Angelo Kerman

When I wrote the prologue, I had a lot of fun trying out different concepts in KSP. My original plan was to keep the Lindor flying and stack a ferry rocket on top similar to this: It would’ve been an interesting sight to see. Then I started thinking about all the fanboy stuff I have on the shuttle, and how awesome @benjee10’s shuttle mod is (though I wish it had a steerable nose wheel), and that led me to try different shuttle concepts. I almost went with my Lindor Ferry Rocket given how similar the throwaway costs were, but I’ve wanted a shuttles career for a long time, and Benjee’s mod looks really clean when paired with Restock/Restock+. What’s funny is that in going through my own shuttle decision, I ran into several questions that the real-world engineers and politicians did; what is the most economical and practical solution, and how do I justify tossing aside the other rockets I’ve made, especially since in KSP it’s a simple matter to stack parts together and go fly. But hey, it’s a game, and I can explore both options! So the Kermans fly that awesome ship from the Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit, and the vonKermans can explore reusable boosters that keep crew and cargo separate.

Glad you are enjoying the read! Currently the vonKermans are satisfied by their reusable Fleigenross lifter and Drakken capsule. The Fleigenross (“Flying Steed” in the Kerman tongue) was inspired by Long March at first but is also influenced by the Falcon 9. With the Drakken capsule (inspired by Shenzhou) being low cost, it doesn’t make sense to the vonKermans to make a reusable space plane just yet. They are more inclined to perfect their reusable Fleigenross, perhaps recovering the second stage.

Simply remove the prop from WildBlueTools.

Jetwing has its own folder as I recall so you should be able to delete all the other parts. Just keep the Plugin though, you'll need it.

Woot! Love the F-18-like craft. I wonder what Gene is up to, and what that object in Minmus orbit was all about...?

Strongback WIP:

No "How to" guide except what's in the KSPedia for robotics. My parts just use stock robotics, though the servo manager is custom. The way it is set up, you need to add your target angles and target extensions for the robotics parts into the KAL-1000 before my servo manager will be able to control them.

Yup! I have been naming my K-20s after space probes and continuing the tradition with the shuttles. I was wondering if anybody would notice... @Invaderchaos has a texture pack for the Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit: Also, here is the shuttle mod I'm using:

SLS-1 launches! Mariner (OV-202) takes to the skies with Jeb and Dudmon aboard: Dudmon takes a walk outside to inspect the tiles. If everything is A-OK, then KSC won't need to send Sojourner, the last K-20, to rescue the crew... (naturally, the KMU failed to function) Dudmon is back inside, now they wait for KSC to analyze the photos... This is an awesome mod!

Here we go! Latest Mk-33 pre-release is here! Added Cockpit IVA Added airlock depth mask Fixed missing cockpit decals Fixed cockpit drag cubes Updated CryoEngines Patch (Thanks @JadeOfMaar! ) Adjusted part masses: rule of thumb is 0.34 (based on shuttle super lightweight external tank fuel to structure ratio) * LFO mass * 0.75 (composites) Increased lift values At this point the vehicle itself is complete. While I don't have payload parts for it, the ones from Cormorant will work just fine. I'm in the home stretch: this month I hope to finish up the launchpad parts, then the mod will be ready for release!

Should have a new pre-release tomorrow...

I finally finished the Mk-33 cockpit: Stock flight controls; my policy for this mod is no external dependencies, including my own. MAS support could happen at some point but not at initial release.

Despite a lot of burnout last month, I finally got the Mk-33 cockpit done: Stock flight controls; my policy for this mod is no external dependencies, including my own. MAS support could happen at some point but not at initial release.

