Shuttle Challenge v5 - The STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly] - MAJOR CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT! - 30.3.2020

[Ozelui]

Hello again!  

Before submitting my last mission, there is a resource I would like to share with you.  This site contains information about shuttle designs that never came into existence and has been a great source of inspiration for me, I'm hoping it will be for others too:

http://www.pmview.com/spaceodysseytwo/spacelvs/sld001.htm

http://www.pmview.com/spaceodysseytwo/spacelvs/sld025.htm It's so sexy, I must try to build this one!

Ok, now here's the Mun STS mission 1:

 

The plan was to build the small research outpost in this flight and expand it in the second one, I hope that is not against any of the challenge rules.  In this mission a comm network has been deployed around Mun and Minmus, and also the old comm sats from the STS-2 mission have been replaced with proper long range ones that can reach the Duna outpost and beyond reliably.

The old quad boosters have been replaced with a 100% reusable system, a hybrid between the Energia and the Falcon heavy, and while it is going to need more work, it did the job of pushing the ship into orbit and go back to the ground in one  - well, in three, as planned -  pieces.

Craft file:  https://kerbalx.com/Ozelui/Aurora-shuttle-mk-3-Do-I-have-Mun-quakes

 

Spoiler

About the landing... I'm a bit worried about the landing gear NOT being destroyed... Judge yourselves but, shouldn't it explode in that situation?   Is it possible that any of the mods is making the landing gear stronger than it should be?  I don't think so but...   perhaps KJR?

Just for the record, this was my third attempt to land, on the first one the same thing happened, but the shuttle didn't get away from it because of the pylons in the debris, on the second one I overshooted the KSC and the shuttle landed without issues on the island airfield but I wasn't recording . 

 

Mod list (v 1.3.1):
Toolbar plugin
Camera tools
Chatterer
Action groups extended
Distant object enhancement
Engine Light
EVE
Rasterprop IVA
KER
KJR
Kopernicus
Memgraph
Docking Port Alignment Indicator
Planetshine
Stage Recovery
Reentry particle effects
Scatterer
Stock visual enhancements & textures
Trajectories mod
Alarm clock
Transfer planner
Vessel viewer
Water sounds
Wheel sounds
World stabilizer (prevents landed vessels from jumping after loading)

 

[funk]

6 hours ago, Artienia said:

 every time i catch a potato i just.... booom crashed.

@Artienia Can you post a picture of your catcher pls, maybe we can figure out what's happening.

@Ozelui Damn, I had the same plot for my mun base. I guess we'll see a remake soon.

Edited March 27, 2018 by funk

[Artienia]

5 hours ago, biomecaman said:

...i had a docking port... and it was FLIPPY FLOPPY FUN ALL TEH WAYS DOWN!!! no boom boom though..

@Artienia looks fixed now, though im in shock that the mk1 passenger compartment survived re-entry
 

 

5 hours ago, Ozelui said:

Yep, it is working now.  Welcome!  By the way, it's not necessary to summon michal.don into the forums, he checks the challenge quite regularly, but I don't think it's a problem if you do so.  

About the potato catcher, I'd say the ammount of parts between the main structure and the claw do not matter at all as long as you secure them with a few struts to hold in position.  I had no idea about the docking ports, do they really make the ship explode??  Wow!

 

 

by crash i didn't mean explode or the regular crash, i just loose controll

but when  i have time i have designed a potato catched that hopefully works

[funk]

1 minute ago, Artienia said:

 

by crash i didn't mean explode or the regular crash, i just loose controll

but when  i have time i have designed a potato catched that hopefully works

It's probably the drag of the asteroid what flips your craft. Press F12 and you'll see. You might want to balance drag, for instance with airbrakes.

[hoioh]

12 hours ago, Ozelui said:

Yep, it is working now.  Welcome!  By the way, it's not necessary to summon michal.don into the forums, he checks the challenge quite regularly, but I don't think it's a problem if you do so.  

About the potato catcher, I'd say the ammount of parts between the main structure and the claw do not matter at all as long as you secure them with a few struts to hold in position.  I had no idea about the docking ports, do they really make the ship explode??  Wow!

