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[1.12.5] Bluedog Design Bureau - Stockalike Saturn, Apollo, and more! (v1.13.0 "Забытый" 13/Aug/2023)


CobaltWolf

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Thanks for all the effort that goes into this mod. Honestly, I don't think I'd play Kerbal anymore without it (over waiting for KSP2).

Feedback:

(Not a bug): Most (if not all) of the craft files for the Transit 5 series all have the probe facing "upside down". Now upside down is relative, but generally I consider the gravity boom of a Transit as "up" or "away from Kerbin". All the premade Transits are facing "down" at Kerbin. Is this a design choice? (For a satellite, this doesn't matter, but it does when the root part is Transit and your navball is upside down.)

(Not a bug): All Saturn I craft files are obsolete. Aside from figuring out the proper fins, making one is easy. Plus, it looks GREAT! Bonus - Pegasus!

(Maybe a bug): Poppy probes and the Beacon Explorer cannot transmit science without switching to partial transmission and running timewarp for an extended period of time. Especially in the case of Beacon Explorer, which can generate a fair amount of Science, is this intended behavior?

(Maybe a bug): For the life of me I can't seem to place OSCAR on Agena B. I've seen conflicting statements on whether it stayed attached or detached in orbit and I can't seem to fit a satisfactory decoupler on Agena B either (unimportant). As a rider, I must be placing it in the wrong position because I cannot mount it without it "floating" there. Naturally Agena D has no such issue.

(User error?): Unlike Titan, I cannot stick a conformal long horizontal decal on Atlas. It will not mount without cutting off before the lower tank. For whatever reason, I thought there was an Extra for this, but it either doesn't work or I'm doing it wrong.

(Thankyou!): For the user warning on the OGO solar panel that if not deployed first, the RPW panel will break when used for science!

 

Take care and happy developing!

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5 minutes ago, USKnight said:

(Not a bug): Most (if not all) of the craft files for the Transit 5 series all have the probe facing "upside down". Now upside down is relative, but generally I consider the gravity boom of a Transit as "up" or "away from Kerbin". All the premade Transits are facing "down" at Kerbin. Is this a design choice? (For a satellite, this doesn't matter, but it does when the root part is Transit and your navball is upside down.)

(Not a bug): All Saturn I craft files are obsolete. Aside from figuring out the proper fins, making one is easy. Plus, it looks GREAT! Bonus - Pegasus!

(Maybe a bug): Poppy probes and the Beacon Explorer cannot transmit science without switching to partial transmission and running timewarp for an extended period of time. Especially in the case of Beacon Explorer, which can generate a fair amount of Science, is this intended behavior?

(Maybe a bug): For the life of me I can't seem to place OSCAR on Agena B. I've seen conflicting statements on whether it stayed attached or detached in orbit and I can't seem to fit a satisfactory decoupler on Agena B either (unimportant). As a rider, I must be placing it in the wrong position because I cannot mount it without it "floating" there. Naturally Agena D has no such issue.

(User error?): Unlike Titan, I cannot stick a conformal long horizontal decal on Atlas. It will not mount without cutting off before the lower tank. For whatever reason, I thought there was an Extra for this, but it either doesn't work or I'm doing it wrong.

(Thankyou!): For the user warning on the OGO solar panel that if not deployed first, the RPW panel will break when used for science!

 

Take care and happy developing!

On #1 - I +1 this.  Any info further suggestions on this?

#3 - I thought this was just me and my mods, but yeah, that is a problem with a couple of probes.  The data package is very large compared to similar craft and thus not possible to transmit without draining the battery.

#4 - It is supposed to go on the aft equipment rack.  I just stuffed it on there and then it decouples when you engage the rocket.

#6 - Yeah, that's a very nice warning.  I almost missed it the first time and screwed it up.

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I've updated all the craft files for the dev version but I don't believe they've been included in the github repo yet.  In the meantime the draft build guides are all in the Saturn Update issue on the Unofficial Wiki guide thingy.

