing you need to do – check your weight. If you did everything right, the total weight of the rocket after attaching all the sub-assemblies should match what you added up from each individual stage. We actually made a mistake creating this rocket and ended up with a weight that didn’t match. Turned out we had input 1.203t for the transfer stage NRAP instead of 1.230t! Be careful of small mistakes like this, they can lead to bigger ones the larger the rocket and the more complex the mission.

The next thing you need to do is of course attach some fairings, and then organize your staging menu properly so that the boosters light first followed by the main engine after they separate… you’ll want to adjust the boosters for low TWR on takeoff, etc.

And that’s it! You’re well on your way to Mun and anywhere else in the Kerbol system you wish to go to. The missions will change, the rockets will change, but the overall planning and construction will remain the same. Define your requirements, then build top down to match them. If you need more stages, create them individually as we did for the four included in this tutorial. Hopefully, even if you already knew this, you now have a few new tools in your toolbox to help you with this – NRAP, KER, RCS Build Aid and notepad are all great additions to your program.

Simplest possible simulation on stock KSP

Содержание

Intoduction

Traditional way to play KSP is based on trial-error cycle. It can be intuitive (Harvester’s way) or based on info and calculations (with KER, Mechjeb, Prescise more, etc). But in any case player is both Pilot and Misson control. He can switch to map view at any time, play with maneuver nodes and hit F9 if something goes wrong.

But real life space flight is very diffirent. Kosmonauts in space ship near Earth can have good situration awarness due to GLONASS/GLS and geostationary statellites uplink, but the farer we go from LEO, the more important Mission Control role will be.

In US there are venues that provide experience close to real Mssion Control: Space Camp in Alamabama and Challenger Learning Center network:

Ever imagine playing KSP as just spaceship crew member? Or as flight directorm who can only indirectly influence crew actions? This is not new idea. There are mods (Houston, Telemahus, known attempts to try such gamestype [1], [2] (and I saw such threads few years ago on official ksp forum).

Our project is about using KSP as a core of Space flight and Mission control simulation. We use KSP, KSPTOT, kOS, putty and plenty of other mods and tools to build simulation complex that can be used to run flight plans based on real life space programs. Modern, historical, future:

The full Simulation mod pack is relatively resource demanding (RSS with medium textures requires 12+ GB RAM). But you can try Simulation experience using Stock KSP with minimal number of mods.

Things you’ll need

Software

kOS scripts

Initial save for KSP

Mission Architect scenarios

ma/duna-depature.mat from archive ma/duna-correction-burn.mat from archive

Installation

Install KSP

Buy KSP on Steam, GOG or developer site and install on your PC. Remember KSP installation folder path (will be referenced next as $KSP_PATH).

Install KSP inital save

1. Launch KSP
   1. In main menu select “Start new”
   2. Click “New game”
   3. Select game type “Sandbox” and enter name “Simulation”
   4. Click “Start!”
2. Copy file initial_save.sfs from saves folder from archive to $KSP_PATH/saves/Simulation folder

Install KSPTOT

• Download latest release archive compatible with your KSP version. Unzip to any folder.
• This archive also contains KSPTOTConnect plugin (you’ll need it on the next step).
• Copy scenarios duna-depature.mat and ma/duna-correction-burn.mat from ma folder from archive to KSPTOT folder.

Install mods

Install kOS scripts

Copy files warpup and res from kos folder from archive to $KSP_PATH/Ships/Script folder.

Setup voice commlink

Install Zello app to your smartphone or use real PTT radio.

Run Simulation

1. Load initial save in KSP:
   1. Run KSP.
   2. Click “Start game”.
   3. Click “Resume saved.
   4. Select “Simulation” and click “Load”.
   5. Press Alt+F9 and select initial_save from the list.
2. Launch kOS server

   

   

   

   How it works

   

   Data exchange channels are shown on the schema:

   • Mission control uses putty terminal to run kOS commands on the simulation computer:
     • _warput_ command is used to start time warp to the given date mark. Command accepts single argument: the target date mark in the timestamp foramt (number of seconds passed from the epoch). Date timestamps are calculated in KSPTOT.
     • _res_ command prints out ship resouses into terminal.
   • Mission control uses KSPTOT to:
     • Calculate maneuvers data and control their excution by Crew with the help of Mission Architec
     • Get engine startup time with the help of Maneuver Execution Assistant.
     • Convert date from calendar format to timestamp for the warput command (any date field in KSPTOT).
     • Upload maneuver data to KSP.
     • Get telemetry from KSP with MCC Real Time System.
   • Communication between Mission Control and Crew is run through single voice channel over Zello or PTT radio.

   Lets start

   • Space flight simulation (in KSP) up and running on the simulation computer.
   • kOS server is up and runing in KSP.
   • We have putty terminal connected to kOS server and we can use it to control simulation.
   • KSPTOT connected to KSP through KSPTOTConnect and Mission Architect opened and ready to use.
   • Voice commchannel ready to use..

   We need to assign roles next. We need minimum two participants:

   • One (Mission Control) will play as Flight Director, CAPCOM, EECOM and FDO.
   • Another (Crew) will combine roles of Spacecraft Commander and Pilot.
   • We start from low Kerbin orbit at the beginning of Duna transfer window period.
   • Our tasks:
     • Plan Duna depature burn.
     • Execute it.
     • Verify orbit params after burn execution.
     • Compute correction burn if needed.

Kerbal Space Program Screenshot Gallery

Kerbal Space Program is a computer game in which the player can build spacecraft, aircraft, and spaceplanes to their own design and use them on missions, both robotic and with crews, to explore the planetary system of the star Kerbol. The space program is conducted on behalf of the Kerbals, inhabitants of planet Kerbin, and the player manages the space program, advancing in technological capability, ambitiousness of missions, and size and skill of the kerbonaut corps.

Unlike many games, there is neither a well-defined path through the game nor a goal at which point the player has “won”. Just as in a real-world space program, it’s up to the player to decide whether to focus on robotic exploration, crewed missions, solid or liquid propulsion, rockets or air breathing engines, and expendable or reusuable launch hardware. The game can be played in a “sandbox” mode where all of the technology is available to the player from the start, in an intermediate “science” mode where completing scientific goals unlocks technologies, or in “career” mode where the player undertakes contracts to perform specific research and development tasks, such as testing an engine in flight or returning a surface sample from another world. In career mode the player earns funds, reputation, and science points as goals are achieved, and these can be spent to advance through the game by obtaining access to new technologies, upgrading facilities, and recruiting additional crew.

There is no ultimate goal in the game. When the player has unlocked all of the available technologies, visited every body in the Kerbol system, and collected all of the available science (which will take a long time), there are a multitude of other amusing things that can be done building upon a physics engine which is, within the somewhat odd universe it models, remarkably faithful. You can try building monster rockets for direct ascent missions to distant planets, explore innovative mission modes such as propellant depots, in-situ propellant production, flying probes in bodies with atmospheres, assemble complex space stations or interplanetary vessels with multiple launches, or just about anything that pops into your mind.

One thing which is certain is that after you’ve spent some time with Kerbal Space Program you will develop an intuition about orbital mechanics which few people, even authors of “hard” science fiction, have. Here is how Randall Munroe, creator of xkcd, described it.

In addition to the base game, there are numerous modification and extension packs available from third parties, almost all free. Some improve the game play and aesthetics of the game, while others add new parts and capabilities. Since these are third party packages, the quality is not uniform, and some may cause the game to malfunction or crash. As long as you stick to widely-used add-ons and read the comments before installing them you’ll probably be all right. I am presently using the following add-ons.

