MKSheppard

I am really liking this mod so far. My only quibbles so far is that no Jeb Kerman. :-(

I'm glad to see that early space rocketry is being done. I have some photos and data on some of the early stuff, if you're interested.

It's been a long time, and I've been out of KSP for a long time; but am I correct in assuming that Real Fuels supports thrust scaling according to atmospheric pressure? Stock KSP 1.0 has that now, e.g. sea level and vac thrust are different; done in CFG files as: I think the last entry "9 0.001" is setting the exponental function for the thrust/ISP vs Altitude curve.

http://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Boosters/Titan/Titan_IIIE_Core_Airframe.gif http://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Boosters/Centaur/Titan_IIIE_Centaur_Stations.gif

I'd like to see a more logically laid out tech tree by 1.0; right now, in Beta Than Ever; we have the following annoyances: 1.) You have to research unmanned probe technology; but start with a mercury-equivalent. 2.) You get one of the best engines in the game, the LV-T30 right from the start -- with 320 sea level and 370 vac ISP; which enables SSTO performance from the start. 3.) You have a spaceplane runway and hangar; but no jet engines or wings from the start? 4.) No basic science equipment such as a barometer, temperature probe, etc at the start? There's a whole lot more of annoyances like that regarding starting out in career mode presently.

Is it possible to have a "primitive" MechJeb ascent autopilot put in eventually? I can understand if you don't want to have the player having fully automatic push button, go to orbit and circularize capability from the start of a career/science game; but we should at least have a simple "maintain this heading and angle of attack" autopilot available to us from the start; along with a delta v and TWR calculator.

Anyone have the MBM to PNG file converter? It's no longer up on spaceport. :-(

Does anyone have the last uploaded version of this engine?

NathanKell suggested I post a link to my released engine calculator here. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/81999-Enhanced-Interactive-Rocket-Thrust-Program-%28EIRTP%29 Source code is included in C++; so this could be used as a first step for a code base to make procedural liquid rocket engines (PLREs). This was the result of a run to calculate KSP Mainsail parameters: 55" Nozzle Inside Exit Diameter: 16:1 Expansion Ratio Regenerative cooled Metallic Nozzle 700 psi chamber pressure Single Thrust Chamber Fuel: LOX/Methane O/F Ratio:3.5 (RD-192) Standard Tech Levels for Machinery Overall Efficiency: Slightly worse than H-1/J-2/RL-10 I had some crude engine costing code, but I'm not sure how exactly to define KSP engine costs so far. Suggestions? ************************************************************************** * BELL (PARABOLIC) NOZZLE PERFORMANCE DATA (KSP Ready) * ************************************************************************** Propellant Data: **************************************************** Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio : 3.50 Oxidizer Density : 0.0011400 (KSP cfg Units) Fuel Density : 0.0004220 (KSP cfg Units) Overall Propellant Density : 0.0008272 (KSP cfg Units) **************************************************** PART.CFG information below: // --- editor parameters --- cost = 341.15 // --- standard part parameters --- mass = 1.07 // tonnes. // maxTemp = 1,381 // Roughly Equilibrium Temperature // maxTemp = 2,071 // 75% Overheat Bar maxTemp = 1,864 // 95% Overheat Bar MODULE { name = ModuleEngines thrustVectorTransformName = NozzleTransform exhaustDamage = true ignitionThreshold = 0.1 minThrust = 0 maxThrust = 636.55 // kN - sea level // maxThrust = 791.86 // kN - vacuum heatProduction = 291.21 PROPELLANT { name = LqdMethane ratio = 0.44 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.56 } atmosphereCurve { key = 1 252.19 key = 0.9 258.27 key = 0.8 264.41 key = 0.7 270.57 key = 0.6 276.77 key = 0.5 282.93 key = 0.4 289.09 key = 0.3 295.24 key = 0.2 301.39 key = 0.1 307.56 key = 0.05 310.64 key = 0.025 312.18 key = 0.0125 312.95 key = 0.00625 313.33 key = 0 313.72 } }

Oh yes; source for both programs is included in the ZIP. Yes; you could use this if you were so inclined to begin work on a semi-procedurally generated rocket engine (HINT HINT).

