[1.2] Real Solar System v12.0 Dec 8

[Orum]

Yes, we're all waiting on Modular Fuel System for that. The stock fuels don't carry enough power per weight and the engines are too heavy for their rated power compared to real life engines.

Keep your eye out for MSF.

Ahh, good to know, thanks!

There is a working MFS test version out though

I may give it a test. Right now I'm still trying to get to 0.23 and keep many of my mods.

[Starwaster]

First of all, thanks for all the work you put into the mod. I love it!

The only other thing I've noticed is it seems impossible to get beyond LEO without greatly increasing the Isp of my engines. Maybe it can be done with the joint reinforcement, and a lot more engines/fuel, but [un?]fortunately that mod has been updated to 0.23, and I don't know how to get the old version.

Is there a mod that allows us to easily scale the Isp of our engines without having to edit each and every config?

What you need is bigger rockets, not more Isp.

If you're trying to lift real life sized payloads into orbit around Earth sized Kerbin, you're going to run into trouble with stock sized rockets. They just don't have enough fuel. It really depends on what you're trying to get into orbit though.

If it's something really big, you're going to at least need KWR with its 3.75m diamater tanks. NovaPunch goes up to 5m... I think.

And of course, stretchy tanks. In spite of the name and VAB description, when I use a ST, I think of it in terms of the Kerbals just getting in there and building a bigger tank.

With a stretchy tank you can make arbitrarily sized tanks both in length and diameter. Now with more textures! (now with ingredients!)

[Dirt_Merchant]

Additionally, you'll very much need to be using FAR for this mod. D/v losses to drag in stock are way over the top, and you will not find yourself with much of a d/v budget left, should you even manage to circularize your orbit.

[Orum]

If it's something really big, you're going to at least need KWR with its 3.75m diamater tanks. NovaPunch goes up to 5m... I think.

I am using KWR and 3.75m tanks. The problem is the joints are too weak to make anything really big with KWR. I'm trying to find Kerbal Joint Reinforcement 1.4.2 (for 0.22) but no luck yet. I want to go to 0.23 but it's still lacking some mods I really like.

Additionally, you'll very much need to be using FAR for this mod. D/v losses to drag in stock are way over the top, and you will not find yourself with much of a d/v budget left, should you even manage to circularize your orbit.

And yes, I'm using FAR. While the overall drag is less, it causes some problems when I try to use additional beams/strut connectors to reinforce joints. Overall though I feel like FAR should be default in the game.

My objectives right now are to experiment with RSS + FAR + KWR + Deadly Reentry and see what atmospheric reentry angles work from the edge of Kerbin's (or Earth's at this point) SoI. I just modified the Isp of the engines for now, but I'll look into adding some other mods soon. I also need to start getting rid of some mods I have installed to free up memory for others. Kethane will probably be the first to go.

[Bothersome]

I can't get Deadly Re-entry to not destroy my crafts. The mods says I need to use RSS heat shields. Where are those?

[NathanKell]

Uqabos: I'm getting that without RSS in a dev version. Dunno why that happens, looking into it.

EDIT: RSS-compatible heatshields are in the Realism Overhaul mod, linked in the opening post of the DRE thread as the shields you should use. I thought I had likewise updated the readme.

[Starwaster]

I can't get Deadly Re-entry to not destroy my crafts. The mods says I need to use RSS heat shields. Where are those?

Here, save this as a cfg file in your GameData folder. Needs ModuleManager 1.5.x

This will mostly allow every heat shield to function. Mostly.

RSS_HeatShields.cfg

@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleHeatShield]]
{
	@MODULE[ModuleHeatShield]
	{
		!dissipation
		dissipation
		{
			key = 300 0
			key = 800 1260
		}
	}
}

[Bothersome]

Thanks Starwaster, I'll give it try here as soon as my new textures are done downloading !!!

Thanks.

[Kass]

This will mostly allow every heat shield to function. Mostly.

I watched that last night. Amazing film

[Uqabos]

Uqabos: I'm getting that without RSS in a dev version. Dunno why that happens, looking into it.

EDIT: RSS-compatible heatshields are in the Realism Overhaul mod, linked in the opening post of the DRE thread as the shields you should use. I thought I had likewise updated the readme.

Ohh still thanks for reply.

[xrayfishx]

I understand this has been asked a million times here, but could you please raise Kerbin's atmosphere to at least 160k? The way it is right now, there is simply no way to slow a space shuttle (or any heavy object without heat shields) down enough to survive re-entry using only the atmosphere (like irl). Also, any satellites with their perigee below 160 come down pretty quickly.

