Constellation Mission Packs Discussion Thread!

[Frank_G]

1 hour ago, buhochileno said:

can you help me to test your duna lander?, I was trying to separate that craft from the rocket but then I was not sure which one was the root to control the lander...also I get confuse with the action key, for some reason is not able to lift off not even a little bit from the ground until I make some of the shell to be separated...Action key 7 dosn't seems to cut the drag parachutes or even deploy the regular oes...but I'm probably doing something wrong...any tips to test the duna lander alone from kerbal surface and orbit?....

 

Thanks!

...also can't get the ascent vehicle to separate...

I think we get this sorted easily

The root part to control the lander is the probe core on top of the ascent vehicle cover.

The thruster settings are configured for Duna, set them to maximum to test it on Kerbin.

On Kerbin the separateons alone are too weak to propel the DAV away from the lander. Use the main thrusters, to help with the separation.

The lander has no main chutes. It uses drogue chutes for high altitude deceleration. Action group 7 separates them (please check the action groups - i re arranged the chutes a little, after the mission. Maybe i got something wrong). Dont forget to ignite the main engines shortly before you separate the chutes.

(Edit: I have checked my craftfile - Action group 7 is correctly set to cut the drogue chutes)

Edited May 18, 2016 by Frank_G
Checked and returned a result

[Servo]

I got the wheels on the SPR to work finally (at the cost of making it larger than I would have liked). Also, I redid the everything but the frame and MAV on the cargo lander again. This will probably be the final iteration, as the part count is finally below 500, even with the aeroshell (A pretty major accomplishment as far as I'm concerned). I got around to testing it, with varied success. Launch went well, but I'm having trouble landing on Duna without crashing (both the ship and the game).

 

[Majorjim!]

8 hours ago, Servo said:

I'm having trouble landing on Duna without crashing

What exactly is the issue with the landing? Are you setting SAS to follow retrograde and then using the throttle to control descent? Is the lander balanced ok?

[Servo]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

What exactly is the issue with the landing? Are you setting SAS to follow retrograde and then using the throttle to control descent? Is the lander balanced ok?

Parachutes primarily, but I think I fixed that. Also, the aeroshell makes the lander behave like a drunk whale in the atmosphere. I landed all right, but I chose the landing site poorly and skid down a 45 degree slope.

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Servo said:

Parachutes primarily, but I think I fixed that. Also, the aeroshell makes the lander behave like a drunk whale in the atmosphere. I landed all right, but I chose the landing site poorly and skid down a 45 degree slope.

LOL ok I see. Yeah even with a stock procedural aeroshell it is almost impossible to get it to fly flat as it should. Even with perfect COM and what-not. A drogue chute during entry can stabilize it a little even if it is not true to how it would have been done IRL.

[pTrevTrevs]

Photos from my Kerbin orbit testing of Altair.

Spoiler

Once Orion had docked to Altair and the Ares V second stage, I put the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit with the Ares stage to simulate the Trans-Munar Injection burn, although it was smaller and did not burn nearly as much fuel.

After two revolutions in this eccentric orbit Altair fires its descent engines to return the stack to an 81 km circular orbit. Why the concepts for this mission called for Altair to perform the lunar orbit insertion, I still do not know, but this is apparently what they would have done, so this is what I have to do.

About a day later, the CMP and LMP (I'm not coming up with brand new designations for the crew when I can just use the ones from Apollo) perform a spacewalk to examine Altair. The LMP egresses from Altair and climbs up and down the ladder to ensure that it can be used for reaching the surface of the Mun once landed. He also inspects the exterior of Altair to check for any damage caused by the launch or the two days spent in orbit.

This is the best recreation I can do of this sort of famous photograph from Apollo 9.

After the spacewalk comes the most dangerous but also most important part of the mission. Altair undocks from Orion and prepares to fire its engine for a two hour flight test. Only the CDR and LMP are inside. This isn't a landing mission, so there isn't any need to endanger all three crew members by putting them all in a ship that cannot return to Kerbin. CMP is still in Orion, inspecting the lander one last time before it departs.

Altair releases its drop tanks while at the maximum distance from Orion. They weren't completely empty because I apparently haven't connected the fuel lines properly, but I decided that I wouldn't get another chance after this one since I planned to return to Orion after this orbit.

On the way back the descent stage is jettisoned, Altair will complete its mission using the ascent engine.

Rendezvous with Orion is almost complete, although it's been well over a year since I tried to do a manual rendezvous and docking, I found that it wasn't that hard, so I didn't use that much fuel.

Altair's ascent stage is docked and the crew have returned to the Command Module to continue the mission. Because Altair still has at least two thirds of its ascent fuel supply left, I think I'll use it to launch Orion into a high altitude orbit before casting off the lander.

I'm trying to decide if the next mission i fly with these should be a Constellation copy of Apollo 10 or just go for a landing so I can actually tell whether they're ready for release.

[cxg2827]

@Servo and @Frank_G

Awesome landers!

[JaffaPadawan]

After looking at this thread, I 've decided to make my own Constellation pack. My Ares 1 is basically finished already.

Testing it with 9 ton fuel tank payload.

(EDIT) Those pictures aren't working, aren't they.

(EDIT) It's not an Ares 3. YES! the pictures worked!

 

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by JaffaPadawan
The rocket isn't an Ares III, that doesn't exist.

[pTrevTrevs]

17 minutes ago, JaffaPadawan said:

After looking at this thread, I 've decided to make my own Constellation pack. My Ares III is basically finished already.

Testing it with 9 ton fuel tank payload.

(EDIT) Those pictures aren't working, aren't they.

 

 

Here, let me embed them for you.

