Gryphorim

I'm looking at coding up a test engine that uses a heatloop to define max thrust and propellant flow to define maximum cooling rate. My intention is an engine that uses heat from either a fission or fusion source to heat propellant like an NTR, and can run on either intakeatm or on board propellant. Is this going to be a possibility? I can foresee some issues with unrealistic performance, or with engines becoming starved of heat by having excess propellant flow to heat ratio.

Can they just be set to a manual full throttle, and use TCA to pulse the RCS-controlled thrusters? or would that just waste fuel?

For the really big builds that FFT sorta encourages, the NFProp RCS thrusters don't really have enough power. Is there a way to coerce the electric propulsion engines to respond to RCS commands? Also, the toroidal aerospike fusion engine is really cool, but feels like it's screaming for an atmosphere-breathing mode, or variant, for efficient spaceplane operation. As in: just about everything in FFT is about cutting-edge physics to get from one celestial body's orbit, to another. The TAF, however, is compact and has an aero boattail, making it more of a booster for SSTO vehicles, in particular, VTVL types. NF Aero brings a ton of goodies for making spaceplane SSTO designs, and Kerbal Atomics bring some great fission based air-breathing engines, so it occurs to me that FFT might have something adaptable to the same role. The TAF seems like the right tool for the job, if it were given an air-breathing mode.

Posting to show support and anticipation for both Stirling and Impulse parts. I hope to someday try these parts out.

@Nertea, would this new tease, or any of the new centrifugal habs be well suited to making closely stacked, counter-rotating designs? In the live release, anything 3.75m or bigger mounting size is so tall, that they don't stack nicely. I guess this is sort of a request for a flatter centrifuge design that stacks nicely.

Have you seen the "Apple" concept for what looks like a flat panel RTG? https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2021_Phase_I/Atomic_Planar_Power_for_Lightweight_Exploration/ Maybe you could loosely base an RTG on it, giving it the form factor of a solar panel or radiator, but functioning as any other RTG?

I was just coming back to ask if this was still being developed. Good to see that progress continues. I am seriously looking forward to trying this pack out when it releases. I am hoping that it compliments the works produced be Nertea, for making a range of near and far future spaceplanes.

Anyone have screenshots of the model reworks in last patch?

Could that "Ouroboros" Fusion Aerospike be configured to use IntakeAir or IntakeAtm as re-mass? It could potentially be the core of a hybrid jet/rocket.

I'm sorta hoping for a far future aeronautics. Not likely to happen though.

Or at least SSTO compatible parts?

That looks really cool. Would it be possible to set up a cluster of pulsed engines to fire sequentially?

That is awesome! An inline ducted fan and or a foldable prop would potentially be great for an Eve ascent vehicle with minimal radial size, so it can be delivered to Eve without a mushroom fairing assembly. Edit: Assuming it were electric or could run on internal oxidiser, like a fuel cell does.

If you're looking into doing prop engines, there is one I'd like to request. A (preferrably) stackable prop engine with folding props, so that in it's retracted state, has minimal protrusion from the size of the mounting points. This could make for an ideal Eve engine, or could be incorporated into spaceplane designs, to allow for a powered final approach on landing.

For the first point: Whichever allows you the flexibility for what you want to achieve. I've been researching RDEs ever since they were brought up in my uni this year (Aerospace propulsion.) They seem to inherently have a toroidal or annular shape, so either could work. You could describe both the ramjet ring and the core engine as RDEs. As an aside, I see no reason why, with sufficient tech, an RDE couldn't be stretched into a near linear form, with detonation travelling like the belt of a conveyor. Mk2 fuselage possibilities for the future? As for the second point, I'm mostly referring to this: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32405613/microwave-air-plasma-thrusters-compete-jet-engines/ promising research. Probably an absolute power hog, as it's still very much experimental, but it looks high thrust, potentially. I saw another article about a NTR that boosts exhaust using an Arcjet, to give near nuclear lightbulb isp. in theory at least. I think it was called the scorpion engine. Basically, I figured that based on the concepts above, it should be possible to electrically heat exhaust from any jet or rocket, and accelerate it well past the chemical limits, if there were enough power available. Having some alternate thrust generation options for the ring engine and core engine, to allow players to mix and match would be pretty cool. Imagine electric ring around high-thrust core, or vice-versa. Or optional nuclear versions, for those so radiologically inclined, or having the ring or core being set up as RCS controlled and the other as main engine control. Or going way off the deep end, a long aerospike sci-fi drive and ion ring drive for Star Wars prequel fans.

Idea: a combined cycle engine, SABRE style, with an RDE combustion chamber and Aerospike nozzle, arranged around a traditional central nozzle. As an extension to the idea, MPDT with airbreathing mode and closed cycle, or an electric boost mode for above design that boosts exhaust velocity with MPDT derived technology. So an engine that would have switchable mode for air/oxidiser, and a boost toggle that adds Ec to the mix. Efficiency of Ec consumption and propellant mix adjusted to suit gameplay balance, But I'd imagine if you arc-boosted, you'd want a nuclear reactor onboard, or a ton of solar in orbit.

An idea for the VT Helicarrier: a few variants with some vertical distance between intake side and exhaust side, to facilitate snapping to (through) fuselages. So maybe a Mk2 height, J, and K height versions? personally I'd like a version that can act as RCS as well, (or a ring RCS mount with 45 degree thrusters that snaps around the VT engine, but that would be easy enough to make with existing parts, I guess.)