Some Kerbal Space Program purists will decry my use of MechJeb (an autopilot), believing that real players do everything manually. Well, they can believe anything they wish, and I couldn’t care less what they think of me, but I’d observe that since the dawn of the space age every space mission, unmanned or manned, has used some degree of automation, and that MechJeb provides only a rudimentary level of automation compared to that used routinely for the last several decades in mission planning and operations. Besides, what interests me about the game is mission planning, design of craft, and operations, not trying to find optimal Hohmann transfers by hand, which is something nobody has ever done in any space mission.

I originally began experimenting with the game on an early pre-release version in sandbox mode (which was all that was available at the time). When the 0.90 beta release became available, I started a new career game from scratch and have continued it onto subsequent releases without difficulty, up to the current 1.0.4 as of this writing. I decided to initially concentrate on robotic exploration, and visited every body in the Kerbol system with robotic probes fulfilling contracts, often using excess delta-v to obtain additional science by collecting and transmitting data. I was able to eventually unlock the entire technology tree and completely upgrade all of the facilities of the Kerbal Space Centre from this program, so in a sense I “won”. I then took on rescue missions, which not only allow one to hone one’s rendezvous and EVA skills, but also, with every mission, increase the size of the kerbonaut corps and get paid for it (hiring new kerbals is expensive).

It has all been tremendous fun, and while the physics of Kerbal Space Program are not that of the real world, most of what you’ll learn about orbital mechanics and rocket design is directly applicable to our universe. If you’re interested in such matters, get yourself a copy of Kerbal Space Program (it’s available for Linux, Macintosh, and Windows) and dive in yourself. It can be very frustrating getting started, as there is a great deal of “lore” which is not explained by the game itself. The best way to start is to view the career mode tutorials published by Scott Manley on YouTube, and by referring to the Kerbal Space Program Wiki, which you will find yourself consulting frequently while playing the game.

I’m not going to attempt to provide detailed information or play-throughs; others have done that much better than I possibly could. The game allows you to make screen shots. The following is a collection I’ve accumulated while exploring the Kerbol system. I’ll add to these as the adventure continues.

This document and all images included within it are in the public domain. They may be used in any manner without permission, restriction, attribution, or compensation.

