On 23/03/2023, the Kerbal Space Challenge association (#KSC) had the pleasure of organizing a KSP Workshop at the IPSA premises, an aeronautical and space engineering school in Paris. The workshop was conducted by Guillaume Duchesne and Romain Poirier.

The aim was to provide students with a “ready-to-go” introduction to this playful and educational tool, enabling them to integrate it into their studies and have an additional resource to grasp the laws of orbital mechanics, mission design, and vehicle sizing. This workshop had also been conducted at the IPSA Toulouse campus, and we are proud to be able to continue this partnership!

These sessions, lasting just over 3 hours, allow us to guide newcomers who have never interacted with Kerbal Space Program #KSP before. We provide shared licenses in advance to facilitate exercises during the sessions. It’s only through practice that one can perceive the true potential of this tool. The agenda includes exploring interfaces, constructing a simple launcher, learning orbital insertion and the revered Gravity Turn, utilizing maneuver nodes to transition between orbits, and finally landing on the Mun for the more adventurous participants!

Each chapter starts with an expert presentation of the topic at hand, followed by a theoretical overview that helps students and teachers to understand the possible connection between real-world mathematics and KSP. Then comes an application exercise, each person working on their PC, with assistance from the session facilitators.

We extend our gratitude to the teaching team: Naouel Kaci-Debiane, PhD, and Anica Lekic from the communications department for this opportunity, which will be repeated this Thursday, 30/03. We hope to see as many students as possible, enthusiastic and passionate, in attendance.