Kerbin Lab - Fluon Smallsat LV - User-submitted payloads

[Kerbiter]

MANIFEST

Launch #	Launch Vehicle	Payload	Orbit	Date	Outcome
1	Fluon	TESTsat 1 & 2	LKO	Q3 Y1	Success
2	Fluon	GravSat 1-3, TurkeySat	PKO	Q2 Y2	Success
3	Fluon-Kurie	PorcupineSat	EKO	Q1 Y3	Planned
4	Fluon-Kurie	SAC-1	SSO	Q2 Y3	Planned
5	Fluon	GravSat 4-5	PKO	Y3	Planned

Kerbin Lab was founded 8 years ago by Beck Kerman with the simple goal of making space more accessible. He nearly immediately began development of the Fluon launch vehicle.

The Fluon launch vehicle is now nearing completion. Fluon is a brand new smallsat launcher. Able to lift 400kg into orbit, Fluon will be useful to wield many light payloads, such as QBE-Sats or similar technologies, on one launch, reducing costs significantly. 1.25 meters wide and 15.5m tall, it's not meant to be large, however, it still can deliver for many purposes.

It is currently in the late development stages, and we expect to launch within the next 3 months. We just did a full duration burn of the first stage on the pad, testing out critical ground equipment and flight hardware.

Testing first stage core at the Woomerang launch facility. (Kerbin Lab)

The static fire proceeded nominally, although there were some issues delaying the test from its initial start time.

We are currently targeting our first launch in about 3 months, with the payload being 2 QBE-Sats.
 

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR PAYLOAD ON A FLUON! HERE'S HOW:

Payload: [payload name]
Mass: [payload mass; must not exceed 400kg]
Target Orbit: [orbit parameters]
Rideshare: [Yes/No]
Payload Link: [insert link of payload (preferably on KerbalX) here]
Extra Notes: [could be anything]

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Kerbiter
manifest update

[SiriusRocketry]

Sounds good! (Rule 2j might have to step in, however)

I will definitely send a probe through at some point.

[Ultimate Steve]

Ditto on the rule against roleplay. Be careful! I'd love to see something like this work out, just historically it rarely has. I wish you the best of luck!

I don't have anything recently made, but there was a similar idea for a challenge a while back. I built 10 payloads for it as a payload provider, none of which ever flew. Most of them are hideously oversized for what you want, but here's the links, I guess.

Link to post where I post the 10 craft:

If you want to, you can fly US-06, a tiny CubeSat, as a rideshare. US-01 seems to be within your margin, although it does go to an elliptical orbit and looks too large for the fairing. US-07 is really light but goes to Minmus orbit. US-08 is an inflight abort test of a capsule, which is too heavy to get to orbit, but should work as a test.

 

Stay tuned, though, I'll get you some real payloads. If you can't wait, then you can do some of the four above, but those shouldn't be taken as actual submissions unless you really want to get started.

Also, @Kerbiter I'm assuming the payloads need to be stock, is that right?

[Kerbiter]

24 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Ditto on the rule against roleplay. Be careful! I'd love to see something like this work out, just historically it rarely has. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks.

24 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Also, @Kerbiter I'm assuming the payloads need to be stock, is that right?

Modded payloads are allowed, obviously. All you need to do is say which mods are used in the payload, and I will work it out.

 

 

[Ultimate Steve]

Alright, these should keep you going for a while! KerbalX link to all 10: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/46033

Backstories I wrote mostly for fun, you can reference them if you want as long as we don't get too roleplay-y.

Here are 10 payloads. They are all stock. Enjoy!

Spoiler

Name: TurkeySat

Mass: 216kg

Target Orbit: Any

Rideshare: Yes

Post-Deployment: Deploy antenna

Backstory: A small satellite paid for by a fast food chain to fly their food into space, complete with fake instruments.

 

Name: M.A.S.T. - Magnetic Aperture Space Telescope

Mass: 342kg

Target Orbit: Low Polar (if too heavy LKO will do)

Rideshare: No,  I don't think there's anything light enough to rideshare with this.

Post-Deployment: Press Action Group 8 to deploy magnetic aperture and solar panels.

Backstory: A high-tech experimental space telescope with a high resolution but narrow field of view. Designed to map the magnetic fields of near planets and the closer stars. Jointly developed by three universities and one small government space program.

Deployed:

Name: GravSat 1-5

Mass: 365kg

Target Orbit: Polar, circular, as high as possible with remaining fuel margin.

Rideshare: No, unless you split this payload up, which is possible.

Deployment: Point away from the sun so the solar panels will allign. Press 8 to deploy the antennas. Then detach the sats one at a time, at different points along the orbit.

