TiktaalikDreaming

I hate these 3D programs already. Yay spreadsheets and obj files!

I'm seriously thinking of building some parts to have more Orion compatible structures to add to Nyrath's work here. I'll have to get around to learning one of them new fangled 3D modelling programs (all my tech drawing stuff in engineering was pre-computer-for-students) like blender, but space-craft parts are all fairly close to standard geometric shapes etc. Thinking of heavier, stronger bits of fuselage for assorted purposes, scaled to fit 2m, 5m, 10, 25m, 40m, and 56m pusher plates. Probably many very short cylinders at first, extending to six way pie wedges, with and without cutouts at the inside corner. Many ideas, little time, and zero experience with blender/unity. But there's heaps of good tutes on yootubes etc. I guess it'll need to be an add on mod, or mod extender. Depends how Nyrathy I can make things look. :-)

What I think I might try is to see what happens with my explody build, when I remove bits, one at a time. Starting with bits I didn't use on my non-explody craft. It's not anything to do with multiple control points, nor total size. But my updated 25m Orion doesn't have lander legs, nor aerodynamic control items. It makes me wonder if it's aerodynamic control surfaces doing something strange.

Payload ratio on Orion was calculated to be about 45% payload, which pisses all over anything available for chemical rockets. The Orion engine obviously weighs a bit more than a rocket engine, but once you've invested the tonnes for that, the payload can be quite large.

Sometimes when coming back to a ship after a time-warp from the space centre, it spontaneously explodes. Bits and pieces fly off so I don't get a report of which part failed first. :-( Also, I build an even bigger craft using a scaled up 25m pusher-plate edition of Nyrath's Orion drive, and for some reason, it's stable. Maybe because it ends up being relatively squat. FIIK. I don't really have great expectations on stability for a beta game running old half hacked mods.

When scaling, it looks like you do need to change a bunch of other numbers, mass, drag strength all would seem to need changing. Some items appear not to need changing as they're part of the 3d model, and so scale up with it, like the attachment points and so on. - - - Updated - - - 5m and 25m rescalings. The 5m craft seems quite functional, using the 3.5kt and .88kt pulse units. The 25m, I couldn't really see much of what I was doing, nor did I have an obvious plan. Pretty sure it would lift off with the 400kt pulses, but my test flight cycled between the small stack of 400s and the larger stack of 20s, and half lifted then exploded. - - - Updated - - - Stable orbit with a 25m pusher plate.

Having a serious sort of a look at this. Nyrath's current Orion is a 10m pusher plate, which makes it of the size specced for a "build in orbit" using Saturn V boosters to get it up. The other reference sizes for Fission Orions are, 25m for Orbit testing, 40m for interplanetary (eg: Mars, Venus etc) or 56m for "advanced" interplanetary, what-ever that means (maybe means you take the swimming pool and tennis court with you). So, basic orbital Orion would scale up by 2.5, mass by about 15.6, surface area and strength by 6.25. At 2.5x you can fit the basic elements into the full size hangar, but with some clipping and it's unusable. And the mod I can find that lets you build outside the hangar, or scale up the hangar, is not working in 0.9 yet. :-/ But I'll start working the numbers etc to see which numbers need scaling, and pre-configure a set of 25m, 40m, 56m and 400m base configs, plus probably some alternate sized fuel devices for the different sized craft. First step, 5m craft to test how the rescale setting works. :-)

Actually, mass should go up by 125, strengths by 25, etc, AND I need to do similar horrors on the fuel magazines. Plus finding a bigger hanger. And a small town to put on the ship that won't be torn apart by 15G pulses. Thinking a copy of the Nyrath folder and rename all the parts, then start working on them rather than my existing messing about with components on a part by part basis.

I never thought of that.

I adjusted the mass by 125x, etc etc. Not sure if the system does so with the rescale, so just adjusted that and the breaking force (by 25x). I couldn't launch anyway as at x5 I can't see more than a teeny bit and can't place the "fuel". I should look for a bigger hanger mod I guess.

I seem to be getting the same issue. I started a new game to start fresh without all the debris in orbit, and I've only been launching large craft. Using Nyrath's Orion drive and the B9 mod to build big stuff. But, even when I make things absurdly solid, warping time by the smallest bit creates a ship explosion. My root part has been the base engine piece so far, I'll see what happens if I change it. As you might expect, an Orion ship snapping and exploding is a bit of a mess. :-)

Actually, after a very short series of experiments I've managed the very tricky operation of setting rescale = 5 Hanger not big enough. Almost with rescale = 2. And I solved my issue with the impulse unit selection. Still working with action groups. :-) No more enormous overcorrections

It all works in 0.90, except killing pellet supply. Mixing the full range for heavy lifts, plus having some 0.88 makes for some interesting attempts at course corrections. :-) While this makes for some awesome humour, until that's fixed, a more moderated selection of "discrete impulse units" is recommended. PS: It'd be great to see a variant at actual Project Orion size. Although that probably wouldn't be useable in KSP due to hanger restraints. :-(