Astronaut Scott Kelly teaches orbital mechanics with Kerbal Space Program | Ars Technica

Ars Technica's Lee Hutchinson sits down with astronaut Scott Kelly while they play Kerbal Space Program. Scott Kelly uses his experiences on the real International Space Station to give his opinion on the accuracy of the video game.
www.kerbalspaceprogram.com
Kerbal Space Program is a multi-genre game where you can create your own space program. Build your own spacecrafts, pilot them and explore the vastness of space!
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Astronaut Scott Kelly teaches orbital mechanics with Kerbal Space Program | Ars Technica

[@tzlawina]

"Earth is good" -Scott Kelly

[@potatomcdonalds2649]

And he saw it was good.

[@MattDakus]

That means a lot coming from him

[@ouz450]

xd

[@TheEgg185]

I feel better knowing he thinks that.

[@Ozuratt]

That's exactly what alien spy would say

[@FLOABName]

"this Jebadia look like my brother a little bit" Scott, your a twin.

[@meowmeowmeow594]

Kyle A jebediah*

[@Variety_Pack]

That's part of the joke, sweetcheeks.

[@iliketrains0pwned]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH68cnqvj9F1j5I

[@Jmvars]

you're*

[@sulljoh1]

Ha I just got that!

[@stefanklass6763]

You should do this with Scott Manley. Scott and Scott would make a nice Team!

[@bradwilcox97]

The hairless Duo. Sorry, Aerodynamic.

[@pdxwy]

Plussity

[@Dumb-Comment]

You just got double scotted

[@homebrew94]

And he is a much better pilot. This was embarassing.

[@meowmeowmeow594]

Stefan Klass yes

[@cybercat1531]

This sounds like a job for Scott Manley. Make it happen ars! :D

[@tafana]

either scott's will do.

[@cheaterman49]

Bring both Scotts :-) although I'm sure it's not that easy to get Scott Kelly because he's very famous and probably quite overbooked!

[@TheEventHorizon909]

CatSay he taught him ksp and now he’s teaching others.

[@5Puff]

make it happen ARSE

[@frogmasto1316]

@@5Puff lol

[@officermeowmeowfuzzyface4408]

"We're okay."

[@yassm]

Meow Meow Fuzzyface lol

[@DroneMee]

Engines that technically had no fuel to burn 😂

[@sebastianloessl7982]

@@DroneMee in ksp they did. Just the stupid real-life where that wouldn't have worked

[@laggeryt7558]

I like the idea of having astronauts play Kerbal, but they're usually ruined by bad gameplay or the astronaut being told it's a simple interview and him having no idea why suddenly he's looking at a video game. :(

[@Katrina_Ince]

The look on Lee's face when the orbiter starts to tumble is hilarious - I especially love how Scott seems oblivious to it

[@RippanCSGO]

I feel like if you are going to show someone as Scott Kelly the power of KSP... you should probably have more then 1 hour played and atleast know how to reach orbit without any mods. (I'm talking to you Scott Manley!)

[@BaronVonQuiply]

Fly safe. *explosions in background*

[@alexwang982]

Geez, who can’t reach orbit?

[@proxy3386]

@@alexwang982 Yeah seriously people should be able to reach orbit without Mechjeb2.

[@JustARegularPlayer]

@@proxy3386 What's MechJeb2? Serious question though. I've only started playing KSP like 3 weeks ago. (Just previously landed on Minmus :D)

[@martintiburciocruz3153]

@@JustARegularPlayer its an autopilot mod.

[@ALC251]

4:27 "well, there's goes my chance becoming an astronaut" face

[@davecrupel2817]

Farhan Syahreza xD

[@doomguy1113]

LoL

[@acestillwell98]

Lol they picked the hardest stock vehicle to fly.

[@deltuhvee]

It ain’t stock! 3:04 notice the craft name. 3:40 those aren’t the big kerbobobobodyne tanks

[@acestillwell98]

Deltuhvee Those are fairings. No idea what's inside it however. I think its stock.

[@deltuhvee]

Ace Stillwell yes and the stock dynawing has kerbobobobobodyne fuel tanks, not fairings.

[@deltuhvee]

If it’s edited, you really can’t call it stock

[@acestillwell98]

Well, you could say it is stock because it has no mod parts.

[@kurtp2003]

Somehow I expected this to be much better

[@proxy3386]

Yeah i did too.

[@PowerScissor]

I'm about to play KSP with an actual astronaut. Should I learn the game...nah

[@cipher88101]

I'm sorry I'm laughing too hard @ him spinning helplessly in space while Mr. Kelly talks shop

[@TheEgg185]

I also found that particular part of the video to be amusing.

