Kerbal Space Program
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 9 space simulation games by recommenders
People recommend it as a fun, hands-on way to learn orbital mechanics and spaceflight basics, especially for students. Critics say its physics engine is old and janky, and it has never been fully updated.
People recommend it as a fun, hands-on way to learn orbital mechanics and spaceflight basics, especially for students. Critics say its physics engine is old and janky, and it has never been fully updated.
33 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 24
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 24 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Teaches orbital mechanics intuitively
“there's no better way of getting an intuitive understanding of how bodies move in space”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 on Hacker News “it's a great way to learn a small bit of the unintuitive aspects of spaceflight”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “SpaceX's Starship launching to orbit for first time ever today” “You should try out Kerbal Space Program you'll learn all about it.”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “SpaceX's Starship launching to orbit for first time ever today” - Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Artemis II is not safe to fly”
- Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “India's first privately-developed rocket reaches orbit on dramatic debut launch”
- Comment from 11 Apr 2026 in “Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a single HTML file”
Fun to build and play
“One reason my students seem to really like KSP are all the different things you can do/build”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “'Kitten Space Agency' Is the Spiritual Successor to 'Kerbal Space Program'” “I loved them - very compact to launch and provided a fun place to float around in IVA”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Inflatable Space Stations” “Rescue missions were one of the funniest and challenging parts of KSP”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “'Kitten Space Agency' Is the Spiritual Successor to 'Kerbal Space Program'” - Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Hole Punch: Sling your spaceship around gravitational fields”
Runs well with mods
“it's not hard to wire up with external telemetry, and with couple graphics mods, it looks way better”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Artemis II will use laser beams to live-stream 4K moon footage at 260 Mbps” “I have good memories of sending my Kerbal frame rates to hell with generous modding”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Factorio that you can touch” “I'm running KSP on Proton, and it works just fine.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “'Kitten Space Agency' Is the Spiritual Successor to 'Kerbal Space Program'” Playable performance on modest hardware
“Minimum of 30fps, most of the time around 50-60. It was more than playable, enough to be pretty fun.”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “I love Linux, but I can't quit Windows” “These games work flawlessly or with <10%fps hit.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Physics engine has persistent jank
“there was a lot of physics jankery that never really got fixed”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “The Cities Skylines Paradox: how the sequel stumbled” “What KSP really should have done is just done their orbital math separately from their force propagation.”
Comment from 18 Apr 2026 in “It's OK to compare floating-points for equality” “KSP1 had fundamental engine limitations that were blocking adding stuff that the developers really wanted”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “'Kitten Space Agency' Is the Spiritual Successor to 'Kerbal Space Program'” - Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “The Cities Skylines Paradox: how the sequel stumbled”
- Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “The Cities Skylines Paradox: how the sequel stumbled”
Performance drops with frame rate issues
“I have good memories of sending my Kerbal frame rates to hell with generous modding”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Factorio that you can touch” “I strongly suspect it was older hardware & driver issues than anything else”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “they both play worse on my M4”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “I don’t need a Steam Machine”
Other space simulation games people recommend
The four most recommended other space simulation games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Man's Sky | 97 | 100 | 49% | 7 | 10 yrs16 owners | — |
| Kerbal Space ProgramThis page | 24 | 9 | 73% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Starflight | 17 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Elite Dangerous | 15 | 5 | 75% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Star Citizen | 11 | 20 | 35% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
30 of the 34 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“planning slingshots and using Oberth effect had been fun”
“it's a great way to learn a small bit of the unintuitive aspects of spaceflight”
“You should try out Kerbal Space Program you'll learn all about it.”
“I have seen the same trend with Mincraft, KSP and Subnautica”
“I have good memories of sending my Kerbal frame rates to hell with generous modding”
“there's a reason KSP is so popular despite all the flaws”
“that is a great teach of the basics”
“There probably are mods for Kerbal Space Program with exactly that parts.”
“Minimum of 30fps, most of the time around 50-60. It was more than playable, enough to be pretty fun.”
“Rescue missions were one of the funniest and challenging parts of KSP”
“not being on Steam and me having to eg check for updates on my own”
“I'm running KSP on Proton, and it works just fine.”
“KSP1 had fundamental engine limitations that were blocking adding stuff that the developers really wanted”
“One reason my students seem to really like KSP are all the different things you can do/build”
“I just started doing a final playthrough of KSP”
“What KSP really should have done is just done their orbital math separately from their force propagation.”
“they do not work remotely like any other simulation I've played with (e.g. Gravitation or Kerbal Space Program)”
“it's not hard to wire up with external telemetry, and with couple graphics mods, it looks way better”
“Learn about Delta V. Play some Kerbal space program.”
“instability caused by floating point numbers”
“Just like when he watched Kerbal Space Program videos on YouTube he lost all motivation to get to the moon himself.”
“I can't recommend Kerbal Space Program enough”
“These games work flawlessly or with <10%fps hit.”
“I loved them - very compact to launch and provided a fun place to float around in IVA”
“there was a lot of physics jankery that never really got fixed”
“Both could definitely have used a completely updated engine at the very least”
“given the jank that crept in over time”
“they both play worse on my M4”
“I strongly suspect it was older hardware & driver issues than anything else”
“there's no better way of getting an intuitive understanding of how bodies move in space”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.