Kerbal Aeronautical Laboratories [OPEN FOR MEMBERS]

[MRMCNUGGET]

Kerbal Aeronautical Laboratories is essentially a clone of University of California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The idea is that we will create a list of unsolved engineering problems, and find ways to solve them. This project hopefully will also possibly be connected to ZooNamedGames' Real Space Program. If you want to sign up, just say so, and I will PM you.

Edited April 5, 2016 by MRMCNUGGET

[nosirrbro]

What is it that the KAL will be providing to the Kerbal community? What do you hope to accomplish? What can we hope to expect from you in the future?

[BLUESTREAK]

Yes please - what's the first problem?

[MRMCNUGGET]

That's what we will determine when we form the team. I'm aiming to start off with a team of at least 5 people.

[pandaman]

Can you elaborate on what you plan to do please. It's not at all clear from your OP

I imagine it to be along the lines of - How do I do 'this' or get X to work in game' - then the team bounces ideas and suggesions around, tests stuff and post suggestions and/or answers.

If that's the case it sounds interesting, but no different to what the community as a whole does already. 

[BLUESTREAK]

This is true, but I do like the idea and sentiment behind it - "I've got a problem, what's the solution?" - as an aspiring engineer, it sounds fun to me!

[Jetski]

Sounds fun. I've been researching creating antigravity, or at least maglev train using the magnetic attraction from docking ports forcibly held apart by offset clipping. Is that the sort of thing you are looking for?  If so count me in. 

[Hobbes Novakoff]

Is this something like the old Kraken Drive development threads, with a lot of people working to figure out something? Or is it like the aesthetic technique thread with a bunch of people posting stuff that they discovered?

[Wallygator]

1 hour ago, Hobbes Novakoff said:

Is this something like the old Kraken Drive development threads, with a lot of people working to figure out something? Or is it like the aesthetic technique thread with a bunch of people posting stuff that they discovered?

Fair questions, but I suppose it's up to the first group of people who join up to establish any early questions/answers and the group's operating model.

It might be good to clarify in the OP that this is not a rocket builder or role-play entity but rather a consortium of players who will work to common goals and perhaps use a shared methodology (I would guess)... what they work on is totally up to them.

[Dfthu]

Sounds fun, I'll join. But I think we kinda need to know what exactly were doing though.

[BLUESTREAK]

Personally, I quite like this list from @ZooNamedGames:

Design an autonomous recoverable booster

Design and test a large rover (probe)

Design a probe which can dock to a target autonomously

Perform a static test firing of our largest vehicle

Design an air-launched space plane (something like this)

Drop tests of a manned lunar landing vehicle

Design and perform Approach and Landing Tests (ALTs) of a manned/unmanned reusable spaceplane vehicle (possibly the same one from bullet 5?)

 

some of these - 1, 3 and 7 - will require KOS to work, although none of those are outside the realms of possibility. I quite like the sound of the drop tests and the autonomous booster myself!

 

Some of these will be quick, easy wins - give us the craft files for the rocket or the lander and merely design a test rig around it. Easy-peasy. Design a vehicle or booster will be a bit more challenging. What are the specifications? Mods? RO/ RSS? Vanilla?

[Dfthu]

4 minutes ago, BLUESTREAK said:

(snip)

Some of these will be quick, easy wins - give us the craft files for the rocket or the lander and merely design a test rig around it. Easy-peasy. Design a vehicle or booster will be a bit more challenging. What are the specifications? Mods? RO/ RSS? Vanilla?

I think it should be Vanilla. No mods would make it easier.

[BLUESTREAK]

Additionally, we need to keep people up to date in the OP - what we're working on, who's in, who's doing what, progress, members, etc - have lots of pretty pictures of stuff being tested and/or broken (KKS? Destruction effects?) and videos if someone's got the youtube skills which I utterly lack

4 minutes ago, Dfthu said:

I think it should be Vanilla. No mods would make it easier.

This would then allow us to post craft files for other people to use, although it does rule certain things out (automation, etc)

[sardia]

No kerbal OS or building upon mech jeb?

[theend3r]

You can't really make serious KSP aircraft without FAR and procedural wings (B9 PW).

[ZooNamedGames]

9 minutes ago, theend3r said:

You can't really make serious KSP aircraft without FAR and procedural wings (B9 PW).

I highly disagree. Some of the best aircraft designs have been made stock.

1 hour ago, BLUESTREAK said:

Personally, I quite like this list from @ZooNamedGames:

Design an autonomous recoverable booster

Design and test a large rover (probe)

Design a probe which can dock to a target autonomously

Perform a static test firing of our largest vehicle

Design an air-launched space plane (something like this)

Drop tests of a manned lunar landing vehicle

Design and perform Approach and Landing Tests (ALTs) of a manned/unmanned reusable spaceplane vehicle (possibly the same one from bullet 5?)

 

some of these - 1, 3 and 7 - will require KOS to work, although none of those are outside the realms of possibility. I quite like the sound of the drop tests and the autonomous booster myself!

 

Some of these will be quick, easy wins - give us the craft files for the rocket or the lander and merely design a test rig around it. Easy-peasy. Design a vehicle or booster will be a bit more challenging. What are the specifications? Mods? RO/ RSS? Vanilla?

If you do any of these, please at least credit RSP for the origin of the idea. Stock or not.