Mechjeb orbit

（英文原文：Opposes any force on your rocket, keeping you pointed to the same direction you are going. der Mun Oberfläche bin,… * Improve the KSC grass and asphalt texture and shader to reduce tilling. It was like a huge light blub going on. J’avais aussi essayer avec Mechjeb de faire la mise en orbite en automatique, et les corrections d’orbite. Download ksp mods 3 4 3. So, that landing method was used instead of the parachutes (which added more mass to the vehicle and weren’t as effective at slowing the craft before it reached the ground). 쏘아올릴 궤도 높이 (아마도 최소가 80km) Orbit inclination. MechJeb and Engineer For All Automatically includes a MechJeb computer, Flight Engineer and Build Engineer on There’s no code, yet, to estimate downrange angle to the insertion in the orbit or to target the true anomaly of the target orbit. Nov 29, 2017 · Download >> Download Mechjeb 2 manual Read Online >> Read Online Mechjeb 2 manual mechjeb translatron mechjeb svel mechjeb 2 ascent guidance mechjeb 2 how to use how to open mechjeb menu mechjeb landing guidance mechjeb 2 career mode mechjeb ascent guidance missing I honestly believe mechjeb is the best training tool or tutorial system you can currently get for KSP. Craft Sharing Simplified. But the game has evolved and so have the MODDERS: If you add Real Progression 1 + Realism Overhaul (and all of its dependencies), Real Solar System (Extended), Principia, I could hug you, Wernher Von Kerman. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision. Enter the altitude of the orbit you wish to establish around your destination body. Launches can also be timed to rendezvous with a specific target or can simply be launched when ready. * Increased precision for eccentricity in advanced orbit info display. The Ascent Guidance of Mechjeb allows to easily get a rocket into a stable, circular orbit with a variety of options. S to control pitch during liftoff and the ride to orbit is easily equal to the task for even the largest, laggiest, ships. I don’t know if I’m just having a brain fart here, or not understanding the mod, or what. Ideally, in a 3-satellite constellation, you want to be at 777 km with identical velocities, and a separation of 120 degrees per … Continue reading KSP Tips: RemoteTech, MechJeb, and Flight Engineer → The most popular Kerbal Space Program mods 2020 for Mods Orbit Portal Technology [OPT] is a Research and Development company dedicated to space plane and trans-atmospheric propulsion technology. – Too much Solar, since I don’t lose much charge, it only takes a second or two of sunlight to refill the battery. Innit. Ich nutzte jetzt Mechjeb 2. How do I install HyperEdit? Kerbal Space Program chronicle — part one: achieving orbit for science. Can’t disagree. In orbit around Kerbin, it’s Kerbin. edu. In each 1. De studio neemt de ontwikkeling over van Star Theory Games. Orbit altitude (km) MechJebはターゲットを指定しながら軌道変更中に軌道が他の天体（Munとか）の影響圏に入るとバグる Kerbal Space Program – Mun Base Tutorial – Part 3 – Rover Landing. While in low orbit, make sure your new satellite has a dish pointed at the previous satellite in the network, and vice versa. KSP 2009 R3 Free download and software reviews CNET. Welcome to the Spacetux Agency, where contracts are created! This is a collection of mods which use the Contract Configurator mod to generate contracts for Kerbal Space Program. I tried it this evening and all I can say is WOW!It takes some getting used to because there are some major differences, but the overall capability of MechJeb is greatly enhanced. ” I surmised that to the extent that Intelligence has been promoting and publicizing analysis of media fakery (and e… Take-Two’s uitgeeflabel Private Division heeft een nieuwe studio opgericht in Seattle voor de ontwikkeling van Kerbal Space Program 2. 22 – MechJeb Autopilot v2. This is useful for setting up things like 17 Dec 2019 MechJeb (Essential); kOS (Essential); Kerbal Engineer Redux (Essential); Kerbal Interstellar Extended in the construction buildings to the eventually unlockable ability to effectively pilot a ship to orbit entirely by itself from 14 Jul 2015 First Orbit and EVA – A Kerbal Space Program Tutorial. Mechjeb mac – emucohrid. TLDR: Launch to inclination of 86, then do some fine-tuning once in orbit. Use it to plan out maneuvor nodes that’ll circularize your orbit to as perfect as you can, then use your throttle and such to get it to an acceptable level. Everyone is different I installed mechjeb, to make the mundane task of launching into lower kerbin orbit less boring and more precise. i tried to get a good orbit in height of 150km but when he is circulizing he disengage himself and stops running, but the middle of the orbit is the KSC instead of the middle of Kerbin so the rocket goes straight back to kerbin and hit the ground Orbit altitude. Also works fine. I can get into a 100 km orbit, but then how do I get an orbit around the Mun? (using mechjeb of course) EDIT: I mean 2. Mine didn’t for some reason that’s probably my fault. Kerbal Space Program features three gameplay modes. Orbiter-Forum > Orbiter Addons > Addon Requests [Request] Mechjeb like addon? Aug 04, 2018 · As for the default installation it is much like everyone previously stated. tinygrox on GithUb took on the huge work required to add localization to MJ. It provides purposes to launch and operate satellites in the space. You can add one or more dishes to the design if you want to contact, say, the Mun. Need a Rover at your Mun Base? Then this tutorial will show you a simple rover to build and how I land the Rover at the Mn base with Pin point landing. When piloting manually, MechJeb continues to offer assistance. If you seeking special discount you may need to searching when special time come or holidays. I understand the reasons behind each of this manouveurs, however I’m wondering if this is how real rockets get into orbit. Resonant orbit. One of my favorite mods, MechJeb , is one I’ll be using for its excellent information readouts. Pre-shrunk, anti-pill fleece in lightweight and heavy-and-warm options. Usage instructions: Add either the AR202 surface-attached case from the Control tab or the MechJeb pod from the Pods tab to one of your vessels. May 22, 2014 · As a community, Kerbal Space Program’s fans are as dedicated to the mission as Squad, providing feedback and actively participating in the game’s evolution, shaping it into something that even The first thing you need to do when using RemoteTech and you plan to get some probes usable in orbit and beyond is to set up a basically communications constellation with three satellites. Shop from 1000+ unique Ksp Hoodies and Sweatshirts on Redbubble. S系统. Works fine. Instead, I let MechJeb fly my rocket into oribit and circularize it. 5-hour orbit, a satellite will experience up to 775 seconds of darkness. S 选项（方向控制）: OFF – 关闭Smart A. The most popular Kerbal Space Program mods 2020 for Gameplay — Script modified from FlyMeToTheMun by Jontu– Original script by R4m0n–function KMunODriver (alt, malt) If this happens, just re-run the calculator with the new orbit data to determine the required course correction. sorry, this has been archived and can no. Jul 30, 2013 · – Too much fuel to get this payload into Kerbin Orbit. * Improve textures for the VAB building on level one. The Multi Function Display (“MFD”) included in B9 is based on the “Super Hyomoto” version of the RPM monitors with influences from a mix of Kerbal Space Program RPM monitors and real MFDs/PFDs. Along with the command pod, rocket, and fuel, all I needed was an Advanced S. W Description % Build stability: No recent builds failed. The cockpits are especially swish. Holy crap–I wasn’t sure if I needed to plug in a good LPA or what, but I launched, let the thing correct orbit a couple times (burning more fuel than necessary no doubt), and it put me within 100 meters at matching speed, no problem. All contract mods require the Spacetux Shared Assets mod, which includes both the Spacetux agency, flag, thumbnail and contract group needed by the other mods. The one thing that threw me from this video is the navball switching to “target” mode when you’re close. What are the best Kerbal Space Program mods Sometimes it bugs and the textures are a bit hard to install Great for those times when you’re 3 hours into a mission and realize simply forgot to add a parachute or you were like 2 drops? 通常のマニューバが使えなくなったりMechJeb等の自動化MODが正確な軌道を描けなくなるが、代わりに専用のマニューバ作成機能が追加される。 またラグランジュ点が存在するようになる。RSSにも対応しており同時に1. First Orbit and EVA – A Kerbal Space Program Tutorial. Just one tiny aid isn’t much to ask for once in a while. On the plus side, having turned it over, I discovered that Introduction RemoteTech is one of the popular mods for Kerbal Space Program. Share your Kerbal Space Progam craft, with automatic detection of mods, search by mod & craft attributes Dec 11, 2017 · Porkchop plots are an easy, quick, reliable means for planning interplanetary (or inter-lunar) travel. So what had happened was. 0. I try and change the orbit using the Mechjeb ascent autopilot and nothing happens. Dies ist der Sammelthread für Themen die kein eigenes Thema verdient haben. If we change one we will also change other, doesn’t matter if we want it or not. – Launch the next satellite and follow from. S. 다만 이것만으로도 쏘아올릴 수 있으니까 쏘아올리기 전에 Examples taken from the videos posted by the mod author, Kevin Laity: Example – Simple Autolaunch, Example – More Complex Launch Sequence, Example – Launch Sequence Utilizing Loops Other sources of scripts kOS Data Store (WIP) Other Clients, Services and Scripts¶ This page links to clients, services, scripts, tools and other useful things for kRPC that have been made by others. It has been long believed that the orbit suffers circularization due to the dynamical 2018年9月13日 今回はMechJebを紹介。 公式フォーラムはこちら。 MechJebは打ち上げや着陸、 マニューバ・ランデヴー・ドッキングなどを半自動化してくれるModだ。 その有能さ故に MechJeb先生と呼ばれることも。 またMechJeb(メックジェブ。Mech:”機械” . OK, I Understand Breaking Ground, the second expansion for Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition is now available for players to enjoy on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4!. This is useful for setting up things like CommNet and GPS constellations. If Aug 17, 2014 · Then, once it achieved a stable orbit, I set MechJeb for a 5,000 meter rendezvous with the space station. Kerbal Space Program – Mun Base Tutorial – Part 3 – Rover Landing. Calculate the resonant orbit needed for a carrier craft to inject craft it carries, like satellites, into equidistant positions of a shared circular orbit. 56 km, beyond the Mun’s sphere of influence. 7. In KSP, it simplifies orbital mechanics to reduce the CPU workload. Cutting off the engine and letting the rocket loose vertical speed looks counter-intuitive to me (you basically spend a lot of fuel to accelerate and then you let the rocket slow down). Multi Function Display Manual. I added mechjeb first, to automate the repetitive stuff that I’d done manually more than Jebediah himself. * Model revamp for the level one and level two Research and Development nissen huts. 9 und habe noch immer keinen Weg gefunden via Mechjeb einen Orbit zu machen welcher nicht um Kerbal geht. If you’ve discovered a cheat you’d like to add to the page, or have a correction Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a critically acclaimed, bestselling space flight simulator game. Aug 28, 2018 · I have written in the past about what I call “Operation Fantasy Land. