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SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury (Mk2) [Babylon 5]


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I decided my Kerbal Space Program was lacking in Babylon 5-ness. So I built a Starfury. If any species was to build spaceships they'd seen in old TV signals, it'd have to be the Kerbals. (Thermians who?) There's a picture of my original Starfury in the "What did you do today?" thread from yesterday, if you're interested. But that "older" build wasn't up to my usual standards, so I started over. This is the result:

The Kerbal SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury (Mk2)

20130706_ksp1354_starfury.jpg

My SA-23E Starfury is intended for use as a short-range tug and/or space intercepter. With limited fuel and monopropellant capacity, the Kerbal Starfury is best kept near its base of operations. In its default package the Starfury has barely enough delta-V for a free-return flight from Kerbin orbit to the Mun. (Just don't expect to stop back at Kerbin.) Like its counterpart from the Babylon 5 universe it features four radial engine pods, a central core to keep the pilot near the center of rotation, hardpoints for six tools or "weapons," an ejectable "lifepod" cockpit (not currently ejectable), a rear-facing hatch for entering the craft from an airlock, and a towing hitch along the bottom of the ship's core. The Starfury is NOT rated for atmospheric operations. Snacks are not included.

Center of mass is aligned with the center of thrust, making for a highly maneuverable craft. Center of mass is also aligned with the rear docking port to assist with stability on launch. (Though launches do drift a bit... may be a few grams too heavy on the bottom.) Total vehicular mass is 28.02 metric tonnes, so it's well within the capabilities of the average heavy-lift launch vehicles. There is a probe core mounted directly in front of the rear docking port. It's highly advised to "control from here" using the probe core, as the cockpit is aligned 90º off-angle.

Craft handling is aided by a series of Action Groups:

Group 1: Toggle "primary" (rearward-facing) thrusters.

Group 2: Toggle port (left) thrusters.

Group 3: Toggles upper thrusters, (allows for quick flips).

Group 4: Toggle starboard (right) thrusters.

Group 5: Toggle retro (forward-facing) thrusters.

Group 7: Toggle all RCS pods except those used for translation (aligned with the center of mass).

Group 10: Toggle solar panels.

Example of a quick lateral spin: With group 1 (primary) active, hit 2, burn, hit 1 and 5, burn to stop rotation, hit 2 to clear the rotation program (after this the retros will be active). Using the action groups takes some practice, but the advertised 180º turn in 1 second is quite possible once you've got it down.

20130706_ksp1376_starfury.jpg

The biggest downside of this craft is the extreme number of parts I used in its construction. My earlier designs were well over 300 parts, which made it nearly impossible to fly. This version is a hefty 265-parts, though I do have a "mini" version in the works (if I can get it to cooperate). The mass is also a bit of an issue, as it's heavier than any of the individual components of my space station were at launch. Refueling can be a bit of a chore, as there are MANY RCS tanks scattered about. I made a point to leave them accessible, but there was only room for one of the larger tanks. And I needed to use the toroidal bipropellant tanks to keep the center of mass where I wanted it, making refueling even more of a chore.

Also: beware of lag. This beast of a ship brings my 2.9GHz MacBookPro to its knees sometimes. (Especially when I'm flying in Mun's SOI.) Once I've finished the "lite" version of the craft I'll share it here too. (Because I really want to use it, but the 265 part version is more for looks and demos than actual use.) You may find some benefit from running this craft through the part-reducing/welding mod.

This craft is 100% stock KSP. Were I to seek out or make mod parts for it, I'd probably only do so for the cabin, thruster blisters (lateral/vertical thrusters... and maybe the retro thrusters), and the "tail" bits that go on the end of the thruster pods. The rest looks good to my eyes with stock parts.

There are a couple more images on my website: (Link temporarily removed) Kerbal SA-23E Starfury

Craft file here: SA-23E_Starfury.craft

Note that I built this in the Space Plane Hanger. Make sure to paste it in the SPH folder or adjust the file for use in the VAB.

I hope you enjoy this little diversion of mine. It was fun to build a real Newtonian-styled space fighter and see it work with "real" (aka: Kerbal) physics.

Edited by Cydonian Monk
Image path rationalization.
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The biggest problem I have with my Starfury is the parts count. 265 parts is rather a bit to ask of my CPU, so it was only a matter of time before I perfected the "Minified" version. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce the SA-23E Starfury Mini!

20130713_ksp1709_starfury_mini.jpg

The Starfury Mini weighs in at 14.72 metric tonnes, with a svelte part count of 79. This could be stripped down by 10 more parts if you remove the forward RCS pods and the two winglets on top of the central core, even more if you cut back on some of the struts. I had to sacrifice some detail to achieve this small of a ship, but it produced something I can fly (in formation even), so I'm sticking with it for now. Action Groups are identical to those of the full-size Starfury, and it handles just as well. Perhaps a bit better due to the lighter weight.

One added benefit: The Starfury Mini has a TWR greater than 1, so you can use it in and around the KSC or elsewhere on Kerbin should you so desire. Just beware of weird physics from the 8 wings.

As before, feel free to modify and use as you wish. This is built with 100% stock KSP parts.

Craft file here: SA-23E_Starfury_Minimal.craft

Hope you enjoy!

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
Those are awesome. Especially with the limited part selection you had to work with.

Thanks! Real blast from the past here.... Now that we have the editor gizmos and newer wing parts I might go back and revisit this. Always wanted to do the later Thunderbolt StarFury anyway.

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  • 2 months later...

I was looking to build a Starfury design in KSPI, and I'm glad I found this one! Totally going to borrow the original design, but I'm going to try and replace the engine pods with the fusion engine parts from KSPI (powered by a reactor in the middle.)

Great models!

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I was looking to build a Starfury design in KSPI, and I'm glad I found this one! Totally going to borrow the original design, but I'm going to try and replace the engine pods with the fusion engine parts from KSPI (powered by a reactor in the middle.)

Great models!

Thanks! Good luck with the rebuild! I've not actually tried to load this in the newer versions of KSP, especially since all the wing parts and such changed. Pretty sure there's not an easy way to make those engine fins with the current parts.

Looks really cool! But why so high part count?!?!!!?

Just a really old design. Most of the parts were taken up either with spacing things to my taste or for the RCS system. These days I could cut out 90% of the RCS stuff and just replace it with heavier Vernors or the like, and spacing parts apart is much, much easier using the offset tool.

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