Forgot about the other program included in EIRTP: EIRTP Utilities. It uses the basic EIRTP code, but in special iteration loops to find values that you're looking for: It's actually kind of cool, in a nerdy way. ************************************************************************** * Enhanced Interactive Rocket Thrust Utilities (EIRTP) v0.90 (MAY 2013) * * Providing Enhanced Functionality * ************************************************************************** The core of this program was originally programmed in Java as a web app back in 2005 by Tom Benson of NASA Glenn Research Center and made available to the general public via the following URL: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/ienzl.html Ported to C++ and improved in January-February/May 2014 by Ryan Crierie. LEGAL STUFF: This software is public domain. In no event shall NASA or Ryan Crierie be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software. ************************************************************************** * SELECT THE PROGRAM FUNCTION THAT YOU WANT TO RUN * ************************************************************************** 1.) Size Engine by Thrust desired at a Specific Altitude. 2.) Size Engine by Thrust desired, constrained by a given diameter. 3.) Compute Optimum Expansion Ratios from Sea Level to 280,000 ft. 4.) Compute the O/F Ratio resulting from a given O/F tank ratio. 5.) Compute the Engine Operating Efficiency of an engine from known ISP values. 6.) Compute ISP from known thrust and mass flow values. 7.) Compute Vac Thrust when you know vac ISP and sea level thrust/ISP. ************************************************************************** Enter Menu Choice:2 This selection sizes your engine for thrust desired, using a given diameter for a stage that the engine will be under; and iterates until it finds the right chamber pressure to match thrust levels. Input Altitude (in feet) that you wish to size engine for: 0 Choose Unit of Force for Thrust. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Units supported are: lbf, klbf, mlbf, kgf, tonnes, N, kN, and MN. Input is somewhat case insensitive -- all caps is recommended. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Input Unit of Force to use: TONNES Input Desired Thrust: 25 Desired thrust is: 55,115.50 lbf. ************************************************************************ * Stage Diameter that your Engine Configuration is Constrained By * ************************************************************************ Saturn V S-IC/S-II : 396 inch (33 feet) Diameter Saturn V S-IVB : 260 inch (21.7 ft) Diameter Delta IV CBC : 200 inch (5.1m) Diameter Atlas V CCB : 150 inch (12.5 ft) Diameter KSP Extra Large Part : 147.638 inch (3.75m) Diameter Centaur D-1T : 120 inch (10 ft) Diameter KSP Large Part : 98.4252 inch (2.5m) Diameter KSP Small Part : 49.2126 inch (1.25m) Diameter KSP Tiny Part : 24.6063 inch (0.625m) Diameter ************************************************************************ Input Stage Diameter in Inches: 49.21 ************************************************************************ NOTE: Regarding Useable Diameter -- The Saturn V's S-IC stage diameter was 396 inches, and it had a 'rim' which was approximately 10.4 inches thick, giving a useable inside diameter of 385.6 inches, or 0.973737374 of actual stage diameter. This program further reduces it to 0.968 to provide extra margin of safety for stage separation and protection against vibrations. ************************************************************************ Useable diameter available to the engine is 47.64 inches. This program supports up to 20 thrust chambers for iterative sizing. Please input the number of thrust chambers (nozzles) your engine has: 4 Maximum Possible Exit Diameter for each engine nozzle: 18.683 ************************************************************************ NOTE: The program will attempt to size an engine for your chamber pressure, but if it can't meet the thrust requirements within dimensional constraints, it will begin iteratively increasing chamber pressure until thrust requirements are met. ************************************************************************ Input Chamber Pressure (PSI): 700 Input Expansion Ratio of Engine: 8 ******************************* * Engine Operating Efficiency * ******************************* This is a combination of thrust chamber efficiency and nozzle efficiency. Maximum Theoretical Impulse : 1.00 (OR-Staged Combustion) Fully Regen. Nozzle : 0.98 to 0.99 (RD-180/RD-191) (Staged Combustion) Fully Regenerative Nozzle : 0.97 to 0.975 (SSME) Nuclear Thermal Rockets : 0.949 to 0.957 (0.953 Avg) (Gas Generator) Fully Regenerative Nozzle : 0.948-0.95 (H-1/J-2/RL10A-3-1) (Gas Generator) Partially Regenerative Nozzle : 0.92 (F-1) (Pressure Fed) Ablatively Cooled Nozzle/Chamber: 0.9026 (RS-18 LMAE) (Pressure Fed) Small Bi-Propellant Thrusters : 0.795 to 0.850 Input Engine Operating Efficiency (EOE): .94 *********************** * DATABASES AVAILABLE * *********************** (1) NASA Glenn IRTP Thermochemical Set; 1 datapoint. (2) RPA Thermochemical Set (10-6000 PSI Pc); 69 datapoints ----------------------------------------------------------- Input Database you wish to use for calculations: 2 ************************************************************************ * PROPELLANTS AVAILABLE (RPA Database) * * % = Oxidizer/Fuel Tanks are of equal size for this O/F Ratio * ************************************************************************ 1. LOX/75-ALC R:1.24 (V-2) | 2. LOX/90-ALC R:1.439 (SS-3 SHYSTER) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. LOX/RP-1 R:2.7 (RD-180) | 4. LOX/RP-1 R:2.3 (F-1) 5. LOX/Syntin R:2.7 (RD-180) | 6. LOX/Syntin R:2.3 (F-1) 7. LOX/Boctane R:2.7 (RD-180) | 8. LOX/Boctane R:2.3 (F-1) 9. LF2/Boctane R:2.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. LOX/Methane R:2.7% | 11. LOX/Methane R:3.5 (RD-192) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. NTO/MMH R:2.0 | 13. NTO/MMH R:1.9 14. NTO/MMH R:1.6% (STS OMS) | 15. NTO/MMH R:1.3 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 16. NTO/UDMH R:1.83% 17. NTO/UDMH R:2.2 (YF-20) | 18. NTO/UDMH R:2.7 (RD-253/RD-270) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 19. NTO/A-50 R:2.0 | 20. NTO/A-50 R:1.9 (TII SI)| 21% NTO/A-50 R1.6 (LMDE/SPS) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 22. LOX/LH2 R:6.0 (SSME) | 23. LOX/LH2 R:5.5 (J-2 P/U #1) 24. LOX/LH2 R:5.0 (RL-10) | 25. LOX/LH2 R:4.5 (J-2 P/U #2) 26. LOX/LH2 R:4.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 27. LF2/LH2 R:12 | 28. LF2/LH2 R:10 | 29. LF2/LH2 R:8 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 30. IRFNA/UDMH R:1.87% | 31. IRFNA/UDMH R:2.6 (Agena) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Input Propellant you wish to use for calculations: 11 Select chamber pressure delta increase per cycle if that cycle hits nozzle constraints. Smaller deltas require more computational cycles. Some crude examples: 1 PSI Delta : 18~ million iterations. 5 PSI Delta : 3.625~ million iterations. 10 PSI Delta : 1.819~ million iterations. Input Pressure Delta Per Cycle: 1 Iterations now beginning. This may take some time, particularly if you chose a low chamber pressure for your starting point and/or a small Pc Delta. Nozzle Exit Diameter found that matches specifications asked for. A total of 1,171.000 combinations were evaluated before finding a match. The Engine you've sized has 4.000 thrust chambers, each with a throat diameter of 4.144 inches and a exit diameter of 11.720 inches. Each chamber operates at 700.000psia and generates 13,800.954 lbf of thrust, for a total of 55,203.817 lbf. Finished computing your stuff. Holding for acknowledgement to pass 0 and end.