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy. I installed mechjeb, to make the 2018年7月26日 MechJeb先生を使うには、ロケット組立棟にてMechJeb 2を取り付ける必要がある。 すると画面右上 Orbit inc. KILL ROT – 使火箭停止转向. This extra mod enables MechJeb on all 23 Feb 2018 I’ve been playing the stock game for years, and have no problem using maneuver nodes to adjust my orbit, and manually land or complete missions where I please. This calculator searches for constant-velocity manoeuvers that, after aerobraking, result in an orbit with the desired apoapsis. They display, in 3 dimensions of data, the time to a node on the X-axis, the duration of transfer on the Y-axis, and the color of the plot indicates the relative amount of dV needed for that node to make an encounter from your orbit to the target planet. I get into space using Mechjeb to get into an orbit, but then I realize that it’s not orbit I want. MechJeb can do it all Build spacecraft, fly them, and try to help the Kerbals fulfill their ultimate mission of conquering space. I then added kethane to set up a fuel depot on Minimus and Duna. Ich habe wider einmal ein Mechjeb Problem. It also does some other stuff. But then I had two Launch your Kerbal crew into orbit and beyond (while keeping them alive) to explore moons and planets in the Kerbol solar system, constructing bases and space stations to expand the reach of your expedition. 1. Mar 06, 2013 · As you already know, circular orbit is not only defined by altitude, but also speed. Danke- Das Team Download ksp mods 3 4 3. . ” I surmised that to the extent that Intelligence has been promoting and publicizing analysis of media fakery (and e… 28/08/2018 · I have written in the past about what I call “Operation Fantasy Land. The CKAN is a metadata repository and associated tools to allow you to find, install, and manage mods for Kerbal Space Program. A. This is useful for setting up things like CommNet constellations. Yeon. The orbit is like 5º offset and the apoapsis and May 15, 2016 · How to Build a Space Station in Kerbal Space Program (KSP). HyperEdit is a plugin for Kerbal Space Program, that allows you to teleport any ship, and edit any orbit – even the planets! Just choose your desired position, and POOF! – you’re there. Added Kerbal Attachment System to create a hauler/worker. This is single/upper-stage guildance only. Special Thanks: Stone Blue Starwaster *M_Ouellette – For their help with the model side of things. Egal wie tief ich schon über z. A normal 25 km orbit can be achieved using around 800 m/s delta V. Этот мод позволит сильно облегчить игровой процесс, с его помощью можно проводить сложные операции в автоматическом режиме. Breaking Ground is all about exploration, experimentation, and technological breakthroughs. Important parameter to this mode is the desired orbital ratio, which is the ratio between period of your current orbit and the new orbit. This mode should be used starting from a orbit in the desired orbital plane. In areas around Mun, it’s Mun. Kerbal Space Progam: Rocket science is harder than it looks! Circuralizing orbit should work via MechJeb (or you can burn retrograde manually), unless you have The creators of MechJeb have been hard at work, completely rewriting the mod from the ground up. Synchronous orbit around the Mun is not possible, since it would have to occur at an altitude of 2 970. I installed mechjeb, to make the mundane task of launching into lower kerbin orbit less boring and more precise. Oct 02, 2015 · MechJeb probably won’t perfect your orbit, as it is a computer. ReflectionTypeLoadException will now list the DLLs that are the actual source of the exception in the log. Before starting a countdown at the launch pad, how about planning and visualizing the satellite network that you aim at with this web-based planner? On the bright side, MechJeb 2 has made rendezvous options insanely easily. Sorry about the 720p and nearly illegible text, didn’t realize the screen recorder was set to that. For Kerbal Space Program. Specifically, I want it for when I need my initial orbit to match the plane of another object, or to meet a satellite contract. How to get to the Mun using MechJeb 2. KerbalX is a free service without adverts and I want to keep it that way. Until 4m30s it is following a preprogrammed gravity turn. Mais je n’ai pas réussi, ça partait tout le temps en cacahuètes à un moment ou un Автопилот для Kerbal Space Program 0. Important parameter to this mode is the desired orbital If you get value from this page and can afford it, I’d really appreciate it if you could help me make more content like this 🙂 I had absolutely NO trouble pushing it into orbit (though MechJeb basically refused to calculate dV while I was attached to the asteroid) from its current escape trajectory. krpc_MechJeb_TimeReference_t This mode should be used starting from a orbit in the desired orbital plane. Kerbal Space Program – Tutorial For Beginners – Part 10 – Space Stations & Rendezvous. Suggested mods to find include: MechJeb Embedded [2] . If you want your own project added to this page, please feel free to ask on the forum. submitted 9 months ago by monkeysee2003 · 5 comments, share. That means we can’t just get so same orbit then speed up/slow down to reach our target. Build History. 22:28. So, if you click where it says “orbit” or “surface” and your velocity, it will switch between them. What are the best Kerbal Space Program mods Sometimes it bugs and the textures are a bit hard to install Great for those times when you’re 3 hours into a mission and realize simply forgot to add a parachute or you were like 2 drops? Take-Two’s uitgeeflabel Private Division heeft een nieuwe studio opgericht in Seattle voor de ontwikkeling van Kerbal Space Program 2. Resonant Orbit Calculator For Kerbal Space Program . Thunderbirds are Go! Don’t forget to share pictures of your creations on this thread. Link We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. Например: стыковка, посадка Mechjeb mac – emucohrid. * Upgrade VPP and improve wheel and landing leg function. With those added to the algorithm and some improvements in the time-to-launch code it should be possible to have MechJeb do an entirely automated direct launch to lunar orbit. 궤도 각도 (각도인데 다르게 설정하면 북반구쪽으로 궤도 만들거나 그럼) autostage 스테이지 자동 실행 (끄세여. 5 Tips MechJeb Tutorial FOR NOOBS (youtu. Then use the button on the right side of the screen to access MechJeb window selection interface, and click on the buttons to activate the windows. It only computes gravity based on the body controlling your Sphere of Influence. In real life physics, the Moon I could use wait until periapsis > x, but this seems inaccurate, because I can’t start the burn at the exactly right time, because I don’t know how much to burn. Along with landing on Eeloo, having a large Mun base and making an interplanetary satellite link coverage system, building an orbital space station is one of the most ambitious Oct 16, 2017 · Here’s what it does: when a ship is in low orbit around a planet, the backside of the ship will be softly illuminated by the planet’s reflected atmospheric light. The “Injection Δv” value is the delta-v required to move from the Launch each satellite into low Kerbin orbit as before. I enjoy the science mode with the unmanned-before-manned community tech tree, but I wanted to be a lot more relaxed and not have to manage electrical charge or mechjeb features. And use orbital data Resonant Orbit Calculator. Step 1 (First launch): – Achieve with MechJeb or Manual control an equatorial circular orbit at the desired altitude. I’ve tried using the same rocket with a variety of numbers in MechJeb’s ascent profile and once you’re in the upper Sep 06, 2012 · Omg, the Mk4 parts are so good. Now, I can do with or with out, but I like playing to build stuff, not so much fly. Bei kleineren Fragen bitte hier posten und kein neues Thema eröffnen. Nov 02, 2013 · It was realized that a powered descent using MechJeb’s landing autopilot only costed about 350 m/s in delta-v. Resonant orbit is useful for placing satellites to a constellation. The information used for the calculations was taken from the Kerbal Space Program wiki The formulas used to calculate the resonance orbit itself was posted by PakledHostage in his Figaro GPS thread. Reply and hitting even the smallest bump at anything over a walking pace almost puts the thing back in orbit. Dec 11, 2017 · Porkchop plots are an easy, quick, reliable means for planning interplanetary (or inter-lunar) travel. It is NOT The planetary phase angle is the angle your destination planet or moon needs to be in front or behind your origin along its orbit. Some mods will make the Enter the altitude of your parking orbit around that body. Assuming you bolt the MechJeb panel on to an appropriate craft (it’s a physical attachment), it can lift off into orbit, circularise that orbit, transit to and from moons and planets with Assuming you bolt the MechJeb panel on to an appropriate craft (it’s a physical attachment), it can lift off into orbit, circularise that orbit, transit to and from moons and planets with I haven’t played in probably 3+ years, and back then it was mechjeb and some kerbal engineer mod. ) 딴건 잘 모르겠습니다. [–]krazyrocketman 0 Place all of your satellites as a single craft in an initial orbit with the apoapsis at the synchronous orbit height, then adjust the periapsis so that your orbit’s overall period is either at the Synchronization Factor’s value or the Counter-Sync Factor. While MechJeb does After around 15 minutes of my kerbals going crazy over the insanely low gravity, I left gilly, even though getting into orbit required as much as a fire extinguisher’s delta-v, I ended up almost too low for timewarp to workwhen I was still in an orbit that intersected the ground, so I had to wait about five minutes to get high enogh for A historic mission to the Moon is approaching its crescendo, with the Israeli-built Beresheet lander today entering orbit around our biggest satellite and preparing to close in on its surface. 99% of the time using the Smart A. 3. At first, it seemed as if it was going to become another endless chase-and-maneuver. Make sure you have enough battery power! Kerbal Space Program. Mar 27, 2013 · I’m not embarrassed to say that if it wasn’t for MechJeb, I would have had to resort to YouTube to learn how to get into orbit. module to enable flight control, a decoupler to uncouple the command pod, and a parachute. When a satellite has a sun-synchronous orbit, it means that it has a constant sun illumination through inclination and altitude. Never once used MechJeb or alarm clock or a any quality of life mods. This is assumed to be a circular, equatorial orbit. However, putting your spacecraft just outside Mun’s SOI and having the same SMA would make it appear stationary. Hell, I’ve gotten to 100,000m, 100,

