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

[michal.don]

14 hours ago, qzgy said:

1) Guess I forgot about that. Oops. I'll fix it and I guess redo it? It shouldn't be a difficult change to make.

2) Yeah it was accidentally left on from testing. On that one I stuck a probe core and some batteries in the ET/Booster and tried to land it Falcon 9 style. Didn't quite have enough fuel to actually land the ET, so I tried sticking on infinite fuel to hopefully maybe help land it. Still ended up crashing though.

3) I think you are talking about the last launch right? I honestly don't know why KER says that. The engines on the shuttle are just normal rhino engines. My guess the extraordinarily high delta-V readout is from the ion engines/propulsion module which by itself has about 6,000 m/s of dV. But in any case, here is the craft file https://www.dropbox.com/s/c94k9hy9swy66ei/Scott Shuttle STSM-7.craft?dl=0

Thanks for clearing that up.

1) - nah, as you said, just adding a crew pod is not that difficult, so I won't make you refly the whole mission just because of that. But you should install some crew capacity for later missions - I suppose you'll want to use this shuttle for some of the future missions?

2) - Alright, that makes sense. But, for future missions, be careful about that cheat menu. If it weren't for your shuttling history, it would be a bit suspicious

3) - thanks for the craft file. But I'm considering charging you with an assault on my computer - nearly 800 parts??!!!  This type of abominations has no place in my space program  I checked the craft, and it seems like some sort of KER mess-up, the orbiter has around 4,000 m/s of delta-V, without payload.

 

So, all thing said, I offer you a deal - you get your badge without having to fly the whole mission again, but you add some crew capacity to you shuttle, and demontstrate the new design with a crewed mission to the LOP-G. Does that sound good?

 

12 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said:

Just had to do some minor design adjustments to do STS-1b:

That's a properly precise orbit - kudos to you

Good job on making your shuttle cargo-proven, now there's nothing in your way for the few future missions! I'm curious how far this design will be able to go without significant changes.

Here's your badge:

 

Michal.don

[4x4cheesecake]

1 hour ago, michal.don said:

That's a properly precise orbit - kudos to you

Good job on making your shuttle cargo-proven, now there's nothing in your way for the few future missions! I'm curious how far this design will be able to go without significant changes.

Thanks

I'm curious as well and I will try to keep this design as long as possible...just finished 2a without any major changes I guess, the first Mun mission will be the first one which requires changes or a complete different design. 1b already had the highest deltaV requirements and the modules for 5-8 will be lighter than the Mullet Dyne Fuel Pod.

Actually, I just got an idea how to work around the high deltaV requirements of Mun-STS-1, that will be hilarious if I can manage to do this Just a quick question for this:

On 8/5/2017 at 8:06 PM, michal.don said:

[...]

allowing the Orbiter to land entirely under it's own power.

Does this account just for landings on Kerbin or the Mun as well?

 

Well, until we will find out how many challenges can be done with the same deisgn, here is STS-2a (If you already liked the orbit of 1b, you will love these^^):

Spoiler

Typical launch as usual:

Raising the AP to 2.9km (slightly overshot) while the external tank is still attached:

Getting rid of the tank and raise the Pe as well:

(orbital period is 2/3 of a Kerbin day to evenly space the comsats) Pe at 1.222.703m, Ap at 2.863.322m

Release the first comsat. I've used a fairing with interstage nodes to put all comsats horizontal inside the cargo bay. (Without actually building a fairing):

Cannot be more precise^^

Number 2:

Last one:

After several aerobreaks:

Way too fast!!

Turn around...

 

All screens: https://imgur.com/a/AHz36iy

(Mod list still the same)

Edited June 15, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[4x4cheesecake]

Here's STS-2b.

Actually pretty hard to land such a heavy orbiter, had to try it a few times and finally ended up with an in flight adjustment to the control surfaces. Just increased the authority limiter to 150, otherwise I was not able to pitch up as soon as the orbiter decelerate below 300m/s...

Just to do a bit differently to other docking maneuvers, I didn't use the RCS of the Fuel Pod. Instead, I caught the pod with the orbiter which allowed me to bring it back without using any fuel of the pod.

I forgot to show the filled ore tank in the last screen, hopefully thats not a problem. (actually I have a video proof that I didn't jettison the ore since I record the flight and create screenshots of the video. I can upload the video if you want.)

