Is there a possibility for full on reusability.

[OPBlue]

I didn't know where to put this so I decided to leave it here since it had to do with mods. Also, I don't know if there is a thread on this already so excuse me if there is lol,

 

Lemme explain what I mean in the title. Is it feasible to make a reusable spacecraft or stage that can be recovered manually, brought back to the KSC, mated with its respectable stages with a new payload, re-fly it, and repeat, meaning you only have to spawn it once. I'm wondering if its possible with any existing mods or in stock KSP somehow.

  This calls for a few different things depending on what is being recovered:

• The ability to transport a stage back to the launch site. This would need special vehicles that can handle the vehicle reliably.
• Some mechanism that can lift a stage.
• A way to mate the vehicle back on to a decoupler using the lift mechanism.
• A vehicle capable of transporting the full stack to and from the launch pad, like the crawler transporter or SpaceX's TE.

  Ideally, I would want a hub like the VAB or the Horizontal Integration Facility where I can store stages and mate them with the rest of their LV. If something like that exists for Kerbal Konstructs, please let me know.

  Then, here's the tricky part, how do I lift a stage and mate it back onto its stack. I'm figuring using Kerbal Inventory System for the mating itself and Kerbal Attachment System for lifting the vehicle, but I'm not sure  how this lifting vehicle could be made. 

  For simplicity's sake, something similar to the Space Shuttle Orbiter or an RTLS first stage like Falcon 9 would be preferable. As of right now, I'll be experimenting with various aspects, and if anyone has any mods that will help, please let me know.

[Cavscout74]

There was someone on here that did it stock, had a nice video and everything.  I don't remember who it was, and it was well over a year ago

[JadeOfMaar]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:57 PM, OPBlue said:

Is it feasible to make a reusable spacecraft or stage that can be recovered manually, brought back to the KSC, mated with its respectable stages with a new payload, re-fly it, and repeat, meaning you only have to spawn it once.

Absolutely yes. The single most important mod you need is FMRS which lets you create branch timelines when you stage, land your lower stage(s) as active vessel, and return to the original timeline and your orbiter without losing anything.

 

On 1/12/2021 at 10:57 PM, OPBlue said:

This calls for a few different things depending on what is being recovered:

• The ability to transport a stage back to the launch site. This would need special vehicles that can handle the vehicle reliably.
• Some mechanism that can lift a stage.
• A way to mate the vehicle back on to a decoupler using the lift mechanism.
• A vehicle capable of transporting the full stack to and from the launch pad, like the crawler transporter or SpaceX's TE.

You would need to get very creative with existing mods (for large parts) in order to roll your own stage recovery vehicle, or if youre a seasoned part maker, you can create the parts for a modular heavy retrieval craft. USI Konstruction and KAS are particularly interesting utility/parts mods. They contain winches and magnets. You don't need to add target dummy ports to your craft but you may need to hack their muscles if your spent stages are very massive.

You cannot reuse a decoupler (afaik), but with KIS or stock EVA Construction you can easily swap a fresh one on. It is currently unknown if kerbals can lift infinite weight for stock welding but I can confidently say that a kerbal cannot lift a whole vessel (chunk of parts) at once and attach it. KIS allows you to lift whole vessels but the default settings (for how far a kerbal can reach for the CoM or root part, and how much he or she can lift) are weak, and are tweakable. And if you have more than one kerbal close together, you can lift that many times the weight. (1 kerbal can lift 1 ton. 5 kerbals together can lift 5 tons.)

You should be able to do crawler transporters by incorporating pieces from MLP onto a giant rover. But you will have to avoid using its base pieces. They are fancy launch clamps, and clamps cannot move.

 

If you have an itch to scratch with Venture Star, go here. It includes its own launch stand with animation and is built with full and in-flight reusability in mind.

 

On 1/12/2021 at 10:57 PM, OPBlue said:

Ideally, I would want a hub like the VAB or the Horizontal Integration Facility where I can store stages and mate them with the rest of their LV. If something like that exists for Kerbal Konstructs, please let me know.

Kerbal Konstructs, since KSP 1.8, has had a working hangar module. Set the craft count and mass limits and you can store stages away (when close enough of course), conveniently reducing part count. Any space center I make will provide this out of the box. Note: You cannot access the VAB and reassemble your craft inside a KK hangar. You still need to bring it out and re-assemble in the field.

