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Hotel26

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Posts posted by Hotel26

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    I stripped down a Rhino/Boar combination lifter to create a light/medium-weight lifter called Rhino, that is equipped for deep space and can be used as a transfer booster.  It was not intended to be recoverable since it can be re-used in space and is not likely to ever want to come down.

    I built X-Rhino today anyway to see how to recover a Rhino engine with 2x S3-14400 tanks.

    Spoiler

    NvHzdpt.jpg


    It touches down with 4 chutes at around 16 m/s, but the bicycle landing gear takes the blow.

    7HTq8rL.jpg


    (Ah yes: no water landings, though, please!)

    nXc6slk.jpg

    But I didn't really want to dedicate the landing gear and a bunch of chutes to a craft that will most likely remain in space.  [Although ... only 1.3t]

    OK, so crazy idea!  :)  Tandem:

    Spoiler

    Tandem in the VAB -- just a couple of very ugly, steam-powered devices in a fairing:

    1r9PD0w.jpg

     

    Fly them to your vehicle to be recovered.  Attach them to two likely points on the belly of your vee-hickle.

    BRO2Arx.jpg

     

    Detach the chute component and go attach them to the top of the craft -- looks ugly enough now?:

    sHxlwrx.jpg

     

    Purge the MP and then perform the re-entry.  Plenty of chutes so the idea is that you can cut a chute, one at a time, from the end that is riding high until you get even keel.  :)

    Just before touch-down:

    r1456NX.jpg

     

    Lost a fin and that is all.  Everything else intact including the underbelly stanchion devices that took the punch...

    1rcak7y.jpg

    Worked first re-entry and no one more amazed than me.  I'm going to make an appointment with a shrink doctor next...

    And here's a bonus shot from the X-Rhino low-altitude testing -- I call it "Stars and Stripe":

    Spoiler

    iHtsxro.jpg

    I unloaded the SRBs early and they went on ahead to play by themselves.

    And while I am here, with a hat-tip to @Martian Emigrant: Kerpollo approaches its first docking with Kerlab.

    Spoiler

    4jGpojH.jpg

     

    (Breaking Ground) Unpredictable Freezing Hinges

    in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    I took a look at the original craft, too, and, after reproducing the problem, I removed the auto-struts on the hinges and broke the symmetry.  No further evidence of the problem, but I didn't have the patience to do a Thousand Cycle test.  I'll leave that to @Mars-Bound Hokie.

    Caveat: I did the work in 1.11.2.  I do suspect it was primarily the symmetry that was causing a hang-up.

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    8 hours ago, Duke MelTdoWn said:

    The handling turned out to be excellent

    SteamCommunity (after 2FA login) is requiring me to Subscribe in order to Download.  Just a suggestion but you might consider also using KerbalX.com for sharing craft?  Do you already have an account there?

    I'm going to try to reverse-engineer Sleipnir therefore.  Will not be quite certain to have exactly the same result but is always fun to try.  Thanks for posting!

    Spoiler

    UPDATE: Well, I've learned something already.  (The beauty of rev-eng, rather than down-load!)

    Won't break the sound barrier with the Mk2-R chutes on the outside fuselage because they are really much more drag than I realized.  And switched them to Mk12-R...

    Moving them inside the shielded Mk2 Clamp-O-Tron dock, as in Duke MelTdoWn's version, is essential.

     

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    16 hours ago, JadeOfMaar said:

    I'd be pleasantly surprised if its stall speed is a wholesome 40m/s or lower (then it wouldn't need chutes).

    Inspired by this, I conducted some trials.  Vs is 59 m/s, which, although not pleasant, is quite a bit lower than the 90 m/s approach speed I had been using.

    Lining up on the runway is actually quite easy.

    z8YJhTG.png

    The one remaining difficulty was in getting the nose wheel to touch down and not immediately veer the craft causing wing tip damage.

    I did work-around that, though!  :)

    Landing with the nose-gear retracted works quite fine using the nose as a skid...  gave the Kerbals a chuckle.  (Locking the steering might work adequately as well and would be "engineering-pretty".)

