Angelo Kerman

More progress: tested the docking system today, and got the Mk-33 to dock with the Strongback: It's working fairly well; I need to add a support strut to the strongback so you can retract the landing gear- otherwise you'll get jackhammering as the strongback raises or lowers. I also blocked out the crew tower and cockpit gantry: There will be a different gantry to access the crew module...

Chapter 2 Sixty days after SLS-1, SLS-2 rolled out to Pad B in preparation for launch. Once again, Mariner was the chosen vehicle. The orbiter had some modifications to its tile layout after her maiden flight to better withstand the heat on her orbital maneuvering system pods. Additionally, engineers added thicker heat shield tiles to the Panther air intake cones. Finally, they made some software changes to fix issues in the digital autopilot. With the orbiter updated, engineers turned their attention to the external tank and added a pair of separatrons along with an experimental deorbit kit. The kit did not have much delta-v, but they hoped it would be enough to at least push the tank into the atmosphere where drag would take care of the rest. The new kit along with the existing Panther jet engines reduced the shuttle’s payload capacity but engineers had some ideas on how to compensate. As with SLS-1, SLS-2 only carried two kerbals so that if something went wrong, Sojourner could launch and rescue the crew. Tesen, the mission commander, was a veteran of Munflight 4 and Skybase 1, while Hensen was a rookie. Since the shuttle needed two pilots to fly and could hold up to seven astronauts, KSP began recruiting more kerbals to fill their ranks and to meet their mission goals. Tesen’s assignment as mission commander was no accident. Mariner launched into a 193.5km by 208.7km orbit as Skybase passed over KSC and began to chase down the space station. SLS-2 successfully placed its external tank on a suborbital trajectory, but KSC nonetheless test fired its experimental deorbit kit. Technically also designated Skybase 4, SLS-2’s mission was to resupply the station and assess its condition. To do that, the orbiter carried a specialized Logistics Adapter Module (LAM) with the old-style docking port on one end and a new OV-100 docking port on the other end. The OV-100 was compatible with the Mark 2 port developed by the vonKermans that was shared with KSP as part of the Munflight Drakken Test Project. It was redesigned to fit the smaller crew tubes used on the shuttle. To attach the LAM to Skybase, Mariner had to successfully test its newest addition: Kerboarm. The Kerboarm was designed to pluck payloads out of its payload bay by latching onto grapple fixtures attached to the payloads. If for some reason the arm failed, then Hensen could pilot the KMU and fly the LAM into place. Normally operated by an engineer, Hensen specifically trained to operate the arm during SLS-2. He unlocked the servo joints and moved them around to test their flexibility and control-ability. Satisfied that everything worked as expected, he locked the joints again as Mariner burned for Skybase. Upon arrival, Hensen unlocked the arm and grabbed the LAM. After several attempts to dock the module, the end effector failed and lost its grip. Fortunately, Hensen was ready for this and hopped into the KMU. This time, it worked perfectly. Hensen flew over to the wayward LAM, captured it, and docked it to Skybase. He then returned to Mariner and helped Tesen dock the orbiter to Skybase after stowing the arm. Low on propellants, Mariner transferred some over to the orbiter before the two astronauts unloaded the LAM. With their main tasks aboard Skybase completed, the pilots ran some simple experiments. Skybase was still in good condition; Gene and his crew did some cleaning before they left, though it was apparent that someone had run on the lockers during a previous mission. The shuttle remained docked for two more days before undocking and leaving the LAM behind. Not long after, Mariner deorbited and landed back at KSC. Again, the jet engines proved immensely helpful, though the orbiter ran out of fuel just as she approached the runway. *** The post-mission report showed that the Kerboarm experienced severe oscillations as it maneuvered the LAM around. The issue was attributed to poor joint strength, a need to move the arm slowly, and the need to lock the joints as soon as possible to improve rigidity. KSC engineers began working on a software fix to Servo Controller* the KerboArm that would auto-lock the joints when the arm was not moving. The lower orbit meant that the external tank deorbit kit was not needed but the test proved to be successful. The separatrons also improved the tank’s decoupling and separation rate. The changes to the thermal protection system also proved their worth. * The update to Servo Controller can be found here.

Given how wobbly the robotics parts are, DockRotate is a welcome relief. It also makes me wonder why stock robotics can't have stiffer joints. Anyway, now that I understand how DockRotate works, I'm thinking of adapting my servo controller to support them

Finally figured out that I had to back off the arm to get into reacquire range. But man, the robotics arms are so wobbly!