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@Friznit For the ETS rockets, a good kit-bashed/mock Pegasus upper stage is the S-IVA's bottom tank, the Sarnus/Saturn S-IV-3500 tank, stretched to 3.5m length with a S-IVB IU set to 3.75 meters. For the engine mount, the S-IVA mount is good. Pegasus had 6 RL-10s, just like S-IVA.

Alternatively, it actually might be better to use two 3500 tanks, one set to normal, one set to 2.625 extension, since the 3.5 extension by itself might be a little too short. 

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Decided to test the lengths, so I made multiple mockups. From left to right we have: 3.5m by itself, S4+1.75, S4+2.625 and S4+3.5.
Looking at them, I'd say probably option 1 or 2 is the best. 

And for those that say the S-IV's tank is too big, no. The ETS lander is too small. The spacing when S-IVA is in the fairing is just about perfect.
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Edited by GoldForest
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So, I downloaded the latest dev version. I'm loving what I'm seeing so far, but I do have one big issue:

There's no 2.5m fairing base, which has nerfed the  Saturn I for any use other than launching the Boilerplate Apollo/Pegasus. Every other size is represented, but not 2.5m. Is this being made, or was this a conscious design choice?

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17 minutes ago, BNSF1995 said:

So, I downloaded the latest dev version. I'm loving what I'm seeing so far, but I do have one big issue:

There's no 2.5m fairing base, which has nerfed the  Saturn I for any use other than launching the Boilerplate Apollo/Pegasus. Every other size is represented, but not 2.5m. Is this being made, or was this a conscious design choice?

There is one - BDB-AFB-2.5m Fairing Base or the SAF version that includes the Saturn I SA5 variant.

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21 minutes ago, Friznit said:

There is one - BDB-AFB-2.5m Fairing Base or the SAF version that includes the Saturn I SA5 variant.

12 minutes ago, BNSF1995 said:

I'm not finding it in the VAB. Like, at all. And it's in the parts folder in GameData.

I can confirm the part shows up and functions in my game. I think there may be something wrong with your install.

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22 minutes ago, BNSF1995 said:

I'm not finding it in the VAB. Like, at all. And it's in the parts folder in GameData.

Do you use The Janitor's Closet mod? If yes, set it to show hidden parts to check if you accidentally hid the fairing. Share your log file if that doesn’t fix it.

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1 hour ago, BNSF1995 said:

I'm not finding it in the VAB. Like, at all. And it's in the parts folder in GameData.

Do you perhaps have the Real Name patch from BDB Extras folder installed? If so, the part would be named "Delta III 2.5m Fairing Base." I can confirm it has the SA5 variant.

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Actually, going to postpone the flights until Sunday night/Monday morning. Don't feel like breaking out the laptop over the weekend. Sorry to all those anticipating these launches. 

 

 

Edited by GoldForest
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10 hours ago, Echo11 said:

Do you perhaps have the Real Name patch from BDB Extras folder installed? If so, the part would be named "Delta III 2.5m Fairing Base." I can confirm it has the SA5 variant.

I do indeed have the Real Name patch. And I found said part. Thank you.

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Apollo 18 Part 2: Running out of witty flavor text for titles here...

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Again, all of these photos were taken before the ALSEP parts dropped and before I developed my TV camera TUFX profiles. 

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Apollo 18's second moonwalk will be dedicated to the exploration of the crater Aristarchus, some four kilometers to the east. While the terrain is too rocky to descend into the crater itself, the crew will carefully approach the rim and collect samples from the nearby areas. On the way back they will make several stops across the plateau to study regolith at increasingly farther distances from the crater rim.

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As the crew sets out, LM Seahawk recedes into the distance until it appears the size of a scale model, before sinking behind the hills entirely. The LRV's own S-band antenna system will be used to maintain contact with Earth in the absence of a direct line of sight to the LM.