[tephin]

I'd like to 'sign up' as it were..

I don't post too often on the forums but have been playing KSP since the 0.17 days..

I've always liked the idea of doing a group project and this sounds like its right up my alley.. Definitely would be interested in getting a think-tank type thing together where we can brainstorm some ideas and projects. 

Edited April 6, 2016 by tephin
poor sentence structure..

[BLUESTREAK]

12 hours ago, ZooNamedGames said:

I highly disagree. Some of the best aircraft designs have been made stock.

If you do any of these, please at least credit RSP for the origin of the idea. Stock or not.

Naturally!

 

I think that when it comes to mods, we should use the mods listed in the project in question. If it's supporting RSP, explicitly state so, and use the mods listed for that project otherwise what we're doing just won't work. Vanilla for everything else unless asked for (say, if someone comes to is with a different and specific problem), and provide links and craft files to everything so others can use it. Plus vids and pics in the OP, obviously!

[BLUESTREAK]

We also need criteria for any task or project - no good saying "design us a booster", we'd need to know how big, constraints, etc. to that end, I propose:

Mods used/ required. Full list, and any sub requirements (code needed for KOS? Below a certain level of damage for KKS drop tests? Etc)

Max Cost

Max part count

Delta V required (for boosters, etc)

Operating environment (Duna v Mars? Mun or Tylo? Important to know)

Max height, length, mass, width etc

Crewed or uncrewed? How many crew? How long for, in the case of realism mods?

constraints on tech tree - only using certain unlocked nodes?

rough timescale required? (This will allow us to prioritise in the case of multiple tasks)

Any further explanatory details (such as, "I'm designing a Duna mission, I need a rover which weighs less than 3.2 tonnes and can support 3 kerbals with a range of 100km on a single battery charge, plus a method for getting it onto the surface. Plz halp" etc

any other ideas?

Edited April 6, 2016 by BLUESTREAK
Adding other criteria

[pandaman]

1 hour ago, tephin said:

I'd like to 'sign up' as it were..

I don't post too often on the forums but have been playing KSP since the 0.17 days..

I've always liked the idea of doing a group project and this sounds like its right up my alley.. Definitely would be interested in getting a think-tank type thing together where we can brainstorm some ideas and projects. 

 As that was your first post (my bold), then 'I don't post too often...' is a killer of an understatement .  Welcome to the forums.

[tephin]

4 minutes ago, pandaman said:

 As that was your first post (my bold), then 'I don't post too often...' is a killer of an understatement .  Welcome to the forums.

heh, yeah I realized that as soon as I posted.. Im a bit more active over at r/kerbalspaceprogram but thats just because I browse reddit constantly haha.. 

 

Thanks for the welcome 

[WillThe84th]

This sounds really cool, and I'd love to join, but if we were going to collaborate with RSP, wouldn't we have to use RSS?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Subbed.  Looking forward to seeing what you do.

[BLUESTREAK]

19 hours ago, WillThe84th said:

This sounds really cool, and I'd love to join, but if we were going to collaborate with RSP, wouldn't we have to use RSS?

If working on a project for RSS, yes. If not, no - it all depends on the needs of the project in question.

 

To start the ball rolling, perhaps:

One idea that I've been working on (and failing at) is the development of an autonomous ballistic missile which can hit a target on the island airfield with a CEP of, oooh, lets say 50m. I'm trying to make a V2 equivalent craft; a SRBM with early tech tree requirements. As I've failed dismally at every turn (I can easily make a rocket which can get to the island, but autonomously guiding to target - ah, that's the difficult bit!) I'm putting the idea out to tender. Specifications are:

KAL Project 1:

Mods used/ required: KOS, with code required to suit.

Max Cost: 20,000 Kredits

Max part count: 30

Delta V required: Sufficient to reach Island airfield with CEP of 50m; range and ability to hit targets on continental landmass across from booster bay with CEP of 100m.

Operating environment: Kerbin sub-orbital

Max height,  length, mass, width: suitable for Tier one VAB/launchpad

Crew: Nil. Sufficient to launch whatever that early sputnik equivalent probe core is (which we shall consider the "warhead"). No requirement to return parts, or payloads; just slam into the ground right next to the target fast enough to make a really cool explosion and destroy/damage the target vessel. 

Constraints on tech tree: Up to and including fairings ought to do it; anything more technologically advanced is out (remember! Early V2 equivalent!).

Rough timescale required: Call it a week from date of this post. Extensions possible if no solution found.

Any further explanatory details: As described above. V2 equivalent SRBM capable of hitting a targeted vessel on the island airfield with a CEP of 50m or a targeted vessel on the far continent with a CEP of 100m. The cheaper/lower part count/greater range the better. Final testing prior to acceptance into service with the Kerbal Armed Forces will involve a series of 10 launches; 50% or more of the rockets used must fall to within 50m of the target to ensure the system meets the stated specifications.

As a first challenge/engineering problem, it shouldn't be too difficult, right? :S

Edited April 14, 2016 by BLUESTREAK
Added testing constraints/specifications in last paragraph and title to specifications.

[LordKael]

I'd just like to clarify a point: you're offering a contracted development firm that will provide efficient and timely solutions to players' problems, or design a vehicle/payload to meet the mission parameters of a client player?

If so, I would be happy to join in on any stock rover/sat payload type jobs.