Building a snake that can go to space... Kerbal Space Program!

Kerbal Snake Program?? I unintentionally create a space snake, called Simon, whilst trying to create the tallest rocket ever in Kerbal Space Program. Ever wondered what the longest rocket is in ksp? Well I think I may have the record as this definitely got to space! ...at least for a little bit!
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About Kerbal Space Program:
Kerbal Space Program is the iconic rocket building physics game. Engineer increasingly complicated space shuttles to complete various missions around Kerbin, the Mun (Moon), and the Solar System. Earn science points to unlock spaceship parts to "complete" career mode!
#realcivilengineer #ksp #engineering

[@johnweinacht8021]

If you right click on sections you can go to the “auto strut” feature and changing that to “heaviest part” helps make crafts more stable. It might not completely fix it when you make crafts that long lmao. But it might help.

[@bjornroberts]

Also make sure you have advanced tweakabls on in the main menu settings

[@Dartace2ace]

There should also be a rigid attachment option around there too. But then you wouldn’t get the snake, so thats no fun.

[@donniedorko3336]

Bump

[@LuckyLeon10]

bump

[@BoubachVideo]

If only he would stop using such small parts and building so aburdly big rockets, maybe he could have a slight chance of reaching orbit...

[@xylopus5543]

Rocket: *Bending AF* Civil Engineer: "Looks pretty stable"

[@pandaeyes9664]

Don't you know that a decent amount of bridges have a ton of flex to them? Since he is always building bridges it just looks natural to him. :)

[@gyscropicgaming2048]

Polandball going to space be like:

[@aclzibi1156]

And he says "It's not as stable as a conventional rocket" for the understatement of all time

[@PierreKT792]

"You know it's good 'cause it's blue" --> that's why the UK Space Agency flag is in orange

[@AV-8er]

This post was made by NASA gang

[@alephkasai9384]

I thought it was red, white and blue?

[@alephkasai9384]

Oh nevermind, he made it orange

[@Egerit100]

Orange is literally the opposite of blue lol

[@mrfisher1072]

There's many broken hearted Dutch people some where right now.

[@krow1551]

"There's no engineering involved, that's just common sense" I never heard KSP described better

[@spacechicken6316]

If you put like 50 decouplers on top of each other the forces add up and it actually launches the pod, try and see how many your computer can handle ;)

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

I was actually onto something with that huh?

[@spacechicken6316]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming you were indeed hahah

[@bn1__]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming yes you just need a lot

[@xenodeath7065]

I thought that was patched out

[@sebastianlippold9120]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming search up stratzenblitz, he has a video on going to minmus (second moon of kerbin) using only decouplers

[@sebbes333]

*@Real Civil Engineer* 17:00 -ish. Scale up the top engines and decrease the scale as you go down, that makes the top have more dragging force than the bottom, and will straighten up the rocket. (You can't push a rope (then it snakes like the end of the rocket), you can only pull a rope) Also: Spin stabilization & that H-beam strut thing might improve it too, but alike every 3-5 H-beam link to the "hull" of the rocket too.

[@NFITC1]

I was going to suggest this. I'm not a civil engineer, but I've played KSP enough to know how its physics "work". It's much easier to "pull" a payload than "push" it and if you are pulling each segment in a differential manner it works even better. Combined with the H-beams (which you can clip into the rocket and make a more stable connection with a lighter weight) it should reduce the motion.

[@superidiocy]

"don't look so scared little man, it's gonna be ok" ... This was, what we in the business call, a lie...

[@MJC___]

yes

[@Kaden_dallas]

@Claas2008 they lied about it being ok so they can do businesses

[@Kaden_dallas]

@Claas2008 idk then sry

[@karlhyetravelerofworlds]

@Claas2008 he said he was gonna be okay but he's gonna die

[@alkestos]

Ssssssssssssssnnnnnnnnake

[@jakethesnake8500]

The rocket javelins into the ground and that’s the funniest shit ever

[@moriakpotato]

That snake soaring through the skies was majestic. BTW, Z key for full throttle, T key for SAS. For those quick launches.

[@NearlyBatman]

I was irritated that he didn't realize that if he didn't put any thrusters on the bottom part of the rocket it wouldn't have gone crazy.

[@jensen2568]

Yeah not sure why he didn't think of that

[@seniorspaghetti4861]

10:11

[@deven2008]

Using clamps would have helped a tonn probably ( so it doesn't instantly explode)

[@MMR_LM]

And then he goes ahead and makes only the arse end of the thrusters larger while leaving the top at the normal size

[@thequestbro]

Or if he put a decoupler on the bottom 8th as it spazzed it would have stabelized everything on said decoupling.