    I've also noted that I long ago loaded Batwing Mk2 before it had its Archer launcher.  I'll be updating that shortly.

    Because I think it's the low atmospheric pressure, and hence low drag, on Duna that causes higher-speed landings, it's quite appropriate to install chutes for Duna, to use that same atmosphere to provide some airborne braking before touch-down.  I found also that the drag chutes on Batwing (4x Mk12-R) helps stabilize the landing attitude.  In addition, now reviewing this, I think using Mk-2R radial chutes (blue rectangles) would also be appropriate.  The drag chutes are already on a Cut switch.

    Note that Batwing, fully fueled, is 21t.

    Appreciate receiving the suggestions about Duna specifics!  I do so love incremental refinement!  Thanks all.

    UPDATE: OK, it's possible without chutes or VERT thrust.  The trick is to ensure RCS is enabled for precise attitude control on a soft touch-down...

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    9 minutes ago, JNSQFan said:

    Planes fly surprisingly well there

    They do but the catch is that they have to be built quite differently from Kerbin.  (You'll have noted the wing area (and chutes) of Batwing Mk2...)

    The description of JNSQ (which I read just recently) appealed to me and I'd like to try it (in preference to say RSS) but -- I feel like I am only half way through KSP stock.  :)

    I guess JNSQ could run in parallel, although perhaps in a separate installation?

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    I've had a second Batwing Mk2 arrive at Duna and have begun operations.

    One of the first orders of business has been to perform a rescue on a stranded Mk1, out of fuel on the surface.

    FnawqvD.jpg    PHk4IE9.jpg     hl0rXpY.jpg

    More pax on the Mk1 than a Mk2 can carry, so a second trip will be necessary.

    The Mk2 sure is nice to fly though.  Much better endurance.  Landing is a trip.  Drag chutes to slow down near the target.  Then cut those, perform a small swoop, opening the hatch for the VERT Terrier and the main chute.  Throw that chute and then pull up into a mushy pancake landing.  Quite predictable, though.  Then taxi the short distance to the destination.

    Duna’s atmosphere is too thick.

    in KSP2 Suggestions and Development Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    If I recall, Mars atmosphere is 1% (compared with Earth) and Duna is 30% compared to Kerbin.

    My reasoning about Duna is that it is the only place that presents a light atmosphere that presents its own (unique) challenge for aviation.  Whereas 1% atmosphere is the same as none for aircraft.

    So, viewing the Kerbol system as a graded set of exercises in aerospace/orbital mechanics, Duna makes good sense.  I think, in general, KSP resemblance to the Earth system is merely whimsical.

    If I wanted 'reality', I guess I'd try RSS -- but I don't.  Simple, clear challenges have the best pedagogical value.

    Stuck dock

    in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials

    Posted

    5 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

    the same position of the old one

    Yes, thinking along the same lines.  The craft in question is three docked together, one of them with a claw, which no doubt can be separated.  The other two were about to be separated, so it's easy to simply put two new replacements (Mule and Escort VI) into close rendez-vous, and adjust fuel and crew.  Then torpedo the doomed ship.

    Overnight, I had started to think this is not a docking problem per se, but something else wrong with the (total) craft, such that a NullException occurs midway during the undocking.

    I've reviewed that KML Editor before in the light of these kinds of problems -- I think the scientific thing to do right now is install it for a once-off attempt and then report back here.

    Stay tuned -- and thanks for the input.

    Stuck dock

    in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    This is a kind of ongoing saga.  I have a theory that game files that are upgraded from one version to another (e.g. 1.7 -> 1.8 -> 1.11) may be subsceptible to creeping problems.

    One example is "stuck docks".  Clicking Undock does nothing except start that "ticking noise" in the background that you know means you are logging exceptions.

    My state of the art was identifying the pair of docks and generally finding one in a "state = Docked (docker)" but its counterpart is in a state of 'Ready'.

    Simply resetting both to docker and dockee respectively has been enough in the past to unjam them.

    Not today.

