Can KSP really teach rocket science? I would post this in /v/, but I want some less autistic answers.
Can KSP really teach rocket science? I would post this in /v/, but I want some less autistic answers
Jordan Walker
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David Roberts
Justin Diaz
Yeah if you play with realism overhaul with the principia mod in the real solar system mod.
Matthew Jackson
Basic principles and navigation/celestial mechanics? Absolutely.
Rocket/spacecraft engineering? Barely.
Matthew Allen
The basics sure, but the aerodynamics and the orbital mechanics are too simplified to teach you anything advanced.
Xavier Young
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Christian Bennett
Spacecraft nav engineer here, ksp is great for intuitive basics like "why do we drop empty stages" and "how do 2 body orbits work" but doesn't emphasize the really important math behind anything by design.
It's a great way to learn how to not sound stupid, though. Just dont try to act like an expert after playing it.
Caleb Hughes
It's okay. There are aspects (loading rockets onto the launch pad only to have them catch fire due to bugs in Unity, for example) that detract from the learning experience.
Leo Robinson
The overwhelming consensus is that it's definitely a great crash-course in learning about rocketry and orbital dynamics. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is trying to say that KSP is a good way to learn everything about aerospace engineering, though.
Parker Powell
The physics are still valid, as long as you ignore planet densities and don't want a complete gravity well simulator with Lagrangian points and planet orbits effected by other planets. It teaches the basics of rocket construction (need more fuel to hold more fuel, etc.) and how to design vehicles around heat radiation, thrust-to-weight, and rudimentary sturdiness. However, the actual construction and physics simulations of the rocket parts themselves, along with their specifications, are not realistic.
Whether you can learn something concrete from KSP is up to you, but it will give you a much better understanding of orbital mechanics and basic rocketry due to its hands-on, interactive nature.
TL;DR: If you haven't built and flown a rocket IRL or simulated, then yes.
Elijah Baker
When I apply to Boeing next year I've typed up my own diploma in MS Word to let them know about my success playing KSP.
College is for brainwashed fags.
Carson Russell
Rocket SCIENCE probably fairly well.
Rocket ENGINEERING ahahahahanope
Benjamin Allen
>It's okay. There are aspects (loading rockets onto the launch pad only to have them catch fire due to bugs in Unity, for example) that detract from the learning experience.
I know, in the real world they only catch fire due to bugs in the ISO procedures.
Nicholas Peterson
nice meme
Liam Gonzalez
>but doesn't emphasize the really important math behind anything by design.
Well if you can get to the Mun without this math then I guess the math must not be so important after all. :^)
Lincoln Mitchell
>Can KSP really teach rocket science?
It's obviously not a substitute for a formal understanding, but KSP is pretty good at conveying the basics.
Eli Kelly
Dude, not science but I had to put an alternate name for an application so I put down Otto Von Bismarck and I have not received a call.
I've been wanting to put together a ridiculous resume and apply to places with it, hopefully get an interview, and just wear shorts and a t-shirt to it/them. The actual, serious job hunting is going extremely poorly for me so I might as well have a little fun, right?
Daniel Diaz
Startup idea: web-based diploma mill that requires answering basic euclidean physics questions and recommends learning through videogames.
How much do you think I could charge? How do diploma mills gain a modicum of authority?
Jordan Walker
Yeah just go NASA and tell them you have 500 hours KPS played on record, they'll hire you right away xDD
Only a /v/irgin would ask such a stupid question anyway.
Jack Harris
The problem is, then the game takes longer to load than it does to crash.
Hudson Cooper
I get it, you actually encourage your students to spend all day playing video games and pretending to be productive while the notion of online college merely implies it.
Daniel Wright
The math is important, but KSP does most of it for you. You don't have to work out orbits because it draws a nice line for you.
Logan Price
Hey, I'm not trying to fuck them up worse, I'm just trying to ride on the pop culture wave to riches. Unfortunately, the two go hand in hand.
Isaac Hughes
There are mods for everything. Vanilla is a good introduction, but you can make the game progressively more realistic
Chase Reyes
in terms of how rocket engines work no , with mods (FAR,realism.prencipica) it can teach give you some intuition about orbital mechanics, the difficulties of getting to orbit and landing on different types of worlds (low grav,high grav, atmosphere densities )
with mods it strikes a perfect balance of being fun but also giving you some intuition about real world space missions .
Ryder Thomas
>he didn't play KSP before the orbital map
I'd say it does teach quite a bit about orbital dynamics. You'd be surprised how many of my friends in grad school still thought a rocket launches straight up. They still explain it in every SpaceX launch webcast.