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DDE
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KSP2 Release Notes
Posts posted by DDE
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On 20.07.2016 at 1:18 AM, Duski said:
Oh, I thought the F9 second stage did all the rendezvous burns and Dragon is deployed then grappled on board basically. But gee, using those tiny draco engines? Well looks like i'm going to have a lot of patience for the Dragon i'm using
FYI the four prograde RCS motors on the Soyuz have higher Isp than the central engine, so on one occasion when the Progress needed to keep enough dV round because it was going to take Mir for a swim, they went for those over the main engine, the whole way.
On 24.07.2016 at 4:10 PM, PB666 said:Problem is not thevdrive system, its the survival systems for manned flight.
With a torchship like Orion you can really cut down on travel time using more energetic trajectories. Say, less than a year roundtrip, then you're in the realm of the long-term missions on Mir. Add the possibility of full-on armour, and you're off!
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Your wiki appears to have become significantly easier to understand since I last checked it.
Slap me.
However, why did you unlink the resource selection on the Big Map and the Small Map?
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27 minutes ago, DMagic said:
@DDE What are your SCANsat resource scanning options set to? Have you checked the KSPedia entry, or the SCANsat wiki? They both have lots of info about resource scanning.
Biome lock yes, Instant resource scan no, Requires narrow band scanner yes, Disable stock scanning yes, Stock scan threshold yes 90%.
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Guys, minor question. When using the Big Map, I get resource concentrations in full percents. When using the Small Map, I don't get info at all. However, when displaying the map via the M700, I get a Small Map with data down to 0.01%.
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19 hours ago, Angel-125 said:
I'm enjoying the development of your story. Sounds like recycling is just coming into play. What mods are you using? I recognize Nertea's cryogenic engines, are you using Ven's for the revamped capsules?
I'm not shopping for an inflatable greenhouse.
Yet.
A partial modlist was in the OP; yes, I am; re: Vulkan, the twin RCS thrusters are from Nertea's NF Spacecraft, the radial motors are from an old Bahamuto mod, there's a mix or RT's original antennas and Ven's ones; note that I'm using an old version of Ven's mod (1.9.3?) because I use an even older version of his panel retexture. There are also Smart Parts fuel ejection valves and grid fins from USI Sounding Rockets coming into play. The towers are from FASA...
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Chapter 14: Is Everyone’s on Mental Shore Leave?
“CAPCOM?”
“We’re go,”
“Booster?”
“Go, Flight,”
“Network,”
“Go,”
“FIDO?”
“Go,”
“EECOM?”
“Go!”
“Surgeon?”
“All readings at ‘badass’, Flight!”
“Local Orbital Control to Pad Firing Team, Hermes Mk 2 test flight is clear for launch, stand by to initiate launch sequence,” Gene Kerman announced, moonshining in the more routine department while the watch roster was being filled up.
“Hermes, you’re clear to launch,” Bill Kerman echoed in his post as FAO-CAPCOM.
“Copy that,” Jeb noted, glanced at the mannequins "manning" the upper deck, and turned to the flight computer. The inertial nav system had calibrated, and the output showed the guidance computer was now in mode 02.
Unsurprisingly, there was a button called LAUNCH; there was no need to time the launch, so he just pressed it.
The rocket shook as the gantries began to retract. Then the Rockomax MAXX ignited.
It sounded like an explosion. The new solid-fuel first stage had even more thrust than the Mainsail, and was even bigger. It kicked in like a sledgehammer, and the rocket blasted off. The computer nonchalantly went into mode 11, and began to spit out raw telemetry; the new booster relied on the RV’s computer for the entirety of the flight to save weight, unlike the entire ring of electronics in regular Hermes cores.
The flight continued as usual for the solid-fuelled loft-and-sustain boosters – with ever-mounting, crushing acceleration until well past twenty kilometres, where the motor slowly died, and the ullage Sepratrons pulled the regular Tunguska upper stage. Still without Jeb doing anything, the ship pushed for orbital velocity, jettisoning the LES.
The circularization burn was also carried out with Jeb passively watching the computer do its work.
Unlike past launches, the fairing separation was not to happen until the upper stage was done. The SM formed part of the hull from the onset, with its RCS thruster clusters on the exterior; a whip antenna extended out of one of them. The new RCS system was redesigned to minimize the use of the RV's thrusters. Finally, the motor died.
“CAPCOM, Hermes, confirming MECO, all systems nominal,” Jeb called out.
“Hermes, confirming.”
“Hey, Bob, Gene, if I’m reading this correctly, I’m only 60 klicks behind Athens with a full tank of monoprop.”