Prologue: The Shuttle Decision The Kerman States’ Kerbal Space Program beat the vonKermans to the Mun and to Minmus using their massive Lindor 5 launch vehicle and returned their crews home safely in their reusable K-20 KerbalSoar gliders. Project Munflight succeeded in breaking the Kerman States out of its nationwide apathy and reinvigorating its economy by reaching for the Mun, but at just under 500,000 Funds per flight, its scientific benefits no longer justified its cost. As a result, KSC ended the Munflight program after three flights to each moon and a final flight that used a heavily modified Lindor to launch SkyBase, a large space station, into orbit. KSC launched three missions to the station before ending Project SkyBase as well. When Kongress directed KSP to design a reusable launch system to replace the mighty Lindor and their aging fleet of K-20 gliders, they also slashed their budget. As a result, KSC had to completely rethink how they launched spacecraft and payloads into orbit. With barely enough Funds to launch the equivalent of a K-20 tipped Edna into orbit every month, whatever reusable craft they created had to be cheap. To that end, KSC engineers began designing the Shuttle Launch System. There were several SLS proposals. The first one took a radical approach and suggested a wedge-shaped single stage to orbit craft whose revolutionary linear aerospike engines had already been successfully test fired. But the design was deemed too risky due to its karbon komposite fuel tanks. Simply put, the Mk-33 mod isn’t done yet nobody knew how to build them. The second proposal consisted of a winged orbiter that looked remarkably like Wernher vonKerman’s old Ferry Rocket that was stacked atop an expendable Lindor 5 Second Stage (L5SS) and the Lindor 9 Reusable First Stage (L9RFS) that helped deliver SkyBase into orbit. Called the Lindor Ferry Rocket, engineers thought it would help preserve the existing Lindor infrastructure should the heavy lifter ever be needed again. While it would be easy to fly and mostly reusable, the L5SS throwaway hardware cost just over 69,395 Funds minus its propellant. It was not fully reusable but, it had promise. The third proposal had a delta-winged orbiter powered by redesigned “Vector” engines that burned kryogenic propellium and oxidizer instead of the typical liquid fuel and oxidizer. The orbiter was side mounted to an expendable external tank, and the tank was then stacked atop the L9RFS. Engineers dubbed it the Lindor Shuttle. But the design had a big problem with burning up its engines on reentry. A variant that only recovered the propulsion and threw away most of the tankage proved to be too expensive. KSP rejected the design on cost alone. Plus, it had stability issues even with help from the stability assist system. Not ready to let go of the Lindor, engineers tried one more time, this time taking the Lindor 9, removing the landing legs, chutes, and grid fins, and adding enormous wings and a set of landing gear. They hoped that such a design could take the heat of reentry away from the engines while giving the booster gliding ability. Sadly, that design also could not take the heat and had to be rejected. Saddened that the Lindor Shuttle looked to be a dead end, KSC engineers went back to the drawing board, kept the delta-winged orbiter that was side mounted to an expendable tank, and coupled it to twin recoverable liquid rocket boosters. They demonstrated that the configuration would be stable in flight, but booster recovery was a different matter. Each booster had to drastically slow itself down or its engines would burn up on reentry like the L9RFS. Plus, they needed good cross-range capacity to reach Welcome Back Island. Both were achievable but simulations showed that the boosters tended to flip and run out of propellant before they could slow enough to safely deploy their parachutes. And the extra fuel needed for boost-back ate into the orbiter’s payload capacity. The final proposal arrived in the form of the orbiter and external tank configuration from before, but with expendable solid rocket motors in place of the liquid boosters. The design proved to be stable in flight, had simpler recovery requirements, and best of all, it was the cheapest proposal of the bunch. Expending just 44,151 Funds of hardware per flight (ignoring fuel costs), the design fit well within KSP’s reduced budget. The astronauts were not thrilled about riding solid rockets, which had not been done since the early days of the K-20, but they also realized that lower budgets meant fewer options. KSP whittled the proposals down to just two: The Lindor Ferry Rocket, and the Space Shuttle. The Lindor Ferry Rocket cost 441,098 Funds to launch and expended 69,395 Funds after accounting for recovery. It also preserved the Lindor production line and the ability to lift heavy and/or oversized payloads. By contrast, the Space Shuttle cost 181,458 Funds to launch and expended 44,151 Funds after accounting for recovery. It also side-mounted the orbiter, which made it more difficult to control during the early stages of flight and posed a potential safety hazard to its heat shield tiles. And it abandoned superheavy lift, which arguably was no longer needed. It was a very tough call. Ultimately, it came down to how quickly I’d get bored of landing the first stage ease of flight and recovery operations and how many Funds KSC needed to keep in its coffers just to process a shuttle flight. So, while the Lindor Ferry Rocket was the original plan an attractive solution, SOCK is just too cool the Space Shuttle had the best overall design. But to satisfy detractors, KSC also kept their Lindor 9 Reusable First Stage and mothballed the tooling for the Lindor rocket just in case they needed one for a heavy lift mission or two. With their design finalized at last, KSC contracted out the production work to the Drax Aerospace Corporation (DAC), who made sure that all seven Kerman States- Eridu, Tibira, Larsa, Sippar, Mittania, Assyria, and Akkadia (the capital)- had a hand in developing the Shuttle Launch System, just as their predecessors had done with the Lindor 5. That helped ease the sting of losing their heavy lift rocket. KSC ordered a prototype shuttle to conduct approach and landing tests and launchpad fit tests with and named it “Freedom” after an obscure sci-fi series’ shuttlecraft of the same name. It was designated OV-201 for Orbiter Vehicle, Series 2, unit number 1. Equipped with jet engines and mass simulated main engines, Freedom proved the airworthiness of the orbiter design and helped astronauts train to land the shuttle. At some point, KSC hoped to retrofit the prototype for space flight as well. But for now, Mariner (OV-202) was almost flight ready while Spirit (OV-203), Opportunity (OV-204), and Curiosity (OV-205) were in various stages of construction.

