Razorcane

What 3D program do you use?

I'm going to cross my arms at this mod until you can combine IVAs and make them traversable. I'm not being rude, I'm presenting you with a challenge.

RealSolarSystem, of course.

I don't see anywhere that it is stock craft only, so I took the liberty of making a Delta IV with StretchyTanks and various other mods. It can send 14t to LKO (With RSS, obviously). The payload was only 9t, but the DCSS still had about 2km/s of delta-v left, which means that it could have pushed more.

It still has the same name. I only changed the thrust/isp values.

Flickr isn't really a viable source for sharing pictures. Why don't you use imgur or imageshack? I only suggest this because your images are no longer visible.

Ok. Captain Party, here you go. Antares & Cygnus For the NK-33 Engines, you'll need to set thrust to 1815, Isp(SL) to 297, and Isp(Vac) to 331. Also, the omni-directional RCS pod from AIES(it's got a golden mylar material for a texture) needs to have it's weight changed to .001 and it's thrust changed to .1. For mods, you'll need all the usual. StretchyTanks, Bobcat's Russian Engines, Procedural Fairings, KW Rocketry. You'll also need AIES (specifically the square engine and the omni-directional RCS pod), and you'll also need Hullcam VDS. You might also want to alter some values as well, as the launch is different depending on your inclination and whatnot.

Isn't that the Castor-to-Cygnus adapter though? I was referring to the adapter that connected Castor to Antares.

I started this project a couple of weeks ago. Due to my busy schedule(12-16 hour work days and getting my Master's degree), I cannot work on this more than a few hours a week. I apologize for the lack of textures, but I was not trained to texture. My field of expertise is animation, and I mostly only deal with high-poly models. I would love to eventually convert these to game models, however I am unsure how the low-poly process works, so I haven't bothered with that. What you see above is the beginnings of the ISS. First in the album is the JLM, or Japanese Logistics Module, which is currently setting on top of the Japanese Experiment Module. It is mostly done, apart from a missing piece between the two trunnions that held it in place during transport aboard the Space Shuttle. The Hatch/CBM (or Common Berthing Mechanism) is still a work in progress, and still lacks many details that I have so far not had the time to model. The second module that I have done is the Leonardo PMM, or Permanent Multipurpose Module. This module is 100% complete, although the hatch and CBM are still a WIP, as said before. Third is the Exposed Facility, which is also attached to the Japanese Experiment Module. It is largely complete, apart from a few handrails here and there. The very last image is the beginnings of the Z1 Truss. This is the top structure of the truss where the P6 Truss and Solar Array sat before being moved. The circular holes were part of the docking mechanism, along with a hook in the square negative space in the center of the structure(which hasn't been modeled yet). Overall I'm happy with the progress I've made so far. I would love to see these converted into game assets, however I simply do not have the training or the experience to do that. At my job, I never have to deal with texturing or unwrapping, and have never had to worry about poly and tri counts before.

Ok, well I still need to do some more tests, but I'll send it over to you once I'm satisfied.

FYI, you could have done this long ago if you weren't so determined on launching a single craft. I built my Mars mission in four stages. Engines+Return Fuel, Transfer fuel which is later jettisoned, habitation, and finally crew. You went to an awful lot of trouble and made a really impossible rocket(impossible by real world standards) just to do something so unnecessarily difficult.

I can give it to you, however your version might not fly, as I said before I have edited the configs of the engines and the tanks to make it work.

I already have a Delta II, but it's rather unstable. Delta III is probably going to be along the same lines as well. I've also finished a Delta IV Heavy, and it's surprisingly stable, apart from the fact that it wants to turn so that the CBC's are vertical instead of horizontal. Also, here's a video of Antares. I'm still tweaking it, but it's almost perfect.

I actually did. I added new configurations for the engines, and I edited RealFuels to support TAC Life Support so that Cygnus could carry Oxygen/Food/Water.

Actually the Atlas V 401 and 501 are the exact same size(or roughly). What makes them different is the placement of the fairing. The fairing on the 501 encompasses the Centaur Upper Stage, whereas with the 401 the fairing only covers the payload on top. The only real difference is the diameter of the payload they can carry. Also, I don't really want to do a Vega because I don't see any practical use for it. I already have the Saturn 1B and Ariane 5, though they still need extensive work. Doesn't that mean I also have to compile a mod list? I don't really have time to make a mod list, which is why I didn't include the craft.

I made it with StretchyTanks. I edited some files that allowed it to contain life support,and that's what I send into orbit.

So I noticed you started with 102. Did you do 101 missions before that, or did you just pick an arbitrary number to start with?

I don't know if this was discussed, but the rings around the Castor 30 in your pictures aren't part of the actual Castor 30 motor. They are merely the braces that hold up the rocket. Here are some mockup images that I found of Antares/Cygnus that might be of use in finishing up this mod: Paper models, though they still might help get the fine details. Note that the ring there is an adapter for the Castor 30, which is attached to Antares.

Atlas V 501 and TDRS-A By Razorcane This one was a real bugger to get right. I had all the parts I needed, but getting the right measurements and providing the right Delta-v was tough work. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get anything other than the 501 to work. The SRB configuration is something that FAR and Mechjeb do not like, and the craft spins out of control at different altitudes. Still, this bad boy lifted 3t to LKO, and had enough Delta-V to achieve interplanetary speeds. However, this was the first flight test of the rocket, so I didn't want to push it too far. Also, I'm in the process of creating the Delta IV, Delta IV Heavy, and Delta II rockets. If you guys know of any other rockets that might be doable(No Saturn V, I've already tried) then let me know.