Backstory: The GravSat program is a low-cost simple way to map the gravitational fields of Kerbin. It works by measuring the orbital drift of the satellites.

 

Name: GravSat 6-10

Mass: 365kg

Target Orbit: Polar, circular, as high as possible with the remaining fuel margins. Different plane than GravSat 1-5.

Rideshare: See above.

Deployment: See above.

Backstory: The second booked mission in the GravSat program. Perform identically to the first mission but in a different plane.

(a picture would be redundant, the craft are identical)

 

Name: CryoSat 2

Mass: 400kg

Target Orbit: LKO.

Rideshare: No, it's too heavy.

Post-Deployment: I don't remember if there is an antenna in there, but deploying it would be nice if there is one. Pointing towards the sun is also nice.

Backstory: After the launch vehicle the original CryoSat was scheduled to launch on was cancelled, the program attempted to find another launch vehicle. However, it was too heavy for a small launch vehicle and too small to rideshare conveniently on any larger vehicle. It fell into disrepair. CryoSat 2, being lighter, is designed to fulfill the same mission as CryoSat 1, but on a smaller scale. It will study the behavior of cryogenic fluids in zero gravity and attempt to store them for long periods of time, multiple years if possible.

 

Name: Sample Acquisition Capsule

Mass: 394kg

Target Orbit: Equatorial 80x80.

Rideshare: No, too heavy.

Post-Deployment: Loiter in orbit a few days, point retrograde and fire sepratron. Wait until atmospheric entry, point prograde, and stage off re-entry capsule (and also activating the parachute). You don't have to watch to landing but it would be nice.

Backstory: The SAC-1 is the first flight of the leading design in the Sample Return Initiative, designed to perform emergency and semi-routine resupplies and returns to the Kerbin International Space Station. Unfortunately, it is rather overweight, and carries a non-standard service module without RCS for docking in order to fit on the Fluon, their chosen launch vehicle, at least for this first test. If they can get it light enough to reach a 150x150 45 degree orbit, while still flying on a Fluon, it will be their operational vehicle, but for this test it will stay in LKO.

 

Name: PorcupineSat

Mass: 255kg

Target Orbit: 80km periapsis, equatorial. As elliptical as possible.

Rideshare: No, orbital requirements require much of the remaining margin.

Post-Deployment: Press 8 to deploy sensor array.

Backstory: Originally coined as VAB-SS, the Van Allen Belt Survey Satellite, PorcupineSat became its preferred name because of how it's particle sensing protrusions appeared.  When fully extended it is a very interesting looking satellite. It is designed to map out to a great level of accuracy Kerbin's radiation belts.

 

Name: ScatterSat

Mass: 386kg

Target Orbit: 80x80, as close to equatorial as possible.

Rideshare: No.

Post-Deployment: Use onboard fuel to transfer to Minmus, aim for a head on collision. Turn on debris indicator. Several hundred kilometers above Minmus, aim straight down and stage. 17 pieces of debris should come off, and if everything was done right, all of them will be flung sideways fast enough that they will have a periapsis, curve around Minmus' backside, and be flung back into Kerbin's orbit in a neat pattern.

Backstory: This satellite was developed to study the idea of using the gravitational field of a planet or moon to scatter a communications network throughout a system. It also looked fun in theory. Due to the lack of a large budget, this small spacecraft was thrown together to test the concept at Minmus.

 

Name: Telenet Gen2 4

Mass: 356kg

Target Orbit: 45 degrees, 85x85km.

Rideshare: No.

Post-Deployment: Press 8, that should extend the antennas which are totally not airbrakes.

Backstory: The original Telenet constellation was in GEO, using large, expensive communications satellites designed for big budget customers. Generation 2 aims to reduce the cost of Telenet's communications services by a factor of 10 to make them more accessible to customers across the globe. A total of 36 are planned. The first 3 launched on other rockets, 2 on 1 and 1 on the other.

 

Name: Generic Satellite Platform

Mass: 95kg or more

Target Orbit: Any

Rideshare: Yes

Post-Deployment: Deploy antenna

Backstory: Just a small, generic satellite platform in case you need something to fill up a rideshare. Experiments can be added, as well as proper names to customize the satellite. Any number of these can be launched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: Higher profile payloads should be later in the manifest, IRL something like an experimental space telescope wouldn't fly on the second flight of a vehicle.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[Kerbiter]

8 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Alright, these should keep you going for a while! KerbalX link to all 10: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/46033

Backstories I wrote mostly for fun, you can reference them if you want as long as we don't get too roleplay-y.

Here are 10 payloads. They are all stock. Enjoy!