 

 

I'ts aparently not a thing that happens to everybody, but in my case it certainly made ship explode everytime. no docking port, no problem! So it could help, I mean I'm just sharing my own experiences here

Edited March 27, 2018 by hoioh

[Ozelui]

@funk lol, great minds think alike!  It's a very attractive spot for a Mun base, not only it's beyond the 60º latitude for the second mission requeriment, but also you can play the UFO card for the story.  I'd say the only downsides are the uneven terrain and lack of solar power.  Looking forward to watch your awesome report!

@Artienia  I misunderstood then, sorry, it was a bit too late yesterday.  If you are loosing control of the shuttle during reentry with the asteroid and it flies well without it, then I think the potato drag is the issue too.  In my potato catching flight, powering down two of my four aerobrakes was enough to keep the shuttle flying straigth.   Perhaps the potato could be simulated with... idk, the deployable heat shield maybe? to test atmospheric flight.

@hoioh Something similar used to happen to me with big space stations in 1.2.2, I assumed it was fixed in 1.3.0.  With KSP you never know when the kraken is coming for you.  

Edited March 27, 2018 by Ozelui

[michal.don]

On 26. 3. 2018 at 12:29 AM, zolotiyeruki said:

It appears that despite my best efforts, imgur scrambled the order of my images. And forgot a bunch of captions. I'll fix that asap.

I'm still a bit confused, I must admit. While I see a maneuver that looks like a transfer from Kerbin to Eve, I don't see the transfer from Duna to Eve anywhere. Could you please point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

 

22 hours ago, Artienia said:

P.S. Don't know if i have to mention michal.don, if not sorry

WHO DARES TO SUMMON ME FROM MY SLUMBER?!!!!

Just kidding, welcome to the challenge

 

And you start off with four missions at once? A bold move on your part

But... there's a slight problem. Your STS-1 mission is A-OK, you certainly got that part right. But in the STS-2 mission, the sats are supposed to go to keostationary orbit. So, for the time being, I can only award you the first badge:

When you re-fly the STS-2, I'll review the next missions. Good luck!

 

[Artienia]

1 hour ago, michal.don said:

I'm still a bit confused, I must admit. While I see a maneuver that looks like a transfer from Kerbin to Eve, I don't see the transfer from Duna to Eve anywhere. Could you please point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

 

WHO DARES TO SUMMON ME FROM MY SLUMBER?!!!!

Just kidding, welcome to the challenge

 

And you start off with four missions at once? A bold move on your part

But... there's a slight problem. Your STS-1 mission is A-OK, you certainly got that part right. But in the STS-2 mission, the sats are supposed to go to keostationary orbit. So, for the time being, I can only award you the first badge:

When you re-fly the STS-2, I'll review the next missions. Good luck!

 

There is a problem. in the Mission report it is both said to be 350K+ AND Geo and both are not possible (by that i mean it is technically possible, but in the pilot level it says 200K+ AND Geo so u had to choose one)

[Ozelui]

@Artienia  I'll try to explain:  The missions have two "difficulty settings", pilot is easier, while the commander requisites are harder.  Also, some of the missions have a "bonus" objective, like the STS-1B, where the bonus would be to lift the fuel pod.    Deciding the difficulty is up to you  , the only difference is which badge you will get for completing it (and, arguably, your personal satisfaction for completing a more challenging mission).

An example of a qualifying pilot (easy) level for the STS-2A would be to launch the shuttle and reach an orbit of 200 km, release two self propulsed satellites that then fly to the geostationary orbit (2.863 km or 0 m/s relative to Kerbin's surface), deorbit the shuttle from the 200 km orbit and land her anywhere on Kerbin.

 

[Artienia]

1 hour ago, Ozelui said:

@Artienia  I'll try to explain:  The missions have two "difficulty settings", pilot is easier, while the commander requisites are harder.  Also, some of the missions have a "bonus" objective, like the STS-1B, where the bonus would be to lift the fuel pod.    Deciding the difficulty is up to you  , the only difference is which badge you will get for completing it (and, arguably, your personal satisfaction for completing a more challenging mission).