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Parking the rover at the top of a small rise, the astronauts disembark and make their way down the rim to photograph the crater's expanse.

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On our Moon, the real Aristarchus is about 40 kilometers in diameter, so with the 1/4th-scale in KSRSS I guess that makes this one ten kilometers? Still quite a respectable size, considering...

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I've read that one of the traditions of the Apollo astronauts from their earthbound training involved rolling a rock into a large crater or other feature that they were investigating. I can't do that here, but I guess driving a golf ball into the crater is the next best thing.

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After the first stop, the crew makes their way south along the crater rim towards a small mountain which appears to be the highest point along the crater's circumference.

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Additionally, on the way back across the plateau towards their LM, they make occasional stops to record how regolith and ejecta change as they get farther from the crater's rim.

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At last, the rover returns to Seahawk some two and a half hours after leaving. With just over half an hour to load materials and prepare for the next day's EVA, the total duration of this moonwalk rounds out at the standard of three hours.

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Meanwhile, Command Module Polaris continues its orbital observations, carrying a radar-mapping instrument suite identical to that used on Apollo 17.

 

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The final moonwalk of the mission will explore Shcroter's Valley, arguably the most important feature in this region. This winding valley is the largest sinuous rille on the Moon, rivalling even such terrestrial features as the Grand Canyon in scale. It's origins are believed to be volcanic, and given how young its surface appears to be, it's also likely that the valley is the site of recent lunar volcanism.

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First though, a stop at the ALSEP to check up on the instruments. This is the first ALSEP to be equipped with an RTG power source, enabling constant observation well into the lunar night.

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The large mountain at the southern end of the Cobra's Head, termed on maps as "Mons Schroteri" prevents the crew from driving in a straight line to reach the valley; instead they msut maneuver around to the east and attempt to access the area through a small draw in the canyon wall.

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Upon reaching said draw, the crew dismount and begin making their way deeper into the ravine on foot.

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Like Aristarchus, the slopes are too steep to allow a proper exploration of the valley floor, but photographs and rock samples from the upper regions of the valley should prove extremely beneficial in determining the area's volcanic heritage.

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On the way back, the crew glimpse the raised rim of Aristarchus, seen in the above photo as a low line of hills to the left of the rover.

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Among the stops on the return journey is at a location of interest on the very slopes of Mons Schroteri, where the crew uncovers a massive chunk of anorthosite, likely a piece of Aristarchus ejecta.

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Upon arriving back at Seahwk, the astronauts realize that the location of their landing site on the top of a hill prevents them from parking the rover at the usual "VIP spot" to the west of the LM, as the terrain would prevent the rover from filming their liftoff. Instead, the commander parks the LRV about fifty meters to the south instead.

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With that, the penultimate lunar expedition's time on the surface is complete.

 

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A few hours after the hatch was closed for the final time, Seahawk blasts off from the surface for a rendezvous in orbit. LRV-4 films the liftoff, unaffected by its unusual parking spot.

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One orbit after launch the two spacecraft are in visual distance and begin the standard fly-around and inspection prior to docking.

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During the rendezvous the Doppler tracking experiment onboard Polaris is performed once again; using the LM as a sounding board for detecting MasCons in the Lunar gravitational field.

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Docking, transfer, and jettison all proceed normally, save that Seahawk enters into an uncontrolled tumble shortly after being detached. It will take some time for ground controllers to regain stability on the spacecraft, but soon enough they are able to deorbit the LM. It should be noted that Apollo 17's LM, Challenger, is thought to still be orbiting the Moon after its guidance system failed to receive the deorbit command some eight months earlier.

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One TEI later and the crew is on its way home.

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And now, one day after departing Lunar orbit, the CMP makes his deep-space EVA to retrieve film canisters from the SIM bay. 

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It's kind of hard to make these screenshots seem unique when this is the fourth time I've recorded such an event...