Gene sighed. He should have seen it coming.
“Roger that, Hermes, preparing rendezvous solution. Stand by to receive first burn program,” Bob responded without a pause.
Launching from the 250 km staging orbit allowed to avoid the need for multiple orbital phasing burns; instead, Jeb just waited an hour before pulling off a direct Hohmann and the velocity kill burn, putting the ship within visual range of the station.
“CAPCOM, Hermes is about to come in for final approach, commencing staging.”
The ship’s deployment operation was another heavily automated aspect. The solar and thermal control systems had been mounted around the elongated bell of new SM motor; the Breeze and the RCS clusters now used the same fuel and plumbing system; the Tunguska was equipped with passivation valves to reduce chance of explosion.
So, Jeb flipped in the autopilot again, and watched the ship fire its main engine and began its final approach. Athens was growing larger and larger, but the autopilot of course aimed for a near-miss.
The closest approach came…
Nothing happened. The ship kept flying. No retroburn.
Jeb tried to fire it manually, but the computer kept its iron grip on the controls. Then he tried again, and this time there was a sizzle as the motor fired.
“Are you seeing this, CAPCOM!?”
He reset the computer, triggering another approach. The engine fired again.
And then again, on closest approach the controls froze.
“Bob,” Jeb growled as he programmed in a descent burn, “We’re going to have to talk.”
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“So what’s with the second briefing this week?” Lisgrid wondered.
“Guess Jeb’s… outraged,” Raygan shrugged, “At least that’s in the SAT, so it won’t be all plastic.”
This briefing included no-one but the newly formed flight crews. Some faces were really unfamiliar, but Lisgrid’s optical sensor array locked onto a trio already sporting a mission patch reading “Heimdall” and “NUC SEC”.
“Who are you lot?” she asked.
“Heimdall crew, spaceborne nuclear power endurance test,” Jeb’s voice boomed from across the room, “Bit of an autonomous project for now. That’ll be our third station, unmanned for most of the time.”
“And…”
Jeb cut her off by pulling back one of the partitions to reveal Piraeus.
Wasn’t nothing really interesting. The trunk, including the airlock and cupola, had been rebuilt, with what looked suspiciously like a Gadfly pressure vessel acting as a science station and inline airlock. It also mounted the second docking collar and enlarged manoeuvring fuel stocks.
There still were a few whistles, though.
“Note the small docking ports on the sides,” Jeb continued unperturbed, “We’re going to send another model of Intern up…”
There was a horrified scream from one of the gantry, and someone began to run to the nearest fire exit.
Jeb just shook his head.
“…as an external scientific payload, and it’s also compatible with Vector’s docking probe.
“But this of course is just routine orbital flight where the egghead has all the fun,” he chuckled, “The future is over here”.
The Vulkan stood in the other assembly area, missing come minor components, but already mostly flyable.
“We’re not done with the drive section yet – that’s Heimdall’s job – but this is what it will be carrying. Twenty solid tons of spaceship. Five major systems over here.
“The Return Vehicle is broadly the same as on the Hermes, but we’ve removed the docking collar and made a whole lot of internal alterations, most of them in the astrogation systems. Oh, and there is a hatch through the middle of the heat shield.
“The primary Habitat is more than half the size of the Athens habitat. We’ve loaded the primary usable space with everything that can stave off boredom and muscular degeneration, with the RV acting as the science and conning deck for the entirety of the flight. Back of the module is stuffed to the gills with ration packs, and leads to the tunnel that ends at the aft docking ring and collar.
“The upper half of the tunnel mounts the racks for the ECLSS components. Unlike past flights, where we just ejected the crap and liquid, we’re trying to recycle everything, so we’ve got primary oxygen and water tanks, a hydrogen buffer tank, CO2 and greywater collectors, a water filter, a Sabatier reactor and an electrolytic cracker; all we’re throwing out is solidified waste and methane. Should cut down consumables by more than 90%.
“The aft of the ship is the Orbital Manoeuvring System, composed of the main tanks and two twin retractable clusters of Sparks. Used at the beginning and the end of the trip.
“On the other hand, the Orientation and Docking System is composed of eight twin clusters and four unidirectional motors, and is fed from the blisters on the sides of the habitat.
“Finally, the Cladding is composed of these surface-mounted panels and radiators. Ultimately, it looks like that the tug will need the same Gigantor panels as the station.
“Any questions, fliers?”
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Known bug. Posting to close thread.
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11 hours ago, Matuchkin said:
At this point, I'd just like to say: screw Pulitzer.
Please start with Jessica Valenti's team.