    [EXC 21:08:46.250] NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
        Part.Undock (DockedVesselInfo newVesselInfo) (at <dc0e5f458c0f4571ad839b9c4153f347>:0)
        ModuleDockingNode.Undock () (at <dc0e5f458c0f4571ad839b9c4153f347>:0)
        BaseEvent.Invoke () (at <dc0e5f458c0f4571ad839b9c4153f347>:0)
        UIPartActionButton.OnClick () (at <dc0e5f458c0f4571ad839b9c4153f347>:0)

     

    I have extracted the entire craft from the .sfs file and there are only three docks.  One is legitimately Ready (forceTweak = 100) and the other pair (mutually docked) have force 145 and 55.

    Their dockUId fields point to the corresponding uid correctly.

    So this looks like a new situation to me.

    If anyone possesses more advanced magic and can identify the ailment and remedy, I would appreciate the knowledge.

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    On 7/18/2023 at 1:25 AM, kurgut said:

    Also any feedback appreciated

    "Mighty fine", most sincerely.  (My family is going to be asking why I use that particular phrase  in answer to any and every question as the next month goes by, I am quite sure.)

    Really well done and produced,.

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    57 minutes ago, Duke MelTdoWn said:

    a Relay Carrier

    Or peruse my entire Relay hangar for many variations, including notably Scout Mk2 (with resource scanner) and the recent Meerkat which includes 3 sats each in equatorial and polar orbits with two of the polar satellites being RA-100s, which provide unobstructed ecliptic service for "phone home to Kerbin" for uninterrupted coverage for remote control.

    I think, particularly innovative, is my Tetrahedron craft, which places 4x RA-2 satellites into 109.5 degree[1] co-spaced highly-elliptical orbits providing global coverage for 42 days at a time (before a sub-1-hour "maintenance" period of downtime).  See the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14zWSn_RV1K6hFwpsQiStshJDF5N0ofdj/view?usp=sharing

    [1] like the 4 bonds of a carbon atom.

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    15 hours ago, idamoofus said:

    spend time fixing it

    If you don't mind absorbing a little math, go to https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Tutorial:Ideal_Orbits_for_Communication_Satellites and its section "Individually Spacing Satellites" and read about the Law of Cosines.

    The optimum way to deploy is from an elliptical 4:3 harmonic orbit dropping out one satellite per orbit and circularizing it.

    But if you are already stuck with three, unevenly-spaced satellites in a circular orbit, you can fix it by using this law to compute the relative angles of the satellites form the "lead satellite" (starting with line-of-sight distance between each).   You can convert the angle discrepancy to a time discrepancy (from 360 degrees per orbital period) and turn this into a time delta: "for one orbit, I need to speed up or slow down by this delta time in order to arrive into my proper position and then resume the nominal orbital period".

    For the effort of understanding the math, it thus costs you only two maneuvers (far apart) in order to perform station-keeping maintenance.  Which can be very satisfying.

    What did you do in KSP1 today?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    49 minutes ago, Krazy1 said:

    massive drag from the rear cargo ramps

    Legend tells of such a bug with closed cargo bays/ramps that can be fixed before take-off by cycling them (one time) open-closed.  Try that with your broken ramp and see if it gets better.

    Spoiler

    It's a legend (or perhaps just an urban myth @swjr-swis), so comes with no guarantees.

     

    Rotational Gravity. Feasible or Not?

    in Science & Spaceflight

    Posted · Edited by Hotel26

    23 hours ago, darthgently said:

    Perhaps halting rotation for docking

    I just last week filed a patent for a rotating dock.  I have yet to post it to KX but it's a dock on a rotor.  Dock as normal with the slowly-rotating station but just ignore everything but the target dock as you approach. The pair of those station docks (one each end) have to be axis-aligned, of course [until we do advanced robotics].   The rotationally-free dock spins up instantly to the rotation of the mating fixed sock.

    Gives me the idea that the rotationally-free dock could be fitted to the station where it is needed and leave all docking craft with the standard fixed dock.  Cheaper.  Second patent coming up...

     

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