  Hide contents

Name: TurkeySat

Mass: 216kg

Target Orbit: Any

Rideshare: Yes

Post-Deployment: Deploy antenna

Backstory: A small satellite paid for by a fast food chain to fly their food into space, complete with fake instruments.

 

Name: M.A.S.T. - Magnetic Aperture Space Telescope

Mass: 342kg

Target Orbit: Low Polar (if too heavy LKO will do)

Rideshare: No,  I don't think there's anything light enough to rideshare with this.

Post-Deployment: Press Action Group 8 to deploy magnetic aperture and solar panels.

Backstory: A high-tech experimental space telescope with a high resolution but narrow field of view. Designed to map the magnetic fields of near planets and the closer stars. Jointly developed by three universities and one small government space program.

Deployed:

Name: GravSat 1-5

Mass: 365kg

Target Orbit: Polar, circular, as high as possible with remaining fuel margin.

Rideshare: No, unless you split this payload up, which is possible.

Deployment: Point away from the sun so the solar panels will allign. Press 8 to deploy the antennas. Then detach the sats one at a time, at different points along the orbit.

Backstory: The GravSat program is a low-cost simple way to map the gravitational fields of Kerbin. It works by measuring the orbital drift of the satellites.

 

Name: GravSat 6-10

Mass: 365kg

Target Orbit: Polar, circular, as high as possible with the remaining fuel margins. Different plane than GravSat 1-5.

Rideshare: See above.

Deployment: See above.

Backstory: The second booked mission in the GravSat program. Perform identically to the first mission but in a different plane.

(a picture would be redundant, the craft are identical)

 

Name: CryoSat 2

Mass: 400kg

Target Orbit: LKO.

Rideshare: No, it's too heavy.

Post-Deployment: I don't remember if there is an antenna in there, but deploying it would be nice if there is one. Pointing towards the sun is also nice.

Backstory: After the launch vehicle the original CryoSat was scheduled to launch on was cancelled, the program attempted to find another launch vehicle. However, it was too heavy for a small launch vehicle and too small to rideshare conveniently on any larger vehicle. It fell into disrepair. CryoSat 2, being lighter, is designed to fulfill the same mission as CryoSat 1, but on a smaller scale. It will study the behavior of cryogenic fluids in zero gravity and attempt to store them for long periods of time, multiple years if possible.

 

Name: Sample Acquisition Capsule

Mass: 394kg

Target Orbit: Equatorial 80x80.

Rideshare: No, too heavy.

Post-Deployment: Loiter in orbit a few days, point retrograde and fire sepratron. Wait until atmospheric entry, point prograde, and stage off re-entry capsule (and also activating the parachute). You don't have to watch to landing but it would be nice.

Backstory: The SAC-1 is the first flight of the leading design in the Sample Return Initiative, designed to perform emergency and semi-routine resupplies and returns to the Kerbin International Space Station. Unfortunately, it is rather overweight, and carries a non-standard service module without RCS for docking in order to fit on the Fluon, their chosen launch vehicle, at least for this first test. If they can get it light enough to reach a 150x150 45 degree orbit, while still flying on a Fluon, it will be their operational vehicle, but for this test it will stay in LKO.

 

Name: PorcupineSat

Mass: 255kg

Target Orbit: 80km periapsis, equatorial. As elliptical as possible.

Rideshare: No, orbital requirements require much of the remaining margin.

Post-Deployment: Press 8 to deploy sensor array.

Backstory: Originally coined as VAB-SS, the Van Allen Belt Survey Satellite, PorcupineSat became its preferred name because of how it's particle sensing protrusions appeared.  When fully extended it is a very interesting looking satellite. It is designed to map out to a great level of accuracy Kerbin's radiation belts.

 

Name: ScatterSat

Mass: 386kg

Target Orbit: 80x80, as close to equatorial as possible.

Rideshare: No.

Post-Deployment: Use onboard fuel to transfer to Minmus, aim for a head on collision. Turn on debris indicator. Several hundred kilometers above Minmus, aim straight down and stage. 17 pieces of debris should come off, and if everything was done right, all of them will be flung sideways fast enough that they will have a periapsis, curve around Minmus' backside, and be flung back into Kerbin's orbit in a neat pattern.

Backstory: This satellite was developed to study the idea of using the gravitational field of a planet or moon to scatter a communications network throughout a system. It also looked fun in theory. Due to the lack of a large budget, this small spacecraft was thrown together to test the concept at Minmus.

 

Name: Telenet Gen2 4

Mass: 356kg

Target Orbit: 45 degrees, 85x85km.

Rideshare: No.

Post-Deployment: Press 8, that should extend the antennas which are totally not airbrakes.