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Finally, after nearly two weeks in space, Polaris returns home in a pillar of fire, descending slowly to a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

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The crew are recovered by the USS Ticonderoga and quickly ferried to Australia for processing and return to the US. By this point, however, Lunar missions receive almost no attention from the general public, and few outside of NASA seem to realize the fact that there is only one more lunar flight planned before the greatest expedition in history comes to an end. With an end to Apollo, massive layoffs and budget cuts are on the horizon, as NASA downsizes and prepares for the 1970s to be a decade-long fast. With the Space Shuttle not set to enter service for at least six more years, any manned spaceflights will have to be flown with surplus Apollo hardware. While a limited second run of Saturn Vs has begun production, NASA is struggling to find a payload for them, with STS siphoning off more and more funds from the Manned Spacecraft Center and the new Block III "Budget Apollo" being designed to travel only to LEO. Meanwhile, the unmanned missions department is thriving, bustling with activity as ambitious plans for Martian landings, Grand Tours, and Venusian orbiters begin moving from the drawing boards into reality. Already, one spacecraft has visited Jupiter, with a second probe arriving in less than a month before continuing on to Saturn. A third spacecraft is on its way to Mercury by way of Venus, and is expected to arrive by the end of the year. The future is changing, and it appears that the world is getting too small for Apollo...

 

Bonus Content: Pioneer 11 at Jupiter and Mariner 10 at Venus:

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That Jupiter planetshine is no joke; the side of the spacecraft facing the planet is brighter than the side facing the Sun!

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13 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Apollo 18 Part 2: Running out of witty flavor text for titles here...

3oHWxkJ.png

Again, all of these photos were taken before the ALSEP parts dropped and before I developed my TV camera TUFX profiles. 

 

 

 

Bonus Content: Pioneer 11 at Jupiter and Mariner 10 at Venus:

 

Really superb work here! Well done!

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More feedback, based on Hexagon.

(Design choice): The Hexagon mapping camera is the only camera in the KH series that can find anomalies and even then, only below 100km. By the Hexagon model, a player will have progressed through Corona, two Mural, and two Gambit designs. And even at finally arriving at "Big Bird", the Hexagon main camera can still not be used to find anomalies (SCANsat nor KerbNet). I feel if not by Gambit, that Hexagon should be feasible for my anomaly hunting desires. 

I also feel the mapping camera's maximum altitude is too low and should be 150km, which would make it usable throughout most of the range of Low Kerbin orbit.

That said, aside from being unable to mount a second SRV on the KH-4A model (with the KH-4B you can, so this is a very minor nitpick), I am quite pleased to be able to design and launch so much of the spy satellite family, including my personal favorite with Strawman.

Keep up the great work, devs!

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Changing Times

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December 1973: In a unique occurrence in spaceflight history, two Saturn Vs stand ready on the pads at LC-39. On LC-39A in the foreground, SA-513 with the Skylab space station is undergoing the first of its checkouts in preparation for a launch early next year. In the distance the final moonbound Saturn, SA-515, is performing a countdown demonstration test on LC-39B, preparing for the Apollo 19 mission to Hyginus Crater in a few days' time.

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On 3/25/2022 at 8:59 AM, GoldForest said:

Pegasus had 6 RL-10s, just like S-IVA.

First, thank you for that kitbash but i have to say that IIRC the ETS Pegasus has only 4 RL-10´s, at first the RL-10 A-4 and later a further upgraded variant (That also replaced the two outer engines of the descent stage / cargo landers for their Artemis-Missions), probably what´s the B-2 version in our real Timeline., they didn´t clarify what the exact version-declaration for that replacement was but they spoke of an further extended nozzle, so it´s either a B-Veriant of some kind or a further upgrade of the A-Series that we don´t have, so for me i will  just use the B-2. (Edit: It´s probably one of the RL-10 A-4-N Variants.. i forgot about them and they would fit perfectly, so BDB has even that upgrade included.  The multiple variants of that the RL-10 alone are a reason to love this mod.)