Kerbal space program flight planning

Kerbal Space Program

Am i the only one that thinks that we should be able to set up maneuvers before the ship is in liftoff? It’s too difficult to midflight decide your flight path and orbit the planet and things like that.

It’s impossible to plan out a flight before you’re in the air? I don’t see why that can’t be a mechanic

It’s impossible to plan out a flight before you’re in the air? I don’t see why that can’t be a mechanic

It can be a mechanic. so could true multiple body physics. so could real world aerodynamics. so could radiation, and heat. and ALOT of other stuff.

But then youd need a super-computer on par with the rigs they use at NASA just to play KSP.

And you can PLAN a flight before hand as much as you want. you just cant EXECUTE that plan till your in flight. Not that many players complain about the time they have to adjust manuv nodes. and those that do have issues typicaly get a mod to assist with it. like MechJeb2 or PerciseNode.

Thing is, I don’t think the manoeuvre node system is entirely appropriate for the launch sequence – it works well enough for small changes changes in speed and relatively short burn times (afaik it assumes instanteneous changes in velocity) and doesn’t take aerodynamics into account at all.

Of course all of that could be implemented, and you could add a plugin that switches between orbital manoeuvre mode, launch mode, atmospheric flight mode and julienne fries mode but I don’t think this is realistically going to happen so I’d suggest to use existing tools (e.g. this http://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/) to plan the launch and put it in a circular orbit “by hand” instead of holding your breath for an all-in-one navigation solution.

It’s impossible to plan out a flight before you’re in the air? I don’t see why that can’t be a mechanic

It can be a mechanic. so could true multiple body physics. so could real world aerodynamics. so could radiation, and heat. and ALOT of other stuff.

Funny thing is every single one you mentioned there has been implemented by mods:
True n-body physics: Principia
Real world aerodynamics: Ferram-Aerospace-Research
Radiation: Kerbalism
Heat: Real Heat
ALOT of other stuff: Realism Overhaul. LOL

Also Mechjeb 2 has ascent guidence/autopilot, but unfortunately no trajectory planning from ground. However you can specify quite a lot of stuff, like final eccentricity, AP, PE etc. so practically it is some sort of flight planning. If you are going for a parking orbit first it should work just fine, otherwise eyeballing is your best friend.

Only problem I see a preflight plan from ksp encountering is atmospheric drag. But there is no atmospheric drag on either of Kerbin’s moons, so it would make for a great system for a lander to to leave at exactly the right amount of burn at the right time.

The main benefit I see of being able to plot something out before launch is to get an idea of the dV requirement.

While there is no in game dV reading for your craft, I suspect there will likely be no in game means to plot a journey before launch.

It’s this kinda stuck in the middle thing KSP does. On one side it wants you to just wing it, on the other it wants you to play the game by numbers.

well, nodes only show theoretical delta v. And so does KER.
Without atmosphere drag math, burning off the perfect node spot by sin(some°) because it is never a single impulse burn, etc. That all is rather advanced math and putting that in game may scare off a lot of people.
Making the game itself to compute it all in detail in advance and also execute the plan (so no manual error is introduced!) basically turns the game into adjustable screensaver.

So kind of yes, but no. Life is complicated

well, nodes only show theoretical delta v. And so does KER.

Totally. I personally wouldn’t expect flight planning from ground to be exactly what was required. Like KER, manual math or simple rule of thumb approximations, I don’t see the reason for wanting this as it being 100% accurate and depending on those numbers completely. They’re more ball park so you have an idea of if you can reasonably expect to achieve those things or not. Same with dV maps available around the internet. You don’t see a number on them and build to that exactly, you allow for error and a comfort zone.

Making the game itself to compute it all in detail in advance and also execute the plan (so no manual error is introduced!) basically turns the game into adjustable screensaver.

I don’t think the main point of wanting a system that allows you to plot out a mission is to automate it completely. It might be what some people want in some cases but I can certainly see a case for pre planning something so you know roughly what will be required from the craft you are going to build without multiple trial and error attempts or sources of information outside the game.

Trial and error is fine for missions close to home but it can become tiresome for certain more difficult voyages as the time between those potential errors increases. Note, that is “can”. Some people might like failing repeatedly.

Kerbal space program flight planning

In its ongoing mission to tag the solar system with flags like a bunch of billion-dollar badboys, NASA plans to rocket off to an asteroid then drag it back over to Earth so we can have a good poke around. It’ll be years before that happens though, so for now we’ll have to settle for recreating the mission in the world’s most realistic space simulator. In collaboration with NASA, Kerbal Space Program has launched an update with missions to capture asteroids and oodles of new spaceship bits to help achieve that.

I’m very happy to announce that the Asteroid Redirect Mission patch for KSP is now officially released!

This is a very special update in many ways, not least of course is that it was made in collaboration with NASA, to make sure our Kerbal version of the Mission was not only true to its real-life counterpart, but that it was also fun, educational, and in keeping with KSP’s style, free to be performed in any way you can think of. Want to re-enact the exact mission profile NASA is planning? Go for it. Want to send up enough rocket fuel to lift an office building and slam on the retrograde brakes? That’s also an option. Want to not do any of those things and just use the Advanced Grabbing Unit to choose which Kerbals go and which stay? Erm. sure.

This has been, without question, the largest update we’ve ever done, not just in terms of development time, but most importantly in terms of the scope of the changes made. No other update has had so many different areas improved on at the same time. We usually focus on a single area to work on, but this time, we really felt the need to make a noticeable improvement in the overall playing experience, especially around flight planning and advanced deep-space missions.

So, Here are the highlights for this update:

* Asteroids:
Kerbin is no longer alone in its orbit. Nearby are countless objects that buzz in and out of its sphere of influence, some flying by harmlessly, others on impact trajectories. Ranging in size from just a few meters through 5 size classes up to gigantic objects weighing thousands of tons, these new objects should provide a new challenge for both new and veteran players. Each asteroid is procedurally generated, so no two are the same. Also, asteroids can have samples taken from them by EVAs, providing a constant source of valuable science data, right on the edge of Kerbin’s SOI.

* Object Discovery and Tracking:
Before you set out after an asteroid, you first need to identify and track them using the Tracking and Discovery features on the Tracking Station Facility. Select one of the unknown objects spotted near Kerbin, and start tracking it actively to reveal more information about it. Also mind that untracked objects can be lost if they’re left unobserved for too long.

* The Advanced Grabbing Unit (aka “The Claw”)
As the name probably implies, this new part is the means by which asteroids can be captured to be redirected. Just arm the device, approach the target carefully, and the claw will do the rest. It’s like a docking node, but without the need for a mate node on the other side. Better still, the AGU can be used to grab on to much more than just asteroids. In fact, it can pick up just about anything, even Kerbals.

* New SLS-inspired Size 3 parts:
We’ve added a host of new parts, featuring the largest engines and fuel tanks ever seen in KSP. These new parts were designed based on NASA’s upcoming Space Launch System, and they pack a huge amount of rocket power.

* Completely Overhauled Part Joints:
We have completely re-done the way parts attach to one another, to allow for much greater flexibility and control over each joint. Joints are also more accurate and stable, as both jointed sides are now anchored at the attachment node (this wasn’t possible before the Unity 4.3 update).

There’s more. This update also features a host of small, and some not-so-small tweaks and improvements to usability, giving many features added a good while ago a much needed refurbishing, and adding a lot of the little things we never got a chance to add when we first implemented them.

