MaverickSawyer

Only one critical flaw with your logic: it's logic. We all know that logic must be discounted when discussing any post-shuttle launchers for NASA-only use.

As promised, here's the Delta 7925-H: https://kerbalx.com/MaverickSawyer/Delta-II-7925-H Uses the GEM-46 motors on the sides and carries a Star-48 third stage.

Yeah, the aero changes are the real thing to watch out for... though the changes to jet engines are also something to be wary of. They used to be much more effective at high speeds and altitudes. Like, carry you almost to orbital velocity level more effective. (Who else remembers those days? ) As for career and science modes, they haven't changed much at all over the years. And orbital mechanics is the same as it's been ever since they introduced the maneuver node system.

Thanks! Here's the craft file, if anyone wants to check it out. Fair warning: There's a number of mods in it... https://kerbalx.com/MaverickSawyer/Mini-Shuttle Also, if you're looking for a Delta 7920-Heavy, that's the basic core of the launcher for this. Just strip off the forest of fins (they account for over a third of the part count!) and replace them with 9 of the Fenris triangular fins tucked in between the boosters, yank everything below that 1.25-1.5 meter tank, and it's ready to be slotted under a Delta-K stack. Might have to load that up tomorrow, tbh.

Orbital Outpost Size Matters Not Home Away From Home Trial By Fire

Hmm... not sure if Atmosphere Autopilot plays well with FAR, but it's been an absolute gamechanger for my aircraft. Basically, it gives you fly-by-wire stability systems. And the cruise autopilot's pretty handy, too. Would recommend NavHUD Renewed as well... It'll show your velocity vector, allowing you to aim the aircraft's direction of travel quite easily. Perfect for making those nice, smooth landings. Speaking of landings... Brought that mini-shuttle home after its test flight. Reentry was absolutely fantastic. No overheat alarms, remarkable precision, excellent handling qualities. She'll take high-alpha S-turns like a champ, allowing you that incredible degree of control over your reentry and landing area that one would associate with a spaceplane. Glide slope is actually pretty decent at high speeds, and she's slick enough that she loses little speed while gliding. However, once you get below 100 m/s, she does get a little mushy on the controls. This doesn't play well with the fact that she likes to drift while on the runway, no matter how hard I try to keep the nose straight... Anyone have any suggestions on that front? In other news, today was crew rotation day at Minmus Outpost... Expedition 1 takes a group photo before launching to rendezvous with the crew exchange vehicle... Expedition 2 makes the customary low-altitude pass over the hills to the west of the Outpost on descent. The new crew installed a Surface Experiment package and assembled a Buffalo Rover, which was the first time I did so in the field with KIS. Not nearly as bad as I'd expected, so I feel quite comfortable doing so on Duna. And finally, did a long-overdue crew rotation on Salyut 1 with the new mini-shuttle on its second flight... The returning crew will remain aboard for a short while to help the new crew settle in, and to assist with the installation of the new VASIMR engine I've prepared, but haven't launched yet. Said engine will be taking the place of the aft docking port that hasn't been used in a long time, and will be used to boost the station to a new, higher orbit at ~275 km, high enough to allow for all-new experiments to take place.

Another gratuitous shot of me using the ion RCS as main engines... The tiny amount of xenon is still enough to give that comsat over 500 m/s dV. I love those things. Also, there's this abomination of an LV... Delta 79xx-H. Can carry that little spaceplane to orbit with just enough dV to deorbit the booster. And before you ask... over a third of the part count is sunk into fins to keep that thing flying straight. It's ugly as sin, but it works like a charm. I love that little shuttle to bits.

Now that it's over, I can speak a little bit more openly. No, no filming, but the cast and creators did come by for a tour/Q&A session.

NASA would never spring for that, and we all know it.

Thank you for the clarification.

Nah, not that mundane. (Though they used to have food truck lunch days a few years ago... They're too big for that now) Let's just say that it has to do with a recent acquisition by Amazon's streaming service.

As I also have contacts at BO, I have a fairly good idea of what your contact may be hinting at... it's probably not what you think. Beyond that, I cannot say.

Yep. a single fragment of conductive material can brick a satellite in a heartbeat if it gets into the right part of the avionics. Cubesats aren't quite so sensitive to such things, but cleanliness is still beneficial to their operational lifespan. On the subject of lifespan... most off-the-shelf electronics will not handle the rigors of low earth orbit well. Between temperature swings, vacuum, radiation, and the inability for you to physically reboot it when it locks up or crashes, you have to use some robust and reliable parts. Especially if it passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly... that thing eats COTS stuff.

It's possible, but I have no personal experience with what's involved. You could certainly contact one of the companies that specialize in ride-share services and ask, but I'm not sure if they'd be willing (or even allowed) to give any details. Your best bet may be contacting one of the universities that have run cubesat programs.

Might I introduce you to the glory that is Kerbal Inventory System? You can remove and/or install parts in the field with your engineers and a tool that comes with the pack. I have had it as a part of my installs for several years now, and honestly can't imagine KSP without that functionality.

They don't require cooling? Huh. Doesn't make sense, but okay.

Quick question regarding the fusion reactors: How much radiator capacity does each one need? It's not listed in the part listing GUI, and I want to make a fusion-electric Crew Transfer Vehicle, so... I'd wind up guessing on the radiator capacity, which I really hate doing.

Well, I did this at the start of a previous save, and it made orbit... A slightly different version (more up to date version of BDB, mostly, but the little solar batteries, too) made it to Minmus's orbital altitude, no sweat. It's all about the trajectory.

That made it to orbit? *whistles in respect*

Nope. It still has to meet specifications laid out in order to hitch a ride. That's where the cost comes in: Paperwork.

We'd be about 3-4 times short of the typical cost of a cubesat. They're cheap by spacecraft standards, sure, but they're still a bit pricey.

Well, then. You've got plenty of crash test dummies now, don't you?

Not sure. The bottleneck is probably going to be refrigeration of the propellants. Once you have that capability, though, boiloff becomes a moot point.

Right, but by minimizing the additional thermal input from the sunlight, you also reduce the loads that your radiators have to handle. It's also going to significantly simplify whatever you do to keep the propellants liquid... if you don't mind having normal cryogens, instead of SpaceX's current approach of deep cryo/densified propellants. Curious to see how they plan on tackling that particular issue.

Let's hope they got some good telemetry to chase the failure.