how to make a orbital drop pod.

[nascarlaser1]

Hi guys!

I have been trying to make a basic drop pod, so it can be used as an escape pod for my tiny science stations around Kerbin,the sun and the Mun. 1 problem though: without parachutes the things just smash into Kerbin and crash. I am using A.I.R.B.R.A.K.ES and basic LFO engines, but nothing slows it down enough. I really don't want to use parachutes since that takes away the point of a "drop pod" and turns it into "return capsule that anyone can slap together in minutes."

Anyone have any suggestions for what I'm doing wrong?

Specs for drop pod (pics are not available since imgur doesn't like my PC: 1 mk1 command pod surrounded on all sides except door with structural panel, 1 FL-T200 fuel tank, 1 LV-T30 reliant liquid fuel engine, the most basic fins in the stock game to keep the thing from spinning around on reentry. there is an emergency decoupler betwean the pod and the rest of the thing, and the structural pylons are for incase of needing to land the pod. They take the beating first.

Thanks for your help!

Edited August 11, 2016 by nascarlaser1
forgot something in specs

[Shadowmage]

If it is light enough, use some separatrons for retro-braking engines (or otherwise small SRBs, rescaled, whatever).  Would take several test runs to get the timing and thrust limiter setup correctly for a given pod mass... but it is fun when you finally get it working.  If your timing is good enough, no parachutes required. 

Pad the bottom of the capsule with a structural panel or two to absorb some impact if your timing is not that great (of course if your timing is far too late, that won't even save you).  Airbrakes can still help with lowering the terminal velocity and ease up the timing constraints.

[Foxster]

Umm, I'm not sure what you are doing wrong. Sure you aren't running out of charge?

This works fine...

...as does this...

 

[nascarlaser1]

5 minutes ago, Foxster said:

Umm, I'm not sure what you are doing wrong. Sure you aren't running out of charge?

This works fine...

...as does this...

 

I'm using 4 airbrakes on the fuel tank, and covering the top and 3 out of the 4 sides (leaving the door open so the rescued Kerbal can get out) with the smaller structural pylons.

[Foxster]

1 minute ago, nascarlaser1 said:

I'm using 4 airbrakes on the fuel tank, and covering the top and 3 out of the 4 sides (leaving the door open so the rescued Kerbal can get out) with the smaller structural pylons.

What are the structural pylons for?

[nascarlaser1]

I have an emergency decoupler betwean the pod and the rest of it. Incase of running out of gas above the ground, it ditches the rest and hopes the structural pylons can take the beating of landing. srry forgot to add that in specs

[Foxster]

The more mass the craft has the harder it is to slow it down. I'd try leaving off all the junk and maybe trying something like I posted above.

The first has plenty of dV and a high TWR. So you can deploy the air brakes then burn retrograde to set the Pe to about 20km and then leave firing the engine again until about 250m or so to slow down to <8m/s by the time you meet the dirt. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by Foxster

[nascarlaser1]

12 minutes ago, Foxster said:

The more mass the craft has the harder it is to slow it down. I'd try leaving off all the junk and maybe trying something like I posted above.

The first has plenty of dV and a high TWR. So you can deploy the air brakes then burn retrograde to set the Pe to about 20km and then leave firing the engine again until about 250m or so to slow down to <8m/s by the time you meet the dirt. 

ok thxs!

 

[radonek]

Bunch of separatrons fired right before contact, soyuz-style. Sure, its probably impossible to actually perform such split-second piloting by hand but hey, if you wanted it easy you'd go with damn parachutes, right?
 

[nascarlaser1]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 1:33 PM, radonek said:

Bunch of separatrons fired right before contact, soyuz-style. Sure, its probably impossible to actually perform such split-second piloting by hand but hey, if you wanted it easy you'd go with damn parachutes, right?
 

I don't want it to be hard, but I have no choice. This drop pod is a baseplate for my next mun (and hopefully minimus) lander :). It is impossible for it to have parachutes. Also, once I get it to the mun, I'll ditc hall airbrakes and just use the engine. That should leave enough dv  to land. Thanks for you help!

[Spricigo]

9 hours ago, nascarlaser1 said:

I don't want it to be hard, but I have no choice. This drop pod is a baseplate for my next mun (and hopefully minimus) lander :). It is impossible for it to have parachutes. Also, once I get it to the mun, I'll ditc hall airbrakes and just use the engine. That should leave enough dv  to land. Thanks for you help!

I didn't commented  before because I have seen it as a self imposed challenge,  but now it looks more like you just over complicated things for you  without necessity. Why are you dealing with atmosphere and stronger gravity if the idea is develop a Mun lander? Or even yet,  why you are trying to design a single vehicle to land in two so distinct celestial bodies? 

If the idea it's to use the same crew compartment to land in different bodies just add a docking port so you can match with different vehicles according to what you want to do next. Put a probe core in each vehicles so you can control it after decoupling (and since each will have a docking port you may also keep some parking slots in your station) 

If the idea it's to test your Mun Lander at kerbin just strap a pair of drouge chutes in a decoupler and let then go when they slow you enough. 

[nascarlaser1]

6 hours ago, Spricigo said:

I didn't commented  before because I have seen it as a self imposed challenge,  but now it looks more like you just over complicated things for you  without necessity. Why are you dealing with atmosphere and stronger gravity if the idea is develop a Mun lander? Or even yet,  why you are trying to design a single vehicle to land in two so distinct celestial bodies? 

If the idea it's to use the same crew compartment to land in different bodies just add a docking port so you can match with different vehicles according to what you want to do next. Put a probe core in each vehicles so you can control it after decoupling (and since each will have a docking port you may also keep some parking slots in your station) 

If the idea it's to test your Mun Lander at kerbin just strap a pair of drouge chutes in a decoupler and let then go when they slow you enough. 

I never thought of that...

My current Mun landers run out of fuel at 500m during the suicide burn, causing me to have to EVA to land safely, this causes the rest of the shuttle to blow upon landing, but the Kerbal lands safely 1km away. The only problem with this system is that he is stuck. Since I play on sandbox I don't care as much, but I would like a basic mun rocket that can be used in early Career, since my current  version is a modified munsplorer stock craft, which I can't seem to find in career mode sadly.