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Shuttle Challenge v3 - The 1.1.x STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly][11.10.2016 - CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT]


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I will see what I can do :) i'm still working on the shuttle here and there improving RCS ect but when i'm ready I might make an entry :) So for a badge all I need to do is document the trip to orbit? it's capable right now but i'm a perfectionist! so I want to perfect the shuttle first :) but when the mood strikes me I think I will try for a badge:)

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Thanks speeding mullet:)

I can try the can you lift me challenge again using my Heavy versatile space shuttle ARES

That will definnly make the leaderboard,what moon do you want it at Mun or Minmus

Next post will be First HVSSA launch,could since I did the challenge already could I do the can you hear me challenge at the same time,it's got the cargo space for it,LOL:cool:

Cheers:D

 

 

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On 5. 7. 2016 at 1:38 PM, Speeding Mullet said:

Edit:  Cough cough

Well, seems I have no choice other than landing on the red planet :)

I returned home from family holiday today, and I finally got all my mods running, so I think I'll submit my mission in a few days. I'm not certain whether Kolumbia will do it, but I will sure as hell try to get it there and back :)

Looking forward to the mission (and the big ore pod as well),

Michal.don

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My Duna landing went horribly. I was fighting it yesterday (well, technically, today) till 4 am. Even almost dry, the ship had some structural issues it wasn't supposed to have (docking to a station sometimes results in parts getting slightly offset and may compromise structural integrity). Plus the terrain is terrible for this. So, a bunch of problems with gear (including plainly snapping the ship to pieces at what should be gentle touchdown - and on last frame before that you can sometimes see wheels sunk in the ground, but also extreme bounciness when that doesn't happen... and some more gear bugs with contents of payload bay). Plus I managed to mess up CoM (when burned all the fuel) so badly that it got spinning on landing (and even just raising the nose up), even if it could keep attitude in flight... (this one totally a design oversight, because the test were done with the station module in the bay. Plus never expected the tail to shift the CoM so much)

But in the end I managed to put the craft on the ground in one piece. Now just need to refuel and fly home.

d01949cbda1b.png

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http://imgur.com/a/yhsHJ

@Speeding Mullet sts 3 (hubble mission) is done, and man, I HATED it mostly because the jetpacks are so annoying to control! But its done, all orbit requirements good and landing at the KSC. Even though I slid off the runway it is still the KSC so I guess this gives me the commander badge right? Also, the only mod is KER which should allow me to get the stock badge.

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I tried to do 2 challenges at the same time and unfortunately Failed:(, but hey the crew survived:)

here is the Album anyway

H4wSG

 

P.S would of made the Leaderboard#1 spot DAMN

well the HVSS Ares has gone back into Research and Development for testing,the mission was a long shot to began with

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17 minutes ago, Ourworldalpha1 said:

I tried to do 2 challenges at the same time and unfortunately Failed:(, but hey the crew survived:)

here is the Album anyway

H4wSG

 

P.S would of made the Leaderboard#1 spot DAMN

well the HVSS Ares has gone back into Research and Development for testing,the mission was a long shot to began with

Nobody's Perfect ever in IRL

RIP Challenger@Columbia

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Hey,

I have had a little time to work on STS 5-8, my station is going to take 6 flights till it is fully operational though!

Here is a few highlights from the design process.

I could not get a Mk4 shuttle to work so I looked at other ways of getting an oversize payload up to orbit. The problem was the cargo bay, so i thought, why is a cargo bay required? I decided that as long as the rest of the shuttle came down it might count as reusable...:wink: The plan is to re dock with the nose cone after payload deployment.

Still need a name however, any suggestions?

Edited by Paranoid Shark
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STS-2a commander attempt, and I would like to just make sure since this isnt the same as challenge v2 in that the 1b still makes you eligible for 2a right? If not oh well what a shame but for now,

And also the craft file.

https://kerbalx.com/Fraus/Orbiter-K1-Buran

Also I have the mod vessel mover installed, I didn't use it though, merely have that as I was putting an aircraft carrier in the ocean because I want to try and land on that because it would be a first I think and pretty cool right?