Edited January 14, 2021 by JadeOfMaar

[AlphaMensae]

On 1/12/2021 at 8:57 PM, OPBlue said:

Lemme explain what I mean in the title. Is it feasible to make a reusable spacecraft or stage that can be recovered manually, brought back to the KSC, mated with its respectable stages with a new payload, re-fly it, and repeat, meaning you only have to spawn it once. I'm wondering if its possible with any existing mods or in stock KSP somehow.

 

EJ_SA on Twitch has done such a thing in pure stock (with the DLCs) with his Falcon 9-type rocket "Condor 9".  He actually did it before the Breaking Ground robotic parts came to KSP, though they did make his revised version easier.

Mods can make this even easier, but it's still going to be a very tricky and finicky thing to do, since KSP has a tendency to explode free-standing craft on the ground when they are in physics range of each other.  It will also require the use of many docking portws, which will need precise alignmewnt of craft to join them together.

[OPBlue]

11 hours ago, JadeOfMaar said:

Absolutely yes. The single most important mod you need is FMRS which lets you create branch timelines when you stage, land your lower stage(s) as active vessel, and return to the original timeline and your orbiter without losing anything.

 

You would need to get very creative with existing mods (for large parts) in order to roll your own stage recovery vehicle, or if youre a seasoned part maker, you can create the parts for a modular heavy retrieval craft. USI Konstruction and KAS are particularly interesting utility/parts mods. They contain winches and magnets. You don't need to add target dummy ports to your craft but you may need to hack their muscles if your spent stages are very massive.

You cannot reuse a decoupler (afaik), but with KIS or stock EVA Construction you can easily swap a fresh one on. It is currently unknown if kerbals can lift infinite weight for stock welding but I can confidently say that a kerbal cannot lift a whole vessel (chunk of parts) at once and attach it. KIS allows you to lift whole vessels but the default settings (for how far a kerbal can reach for the CoM or root part, and how much he or she can lift) are weak, and are tweakable. And if you have more than one kerbal close together, you can lift that many times the weight. (1 kerbal can lift 1 ton. 5 kerbals together can lift 5 tons.)

You should be able to do crawler transporters by incorporating pieces from MLP onto a giant rover. But you will have to avoid using its base pieces. They are fancy launch clamps, and clamps cannot move.

 

If you have an itch to scratch with Venture Star, go here. It includes its own launch stand with animation and is built with full and in-flight reusability in mind.

 

Kerbal Konstructs, since KSP 1.8, has had a working hangar module. Set the craft count and mass limits and you can store stages away (when close enough of course), conveniently reducing part count. Any space center I make will provide this out of the box. Note: You cannot access the VAB and reassemble your craft inside a KK hangar. You still need to bring it out and re-assemble in the field.

Thank you for explaining this for me. I actually have most of these mods you mentioned, excluding the Mk33 mod, which I had before.

  Although I'm not an expert builder, I may be able to whip something up if I fiddle around. I am still thinking on what type of system to do, but I'm leaning more towards a spaceplane and maybe an RTLS stage. I'll see what methods I can think of. 

[Incarnation of Chaos]

Is it possible? Yeah....

Is it worth the hassle? That's really up to your personal preference at that point.

I'm fine with Two Stage To Orbit and just chucking enough excess DV in the first stage that it has plenty of spare fuel to deorbit itself.

And then the second stage being capable of recovering itself ofc.

[Hotel26]

On 1/14/2021 at 6:55 AM, Cavscout74 said:

There was someone on here that did it stock, had a nice video and everything.  I don't remember who it was, and it was well over a year ago

Forgive me for being very hazy about this, but could you be referring to an escapade by Brikoleur regarding Eve departure?  I believe he had a robotic-equipped vehicle capable of something very like what you are decribing.

Uh, something like this: https://kerbalx.com/Brikoleur/BAK-9012-Elvira-L

I didn't come across a video, though...

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by Hotel26

[Cavscout74]

5 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

Forgive me for being very hazy about this, but could you be referring to an escapade by Brikoleur regarding Eve departure?  I believe he had a robotic-equipped vehicle capable of something very like what you are decribing.

No the one I was referring to was on Kerbin.  It was a 2 stage rocket, with both stages recovered, re-stacked & refueled and a new payload brought out & attached.  The person who did it even had a gif of it on the signature block

[OPBlue]

I think this discussion has been answered and posting updates on this vehicle won't fit here. Shall I make a new thread somewhere else to post this idea in? Maybe a thread for all truly reusable spacecraft?