Release Notes:
* The ARM Patch (0.23.5) should not break backward-compatibility with previous saves. That said, however, do mind that we cannot account for mods, so don’t expect them all to work perfectly. If you experience any problems, make sure you try a clean install of the game without any mods, and a new clean save as well.

* The ARM Patch is available just as any other update. You should be auto-updated next time you run the game. Just make sure you haven’t disabled Steam’s auto-update system for KSP.

Happy Launchings, and have fun!!

Confession: I m playing imaginary NASA every time I play Kerbal Space Program. The brilliant space exploration sim can be customized with any flag, so I could be playing as the Federation of Planets, the Empire or Rebel Alliance, or as an independent Browncoat. But no. I fly my toy rockets under the NASA flag, and I don t care who knows it.

So it was with immense pleasure that I checked out the upcoming update for KSP, which has grown from goofy experiment to one of Steam’s most popular Early Access games. Produced in collaboration with NASA, the Asteroid Redirect Mission adds asteroids to the Kerbal universe. The rocket part inventory has swelled to over 180, including several new super-heavy lifters and enormous fuel tanks. The NASA logo is now officially included in the default flag roster, and the new rockets have NASA emblems painted on. It makes a nerd heart flutter.

The main event for this update, though, is the opportunity to capture an asteroid. To find these new objects in the deep black, I bring up the satellite tracking station and zoom way, way out. Asteroids of various sizes classed A (tiny) through E (huge) pop up as unconfirmed sightings across the local area. Clicking an asteroid gives me the option to track it, which assign it a unique name and adds it to my map as an orbiting body. I m on the look-out for an easy target, as Squad s PR manager, Miguel Pi a, warned me that Catching an asteroid is probably one of the hardest things to do in KSP now. I would strongly recommend you go for a class B or lower, as larger ones are truly hard to move around.

A slow arc near the orbit of the Mun makes FNW-501 relatively easy to reach.

I dismiss a few potential targets hurtling through the local system too fast. Most of the asteroids I see are too big, and a few are on a collision course for Kerbin. I skip those as well; Jebediah Kerman is a good pilot, but he s no Bruce Willis. Finally, I spot Ast. FNW-501, a class A asteroid on a slow, lazy arc through the Kerbin neighborhood. Perfect.

The business end of the asteroid capture mission is the new mechanical grappling claw. The claw is an ungainly nose attachment that, when deployed, treats the surface of an asteroid as a docking port and latches on.

Let s pause and reflect here. I m building a colossal rocket to fly to a lonely piece of space rock and, once there, my plan is to. headbutt it. It s ridiculous. And actually based on a real-life, future NASA mission.
My space rock
Jeb takes a break from piloting to pose with his new ship and on-board NASA logos.

When I spoke to lead designer Felipe Falanghe in December, he mentioned that the team was close to solving the wiggle problem, where larger rockets and space stations tend to flex at the joints, sometimes catastrophically. They ve done it in the newest build. With the help of the new NASA rocket parts and the super-solid rocket connections, I built the largest rocket I ve ever made in KSP and flew it to orbit without reinforcing every joint with struts. The added stability makes flying much more fun.

Arranging an accurate flight plan for a small target was beyond tricky.

Flying out to meet FNW-501, the somewhat fiddly maneuver node controls become a problem. The slightest adjustment means missing the asteroid by hundreds of kilometers, even while using my mouse s scroll wheel to fine-tune the trajectory. I spent too long trying to make tiny changes to the flight plan; in the end, I just got a plan that was kind of close, then made a series of short burns to correct my flight path.

The orbital control plan is already a little tricky when you re aiming at a planet; trying to hit a rock five meters wide was a bit frustrating. I d love a new control scheme here or possibly a mod from the prolific fan community.

The mechanical grappling claw extended, Jeb closes in for contact.

When all was said and done, meeting FNW-501 for my billion-dollar headbutt was a lot like docking with a space station in low Kerbin orbit. Once the claw engaged, I slowly turned the huge rock around, then lit my engines until our orbit brought us home. It flew like a brick, and I m once again thankful that I tried my hand at a relatively small asteroid. FNW-501 is now in orbit, ready to be tested, mined, or deorbited and flung at Buenos Aires.

Players who have been in Kerbal Space Program for a while will find new things to do, new rocket parts, and a new rigid-body rocket system that will make it easier to build truly monstrous spaceships. Personally, capturing FNW-501 was the most white-knuckle piece of KSP piloting I ve had to do since I landed on the moon the first time and I got the same rush of accomplishment afterward.

The Asteroid Redirect Mission is currently going through bug fixing, so Squad isn t willing to give a firm release date just yet. Expect to hear a date announced sometime in the next few weeks.

Kerbal Space Program

In KSP, you must build a space-worthy craft, capable of flying its crew out into space, without killing them. At your disposal is a collection of parts, which must be assembled to create a functional ship. Each part has its own function and will affect the way a ship flies (or doesn’t). So strap yourself in, and get ready to try some Rocket Science!

• Control your ship from the inside with the Wii U Gamepad.
• Flight planning on the fly with touchscreen controls!
• Steer your ship with gyro motion controls!

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The best Kerbal Space Program mods

Without mods, Kerbal Space Program is already an amazing accomplishment—a deep, rewarding sim that captures the majesty and challenge of going to space. In 2015 we gave it our highest recommendation, and since then it’s appeared in both our staff’s and our readers’ top 100 lists. Kerbal Space Program sticks around because it is everything that makes PC gaming great: freedom, creativity, flexibility, and mods. Naturally, mods make it better. The best mods for Kerbal Space Program add new ships, new parts, and small touches to keep Kerbal fun and fresh after a hundred hours of rocket science.

Whether you’re looking for a flyable Enterprise or Serenity, a recreation of NASA’s Apollo rockets or the International Space Station, the KSP community has been getting it done for ages now. Out of all of the fine work available, these are our favorite mods for Kerbal Space Program.

Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN)

Don’t forget: Add Module Manager, a mod that helps other mods play well together.

The first mod on the list isn’t really a mod, it’s a program. CKAN is an open-source, community-supported mod manager. Though KSP’s mod community has moved around a lot: for a while it was officially based out of Curse.com, most of the biggest mods still live on the game’s official forums, and still others live on SpaceDock. With so many mod sources out there, CKAN aggregates modders’ submitted files and cross-references them, making sure that every mod is up to date, installing/uninstalling instantly, and warning you if mods are incompatible with each other. If a modder has recommended other mods to go along with theirs, CKAN asks if you’d like to install them at the same time. It’s a gorgeous piece of work, and it’s more essential the more mods you add.

To add a mod using CKAN, just start typing the name. There may be a few mods only hosted on Curse or SpaceDock, but almost all of them are included in CKAN.

Immersion mods

Some of my favorite mods are the most useless. Check out these mods if you want a more beautiful, immersive game.

Chatterer

Don’t forget: Quindar tone volume can be adjusted if they’re too beepy.

In space, no one can hear you scream unless you hold down the push-to-talk button. Chatterer took real-life audio from the Apollo 11 missions, scrambled it up a bit, and chopped it into audio files that play in the background of your missions. Combined with some well-placed Quindar tones, this mod gives the impression of a bustling, chaotic mission control center buzzing with messages and cross-talk. Floating weightless in the black of space feels more real with mission control talking in your ear.

Hullcam VDS

Don’t forget: Pressing [-] cycles through all available cameras.

The Apollo missions happened before we discovered the joy of strapping a GoPro to everything, but Kerbals are much more advanced. The Hullcam VDS mod adds a variety of attachable cameras so you can watch your missions from the side of a rocket or from inside an engine housing. Launching with a down-facing hull camera lends flights a certain SpaceX kind of feel. The mod also adds a Hubble-style space telescope you can use to creep on distant planets.