Edited by Fraus
forgot to mention a mod, oops
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18 minutes ago, Fraus said:

STS-2a commander attempt, and I would like to just make sure since this isnt the same as challenge v2 in that the 1b still makes you eligible for 2a right?

Of course it totally qualifies (especially given any successful shuttle mission totally fulfills STS-1a requirements). Good job! Nice Buran you got there!

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Yeah, the landing on Duna is definitely tricky, the answer seems to be "moar chutes". Two drogues and two regular managed to slow me down, and a bit of thrust to level the flight before touchdown did the job. Still working on my mission, but the most difficult part should be done.

lS6vHNS.png

Michal.don

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On 7/10/2016 at 6:33 PM, Dermeister said:

So for a badge all I need to do is document the trip to orbit?

And back to either land, or specifically KSC or the island runway and yep you will qualify for either Pilot or Commander Rank 1.

You could take the 42t fuel pod to orbit which would include level 1 with the addition of the flight director badge if you so wish :)

 

On 7/11/2016 at 5:44 AM, Alchemist said:

But in the end I managed to put the craft on the ground in one piece. Now just need to refuel and fly home.

WOOOT!  And your craft kinda reminds me of the bat mobile for some reason!  It took me many many tries to not pancake on Duna on arrival so this is seriously good progress.  Can't wait to see the mission video!

 

On 7/11/2016 at 8:07 AM, Cipher_077 said:

http://imgur.com/a/yhsHJ

@Speeding Mullet sts 3 (hubble mission) is done, and man, I HATED it mostly because the jetpacks are so annoying to control! But its done, all orbit requirements good and landing at the KSC. Even though I slid off the runway it is still the KSC so I guess this gives me the commander badge right? Also, the only mod is KER which should allow me to get the stock badge.

The mind boggles at the size of that shuttle, seriously good work making something that big, but also that capable!  I loved the HST mission.  I think there is definitely a technique to the MMU's - slow and very steady saves the day but yeah they are defo hard to use.  Great mission report once again you always provide brilliant detail thoroughly deserving of the badge:   neSFTQk.jpg

Good luck with the next mission!

 

On 7/11/2016 at 10:21 AM, Ourworldalpha1 said:

well the HVSS Ares has gone back into Research and Development for testing,the mission was a long shot to began with

haha I'd never even considered that someone would try and do two challenges at once.  I suppose it's absolutely fine to do so when you think about it!  Such a pity you had a RUD on re-entry as that mission was textbook up to that point.  Unfortunately your landing while technically delivered two kerbals to the ground, the shuttle did fragment too much for me to say mission complete :(  Sorry and better luck next time!  Can't wait to see you go again!

 

On 7/11/2016 at 11:14 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

I have had a little time to work on STS 5-8, my station is going to take 6 flights till it is fully operational though!

HELL YES!!!  I love the mock up of the space station - I did exactly the same thing - mocked up and then broke it down to sub-assemblies.  Super detail on that thing!

On 7/11/2016 at 11:14 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

I could not get a Mk4 shuttle to work so I looked at other ways of getting an oversize payload up to orbit. The problem was the cargo bay, so i thought, why is a cargo bay required?

Yep that's ingenious!  The Shuttle Definition doesn't implicitly state you must use a cargo bay, only that your shuttle must take cargo to orbit, so as long as your nose docks back to the craft I'm totally going to allow this.  Precedent set (if it hasn't already been to be honest lol)

On 7/11/2016 at 11:14 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

Still need a name however, any suggestions?