Backstory: The original Telenet constellation was in GEO, using large, expensive communications satellites designed for big budget customers. Generation 2 aims to reduce the cost of Telenet's communications services by a factor of 10 to make them more accessible to customers across the globe. A total of 36 are planned. The first 3 launched on other rockets, 2 on 1 and 1 on the other.

 

Name: Generic Satellite Platform

Mass: 95kg or more

Target Orbit: Any

Rideshare: Yes

Post-Deployment: Deploy antenna

Backstory: Just a small, generic satellite platform in case you need something to fill up a rideshare. Experiments can be added, as well as proper names to customize the satellite. Any number of these can be launched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: Higher profile payloads should be later in the manifest, IRL something like an experimental space telescope wouldn't fly on the second flight of a vehicle.

Sorting this out. Guaranteeing at least one of these will be in the manifest.

[Kerbiter]

Fluon Flight 1 Launch Report

Date: Y1/09/17
Payload: TESTsat 1 & 2

Surprisingly, the first flight of the Fluon went on nominally. The rocket launched from the Woomerang Launch Facility (LC-1) in the early morning of September 17.

The vehicle ascended using its Goddard engine, developed in-house by Kerbin Lab. The first stage provided enough lift to carry Fluon to its apogee, before separating and allowing for a small coast period.

The second stage circularized the two boilerplate QBE-Sats into a 120x120km orbit, with ~45 degrees inclination.

We have recieved telemetry from the satellites, indicating that they are working nominally.

The Fluon launch vehicle is now operational.

[lunardog15]

May I ask for an Escape pod test by any chance?

I have one made and would like to see if it is easy for others to use.

Edited November 18, 2018 by lunardog15

[Kerbiter]

43 minutes ago, lunardog15 said:

May I ask for an Escape pod test by any chance?

I have one made and would like to see if it is easy for others to use.

Please submit.

[lunardog15]

Give me until Friday as I'm a little busy. but I will try to do it to day

[Kerbiter]

Note to Ultimate Steve: Due to a misunderstanding, I put the GravSats in an elliptical orbit. I guess that works.

Fluon Flight 2 Launch Report

Date: Y2/05/01
Payload: GravSat 1-3, TurkeySat

The first operational launch of the Fluon launcher appears to have gone nominally.

Launch of the Fluon Flight 2. (Kerbin Lab)

The rocket launched from the Woomerang Launch Facility (LC-1) in the afternoon of May 1.

Fluon is a small two-stage launch vehicle that has been built in-house by Kerbin Lab. This launch was also the first time it had a secondary satellite on board.

A rendering of the payload configuration on this launch. (Kerbin Lab)

The second ever ascent of the Fluon. (Kerbin Lab)

The vehicle headed on a 68.8 degree inclination to enter a low parking orbit of 77 x 75 km. Fluon's first stage, powered by the Goddard engine, lifted the launcher up to an altitude of 77 km before burning again.

Fairing separation on Fluon Flight 2. (Kerbin Lab)

The engine burned out all of the first stage's fuel before the two stages separated, and the second stage's Korolev engine ignited.

The second stage burning shortly after stage separation. (Kerbin Lab)

The vehicle successfully entered its parking orbit, to prepare for a second burn of the Korolev engine over the Southern Ocean. The burn took place approximately 13 minutes after liftoff, using all of the remaining fuel in the second stage, and raising the orbit's apokee to 305 km.

The second stage after relighting its engine. (Kerbin Lab)

The primary payload consist of the first three GravSats, made by a major local university. The satellites are meant to be a low-cost way to measure Kerbin's gravitational fields. The secondary payload is TurkeySat, built by a major turkey chain. The satellite contains its famous turkey nuggets inside. This was the sat to be deployed first, approximately 14 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff.

The deployment of TurkeySat. (Kerbin Lab)

The GravSats were deployed at different points along the elliptical orbit, with the last one deployed approximately 41 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.

The deployment of GravSat-3. (Kerbin Lab)

The launch was an incredible success, and the satellites' signals have been picked up on the ground.

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by Kerbiter

[Ultimate Steve]

*launches TurkeySat on Thanksgiving*

[lunardog15]

never mind the escape pod is too heavy 

sorry

Edited November 25, 2018 by lunardog15

[SiriusRocketry]

Would a picture of a 1.3.1 craft suffice?  (Along with info?)

[Ultimate Steve]

Will this be continuing?

[Kerbalstar]

1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Will this be continuing?

Yeah, this looks interesting @Kerbiter!

[Kerbiter]

New kick stage named Kurie coming soon.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Kerbiter

[UmmmmKerman]

How's that kick stage going?