A KSP Veteran needs help with Multiple Satellites & Parts Identification

[Turk_WLF]

I have been away from KSP for a sometime & in the meanwhile KSP has updated to 1.5.1, I need some help with the following items…

1)      The Stock Fuel tanks appears to have been retextured since I last played & I can’t tell what is what size wise.

2)      How do we make as Multiple Satellite Launch Platform… Do we start with the Launch Vehicle or the Satellites first? Also how do we copy the Satellites?

 

Thanks,

[Vexillar]

Hi @Turk_WLF.  Welcome back.

1) Yes, the good thing is that many of the stock parts have been (and are being) re-textured to give us more options and better resolution.  One of the trade-offs is that the old familiar part icons are not so instantly recognisable.  Maybe that will be addressed in a future version (coloured backgrounds have been suggested on the fourms) but in the mean time, you can filter by part size.

2) Build your launch platform first - with its own probe core.  Add a structure to hold the satellites (fairings with truss enabled are often good for that) and build your first one "backwards" from the decoupler upwards.  The either drag the complete satellite and decoupler to the subassemblies area on the left to create a re-usable satellite for this and other lanchers, or simply Alt-Drag to copy it as many times as needed.  You might want to create a little platform out of panels and/or octagonal struts between the fairing truss mounting point and the decoupler to angle you satellite and get its COM more in line with the rest of the launch vehicle.  In that case, drag/copy the platform too.

[bewing]

1) Often, you can tell by the name. Names that start S3 or S4 mean 3 meter or 5 meter diameter parts. Rockomax parts are always 2.5 meters. In the default listing, parts of a particular size also tend to be grouped together. Admittedly, the clues are not easy to spot, and you'll just have to memorize them all over again. Grab each of them and measure against the size of a known engine or crew pod.

2) I find that it's always easiest to build the payload first. So I'd build the satellite, set the root part to the attachment point, and then store it as a craft file. Then use the Merge function multiple times to add the payload(s) to the booster. But as said above, it's easy now in the game to create a fairing with multiple attachment points in it. This is by far the easiest answer to launching multiple sats on one booster -- look for the "interstage nodes" button in the fairing's context menu.

[Cavscout74]

For multi-launchers, I also do the launcher first - at least the upper stage - then build the first satellite.  Assuming they are identical, Alt-left click copies everything "above" the part you are clicking on, so if you Alt-left click the decoupler you get a complete copy of your satellite.  It's my preferred method of setting up com relays.  That always seemed easier to me than having one of several satellites being the root & not being able to copy them.  If you aren't doing identical payloads, it probably doesn't matter which way you build.

[Superfluous J]

If your satellites are small enough and you own Making History, I've had luck attaching then to engine plates which themselves are under a huge fairing.

If you don't have MH, you can still do it with creative use of other structural parts.