I'm a bit lost. I updated and got the B9 fatal error. Deleted MM cache, double checked that I have latest B9 ver. and still getting the fatal error. Is this just me and my install? I have all the near future stuff, cryo, atomic, restock, basically all the current nertea stuff, realplume, engine lighting relit, scatterer, reentry particles, KIS, KAS, tweakscale, and better timewarp. Fatal Error reads something like "no tank called RR_CryoHLOX exists"

I like the SAGE's shape in general. that model is my favourite Mk2 engine from any mod, just on aesthetics. The slot nozzles already have the sort of design language I would imagine for a powered elevon. I could imagine something designed to snap to the back of the large and huge pylon/wingroot parts, with the engine body or cooling inlets visible on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wingroot, and the attached elevon/nozzle at the trailing edge, looking like a typical elevon, but with a SAGE style nozzle on the underside. For the huge, I'd imagine about 1/2 of the power of the SAGE, for the large, I'd imagine about 1/3rd. An underwing design would be cool as well, designed to fire along the underside of a wing in forward flight, but rotate the end of the exhaust vane downward to switch to VTOL flight. Would balance the thrust from the Elevon vanes at the rear of the wing.

Combined engine/elevon wouldn't necessarily need to be bulky if it was some form of plasma thruster, and there are developments in the airbreathing plasma thruster technology going on right now that might be able to match similarly sized jet engines one day. I had imagined something like an air-fed arcjet that uses something akin to railgun rails internally to further accelerate exhaust plasma, in which case the limiting size constraint would be length. Add the ability to magnetically or electrostatically deflect the exhaust jet, and you'd have a wing-shaped air-plasma engine, with vectored thrust in the elevons. In theory, such an engine could also transition to V/STOL mode by extending flaps. You'd probably lose any room for fuel storage though, with a wing-engine like this. Alternatively, a lower power engine may still be useful for improved handling and for supplemental power for a main engine. If you are doing radiator parts at some point in the future, and want to continue OPT's sci-fi futuristic aesthetic, why not look at the radiators on the spaceships in Elite: Dangerous. Those are ridiculously OP, and glow like the sun at full load. I am particularly fond of the Saud-Kruger ships, that have a glazed covering over the radiator panels.

@JadeofMaar, do OPT wings have any functionality as radiators? It seems like an ideal dual purpose for nuclear or futuristic powered aerospace craft to incorporate radiator panels directly into wing surfaces. And admittedly, seeing the wings glowing during high-thrust burns would be pretty cool. Maybe this could be a thing when SystemHeat is released. Another high-tech part idea are powered control surfaces, or distributed propulsion wings. Basically the trailing edge of a control surface or wing act as a linear aerospike nozzle, or just a slit nozzle, through which the engine fires. Similar in concept to Blown flaps or Jet flaps

Fair enough. I feel the Mk3 parts have a lot of unused space around the crew cabin, and the tapered adapters are a little restrictive, but I understand the workload involved here. Wishful thinking on my part, for sure, and a little nostalgia for NF Aero. The Mk2/Mk3 expansions are really good and comprehensive, though they have a different visual style to your work. I had hoped for a NF style pack that handled Mk2 and 3 to keep the aesthetics and balance 100% consistent. As things stand now, I like the OPT pack for spaceplanes, and used to combine with NF Aero if available, or FFT for really crazy spaceplane designs.

So, I'm a bit at a loss. What OPT pack do I run with the reconfig? As in what are the benefits of main vs legacy. I dont want both, because of the parts bloat and the duplication, but the 2 packs seem to be missing essential parts. Main lacks air brakes, dual mode Mk2 engine, hunchback cockpit. Legacy lacks many of the more refined cargo bay options and seems unbalanced. Also, Where are the new parts JadeofMaar is making going to go? At the end of the day, I want the Mk2 dual mode engine, J-aerospike and the new stuff coming soon, and the most up to date hull options. Is that all going to be in one pack, or will I have to frankenstein main and legacy to achieve this?

@Nertea, would you consider expanding Restock or Restock+ to update the Mk2 and Mk3 parts at some point in the future? Those aero parts look dated and limited compared to the rest with restock installed. Keeping to the idea of parts needing variants and parts notable for their absence, some ideas I'd like to see are listed below: -Mk2 nose cone with lines like the Mk2 Cockpit, possibly a drone/probe core. -Mk2 intake, possibly a ramscoop and conical versions (variants of same part?) -Mk2 engine, RAPIER Linear aerospike? OPT has a great looking part like this as a "turboramjet" but a dual mode engine feels right for this size. Maybe a compact version that can be stacked linearly? -Mk2 precooler, -Mk2 service bay -Mk2 engine adapter with 1x 1.25m mount and 2x 0.625m mounts? -Mk3 crew compartments with cargo variant that has hollow, service bay like area above and below crew compartment. Version with ramp. -Mk3 to 2.5m conical section with crew compartment, and hollow cargo bay versions -Mk3 ramp with symmetrical clamshell shape for rocket bodies. -Mk3 hi-tech cockpit, like B9's ancient, but stylish one, not a shuttle design. I've tried to stay away from stuff that would better suit NF Aero, which as far as I could determine, was more focussed on the introduction of larger and more exotic propulsion options and integration with the Mk4 hull. If NF Aero is ever revived, I'd love to see those engines again, as well as half-round parts to expand the Mk3 hull to something like a larger Mk2. Again, B9 Aero did this way back when, but it really worked aesthetically. I think that might actually be where Mk3 came from.

Personally, I'd like to see a deployable, zeppelin-shaped envelope, that can support an ascent vehicle as the gondola, and maybe an XL envelope that can be deployed as an aerostat base for docking spaceplanes to, but can be delivered via reentry vehicle. Basically just re-modelled envelopes that look a bit more "realistic"