Capsule

Capsule
Mass	4t
Torque	6kN

The Capsule is a staple part that allows control over spacecraft. It has good aerodynamics and is currently only available in a small size (4 wide or basic wide).

It has a stronger torque than a Probe, which makes controlling a rocket with a capsule faster to rotate. The torque of a ship is the sum of that of the capsules and probes it has.

Trivia

A capsule, fuel tank (10t), Valiant Engine and parachute on a rocket.

• The capsule was the first part added to the game.
• It's most likely inspired by the capsule used in NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Freedom missions. In real life, the capsule does not have a reaction wheel to produce torque. The astronauts could have spun around inside it, but it would likely have produced less than a specialized reaction wheel (depending on power).
• The lowest layer of tiles now have attachment points on the side, unlike the other three layers of tiles.
• The Capsule's description says that it holds one astronaut. In real life, it can hold 4, 7 or even 13 astronauts at once.
• The top of the Capsule is designed to join to the 2×1 docking port and parachute without overhangs, for optimal aerodynamics.
• Within the files the capsule with the heat shield is referred to as CapsuleNew while the capsule with no heat shield is referred to as just Capsule.
• A capsule with a top parachute on it is called a Capsule + Parachute.
• You can customize your capsule's skin by putting a 10t fuel tank on it, and putting it with a parachute on top. It can also be put with RCS Thrusters, so you can control your capsule's fuel.

History

• Prior to 1.4, the Capsule had what looked like an ablative heat shield on its bottom, and when the part was re-textured in 1.5.1.3, the heat shield was added back, but brighter than the original. Reentry has not yet been added, so it's intended to be aesthetic.
• In older versions of the game, the capsule used to be 4 blocks tall. On 1.35 it was 5 blocks tall, on 1.5 it returned to 4 blocks tall, and as of 1.5.1.3 it is 4 and a half blocks tall.
• On 1.35, the part was renamed the "Command Module", but is now renamed back to "Capsule".

Future

• In the reentry update (possibly), the capsule will get a smooth texture, and the heat shield will be now a separate part from the capsule, like from 1.4 - 1.5 version. It's not sure when the update would come.