Parachuting problems.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

First note, all parts stock.

I'm trying to design a space plane with an interesting feature. It can jettison its low altitude engines at it ascends for data delivery.. they're held under the wings attached to decoupler. It's part of a design I have for atmospheric data recovery. Each of the fuel tanks for the engines has a data nosecone. Problem is this. When I jettison them, even traveling slow at high altitude, the parachutes, though they deploy upon decoupling, do not prevent the discarded parts from crashing with the data on board. I've tried 2 side mounted chutes.. pondering 3.. because I've seen 2 slow a module with added components to well under 5 m/s descent.. which those small engines should easily survive on any terrain. I even thought, "well maybe they're rolling on terrain" because they're cylindrical, so I put a couple of stopping struts on each side.. newp.. still vanishing upon touching the ground. I've noticed that when you jettison something with a chute, it seems to follow different physics. Does anyone know if this is true and if there is a work around? To be precise, it's one stock jet engine, one stock fuel tank usually with about 1/2 fuel left, one data nosecone, and 2 parachutes. Do I just need more chutes? Or is there something wonky with detached craft physics that the debris behaves differently than a piloted vessel on re-entry and descent?

Edited June 5, 2014 by Maelstrom Vortex

[katateochi]

Are you staying within 2.2km of your dropped payload until it reaches the ground?

The game only does physics calcs for things within that range, outside of that any craft inside an atmosphere will just wink out of existence.

What your trying to do should be possible, but you might need to circle your plane around to stay within 2.2km until the payload has landed. Once its on the ground you can fly off and it should be fine.

[Concentric]

Also, because you have to stay within 2.2km of the dropped part, then when it hits the ground you won't be at a particularly high altitude. As such, dropping your low-altitude engines with the science pod is entirely useless and counterproductive. Because you're dropping them from a high altitude, they pass into the "out of physics range from the focused object and flying below 20km ASL in atmosphere" zone and get deleted. Technically, if you're careful, you should be able to take your readings, then descend alongside a science capsule until it is safely on the ground before ascending again, and everything should work out fine - but I can't see how it would be in any way efficient or helpful, and you'd want to have your low-altitude engines available to do it.

It's not as though you can't get orbit and then deorbit the science separately, landing it as the focused object.

[Tw1]

Are you staying within 2.2km of your dropped payload until it reaches the ground?

While it may be impractical for sceine drop pods, it works well for kerbal deployment

[possum]

Add a probe core to the discarded engines. This will make it so you do not have to stay within 2.2 km.

[Taki117]

Add a probe core to the discarded engines. This will make it so you do not have to stay within 2.2 km.

This isn't actually true. ANYTHING that is below 22km in altitude and more than 2.2km from the actively controlled craft will be deleted.

[RockoDyne]

Unless you are already in orbit (ideally) and follow anything jettisoned on it's landing, you won't be doing anything other than dropping dead weight.

[RenevB]

As said above, anything that is outside your physics bubble (~2.3 km) and moving through 'dense' atmosphere (someone said it's above 0.01 atm pressure) is deleted. What hasn't been said is the reason for this behaviour. Full physics is only calculated for your active craft and any and all stuff in the physics bubble around it. It wouldn't be practical for most computers to calculate every force for every craft everywhere.

So your idea doesn't work for computational game limitations.

[Killerdude8]

If you are under 22KM in Atmosphere, and the part goes more than 2.5KM away, It will get deleted.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Also, because you have to stay within 2.2km of the dropped part, then when it hits the ground you won't be at a particularly high altitude. As such, dropping your low-altitude engines with the science pod is entirely useless and counterproductive. Because you're dropping them from a high altitude, they pass into the "out of physics range from the focused object and flying below 20km ASL in atmosphere" zone and get deleted. Technically, if you're careful, you should be able to take your readings, then descend alongside a science capsule until it is safely on the ground before ascending again, and everything should work out fine - but I can't see how it would be in any way efficient or helpful, and you'd want to have your low-altitude engines available to do it.

It's not as though you can't get orbit and then deorbit the science separately, landing it as the focused object.

That'd be more trouble than worth. However, thank you for phrasing this in a way that makes me feel like more genius than the game can handle

On the other hand, I've set max persistent debris.. and I was REALLY hoping I'd be able to set whether or not I would want to keep items around til they hit the ground as I know my computer (it's a monster) will handle it. I am already handling like 20 flights.

An idea for cpu usage limitation that's practical and would help players of myself who like career modes and reusable drop pods might be to only let items with parachutes connected be computed once way from the active craft unless it is in an established orbit. That way the reusable can hit ground and the cpu isn't devoured except for by items the player wants to have devour CPU. Everything else not in a chute.. and not in orbit can just poof like usual. The player can manually delete the rest.

Does anyone know if there is a mod that circumvents this.. "feature"?

Edited June 6, 2014 by Maelstrom Vortex

[Claw]

There are mods that extend physics range and lower the delete altitude.

I "think" one of those types of mods is called TT Never Unload, but I'm not certain.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

You wouldn't happen to have a forum or curse link would you? Can't seem to find it.