re: TD Kerbal Space Challenge (2/11 new challenge page 8)

I attempted using the grabber klaw last night and ended up crashing on Minmus. I think it'll work, but today I'm going to send up a rover too so I can maneuver the lander under my rescue ship and not have to land the rescue ship directly on top of the stranded one. Shits hard.

I thought about a space plane but I never have much luck with them. Would be nice to have the big cargo bay. I can just see yours exploding, sounds like only something you would experience in KSP.

My last rocket cost close to half a million.

I think I'm going to attempt launching, landing, and using a rover for the first time tonight. HOw hard is it?

ive never attempted to even build a rover, much less launch it with a ship and land it somewhere. so i have no idea what im doing. This'll be fun.

Any more tips?

This game sounds fun, but it seems like it has an EVE like learning curve and you need to be an actual rocket scientist to play it. That's why I have never tried it.

Son of a bitch, finally got my rover and rocket close to my stranded kerbal and the damn thing wrecked at the last minute.

So this was a quicksave/load nightmare of retries. Lots of rage quits and restarts. Lots of cussing. Glad my daughter can't understand me right now.

I should of just made a lander and gotten that SoB Kerbal off that way...

Here's my retarded space plane that worked ok in atmosphere and without a freaking lander attached to it.....



Now go to space...



Sent my lander on a mission for earth orbit, not really in the same spirit as you guys working with crashed ships, you guys should get more points for that since I pretty much just got to play in earth orbit.



I did a lot of fast forward for these two ships to come close on their own so I didn't waste fuel.



Claw time..




yeah, clipping is hit and miss in this game...



I did this approach about 100 times The plane didn't fly, it fell gracefully till it hit about 12000m and then it dropped like a rock... So I used lots of parachutes.


This was the 100 and final time


FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T EXPLODE AGAIN!!!!!


Oh good, you just fell apart this time...


And Bill is safe too, after being released from the claw...


Bill, Bob, and Jeb want to have words with me for how many times they freakin' exploded this time...

Lessons I learned from this challenge that will teach me things in the future.

Attaching a ship to a claw makes the entire structure one ship. If you accelerate without turning off the engines on the craft attached to the claw, those engines will accelerate too and send you into a death spiral that rips shite apart.

Always use the vehicle with the claw to make the connection to the vehicle without a claw. It gets buggy if you do it the other way around.

Space planes still suck arse.

Clipping is still the devil.

OK. I officially give up getting the Kerbalnaut back to Kerbin, but I had a hella-fun trying over attempt after attempt. The only reason I can't get him back is fuel, which I planned for enough. I don't feel like building a new rocket, because I like the story.


Where we last left our Kerbalnaut...


Fortunately it was close to Minmus' North Pole, meaning, it won't rotate much when I approach it.


This is how to get him back: The Beetle. (You'll see why it got this name.)


Yes. It's a snatch and grab mission. So I'll have to land within meters of the stranded ship. There's an extra seat on the outside if I can't grab the ship in the Beetle's pincers.


Here's how we get it there...here's the cost. Rocket set up with easy asparagus staging.


This is what it looks like on the launch pad.


1) Ascent into space, 2) long burn to get a Kerbin orbit, and 3) correction to intercept Minmus is all it took for an encounter.


Nice scenery on the rescue mission. Beetle in resting state. "The Pupa"


Slowed my speed to be sucked into Minmus orbit. Made corrections to meet the stranded Kerbalnaut at the pole.


Getting ready to slow down to meet the ship.


Landed it. Had to skip around a few times to get it close.


Now, it's time for The Beetle to live!


After waddling around some from both ships, the Beetle grabs a hold of its prey. The Kerbalnauts are on their respective ships.


And now we see The Beetle in all of it's glory, stand on its hind legs!


Arise, King of the Beetles!


OK, now leave Minmus...notice the target vector and the burn vector. That was tricky to get off Minmus in one piece.




This is the closest I got getting the ship back home.


Here's our Kerbalnauts now:



The first time I tried this, I knocked off both solar panels on both ships and had to rely on battery for every connection.


I could finish this mission if I started off with a bigger ship and kept the lander, just with more fuel than half. You'd think 50 gallons in that ship could get you back to Kerbin. I was ready with 3 parachutes and all too.

Oh well.

I had fun doing the mission with The Beetle I made.

This was my first ever physical rescue mission. Usually I just RCS Kerbalnauts in their space suits until they meet a ship.

This was a different story.

Damn nice job. I'm still trying, my stranded rocket is on the side of a mountain which is making it a bit difficult.

so close yet so far, thw klaw can't reach it