Using Different LCs at the Cape
Note: This page assumes that you have the CanaveralPads mod installed. If you do not, then these additional launch complexes will not appear.
By default, when you launch a rocket at Cape Canaveral, it uses the KSC launchpad. What about all those other launch complexes we see as we are ascending? Wouldn't it be cool to use the LC Project Mercury used in 1958 or even the LC Bumper 7 and 8 (V2/WAC-Corporal) launched from in 1950?
You can do so by using the Kerbal Konstructs button in the VAB.
The KK button while looking at KSC is not the right one. That is the Base Manager where you can repair buildings and see what vehicles you have stored. You want to be in the VAB.
Before we go any further, let's discuss the differences between an RO/RP1 LC and a KK LC.
- You must build an RO/RP1 LC appropriate for your rocket
- A KK LC (referred to as a base in KK) is just a location where you assign your RO/RP1 LC
- You can assign any RO/RP1 LC no matter the size to any KK LC
The image below contains the locations of historical and active launch complexes. These are faithfully reproduced at the Cape in KSP RO/RP1. If you want to play an historical career (or just like the Cape) and launch from the same LC/pads as your historical counterparts did, do a little bit of research and find out which sites were used for which launches. A quick and dirty schedule of launches and their associated pads can be found on Wikipedia (link below), but take the info with a grain of salt. That said, it really doesn't matter where you launch, as long as it looks cool.
List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
Press the KK button in the VAB. Two windows will pop up. The Base Manager window is a breakdown of the site selected in the Launchsite Selector. From here you can 1) Open a Base, 2) Close a Base, and set the displayed base as the Launchsite.
The word Base in the above description most likely refers to the fact that with KK you can actually build a 3D version of a launch complex but is beyond the scope of this article. In this particular instance, let's just assume Base refers to a particular LC at the Cape.
In addition to controlling the open/closed status of an LC, this window will also provide launch stats and a log for each launch you conduct at that LC.
Additionally, setting the base as the Launchsite is different from assigning the base to an RO/RP1 LC you build. When you set it as the Launchsite using the button, this is where it will launch your Simulations from.
Setting it as the default will cause you to launch from this base by default when you have not assigned a base to an LC.
It is very confusing at first, and there will be many times when you roll a vehicle out and press launch only to find out you have set it to the wrong base or are launching from the default base.
In the Launchsite Selector window you will see a list of LCs. Scrolling down to the bottom of the menu, the only site that is open (lit green) is named KSC LaunchPad.
At the top of this window there are a number of filters you can mess with. I just leave everything at the default concerning filters.
After you have your LC built, let's assume you want to use LC-5 at the Cape. Additionally, you want LC-5 to be the base you launch your simulations from and also be the default.
Scroll the Launchsite Selector to LC-5 and click the button. This changes the Base manager window to LC-5. Click Open Base for 0 funds. After that, click Set as Launchsite. Finally, back in the Launchsite Selector window, press Set as Default. As an aside, I like to close KSC Launchpad, as I will never use it.
Boom! Done. Almost.
This is the part that is the cause of many frustrated launches if you skip it. You must now assign that base to the LC you just built.
From the Space Center Management Window, click the Integration button.
At the bottom of that window press the Location button. This opens up a window you can select your newly opened base from.
Now you are done. That is until you want to open another base and assign it an LC.