[@bjornroberts]

Oh the “weight” is the price of the rocket. Weight is in the menu on the bottom of the screen in the VAB. It’s the big wrench in the gear

[@draakgamer2366]

And if you open the staging thing you can see your TWR.

[@memetech-------]

I know you aren’t talking to me because I didn’t understand a word of that.

[@memetech-------]

Ohh oops I’m on my alt account

[@HerbertTowers]

@@memetech------- MASS!

[@joshuarunning1997]

@no longer on youtube I wish I could br yhrtr tor you6, k nddc jou7ha😍😍😍bsbt_

[@BingusTheWockis]

As an experienced KSP player, I'm impressed that you got something so long off of the launchpad

[@YMandarin]

I'm impressed that you actually got this huge snake above 70km in one piece

[@YMandarin]

@Viktor Ruben Metzendorf exactly what one of the first rocket engineers did as well

[@thesteaksaignant]

@@YMandarin only to discover that pendulum rockets are unstable...

[@skoovee]

@@thesteaksaignant Engiine position dose not effect stability

[@thesteaksaignant]

@@skoovee you are right, sorry for misphrasing that. I was referring to the pendulum rocket fallacy, a.k.a pendulum rockets are no more stable that normal rockets. However, on second thought this fallacy applies to solid rockets and I am not sure how it would work with a highly deformable "snake like" rocket.

[@BarioIDL]

that's a centipede

[@jonmab6990]

The number is your cost, but it doesn’t matter in sandbox mode. Your weight is in the little menu with a gear on it. It is in the bottom right corner

[@kennywiker6756]

the "Snake" that got to space, try making the first thusters at the top stronger than the rest or bigger ones, that way the top forces of the rest to follow it, maybe not having it bend as much cause the "slack" is being pulled by the top?

[@Keri-Kerigan]

this. kinda an inverse pyramid of thrust from the top down. And possibly try at the very end of the snake a quad of thrusters pointing in reverse. To stretch the snake straight. you may also be able to RCS thrusters to keep it straightish with sas.

[@maxhasert8426]

I know I am really late, Check out the “pendulum rocket fallacy” On Wikipedia. Early on in rocketry Some really intelligent people agreed with you, and it turned out really badly But is it also really cool physics

[@edgedg]

@@maxhasert8426 damn... and I found a video explaining this perfectly in 1 minute: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYmVanxseNiKia8 "For the love of Goddard, just add some fins" 😂

[@wolf310ii]

@@maxhasert8426 Only that the pendulum rocket fallcy is not the problem here, the snake rocket is a total different problem. The Idea behind the pendulum rocket was that the thruster on the top would make the rocket self stabilizing like a pendel, but it doesnt matter if the thruster is on the top or the bottom, the rocket needs aid for stabilizing, fins on the end, thrust vectoring or spin. The snake rocket is not rigid enough to handel thrust from the bottom, its like trying to balance a rope on the finger. More thrust on the top and less or no gimbal on the bottom, and the snake rocket will fly much better.

[@mrbunny4032]

Exactly. If you push a string from the back, it's going to fold up. Conversely, if you pull the string from the front it stays stretched out behind the main thrusters.

[@martijnjonkers8261]

This was the most fun I had in ages watching a KZbin video! Laughed my ass off! Thank you, you are amazing!

[@kylesmall6279]

As a KSP player, I am actually impressed by this

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Noice

[@nilsdock]

why are you impressed? that his computer can handle it so well?

[@bartuszek6636]

Same

[@Para0234]

@@nilsdock Because it shouldn't work, and yet it does.

[@wb6mc129]

@@Para0234 missed the joke

[@ricardojvindasb1693]

9:39 When you're playing a game about rockets but suddenly your civil engineer instincts kick in

[@ComradeLeanna]

“Imagine making something normal” - This man

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

I do enough normal in my day job 😅

[@Enderia2]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming this is your day job. 0 normal is enough?

[@tylerlindy3804]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming who needs normal this is more fun

[@shadowcween7890]

@@Enderia2 he's probably also a real civil engineer as his day job

[@greatdecline7593]

8:22 “there’s so many I-beams everywhere” that’s because not even rocket fuel (let alone jet fuel) can even melt them.

[@wesa1998]

With every KSP video I get more and more confident that you have never see a real rocket 😅🤣

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Ofc I have, I grew up watching the UK space agency launch rockets all the time! Those were the days!