An example of a qualifying pilot (easy) level for the STS-2A would be to launch the shuttle and reach an orbit of 200 km, release two self propulsed satellites that then fly to the geostationary orbit (2.863 km or 0 m/s relative to Kerbin's surface), deorbit the shuttle from the 200 km orbit and land her anywhere on Kerbin.

 

sigh I guess i do it over

Some Question

Station assembled in STS 5-8 will recive a badge. can you use that base as a refueling base?

Also is mechjeb and Near future solar allowed? Im excrementsty at docking so mechjeb would helped (i tried docking indicator but not much improved) and the solar for aesthetic. their blanked and circular solar panels look dope. by allowed i mean still within the 'stock' badge

[GKXS]

Hi Guys, here is my entry for STS1A. I'm planning to fly 1B shortly, and will get the mission report up ASAP. (the link is VERY pic heavy - sorry) I've also created a blooper reel of things not going to plan, found here.(Also very pic heavy) 

This is both the first challenge I've entered, and the first shuttle I've made.

Prior to this I had only rarely dabbled with aircraft. having had only a couple of aircraft that I designed able to complete anything approaching a landing. During the development, I managed to land on the island runway for the first time. I can also now land with about 50% chance of the aircraft being intact (I'm still not amazing at getting it where I want it though - a lot of designs ended up just off the runway laterally.

I'm hoping for a 1A Commander Badge for this one - assuming that my stretched definition of a runway landing is acceptable. I'll aim to put 1B down with more precision!

 

 

[hoioh]

Mechjeb is fine once your shuttle is out of the atmosphere @Artienia Only requirement is that in atmosphere you must fly yourself, but once you have reached space you can use mechjeb. If you want "stock" badges you can only use stock, if you use "near solar" then you will get "modded" badges.

I don't know anout the refueling, that's really up to @michal.don

[Artienia]

2 minutes ago, hoioh said:

Mechjeb is fine once your shuttle is out of the atmosphere @Artienia Only requirement is that in atmosphere you must fly yourself, but once you have reached space you can use mechjeb. If you want "stock" badges you can only use stock, if you use "near solar" then you will get "modded" badges.

I don't know anout the refueling, that's really up to @michal.don

Thanks! also one thing, i see you completed the asteroid one. can you link it? i want to do that and i need craft designs

[hoioh]

1 minute ago, Artienia said:

Thanks! also one thing, i see you completed the asteroid one. can you link it? i want to do that and i need craft designs

I could link it, or you could just browse the pages of this topic to find it. It's in the previous 5 - 10 pages or so, wasn't that long ago. I used a lot of mods though and my shuttle is ENORMOUS, like really big, 5m cargo and such, from a mod that I found and like a lot.

I'll upload all of my albums later today using a dropbox link to some ZIP files, each containing 1 mission (but currently uploading like 300GB, so it may take a while...

Here's my space potato hunt album: https://imgur.com/a/PMFfa

I do recommend reading the thread though, there's a lot more info there than just a bunch of pictures

[michal.don]

On 27. 3. 2018 at 2:30 AM, Ozelui said:

Ok, now here's the Mun STS mission 1:

Wow, what a landing drama in the end  Also, I like the deployment of crapload of sats because why not  And, the two sets of wheels transforming into a cute little rover. So, a really great mission overall!

So, here's your badge:

Congrats!

17 hours ago, Artienia said:

There is a problem. in the Mission report it is both said to be 350K+ AND Geo and both are not possible (by that i mean it is technically possible, but in the pilot level it says 200K+ AND Geo so u had to choose one)

Like the guys said, these are two separate "levels" of the challenge. For commander, the shuttle has to reach an orbit of 350+ and the satellites have to then go to KSO. 

 

15 hours ago, Artienia said:

Station assembled in STS 5-8 will recive a badge. can you use that base as a refueling base?

I'm sorry, but that's a no-go. If the requirements for the specific mission do not state that you can use a support launch, everything that you use has to go up with the shuttle.

