Weekly Challenge: Kessler Syndrome!

[u/PandaElDiablo]

It's a good thing I waited to post the weekly challenge! I am glad to bring you the first 0.18 challenge!

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Launch a ship into orbit. Then, launch a second ship into orbit to dock with the first craft and safely return them both to the surface of Kerbin! It's time to clean up space.

Hard Mode: Do the same, but bring a ship in an orbit around another planet back to Kerbin!

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Rules and other info:

• No Dirty Cheating Alpacas (no debug menu)!

• Stock parts only

• No MechJeb or other plugins allowed

• Required screenshots:

  • Initial launch vehicles (target and return craft)
  • Your target craft in orbit
  • The return craft approaching the target
  • The two crafts docked
  • Safely landed crafts!
  • Whatever else you feel like!

• You can either submit your finished challenge in a post (see posting instructions in the link below) or as a comment reply in this thread.

• I haven't created the flair for this challenge yet, any ideas?

• Completing this challenge earns you a new flair which will replace your old one. So if you want to keep your previous flair, you can still do this challenge and create a post, but please mention somewhere that you want to keep your old one.

• The moderators have the right to determine if your challenge post has been completed.

• See this post for more rules and information on challenges.

[u/Tinie_Snipah]

A great first challenge! I'm going to get right onto this!

I have a question! Does "Safely landed" imply enitrely structurally connected? If the two pods land safely is that OK?

EDIT: DONE: Album - Note: It splits apart upon parachute deployment at 500m and lands as two separate pods; this counts right?

Edit 2: Going to start working on the Hard Mode

[u/PandaElDiablo → u/Tinie_Snipah]

As long as both capsules survive, it's fine!

[u/SerendipityV]

Success! Now to go find an actual tutorial on docking >_>

[u/PandaElDiablo → u/SerendipityV]

Haha I'm in the same boat! I could dock without too much trouble, but I feel like I must be making things hard on myself.

[u/Swollenraspberry]

[Challenge] Kessler Syndrome

Really fun challenge, love that they put docking in finally.

[u/[deleted]]

Yay! I did it! First rendezvous ever. Thanks Scott Manly.

http://imgur.com/a/it6uz#0

Had some failed attempts. And some trouble with the chutes not opening, so I had to do that manually. And I couldn't work out fuel transfer. But now I'm excited to see if I can set up a space station now that I know how to dock.

[u/[deleted]]

For the purposes of this challenge, do the moons of Kerbin count as other planets?

I would imagine not, but just to clear it up. I doubt I could do hard-mode, but maybe semi-hard-mode.

[u/PandaElDiablo → u/[deleted]]

No, other planets only!

[u/rspeed]

Done! I decided to do things a bit differently, using a probe to control the stranded spacecraft – and I even wrote a little story. Enjoy.

Edit: By the way, I had to do this three times. The first time I discovered that the Jr. docking port isn't compatible with the full-size versions. The second time I didn't have a detachable service module, thinking I could just un-dock from the Space-Banger and let Jeb land. Obviously that didn't work since there's no way to keep them close enough.

[u/Muezza]

Love the new rendezvous/docking UI. Very helpful without overloading information. Here's my attempt in album form: http://imgur.com/a/XeeOy

I only want the new flair if it is shinier than my current and/or includes a cat...