Nah I'm rubbish with these sorts of things.  It still makes me shudder when I see my very large in development shuttle called "Monster Shuttle" in the load screen :)

 

On 7/12/2016 at 3:13 AM, Fraus said:

STS-2a commander attempt, and I would like to just make sure since this isnt the same as challenge v2 in that the 1b still makes you eligible for 2a right? If not oh well what a shame but for now,

*Gallery Snip*

And also the craft file.

https://kerbalx.com/Fraus/Orbiter-K1-Buran

Also I have the mod vessel mover installed, I didn't use it though, merely have that as I was putting an aircraft carrier in the ocean because I want to try and land on that because it would be a first I think and pretty cool right?

@Alchemist said yep definitely counts!  Great Buran and a smoothly run mission.  I'm going to award at the Rank of Commander - I'm assuming you deployed the comsats using the spin stabilisation? 

 

Welcome (back) to the challenge and have a badge, commander!   WUvoQpP.jpg

 

21 hours ago, michal.don said:

Yeah, the landing on Duna is definitely tricky, the answer seems to be "moar chutes". Two drogues and two regular managed to slow me down, and a bit of thrust to level the flight before touchdown did the job. Still working on my mission, but the most difficult part should be done.

Good to see you putting in the hard yards :)  Two of you on the surface of Duna as I count it.  I wonder who is going to return successfully first!  Best luck with the rest of your mission.

 

 

I may create a poll to decide where to go next as it won't be long before STS-12 is required.  If you have any ideas though feel free to PM me!

 

Also important news! @Alchemist has very kindly agreed to take the reigns while I am away on holiday for a couple of weeks.  Alchemist is a regular on this challenge and consistently provides sound advice to fellow challengers.  Let's give Alchemist a warm round of applause and welcome to his role as admin of the shuttle challenge.  As I trust Alchemist he will be operating with total authority on passing (or otherwise) all challenge entries for the next couple of weeks.  Personally want to say thanks as well for helping out to keep this excellent challenge rolling while I extricate myself from technology for a while :)

SM

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Do not worry R@D told me that HVSS Zeus will be coming out soon,for the challenge retry

It has a crewed cockpit,more fuel (already did Mun landings and return with it LOL) more than 6000 m/s DV

pics coming soon

CHEERS:cool:

Also the HVSSA was able to land/crashland on duna,

I did a inefficient transfer to Duna (phase angle was 90* instead of 40* and made it to Duna with Full cargo

Unfortunately like the posted mission it suffered an R&D during reentry.

BUT JEB survived and used his damaged LATHE later and rescued himself.:cool::D:cool:

hope you like this archive data Lol:cool:

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8 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

I'm assuming you deployed the comsats using the spin stabilisation?

 

I pretty much decoupled them, activated engines, and started seperatrons as burning for GTO

Edited by Fraus
accidental buran pun. (buraning)
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I don't suppose its okay to call having two wheels overstress a safe landing now is it? But hey any landing you can walk away from :)

This just gives me more reasons to have my K2 far better and may even leave this in orbit as space junk, sigh.

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Speeding mullet I have a question?

The Crash investigation team has told me what killed the HVSSA on re entry,it was the super heavy Vector engines in the back,

So my question is could I after ET Sep decouple the Vector engines  and recover them,would they be counted as part of the launch stack or separate vessels decoupling from the shuttle

Like clarification Thx:cool:

Edited by Ourworldalpha1
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3 hours ago, Ourworldalpha1 said:

So my question is could I after ET Sep decouple the Vector engines  and recover them,would they be counted as part of the launch stack or separate vessels decoupling from the shuttle

I'd say, if it's used during launch and then detached - it's part of the launch assembly. And what do you mean by recovering them? Putting in the payload bay? Or separate landing system?

Another option, if the problem is with the balancing, is shifting wings back. Just put the CoL further back.
Tip: put it in SPH in the landing configuration (including expected fuel levels on landing) and look at CoM/CoL alignment. Then use the rotation tool, shift-click the craft (or select the root part) and try slightly changing the AoA - body lift may shift the CoL a bit. Ensure that it's stays behind CoM.