JNSQ: Shuttle Launch System launches this weekend!

If you’ve been reading To the Mun, this mission report is a continuation of my JNSQ career save. It’s a kind of interlude series while I finish up my Mk-33 mod and get it ready for release. I don’t have a whole lot planned, but I’m definitely having fun with the new ship. Stay tuned! Mod list: ... And the shuttle... Chapters Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Epilogue ———

Just link to a forum thread.

Space Shuttle prototype Freedom, named after the KSOS shuttle from my old KSOS Mission Chronicles, makes her first flight: Jeb buzzes the retired fleet of K-20 KerbalSoar gliders: Her sister ship, Mariner, is getting ready for SLS-1:

Prototype shuttle Freedom (named for the shuttle in my old KSOS Mission Chronicles) takes her first flight: Jeb buzzed the retired K-20s: Using the power of robotics, I can move the air intake nose caps forward for launch and reentry, and backwards to allow air into the jet engines: Still more to do, like moving the umbilicals so they aren't routing through the jet engines... That shuttle is @benjee10's Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit:

Hm... Snacks has a powerful event system now, and I might be able to make that work. I could record the number of drinks a kerbal has had and use that to determine if they'll pass out or lose their skills. I also have the ability to let them "Detox" by sticking them in a crew cabin and running a converter... they'd lose their skills while detoxing too.

Awesome, thanks! That happened to me recently and it's a pain to fix. Also looking forward to using NodeRotate on the Mk-33's launchpad parts- almost to the point where I'll be making those.

@Operation_Blackbird This doesn't look like Snacks, more like TAC Life Support. Can't help you there, sorry. But for those running Snacks: Snacks 1.25.1 is now available: - Fix SnacksConverter not restoring skills when the converter is activated and a kerbal transfers to another part. - You can now estimate a vessel's max Stress capacity in the VAB/SPH. Requires Stress to be enabled (rename the Stress.txt file in LifeSupportResources folder to Stress.cfg). New Feature - Stresstimator: If you have Stress enabled, then you'll get a new button in the in-flight Snacks window to open the Stresstimator. This window helps you estimate the max Stress that your crew can take based on the crewable parts that you select. Since kerbals can get Stressed Out when moving from vessels with a lot of available crew capacity to vessels without much available crew capacity, the Stresstimator helps you avoid kerbals getting Stressed Out if they have accumulated Stress, you move them to a docked vessel, and then undock the vessel. Given the game design, it's very difficult to do the Stress estimate automagically, so the Stresstimator is better than nothing...

@peteletroll: Does the docking state checker fix situations where you try to undock and your vessels are stuck together?

After concluding my "To the Mun" mission report yesterday, I started working on the vehicles for the follow-up: Freedom is named after the shuttle from my old KSOS Mission Chronicles thread. Back then, I flew the Kerbin Shuttle Orbiter System, but the new ship is from the Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit. The pad it sits on is from Modular Launch Pads.

JNSQ for Kerbin KSC revisions are my own, but I used: Tundra's Space Center, Omega' Stock-Allike Structures, and Kerbinside Remastered, all of which require Kerbal Konstructs to setup and run.