[NathanKell]

Increase atmosphereScaleHeight such that 0.000001 = e^(160/scaleHeight). Should be about 11.59. Note that this will mess up your pressures lower down, however--double the pressure at 10km and ~12x the pressure at 60km.

Or make an appropriate pressureCurve to model Earth's atmosphere. I'd love to switch to that, but I haven't had time to make it yet.

[chandawg]

Any word on the time table for RSS to be .23 compatible? Don't take this the wrong way, I just really enjoy your mod.

[Orum]

The way it is right now, there is simply no way to slow a space shuttle (or any heavy object without heat shields) down enough to survive re-entry using only the atmosphere (like irl).

IRL they have heat shields. But yes, it can be difficult to brake, but try several aerobrakes if your apoapsis is high on reentry. Also, oversize or multiple heat shields provide more drag (and in theory, more heat dissipation, though I'm not sure if this is modeled) and can help with reentry under RSS. Reentry angle and speed are the most critical factors though, so always start with that.

[Starwaster]

Any word on the time table for RSS to be .23 compatible? Don't take this the wrong way, I just really enjoy your mod.

I'm already using RSS with 0.23.

Aside from atmospheric rendering issues, it already works.

I watched that last night. Amazing film

LOL! I thought it would slip by unnoticed actually. Glad you caught it.

[SFJackBauer]

I understand this has been asked a million times here, but could you please raise Kerbin's atmosphere to at least 160k? The way it is right now, there is simply no way to slow a space shuttle (or any heavy object without heat shields) down enough to survive re-entry using only the atmosphere (like irl). Also, any satellites with their perigee below 160 come down pretty quickly.

You can certainly aerobrake a spaceplane here. But you have to control your descent rate, otherwise at some point the lift generated by the wings will skip you back. You control it by banking, which moves the lift vector from pointing straight up. Now another entirely issue is doing this and still hitting a target for landing with precision.

[Starwaster]

You can certainly aerobrake a spaceplane here. But you have to control your descent rate, otherwise at some point the lift generated by the wings will skip you back. You control it by banking, which moves the lift vector from pointing straight up. Now another entirely issue is doing this and still hitting a target for landing with precision.

That's why you have to follow every banking maneuver with banking on the opposite side to offset by the amount you banked the first time. That's how the shuttle did it right?

[lyndonguitar]

Is there a version where everything looks like solar system but the size is still small like kerbal??

[Camacha]

Is there a version where everything looks like solar system but the size is still small like kerbal??

Wow, I think I have seen about every permutation requested by now.

[lyndonguitar]

Wow, I think I have seen about every permutation requested by now.

Well I would like to play using real life solar system so i really feel like im exploring our own. but then I wouldn't want real life sizes to make my game longer and harder. just scaled sizes for game enjoying would be nice

[xrayfishx]

You can certainly aerobrake a spaceplane here. But you have to control your descent rate, otherwise at some point the lift generated by the wings will skip you back. You control it by banking, which moves the lift vector from pointing straight up. Now another entirely issue is doing this and still hitting a target for landing with precision.

I've tried everything from banking to skipping to getting as low as possible as fast as possible to staying high up for as long as possible. No matter how I do it, when I fall below about 60k, things start burning up. Irl the shuttle starts getting some serious heating at about 120k, I get it at 80k (which is where the real shuttle is at its hottest afaik). Gonna try to edit the atmosphere myself I guess.

Edit: I couldn't figure out how to use the pressureCurve (any documentation for it?), but I increased the atmosphereScaleHeight to 8.5 (which, as someone pointed out, was the number on some NASA site) and with slightly larger wings I survived the re-entry.

Wow, I think I have seen about every permutation requested by now.

Nope. Nathan, could I have a solar system where Kerbin would be like the asteroid in The Little Prince?

And the sun should be replaced by Betelgeuse.

Edited December 22, 2013 by xrayfishx

[m_robber]

I'm having trouble recovering probes that land in water - they bob across the surface so much that the game seems to interpret them as being in flight, and the recover button appears and disappears. Also, my daytime sky is completely black (nighttime is good). Anyone familiar with these issues?

[AbeS]

The sky broke in 0.23 and the water bouncing issue has always been there

[DasBananenbrot]

I'm having trouble recovering probes that land in water - they bob across the surface so much that the game seems to interpret them as being in flight' date=' and the recover button appears and disappears. Also, my daytime sky is completely black (nighttime is good). Anyone familiar with these issues?[/quote']

Yeah I am experiencing that issue with the water but that problem with the black sky doesn't sound familiar for me O.o

[m_robber]

Thanks. I'll have to try adjusting orbit to get over land instead.