[@colbyhowto8535]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming lol old

[@clearballistictorso3154]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming next is NASA

[@brandongarsh3474]

@@clearballistictorso3154 no its SpaceX is the next they are planning to have a man on mars 2 years before NASA

[@clearballistictorso3154]

@@brandongarsh3474 shhh its just upgrading not saying its the best

[@cameronlane4006]

Don’t you love it when you just make a ridiculously long laugh escape tower as a snake No joking the Saturn V’s launch escape tower was remarkably similar to your final rocket, just waaaaaaaayyy shorter

[@ShaunHusain]

"Not a lot of engineering involved that's just common sense" could be almost every commit message I make.

[@9volt65]

The fact he says this while discovering the rocket pendulum paradox is hilarious.

[@The_Drawing_Novice]

RCE :"the core of UK space agency is safety" Also RCE: *building the most unsafe rocket every built*

[@Verrisin]

"It's not as stable as a conventional rocket." 19:40 XDXDXDXD That sentence almost killed me. XD

[@TheSighphiguy]

never played kerbal, but could you incrementally make each engine a tad more powerful than the one below it? that way you would always have a slight "pulling" action rather than each one fighting the others. also perhaps have each engine start just a nanosecond later than the one above it.

[@ampedworldgaming2266]

You could set a thrust limiter on each set of engines but it would probably be better off just adding more engines at the top than reducing the power at the bottom

[@jackmuchukot7201]

HE MAKES THE MOST KERBAL ROCKETS EVER

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

#SNEKT

[@monad_tcp]

of course, he's engeneer

[@grandicellichannel]

More Kerbalistic than the N1.

[@jackmuchukot7201]

@@grandicellichannel YES

[@dingledodger5323]

Somehow, this reminds me of the IT crowd episode where they try to put out a fire with an extinguisher made in england. This was just as entertaining, great vids bud!

[@CrippleX89]

9:35 “Oh no! Now it’s, like... a giant tampon” A very, very cursed tampon

[@daonlysquirrel9343]

“Oh no our ass fell off” -real civil engineer, 2021

[@YMandarin]

install the mod 'kerbal joint reinforcements'. As the name suggests, it reinforces joints between parts and makes things less wobbly. (If you even want to make things less wobbly)

[@MaxGuides]

Engineers don’t need mods??!

[@drawapretzel6003]

yeah he was on the right track with the struts and wires, but the rigidity is just way off on the joints at that long a length. He coulda done lots of triangle struts sideways from layer to layer and that wouldve helped make it more structurally cohesive, but at the end of the day, pushing rope is hard in a game that doesnt give you enough stiffness.

[@YMandarin]

@@MaxGuides he's using tweakscale though

[@geraldalexander8093]

3:21 I nearly died at "Flaming Tampon"

[@joezhou4266]

RCE : I don't want to get distracted Also him : aw payloads look at these!

[@ZMacGregor]

Based simply upon the movement of this rocket it is truly a snake and you did make it to space thusly I am impressed

[@AndGoatz04]

*_The destroyer of worlds has awoken!_*

[@redbear2113]

"Player discovered gravity"

[@MaisonJ93]

Nice Terraria reference

[@rednoodleoffate]

“Simon hit the ground too hard”

[@jbpipa430]

No Eater of Worlds

[@snowdog8888]

"Player left a *small* crater"

[@pathindsley]

The whole mission feels like the KSP equivalent of dangly road... and I am totally on-board.

[@ObiWanCannabi]

"I really thought that was going to work" Everyone who has played KSP.. "No, it wasnt"

[@nomekop777]

I, an actual ksp player, am genuinely impressed and applaud your efforts. Now I want to make one

[@Dacraun]

I spent 75% of the video laughing. No joke. I love all the 'bollocks' while esentially builing a tall wobbly knob. Rofl

[@BRD37]

the display at 10:43 is not weight but the cost of the ship if played in campaign mode Also, orange / yellow shutes are drag shutes not meant for safe landing the blue is for a safe landing

[@Skitzy-fe4eu]

0:26 What horrors has he seen

[@nicksurfs1]

I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time! Something about watching a snake try to move straight up just got me!

[@sergegordeev9426]

Fun fact: The most efficient atmospheric rocket engine is KS-25 "Vector". The most efficient vacuum engine is "Dawn".

[@rednoodleoffate]

“There’s no engineering involved, that’s just common sense-“ And we don’t do that here

[@dmlarsen301]

"I'm not a monster." Proceeds to misorient the nose cones...

[@TeamStevers]

The fact you called them an H beam makes me you aren’t an actual engineer but I love you so we will let it slide….. this time.

