totm feb 2020 Kānāwai: Ares to Mars

[Maria Sirona]

ÆPICK

[Jacktical]

Looks amazing! Just hope we see more  

[Jacktical]

On 5/27/2021 at 1:00 PM, Hatattack said:

Looks amazing! Just hope we see more  

Few months on. I hope you continue this, it's one of my favourite threads! But if you feel bored with it know we all understand, I'm glad it happened at all! 

[TheKrakenHerder]

Has this thread been abandoned? I hope not, as it was one of my favourite threads, but if it is then I understand.

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

On 7/13/2021 at 1:03 PM, Hatattack said:

Few months on. I hope you continue this, it's one of my favourite threads! But if you feel bored with it know we all understand, I'm glad it happened at all! 

On 8/21/2021 at 7:45 AM, TheKrakenHerder said:

Has this thread been abandoned? I hope not, as it was one of my favourite threads, but if it is then I understand.

Nope not abandoned! Just taken a break from KSP burnout for a bit but I will return in due time. Some mods have popped into existence since I started this whole thing so I have to decide whether or not to use those as well as whether or not I feel like updating my KSP Ares install. So a lot to consider and not enough brain energy at the moment!

[Jacktical]

2 hours ago, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Nope not abandoned! Just taken a break from KSP burnout for a bit but I will return in due time. Some mods have popped into existence since I started this whole thing so I have to decide whether or not to use those as well as whether or not I feel like updating my KSP Ares install. So a lot to consider and not enough brain energy at the moment!

Glad to hear! take as much time as you need. We'll be waiting!  

[TheKrakenHerder]

Yo @Jay The Amazing ToasterBeen a while, you still working on this?

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

17 hours ago, TheKrakenHerder said:

Yo @Jay The Amazing ToasterBeen a while, you still working on this?

Slowly but surely getting back to the swing of things.

Biggest hurdle right now is rethinking the Lunar Outpost.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Jay The Amazing Toaster

[Toasty Dyna-Soar]

Got to say, this is another epic mission report. Thanks for making this!

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

Orion 15, and Altair 3, 2021

With the previous mission being a profound success, the second mission begins.





Note the new fairing from BDB! I feel it looks a lot better than the previous procedural fairing.



Since the mission roughly follows the same procedures as before, I'll cut back on some repetative screenshots that mostly follow the same steps.









Some additional time is spent on the surface compared to the previous mission similar to Apollo 12



Take off is a bit shakey but successful nonetheless!





The crew is able to return safetly at last! The Orion and Altair have proven themselves as reliable vehicles to operate in deep space. Now the program can dedicate itself to being able to researching and understanding long term spaceflight on other worlds.

Note that some screenshots of parts shown here such as the APAS and the Orion capsule were taken before being updated, so in the next mission report they will look better.

On another note, I'm thinking about "De-Kerbalizing" this series a bit. Would y'all like to keep this series in Kerbin, Mun, and Duna or see it transferred to KSRSS where I can use Earth, Moon, and Mars? It wouldn't take too much effort.

[TheKrakenHerder]

22 minutes ago, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Would y'all like to keep this series in Kerbin, Mun, and Duna or see it transferred to KSRSS where I can use Earth, Moon, and Mars? It wouldn't take too much effort.

Personally I’d like to keep it in the stock system. The stock surfaces look better.

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

5 minutes ago, TheKrakenHerder said:

Personally I’d like to keep it in the stock system. The stock surfaces look better.

Hmm... Idk if these will change your mind, but I personally don't think KSRSS' surfaces look half bad

[Thatguywholikesionengines]

I'm team KSRSS for sure, but maybe that's just me being tired of the stock system. Do whatever!

[TheKrakenHerder]

15 hours ago, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Hmm... Idk if these will change your mind, but I personally don't think KSRSS' surfaces look half bad

Look at the last photo and you’ll see what I’m saying. The surfaces are unnaturally flat, being just 2D textures.

Heck, most of the rocks are just textures on the ground.

[Jacktical]

Team KSRSS!

[Maria Sirona]

I am with Team Vanilla Solar System

[AtomicTech]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:36 AM, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Orion 15, and Altair 3, 2021

With the previous mission being a profound success, the second mission begins.





Note the new fairing from BDB! I feel it looks a lot better than the previous procedural fairing.



Since the mission roughly follows the same procedures as before, I'll cut back on some repetative screenshots that mostly follow the same steps.









Some additional time is spent on the surface compared to the previous mission similar to Apollo 12



Take off is a bit shakey but successful nonetheless!





The crew is able to return safetly at last! The Orion and Altair have proven themselves as reliable vehicles to operate in deep space. Now the program can dedicate itself to being able to researching and understanding long term spaceflight on other worlds.

Note that some screenshots of parts shown here such as the APAS and the Orion capsule were taken before being updated, so in the next mission report they will look better.

On another note, I'm thinking about "De-Kerbalizing" this series a bit. Would y'all like to keep this series in Kerbin, Mun, and Duna or see it transferred to KSRSS where I can use Earth, Moon, and Mars? It wouldn't take too much effort.

Oh no!

I can't view the discord screenshots due to various internet filters. 

Would it be possible for you to host the images on ibb.co?

[GuessingEveryDay]

8 hours ago, TheKrakenHerder said:

Look at the last photo and you’ll see what I’m saying. The surfaces are unnaturally flat, being just 2D textures.

Heck, most of the rocks are just textures on the ground.

