The Kerbal Player's Guide · the Easiest Way to Launch a Space Program by Manning, Jon -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Preface

Audience Organization of This Book

Part I Part II Part III

Conventions Used in This Book Supplementary Material O’Reilly Safari How to Contact Us Acknowledgments

Jon, Paris, and Tim Alasdair Allan Paul Fenwick

I. Getting Started 1. You Will Go to Space Today

Getting Kerbal Space Program Going to Space

Getting Started Accepting a Mission Building the World’s Simplest Rocket

Constructing the craft Setting up the stages

Launching the World’s Simplest Rocket

The game’s UI Keybindings and mouse controls Slip the surly bonds of Kerbin

What to Do Next

2. Rockets!

Rocket Design

Design for Your Mission Forces on Your Rockets Shape

Building a Rocket

Vehicle Assembly Building Rocket Parts

Pods Fuel tanks Engines Command and control Structural Aerodynamics Utility Science

Communications

Advanced adding parts

Connecting the Rocket

Struts and stability Fuel lines Asparagus staging Fairings

Remember the Mission Getting Back Down Summary

3. Maneuvers

Launching into Orbit

The Launch Pad Test Rocket: TKB-01 “Let’s Hope This Works” Launching the Rocket

Prelaunch checklist

Launching Establishing an Orbit Circularizing Maneuver Nodes Doing an EVA

Reentry Landing (and Walking Away from It) Docking

Test Rocket TKB-DK-2: “In-Orbit Construction Is Totally in Now” Rendezvous

Changing planes Intercepting Matching velocity

Approach Docking

Resource Management

Undocking

Summary

4. Planes in Space

Heading Out for a Joyride Designing for Flight

Aerodynamic Forces Building a Plane

Jet engines Air intakes Landing gear Wings Control surfaces

Designing Good Planes Optimizing the Center of Lift

NiftyPlane 9000

Design Taking It to Orbit

Summary

5. The Worlds of Kerbal Space Program

Meet the Kerbals

Jebediah Kerman Bill Kerman Bob Kerman Valentina Kerman Gene Kerman Wernher von Kerman

A Space Tourist’s Guide to the Kerbol System

Kerbol Moho Eve

Gilly

Kerbin

Facility tour

Vehicle Assembly Building Space Plane Hangar Astronaut Complex Research and Development Mission Control Tracking Station Launch pad and runway Flagpole Administration

Mun Minmus

Duna

Ike

Dres Jool

Laythe Vall Tylo Bop Pol

Eeloo

Summary

II. Adventures in Space 6. Running a Space Program

Resources in Career Mode Upgrading Your Space Center Science, Technology, and Research Doing Science

Science and Situations Mobile Processing Labs

Hiring Kerbonauts

Kerbonaut Skills and Experience

Taking Contracts Managing Your Funds Reputation Strategies

Customizing Your Experience

Tips for Success

7. Historical Reenactment

Sputnik 1 (First Satellite in Orbit)

Design

Re-creating Sputnik in KSP

Launch Aftermath

Vostok 1 (First Human Space Flight)

Design

Re-creating the Vostok 3KA in KSP

Launch Aftermath

Luna 9 (First Soft Landing of Probe on Moon)

Design

Re-creating Luna in KSP

Launch Aftermath

Apollo 11 (First Crewed Moon Landing)

Design

Re-creating Apollo 11 in KSP

Launch Rearranging the Ship Landing on Mun Returning Home Aftermath

Apollo 15 (First Lunar Rover)

Design

Re-creating Apollo 15 in KSP

Launch Aftermath

Summary

8. Getting to the Planets

Transferring Between Celestial Objects

Porkchop plots

Destination: Duna

The Duna Exploration Rover Getting the Rover onto the Surface Getting the Rover to Duna Flying the Mission

A Flight over Laythe

The Laythe Glider Flying to Laythe

A Probe to Eve

The Eve Probe Flying to Eve

Summary

9. Rocket Science

The Law of Conservation of Momentum Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Specific Impulse Delta-v

The Rocket Equation Derivation of the Rocket Equation

Center of Mass, Thrust, and Drag Orbits

Getting to Orbit The Gravity Turn Gravity Losses

Atmospheric Drag The Kármán Line

Basic Orbiting Sphere of Influence

Synchronous and Stationary Orbit Transferring Orbits

Hohmann Transfers

Slingshots and Gravity Assists Oberth Effect Aerobraking Lithobraking Summary

III. Extending the Game 10. Introduction to Mods

Installing Mods Using the CKAN

Installing the CKAN Installing a Mod Why Is the CKAN Such a Big Deal?

Mods and Saved Games Summary

11. Utility Mods

Action Groups Extended

Creating Action Groups with AGExt

Action group manifest window Group edit window Action list window Selecting parts

Hiding/Showing Action Groups in Flight Editing Groups in Flight

Kerbal Alarm Clock

Your First Alarm Adding Custom Alarms Exploring Further

MechJeb

Ascent Guidance Maneuver Planner MechJeb Build Helper

Summary

12. Adding Realism

Realism Overhaul and Real Solar System

Sandbox and Career Mode (RP-0)

Money in RP-0 Avionics in RP-0

Launching with Real Engines

Real engines don’t throttle Real engines don’t restart Real engines need ullage Orbital and landing engines break these rules Understanding real propellant mixtures

Kerosene and liquid oxygen (aka kerolox) Liquid hydrogen and oxygen (aka hydrolox) Storable Hypergolics Monopropellants

The Rocket Equation and You!

SCANsat

Mapping Basics

Large and small maps

“Best” Altitudes and Fields of View

RemoteTech

Installation and Requirements A Simple Probe Antenna Selection

Omnidirectional antennae Dish antennae

Targeting bodies Active vessel Direct link

Range models

Orbit Selection

Ad hoc networks Continuous coverage networks Single-launch deployment Molniya orbits

Flight Computer RemoteTech and Contracts

Summary

13. Creating a Mod

Parts

Modeling a Part in Blender Preparing the Part in Unity

Getting the tools Preparing your part

Writing the Config File

Creating a Module

Writing the Code Updating the Part

Module Manager

Basic Operations Selecting Parts Load Order Advanced Example: Tweaking Science Experiments

Summary

14. Adding Hardware to the Game

The Arduino

The Board Powering the Board Input and Output Communicating with the Board

Installing the Aruino IDE

Installing on OS X Installing on Linux Installing on MS Windows

Connecting to the Board Getting Started with Arduino

Blinking an LED Making a Serial Connection

The KSP SerialIO Mod

Installing KSPSerialIO The Configuration File Packet Structure and Communication

Building a Simple Status Light

Handshaking Adding an Indicator for SAS Toggle Detecting a Launch Adding a Button Adding Another Blinking Light Adding a Display

The Telemachus Mod

Installing Telemachus Using Telemachus The HTTP API The Web Socket API

Using HID with KSP

HID and the Arduino Staging Using HID The Arduino Uno

Going Further

Index

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