Real Life Rocket Design vs KSP

[ZooNamedGames]

One of the biggest aspects of Kerbal Space Program, is designing your rockets. It's possibly the center piece of the game, with it's lego style building style where you can mix and match into an infinite number of possibilities. It's literally endless. However in the last month or so, I've taken stock of how there are a few aspects of designing rocketry that is absent from KSP unlike in real life.

Now I'm not referring to the hard skill of figuring out what angle a certain structural element needs to be in order to resist the aerodynamic effects or anything, I'm referring to simply the difficulties like working within a narrow margin (such as a weight, or size limitation put on by a booster), or whether the astronaut is standing up for that lunar/munar landing or sitting down, or more importantly to me, working with a group of people to make something.

In KSP as it is, you develop your rockets and spacecraft independently without any outside influences. Occasionally you may pass a craft file around and have people work on it, but still theres a lack of drawn out development. Real aerospace engineers spitball possibly hundreds and hundreds of different concepts and ideas before even one gets anywhere. Then when one does, they work together to make into something that may one day see the light of day for real.

The engineers form a tight bond as they spend hundreds of sleepless hours with these people, people they share the same dream and hopes with. The hopes to see their work finally turned real.

In my thoughts, I have to turn to the HBO miniseries From The Earth to The Moon episode Spider. The episode follows the development of the Apollo Lunar Module, beginning with the Grumman company getting the contract for designing it. The episode shows how it was slowly developed, the various forms it had and how it initially was an ugly failure of a spacecraft. One of the best scenes to explain what I mean, is the scene where some engineers have to show to their boss why the lunar pilot's should be standing up as opposed to sitting down, seen here-

By choosing to have the astronauts standing up, they'd be closer to the window providing a better view which would in trade allow for smaller and more importantly lighter windows. Not to mention the fact that seats are unneeded as the astronaut's knees would be fantastic shock absorbers with the 1/6th lunar gravity which would also save weight of the chairs. All of these decisions and collaborations helped shape the Lunar Module.

One other aspect that we don't get from our work in KSP is a true love for our work, and our designs. As the character who was the boss of the design for the Lunar Module said at the end when LM-3 was being packaged for Apollo 9 (first manned flight of the LM), he said "He felt like a father watching his kid preparing to head for college". Their work wasn't just a design or concept to them, it was their hopes and dreams put into this one machine. They of course knew this as again the supervisor said "We all knew that it was just a bunch of bolts and wires but it had the soul of those who built her- first dreamed of her-". Which is one thing most of our creations will never have, which is that soul of those who have spend days, weeks or months pouring over this idea endlessly. It's not that we can't in KSP, it's that our efforts can never amount to those who make something into reality. Seeing it from paper to a physical form is something unbelievable. Now you can have your KSP creations made into reality thanks to @Eucl3D, but they will never be real in that they will work, fly and do amazing things for other people.

The element of collaboration and cooperation is an aspect that KSP sadly lacks, however I feel that may not always be true. For brief periods we can see some great engineers outwit problems across other's games and work together to form some fantastic things. So maybe KSP doesn't have that singular focused collaboration aspect, but the cooperative spirit is strong. Not to mention that maybe we can have this collaborative spirit if we wanted it. We just need a project big enough  .

...I guess at the end of it all, KSP might just be the centerpiece to all of our engineering ideas. Maybe we do have that engineering bond.

 

Lastly, if you haven't seen the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, your missing out on one of the best docudramas ever. It's directed and produced by Tom Hanks and stars many famous actors at the time. Not to mention the lunar module seen in the series is a real unused lunar module! Specifically, LM-13, the one they planned to use for Apollo 18 before the missions were cancelled.

Watch the series, it's amazingly done and does fantastic at representing NASA from pre-Mercury to the last few Apollo missions. Every episode is filled with new style and content. Every episode is different and very unique.

That's all I'm going to say about it,  just go watch!

[pandaman]

Thanks for pointing me at that, it looks like I'll enjoy that.... Just ordered it from amazon. 

