Kerbal Player's Guide - Manning, Jon Katowice

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a critically acclaimed, bestselling space flight simulator game. It...s making waves everywhere from mainstream media to the actual space flight industry, but it has a bit of a learning curve. In this book, five KSP nerds-including an astrophysicist-teach you everything you need to know to get a nation of tiny green people into space.KSP is incredibly realistic. When running your space program, you...ll have to consider delta-V budgets, orbital mechanics, Hohmann transfers, and more. This book is perfect for video game players, simulation game players, Minecrafters, and amateur astronomers.Design, launch, and fly interplanetary rocketsCapture an asteroid and fly it into a parking orbitTravel to distant planets and plant a flagBuild a moon rover, and jump off a crater ridgeRescue a crew-mate trapped in deep space Spis treści: Preface Audience Organization of This Book Part I Part II Part III Conventions Used in This Book Supplementary Material OReilly 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 Worlds Simplest Rocket Constructing the craft Setting up the stages Launching the Worlds Simplest Rocket The games 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 Lets 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 Tourists 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 dont throttle Real engines dont 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