Buran 11F35 Kerbal l - [Stock] [30/12/15 Major design review]

[tg626]

Perhaps nose jet 2 on/off. Nose jet 1 and 3 on off. That would allow 33, 66, or 100% thrust.

Meanwhile I'm trying to work out a mechjeb compatibility.  I had a good launch flying verticle to 6k, then starting the gravity turn.  Trouble is, mechjeb "hunts" like mad with those vector engines.  Once the LRBs are off it flies like MechJeb is drunk LOL...

[Speeding Mullet]

1 hour ago, tg626 said:

Perhaps nose jet 2 on/off. Nose jet 1 and 3 on off. That would allow 33, 66, or 100% thrust.

Meanwhile I'm trying to work out a mechjeb compatibility.  I had a good launch flying verticle to 6k, then starting the gravity turn.  Trouble is, mechjeb "hunts" like mad with those vector engines.  Once the LRBs are off it flies like MechJeb is drunk LOL...

Haha yeah fair enough, I built it entirely without mechjeb, so I would have no idea what mj would do to something that wildly off centre, probably get's very confused.  You get hunting when you start pushing the payload weight for sure even without mj.  I might do some tests on the more reasonable 10-20t payloads and see if I can take some gimbal out of the engines, but I get the feeling it's required due to the Buran not firing engines on the way to space.

Depending on what your hauling to space weight-wise you can pretty much just follow the launch profile in the OP, but obviously adjust as you require.  If you are hauling really heavy cargo (42t heavy for example) then it does become very challenging, but for anything around 10-20t you should be looking at a hands free launch to space, apart from clicking prograde and staging at the right time, with a little bit of throttle control here and there.

SM

 

 

[Speeding Mullet]

Well it's taken a very long time but I have completed the variant 2 design review of the Buran 11F35 Kerbal 1.  There's been a huge amount of changes throughout the craft, aimed at making for an easier to operate bit of kit.  Let's have a look at the changes:

1) Swapped out the vector engines on the Buran for LV-N's.  This vastly increased range on orbit, and also saved 2t in weight so it was a no brainier really.  The main Buran fuel tank has been swapped out for a liquid only tank.  It's actually more in line with the Buran's actual engine nozzle size now, and I think we can all forgive the fuel not being accurate given the vastly extended range.  The new Buran is capable of boosting Inigma's 42t payload to over 1000km now, vs barely 200km previously.

2) Complete re-design of the RCS system.  I cleaned up how the ports were set into the Buran, and also re-positioned them to better balance the RCS system.  It's never going to be perfect due to payloads, fuel remaining etc, but this is now a much better solution.

3) Changed the wing layout, and introduced a larger body flap.  The result is vastly increased handling on de-orbit, and where before you had to drop periapsis down to high 40's, you can now scream through the atmosphere to hit a periapsis of sub 30km.  I haven't had to add a single reaction wheel (there's still none on the whole Buran apart from the cockpits inbuilt system)

4) Updated action groups.  All engines and intakes are now toggle-able through action groups.

5) Sorted the Booster separations - There's actually sepatrons there now, and the separation of the main boosters works pretty flawlessly as far as I can tell.  Thanks FCISuperGuy for suggesting a clever way to cluster the sepatrons.

6) Changed the main tank separation timing to be much much cleaner from the Buran, and eliminated body heating by the sepatrons.

7) Absolutely massive redesign of the space station modules.  The space station is now 4 modules, and is designed to fit perfectly into the Burans cargo bay.  4 launches can see the whole thing built with minimal fuss, and hey, don't like the orbit you stuck it in?  The space station has it's own ion engines for orbit changes (and possibly interplanetary travel by the looks of it!!!)

 

As part of making sure the Buran was certified and usable/user-friendly I have run every single challenge in the STS Challenge V2.  The design review is a success and the Buran is a completely capable shuttle.  I've updated the OP to include all relevant new information, as well as updated craft files for the Buran as well as the above space station should you want to use it!

 

Have fun and any questions or feedback as always feel free to comment.

 

SM