I seem to be having problems getting the Kerboarm end effector to dock with the power data grapple fixture. I've turned off angle snap on both of them but the docking nodes won't engage. Is there something that I'm doing wrong?

Actually I did speak with him about it and he's pretty busy with Modular Launch Pads. But MLP is definitely a source of inspiration! I use them a lot in my career game.

It works with JNSQ! Yaaaay!

Got the mechanics worked out: The launchpad will be similar to the stock pad in that you will have a ramp to roll the Mk-33 onto. Then with DockRotate installed, you can rotate the Mk-33 vertical. It can handle a full payload but the fuel tanks should be empty. If you don't use Kerbal Konstructs then you'll need to attach wheels via decouplers and drive the pad out to your launch site. The strongback will also support a more traditional launch platform for those not interested in in-flight reuse of the Mk-33...

I tested a proof of concept using DockRotate:

I'm happy to say that my proof of concept is working:

It could be, yeah.

Thanks, I didn't realize that DockRotate was added to every part that has a docking port, but that totally makes sense. it sounds like I need to tweak things so that I get the node rotate on the right node and remove the added dock rotate. Thanks again!

Like Stress and FreshAir, "Hydrazine" is optional. What's nice about Snacks (after my rewrite) is that you can add and track pretty much any life support resources that you want. So if you wanted to track Water, you could. One thing I keep thinking about though is radiation... Kerbals accumulate Bananas and at a certain point they could die or be more prone to getting Stressed Out. It would be a resource that accumulates when you traverse certain regions of space or when you have some event. Not sure it will happen as I'd have to think about its utility and usefulness.

I'm wondering if you can help diagnose an issue i'm having with NodeRotate. Here is what I am trying to do: I'm building a strongback for my Mk-33. The strongback needs to rotate from horizontal to vertical. The Mk-33 is docked to the strongback via a docking port. If you look in the picture there is a small cylinder at the bottom of the strongback where it rotates. The strongback is node-attached to the fuel tanks via its "bottom" node. Here is the config: This is the error I get: Unfortunately I don't know enough about NodeRotate other than it's magic and it works. Can you help? Which axis does the NodeRotate work on?

Actually, I originally did that and got a lot of complaints.

Ah ok, I'm not at all familiar with planet modding, what would I need to do to make them 2.7x scale? Is that even possible?

Snacks 1.25.2 is now available: - Fix Stresstimator showing up in Space Center window when it shouldn't. - Fix corrected density of Hydrazine.

Also, the RCS ports aren't strictly parallel to the rotation or translation axis. The game figures that if you rotate up, for instance, the side roll thrusters will fire too because they can provide some upward thrust.

@StarCrusher96 These look fantastic? What scale are they? I currently play with JNSQ (2.7x scale), and would love to add these star systems to my game if possible. What would I need to do aside from installing the planets?

Small patch to use my Servo Controller if you use the arm with Breaking Ground robotics:

You can post them to a hosting site like imgur. Just create account there, upload your photos, and paste the links in the thread. I think I've seen that humpback VentureStar: For the Mk-33, I chose an older design: The Mk-33 is inspired by the above, but redesigned for Kerbal Space Program. It does have a probe core for automated flight, and of course I just finished the Mk-33 cockpit as well. Given the way I made the parts, you can load up the mission bay with fuel tank modules and put cargo bay parts on its back.. For the launchpad parts, I'm aiming for something like this: The X-33 had a moveable hangar that for now I won't be building, but I'm including a launch platform for use on the stock launchpad, and a launchpad part that you can drive around and set up some place for some immersive game play. The Mk-33 has that aft docking port so that it can dock to the strongback, and then you use DockRotate to rotate the strongback vertical. Anyway, the crew tower and access arm will be based on the above picture..

