Kerbal Space Program - Island Express

How fast can you travel to the island airstrip? Now we have new aerodynamics we can go a lot faster, at the risk or experiencing thermal or aerodynamic failure.
Think you can go faster? Give it a go, even your failures will raise a smile.

[@BlenderAddictVideos]

*Sends kerbals to an island at mach 2, 32 SRBs, opens chute 1/10 second before impact at 30 m/s.* "I'm Scott Manley, fly safe"

[@AlienCollective]

That is safe by Kerbal standards...

[@TheElshagan]

AlienCollective Safe by Bill n Bobs standards. Jeb n Valentina thinks it's too safe.

[@davidk1308]

Januk XD

[@spartacoolcodycool]

AlienCollective If there are multiple parts of the ship left over then it was a safe flight

[@JustAnotherMutant]

Blender Addict , "I do not think that word means what you think it means."

[@justuslm]

I always felt the need to travel to that island in under 36 seconds, so this solves a huge problem for me, thank you!

[@christophershirk6482]

Hey, you know how it is. You're on a lunch break from work, and you think, "Man, Hawaii sounds really nice right now" and *blamo*, you're sipping drinks from a coconut.

[@Halo1138]

I wonder if NASA ever had thought experiments like this... Hey Bob... you ever wonder how fast we can reach Cuba from Pad 39?

[@maxk4324]

No but the airforce did.

[@a2broslol]

Which one? 39 A or 39 B?

[@Fred_the_1996]

@drew13600 whoooosh

[@projectretro8243]

Capitão Explosão no u

[@Fred_the_1996]

@@RandomNameLastName811 h

[@Jack_Slate]

"Literally welded the pedal..." That's some Cave Johnson type of science there. "Now, you may notice that your acceleration pedal is welded down to the floor of the rocket. That's normal. We here at Aperture science believe in always giving 100%. 100% of what, you ask? Science, of course! Also whatever is left of your body parts after the experiment. You did sign the waiver, after all."

[@engineer0239]

Jack Slate mistake spotted: Not Experiment, test!

[@denmanfite3156]

It's funny 'cause I read it with Cave Johnson zeal and it's fully believable.

[@janegal007]

Portal references YES!

[@ZaccoOfficial]

I read that in cave's voice

[@dELTA13579111315]

You should write the dialogue for Cave Johnson in portal 3

[@rubberbandiv]

Evidently by "normal approach" Jeb means "approach vector normal to the ground."

[@pauulthefair]

Actually, it was a prograde approach, not a normal approach.

[@ryanrising2237]

Dumb Kid on KZbin, sorry, but your name is kinda accurate here. The normal marker on the navball is normal to your velocity, but in this case, it’s the ground that something’s normal to. “Normal” in this case is perpendicular to a tangent line, which, since the runway is a straight surface, is just the ground. So “Normal to velocity” would be what you’re suggesting, but what Paul said just means “pointing straight down”

[@ryanrising2237]

Jimmy You’re thinking of an orbit following the curve of the ground. With reference to that orbit, yeah, antiradial is straight down. Normal and anti normal point out of a plane, and the normal and anti normal markers on your navball point out of the plane of your orbit. But the normal vector Jeb is following here is one normal to the plane of the *ground,* not his trajectory. You can only really follow your trajectory prograde, because that’s defined by where you’re going.

[@turingsghost]

I love how the entire thing looks like a massive, spectacular fireball once the final stage deploys.

[@freddi4901]

coffeehauz ikr

[@miraak542]

"I'm Scott Manley, fly safe." Scott, you're the worst of hypocrites.

[@Exevium]

But also the best.

[@a64738]

Do as I say, not as I do ;)

[@spiguy420]

what if you made a loooong rocket just about touching the island, then have jeb eva and BAM 1 second

[@scottmanley]

Spiguel Would probably run into physics range issues.