[ZooNamedGames]

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

Thanks for pointing me at that, it looks like I'll enjoy that.... Just ordered it from amazon. 

You'll love it! First episode is a bit slow as it cover the government's response to Sputnik and Kennedy's plan for a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

[kBob]

How did I miss that (well probably didn't have HBO then and don't now, at least I discovered Dexter when I had it)?  Put it in my shopping cart will order soon.  What other great space things am I missing (and yes I've seen Apollo 13)?

As for KSP one thing I'd like to see is an in-game craft file exchange, it would help with the spirit of cooperation (and be especially useful for console versions).

Edited July 26, 2016 by kBob

[ZooNamedGames]

4 minutes ago, kBob said:

How did I miss that (well probably didn't have HBO then and don't now, at least I discovered Dexter when I had it)?  Put it in my shopping cart will order soon.  What other great space things am I missing (and yes I've seen Apollo 13)?

As for KSP one thing I'd like to see is an in-game craft file exchange, it would help with the spirit of cooperation (and be especially useful for console versions).

It was from the late 90s so it's an old series. As to what else to see, I'd suggest the Discovery miniseries When We Left Earth. It's a regular documentary but still very well done. It covers pre-Mercury to the close of the Space Shuttle. The only other thing I can suggest is The Right Stuff. It's a movie that covers pre-Mercury leading up to Gemini.

I would agree to that idea.

[adsii1970]

@kBob: Are you wanting documentaries and films based on real events or is science fiction included as well?

 

[Ten Key]

5 hours ago, pandaman said:

Thanks for pointing me at that, it looks like I'll enjoy that.... 

You will.

[Red Iron Crown]

55 minutes ago, ZooNamedGames said:

I'd suggest the Discovery miniseries When We Left Earth. It's a regular documentary but still very well done.

Best thing about this one is it is all real footage, no dramatizations or recreations. Plus interviews with a bunch of the people involved (John Young is hilarious).

[Pecan]

12 hours ago, ZooNamedGames said:

... Seeing it from paper to a physical form is something unbelievable ...

Software development maybe doesn't have a 'physical form' but I remember one of my first big-ticket applications rolling-out across a whole business's thousands of premises.  I just had to visit as many of those pubs as possible and have a drink in each one ... no, seriously, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[kBob]

6 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

@kBob: Are you wanting documentaries and films based on real events or is science fiction included as well?

 

Yeah should clarify.  I'm probably pretty up on SciFi always been my favorite genre.  I was thinking more along the lines of documentaries or docudrama or based on real life things like Apollo 13.

[ZooNamedGames]

11 minutes ago, kBob said:

Yeah should clarify.  I'm probably pretty up on SciFi always been my favorite genre.  I was thinking more along the lines of documentaries or docudrama or based on real life things like Apollo 13.

Well seeing as Tom Hanks starred and directed Apollo 13 and did the same for From the Earth to the Moon, I think you'll enjoy it  .

[NSEP]

When i was working on the Mammoth (A vertical SSTO) i desinged 3 different Mammoths. It was quite harder to do that expected, because many KSP players, and not even some real rocket scientist, have done it before. (Im not trying to be arrogant). You are totally right with the fact that KSP players who want to build a Mun rocket, do it with ease. But if you try something that has never done before, it is quite a challenge. Just like NASA did to design a Moon lander!

[kBob]

3 minutes ago, ZooNamedGames said:

Well seeing as Tom Hanks starred and directed Apollo 13 and did the same for From the Earth to the Moon, I think you'll enjoy it  .

Yeah when you mentioned that is when I put it right into my cart...big Hanks fan (and his son too at least from his appearance in Dexter).  Actually I'd already put Apollo 13 in my cart since I hadn't seen it for years and then probably only from VHS or off a SD satellite feed.  Of course one of my most favorite Frasier episodes is the one where Scott Glenn appeared (season 8 episode15) and started talking about all the strange things astronauts see (maybe they were having premonitions of KSP and it's little green people).