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21 hours ago, PB666 said:
Because like VASIMR, they need a GW of electric power and currently no feasible source in space. Solve the electric power problem, and the radiation problem cheaply then you have a choice.
Radiation problem is severely overblown. While I don't quite trust,Zubrin's assessment, data from Curiosity shows that an unshielded pressurized habitat is enough to keep the dose within ESA tolerances on a regular Hohmann.
13 hours ago, pxi said:Dumb question but, asides from all the technical issues, do we really want to go sticking fission reactors on planes? What exactly happens when a fission reactor has a high-speed encounter with the ground?
(This may explain why I'm unqualified to write for the BBC.)
If the crash of the Soviet US-A radar sat is of any indication, a local radiation containment situation.
The Soviets had given it thought, though; while the Tu-95LAL/Tu-141 only had a directional shadow shield for its reactor, when designing An-22PLO they decided to try and add a reactor jettison and recovery system. It would be a radiation hazard for some time anyway, but no fallout.
Finally, we have proposals from the heydays of NERVA to just drop the damned thing into the ocean, claiming that no shielding is required for the reactor to reenter and be recovered for reuse because it's already stupidly durable.
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2 hours ago, magnemoe said:
As I understand it was thoughts of installing an vasmir on the IIS for the lifting burns and to prove the technology, this was canceled but would have used the stations solar panels for power
And yes they are heavy. If you could scale vasmir down to something more fitting on an probe rater than an manned interplanetary ship power demands would be lower but its probably an lower limit on power it will need.Yeah, but I haven't seen good info on how well it scales down. There are very few reasons to use it over current electrostatic thrusters. I mean, do you really want to deal with liquid hydrogen or liquid lithium when compressed xenon does the job well enough? Not to mention the ISPs can be forced through the roof (~12000 sec).
Also, VASIMR isn't being developed for probes. It's touted as a manned interplanetary craft engine, possibly because it overcomes the inherent thrust limitations of ion thrusters (although it's not fully clear why an array of a few thousand of them is off the table).
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11 hours ago, fredinno said:
Efficiency is not a big deal with ION, since they are so efficient anyways....
And all ION need highly powerful magnets to channel the IONs out of the thrust chamber.
No nuclear power plant is needed if you have big enough solar cells. And all ION drives have the same 'too much energy use' issue...
VASIMR is not an ion thruster, it's a wholly different family, electromagnetic (pondermotive, to be precise) as opposed to electrostatic. No, the magnets aren't the element accelerating remass in a Hall-effect thruster. Therefore your appeal to Dawn is invalid.
Efficiency is always a big deal, because the requirement for a reactor results in your propulsion system mass bloating; sure, you can have high ISP, but the hit to the ship's mass ratio still results in your dV tanking, pun intended.
No, there appears to be no way to power a VASIMR with solar panels; or, if there is, it is even heavier than a reactor.
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15 hours ago, fredinno said:
But VASMIR IS worthwhile, just as a conventional ION drive would...
Lower efficiency (50% vs 70%), requires superconducting magnets and a nuclear power plant that isn't anywhere near the drawing boards and is likely impossible.
http://spacenews.com/vasimr-hoax/
Remember those 'uses' of government financing? It sounds very much like one.
15 hours ago, fredinno said:Also, relavent
Just when I can't watch a T-foot vid...
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Furthermore, most rocket engines cannot throttle down as easily, and cannot be fired more than once. And then we have ullage and lOx boil-off.
We have it really easy in KSP.
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1 hour ago, p1t1o said:
I've always wondered with budgetary situations like this why they dont "buy" some foregn currency, or gold bullion/oil/stocks/shares/other commodity, so that the money is not lost. One rainy day when they really need a lot of money above+beyond their budget, they just liquidate those resources for extra cash.
Im guessing theres some obvious reason for not doing that.
Simple. That is improper use of government money. At best the Central Bank can take them as very low-interest deposits.
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1 hour ago, monstah said:
As a Brazilian, I'm laughing so hard
It's not like the US Armed Forces have to do the same. If you don't spend it this quarter, next quarter they'll cut your budget!
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19 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:
Not for startup but as an active layer around the fusion core.
Ah. Like MIT's ARC reactor? Well, I imagine it wouldn't have gamma-decay materials, so it wouldn't need serious shielding.
5 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:Agreed with you. How should this help against this one?
I dunno, but as a Russian, I know how desperation to throw government funding on some stupid idea looks like. Hence titanium instead of steel.
