Ablator tank

[KSP Bro AE]

A simple little mod to add the capability to store extra Ablator, (the stuff on the heat shields,) so you can refuel those Laythe orbital shuttles with heat shields. Or the ones on Eve.

--==Ablator Tank==--

Parts:

• Ablator tank as "Extra Ablator"

The tank now has 500 AblatorPaste and 500 AblatorSetter. Thanks to the suggestion by @RocketSquid. 

Now for 1.3 as well!

Edited August 10, 2017 by KSP Bro AE

[legoclone09]

Sounds cool! Maybe not the ablator tank, though. That is a little unrealistic but I would use the Ore-Ablator, that is better.

[KSP Bro AE]

7 hours ago, legoclone09 said:

Sounds cool! Maybe not the ablator tank, though. That is a little unrealistic but I would use the Ore-Ablator, that is better.

Ok. But the tank is not as cheaty as you may think. The heat shield can not pull the ablator from the tank directly, so you will have to use the TransferFuel function. But I will work on the Ore-Ablator thing. Thanks for the support. Did you get the mod?

[legoclone09]

7 hours ago, KSP Bro AE said:

Ok. But the tank is not as cheaty as you may think. The heat shield can not pull the ablator from the tank directly, so you will have to use the TransferFuel function. But I will work on the Ore-Ablator thing. Thanks for the support. Did you get the mod?

No I haven't yet. I haven't played KSP all day and haven't been on Linux. The reason I think the ablator tank is cheaty is that you can 'pump' the ablator around, but ablator is a solid.

[crberus]

I think, that should be more complicated mod. There must be a part (at least one), which would allow you to apply Ablator to a shield and to spend electricity for this purpose.

[KSP Bro AE]

11 hours ago, legoclone09 said:

No I haven't yet. I haven't played KSP all day and haven't been on Linux. The reason I think the ablator tank is cheaty is that you can 'pump' the ablator around, but ablator is a solid.

Good point. I don't know how to fix it. Lest's just say the Ablator in the box is a liquid, but solidifies in vacuum and stays that way.

[RocketSquid]

22 minutes ago, KSP Bro AE said:

Good point. I don't know how to fix it. Lest's just say the Ablator in the box is a liquid, but solidifies in vacuum and stays that way.

Or as 2 pastes, which solidify when combined.

[KSP Bro AE]

1 minute ago, RocketSquid said:

Or as 2 pastes, which solidify when combined.

That is actually a very good idea, but it would be complicated to implement. I will work on it though, it will be a part that will combine AblatorPaste1 with AblatorPaste2 to make Ablator. Since after the edits, my tank will not have Ablator in it, the only place it can go to is the heat shield. But thank you VERY MUCH for the idea! It is great!

4 hours ago, crberus said:

I think, that should be more complicated mod. There must be a part (at least one), which would allow you to apply Ablator to a shield and to spend electricity for this purpose.

Working on it

[legoclone09]

An albator epoxy! That sounds AWESOME!

[RocketSquid]

4 hours ago, KSP Bro AE said:

That is actually a very good idea, but it would be complicated to implement. I will work on it though, it will be a part that will combine AblatorPaste1 with AblatorPaste2 to make Ablator. Since after the edits, my tank will not have Ablator in it, the only place it can go to is the heat shield. But thank you VERY MUCH for the idea! It is great!

Oh, I was suggesting that the ablator in the tank was a set of reactive pastes, and that its conversion into the solid ablator in the shields was just abstracted. But, conversion seems like a better idea, since then you can't just refill *during* re-entry.

[KSP Bro AE]

2 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

Oh, I was suggesting that the ablator in the tank was a set of reactive pastes, and that its conversion into the solid ablator in the shields was just abstracted. But, conversion seems like a better idea, since then you can't just refill *during* re-entry.

I can't do anything about conversion during reentry. I did think that your suggestion was just about something "abstracted" in the background. But it does make more sense that way.

[Gargamel]

Maybe using KIS to have an option/mode for EVA's to place the 2 part ablator on the shield. 

[KSP Bro AE]

1 hour ago, gargamel said:

Maybe using KIS to have an option/mode for EVA's to place the 2 part ablator on the shield. 

Too complicated. I'd love to, but I don't know how.

[Gargamel]

The joy is in figuring out the problem...

[StahnAileron]

You know how the game restricted certain actions to certain kerbals (i.e. only engineers can fix broken tires or something like that)? KIS does something like that as well. In the long run, perhaps you'd be interested in making a KIS-compatible version of the mod that has a KIS-storable part (a tank of AblatorPaste) that can carried and use by a Kerbal. This way, you can ONLY "refill" heat shield on EVA (eliminates the "cheat" of re-entry refilling).

You could also look into 3 items for a KIS version of this mod:

1. Dual-chemical tank like you have now: Simple and easy, but not efficient from a mass/volume standpoint. Good for a quick fix in small amounts. (Maybe anyone can use it?)
2. Single chemical tank: More efficient from a mass/volume point. Meant for extensive repairs. But needs...
3. Curing tool: For the single chemical tank. This is what lets you use the single chemical version. (Engineer-only?)

And that's about all I can say for now. I don't know the ambitions for your mod, so I'll shut up for now. (I haven't left the Kerbin system yet and I use spaceplanes far more often than not.) Good luck!