First Cube Sat Mission Guidance

[Diarrhea Cactus]

Coming from KSP where I can build as many stages as I want, I'm finding this mission extremely difficult with only 4 stages maximum since the cube sat takes an entire stage. Normally I use solid fuel to get going, then run liquid from there on out. But with the height and stage limitations this early on, this mission is proving difficult. Any recommendations?

[toinkertoy]

Not sure how you ended up with a (4) stage maximum! In my game you start with a (3) stage max then upgrade to (5) by unlocking “Over-complicating Things” I believe it’s called.

And yes you need more then (3) stages once you get to the cubesat missions if using the orbital tutorial rocket!

First stage for the five solid rocket booster engines. Second for the second stage engine and interstage. Third for the third stage engine and interstage. Then you’ll have two stages left, one for the payload and another I use for the nose cone fairing covering the cubesat at the top.

But you can always remove parts from staging by selecting “none”. This means they won’t take up space in your staging editor but will require you “activate” them manually by clicking on the part and turning them “on” in the parts property window that pops up after you click on the part!

That’s one work around! But it’s much easier if you can just unlock the tech that gives you a (5) stage max.

https://www.simplerockets.com/c/Vyn26s/Droo-Orbit-CubeSat-Deployer-for-Career

Something similar to this design and staging.

[Diarrhea Cactus]

Originally posted by toinkertoy:

Not sure how you ended up with a (4) stage maximum! In my game you start with a (3) stage max then upgrade to (5) by unlocking “Over-complicating Things” I believe it’s called.

And yes you need more then (3) stages once you get to the cubesat missions if using the orbital tutorial rocket!

First stage for the five solid rocket booster engines. Second for the second stage engine and interstage. Third for the third stage engine and interstage. Then you’ll have two stages left, one for the payload and another I use for the nose cone fairing covering the cubesat at the top.

But you can always remove parts from staging by selecting “none”. This means they won’t take up space in your staging editor but will require you “activate” them manually by clicking on the part and turning them “on” in the parts property window that pops up after you click on the part!

That’s one work around! But it’s much easier if you can just unlock the tech that gives you a (5) stage max.

https://www.simplerockets.com/c/Vyn26s/Droo-Orbit-CubeSat-Deployer-for-Career

Something similar to this design and staging.

Yeah, it's 3 stages, I'm dumb. I can't seem to find a way to remove parts from staging as you mentioned. I was in the staging menu and the only things I saw were auto, add, reset, and Delta V. I wonder if I softlocked myself somehow since I didn't unlock the 5 stage tech.

EDIT:
I ended up just lumping everything in stage 2 and 3 together and doing it manually as you suggested. I immediately got the 5 stage tech after completion.

[toinkertoy]

Originally posted by Diarrhea Cactus:

I can't seem to find a way to remove parts from staging as you mentioned.

Just click on the part in question (in the designer), there's a tab "Additional Settings" and there you will find "Stage Activation" that has select/scroll arrows. Set the part to "None" and this will remove the part from the Staging Editor.

The part can still be Activated and will work exactly the same you just need to click on it while in flight and in the screen that pops up there will be a power icon at the bottom of the window that will turn the part "on" or "activate" it.

[mreed2]

Originally posted by toinkertoy:

Originally posted by Diarrhea Cactus:

I can't seem to find a way to remove parts from staging as you mentioned.

Just click on the part in question (in the designer), there's a tab "Additional Settings" and there you will find "Stage Activation" that has select/scroll arrows. Set the part to "None" and this will remove the part from the Staging Editor.

The part can still be Activated and will work exactly the same you just need to click on it while in flight and in the screen that pops up there will be a power icon at the bottom of the window that will turn the part "on" or "activate" it.

This option is disabled for official payload parts in career (such as the cubsat launcher). It works for other parts, however.

The solution the OP came up with (grouping all the parts in the last stage) is the best that I've come up with.

If you are ever really desperate for TP, this guide will likely fix your problem:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2930785553

It is somewhat exploit-y, so I wouldn't recommend using it unless you are really desperate, but it will get you a fairly hefty amount of TP in relatively short order.

[Diarrhea Cactus]

I know this game is feature complete, but that cubesat mission can easily blindside people new to the game. Not a big deal now that I know how to work around it with both toinkertoy's suggestion plus and my solution.Coming from Kerbal and Rocket Science, this game is drastically different on how stingy the starting parts are. Not a big deal, it's still a solid game.

[Blueberry Muffins!]

Do the fireworks contracts, the puzzle is to do them all profitably. Mastering them will pry you loose of several bad habits.

Just as in KSP you can activate devices manually instead of tying them to a stage.