[@spiguy420]

yeah, I am totally aware of this "lil' thing". But when I see those kinds of milestones or challenges, it always comes to m mind you saying "that's totally gonna work right?" And thanks btw to respond to my silly comment, really like your videos, and your insights on other subjects as well. have fun and fly safe

[@Pluto2.0]

Squad would like to know your location

[@alt8791]

@@scottmanley here we are five years later and Stratzenblitz75 (or however you spell his name) built a freakin monorail from the runway to the island and the track was all one craft

[@Manabender]

Upside: You get there in 35 seconds. Downside: *YOU ARE LITERALLY ON FIRE THE ENTIRE WAY THERE* (And did we mention the hyper-lethal g-forces?)

[@isaacvangerpen4138]

that's what probes are for.

[@Manabender]

Probes aren't immune to fire or g-forces. Everything has a melting point; if a probe melts, it stops being a probe. Or at least, it stops being a useful probe. G-forces are a threat too. You know how you can potentially break your phone by dropping it? It breaks because, when it hits the ground, it experiences a very high g-force. It doesn't matter that the g-force was only for a tiny fraction of a second; too many gees means broken stuff. This is true for anything, probes included.

[@isaacvangerpen4138]

the atmospheric heating can be solved (somewhat) with ceramic tiles, and it is the hard jolt that breaks your phone. that and the shoddy construction. The g-forces exhibited here are actually quite easy to deal with, unlike his moon speedrun (which would be impossible to do due to atmospheric heating and general structural limits. Modern fighters can pull 9G, and that's not along a nice structural axis and assuming you want to fly it afterwards. and the G forces are not very lethal anyways. a trained poilot or someone in a g-suit could handle them just fine.

[@eva2602]

@@isaacvangerpen4138 one hundred and twenty g's of deceleration upon parachute stage :D

[@Noaxsette]

Mehhh it's not lethal for a kerbal

[@DummyUrD]

Fly Safe? Are you kidding me!? :D

[@thesuperpierre59]

DummyUrD *Turn Up the helldiver rocket thrust* Problem ?

[@bennyuoppd33]

DummyUrD Weld your thrust pedal at max for the ultimate experience.

[@Kualinar]

As long as you survive the flight, IT IS a safe fly.

[@coryman125]

4:45 It seems the island is volcanic!

[@samuel_harm]

coryman125 The Island Volcano Is Erupting!

[@Greymangaming1]

Your user icon makes that statement perfect.

[@DLicious]

If anyone's writing a Scott Manley fan fiction, I recommend using "gravity may not be strong enough to hold us down, the aerodynamic on the other hand are quite happy to punish me, disintegrating my spacecraft just a little bit early"

[@pseudocoder78]

Knowing your history of approaching runways on a -0.05 degree glide slope, I found your comments pretty funny around 1:20 while approaching at a full 40 degree down angle.

[@scottmanley]

pseudocoder78 You've obviously never flown in the space shuttle :)

[@pseudocoder78]

Scott Manley Well the space shuttle is more brick than glider and even then its glideslope was only -20 degrees!

[@AoiKaze2000]

pseudocoder78 Be kind to the Shuttle! It prefers to be known as an "aerodynamic moving tile mosaic" rather than the derogatory term of "brick".

[@Markus9705]

AoiKaze2000 It falls with style!

[@AoiKaze2000]

TheLeftLibertarianAtheist It doesn't fall, it glides =P Like a graceful elephant sailing through the sky on wings of a pegasus. If you listen closely, you can hear it's call of "HEY YOU GUYS!!!!"

[@piranha031091]

I like how you just opened parachutes at 1.2 kilometers per second at sea level...

[@RomulessI]

piranha031091 Scott's all about safe landings.

[@Anastas1786]

RomulessI That, and OSHA demanded there be at least one parachute.

[@aronenark8184]

I don't think the 120 G deceleration would be very healthy for poor Valentina.

[@dominichines9996]

I don't think Valentina cares.