Edited by Alchemist
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After being dissatisfied of how the mining system on my Duna craft behaved (that is, plenty of problems with interaction between gear and payload bay that gave me plenty additional trouble on landing), I finally managed to properly make the original concept of mining rig for this plane

6324ba42895f.png

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4 hours ago, Alchemist said:

I'd say, if it's used during launch and then detached - it's part of the launch assembly. And what do you mean by recovering them? Putting in the payload bay? Or separate landing system?

Another option, if the problem is with the balancing, is shifting wings back. Just put the CoL further back.
Tip: put it in SPH in the landing configuration (including expected fuel levels on landing) and look at CoM/CoL alignment. Then use the rotation tool, shift-click the craft (or select the root part) and try slightly changing the AoA - body lift may shift the CoL a bit. Ensure that it's stays behind CoM.

It would me a Vulcan Rocket Type Landing System where the engines decouple than recovered by helicopter

The wings are All the Way in the back has it can be it that i have almost 50% of the 70 Ton mass in the Engines

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14 hours ago, Fraus said:

I pretty much decoupled them, activated engines, and started seperatrons as burning for GTO

That's the ticket!

14 hours ago, Fraus said:

I don't suppose its okay to call having two wheels overstress a safe landing now is it? But hey any landing you can walk away from :)

Where did you land, is that a Kerbal Konstructs airport, or something that I've just entirely missed from the stock game?  Whichever way you look at it I think landing with only two over-stressed wheels but the rest of your craft intact would qualify as a successful landing.  Much beyond this and definitely it wouldn't have been a permissible mission.  Here's your badge!   neSFTQk.jpg

 

13 hours ago, Ourworldalpha1 said:

Speeding mullet I have a question?

The Crash investigation team has told me what killed the HVSSA on re entry,it was the super heavy Vector engines in the back,

So my question is could I after ET Sep decouple the Vector engines  and recover them,would they be counted as part of the launch stack or separate vessels decoupling from the shuttle

Like clarification Thx:cool:

@Alchemist is right on this one.  If it's used during launch and then detached - it's part of the launch assembly and must undock or decouple from the shuttle once expended.  With that in mind as long as you still conform with the "official definition of a shuttle" then you are good to go.  From your description of what you are tying to do it's going to be harder to achieve than re-balancing your shuttle, but go for it if you like - could be interesting to see someone recovering engines in this way.

 

10 hours ago, Alchemist said:

After being dissatisfied of how the mining system on my Duna craft behaved (that is, plenty of problems with interaction between gear and payload bay that gave me plenty additional trouble on landing), I finally managed to properly make the original concept of mining rig for this plane

Woot!  Good luck with the mission, I hope I get to see it before I go away!

 

SM

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Hi there,

I managed to finish the mission. It took some time, mainly because I had to manage my Jool 5-ish mission in the meantime.

The modifications to Kolumbia weren't as drastic as I feared - I just switched the big cargo bay for a fuel tank and a smaller bay for the ISRU and drill, added two chutes, and improved the RCS system a bit. As you can see in the mission report album, I used this mission to rotate the crew on my Watney base located on Duna (Okay, I didn't have to add these images, I just wanted to show my lander which I think is pretty sweet :D ). As always, it was really fun, and I'm looking forward for more :)

 

Enjoy your holiday SM,

Michal.don

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In the mean time, my Duna mission also returned home. Spent half the fuel to get in orbit, docked with the station again, spent an entire year there, then finally got the window.

Aerocapture at Kerbin ended in trajectory that would result in being thrown out of Kerbin SOI by the Mun. Well, if orbital mechanics give you a moon, make a slingshot. Except that I almost didn't notice that the first correction gave me something that would end in retrograde orbit, and in the end all this Mun maneuvering costed more than just lowering the apoapsis below it would (not actually a problem, since there still was quite some fuel reserve).

Landing on Kerbin was so smooth I didn't even use the jets.

Maybe I'll try the other configuration someday (and probably should find some better landing spot on Duna), but for now I have the report to edit

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