Really simple Explanation: What this does is takes in user inputs like nozzle inside diameter, chamber pressure, propellant mix; and calculates thrust and ISP for your rocket. Useful if you want to make accurate rocket engines for KSP! Version 0.9 download link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9oa4t0ejvol5nm7/EIRTPv0-9.zip Operating Environment: Windows Command Line Executable (.exe) Development Platform: Windows 7 x64 laptop Language: C++ (using C++11 standards) Compiler/IDE: DevC++ (x32 5.5.3) using MinGW GCC 4.7.2 32-bit Release Opening Scrawl: ************************************************************************** * Enhanced Interactive Rocket Thrust Program (EIRTP) v0.90 (MAY 2013) * * Performs One-Dimensional design/analysis of rocket nozzle(s). * ************************************************************************** This program was originally programmed in Java as a web application back in 2005 by Tom Benson of NASA Glenn Research Center and made available to the general public via the following URL: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/ienzl.html Ported to C++ and improved with more data tables and other additions, such as supporting (crudely) nuclear thermal rockets, altitude/ISP tables, and support for Kerbal Space Program in January-February/May 2014 by Ryan Crierie. LEGAL STUFF: This software is public domain. It may be freely copied and used in non-commercial products, assuming proper credit to the author(s) are given. IT MAY NOT BE RESOLD. If you want to use the software for commercial products, contact the author(s). In no event shall NASA or Ryan Crierie be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WARNING: The mass-estimator function only works correctly on engines with 'modern' thrust chambers of the configuration(s) used since the mid 1950s. It returns highly incorrect masses for engines with 'early' thrust chambers of the V-2/Redstone/RD-100~ era. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **************************** Notes: Yes; I know it says "nuclear thermal rockets" -- there's code in there for NTRs, but it's commented out for this release; because things got a bit too sphagettified, and I needed to 'hit the books' to gather more information on NTRs to make accurate estimations on them. Case in point: Simple monopropellant NTRs generate correct ISP figures -- Liquid Hydrogen, Liquid Oxygen, etc; because they're a single gas. But when you have complex propellants like ammonia or methane for NTRs, the ISP figures are off, because each element of the propellant disassociates at different rates. Additionally, I need to look again at rocket engine costs for chemical engines. The problem is that engine costs are very proprietary figures in the real world; closely held by corporations; so there are very few real datapoints to base them off of. Update Probability: Mildish. I'm kind of burned out on this. Putting it out to see what you all think. --------------- What does it do? Simple Command Line Interface (CLI) Program that writes output to files or to a console window. Here's an example run of EIRTP.exe: ************************************************************************** * Enhanced Interactive Rocket Thrust Program (EIRTP) v0.90 (MAY 2013) * * Performs One-Dimensional design/analysis of rocket nozzle(s). * ************************************************************************** This program was originally programmed in Java as a web application back in 2005 by Tom Benson of NASA Glenn Research Center and made available to the general public via the following URL: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/ienzl.html Ported to C++ and improved with more data tables and other additions, such as supporting (crudely) nuclear thermal