[@quintincastro7430]

Kerbals can take a lot of punishment

[@Cysfer]

She can take it.

[@lewiszim]

Valentina's tough. She can handle it.

[@JacobKinsley]

She'll be looking like Ulrika Johnsson after that

[@RBsRealm]

Scott Manley Easter egg found, dres has a procedural asteroid belt now challenge: connect as many asteroids in the dres asteroid belt as possible to make a giant dres fuel mining station

[@jon87386]

what's that? unused monoprop in the capsule!?! You can shave your times by a whole fraction of a second by emptying that this means! :D

[@t65bx25]

Whole fraction

[@generalh1042]

At this point, it may help because the capsule has more momentum, so it gets slowed down less by drag. (if KSP simulates that)

[@eva2602]

@@generalh1042 it does.

[@windowsxseven]

@@eva2602 not.

[@ludiProjects]

@@windowsxseven wut... KSP simulates mass and momentum...

[@whatsinanameish]

The negative G force pop from 1200 m/s to 11 m/s in the span of 1 second must be a bit bad for for the lumbago.

[@demonbot6617]

what the shit is a lumbago?

[@whatsinanameish]

Space Ninja Lumbago is the antiquated and retired word for a bad back. Lumbar -> lumbago. You hear the word now and then in old cartoons and Three Stooges episodes.

[@demonbot6617]

Robert Strader hm. interesting,

[@ekscalybur]

So, what's the cost of a ticket to get you to the island in 35 seconds? How many Kerbals would you need on each flight to make this profitable?

[@n371tc]

***** 1

[@sharkman2857]

Not possible, because they became wall paste after launch

[@HisCarlnessI]

***** Someone here is asking the relevant questions... And I imagine you have to take legal prep and court costs into account as well.

[@MysteriousStranger50]

HisRoyalCarlness Nah, they invested into the... aggressive negotiations strategy, there's nothing to see here, see!

[@MrKeto-ci6vg]

***** Yes

[@Ryan123220]

Very nice job! I seen people trying this and I didn't think 35 seconds would be possible, but a Manley Kerbanaught like yourself always finds a way!

[@WatchmakerErik]

i've been having fun with a variant of this, where you take a Jet airplane from the space center, to the island, and back. -RATO is allowed, otherwise no staging -Land at the island and come to a complete stop -Take off, land back at KSC, make a complete stop -No broken/destroyed components, aircraft must survive My personal record is 2:22.

[@awtizme]

I would love to be the Kerbal on the island: "MISSILE INCOMMING!!!" :D

[@MysteriousStranger50]

This is how Jebediah gets to work each morning. Dont worry, as he lands at KSC, he gets 100% funds back!

[@gavindillon1486]

"I'm Scott Manley, fly safe" Boi, this could not be _less_ safe without killing the rider! Though if there IS a chance for survival... I guess it's not THAT unsafe.

[@kerbodynamicx472]

drew13600 Catapult? That is too slow

[@VigilantProvider]

I was reallt impressed at the end, both by the flight and by the revelation that heat can conduct from one part to another. Meaning your nosecone can cool down between passes when doing multi-pass aerobraking.

[@Ruiluth]

"Oh look, the SRB is still heating up because heat it being conducted to it from the pod! I'm Scott Manley, fly safe"

[@fatboyslim458]

How to play KSP: Cant get to where you want to get? Cant get there fast enough? ADD MORE BOOSTERS!!

[@ukasznosal3657]

It took Jeb longer to roll down the mountain than to get to the island.