[@sirgrem2988]

*turns on SAS* *left the engine running* Me: *pulls hair out in frustration*

[@ShadowsDML]

Good effort, but next time get someone that can play the game :D

[@tafana]

yeah, I'd pay to see two scott's here.

[@rahmodin9209]

more funny

[@N1650andTheCPG]

ye

[@gearz2570]

im good at the game

[@thomas_nl_]

He has mech jeb ;)

[@axsirlotl4334]

4:15 "We're fine, we're fine!" *6 seconds later*: Space shuttle spinning out of control

[@mykytap]

I love how around 4:14 the video cuts away JUST as the orbiter is about to ram the tank at wayyy too much thrust. "We're fine! We're fine..." XD This is a great video and very entertaining interview. :)

[@jaredf6205]

We’re fine, we’re fine!

[@AstroRamiEmad]

RCS Dude!

[@williamharker5391]

I know and he was wondering why the shuttle was spinning around

[@BendySnowball]

Literally was screaming that the whole damn time.

[@johann1627]

Hey, This is my Space Shuttle. Nice you chose it :D

[@justanotherintrovert1012]

ive used your file build before, its in the starter pack now, but I have now made my own, much more powerful, and larger payload bay, but still launchable!

[@johann1627]

Nice. Mine is built so complicated and has so many unnecessary parts just for the correct astethics of the real shuttle. I use a much simpler (also easier to fly) one too for my "privat" missions. This was just for the challenge to make one, that looks and handles most realistic. Nice to inspire people

[@justanotherintrovert1012]

mine is more practical than aesthetically pleasing, it has an optional docking port with a similar orientation to that of the real docking port made of an MK2 inline docking port, all 3 of the main engines and both of the OMT engines and plenty of RCS to go into the 8 RCS ports with according locations for max stability

[@johann1627]

That Sounds great. How much does it carry to Orbit?

[@justanotherintrovert1012]

lemme pull up the file and check, gimme a minute, or 7

[@loganrogers9157]

Well you see, the problem here is that you're trying to game on a mac

[@beoknez6145]

i play it on a mac and have no issues

[@ZiggySA]

If you're on a Mac, you buy a PC.

[@proxy3386]

@@ZiggySA Looking into a PC right now, a Mac can still run KSP with Mid-High shaders, or Medium shaders if you want a shitton of mods, And i did this with the current Mac i have that is from 2017 with 8 Gigabytes. No modifications to the Mac.

[@ShadowHunter120]

I understand... all of this... Darnit ksp and Scott Manley you made me learn!

[@matthewmckinney5387]

This guy has no idea how to play ksp.

[@natejohnston480]

Yeah just uses AI to play the game...

[@ronrafols3861]

HE SAYS THERE IS AUTO PILOT BUT I PLAUED IT THERE IS NO AUTO PILOT GOD DAMMIT!

[@brendantravers1044]

@@ronrafols3861 he is using MechJeb

[@gabrielesimionato1210]

The right one?

[@ninjasiren]

He is using MechJeb.

[@craiggilchrist4223]

That was painful to watch, at least get someone who knows how to play the game. Scott didnt look that interested to be honest.

[@mikicerise6250]

It was totally worth it though to hear him say "this... Jebediah." xD

[@MarvelousLXVII]

It would be like a finger painter interviewing Rembrandt.

[@orbemsolis]

The autopilot does a hackjob at the ascent profile and orientation, I could have done better manually. I find this somewhat disgraceful to KSP and orbital mechanics. Also, 4:27. Not your game, bro.

[@user-yj7ks9mb1e]

Yep, it looks just painfull. He don't even use OMS!

[@gptiede]

No kidding. How the heck did he even get it in an accidental spin like that with SAS on and in vacuum?

[@chunkchunk223]

“I’m sure you’re glad to be back on earth with us” *_”earth’s good”_*

[@SpaceSim1]

It was a pleasure, hope next time you can also use the ISS replica

[@mebibyte9347]

Thank god I'm not the only one that thought of Scott Manly when I saw the title. awesome video though, love it!

[@CombraStudios]

Amazing knowing that KSP teaches fans everything astronauts are required to know about celestial mechanics before ging on an STS, and it does so by the easy way of playing and not the hard way of memorizing as colleges do.

[@NW_Pilot]

Nice to see them recreate the Columbia re-entry!

[@ettocraft]

It's amazing to see a great astronaut using KSP

[@therealcoolcat4995]

Oi! M8! just turn on SAS!

[@Schradermusic]

But still leaves the main engines running. Really cringeworthy.

