No cord but yes stubbornness.
Let's get to work on designing a whole new spacecraft. Quickly, so I can launch it before my battery dies. Screenshots aren't working, sadly, so I'll describe it.
A command pod with legs and a parachute--the Kerbin lander. A mid-sized (for now) fuel tank and a high-ISP engine--the Minmus launch-offer. A tri-coupler, some lab stuff, some larger fuel tanks, and more of those rockets--the Minmus lander. Three more fuel tanks with higher-thrust engines--the Minmus-reacher. Six solid fuel boosters strapped to the edges--orbiting. Six decouplers--launch-pad cushions. Sending Bill up because he was fist in line.
Spins begin upon launch. I recall that I didn't strut anything to anything, nor did I add extra command pods for torque. Oh well.
Solid fuel half gone at ~2800 meters, speed just over 178 m/s. We pass 200 m/s at 3500 and two-thirds gone. Throttle has no effect on these things, so I can't avoid wasting delta-v in the lower atmosphere.
7500 meters, most of the way to the gravity turn. 343 m/s on the nose. Solid fuel ninety-odd percent gone.
Solid fuel boosters ejected at nine kilometers and 388 m/s. The reaction wheels in the cockpit slow down and stop the roll. Gravity turn, a bit late. I try getting the apoapsis up, and it takes me several precious seconds to realize that the fuel in the current stage ran out. Already on landing engines, I try to salvage the mission, burning more vertical than not.
I bring the apoapsis up to a bit under 71 kilometers.
I try to set up a maneuver node to take me around to a nice orbit, but reach it before I finish. I start burning, realize I've burn up half my fuel. We're nearly out before we get a topside apoapsis. Scrapping it. Maybe half an hour of charge left in my laptop, so I'll wrap this up and call it an update.
Thoughts?
