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Trivia / Kerbal Space Program

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  • Ascended Fanon: The developers frequent the forums and some of the more popular mods (and mod authors) have been added to the game in one form or the other. The previous page image was a piece of fan art that the devs liked so much they made it the loading screen.
  • Colbert Bump: Sips posted a video about KSP. Minutes later, the server hosting KSP's website and forums imploded.
  • Humble Beginnings: The original "Kerbal Space Program" was the background for a series of model rocket launches by the developers when they were teenagers. More than a decade later, they decided to use the idea as the basis for a video game.
  • Life Imitates Art: A technique in the game that fans call the "Suicide Burn," where, while descending, you ignite your engines at max throttle at the last possible moment to slow yourself down so you reach zero velocity right as you land— this is the most fuel-efficient way of landing on satellites or planets that you can't use parachutes on. It's also incredibly dangerous as mistiming the throttle even a little bit can send you crashing into the planet, hence the name— and the reason the technique wasn't used by actual rockets. SpaceX, however, has started developing rockets that use the same technique, which for PR reasons was renamed the "hoverslam," since their automated rockets are much better at getting the correct timing for the throttle and RCS controls than a human or remote pilot could.
  • Official Fan-Submitted Content: Back in 2013, a fan named Shaun Esau made his own awe-inspiring trailer for the game, titled 'Build Fly Dream'. It was so popular, many fans stated it ought to be the game's official trailer. Then in Gamescom 2019, the trailer for Kerbal Space Program 2 was released, with Esau credited at the end.
  • Promoted Fanboy:
    • Kurtjmac of Far Lands or Bust has spoken with the developers, who then added a Kurt Kerman in his honor. They also gave his Kerbonauts little 3D glasses like the ones his Minecraft avatar has.
    • There's also a Scott Kerman in the game, named after Scott Manley, a former astronomer who demonstrated real astrodynamics within the game.
    • As of the Asteroid Redirect Mission update (version 0.23.5), the game developers themselves could be considered this, as that particular content was developed in conjunction with NASA itself.
  • Running the Asylum: Former mod-makers NovaSilisko, C7, and ClariaLyrae later had a stint as developers.


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