As much as i like that timeline and it´s high level of detailed descriptions in some areas i really miss  clarifications in some areas, especially as they closed towards an end. I would have loved a clearer desciption of the technology (especially engines) used in their Delta 4000 / 5000, same for the Artemis-Missions. Is it so complicated to just say what engine and engine-version you are using? instead of: And the engines were replaced by a newer version with a longer nozzle... just write if it´s a B-2 or just invent a new version that fit´s into the exiting naming scheme if you are unable to find a version that fit´s your needs. ETS is brilliant in many ways, but describing launchers and upper stages in depth isn´t one of them..... how ironic if i think about how many great LV´s they brought into existence.

Edited by JoeSheridan
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1 hour ago, JoeSheridan said:

First, thank you for that kitbash but i have to say that IIRC the ETS Pegasus has only 4 RL-10´s, at first the RL-10 A-4 and later a further upgraded variant (That also replaced the two outer engines of the descent stage / cargo landers for their Artemis-Missions), probably what´s the B-2 version in our real Timeline., they didn´t clarify what the exact version-declaration for that replacement was but they spoke of an further extended nozzle, so it´s either a B-Veriant of some kind or a further upgrade of the A-Series that we don´t have, so for me i will  just use the B-2. (Edit: It´s probably one of the RL-10 A-4-N Variants.. i forgot about them and they would fit perfectly, so BDB has even that upgrade included.  The multiple variants of that the RL-10 alone are a reason to love this mod.)

As much as i like that timeline and it´s high level of detailed descriptions in some areas i really miss  clarifications in some areas, especially as they closed towards an end. I would have loved a clearer desciption of the technology (especially engines) used in their Delta 4000 / 5000, same for the Artemis-Missions. Is it so complicated to just say what engine and engine-version you are using? instead of: And the engines were replaced by a newer version with a longer nozzle... just write if it´s a B-2 or just invent a new version that fit´s into the exiting naming scheme if you are unable to find a version that fit´s your needs. ETS is brilliant in many ways, but describing launchers and upper stages in depth isn´t one of them..... how ironic if i think about how many great LV´s they brought into existence.

fetch.php?cache=&media=timelines:art4_tl

Nope, it was 6, as you can see in this picture.  It might have went down to 4 once the uprated/upgraded RL10s came out, but for the first Pegasus block, it was 6. 

Note: I have not read ETS, so I'm only going off the official pictures and descriptions off of Alternate History wiki and not the stories in the forums. 

Edited by GoldForest
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28 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

Nope, it was 6, as you can see in this picture.  It might have went down to 4 once the uprated/upgraded RL10s came out, but for the first Pegasus block, it was 6. 

Okay, in the text they said it would be 4 from the get go... they changed it probably after they made the art or the artist just didn´t read that section again.

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3 minutes ago, JoeSheridan said:

Okay, in the text they said it would be 4 from the get go... they changed it probably after they made the art or the artist just didn´t read that section again.

Ah, Hmmm. Well, there's no 4 engine mounting plate for the S-IVA, so I'll stick with 6 engine version. :P And yeah, I could just place 4 on the 6 plate, but I don't want to do that. That and I like the high thrust of the 6 engines lol 

Edited by GoldForest
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13 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

Ah, Hmmm. Well, there's no 4 engine mounting plate for the S-IVA, so I'll stick with 6 engine version. :P And yeah, I could just place 4 on the 6 plate, but I don't want to do that. That and I like the high thrust of the 6 engines lol 

Yeah i can understand that. And i would never demand such a changed mounting. I just saw that you kitbash wasn´t consistent with the story ( I have just read that whole thing again, so it´s only about a week ago sins i read about Pegasus) And i think i will do it like you said: just mount 4 engines on the 6-engine-plate. And... probably i would later use  a 6-engine-version with a longer tank anyways for interplanetary missions.

Edited by JoeSheridan
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