rockets, altitude/ISP tables, and support for Kerbal Space Program in January-February/May 2014 by Ryan Crierie. LEGAL STUFF: This software is public domain. It may be freely copied and used in non-commercial products, assuming proper credit to the author(s) are given. IT MAY NOT BE RESOLD. If you want to use the software for commercial products, contact the author(s). In no event shall NASA or Ryan Crierie be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WARNING: The mass-estimator function only works correctly on engines with 'modern' thrust chambers of the configuration(s) used since the mid 1950s. It returns highly incorrect masses for engines with 'early' thrust chambers of the V-2/Redstone/RD-100~ era. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Input the name of the engine you are simulating: Mainsail Input Nozzle Exit Diameter (in Inches): 55 Input Nozzle Expansion Ratio: 16 *************** * Nozzle Type * *************** 1.) Regeneratively Cooled (Tube-Wall) Metallic Nozzle (Most Modern Rockets) 2.) Radiatively/Ablatively Cooled Metallic Nozzle (Most RCS Nozzles) 3.) Radiatively/Ablatively Cooled Composite Nozzle (RS-68 Thick Wall) 4.) Radiatively/Ablatively Cooled Composite Nozzle (RL10B-2 Thin Wall) Input Nozzle Type: 1 Input Chamber Pressure (in PSI): 700 Input Number of Thrust Chambers in Engine (2 for RD-180, etc): 1 *********************** * DATABASES AVAILABLE * *********************** (1) NASA Glenn IRTP Thermochemical Set; 1 datapoint. (2) RPA Thermochemical Set (10-6000 PSI Pc); 69 datapoints ----------------------------------------------------------- Input Database you wish to use for calculations: 2 ************************************************************************ * PROPELLANTS AVAILABLE (RPA Database) * * % = Oxidizer/Fuel Tanks are of equal size for this O/F Ratio * ************************************************************************ 1. LOX/75-ALC R:1.24 (V-2) | 2. LOX/90-ALC R:1.439 (SS-3 SHYSTER) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. LOX/RP-1 R:2.7 (RD-180) | 4. LOX/RP-1 R:2.3 (F-1) 5. LOX/Syntin R:2.7 (RD-180) | 6. LOX/Syntin R:2.3 (F-1) 7. LOX/Boctane R:2.7 (RD-180) | 8. LOX/Boctane R:2.3 (F-1) 9. LF2/Boctane R:2.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. LOX/Methane R:2.7% | 11. LOX/Methane R:3.5 (RD-192) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. NTO/MMH R:2.0 | 13. NTO/MMH R:1.9 14. NTO/MMH R:1.6% (STS OMS) | 15. NTO/MMH R:1.3 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 16. NTO/UDMH R:1.83% 17. NTO/UDMH R:2.2 (YF-20) | 18. NTO/UDMH R:2.7 (RD-253/RD-270) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 19. NTO/A-50 R:2.0 | 20. NTO/A-50 R:1.9 (TII SI)| 21% NTO/A-50 R1.6 (LMDE/SPS) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 22. LOX/LH2 R:6.0 (SSME) | 23. LOX/LH2 R:5.5 (J-2 P/U #1) 24. LOX/LH2 R:5.0 (RL-10) | 25. LOX/LH2 R:4.5 (J-2 P/U #2) 26. LOX/LH2 R:4.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 27. LF2/LH2 R:12 | 28. LF2/LH2 R:10 | 29. LF2/LH2 R:8 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 30. IRFNA/UDMH R:1.87% | 31. IRFNA/UDMH R:2.6 (Agena) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Input Propellant you wish to use for calculations: 11 ************************************* * Engine Packaging/Technology Level * ************************************* 1.) Standard Tech Levels (RL10, F-1, H-1, SSME) 2.) Advanced Development (SpaceX Merlin 1D) 3.) Beyond Bleeding Edge Development Select Tech Level (and thus cost): 1 ******************************* * Engine Operating Efficiency * ******************************* This is a combination of thrust chamber efficiency and nozzle efficiency. Maximum Theoretical Impulse : 1.00 (OR-Staged Combustion) Fully Regen. Nozzle : 0.980-0.990 (RD-180/RD-191) (Staged