Sync-1 Keosynchronous Relay Satellite & Mjolnir-1 Keosynchronous Lift Vehicle

[Starseeker]

Playing around in Sandbox mode, I put, if I recall correctly, my second-ever keosynchronous satellite up into orbit. Inspired by the NASA Relay program satellites, I call it the Sync-1, and it rode atop a pre-made booster I've named the Mjolnir-1, as it's quite similar to the Thor-1 booster I made for low-orbit insertion. (I'm a big fan of pre-designed boosters, and I should maybe make a thread of the ones I put together in my next career- or science-mode game )

Here's some pretty pictures!

Spoiler

Mjolnir-1 booster powering through the lower atmosphere shortly after launch


Comet upper stage burning after fairing sep


Sync-1 satellite with secondary dishes deployed, in keosynchronous orbit approximately opposite KSC

Mods used:

• Restock
• Restock+
• Near Future Exploration
• Near Future Spacecraft
• CryoEngines
• Waterfall (and associated patches)

[Dientus]

Nice! I like that satellite design, I will have to try that style of solar panel layout!

 

I like to design lift vehicles seperate from probes, station parts, etc. as well. It helps me especially in career mode where I can spend time designing my craft with all the details I feel I need, then check the tonnage against my presaved sub assemblies abilities, slap em together and run the fairings. 

[Starseeker]

5 hours ago, Dientus said:

Nice! I like that satellite design, I will have to try that style of solar panel layout!

 

I like to design lift vehicles seperate from probes, station parts, etc. as well. It helps me especially in career mode where I can spend time designing my craft with all the details I feel I need, then check the tonnage against my presaved sub assemblies abilities, slap em together and run the fairings. 

Honestly, I have the fairings as part of the subassembly - in some previous sandbox-mode games, I've even made a range of preset fairing classes (short, medium, and long for an inline & expanded-diameter version of each base diameter), and used subassemblies that were just one of those fairings to check craft dimensions.

[SOXBLOX]

I love predesigned boosters, too. Building a custom rocket for each mission always feels unrealistic. That sat is gorgeous.

[Starseeker]

Thank you! Really wish there was a wider variety of fixed solar panel shapes in the game, tbh; the ones on the conical section don't look too good ^^;

[SOXBLOX]

I would absolutely love to see more solar panels, too. We need something in between the Gigantor and... those little ones.

[Starseeker]

7 hours ago, SOXBLOX said:

I would absolutely love to see more solar panels, too. We need something in between the Gigantor and... those little ones.

Near Future Solar has a nice variety (from non-rotating flip-up panels to massive solar arrays), and it's got three selectable cell types for each solar panel it adds:

 

[SOXBLOX]

5 hours ago, Starseeker said:

Near Future Solar has a nice variety (from non-rotating flip-up panels to massive solar arrays), and it's got three selectable cell types for each solar panel it adds:

Except that that's a mod. I've been playing vanilla since I got the game.

Actually, I'm considering getting ReStock and a couple others. I think I will if the next update doesn't have prettier fuel tank variants. I'll add this to the list. Thx!