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[Putnam]

I accidentally sent one of my guys floating towards the endless nothingness of outer space.. oops. 
But hey, at least I finally got out of Kerbin's magnetic pull.

Related: I made some cheat fuel tanks and flew out of the solar system to see what happens. The answer: nothing interesting, just as in reality. I tried flying into the sun, as well, and succeeded, finding that, unlike reality, it doesn't do anything interesting.

[yarr]

Mhh? Last I heard if you get to close to the sun your rocket/whatever explodes?

[Putnam]

I was 800,000 at the closest, which, considering how close it apparently was, is pretty much inside. I'm on the free version, though, so that may not be implemented.

[Sirus]

I was 800,000 at the closest, which, considering how close it apparently was, is pretty much inside. I'm on the free version, though, so that may not be implemented.

Oh yeah. In the free version, the sun is just a giant light source (which according to legend can slingshot you somehow).

[Putnam]

Empirical evidence has shown me the opposite: going around the sun, using it as a gravity source, slowed me down. I was at my fastest at the periapsis.

Which doesn't make much sense, but oh well.

[Sean Mirrsen]

After getting tired of gargantuan single-stage spaceplanes, I decided to dabble in the microscopic constructions of a quite different nature.

Behold, the Personal Escape&Reentry Device.



This small (0.81t) and almost reliable device can allow a single Kerbal to safely plummet to the surface of a planet with an atmosphere, and survive the landing.

Construction is easy, as the device is comprised of just seven parts.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Here is the log of the latest, most complex test performed:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The lifter craft stands on the launchpad. Note the lack of conventional crew rescue systems - these pilots are highly paid to trust whatever our R&D division comes up with.


Liftoff!


Boosters are cast off.


And the crew is (nominally) in space.


Two crewmembers, Bill and Ludlong, climb out and assume their positions in the available PERDs.


Jebediah pulls the PERD release and climbs into one himself before the craft reaches critical altitude.


Being the professional that he is, he does it upside-down.


Unfortunately, the upright position is recommended for a reason, and Jeb is unceremoniously flung off his PERD, his fate uncertain (but he'll be back).


Bill and Ludlong keep their grip, and safely descend along with Jeb's empty PERD.


Parachutes finally open:


And here is Bill Kerman, having successfully survived re-entry on nothing but a parachute and a handful of scrap.


Ludlong's PERD had.. slightly deteriorated during landing...


But after a short walk, both accounted-for pilots stand together, ready to be picked up by the next bus to KSC.


(Jeb was waiting for them in the cafeteria, and refused to give explanations on how he got there before them)

Be advised, there is a bug in 0.16 that will cause any Kerbal passing the 100km altitude mark while attached to a ladder to be violently kicked away from it. Don't send multiple Kerbals out on these devices if you're still above that altitude. It's quite possible to still catch up to and enter the pod up to a ~30km altitude.

[Spaghetti7]

After getting tired of gargantuan single-stage spaceplanes, I decided to dabble in the microscopic constructions of a quite different nature.

Behold, the Personal Escape&Reentry Device.
*snip*

Yeah, I saw this on the KSP forums; very clever. Just the sort of thing the Kerbal Science department would come up with.
On a less impressive note, I've finally had my first successful Mun mission! The first try was not so successful, with the crew being flung out of Mun orbit to constantly be damned to orbit the sun. Forever. Or, at least until we managed to cobble together a rescue team.
On a brighter note, here is the log from that mission:

Spoiler: BIG IMAGES (click to show/hide)

Here she is in the VAB. 101 metres of Kerman engineering. The Kerban V.

With a first stage of powerful solid boosters to get her off the ground, followed by many liquid boosters with plenty of fuel, we were sure today was going to be the day. Here's another shot, with the target.

After slight worries about the amount of wobbling occurring on the launch pad, it was decided that; Hell no, we're not gonna fix it. Liftoff!

The wobbling soon stopped with the help of SAS systems and RCS and soon Bilvey, the pilot of this great rocket, was in orbit. He decided to make the most of it, and got a few posed shots next to the rocket. Here are a couple:


However, being an astronaut isn't all play, and soon Bilvey was making the burn to get in to Mun orbit. With a few more adjustments the lander was all primed to land on the edge of a crater. Unfortunately, due to the stress and tensions accompanying this, no pictures were taken by our resident poser. As the craft came down, Bilvey realised there was too much lateral movement, but it was too late. The craft came down hard on one side, and fell over in to the moon dust.
However, due to the clever design using 4 landing legs, it could easily self-right itself, and the mission was no longer in jeopardy. Bilvey really enjoyed himself in EVA on the Mun, getting to pose for dramatic shots where no Kerman had ever posed before:


But, alas, all good things must come to an end. After a full hour of shouting from the command centre, Bilvey finally climbed back in to the lander and set a course for Kermin. After a few more adjustments, he was in stable orbit and ready to retroburn to re-enter the atmosphere.

As the last engine fired up, his course set him to land between a few mountain ranges, on the opposite side of Kermin to the launch pad. At 1000 metres he opened his chute;

and watched as the last part of Kerman V crashed down on to the planet. He slowly floated down, landing with a small bump on a large plain. The hero was home.

[dragonshardz]

So.

I picked up the beta version about an hour ago.

My Kerbals are now in a semi-stable orbit around the sun.

[Sordid]

Yeah, I saw this on the KSP forums; very clever. Just the sort of thing the Kerbal Science department would come up with.

IMO the real project is just as kerbal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOOSE
As the article puts it, "falling from orbit protected by nothing more than a spacesuit and a bag of foam was unlikely to ever become a particularly safe—or enticing—maneuver".

[alway]

Empirical evidence has shown me the opposite: going around the sun, using it as a gravity source, slowed me down. I was at my fastest at the periapsis.

Which doesn't make much sense, but oh well.

First of all, you always go faster at the periapsis; that's how orbits work.

Secondly, you can use the sun to magic-slingshot yourself to extremely high velocities in the old versions. However, this requires stopping nearly all non-vertical velocity, in order for the craft to fall directly into the sun's center. As you approach, your speed rapidly increases, and due to the way Euler Integration* works, the extraordinary velocity combined with the extraordinary acceleration means you exit with a much larger velocity then you entered with; enough to throw you from the system in seconds in some cases. (see also these posts, where I first utilized this effect: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=88632.msg2907369#msg2907369)

*that being the technical term for how position and velocity are updated in video games: p += v * dt and v += a * dt
When the change is very large per dt, inaccuracies become much worse. Due to moving faster on the outward path than inward (accelerated via gravity) there are less time steps in the path out from the sun than the path in, making the escape from the sun much more inaccurately calculated than the entrance, resulting in less speed being remove than was added on the way in, thus accelerating the craft massively.

[Ultimuh]

wrong constant, m8.

Yeah I know, I were looking for the right words but they kept eluding me.
And it was late in the night whe I wrote that.

[Scelly9]

I need to buy this version.

[sneakey pete]

So...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

(posted by a dev on the KSP forums)

[Sirus]

8D

[MrWiggles]

Why is the sky red?