Collision FX

Don’t forget: Sparks kick up a soft, soothing light for nighttime crashes.

Making crashes and screw-ups look nicer might be the most “Kerbal” thing imaginable. Collision FX adds sparks, smoke, screeching tires, ploughing dirt, and plumes of snow—depending on the ground you’re crashing into. They’ve been working on it for years, and that’s why the newest version throws up soil that matches the regolith you’re slamming into. That’s quality!

Collision FX also adds an adorable little “oof” noise for when Kerbals fly into something solid during EVAs.

RealPlume

Don’t forget: RealPlume is packaged to include SmokeScreen, a mod that lets you tweak and customize engine effects.

For all the many times that my Kerbals have died in a big ball of smoke and flame, I’ve always thought to myself: that smoke could be smokier. RealPlume completely reworks the exhaust and plume effects for KSP’s rocket engines (and quite a lot of the mod pack engines, too!). You spend a lot of time in KSP watching engines burn, after all, so why not make it look great?

PlanetShine

Don’t forget: Orbiting a planet with a colorful atmosphere reflects that color onto your ship.

OK, this one is really useless. Even for this list. Still, I love PlanetShine because it exemplifies the obsessive attention to detail great modding communities thrive on. Here’s what it does: when a ship is in low orbit around a planet, the backside of the ship will be softly illuminated by the planet’s reflected atmospheric light. The mod plays well with Environmental Visual Enhancements, which adds nighttime city lights and cloud effects.

Kronal Vessel Viewer

Don’t forget: Distance between pieces in the exploded view can be adjusted, from huge gap to tiny sliver.

I love blueprints. I’m not an engineer or an architect, but I have a fascination with blueprints and technical drawings. Kronal Vessel Viewer adds a view window in the VAB for you to tinker with two-dimensional sketches of your huge Kerbal ships. Using the exploded view, it’s possible to get a schematic-style look at your most historically important missions. Just imagine: this view of your ship, the Get To The Mun Please Damn It All, will be in every young Kerbal’s history books in school.

New challenge mods

Kerbal Space Program is a hard, hard game because physics is impossible and the universe wants to squish your frail, pathetic spirit. If it’s not hard enough, though—if you want new ways to fail spectacularly—then these mods bring new punishments for the most advanced Kerbonauts.

SCANsat

Don’t forget: Pack plenty of solar panels; SCANsat readouts are not low-wattage.

Previous satellite mods focused on scanning and locating resources for pre-1.0 KSP. Now that resources and refineries are part of the vanilla game, SCANsat is the best precisely because it focuses on what satellites do best: exploration. With high-definition scans from a SCANsat satellite, players can target flat areas for safe landings, identify points of interest, and get a full understanding of a planet’s biomes worthy of research. Even the smallest bodies in the Kerbol system are enormous, so this mod is a great way of approaching that challenge.

Orbit Portal Technology Space Plane Parts

Don’t forget: Kerbal Aircraft Expansion is another excellent parts pack devoted to aircraft, but its best parts focus on exploring Kerbin itself.

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a single-stage-to-orbit space plane that flies smooth and lifts heavy. Once you get your arms around the peculiar physics of KSP’s space planes, you’ll have a cheap, reusable shuttle system to bring supplies, Kerbals, and even space station modules to orbit. OPT’s excellent space plane parts pack dramatically expands the tools you have to get to orbit.

Dang It!

Don’t forget: Pairs so well with Entropy, a mod that causes wear and tear damage to all ships, that the two mods fell in love and decided to merge. Entropy is now an official part of Dang It!

This ingenious and mildly bowdlerized mod breaks stuff. Solar panels short out, engines misfire, fuel tanks start leaking, batteries fail. You can adjust how frequent and how catastrophic the failures, but the end result is that with Dang It!, even perfectly designed missions sometimes have hiccups. Luckily, your expertly trained Kerbals can perform an EVA and fix the problem, as long as you brought along a few spare parts.

For some players, this sounds like a hellish nightmare. I admit, though, that I find surviving a Kerbal version of Apollo 13 to be more than a little compelling. The alarm klaxon that sounds when a malfunction occurs will haunt my dreams for months.

Kerbal Construction Time

Don’t forget: You can “simulate” a ship to see how it flies without waiting for the actual construction time. Simulate a few times, then when you’re happy with it, build it for real.

One of the quirks of KSP is that it keeps track of time. Every second of spaceflight is added to the overall game clock, which tells the game where every planet and ship is in space. Time is paused while you tinker with design of a new ship, and only begins when you click “launch,” meaning every ship is built instantly. Kerbal Construction Time changes that. The more complex the ship, the longer it takes to build. Why bother? Realism is a part of it. It also forces you to plan ahead, designing and sending new ships into the construction pipeline weeks or months before you’re ready to launch. If you’re building a space station in orbit, for example, you either need the cash to build multiple ships at once or you need to plan for the first module to orbit for a few months before the second module can join it.

DMagic Orbital Science: Probe and Rover Pack

Don’t forget: DMagic recommends several great mods to go with this one, the best of which is [x] Science, a mod that gives you a master checklist of the experiments you have and haven’t finished yet.

Depending on what contracts you take, you might be sending routine flights up and down around the same parts of space for a while. After you’ve gotten temperature (cold) and atmosphere (none) data back to KSP central, there’s not a lot more science to be done. This mod adds a ton of new experiments for your vehicles, including a soil moisture sensor and an x-ray diffraction analyzer. Get back to work!

SpaceY

Get it: Forums, CKAN

Don’t forget: A calculator in the VAB tells you how long your Kerbals will live with the provided supplies.

Sad, but true: NASA isn’t really in the inspiration business anymore. These days, all the exciting space stuff is happening at SpaceY, the privately held Kerbal space agency that bears no resemblance to privately managed space agencies here on Earth. All of your favorite SpaceY heavy lifter parts are ready to download and head to space.

Umbra Space Industries

Don’t forget: Umbra’s most famous mod packs are Kolonization Systems and Life Support, a 1-2 punch combo that will definitely have you leaving hundreds of Kerbals to starve to death beneath the ruins of their failed colonies.

Unlike most one-off mods, the rocket scientists behind Umbra Space Industries have established a cottage industry of mod packs. They’ve got cranes and magnets in Konstruction!, submarines for charting alien oceanography in the USI Exploration Pack, and high-speed engines in Alcubierre Warp Drive.

Almost all of USI’s projects packs are modular, so you can take a few science gizmos here and a couple of engine couplings there as you like.

Near Future Technologies

Don’t forget: Near Future’s mods are basically just parts packs, so you still unlock them through the usual R&D programs. Keep farming those science points!

It’s easy to get carried away by the siren-song of sci-fi splendor: god damnit, I want warp drive and phasers and I want them now. The Near Future series of parts packs takes a more patient approach by bringing near-future sci-fi to KSP. There’s no teleportation, but there are highly refined nuclear reactors and advanced xenon engines. These mods won’t get you to Star Wars, but they will get you to The Martian.

Automation mods

KSP asks you to be a lot of things at once: administrator, engineer, pilot, scientist, micromanager. These mods automate some of these tasks, freeing you up to focus on other things.

Kerbal Attachment System

Don’t forget: You can use KAS to move modules outside of the VAB, so your Kerbals can make an EVA and rearrange drilling platforms or solar panels that aren’t pointed the right way.

I once built an entire Mun base using modular pieces designed to fit a mini-rover with a docking port. The mini-rover could drive under the modules, lift them off their struts, and drive them over to their final destination. It was a horrific pain in the ass.

