Basic theory you need to effectively build a doomsday rocket
 
 

Introduction

All info in this guide from the the wiki cheat sheet page – [kerbalspaceprogram.com]  and in-game tutorial. The goal of this guide is to create a comfortable Steam-based reference page. Right now the guide consists only from basic info, but it will be updated in the future.
 
 
If you have some proposition or some parts of the guide still unclear, please let me know in comments, I will fix it.
 
 
All important numbers of a stage can be accessed by right clicking on it.
 
Example of it:
 

 
 
 

TWR or “Thrust to weight ratio”

TWR = F(t) / (m * g)
 
 
Where:

• F(t) – thrust of the engines
• m – total ma*s of the craft
• g – surface gravity

 
TWR must be above 1 for a rocket to lift off. It’s optimal to use TWR between 1.5 and 2 from the launchpad.
 
 
 

ISP or Specific Impulse

I(sp) = F(t) / m
 
 
Where

• F(t) – engines thrust
• m – fuel consumption in kg per second

 
ISP is a measure of an engine’s efficiency. It may vary in atmosphere and vacuum. For example boosters tend to have higher ISP on sea level, however liquid fuel engines are much more efficient in the vacuum.
 
 
 

Δv or Delta-V

Δv = ln(M(s) / M(e)) * ISP * 9.81(m/s^2)
 
 
Where:

• ln stands for log base 10
• M(s) – starting ma*s of the craft
• M(e) – end ma*s of the same craft
• ISP – specific impulse of the engine

 
Basically Delta-V is your speed after burning all the fuel. It’s very important number since it allows to understand how effective specific design and if the rocket able to reach destination.
 
 
There exist various Delta-V maps and tools of the Kerbol system. One of the best is “https://ksp-visual-calculator.blaarkies.com/dv-planner” – []  because it allows to set up checkpoints on a mission.
 
 
 

Delta-V map

 
Source – [github.com] 
 
 
 

Additional sources

Other sources where you can learn more:
 
 

• In-game tutorial
• “Tutorial – [kerbalspaceprogram.com] ” page on the wiki
• YouTube series of tutorials – [youtube.com]  by Scott Manley

 
 
Here we come to an end for the KSP Cheat Sheet – Kerbal Space Program guide. I hope this guide has helped you with your gameplay. If you have something to add to this guide or believe we forgot some information to add, please let us know via comment! We check each comment manually by approving them!