[@rachellejanssen2655]

*everything explodes except cockpit* scott: perfect

[@GamerKey91]

"Nice car." - "Thanks. How fast does your vehicle of choice accelerate?" - Oh, just about 18 seconds... from 0 to mach 3." :D

[@bobsma12]

You, my sir, are a king. It is people like you that make this world a better place. You are one of the few GOOD youtubers i have seen. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. ~DibbonOwl

[@Tehij]

It's crazy how when you landed you could still see debris from early on falling down :O

[@Makrillol]

That was awesome! I hope scott starts making videos like these again

[@robob4465]

that tiny solid booster rocket used for the last stage is the cutest craft i have ever seen (the one with the aircraft cockpit)

[@matthewevans4296]

Great video, put together really nicely. KSP (and your flying skills for that matter :p), have come a long way in the past few years!

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

"and after an extremely long and painful fall, it came to me" -Rod Kimble

[@the18thdoctor3]

As of now, the record is 10 seconds. I held the former record when it was 11 seconds (for a few days). How far things have come!

[@Glurth]

My Greatest disappointment with V1.0: I wanted MANLEY KERMAN in an orange suit!! Thanks for the great video's Scott!

[@draymanil]

Jeb: Yes, I’d like to go to the island but I need to get there in less than 40 seconds. Ticket salesman:ok we can get you there in 35 seconds. Jeb: Great I’ll take a one way ticket please Ticket salesman: Great that’ll be $7,000,000

[@DannyWilliamH]

Jeb survives a 9001g change in less than a second only to tumble 900 meters to his death lmao

[@TrailRat2000]

That's quite a delicious voice I hear! Thanks +Nerdcubed for pointing out this honey toned pilot!

[@neiltroppmann7773]

Island express: We'll get you there in 35 seconds dead on.

[@buckstarchaser2376]

3:52 That's the world-famous "cement mixer full of vomit" landing.

[@patsimmons2972]

I love your KSP-Vids Scott, keep up the great work !

[@Beriorn]

How much faster could you go if you moved the launch clamps as high as possible, aiming you a bit more down towards the island? Or would it not really matter?

[@sij1265]

Beriorn I now want to see how fast can you make a Meteor crash

[@Beriorn]

Simon James Grab onto a meteor, slap a massive rocket onto it with a TON of thrust, aim it at the space center and it's Armageddon up in here.

[@Fluffy1877]

Beriorn Armageddon outta there!

[@jamesmchenry4708]

This is the Kerbal version of Top Fuel Drag Racing. Speed, Fire, and Explosions.

[@TrineofFire]

The female Kerbals are really darn adorable and professional, props to the design team and well done Scott! Well done Vallentina. ;)

[@patricks_music]

“We’re at cruising altitude- time to land!”

[@Hayaweh]

You're totally crazy. And I totally like it :D Congrats

[@Argschnarbler]

Holy crap, that was amazing Scott. Well done!

[@falconaviatorrbx6157]

*does an hour of chiropractic adjustments to jeb* "I'm Scott Manley, fly safe"

[@XpertPilotFSX]

I love how he uses sophisticated language...

[@cyan39miku]

The staging was an awesome beautiful pyrotechnics show! :D

[@Novasky2007]

There was nothing safe about launching a kerbal at a mountain at mach3, until you scienced the shizzle out of it.

[@ThomasPlaysTheGames]

Once again, Nerd Cubed has praised you for being the ultimate KSP player .

[@christophnaber163]

Hey Scott, fantastic video for all those people coming to KSP now that we've left beta. Perfect example of the good old MOAR principle: MOAR STRUTS, MOAR ENGINES! :)

[@TheLivirus]

That's quite an awesome fireball you've got there!

[@devilsambition1]

Very nice, i hope to catch your live streams one of these days!

[@thesuperpierre59]

That Rocket of hell literally made me laugh more than it should of ! but i guess its hilarious to see how overkill it is but more importantly when you know this new aerodynamic engine dangers make it epic !

[@neutronium9542]

Aaah the good old days of 1.00. When parachutes could stop you instantly.

[@ElDorito]

Loving the new aerodynamic effects!