[ZooNamedGames]

1 minute ago, kBob said:

Yeah when you mentioned that is when I put it right into my cart...big Hanks fan (and his son too at least from his appearance in Dexter).  Actually I'd already put Apollo 13 in my cart since I hadn't seen it for years and then probably only from VHS or off a SD satellite feed.  Of course one of my most favorite Frasier episodes is the one where Scott Glenn appeared (season 8 episode15) and started talking about all the strange things astronauts see (maybe they were having premonitions of KSP and it's little green people).

I LOVE FRAISER XD and I do know the episode! It's hilarious.

[Kerbart]

17 hours ago, ZooNamedGames said:

One of the biggest aspects of Kerbal Space Program, is designing your rockets. It's possibly the center piece of the game, with it's lego style building style where you can mix and match into an infinite number of possibilities. It's literally endless. However in the last month or so, I've taken stock of how there are a few aspects of designing rocketry that is absent from KSP unlike in real life.

Technically not an aspect of designing, but I think the biggest hurdle to overcome in real life is execution. You can trust your Kerbals, silly as they are, to put your design perfectly together. Sensors are never mounted upside down, docking ports are not mounted the wrong way around (unless specifically ordered to do so in your design), there are no wrenches left behind in fuel tanks, instruments don't suffer from misalignment due to vendors using the wrong units, etc. I once saw a quote from a CEO of a large bank, saying how he could leave his strategy plan for the next five years in the plane, without worrying that his competitors would get anything out of it; it was the execution of the plan that mattered, and without that, they could never copy their success. And good execution doesn't come from a 20 page business plan; it takes blood, sweat, tears and commitment.

A large part of NASA's success in the 1960s was due to that. When you'd ask a sanitation worker what they did they wouldn't say “I clean the toilet floor,” but rather “I'm helping to put men on the moon” (or so I'm told).

I will check out that mini-series though. It looks cool!

[ZooNamedGames]

2 minutes ago, Kerbart said:

Technically not an aspect of designing, but I think the biggest hurdle to overcome in real life is execution. You can trust your Kerbals, silly as they are, to put your design perfectly together. Sensors are never mounted upside down, docking ports are not mounted the wrong way around (unless specifically ordered to do so in your design), there are no wrenches left behind in fuel tanks, instruments don't suffer from misalignment due to vendors using the wrong units, etc. I once saw a quote from a CEO of a large bank, saying how he could leave his strategy plan for the next five years in the plane, without worrying that his competitors would get anything out of it; it was the execution of the plan that mattered, and without that, they could never copy their success. And good execution doesn't come from a 20 page business plan; it takes blood, sweat, tears and commitment.

A large part of NASA's success in the 1960s was due to that. When you'd ask a sanitation worker what they did they wouldn't say “I clean the toilet floor,” but rather “I'm helping to put men on the moon” (or so I'm told).

I will check out that mini-series though. It looks cool!

Well we can add things to replicate these issues however your right; it's minute details that was not properly imagined or thought of that end up becoming the largest of problems. Such as a socket wrench in the wrong location (granted irrelevant to the issue it's from).

Ofc, every single person mattered in the process and not just one. I'm just taking the angle of the engineer's since I can't imagine all angles such as the financiers or lawyers  .

[OhioBob]

I'll also vouch for From the Earth to the Moon.  It's a great miniseries, one of my all time favorites.  Anybody with an interest in Apollo should see it.

8 hours ago, ZooNamedGames said:

You'll love it! First episode is a bit slow as it cover the government's response to Sputnik and Kennedy's plan for a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

I loved the first episode.  It focused largely on the Gemini program, which is the period in America's space program that is usually most overlooked by those in Hollywood.

[ZooNamedGames]

Just now, OhioBob said:

I'll also vouch for From the Earth to the Moon.  It's a great miniseries, one of my all time favorites.  Anybody with an interest in Apollo should see it.

I loved the first episode.  It focused largely on the Gemini program, which is the period in America's space program that is usually most overlooked by those in Hollywood.

I say it's a lot of exposition, but that's me personally. If you love it, then love it! Don't let me or anyone else say otherwise  .