Spoiler

Waiting for the Mullet Dyne Fuel Pod crossing the KSC

I'm getting used to this shuttle thingy^^

3.7km separation right after launch:

Rendevouz:

Prepare the Fuel Pod (locking all fuel:

Got it:

And back to the KSC:

Album: https://imgur.com/a/BVbGtOf

Edited June 15, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[qzgy]

6 hours ago, michal.don said:

So, all thing said, I offer you a deal - you get your badge without having to fly the whole mission again, but you add some crew capacity to you shuttle, and demontstrate the new design with a crewed mission to the LOP-G. Does that sound good? 

Ok, that seems like a reasonable deal.

Also, as for the assault charges... 800 parts for thr shuttle is relatively light as far as saved crafts go. I have designs breaking the 1000 mark and not stopping. 

[hoioh]

5 hours ago, qzgy said:

Ok, that seems like a reasonable deal.

Also, as for the assault charges... 800 parts for thr shuttle is relatively light as far as saved crafts go. I have designs breaking the 1000 mark and not stopping. 

I built that Duna base after finishing the missions, but it's so big that when I add so much as a single additional part to it it will go into a death wobble... So I've got to separate the parts for secure operation  

[Scarecrow]

Here we go, a re-run of Mission STS-3, this time with 2 MMUs to assemble the telescope as required (I hope)

 

Spoiler

 

Cargo showing the telescope, 2 power units, and the 2 MMUs that will be used for assembly

 

Starting to wonder how much these tanks are costing us each time we ditch one

 

 

Orbit is 602km x 612km inclined at 25.9 degrees

 

 

Jeb is settled in to one MMU, Valentina is about to get the second ready

 

 

Valentina has the first power module attached to the telescope

 

 

Jeb has the second unit attached, and is making final checks that all is working correctly

 

 

Jeb thinks he should take a snapshot for the family album

 

 

Just need to stow the 2 MMUs and then we'll be ready to go home

 

 

One final look before we make de-orbit preparations

 

 

And to be a little bit different, this time a video showing our re-entry and landing back at KSC

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2018 by Scarecrow

[4x4cheesecake]

4 minutes ago, Scarecrow said:

Here we go, a re-run of Mission STS-3, this time with 2 MMUs to assemble the telescope as required (I hope)

-some pretty screens-

Nicely done

I guess, the requirements somehow forces a similar design, because the way you are putting all the stuff inside the cargo bay looks a bit familiar to me xD

Sneak preview for my STS 3 mission I'm preparing right now:

Spoiler

 

[Scarecrow]

Oh that does look familiar.  As you say mission requirements go some way to dictating how you solve it, which will inevitably lead to some similarities in how people approach the mission.

[hoioh]

1 hour ago, Scarecrow said:

Oh that does look familiar.  As you say mission requirements go some way to dictating how you solve it, which will inevitably lead to some similarities in how people approach the mission.

Only if you put it all in a single cargo bay though! We've seen some designs with up to, and in excess of, 5 or so cargo bays in a single shuttle, or stuff like my later shuttles, which simply feature a gigantic cargo bay, eliminating the space issue alltogether

[Alienwall]

STS-2a completed with the Dream Chaser version 2.

Spoiler

 

 

[4x4cheesecake]

Well, I guess I can submit another one before I do a little pause until everything got accepted^^

Here is STS-3 (Still the same design^^)

Spoiler

Prepared to start into an inclined orbit

Everything else as usual

Well, not everything...one small 'mid ascent' course correction to keep the correct inclination

Final orbit at ~600km and 26.35° inclination

Undock the telescope

Picking up the first solar array

Assembling is teamwork

First array is docked

picking up the second array

 And dock it as well

Expand everything

Return to the orbiter

Setting course to KSC and start praying to survive this terrifying reentry angle

'Slightly' missed the KSC (entering the atmosphere direct above the KSC )

Survived the reentry and turned around. KSC is far away but the island airfield is perfectly in range

Phew, mission complete

Album with more pictures: https://imgur.com/a/yZ17p0Q

 

edit: whoops, accidently clicked 'submit reply'. Still adding some pictures

 

Edited June 16, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[funk]

Hey, in preparation for my mun base missions, I designed two Shuttle Dropships/Dropship Shuttles/Dropshuttles ... I still need a name for them (suggestions are welcome!). During testing one was enhanced as Kerbin edition, so I could fly around and vertically land on Kerbin. I guess that was the time I realized, with some adjustments it might be a good asteroid hauler. Because I've never finished STS-9 with my old shuttle designs, here is a short clip with the new one. Enjoy!

 

[Alienwall]

STS-4 now completed as well.

Spoiler

 

 

[qzgy]

On 6/15/2018 at 3:47 AM, michal.don said:

demontstrate the new design with a crewed mission to the LOP-G

Done. https://imgur.com/a/afcSGwa

Was fun flying out that high for rendezvous. Interesting challenge. The frame rate what horrendous. Probably about 1200 parts loaded....

8 hours ago, Alienwall said:

STS-4 now completed as well. 

Its such a tiny design! I like it. Very different from my approach when I did it.....

[michal.don]

On 6/15/2018 at 10:50 AM, 4x4cheesecake said:

Does this account just for landings on Kerbin or the Mun as well?

I'm not sure what you mean by that question.  You'll obviously need some sort of engines to land on the Mun.....

The STS-2a looks good, and the gliding capacity of the orbiter saved the day despite being a little too long on the approach

Here's your badge:

On 6/15/2018 at 1:46 PM, 4x4cheesecake said:

Here's STS-2b.

Again, looking good! Nice job on the docking, not the easiest thing to do. And if your shuttle manages to land the pod, it really is a capable design!

On 6/16/2018 at 4:48 AM, 4x4cheesecake said:

Here is STS-3 (Still the same design^^)

Heh, you certainly did not waste aby time, that's a lot of flights  Great telescope design, and great assembly work on orbit! The reentry was a bit off indeed, but that's where the advantage of having a lot of wings showed, again

Good job, and a third badge for you!

On 6/15/2018 at 4:23 PM, qzgy said:

I have designs breaking the 1000 mark and not stopping. 

Heresy!

On 6/17/2018 at 6:41 AM, qzgy said:

Done. https://imgur.com/a/afcSGwa

While I'm not a fan of locking crew inside a fairing, I have no objections now  The shuttle is really nice, I love the looks of it! And a mighty capable craft, too.

So, here's your badge, congratulations!

On 6/15/2018 at 10:31 PM, Scarecrow said:

Here we go, a re-run of Mission STS-3, this time with 2 MMUs to assemble the telescope as required

Yes, that's a proper way of deploying a telescope!

By the way, the reentry procedure is quite a brutal one - over 15 Gs on a shuttle? Shame on you

No further objections from me now, here's your badge:

On 6/16/2018 at 1:06 AM, Alienwall said:

STS-2a completed with the Dream Chaser version 2.

Aww, such a cute little shuttle with such a little cute cargo bay.....  I love the design so much....

Great mission, here's your badge:

On 6/16/2018 at 10:28 PM, Alienwall said:

STS-4 now completed as well.

While it's a nice rescue mission, I can't award the badge for it. The rules state that you must do the missions in the right order, and you skipped STS-3 (the Hubble). I understand it will probably need a new shuttle design, but as the later missions require a large cargo capacity, you'll eventually need to design one anyway.

When you complete the STS-3, I'll gladly award you the badge for this mission though

On 6/16/2018 at 1:54 PM, funk said:

I guess that was the time I realized, with some adjustments it might be a good asteroid hauler.

Aerial football with space potatoes - I love it!!    

And I also love how ugly the shuttle is, it's beautiful  

This made my day, thanks! And here's you badge, a very well deserved one!

 

I hope I did not miss anything, it's been quite a lot of entries

Michal.don

 

[Scarecrow]

@michal.don  Yep, that one came in  direct from a 600km orbit so a bit excessive on the G-meter but I was quite pleased that nothing exploded on the way down.

A quick question.  As I had to do a re-run of mission STS-3, and the missions should be run in order, does that mean you would like me to now do STS-4 again?

[funk]

27 minutes ago, michal.don said:

 

And I also love how ugly the shuttle is, it's beautiful  

 

Thx for the badge, I've another one coming which engineers internally call "draggy-toast", against that the asteroid shuttle is a beauty . In the meantime I've something more eye pleasing for you:

The rework of my old shuttle design, especially the external tank and boosters. I'm trying to fly the RTLS abort mission but it's really hard due to stupid SAS to simulate the engine failure if it isn't the center one... maybe I'll have to go the alchemist way and code some stuff in kRPC for it.

Spoiler

 

[michal.don]

23 minutes ago, Scarecrow said:

A quick question.  As I had to do a re-run of mission STS-3, and the missions should be run in order, does that mean you would like me to now do STS-4 again?

Oh, of course not, I admit I just forgot that you completed the STS-4 mission already 

You're clear to build the station, and here's your badge:

 

20 minutes ago, funk said:

The rework of my old shuttle design, especially the external tank and boosters. I'm trying to fly the RTLS abort mission but it's really hard due to stupid SAS to simulate the engine failure if it isn't the center one... maybe I'll have to go the alchemist way and code some stuff in kRPC for it.

Yeah, this one looks much better, beautiful  The RTLS isn't easy, when the engine switches off, the shuttle starts really fighting back. In my run, it was a wrestling match all the way to space.....

[4x4cheesecake]

I need more space in my signature xD

1 hour ago, michal.don said:

I'm not sure what you mean by that question.  You'll obviously need some sort of engines to land on the Mun.....

Ok, a bit more precise: My idea is to launch a separate support shuttle to deliver an additional tank and maybe an additional engine to the main shuttle which will then be able to land on the mun. If this is a legit strategy, I may be able to do the STS-Mun-1 challenge without major design changes to my shuttle^^

[michal.don]

6 minutes ago, 4x4cheesecake said:

Ok, a bit more precise: My idea is to launch a separate support shuttle to deliver an additional tank and maybe an additional engine to the main shuttle which will then be able to land on the mun. If this is a legit strategy, I may be able to do the STS-Mun-1 challenge without major design changes to my shuttle^^

Thanks for clearing that up!

Well, the launching of a support shuttle is a no-go. Unless the rules of the mission state so, you can not launch anything besides the actual shuttle that does the job. Support launches are allowed for some of the Duna and Jool missions, but not for the munar ones. But you might design a landing/engine module, and fit it inside the cargo bay with the research facility, if you manage to design it compact enough....

 

[4x4cheesecake]

Ok, thanks for clarification.

10 minutes ago, michal.don said:

But you might design a landing/engine module, and fit it inside the cargo bay with the research facility, if you manage to design it compact enough....

Will be tough to fit everything into the cargo bay, but I'll try it^^

I keep the idea anyway becaue I want to take it a 'small' step further and reassemble a new external tank + booster to the orbiter on the surface of tylo. Just for fun

[Alienwall]

4 hours ago, michal.don said:

While it's a nice rescue mission, I can't award the badge for it. The rules state that you must do the missions in the right order, and you skipped STS-3 (the Hubble). I understand it will probably need a new shuttle design, but as the later missions require a large cargo capacity, you'll eventually need to design one anyway.

When you complete the STS-3, I'll gladly award you the badge for this mission though 

Alright, looks like it's time to upscale/ make a tiny telescope.

[funk]

22 hours ago, michal.don said:

The RTLS isn't easy, when the engine switches off, the shuttle starts really fighting back. In my run, it was a wrestling match all the way to space.....

I've done some tests with 18t payload and I think I have it under control now - with the help of RCS and using the OMS to gain altitude. Further I understand now what is mentioned in the article about energy management when you need to burn all your fuel but also reach KSC in the end.

Here is the obligatory STS-1T mission, which wasn't really a thing, cause the crafts had been tested and flown several times in previous versions of the challenge.

 

[4x4cheesecake]

Back from a short break, here is STS-4/4R

Actually, I did it twice but you already told me that support missions are just allowd if it is mentioned in the challenge description so I guess I'm not allowed to dock both orbiter to do the rescue (and more important: pump fuel from STS-4 to STS-4R), so I did it again without docking and some extra fuel for STS-4R^^

Short version:

Spoiler

Launching direct into an inclined orbit (there are 6 Kerbals on board, but 5 portraits are max.):

Final orbit at 400km, 25.5° inclination:

'Suddenly':

Well, I guess STS-4 needs a rescue^^

Val has to save the day:

(I skip through some launch pics here) Orbit at 300km, ~25° inclination. Maneuver to eliminate the relative inclination to STS-4:

Setting up the rendevouz:

Arriving at STS-4:

After a little timewarp, lets bring them close together:

EVA each Kerbal from STS-4 to STS-4R:

Lets bring the Kerbals home:

Please ignore the scatterer bug, it is more important that 7 Kerbals are recovered (Val + 6 rescued Kerbals):

 

Long version: https://imgur.com/a/KiikRFH

Additionally to my usual mod list, I've installed 'Kaboom' to..well...'kaboom' the main engines of STS-4^^

[Alienwall]

After the original Bubble Space Telescope fell from its rocket and shattered into pieces it was decided that Bob's hobby telescope should be outfitted and sent to space. Here's STS-3:

Spoiler