Instead, use Kerbal Attachment System’s network of wires, winches, pulleys, and fuel lines to connect parts of your base without actually rearranging them. Drag a wire from a solar panel array over to your habitat to produce power, or pull a fuel line from your storage tanks to your rover to refuel.

Contracts Window +

Get it: Curse, CKAN

Don’t forget: Contracts+ is compatible with the popular Contract Reward Modifier mod.

The user interface in vanilla KSP is pretty good, but Contracts+ offers a ton of new functionality. You can sort your accepted contracts by name, due date, financial payout, and other options. Even better, you can program custom missions and track contracts that way. If you’ve got five contracts and want to fulfill three of them on a single mission, a custom mission will let you just watch those three. It’s miles ahead of vanilla KSP’s tiny scrolling taskbar window.

MechJeb

Don’t forget: If you really do think that MechJeb is cheating, try Kerbal Engineer. It gives you a ton of extra flight data so you can see all the information you need to fly perfect missions by hand.

By far the most famous and most popular KSP mod in existence is the mechanical Jebediah, or MechJeb. Allowing a computer autopilot to take over your piloting tasks is ideal for anyone with a solid flight plan and great engineering skills, but without the rock-steady hands it takes to carefully touch 80 tons of steel onto alien soil. MechJeb can do it all, from extra-planetary insertion burns to docking maneuvers.

Some purists insist that using MechJeb is “cheap” or “cheating.” To them, I say nonsense. MechJeb doesn’t let an underpowered rocket reach orbit, and it won’t give you infinite fuel. If designing missions sounds like more fun than flying them to you, there’s no shame whatsoever in handing the controls to an expert. but since we couldn’t find an expert anywhere around here, we’re handing them to Jeb. Good luck.

Kerbal Alarm Clock

Don’t forget: You can set an alarm for ideal interplanetary launch windows, letting you fast-forward until it’s the right time of year for a trip to Duna.

Throughout most of KSP’s development, you had to simply fast-forward time and hope you didn’t rocket past your burn window. In those dark days, Kerbal Alarm Clock was born. Even though KSP has made it easier to hit your windows, the alarm clock is still essential. Set alarms for certain parts of your orbit, for other crafts passing nearby, for crossing orbits, and others. You can even tie into a strange alternate universe, a planet called “Earth,” and set alarms based on the local time.

Docking Port Alignment

Don’t forget: The target window is also viewable from the cockpit view, which means you can get the immersive experience of docking from the pilot’s chair. Stressful! Horrifying!

The navball in vanilla KSP is much-maligned, but I don’t think it deserves the flak it gets. It’s perfect for most purposes. Its biggest failure, to my mind, is docking guidance. Trying to line up a three-dimensional maneuver with a one-dimensional target? That’s silly business. Docking Port Alignment adds a pop-up window with four crosshairs. Point at the target, rotate into alignment, face perpendicular to the target, and get moving gently toward it, all with the same window.

It won’t dock for you like MechJeb, but it gives you all the information you need to nail it. I went from docking in a couple of minutes to under thirty seconds when I started using this mod.

For Science!

Don’t forget: If you have a scientist on board, one-use experiments will also automatically reset.

Of all the mods on this list, this one feels the most like cheating. For Science! is designed to remove the science grind by automating it. Simply taking a thermometer into the ocean will automatically record that reading and store it in the command module. Arming a plane with a few experiments and flying it across Kerbin will bring in a steady stream of new science points. No more guessing if you’re over a certain biome or trying to fly and press go on an experiment at the same time.

Multiplayer mods

For some, KSP’s greatest asset is its loneliness. For others, the only thing better than docking is docking with a friend. Vanilla KSP was supposed to one day support multiplayer, but it now seems pretty unlikely that will ever happen. The idea took off with the community, though, and there are a few solid options available.

Telemachus

Don’t forget: Telemachus works (mostly), but it’s as ugly as the dark side of a Kerbal. Install Houston, a UI upgrade that plugs into Telemachus to make it a little prettier.

Telemachus is complicated and I am but a simple moron, but the basic gist is this: Telemachus pulls flight data out of KSP and puts it into a web browser. Using magic, presumably.

Why is that cool? Well, you can use it for a bunch of things. You can gather up tablets and old laptops and assemble yourself a mission control. You can send that browser link to a friend and share real-time data as you fly. Or, and here’s where it gets really fun, you can assemble a team to play as your mission control. One player plays as the pilot in cockpit view, and mission control works to tell her when to burn, how long, and where. Add some beer and a few explosions, and you’ve got yourself a party.

Dark Multiplayer

Don’t forget: Your firewall may have some issues with sharing network access. Consult the DMP FAQ to figure out which ports to open.

Dark isn’t the original multiplayer mod, the one that got the entire Kerbosphere a-twitter when it first launched, but it is the best we have right now. By combining a lot of server options with more-stable-than-not netcode, Dark Multiplayer allows you to hook up with a friend, rendezvous in orbit, and start constructing that orbital science station.

The big hurdle for multiplayer is time warping: if I fast-forward two hours to catch up to my friend and she stays put, we’re now in two separate time lines with two versions of Kerbin at different points in orbit. Without getting into Doctor Who levels of timey wimey-ness, Dark Multiplayer allows for a single master to control time warping. This keeps everyone on the same timeline, preventing fourth-dimensional weirdness and Dalek attacks.

Apollo Flight Controller 101: Every console explained

From the archives: A handy reference to each station in the Apollo Mission Control room.

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Ars recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time touring the restored Apollo “Mission Control” room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. We talked with Sy Liebergot, a retired NASA flight controller who took part in some of the most famous manned space flight missions of all time, including Apollo 11 and Apollo 13. The feature article “Going boldly: Behind the scenes at NASA’s hallowed Mission Control Center” goes in depth on what “Mission Control” did during Apollo and how it all worked, but there just wasn’t room to fit in detailed descriptions and diagrams of all of the different flight controller consoles—I’m no John Siracusa, after all!

But Ars readers love space, and there was so much extra information that I couldn’t sit on it. So this is a station-by-station tour of Historical Mission Operations Control Room 2, or “MOCR 2.” As mentioned in the feature, MOCR 2 was used for almost every Gemini and Apollo flight, and in the late 1990s was restored to its Apollo-era appearance. You can visit it if you’re in Houston, but you won’t get any closer than the glassed-in visitor gallery in the back, and that’s just not close enough. Strap yourselves in and prepare for an up-close look at the MOCR consoles, Ars style.

The layout

For most of Project Apollo, MOCR 2 had a fixed layout. Each station handled a specific, related group of functions; some watched over the spacecraft’s hardware, or its software, or its position in space, or over the crew itself. Here’s how things were laid out for most of Project Apollo:

Projection screens

MOCR 2 is dominated by five large rear-projection displays at the front, which are topped by nine smaller displays showing chronographic information. The large center display, called the “ten by twenty” by Sy Liebergot (it measures 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide) was primarily used to display the vehicle’s position and status during the current phase of the mission, using a complex system of physical slides overlaid on plots or columns of numbers. Housed at several positions within the projection space behind the screens were powerful quartz-lamp Eidophor video projectors, which bounced images off of mirrors and up onto the screen surfaces.

The side screens could be used to display the same channels as the individual console screens; Sy noted that during Apollo, the left-most screens might be set to display the vehicle command history and the current page of the flight plan; the right-most Eidophor was used to display television images, either from cameras used during the mission or from network TV channels when needed. The mainframe-generated, slide-overlaid images the Eidophors projected up onto the screens were quite crisp and clear.