Chapter 1 Jeb and Dudmon sat on their backs in the cockpit of Mariner, the first spaceworthy shuttle orbiter, that was poised for launch. Named after the K-20 KerbalSoar that broke apart on reentry during its maiden flight, Jeb really hoped that its namesake’s first flight had a better ending. He was in Mariner when it broke apart. They were about to find out. A veteran of the Last War and one of the first Astronauts, Air Force Colonel Jebediah Kerman had a long and distinguished career as an astronaut. He helped test the K-20 and the SeaGoat- the K-20 recovery and transportation plane, became the first kerbal to orbit Kerbin, became the first and so far only kerbal to bail out of a failing spacecraft, became the first kerbal to walk on both of Kerbin’s moons, drove a pressurized rover across the Mun, and set the record for the longest off world road trip. By contrast, Navy Lieutenant Commander Dudmon Kerman only had one spaceflight on record- he got sick right before the Skybase 2 flight and Valentina’s crew had to step in, and then Gene (yes, that Gene, the Chief Flight Director and head of KSP) borrowed his crew for Skybase 3. But what a flight! He joined KSP right as Project Munflight ramped up and he commanded Munflight 3. During the ascent, the Lindor 5 oscillated widely and threatened to break up. Then the third stage decoupled from the still burning second stage when it should have jettisoned the fairings. Dudmon carefully balanced the third stage atop the second and kept on course while the second stage depleted its propellants. And he had the honor of driving the first passenger vehicle on another world when he deployed the lander’s mun buggy. Out the windows, Jeb could see Pad A to his left- unaltered to preserve its historical significance- and Pad B, which had been remodeled from its Munflight days and was almost ready to support Shuttle flights. Pad C, where Mariner sat, was brand new, and like Pad B, it received rockets stacked for launch via the new Vehicle Assembly Building 2. VAB 2 had four “high bays” to simultaneously prepare rockets for flight, and KSC needed every one of them to keep up with the anticipated demand for Shuttle flights. The crews in VAB 1 were a bit envious of their “big brother” but also relieved that they no longer needed to cram two missions into one building anymore. Gene got word of the envy and insisted that work crews rotate through both buildings to quell "us versus them" mentality. “…Eight…seven…six…ignition sequence start…” FLIGHTCOM- Flight Communications said over the radio. The roar of the Vector main engines starting up snapped Jeb back to the present. “Here we go,” Jeb said coolly. The two astronauts were thrown back into their seats as the orbiter’s twin solid rocket booster ignited and catapulted the winged spaceship into the sky on pillars of fire. Mariner lurched sideways as well as upwards due to the offset thrust of its modified KS-25 engines. Powered by cryogenic propellium and oxidizer, the Vectors gulped propellants from the huge external tank strapped to the orbiter’s belly. Jeb took semi-automatic control, letting the autopilot kill rotation while he guided Mariner’s trajectory by hand. He rolled the craft to the correct heading and gradually pitched it over. Right on time, the solids burned out and dropped away, and Dudmon breathed a sigh of relief. He hated having to rely on solid rockets on a modern launch vehicle- the K-20 started flying with solids as well and the pilots back then hated them too, but they wisely switched to liquid rocket boosters as soon as the technology caught up. But as with the early K-20 flights, if something went wrong, then they were stuck until the solids burned out. Right after exiting the atmosphere, Jeb commanded Mariner to roll upright in preparation to jettisoning the external tank. A few minutes later they reached their target altitude. Part way through the circularization burn, Mariner dumped the tank, moved away from it, and completed the burn using their Viking orbital maneuvering engines. Once their engines stopped, Mariner circled Kerbin in a 349.9 km by 353.4 km orbit. “Welcome to space,” Jeb said, “now get to work.” Dudmon did not like working with Jeb- hardly anyone did- but he could not fly on SLS-1 without him. Jeb may be a brilliant pilot and KSC’s most experienced astronaut, but his interpersonal skills were severely lacking when he was not in front of a camera. Dudmon sighed and made his way to the payload engineering station and flipped some switches. Normally an engineer would handle his tasks but there were none on the maiden flight. Mariner’s payload bay doors opened to expose the orbiter’s radiators and deploy the high gain antenna. He could clearly see the external airlock as well and off in the distance, the shuttle's tail section. They'd done it. They'd launched an airliner-sized vehicle into orbit. “Let’s hope that we don’t need a ride from Sojourner,” Dudmon said as he looked out the payload bay windows. When KSP first began flying astronauts into orbit, they had no backup solution if something went wrong. But with SLS’ delicate thermal tiles and unconventional launch configuration, KSC wisely kept Sojourner, the last operational K-20 KerbalSoar, on standby. If the damage was too extensive, Sojourner would launch into orbit and retrieve