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1 hour ago, p1t1o said:
Wahahahaha! That is precisely what I was going for, Mission Accomplished
For the record, it doesn't need forcefields, my standard package usually includes everything-proof armour made of "metal" (metal being infinitely strong to an 8 year old me).
Pff. Try SCP-022-J.
7 hours ago, kerbiloid said:Only a pure one. As many fusion designs also include a fission contour, it can produce even more waste than a pure fission.
Hm, I realize many designs end up having a fission reactor for start-up, but why would an aircraft have it?
8 hours ago, cubinator said:I think they are shirking from thermodynamics, which is not a good thing when you're trying to convince people of a purely theoretical aircraft that is "fifty years away" and "cannot be made with today's technology".
Oh, come on, since when except people who know basic science care about thermodynamics?
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2 hours ago, monstah said:
Hilarious thread is hilarious. Thanks, y'all.
Mainstream media tries to science again. Results predictable.
I mean, it's pretty much the same people who a) say VASIMR is worthwhile and b) call it a warp drive.
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3 hours ago, p1t1o said:
Its gonna have a nuclear reactor and an ice cream machine and beds with TVs and a sofa and vending machines and like it will be silver all over
Have you ever sold a spacecraft to the Queen of Naboo?
6 minutes ago, KSK said:Oh deities. All you missed out are the invisible bullets, the force fields (subtype - invincible) and the bit which Batman jumps out of to pwn everything. Otherwise you could be channeling my 8 year old nephew.
Well, it's still missing blackjack and hookers.
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23 minutes ago, wumpus said:
Now that I think of it, the Blackbird was originally designed with a launchable rocket to go anywhere the Blackbird couldn't. Since the only thing stopping the Blackbird were treaties and threats of Soviet reprisals (they couldn't hit the thing directly), the extra rocket was "never" used. Anybody know if it was tested (and the results unclassified/leaked)?
Another example would be the Pegasus booster for the X-43. That takes the combined aircraft from nominal jet speed (~mach .8?) to over mach 4. This appears similar to vertical staging, except the vehicle is flying horizontally. Note that since both craft are disposable, they might even use "fire in the hole" staging.
And that's still slower than expected. Not to mention those goddamned hydrogen tanks, which will likely be designed as close to structural limits as possible...
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26 minutes ago, Emperor of the Titan Squid said:
A ship with its own armaments, which is equipped with its own propulsion system, and can stage attacks with out outside help. so, not missiles or aircraft carriers.
That's a good start. Missiles, drones and Autonomous Kill Vehicles should be kept onboard thin-skin carriers.
The best propulsion system for a "battleship" is obviously the Orion nuclear pulse drive. Immediately we get a worked historical example - 3 x 127 mm, a few hundred city-buster reentry vehicles...
I also suggest Niven-Purnelle-style x-ray laser "fascii" pumped by the drive explosions, alongside multiple radial railgun mounts as rapid-fire weapons for close range (100-1000 km) and area denial barrages; a mixture of CASABA-HOWITZER shaped nuclear charges and high-frequency lasers for inner point defense.
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4 hours ago, kiwi1960 said:
Well.... in the old days, a B52 took off and air launched an x15 rocket plane... if they had tweaked it and made it space worthy, I reckon it could have reached orbit.. not that it could have done much once there though.
Doubtful. It's need a whole lot more dV.
4 hours ago, kiwi1960 said:And of course, there is a rumour that they are working on one now armed with lasers.... that is, its its not already reality.
So they're half a century behind the Soviet Union. Again.
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1 minute ago, linkxsc said:
Well the shape of the craft is futureistic. And though it might be lacking in lift. Isnt wholly an impossible design.
Descriptions tied to it however.
Much more believeable than any nuclear aircraft. Would a a nuchlear powered container ship or something.
Nuclear-powered lighter-aboard/container icebreaker-class ship? Done. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevmorput
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2 minutes ago, The Raging Sandwich said:
Most of the solar systems I've created aren't downright wierd and rediculous as one might think. Most of the planets I've created are fairly normal!
Well, I wasn't quoting you, was I? I'm just all too aware of the high risk of slipping into this. For instance, when I developed five factions, one's from Earth, one are Earth rogues who signed a treaty on Kapteyn b, one comes from a halo subdwarf, one suffer from a 3.12 time dilation factor due to a Kerr-metric black hole primary, and the incomplete one get a loose binary sun and crimson oceans of ammonia-contaminated CS2.
So do NASA use gold foil to protect their equipment?
in Science & Spaceflight
Posted
Copper and bronze see plenty of use in rocketry; not only for electric conductivity, but don't forget heat conductivity.
Also, speaking about unexpected colours... those are bronze: