[1.8.1-1.12.x] Modular Launch Pads v2.6.1: Launch clamps evolved: Real-style launch bases and towers [03 July 2023]

[AlphaMensae]

2 hours ago, alberro+ said:

Could the F9 erector from Tundra be implemented? I.E, add the revamped tower that's on Pad 39 at KSC?

There's already one included, modified a bit for the upcoming v2.1.

The current Shuttle FSS tower parts have also been revised to include the black&white color sceme and the side mesh panels.

3 hours ago, nasaholic said:

Any future plans for ISRO hardware to go along the recently released Chrayol's PSLV mod?

Yes, I do plan on making a PSLV-style Launch Base for a future update. Whether it will be a standalone base or one of the reworked series of General Launch Bases, I don't know yet.

[alberro+]

46 minutes ago, AlphaMensae said:

There's already one included, modified a bit for the upcoming v2.1.

The current Shuttle FSS tower parts have also been revised to include the black&white color sceme and the side mesh panels.

Yeah, but the real one has some sort of tarp covering the side. 

Edited February 28, 2020 by alberro+

[AlphaMensae]

3 hours ago, alberro+ said:

Yeah, but the real one has some sort of tarp covering the side. 

I made my own version, more generalized and not an exact replica of the SpaceX one

[infinite_monkey]

I noticed that the launch stands support fueling. I never used it before, but it made me curious. How does it work - does it just fill all tanks with anything (monopropellant, food...)? Does it cost funds or is it a way to cheat for free fuel? Would it also be possible to empty the tanks?

[AlphaMensae]

3 minutes ago, infinite_monkey said:

I noticed that the launch stands support fueling. I never used it before, but it made me curious. How does it work - does it just fill all tanks with anything (monopropellant, food...)? Does it cost funds or is it a way to cheat for free fuel? Would it also be possible to empty the tanks?

I got the idea from Galileo's Almost Free Launch Clamps, that ModuleGenerator can output any resource, not just Electric Charge, so I added fueling capability to my launch stands and bases.

They output Liquid Fuel, Oxidizer, Monoprop, and if using CRP, LqdHydrogen and LqdMethane. Yes, the fuel is free when doing it this way, BUT the generator respects crossfeed rules, so it will not fill tanks above or past a decoupler or anything with crossfeed disabled--not even a fuel line will overcome it. You have to temporarily enable crossfeed on decouplers to get second/upper stages filled.

An alternative which does work for all stages is to attach (either via a free node or just surface attach) fuel tanks to the base, and then offset them onto the ground to make a "tank farm". Then just use the fuel transfer function in the right-click windows. You can even run fuel lines between the tank farm and launch base for effect, but they are not necessary.  This way the fuel is not free.  

[VoidCosmos]

Congrats @AlphaMensae for getting the thread of the month! 

[RYU AZUKU99]

The kraken sometimes likes to take control of the towers for a rave 

 

[UZZO007]

Ciao, sono interessato a includere questa mod, solo che non trovo le funzioni per RSS / RO. Potresti dirmi dove trovarli? Se esiste una mod che aggiunge piattaforme di lancio per RSS / RO. 

[Moderator added translation]

Hi, I'm interested in including this mod, only I don't find the functions for RSS / RO. Could you tell me where to find them? If there is a mod that adds launch platforms for RSS / RO.

Edited March 10, 2020 by James Kerman
Added translation

[AlphaMensae]

I've finally got something to show of what I've been working on for the past 2+ weeks: the Titan II GLV service tower. It's been a rather complex process, as the tower doesn't have much symmetry to it--it's like a big mashup of structural bits.  I've been able to impose symmetry while keeping some of the features of the actual tower.

These pics show the core single piece tower, without the platforms, as I've gotten the top and bottom in the right spots. Also has the large angled umbilical arm with the separate Gemini umbilical attached on top. The Titan II GLV tower has it's own umbilicals, with switchable (fixed) arm types, but I'll include an option for standard umbilical nodes. And yes, the TItan II GLV umbilicals were attached sideways like shown.

I'm going to try to get the platform positions to match between the single-piece tower and the modular sections, but it may end up that the single-piece version has customized platform positions. In that case, the modular part version will be for things other than the Titan II.  

And I think CobaltWolf put in the main umbilical port for the BDB Gemini service module, as it's in the right place, and I aligned the topmost arm so the umbilical end matches up with that port.

 

[AlphaMensae]

On 3/9/2020 at 7:04 PM, UZZO007 said:

Ciao, sono interessato a includere questa mod, solo che non trovo le funzioni per RSS / RO. Potresti dirmi dove trovarli? Se esiste una mod che aggiunge piattaforme di lancio per RSS / RO. 

[Moderator added translation]

Hi, I'm interested in including this mod, only I don't find the functions for RSS / RO. Could you tell me where to find them? If there is a mod that adds launch platforms for RSS / RO.

Ask the RO people for help with using Modular Launch Pads in RO and especially in RP1, as it is a do-it-yourself situation.

[UZZO007]

9 hours ago, AlphaMensae said:

Ask the RO people for help with using Modular Launch Pads in RO and especially in RP1, as it is a do-it-yourself situation.

OK thank you very much

[alberro+]

Could Starliner's tower be implemented into this mod?

Also, where is this image from?

[AlphaMensae]

1 hour ago, alberro+ said:

Could Starliner's tower be implemented into this mod?

Also, where is this image from?

The v2.1 Large General Crew Elevator and Large General Crew Arm have options now to make something like the Starliner tower. @Lupi has made one for his own Atlas V-style rocket. The main part addition is a side-mounted tower extension section with a multiple heights of accessible walkways and walls that can be turned on or off is various combinations.

In the future, I may make a dedicated Starliner tower.

I also don't know where that image is from  

[Hohmannson]

3 hours ago, alberro+ said:

Also, where is this image from?

This image appeared in 2017 in https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/profile/131898-arcturusvfx/ imgur account https://imgur.com/user/Arcturusvfx, in 2017 that user was active in part modelling threads. Now he/she is missing for a year, and the WIP Starliner mod was not even pre-released. It is good that AlphaMensae exists.

[AlphaMensae]

The single-piece Titan II GLV Service Tower is (mostly) done!  Still have to add the alt set of umbilical nodes and maybe some .cfg tweaks, but it's now on the AlphaDev branch of the GitHub. It's sized and customized for the BDB Titan II GLV rocket, and is mostly snap right in, with little adjustment needed.

 

[AlphaMensae]

Just updated the single-piece Titan II GLV Service Tower on the AlphaDev branch with the final pieces: Alternate attach nodes for the General Umbilicals, alt color options (still only three as I continue to modify the new LaunchStands texture series), and I made the fixed pole "arm" structural detail toggleable so the tower can be better used as a conventional type with the general umbilicals.

[AlphaMensae]

And now the modular version of the Titan II GLV tower is done and now on the AlphaDev branch

The platforms in the tower core sections can be turned off, or with the tall section, have one or the other turned off.

The single-piece tower version can't be exactly replicated with the modular parts, as that one has custom-placed platforms, but it's close enough for use with taller or shorter rockets.

The modular parts are in the Special Service Tower subcategory of my stock custom category, and in the General Launch Pads custom tech tree node. The single-piece tower, the Titan II tower umbilicals and the mast are in the Launch Stands tree node.

[MuriloMoreira]

Is this mod compatible with RSS?

[AlphaMensae]

41 minutes ago, MuriloMoreira said:

Is this mod compatible with RSS?

As it is, no, everything is designed for stock scale rockets (roughly 2/3 real scale).  For RSS, you'll have to rescale them bigger, although the larger General Launch Bases can accomodate large rocket sizes without rescaling.

[Ioannes_Dallasinos]

hey there! KSP 1.7 player here. You 've made an outstanding job with those super realistic launch pads but i have one question. Are you going to make this mod  compatible with RO/RSS

cause its really a shame to have that kind of realism and not the rest of the enviroment being realistic too. Plz consider changing that. Very very very plz  

[AlphaMensae]

1 hour ago, Ioannes_Dallasinos said:

hey there! KSP 1.7 player here. You 've made an outstanding job with those super realistic launch pads but i have one question. Are you going to make this mod  compatible with RO/RSS

cause its really a shame to have that kind of realism and not the rest of the enviroment being realistic too. Plz consider changing that. Very very very plz  

I don't use RSS or RO, so I don't make Modular Launch Pads for it, sorry.

It's up to the RSS/RO users to make it compatible with it, which is true for most if not all non-RSS/RO mods.

[AlphaMensae]

Taking a break from the larger things to do...smaller things! Filling a neglected need for tiny-rocket launch stands, here's the first of the Mini Milkstool Launch Stands, the Micro one, with hold-down bolt positions for 0.3125m and 0.625m rockets:

Each of the three main mini-milkstools will have two height variants, tall (shown above) and short:

The hold-down bolts also have vertical and horizontal types, with the horizontal ones better suited for tiny SRMs, which usually have a relatively wide nozzle.

The other two main sizes will be the Mini, for 0.9375m/1.25m/1.5m, and the Small, for 1.875m/2.5m rockets,

[golkaidakhaana]

Sweet jesus, so many RSS/RO requests...

Lovely work on the GLV tower. Do you know whether it will be compatible with the revamped BDB Gemini?

[AlphaMensae]

7 hours ago, sslaptnhablhat said:

Sweet jesus, so many RSS/RO requests...

Lovely work on the GLV tower. Do you know whether it will be compatible with the revamped BDB Gemini?

I can understand the RSS/RO questions, but I don't make the MLP parts for RSS/RO, they are for stock scale or 2.5/2.7 (like JNSQ),  the same as with KSC Extended, BDB, Tantares, Tundra, Cormorant, SOCK, etc..

The Titan II GLV tower should work with the new BDB Gemini (whenever Cobalt does it), as I don't think it will change in size, just details, as well as becoming a set of 50 or so parts  

[AlphaMensae]

Second Mini Milkstool Launch Stand, size 2, is done. This one can accomodate 0.9375m, 1.25m and 1.25m rockets by changing the hold-down bolt configuration. It's also about twice the size of the size 1 version.  

These are being designed to sit flush with the top of the launch pad static/ground, with the actual launch clamp components (like the stretchy columns) hidden inside the large foot pads. This is a new technique I'll be using quite a lot from now on, as it frees me from the limitations of the usual launch clamp style, i.e. anchor pad on the bottom, stretchy column/leg, cap pad, then everything else on top. The Titan II Launch Stand also uses this style, and the Vanguard Launch Stand incorporates the stretchy columns as the main vertical beams of the stand itself.

Oh, something I've overlooked for a while now, but B9PS now has node switching   I'm now going to incorporate it into the MLP v2.1 parts, starting with the new Mini Milkstool Launch Stands. Switching between the Tall and Short variants now moves the attach node as well, putting the top of the stand in the same spot.