Thanks. And yea, I think Antares is a really great low-cost rocket. It might even replace Pegasus (or maybe it already has). I'm working on a Delta IV Medium and Heavy variants right now. The medium seems to work ok, though I can only get about 75% of the expected mass into orbit. I will probably have to manually create engine configurations like I did the Antares. Also, the heavy has a lot of wobble that I would really like to get rid of. The best solution for that I believe is to just add more struts, though I figured 4 of the super strong KW ones would be enough. I guess I was wrong.

Orbital Sciences Antares and Cygnus Spacecraft By Razorcane I wanted to rebuild Antares and Cygnus, since I believe they are a wholly ignored set of vehicles. I built Cygnus first, using measurements that are publicly available online. It wasn't really a difficult craft to build, however I did have to go back and edit the fuel values after I had built the rocket. The Castor30XL engine was probably the most difficult to get right. I used the dimensions provided by the wiki page, and gave it a 136 second burn time. This presented a problem, as it didn't have enough delta-V to send Cygnus to orbit (though I didn't find this out until I was already on the launchpad preparing for my first test flight!). I had forgot to match the Isp from the specifications that I had seen. After that was done, the issue was solved. The first stage wasn't really a problem. I simply matched the dimensions found on the wiki. The engines were a bit tricky though, as there aren't any engines that remotely resemble the ones used on Antares, and I really didn't want to use another from KW/Stock/NovaPunch. Lucky for me, BobCat had made the Russian Engines pack, which had exactly what I needed. It turns out that Antares uses modified NK33 engines, which the pack had. All I had to do was edit the config file and I was good to go! Antares has roughly 10,200m/s of Delta-V, which propelled the Cygnus Spacecraft into orbit. Cygnus itself had about 2500m/s, which allow it(albeit slowly) to move about LKO and dock with the station(which it hasn't done yet). I'm actually quite proud at how this rocket turned out. I hope you guys enjoy.

Orbital Sciences Antares and Cygnus Spacecraft By Razorcane I wanted to rebuild Antares and Cygnus, since I believe they are a wholly ignored set of vehicles. I built Cygnus first, using measurements that are publicly available online. It wasn't really a difficult craft to build, however I did have to go back and edit the fuel values after I had built the rocket. The Castor30XL engine was probably the most difficult to get right. I used the dimensions provided by the wiki page, and gave it a 136 second burn time. This presented a problem, as it didn't have enough delta-V to send Cygnus to orbit (though I didn't find this out until I was already on the launchpad preparing for my first test flight!). I had forgot to match the Isp from the specifications that I had seen. After that was done, the issue was solved. The first stage wasn't really a problem. I simply matched the dimensions found on the wiki. The engines were a bit tricky though, as there aren't any engines that remotely resemble the ones used on Antares, and I really didn't want to use another from KW/Stock/NovaPunch. Lucky for me, BobCat had made the Russian Engines pack, which had exactly what I needed. It turns out that Antares uses modified NK33 engines, which the pack had. All I had to do was edit the config file and I was good to go! Craft File: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/41300233/Cygnus.craft Antares has roughly 10,200m/s of Delta-V, which propelled the Cygnus Spacecraft into orbit. Cygnus itself had about 2500m/s, which allow it(albeit slowly) to move about LKO and dock with the station(which it hasn't done yet). I'm actually quite proud at how this rocket turned out. I hope you guys enjoy. EDIT: I apologize for the solar panels, I know they aren't right. However the LaxTek Dragon panels were the only ones that were even remotely close to the right size. I wish they weren't bent like that.

So, I'm having some issues with the launch clamps, particularly the one with the crew transfer platform. Whenever I add it to my craft, and launch, I don't have any staging controls, no control over the vehicle whatsoever, and I can't use the "revert flight" button. The problem doesn't seem to occur when using your prebuilt craft, however I would like to use these outside of the mod, so it presents a problem. I am using the latest version as well, if you were wondering whether an upgrade would fix my problem or not.

You told me that 1.8m is the absolute maximum that can fit in the shuttle, and I believe you should strive to make parts that large(or 1.7m, perhaps). The reason is mainly because 1.5m isn't that much room, even by Kerbal standards. Kerbals struggle to fit through a 62.5cm docking port(which is impossible with their helmet on), and 1.25m is a more comfortable size. 1.5m radius means you have about 1.3m of livable space inside, which is very, very small. The very act of making station parts means that they are theoretically going to have no function, unless you are able to create multiple types of experiments for them to do. That being said, it would be nice to see different modules for different types of experiments (medical, physical, biological, etc). For the solar arrays/truss segments, it would be best to have custom docking ports for them, since technically there is no negative space between the trusses. Also, I believe the Cupola should be relatively small, 1.25m in width(to match the docking ports), instead of being It really sucks that you don't want to do robotics, as a robotic arm is really the only functional way to attach something to a station. Currently, with just KSO, the only way to attach something to a station is to connect it to the docking port you have on the shuttle, which means that if you use the junior docking port, all your station modules have to have junior docking ports, which I don't really like. Of course, there are other robotic plugins, like Infernal Robotics, that fix this issue, but it would be nice to have something in-house for this sort of thing. I think you should go back and think about it again.

It's a real pity that he left out the P1/S1 trusses, and isn't even building it in order. It's also a pity that those guys never got around to modelling the S5/P5 and S6/P6 Trusses, since the second set of solar arrays on each side are fundamentally different then the P4/S4 Truss and Solar Arrays.