[@Cris022]

Never turned on sas too

[@davecrupel2817]

4:15 WERE FINE! WERE FINE! *Starts sommersalting*

[@populistrevolution5197]

It's awesome to have a real astronauts input to the game

[@stario5895]

Scott: NASA Should use this to train future astronauts. KSP: *the crew dies* 4:29

[@thomascooley2749]

best game ever and amazing interview

[@KilugaAnimations]

I read Scott's book it was great

[@johnrickard8512]

Erm...that's what the OMS engines are for, so you DON'T go spiraling your space shuttle out of control.

[@cheaterman49]

Well that was funny, I'd have loved if you tried to show him a bit more that you were basically doing the maneuvers he was describing in real time :-) great video in any case, Scott Kelly is awesome!

[@horizonbrave1533]

lol "Earth's good" Love it..

[@aasquared8191]

4:10 "we're fine, we're fine" *crashes into external tank*

[@chilly22]

desperately searching for videos of my favourite astronauts playing/seeing my favourite space games.. this is the only one D: wheres chris hadfield playing elite dangerous already? D:

[@tezlashock]

Read the title as "Scott manley" but honestly this is just as good

[@andrewcharles459]

"Earth's good." - Scott Kelly. I didn't know until today how badly I need that on a t-shirt.

[@nukeboy7633]

his face when he lost control though! pure comedy gold

[@yes-kn6gm]

I was so confused 😭 I was thinking turn on the RCS

[@Marc83Aus]

Nice casual introduction to KSP and basic orbital mechanics. But, they're dead dave, er Lee, everybody is dead. mechjeb probably could have landed that thing on autopilot.

[@mastershooter64]

They should do this with Scott kelly and Scott Manley with the realism overhaul mods

[@Khalydan]

Yes Scott Kelly and Scott Manley... would have been stunning!! Definitely a good idea ! however the Video length would be couple of hours instead of 6min :D

[@pivottech8881]

lol jeb looks like his brother thats the funniest thing ive heard all day

[@Anderson_Melo]

This game is absolutely a masterpiece!

[@kyouhyung]

I thought for a moment the title says Scott Manley and was curious this guy doesn't quite look like the Scott Manley I know.

[@kanishka.b8550]

The way he’s looking around @ 5:45 😂🧨

[@AstroRamiEmad]

Come on ... The host is playing KSP for the first time in his life! Not fair ... man, Why can't I host Scott Kelly for a KSP session @ AstroGate بوابة الفضاء

[@proxy3386]

Yeah seriously

[@grahamharris7010]

I would recommend Matt Lowne doing this one with Scott Kelly

[@dixie_rekd9601]

should have a skilled player show this to an astronaut that seems interested in videogames in general, and actually explain how its pretty realistic when its played properly. I vote scott manley

[@VORASTRA]

AwesomeVindicator or Matt Lowne

[@thecryptobiologist68]

I got a KSP2 ad on this video

[@HeadHunterSix]

I love when identical twins make jokes about each other's appearance. :D

[@DrBhil-oc5yg]

I love kerbals space program!

[@TakeoFR]

4:14 "We're fine, we're fine" - cut. Was there a reload here? :P

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

Cut's back spinning uncontrollably.

[@nikairmax3253]

Jack Evans this.comment;

[@Dumb-Comment]

Yup, he just rammed the hell out into that fuel tank

[@Variety_Pack]

Seriously, try this again with Scott Kelly but first you need to hop on the Reddit and find somebody nearby that has played enough KSP to fly the shuttle in. It's one of the more difficult craft to use, and honestly a simple dart-shaped rocket would have done better. The host didn't switch to the OMB's, he made the rather huge error of keeping the external tank on, there was no preparation for the insertion attitude, and MechJeb had a seizure during ascent (rather typical, definitely not the host's fault). Any random KSPer off the forums could probably pull this off, you'd just need some brief audition videos from nearby people. Then S. Kelly could do, the interviewer could interview, and some silent keyboard ape could demonstrate the game without making it look like a bunch of spastic toddlers playing at rockets. I swear, whoever you got would drive over and demo for free just for a chance at an awkward glance or two at Scott Kelly.

[@petersmythe6462]

The one reservation I have with it on orbital mechanics is multiple bodies. But Principia can fix that.

[@arandomzoomer4837]

Me: *Frantically taking notes to figure out a way to get enough delta v to bring my marooned Kerbals home from the Mün*

[@Dorianin1]

Lol...I love that deadpan "Earth's good."....