Wait until someone adds Parallax to KSRSS.

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

3 hours ago, AtomicTech said:

Oh no!

I can't view the discord screenshots due to various internet filters. 

Would it be possible for you to host the images on ibb.co?

Oh shoot! If anyone else is running into this issue lemme know! Imgur was being weird on my end yesterday so I used discord. Just in case I added a spoiler filled with the same images from Imgur
 

Spoiler

 

3 hours ago, GuessingEveryDay said:

Wait until someone adds Parallax to KSRSS.

Not gonna lie I don't think I can even run Parallax lmfao, not sure how it will affect my FPS so I don't worry too much.

In the meantime, I also decided to do a test Moon mission in KSRSS, just to get a feel for the differences.



The latitude of LC-39A and B and seasons means now I get a variety of different launch lighting scenarios. No longer just launching at mid-day all the time.



Personally like the lighting in this one.



Note the updated Orion capsule, APAS ports, and flags!



Honestly the Lunar surface looks roughly the same as Munar surface, if not decently better. I don't run parallax in my Stock 2.5x system so I don't really lose out on any quality.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Jay The Amazing Toaster

[TheKrakenHerder]

11 minutes ago, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

I don't think I can even run Parallax

Depends on your specs. I have an M1 MacBook Air and it runs Parallax at 50-60 frames per second.

Also, how’d you get the MAH legs working? They always bounce constantly for me.

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

13 minutes ago, TheKrakenHerder said:

Depends on your specs. I have an M1 MacBook Air and it runs Parallax at 50-60 frames per second.

Also, how’d you get the MAH legs working? They always bounce constantly for me.

I have a pretty meh GPU, I'm often bordering between green and yellow clocking. I think my game looks pretty good as is, I don't think I need that many more visuals to make it work.

I haven't had issues with the MAH legs in a very long time, I'm not entirely sure what I did to make them work, sorry if that isn't helpful at all.

[AtomicTech]

35 minutes ago, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Oh shoot! If anyone else is running into this issue lemme know! Imgur was being weird on my end yesterday so I used discord. Just in case I added a spoiler filled with the same images from Imgur
 

  Hide contents

 

Not gonna lie I don't think I can even run Parallax lmfao, not sure how it will affect my FPS so I don't worry too much.

In the meantime, I also decided to do a test Moon mission in KSRSS, just to get a feel for the differences.



The latitude of LC-39A and B and seasons means now I get a variety of different launch lighting scenarios. No longer just launching at mid-day all the time.



Personally like the lighting in this one.



Note the updated Orion capsule, APAS ports, and flags!



Honestly the Lunar surface looks roughly the same as Munar surface, if not decently better. I don't run parallax in my Stock 2.5x system so I don't really lose out on any quality.

thanks!

[Kuiper_Belt]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:36 AM, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

Orion 15, and Altair 3, 2021

Its so nice to have this back! I remember when I first found this thread when you started it up! This was the standard I based my series off of. I cant wait to see where this goes from here!

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

23 hours ago, Kuiper_Belt said:

Its so nice to have this back! I remember when I first found this thread when you started it up! This was the standard I based my series off of. I cant wait to see where this goes from here!

Its good to be back and feel motivated again!

A taste of whats to come. Final version of Lunar Outpost will look different, additional greebles, stuff like that. There will be several posts dedicated to the process of launching, landing, and putting the outpost together over the course of the early 2020s.

Solars will look different as well, I didn't understand the original panel placement at first and placed them in this strange orientation.



Next post will come as soon as I finalize certain design choices. 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Jay The Amazing Toaster

[Jay The Amazing Toaster]

Lunar Outpost Pressurized Core Module - Altair 4, 2021

The Pressurized Core Module contains a variety of different facilities, such as a ward room, exercise equipment, med bay, and a some form of radiation shelter all cramped into this tiny module. Due to the growing mass requirements over the development phase of the design process, the robotic ATHLETE system was ditched for a lighter skycrane system which was deemed simpler and thus lower risk.


Due to variety of different reasons, the original outpost placement, Shackleton Crater, on the Lunar South Pole is not used. Copernicus Crater, a more equitorial region. is chosen as the landing spot for the outpost.
 

Spoiler

My main reason for this was due to the terrain issues I was experiencing at Shackleton Crater. The terrain at both poles was overall very jagged and didn't make for a pretty landing area. This relegated me to having to pick more equatorial latitudes to work with. The main reason for NASA wanting to build at Shackleton Crater is that it is in sunlight >90% of the year. (I don't know if there are even areas like that in stock KSP's Mun not gonna lie.) However, for many reasons I don't quite understand, KSRSS doesn't model this.  So I chose Copernicus Crater as a decent alternative but some changes to the Outpost's design will likely need to be made, hence why the core module will have solar panels on top instead of a radiator in order to still get sunlight at Lunar noon. However, Copernicus Crater was still a place still considered for Altair landings so I think it all works out in the end.

Instead of using a complex series of robotics hinges, which were deemed to heavy and too complex, simple skycrane technology is used to take the module's off of the spent stage.



The skycrane lifts the module up and away from the Altair Descent Stage and gently lands it ~100 meters away.





It can't be seen in this screenshot but a small hill sits between the Altair and PCM, the Altair will be set as a marker for future landings to prevent sandblasting of the Lunar Outpost.



The Skycrane is disposed of as it no longer serves its use.





The PCM quietly waits for additional modules and a crew to be sent