Mariner’s crew. Of course, once the shuttle started flying more than two astronauts at a time, Sojourner could not help. Once Mariner looped around to the dayside of Kerbin, Dudmon stepped into the external airlock and took a walk outside. He boarded the Kerbal Maneuvering Unit- first used on Munflight 6- and undocked from the payload pallet. Unfortunately, the RCS thrusters failed to fire despite having ample monopropellant and electric charge. Dudmon had no choice except to abandon the KMU and use his personal jet pack to complete his task. “Looks like the engineers messed up again,” Jeb said as he looked out the window. Dudmon ignored him and focused on not running into the Mariner’s delicate tiles as he flew around the orbiter and took pictures. Meanwhile Jeb ran some experiments located in the aft of the payload bay to gather some token science. The resource scanner picked up some interesting observations though. After Dudmon hopped back inside, he began downloading the pictures to KSC for analysis. They had to wait for KSC engineers to analyze the images and determine if SLS-1 needed a rescue mission. Two days later, Mariner was cleared for reentry. The digital autopilot refused control input so Jeb took manual control. Unfortunately, the RCS thruster failed to fire as well, but the shuttle’s reaction wheels provided adequate backup. The fuel cells also had problems generating electric charge so Dudmon activated the emergency batteries. And though he did not show it outwardly, Jeb was nervous about the reentry. The plasma fires engulfed Mariner as she dove into the upper atmosphere and Jeb struggled to keep the nose pitched upward to 30 degrees. Every time he hit the mark, the shuttle wanted to yaw left or right. But Dudmon sorted out the RCS issues by bypassing the digital autopilot, so he corrected the yaw and helped pitch the nose up. As the fires subsided, Jeb breathed a sigh of relief as he took his eyes off the navball. When he checked the instruments, he was disappointed that they were nearly 70 kilometers off course. But that was what the jets were for… As their altitude dropped below 12,000 meters, Jeb commanded the engine intake cones to retract. The rushing air spun the fan blades and brought the twin Panther jet engines to life, transforming Mariner from spaceship to airplane in seconds. After a fifteen-minute flight, the orbiter touched down nearly on the centerline, rolled out, and stopped about midway down the runway. And while not without her problems, Mariner’s maiden flight redeemed her K-20 namesake. *** Post-flight analysis of SLS-1 revealed software defects with the flight control software. Namely, the flight mode selector overrode the “default” controller and ignored input commands. A simple uncheck of the override would correct the problem for SLS-2. Additionally, the oscillation issues on ascent were attributed to incorrectly enabled roll control on the main engines. Flight software engineers already had a fix. Further, the orbiter apparently had insufficient fuel cell generation, so engineers planned to add backup generators for the next mission. Plus, the external tank ended up as orbital debris, so engineers began working on a deorbit kit to test on the next mission. And the reentry calculations suggested by Drax Aerospace proved to be wholly inaccurate. It took several simulations to get Mariner lined up for KSC before Flight gave the go for landing. But pilots were already working on a lookup table for various deorbit altitudes and entry points. And the split rudder airbrake tended to yaw the orbiter to the left, so it had to be used sparingly. Finally, the abject failure of the KMU sent engineers back to the drawing board to revert back to the original KMU software- they thought they could get away with using the digital autopilot from the shuttle, but the KMU had the same control issues. Several things went right, however. The payload bay doors operated as expected. The Viking orbital maneuvering engines had no issues. The digital autopilot successfully oriented the control point when needed. The orbiter proved to be responsive during launch. The protective cones on the jet engines worked well. And the Panther jet engines were worth their mass, giving the orbiter the range needed to reach KSC. Engineers had a lot to think about for SLS-2, but all in all, Mariner’s maiden flight went rather well.

Glad you're enjoying them! This mission report is the successor to To The Mun, where my "Apollo" was a K-20 (X-20) winged craft instead of a boring capsule. Now the kerbals are forging ahead with shuttle.

Go to the Settings window in KSP (press ESC to do that), find the Pathfinder tab. There's an option to disable the equipment costs.

Beamed power was one of the things that I liked about KSPIE. It reminded me of Scott Manley making huge solar power satellites and beaming power to stations and spacecraft many years ago. I really like how you've made the concept standalone and simplified it to boot! I like your idea of tying into commnet, at least for its tracing algorithms. I'd be curious to know what your results are; I've an idea for using the commnet tracing for something like the Mass Effect relay system. Are you planning things like microwave-powered jets and rockets? Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!