[@thenorthguy2791]

'' Jeb look like my brother '' xD im dead

[@summergamer7650]

"were fine, were fine" *Throttles straight into gas tank*

[@ComradePhoenix]

I like that they're using MJ. Although I want to see this KSP-capable laptop.

[@shanukatolkar4493]

Imagine scott with Bradley Whistance, scott will be baffled by things you can do in the name of efficiency.

[@lextacy2008]

4:26 I completely lost it

[@DasIllu]

If you want to teach students, i highly recommend ALCOR. It features everything to teach orbital mechanic, orbital maneuvering and docking as close to real life as it is possible in Kerbal Space Program.

[@haoweishi5538]

Orbiter simulator is good too

[@jimmywinkelhoch5810]

Ok how did you get to meet him because I run a space club and we always wanted a special guest

[@kevinconway6022]

He’s a senator now. Amazeballs

[@heartbestlive]

Don’t agree on his policies but still very epic.

[@brentsnocomgaming7813]

For a second I thought it said Scott Manley. I am disappointed now.

[@Schradermusic]

Same here and I was even more disappointed when the guy said the orbit is becoming egg-shaped when it's clearly just becoming a bigger circle.

[@Vulcano7965]

This moment when you are dissapointed, when a real astronaut plays KSP instead of an Apple IT-Guy with an astronomy degree.

[@christopherjones7191]

Sorry for being that guy, but *Becoming a bigger eclipse

[@Vulcano7965]

Sorry for being that guy being that guy, but: *Becoming a bigger ellipse* eclipse is happening when three celestial bodys line up.

[@spacewatcher215]

Dude he's a real astronaut. He knows his stuff well. He was just trying to avoid using technical jargons for the sake of simplifying things for people who dont understand these things. Are you guys really serious about criticizing an astronaut who had the spent the longest time in space? I mean, What do you guys do??

[@harrysnell8971]

"Scratched our tiles" Aaaand they're dead. RIP Jeb.

[@danielhesse8600]

What mod is that for the auto pilot?

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

Kids who successfully play KSP understands more about orbital mechanics than the astronauts did in the early days. The first docking in orbit took a while for them to figure out.

[@royslapped4463]

"Works just like a real space shuttle..." "Sure"

[@Jak_Extreme]

when i saw SAS off i knew it was about to go down.

[@Tbug20]

0:47 why does this man sound like the fitnessgram pacer test

[@milanarybethwindictive3969]

look at Scott at the end thinking: "damn, ive been up there only a year and everyone here on earth has gone mad meanwhile"

[@DuckiestBoat959]

How is this running on mac?

[@ninjasiren]

Like use Reaction control system with the stability control while like...

[@chris-hayes]

"You know what, I forgot to dump our external tank" LMAO

[@eeshsinger]

they're frickin using mech jeb

[@chloe_gospinny]

Should do it with Scott manley

[@linecraftman3907]

playing ksp on a mac...

[@Schradermusic]

Works pretty well... The problem here was clearly the user.

[@znek4288]

Ikr it looks like a slideshow

[@rntzh690]

i wish i could show nasa all my rockets and different landers. This game can really take you on a adventure when you go all the way to Jool.

[@EXMUTRKS]

This is fine meme, to be applied to the scene where they bump the shuttle into disengaged fuel tank.

[@DaylightHK]

4:21 wow

[@Dumb-Comment]

Add some realism mods like real sized earth or something

[@gearz2570]

FN+Alt+F12 or Alt+F12 opens a debug menu. then press the cheats tab, then the set orbit tab in the cheats section. then press set orbit. these guys could have just done that.

[@mikaelevans6994]

I thought he was Scott Manley at first!

[@joshuamclaughlin3751]

I enjoyed this video way too much lol

[@BB-zy9oh]

Yeah exactly like real life (10 seconds later they smash face first into the water)

[@rimonsoliman1789]

What a great opportunity that you you blew it. That could have been a perfect video if you have let scott take

[@eagleeye4321]

I always think Scott Kelly looks like a Reallife Gru XD

[@Leadhead]

KSP players: Retrograde Scott Kelly: Point end backwards

[@mhoang_tran]

Assending re-entry.

[@PuffleFuzz]

“I may have scraped our tiles a little bit” NASA: oh yay. Columbia 2.0. At least the crew is made of adorable little Kerbals that come back after a few days STS-107: welp. They’re dead. They look like McCool...

[@Geeksmithing]

Honestly, I am a little disappointed Scott didn't correct him for having the shuttle rotated in the wrong direction when it tilted after takeoff. 🤓👨‍🚀🚀

[@everythingzone]

4:15 - last moments alive for poor Jebediah and Bill ...

[@lonelypilot3610]

XD reentering backwards!!!