[@eventhorizon7846]

I beat this challenge before it existed! I was into Kerbal wars, and I made planes that got there in 1:15 minutes, and that was with guns, bullets, bombs, missiles, and other things By other things, I mean life support, escape systems, entire military rovers, some planes needed tons of fuel to transport the tsar bomba to the North Pole to nuke another thing that slows down these things, bases, life support for those bases, weapons for the kerbals and... What I'm saying is, these planes carry entire colonies including an army far distances, my civil colonies are 25 to 30 kerbals and the army, 75 kerbals. Come to think of it I fly these planes at 30,000 meters in the air. Man that's a lot of things

[@GoldRaptor00]

The fastest way I found to do this is make a lawn dart type craft with a probe core, a fuel tank, a turbojet engine, a nose cone and four tiny elevons. I got to the island in 31 seconds

[@Kepe]

Jason Ross Wasn't the idea to get an alive Kerbal to the island?

[@GoldRaptor00]

Kepe Shhhhhh don't tell anyone

[@EnragedPlatypus]

Kepe The kerbal is transported via a blender in liquid form and reconstituted using a Jeb mold that's available on the island.

[@andersthomsen3409]

You are completely off the rails, man... this is crazy

[@DOHARKsmash]

"It's safe" -forced to scrape Kerbal goo off the bulkheads

[@brainmind4070]

"Thank you for flying Island Express. Please be sure to pick up your luggage and retinas at the baggage claim."

[@UncleEarl97]

How many Kerbals died for Scott’s speed record? Scott, “fly safe!”

[@ironbunky]

I sense a Distinct lack of turbo ramjet engines here

[@Brony22]

2:00 just the type of car jeb would drive to work. really fast, and has explosions and reentry heat. it couldnt be better!

[@aMammoth]

Scott, I don't know what wizardry you used to keep the thing from over heating before it did. I built a very similar vehicle and couldn't do it myself. You could speed up your run some by ditching your around 10s, or right after you pass Mach 1. They produce more drag than thrust at that point, and you get more G's after you've ditched them.

[@dmcc23]

That Jebediah fall was hilarious

[@RockSmacker]

I don't wanna reach the island in 30 seconds if it means the ship is at 200 degrees and moving 5 times the speed of sound... And I don't think anyone does... :P

[@optionalcoast7478]

Why it's fun

[@digistruct0r]

***** I bet you that was much more than 200 degrees. SR-71 heated to ~300 C (600 F) and that was in the upper atmosphere and almiost twice as slow.

[@snviper]

Zeke Twice as slow? You mean half as fast, right? :D

[@digistruct0r]

Robin Frischkopf "Sorry for bad English" (C)

[@witl435]

***** Jeb does.

[@Mightyproduction]

Scott I would like to see your take on SSTO's now that the entire aerodynamics model has been changed, which leads me to think that the whole idea behind SSTO's is a bit more valuable now that they can use lift correctly and fling themselves into orbit with turbojet engines

[@BalimaarTheBassFish]

Personally I would like to see a "how fast can you get to the island AND land on the airstrip" challenge.

[@tropicalvikingcreations]

Random idea... . Story Our heroes XD need to get to a launch at the islands th show off a new plane or craft your choice... But they've only got a few minutes to impress the backers... Jebs like.... Bring out the sling shot *epic music * gasp The hero gets launched to a car pick up and dives down the hill... Slides in just in time I think that would make an awesome story... You don't even need to let anything survive... Lol roll the car over and jump out XD

[@wesofx8148]

Very impressive, Scott.

[@Malfunct1onM1ke]

You are a crazy man, Mr Manley... I like that :D

[@JustAnotherMutant]

You can start up a Kerbal pizza delivery system! Just put the pizzas against the hull and you can cook them en route.

[@janopd5026]

The second one looks like a super-speed-bullet!

[@Sasha1378]

"Moar boosters!!" -Jeb

[@Booming-letsplays]

Always liked it, when you say fly safe. That gave me that feeling, that yes, I am going to fly safe. Anyways, no I am wondering what your interpretation of a safe flight is. BTW, anyone else learning to fly sailplanes here?