Combustion) Fully Regenerative Nozzle : 0.970-0.975 (SSME) (Gas Generator) Fully Regenerative Nozzle : 0.948-0.950 (H-1/J-2/RL10A-3-1) (Gas Generator) Partially Regenerative Nozzle : 0.92 (F-1) (Pressure Fed) Ablatively Cooled Nozzle/Chamber: 0.9026 (RS-18 LMAE) (Gas Generator) Regen Nozzle, Steering Vanes : 0.881 (V-2 Engine) (Pressure Fed) Small Bi-Propellant Thrusters : 0.795 to 0.850 Input Engine Operating Efficiency (EOE): 0.94 INITAL CALCULATIONS COMPLETED. Outputting Engine Summary to 'Mainsail_Summary.txt'. Engine Summary File DONE. Detailed ISP/Thrust logs will now be computed and made available inside the following file: Mainsail_Log.csv in comma separated variable (CSV) format in intervals of your own chosing. Input interval between datapoints in feet: 5000 Finished computing detailed altitude/thrust/ISP log. Holding for acknowledgement. Mainsail_Summary.txt: Mainsail engine summary via EIRTP v1.0 PROPELLANT PARAMETERS: Liquid Oxygen / Liquid Methane -- O/F 3.5 Temperature of Combustion : 5,856.68F Gamma : 1.18 Molecular Weight : 21.83 Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio : 3.50 Oxidizer Density : 71.17 lb/ft3 (1,140.00 kg/m3) Fuel Density : 26.34 lb/ft3 (422.00 kg/m3) Overall Propellant Density : 51.64 lb/ft3 (827.23 kg/m3) ENGINE BASIC PARAMETERS: Estimated Engine Cost : $3,411,476.69 ($3.41M) Propellant Mass Flow (q) : 567.45 lb/sec (257.39 kg/sec) Engine Overall Efficiency : 0.94 Thrust Chambers : 1.00 Chamber Pressure : 700.00 psi. *************************************************************************** * BELL (PARABOLIC) NOZZLE PERFORMANCE DATA * *************************************************************************** ENGINE DIMENSIONS/MASSES: Nozzle Expansion Ratio : 16.00 Nozzle Length : 69.12 inches Nozzle Throat Diameter : 13.75 inches. Nozzle Throat Area (Ath) : 148.49 square inches. Nozzle Exit Diameter : 55.00 inches. Nozzle Exit Area (Aex) : 2,375.83 square inches. Turbopump Mass : 670.14 lbs (0.30 tonnes) Nozzle(s) Mass : 1,215.22 lbs (0.55 tonnes) Accessory(s) Mass : 471.34 lbs (0.21 tonnes) Total Engine Mass : 2,356.70 lbs (1.07 tonnes) Engine T/W (SL) : 60.72 Engine T/W (Vac) : 75.54 ALTITUDE THRUST SPECIFIC IMPULSE Sea Level: 143,102.63 lbf 252.19 sec (100% of Atmosphere) 2,850 ft: 146,551.78 lbf 258.27 sec (90% of Atmosphere) 6,000 ft: 150,037.53 lbf 264.41 sec (80% of Atmosphere) 9,500 ft: 153,536.89 lbf 270.57 sec (70% of Atmosphere) 13,340 ft: 157,051.53 lbf 276.77 sec (60% of Atmosphere) 17,950 ft: 160,545.76 lbf 282.93 sec (50% of Atmosphere) 23,250 ft: 164,040.44 lbf 289.09 sec (40% of Atmosphere) 29,750 ft: 167,530.71 lbf 295.24 sec (30% of Atmosphere) 38,350 ft: 171,022.01 lbf 301.39 sec (20% of Atmosphere) 52,800 ft: 174,524.64 lbf 307.56 sec (10% of Atmosphere) 67,250 ft: 176,273.39 lbf 310.64 sec (5% of Atmosphere) 81,800 ft: 177,143.40 lbf 312.18 sec (2.5% of Atmosphere) 96,750 ft: 177,581.54 lbf 312.95 sec (1.25% of Atmosphere) 112,000 ft: 177,799.47 lbf 313.33 sec (0.625% of Atmosphere) Vacuum: 178,017.69 lbf 313.72 sec ************************************************************************** * BELL (PARABOLIC) NOZZLE PERFORMANCE DATA (KSP Ready) * ************************************************************************** Propellant Data: **************************************************** Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio : 3.50 Oxidizer Density : 0.0011400 (KSP cfg Units) Fuel Density : 0.0004220 (KSP cfg Units) Overall Propellant Density : 0.0008272 (KSP cfg Units) **************************************************** PART.CFG information below: // --- editor parameters --- cost = 341.15 // --- standard part parameters --- mass = 1.07 // tonnes. // maxTemp = 1,381 // Roughly Equilibrium Temperature // maxTemp = 2,071 // 75% Overheat