[@kiraberry2228]

And he tried defending it with some bs reason too 🤣

[@ricardotejada111]

I'm happy to see our Mexican god Quetzalcóatl finally on a Kerbal video

[@itsyaboythewendigo8321]

Mmmmm yes

[@charles_dingus]

I'm no engineer, but a few thoughts I had; The reason for the tail wobble is probably that the tail engines push the tail up causing a small curve, which then gets amplified with each wobble. I would try lowering the thrust on a few of the tail engines, and add some control surfaces to give the tail sideways drag. This way the head would pull the tail and probably keep it straight, while the wings would counteract any potential wobble.

[@omygodihaveadog]

Just imagine that instead of the ISS we had the International space snake.

[@grantbarkalow4675]

Even a year later this video makes me laugh so hard😂😂😂😂

[@dibakarpatar400]

Thumbnail is really OP🔥🔥😂

[@brettgrindel9017]

I'm just wondering why it took so long to stop ramming kilonewtons directly into a toothpick... I've seen his bridges, he knows how force works over distance; lmao.

[@thefireocean1]

7:55 what my spine feels like after sleeping in a weird position

[@SloppyPuppy]

The decoupler would launch you, you just need to orient it upside down :D You can shrink it & stack em then spam space a couple of times

[@patrickschardt7724]

Your random humor is amazing. Example: “We’re backing in the flaming tampon.” Your timing is great too. Keep it up

[@ICringeALot]

The bending bug is nicknamed the kraken as it makes random ships bend for no reason. I guess SQUAD like the kraken and don’t want to remove it

[@YMandarin]

I am kinda amazed that everything is running smooth with all of these parts

[@zeekjones1]

The tail needs less thrust; the wobbles gain a resonance as the engines push each way it turns.

[@giovannikana5679]

all i can say is... cool

[@wofeYT]

Cool

[@thunderbuttocks28]

Cool

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Cool

[@purplefish2787]

Cool

[@Pope-Daddy]

Cool

[@TheFrankieMcMurphy]

I'm waiting for a Colab Video with Josh from Let's Game It Out. WE NEED IT, THE WORLD NEEDS IT!

[@Dartace2ace]

As a ksp player, i have to say i was impressed that it got to space. It wasn’t orbit, but it was space.

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Thats one tick for the bucket list then! Haha

[@teddyrichard1488]

*Scourge Of The Universe begins playing*

[@kamikaze3124]

Everybody gangsta till the rocket turns purple and starts lagging your pc

[@PeanutButterWasTaken]

Day three of asking rce to play surviving mars

[@Adrobiel]

Have my like. I agree with you.

[@enerjaz6871]

10:43 it's not your weight, it's the cost of your rocket in credits(KSP currency) you can find mass at the botom left instrument that looks like orange wrench

[@joshuamorin2123]

"That's a bit too easy. There's no engineering involved. That's just common sense." -RCE 2021

[@joshuamorin2123]

@SpaceX-Space Flight Simulator i am an idiot

[@swellest]

Add a few tail fins and keep the center of drag behind the center of mass. It will stop your snake from being so floppy.

[@OneofInfinity.]

RIP in advance to the little happy feller.

[@Mikeboye66]

This is literally the best KSP video I've ever watched, I hope you're prepared to get KSP 2! I'm ready to see some content on that!

[@Mikeboye66]

Btw, tip for next time. You can click Z to throttle your fuel to max instead of using shift.

[@differentbutsimilar7893]

This is what I always imagine real engineers are doing when nobody is looking... working out things such as how to get an appropriately-sized colonoscopy probe on track for Uranus.

[@21Trainman]

Pro tip: if you hold alt, it’ll force things to attach on the green nodes instead of surface to surface contact. Also, you can hold shift and left click on any part to move the whole rocket, for example reach the top when it gets too tall.

[@derfvcderfvc7317]

I love how he keeps calling Valentina a guy.

[@J8564K]

for those who are in the tank: when flying, you can click on the game version in the menu, after which a window with the version will appear. This window has "cheats" and "physics" tabs. Physics can be adjusted. In cheats, you can enable infinite fuel, indestructibility, and also adjust gravity. In the subtab, you can set the teleportation coordinates.

[@Lewis-jt9cq]

The thing looked more like a space tapeworm than a snake haha

[@hugohepworth5633]

its wriggling because the bottom thrusters are being pulled as well as thrusting, so they try to push the whole structure in their direction. Since the structure is loose like a chain, it crumples causing the thrusters the change direction.