[@ThatBillmanGuy]

"Fly safe..." as you attempt these extremely dangerous challenges. Heh.

[@SchniddlesxD]

Hey Scott, love your videos! Though would you consider ever doing another campaign playthrough?

[@chrislewis8714]

Valentina is one hell of a pilot!

[@jamesmcp99]

Makes speed run to island in 34 seconds. "I'm Scott Manley, fly safe."

[@minecrafter0505]

WHAT? When I played ksp 3 hours ago I thought "What was the fastest sb got to the Island?" And boom: Scott Manley video. We must have a mental connection somehow :D

[@YouChooseName]

We choose to go to the island by the end of this minute and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are fun. I ask Scott to commit himself achieving the goal, before minute is out. to land (wo)man on the island and RETURNING her safely to the home.

[@insertnamehere8099]

Stratzenblitz75: *laughs in monorail*

[@rooryan]

Dude the Speed Demon is insane

[@Shadowtail]

35-second "express trip". Not a bad deal if you don't count the 50gs of acceleration that would liquify you in your seat before you even set foot on the island.

[@KamiraXIV]

This makes me want to see how fast you could travel around Kerbin. Takeoff and landing on the normal strip.

[@ultimatecaissie790]

Ah Scott how lovely, you always amaze me on this game! Maybe you should try to see what's the fastest you can get to the moon? Either using conventional methods still being used today, or your own! Also, I'd love to see you try the lowest possible orbit around the sun! Cheers, thanks for the great video

[@scottmanley]

UltimateCaissie kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpuZoHxjhtB9j8k

[@ultimatecaissie790]

Scott Manley oh ya answered! I feel more "Manley" now ;)! Jeez I missed that one! Thank you, will watch right now

[@awsomguy09]

Could you try for the fastest around the planet trip in atmosphere? that would be sweet

[@misterguts]

Although most of Valentina arrived at the island in 35 seconds, her eyeballs were left back the launch site.

[@maximebaillot145]

Nice, That was very impressive!

[@broworm1]

Scott, could you do a video on the mobile processing lab? how to use it optimally?

[@davidwoodruff7065]

pretty awesome! Scott how do you feel about the new aerodynamic model compared to ferram?

[@Teck_1015]

Now I'm no rocket scientist, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of "diminishing returns" so to speak, as you add more rockets to a spacecraft? Or any sort of vehicle for that matter, because you're adding more mass, which in turn requires more fuel, adding even more mass. I suppose since in this case it's a speed challenge it doesn't matter, but isn't there some sort of "loss of efficiency" involved?

[@ravenclawtom]

You are correct ^^

[@Teck_1015]

ravenclawtom Thanks for confirming that.

[@cultpony]

Wyatt G Correct. The formula is for deltaV is exhaust velocity times the natural logarithm of your dry mass divided by start mass IIRC. So doubling the amount of fuel has less and less effect, following the curve of a logarithm. However, changing your exhaust velocity has a lot stronger effects.

[@Teck_1015]

MrEyecikjou So in that case the graph created is exponential? Which would indicate the theory of infinite fuel needed to accelerate an object to the speed of light as defined by the asymptote approaching infinity and the concept of special relativity? I hope that made sense, it's been a year since I've taken Calculus.

[@cultpony]

Wyatt G Technically correct. The formula doesn't really work once you approach relativistic speeds. It is based on the preservation of impulse (F*t = m*v). But either by increasing the amount of fuel or the exhaust velocity to infinity; yes you could reach the speed of light. Theoretically.

[@TheSubAtomicHedgehog]

Scott, have you ever thought of doing a let's play of KSP but try to colonize the entire star system, you could call it 'Colonization Quest'. Just curious if you thought so, if not please do cause i absolutely enjoyed the interstellar quest

[@GunTech]

Fly safe... except when trying to smash records! :D