As for the stock/modded badges, the guys explained it correctly again, mechjeb is ok for out-of-atmo operations, and modded parts on both your orbiter/LV will place you in the modded category. BUt in my view, the modded category is in no way inferior to the stock one - I did all the missions modded myself - just for the looks and right proportions of SpaceY boosters

 

12 hours ago, GKXS said:

Hi Guys, here is my entry for STS1A.

Welcome to the challenge, what a first time entry this is!! Some of the guys here specialise in flying monstrosities, and I believe you just joined the club - this thing is massive  Congratulations on reaching orbit and landing back again, this is no easy feat. So a well earned commander badge for you:

Good luck in the next missions!

 

11 hours ago, Artienia said:

Thanks! also one thing, i see you completed the asteroid one. can you link it? i want to do that and i need craft designs

Don't overthink it too much, basic unerpowered designs often lead to great hilarity

 

Michal.don

[Artienia]

@michal.don

Thanks for the reply!
also i want to ask where it says you can send a shuttle you can refuel that right?

Also i guess you can mine ore on the moon and duna and these stuff

[michal.don]

58 minutes ago, Artienia said:

Also i guess you can mine ore on the moon and duna and these stuff

Ÿes, ISRU is allowed, and sometimes I think even neccessary.

The support launch is allowed for the Duna and Jool missions, and the support launch can be pretty much anything you want - refueling station, additional equipment, or even a whole second shuttle. Your choice!

[Artienia]

4 hours ago, michal.don said:

Ÿes, ISRU is allowed, and sometimes I think even neccessary.

The support launch is allowed for the Duna and Jool missions, and the support launch can be pretty much anything you want - refueling station, additional equipment, or even a whole second shuttle. Your choice!

sounds good!
Also has anybody actually done a STOCK STS-9 COMMANDER level? im interested

[Artienia]

12 minutes ago, Artienia said:

sounds good!
Also has anybody actually done a STOCK STS-9 COMMANDER level? im interested

And is Tweakscale allowed for aesthetic reason? I have an asteroid cather idea but for the roof 1x1 is too small but 2x2 panel is too big

[Alchemist]

22 minutes ago, Artienia said:

sounds good!
Also has anybody actually done a STOCK STS-9 COMMANDER level? im interested

That's where my Heavy Recovery Orbiter comes from (that was on the version where all rocks spawned with 150 t due to a bug, so even mostly mined out the rock may be quite a bit heavier than than anything this size at the current version. Also it was barely flyable with 35 tons mounted like that)

[hoioh]

6 hours ago, Alchemist said:

That's where my Heavy Recovery Orbiter comes from (that was on the version where all rocks spawned with 150 t due to a bug, so even mostly mined out the rock may be quite a bit heavier than than anything this size at the current version. Also it was barely flyable with 35 tons mounted like that)

Mine came in at 25t @Alchemist, not the 35t you brought in, but not that much smaller either. I didn't have to mine anything from it, just brought it in "as is". Not as difficult as your's either, I found that flying with a big rock on the back of the humongous shuttle wasn't the slightest problem at all (I am running 1.3.0, I think, can't actualy be certain at this time, that might matter for the performace of potato earodynamics).

[michal.don]

13 hours ago, Artienia said:

And is Tweakscale allowed for aesthetic reason? I have an asteroid cather idea but for the roof 1x1 is too small but 2x2 panel is too big

Sorry, but if you want to be considered "stock", no tweakscale. I'm generally careful about tweakscale, because it's pretty easi to exploit.

[Artienia]

52 minutes ago, michal.don said:

Sorry, but if you want to be considered "stock", no tweakscale. I'm generally careful about tweakscale, because it's pretty easi to exploit.

not even for aesthethic where no fuel is sotred? aw

[michal.don]

1 hour ago, Artienia said:

not even for aesthethic where no fuel is sotred? aw

Sorry, but that's where I'm drawing the line. The rules grew a bit more tolerant since I took the challenge managing, but I don't want to move it too far. So, no tweakscale at all.

Michal.don

[Artienia]

12 minutes ago, michal.don said:

Sorry, but that's where I'm drawing the line. The rules grew a bit more tolerant since I took the challenge managing, but I don't want to move it too far. So, no tweakscale at all.

Michal.don

k den