Once you've got the images uploaded to your website of choice (Good, you used imgur, it's probably your best choice), you want to right click on the image and click "Copy Image". Then you come over to your reply, move the insertion bar where you want the image and press CTRL+V to paste it. You will know it worked right if you see the image in the text box.

 

By the way, welcome to our project. You will soon notice a considerable drop n the amount of free time you have, and may feel that your very soul is being consumed by working on this. Just saying...

[JaffaPadawan]

OK, thanks for telling me. I had no idea how to work those pictures.

Aaaaaand there goes my free time.

[Majorjim!]

6 hours ago, JaffaPadawan said:

OK, thanks for telling me. I had no idea how to work those pictures.

Aaaaaand there goes my free time.

Yup! Bye bye.

 I am very happy to see yet another brave builder take on this most satisfying challenge! I like what I see so far too mate, keep up the good work!

 

[JaffaPadawan]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

Yup! Bye bye.

 I am very happy to see yet another brave builder take on this most satisfying challenge! I like what I see so far too mate, keep up the good work!

 

Thanks!

[Servo]

Over the past few days I've built and rebuilt my hab lander, and done some semi-extensive testing on kerbin (HyperEdit is buggy as heck still). I'm curious to see how some of you guys did/are doing extendable stuff, but I'm satisfying myself with two labs and 4 hitchhikers on the lander itself. Additionally, I rebuilt the copernicus, making the central truss look a bit more accurate, and have begun assembling it in orbit (game is still crashing periodically for no apparent reason, which annoys me to no end.)

I find it kinda funny how for literally everything so far (except my launch vehicles) I've built one version, tested it somewhat, then completely scrapped it and rebuilt the whole thing from scratch. I guess that's my design process. I've gone through two habs, ground vehicles (DIPS/FSPS/SPR), cargo landers, NTR stages.

The other thing I realized is that designing your SLS to have a realistic (I.E. equal) payload capacity is way overkill when all your mission elements weigh less. If the payloads were less unwieldly, I have the mass-to-orbit to do the whole thing in three launches. I wound up launching the copernicus on a toned down (first stage + SRBs only) SLS and I still have 600 dV to spare.

[Yukon0009]

I'm going to start working on this soon, after I finish my current KSP project. Starting to get back into the game.

[JaffaPadawan]

Just about finished making Altair now, just need to test it on the Mun and see if my Ares V can carry it (if I can get THAT to stop wobbling so much)

 

[pTrevTrevs]

I was about to launch another Orion and Altair and force myself to do another manual rendezvous and docking (it's not hard, just tedious), but I forgot a crucial part of the Mun mission; the cargo Altair and SPR! 

So here's my SPR, unfortunately I apparently forgot to take screenshots of the rover's side during the test drive...

Front

Back

Interior. 

I tried to keep in mind that the SPR was designed for long expeditions, so I added a small table and chairs to the back as well as a few screens to watch TV or view satellite maps for navigation or something. The bars on the back of the radiators also added some nice greeble to the inside and made it look even more cramped and full of stuff. Top speed is 10 m/s, and it can zoom down hills at that speed without breaking. Unfortunately it has trouble climbing those same hills (at least on Kerbin), probably due to the wheel overhaul. 

[Majorjim!]

8 minutes ago, pTrevTrevs said:

here's my SPR

I love it!

[pTrevTrevs]

Prototype of the Cargo Altair, carries a single SPR, high gain antenna, and solar array in place of an ascent stage. 

Let me tell you, getting all those struts to connect the way I wanted them to on the descent stage and rover was a pain. I can't hit CTRL+Z or detach the descent stage from the rest of the craft because the strut connections will break. I'm not sure if they behaved like this before 1.1, but it sure seems like struts are a lot more unruly now.

[Servo]

I fully assembled my Copernicus on-orbit! After a while of trying to fit the detachable tank in a hole that was just not quite big enough, I expanded the truss and launched the tank + hab in one piece, because screw the mission profile.

The hab + truss section seem a bit long and the NTR stage seems a bit short, but I think it passes a cursory inspection. On to transfer testing!

[Majorjim!]

7 minutes ago, Servo said:

I fully assembled my Copernicus on-orbit!

Following the proposed profile is not mandatory and it is awesome to see the DTV in orbit! Try Vernor engines for the SRB stage of the Ares 1. I have 8 on mine to allow it to be gravity turned without flipping!

[Majorjim!]

I have just noticed one of my lander craft creeping across the surface very very slowly.. I know this will be fixed when Squad update the unity version, I just hate the idea of releasing anything with broken parts..

 Anyone else noticed this? Leave your lander on the pad for ten mins and see if it has moved at all. I assume it will be worse on a lower grav planet but I have yet to check this.

[pTrevTrevs]

41 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

I have just noticed one of my lander craft creeping across the surface very very slowly.. I know this will be fixed when Squad update the unity version, I just hate the idea of releasing anything with broken parts..

 Anyone else noticed this? Leave your lander on the pad for ten mins and see if it has moved at all. I assume it will be worse on a lower grav planet but I have yet to check this.

Soil erosion, secret feature in 1.1.

[PixelatedPig]

Hello everyone, is it to late for me to take place on this project, please let me know.

[Majorjim!]

Just now, PixelatedPig said:

Hello everyone, is it to late for me to take place on this project, please let me know.

Too late for what matey? You can start at anytime you like! You can make as much or as little as you feel able. Everyone is making their own packs so there's no deadline or anything like that.

[PixelatedPig]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

Too late for what matey? You can start at anytime you like! You can make as much or as little as you feel able. Everyone is making their own packs so there's no deadline or anything like that.

Ok, thanks for the info.