Bar maxTemp = 1,864 // 95% Overheat Bar MODULE { name = ModuleEngines thrustVectorTransformName = NozzleTransform exhaustDamage = true ignitionThreshold = 0.1 minThrust = 0 maxThrust = 636.55 // kN - sea level // maxThrust = 791.86 // kN - vacuum heatProduction = 291.21 PROPELLANT { name = LqdMethane ratio = 0.44 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.56 } atmosphereCurve { key = 1 252.19 key = 0.9 258.27 key = 0.8 264.41 key = 0.7 270.57 key = 0.6 276.77 key = 0.5 282.93 key = 0.4 289.09 key = 0.3 295.24 key = 0.2 301.39 key = 0.1 307.56 key = 0.05 310.64 key = 0.025 312.18 key = 0.0125 312.95 key = 0.00625 313.33 key = 0 313.72 } } ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** * AEROSPIKE (PLUG) NOZZLE PERFORMANCE DATA * *************************************************************************** ENGINE DIMENSIONS/MASSES Nozzle Aerodynamic Expansion Ratio : 16.00 Nozzle Geometric Expansion Ratio : 19.93 Engine Diameter : 57.75 inches. Nozzle Length : 38.57 inches Nozzle Geometric Area : 2,375.83 square inches. Nozzle Geometric Throat Area : 119.22 in2. Turbopump Mass : 670.14 lbs. 0.30 tonnes Nozzle(s) Mass : 684.06 lbs. 0.31 tonnes Accessory(s) Mass : 338.55 lbs. 0.15 tonnes Total Engine Mass : 1,692.76 lbs. 0.77 tonnes Engine T/W (SL) : 73.10 Engine T/W (Vac) : 87.53 ALTITUDE THRUST SPECIFIC IMPULSE Sea Level: 123,738.83 lbf 271.59 sec (100% of Atmosphere) 2,850 ft: 125,176.96 lbf 274.75 sec (90% of Atmosphere) 6,000 ft: 126,855.03 lbf 278.43 sec (80% of Atmosphere) 9,500 ft: 128,706.24 lbf 282.50 sec (70% of Atmosphere) 13,340 ft: 130,741.13 lbf 286.96 sec (60% of Atmosphere) 17,950 ft: 132,982.71 lbf 291.88 sec (50% of Atmosphere) 23,250 ft: 135,523.94 lbf 297.46 sec (40% of Atmosphere) 29,750 ft: 138,494.80 lbf 303.98 sec (30% of Atmosphere) 38,350 ft: 141,582.43 lbf 310.76 sec (20% of Atmosphere) 52,800 ft: 144,696.06 lbf 317.59 sec (10% of Atmosphere) 67,250 ft: 146,282.37 lbf 321.07 sec (5% of Atmosphere) 81,800 ft: 147,100.92 lbf 322.87 sec (2.5% of Atmosphere) 96,750 ft: 147,537.90 lbf 323.83 sec (1.25% of Atmosphere) 112,000 ft: 147,775.36 lbf 324.35 sec (0.625% of Atmosphere) Vacuum: 148,168.63 lbf 325.21 sec ************************************************************************** * AEROSPIKE (PLUG) NOZZLE PERFORMANCE DATA (KSP Ready) * ************************************************************************** Propellant Data: **************************************************** Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio : 3.50 Oxidizer Density : 0.0011400 (KSP cfg Units) Fuel Density : 0.0004220 (KSP cfg Units) Overall Propellant Density : 0.0008272 (KSP cfg Units) **************************************************** PART.CFG information below: // --- editor parameters --- cost = 426.43 // --- standard part parameters --- mass = 0.77 // tonnes. // maxTemp = 1,381 // Roughly Equilibrium Temperature // maxTemp = 2,071 // 75% Overheat Bar maxTemp = 1,864 // 95% Overheat Bar MODULE { name = ModuleEngines thrustVectorTransformName = NozzleTransform exhaustDamage = true ignitionThreshold = 0.1 minThrust = 0 maxThrust = 550.42 // kN - sea level // maxThrust = 659.09 // kN - vacuum heatProduction = 334.90 PROPELLANT { name = LqdMethane ratio = 0.44 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.56 } atmosphereCurve { key = 1 271.59 key = 0.9 274.75 key = 0.8 278.43 key = 0.7 282.50 key = 0.6 286.96 key = 0.5 291.88 key = 0.4 297.46 key = 0.3 303.98 key = 0.2 310.76 key = 0.1 317.59 key = 0.05 321.07 key = 0.025 322.87 key = 0.0125 323.83 key = 0.00625 324.35 key = 0 325.21 } } *********************************************************** EOF Mainsail_Log.csv output: NOTE: Aerospike Plug nozzles really don't make sense until you get into crazy high expansion numbers, like 100+