[@oplkfdhgk]

Why do i feel like you are compensating for something :p

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Dunno what you're on about... 😅

[@oplkfdhgk]

@@RealCivilEngineerGaming :D

[@prospero768]

All these parts in KSP are represented as rigid objects connected by springs. If you stack a ton of short tanks you've basically created an FEM model of a piece of rope and trying to push that with a rocket engine gives predictable result. The tractor setup was a step in the right direction there but because the engines on top had marginally more to push than the engines on the bottom, you got another rope pusher. I think you could make it work by tweaking the thrust limiting on the lower engines until they're balanced with the spring force.

[@TheMrCorn1]

Pleeeeaaaase, I’m beggging you, I’m pleeeaaading with you, please build an airplane. •0• (face for effect)

[@itsyaboythewendigo8321]

Shits easy though

[@TheMrCorn1]

But it’s RCE we’re talking about, nothings easy

[@AsteroidWrangler]

The one time that the pendulum rocket fallacy isn't actually a fallacy. Because the snake was definitely a pendulums at the tail. And a driven one at that.

[@kingstoncusick6241]

Color that thing green and it will literally just be Rayquaza

[@pirig-gal]

You shold send a roundabout into space. Then it'll work out flawlessly.

[@sokol1235]

Very good content keep it up BTW 10:44 Thats cost of your rocket

[@spencersmith2542]

If you revisit this. Try cantilevering the rockets all in a slight angle side to side. That should cause the whole snake rocket to spin and give it better stability

[@eugenedingleberryy]

R.I.P Jebb 2011-2021

[@merafirewing6591]

How about 1969-2021?

[@UlandaBailey]

As a brit i can safely say this is the best british youtube channel ever

[@rimmertf]

this hurts to watch, and i love it

[@AstroRamiEmad]

You almost got it there ... Just try few things with the spacing ... The distances are equal but the loads aren't

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

Is anyone else just a little bit scared that he is an actual engineer?

[@skoovee]

yes

[@CiaoBellaBee]

Recently rewatched The Martian and all I can think of at 15:59 is “Seeing a little shimmy”, right before it all ends in disaster

[@EstorilEm]

omg when it lawn-darted into the ground and stayed straight I started rolling over laughing

[@irineiovcnaosabenemeu4358]

21:32 the most expensive crishmas light's

[@jacksonegaming]

as a seasoned ksp player I would like to commend your efforts in getting Simon to space. However I would like to pose some criticism to your current design. Your current issues all stem from the fact that your basically trying to use a rope as a broom handle. Basically if you want to get the rocket to space effectively you need to keep your rocket in tension rather than compression. There are 3 ways I can think of to do this. 1. attaching something heavy to the bottom, I would recommend using a 3.75 or 5 meter tank for this purpose. 2. adding more power to the top of the rocket. You could do this either by adding more engines to the top of the rocket or varying the size of the engines, using big ones at the top and then smaller ones as you move down the rocket. 3. Adding something draggy to the bottom, I would recommend using either a bunch of parachutes or the 10m inflatable heat shield. Godspeed and happy engineering!

[@kittencorp.3295]

11:21 *record scratch* “Yeah, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”

[@Hiddenmonkebidness]

The number on the left is the cost of the vehicle. The weight, thrust, and other relevant stats are under the ΔV tab on the lower right. You can fix your staging in the VAB.

[@codassassin254]

This was honestly the funniest thing I've seen in a long while.

[@josepablo911]

00:52 -What does an adapter do? -Oh 😮

[@Avetho]

"Don't look so scared little man, its gonna be okay." "We'll shrink it, so it actually fits. Can you imagine... cuz I'm not... I'm not a monster!" _He lied as naturally as he breathed._ I just want to thank KZbin (man that's a first) for sending me here. I'm getting lots of Let's Game It Out, GrayStillPlays and Danny2462 vibes, and I like those, and those are literally worth more than gold, so the big red button has been pressed (well, blue in my case since I have a Discord theme applied to my KZbin lol)

[@RealCivilEngineerGaming]

Cheers mate!

[@seedmole]

Now build this again, but using the four-way splitter so it's 4 long leggies Also, there's a motorized hinge part that could be used to, in theory, make a snake limited only by your computer's hardware.

[@parkere669]

The most efficient steps in making a rocket goes as follows. Make rocket, launch rocket, locate detrimental design flaw, make it worse, attach H. Beams. Victory.

[@imeshh]

"Thats not bad" 15:45 - while the whole thing is bending all over the place 🤣

[@michaelwatson9126]

Perhaps reduce the thrust on the lower engines and reduce the amount of them so that most of the thrust is at the top, that might stop it from wriggling