PC Lab at Starbase One H.Q. Credit: Bob TrembleyI was at STARBASE One at Selfridge Air National Guard Base on June 11 & 12, 2019 as part of their Summer Academy – I taught the students how to fly rockets in Kerbal Space Program. I created several different rockets for them to launch: a small and large sounding rocket, and a crewed sub-orbital and orbital vessel; I related the sub-orbital and orbital flights to those of Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
Rockets created in Kerbal Space Program for Starbase One. Credit: Bob TrembleyTheir first rocket was aimed down at the launchpad, so they got to see something explode! For some reason, the students seem to get a kick out of this… but it does show that rockets in KSP can crash.
When the students launched sounding rockets, I mentioned the Keweenaw Rocket Range; Michigan launched its first sounding rocket into space on Jan. 29, 1971! My wife and I visited the launchpad in 2016.
Bob & Connie Trembley at the Keweenaw Rocket Range in 2016. Credit: Bob TrembleyWhen I showed the students how orbits are raised, a common comment was “that’s weird!” Yup! Orbital mechanics sure is!
Raising your Orbit in Kerbal Space Program. Credit: Kerbal Space Program / Bob Trembley.A couple students were able to execute a Hohmann transfer and travel to the Mun (that’s what it’s called in KSP) and crash into it!
Hohmann Transfer in Kerbal Space Program. Credit: Bob TrembleyThe students participated in several other activities during the morning too:
Launching Air Rockets at the Starbase One 2019 Summer Academy. Credit: Mark Muzzin. A student from the 2019 Starbase One Summer Academy. Credit: Mark Muzzin• Launching air-rockets and trying to land them in small plastic wading pools across the parking lot. The rockets had different sets of fins that were 3D printed on-site.
• Discussing personal hygiene on the International Space Station – let’s just say I’m a fan of gravity, and leave it at that…
• Mission patch design.
• Soldering a custom-built LED-blinkie in the shape of the Detroit “D.” The circuitry kits were designed by 2DKits.com – who are friends of mine; Starbase has commissioned a couple custom kits from them.
We were all provided with pizza for lunch – ahhhhh, nature’s perfect food! 🙂
Students also got to see the Apollo 11 VR Experience; one chapter has you standing in the Lunar Module as it is descending the surface of the Moon! It was so amazing, I wanted to cry…
The students also experienced Apollo 11’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere in VR – which was a perfect tie-in with KSP, because I had them do a reentry with KSP too!
The students all got a signed photo of astronaut Leland Melvin, and took home a handout I created with a bunch of NASA and non-NASA space resources.
At the end of my last session, a young girl said to me: “I want to be an astronomer when I grow up!” I beamed and gave her a Warren Astronomical Society business card, and told her to come one of our meetings – I’ll consider that a win!
Explorer 1 Replica Outside Starbase One HQ. Credit: Bob Trembley (Feb. 2016)I wrote about Kerbal Space Program previously on the Sacred Space Astronomy blog here and here. My wife and I have used KSP as part of an after-school club for two years. I was a guest on “Astronomy for Everyone” where I was videoed talking about KSP. As of this writing, I have logged 3380 hours in KSP on Steam.
Here are some of the things that can be done in Kerbal Space Program:
- Build rockets, jets, space-planes, rovers and landers – LEGO-style
- Launch and fly them, get them into space and into orbit – visually, with ZERO math required
- Scan planetary surfaces for resources and other science
- Perform orbital maneuvers:
- Raise/lower orbit
- Plane changes
- Hohmann transfers
- Rendezvous and docking
- Construct space stations (takes multiple launches)
- Orbit and land probes and crew on planets and moons
- Reentry and parachute/powered landings
- Collect science from space-around and surfaces-of celestial bodies
- The latest update include robotic parts!
If you have a spare hour and a half, this video recreation of the Apollo 8 mission is simply amazing! It uses actual NASA footage and command module audio, and Kerbal Space Program for visuals!