Original F-1 was not throttleable, the F-1A would have enabled throttle down to about 80% of rated thrust IIRC.

Just what it says on the title. Blender is just...ugh. While Blender has the *possibility* of being insanely powerful; it's dated UI with 1,001 keypresses for everything and counterintuitive mouse control system means that if you stop using it for a few months, you'll have forgotten *everything* quickly.

While researching something else at the US Naval Academy yesterday, I found drawings of the most awesome thing ever: Shuttle Compatible Nuclear Stage Of course; I don't know what "scaled down" factor Helldiver is using for the KSO project vs normal shuttles -- what's the size of the KSO Orbiter payload bay? I can then attempt to size a nuclear engine for it using Space Propulsion Analysis and Design.

Portable as in I can just unzip it to a folder and start programming away -- I don't like installing tons of dependencies and stuff on my computers. in any case, it's academic as I installed Visual C# 2010 into a XP SP3 virtual machine I keep handy.

Here's my little home built "micro shuttle" being pushed to the end of it's gravity turn:

Shuttle Variations And Derivatives That Never Happened - An Historical Review PDF file, a scholarly paper by an engineer at BOEING. Page 5 is interesting. It has a shroud on the TOP of the ET for large, low density payloads. There's even on page 9, a SSME-less orbiter, with only a single large OMS engine -- dumping the SSMEs allowed a payload bay stretch, and allowed subsonic lift/drag to increase.

1985 Popular Mechanics article on the proposed passenger shuttle pod

Previously I mentioned a smaller passenger-only shuttle with no cargo bay and accordingly smaller wing area (since it's lighter) But one thing that would be awesome if you're sticking to just parts that go into the cargo bay is.... Upper Stages for interplanetary payloads or whatnot: Shuttle Centaur: or Shuttle IUS Link since it's a huge image Passenger Module(s) Rockwell That reminds me, some sort of modified, kerbalified SpaceLab Module would be nice.

Interesting! I've actually been working on porting over another NASA java based app from Glenn Research Center to C++ .. their Interactive Rocket Thrust Program -- I've gotten it to work with Nuclear Thermal Rockets, Aerospikes, and improved the accuracy of the simulation via adding more complex propellant tables.

By that I mean portable in the sense of Orwell Dev C++ -- in that you can just plop them in a directory and go program away; without the program deploying dependencies and installs all over your system. I know, I could just run my C# development environment in a XP virtual machine, but that's a lot of extra work to develop for KSP.

Darn. An insane idea came to me just now; possible through a plug in.... Would it be possible to code a minature star with virtually no mass as the rendezvous light? Kerbol casts light throughout the entire system, despite being really far from everywhere....

What's the maximum distance you can see point lights from in game then? Even a ten mile distance limit would still be useful.

I don't know if this has been asked; but is there a possibility of a small, circular EXTREMELY bright white strobe? The Apollo LEM had an extremely powerful (9,000 candlepower) strobe beacon used for docking -- it was visible from almost 100 miles away in space: Link to PDF of it