MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Re: Kerbal Space Program?

>
> I've only made it into a highly elliptical (600,000+m to 57,500m) orbit so far, and
> for much the same reason. The orbiter had 3 fuel tanks, and with more than half that
> left, I positioned it for a short hard burn, then jettisoned it rather than firing it
> up.
> They come back around every so often, but I can't bring them down. Jeb is lovin' it
> though.
>
> The same model has also failed to achieve anything close to an orbit, and gotten lost
> in deep space.
> At least, it seemed like it was lost. I suppose it was slowing, very gradually, out
> at 11,000+K when I gave up, so maybe it would have eventually headed back Kearthward,
> in a few more hours. Not too sure about the physics modelling.

Sounds like our experiences have been very similar. My first shot was just for sheer altitude and hit 7,000K+ before I got bored and abandoned the doomed crew to the depths of space. Jeb never protested (quite the contrary, he was positively enthralled), but the same can't be said of poor Bill or Bob. I'm sure their screaming has probably ended by now.

My first successful orbit was also an eccentric one, about 120K at perigee and about 600K at apogee. It took about an hour and a half just to complete one orbit. It was from this mission that I discovered the value of an engine for orbital maneuvers and reentry, having not thought of adding them beforehand... I had thought that this mission was going to end in ballistic reentry, but it was not to be. At least you can't hear Bob or Bill scream in space.

The mission where I mistakenly doomed the crew (again) by errant jettison was my first nice, tight, somewhat circular orbit, about 50K x 60K. All of the lessons learned from the previous missions saw the lifter and orbiter hit a basic level of maturity in design, but that still didn't stop me from dooming the hapless crew. At least there doesn't seem to be any shortage of "volunteers" for crew.

I did finally have a breakthrough success late last night, and not only maintained a tight 56K x 58K orbit, but even managed to bring the Kerman clan back home, landing within sight of the launch facility. I even caught Bob grinning a couple of times during this one, a rare sight indeed.

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