Dave Angel

OK, looks like someone is keeping this alive... https://github.com/Tidal-Stream/ProceduralParts

Hi, I used to use procedural parts for nose cones a while ago, and, with the chance to boot up KSP over the holidays, i see the old procedural parts mod no longer works, and with some searching, looks like its not been maintained for a while. Does anybody know of a mod that has procedural nose cones in it that works with 1.6? Many thanks Dave

I think there was a plan to add a rotating module to the ISS called the Nautilus-X, but it got canned - as most of the experiments planned relied on zero-g conditions it was seen as an expensive option.

OK, should have expected that, but i did say future technologies... Some good points though that will send me back to the drawing board. ..Yes your right, looked this up, and your right, Looks like 2RPM is 'safe', so thats a 200M ring. Guess 0.2g will have to do!

I’m a fan of the Near-Future and interstellar mods, and while reading about the proposed second generation EMdrives, my thoughts turned to a re-usable craft, taking advantage of existing and emerging technologies. With KSP, you are effectively limited to rockets and spaceplanes, although, should certain techs evolve, then there is a strong argument for a saucer. The saucer shape accommodates a centrifuge quite nicely in a SSTO form factor, and whilst our Kerbals don’t care about the long-term effects of zero-g, it would surely be a concern of any future astronauts. I’ve started to conceptualise then a craft that would utilise emerging technologies to see what the art of the soon to be feasible is and pugged them together into a build. These technologies should mature over the next few decades, justifying the use of optimistic values. As KSP doesn’t model saucers well, this will probably end up as a more or less prebuilt craft, with maybe a few connections for things like docking ports, a hanger space and surface mount equipment. I will share the .blend file if anyone wants to have their own take on this or move it forward. Propulsion Primary Propulsion System Four second generation EMDrives housed in gimbled mounts provides the primary thrust for the craft. Shawyer claims the second-generation drive, using super conducting microwave cavities should be able to produce 30kN/kW, or 1KW of power would produce 3 tonnes of thrust. Assuming the flyer weighs around 100 tonnes, 70Kw of power would be ample to accelerate the craft at around twice gravity. If 25KW was provided to each gimbled mount Direct Nuclear Turbojet The basic principle of the nuclear turbojet is that intake air is taken in, and instead of being mixed with fuel and ignited, its simply superheated by a nuclear reaction, excited and exhausted out the back of the craft. Our craft uses a fusion reactor, who’s operating temperature is north of 100 million degrees Celsius, giving us the opportunity for some cheap thrust where its most needed; with the atmosphere. RCS Without traditional control surfaces, RCS will be needed for all phases of the mission. The gimbled main drives will of course provide a lot of the manoeuvrability needed. Gravity Wheel Extended missions in zero gravity lead to muscle and bone wastage, along with a host of other health issues, so providing simulated gravity in any craft designed for prolonged endurance is advantageous. As real gravity would require so much mass that the TWR would be somewhat adversely affected, other than constant acceleration the only current option available is a centrifuge. The saucer shape is to accommodate a 10M radius torus, which contains the main quarters of the craft which can not only rotate around the centre at a steady 9RPM to simulate 1g, but can also be stopped and rotated by 90 degrees in the transverse access to that when operating in normal gravities the crew can walk around normally. The gravity wheel will use magnetic suspension to reduce friction and in turn the power and heat generation as a result of rotating the cabins. Reactor A small Nuclear Fusion Tokamak reactor producing around 500MWh will provide power to the craft, Essentially, there are two competing designs for fusion generators; Stellerators and Tokamaks. Whether Stellerators or Tokamaks become the preferred mechanism for fusion, the process and output will be similar. Tokamaks require super conducting magnets, and as we are banking on that technology for our primary propulsion system, we will plump for this option. Current achievements in fusion use two isotopes of hydrogen; Deuterium; a naturally occurring isotope found in 0.0115% of natural hydrogen and tritium, which is virtually non-existent in the natural world because it is unstable and decays with a half-life of 12.3 years. Whilst Tritium can be created from lithium, for this process we will assume that advances are made and Deuterium- Deuterium fusion is achievable within our reactor. Per Kilogram, Deuterium produces 8.42 × 1014 joules considering the efficiency of the reactor, the consumption rates specified by the team working on the ITEL Tokamak reactor, running at 500KWh would take around 125Kgs of fuel a year. Thermal Systems Thermal control systems are one of the more challenging aspects of the craft. Cooling is not just required for running the propulsion systems and reactor; both of which requiring lower temperatures associated with super conductivity, but also if maximum reuse is to be desired, ablation is not a suitable mechanism for re-entry heat control. Current active cooling systems pump ammonia around conditioned systems and utilizing radiators to dump the heat into space. Essentially, other than refinements such as piezoelectric pumps, and designs to reduce re-entry thermal effects are only paths currently open to us. Oxygen Scrubbers To create oxygen from carbon dioxide you need photosynthesis which needs trees, however its often said that while the last 50 years have been the period of progress for computing and electronics, the next 50 will be for genetic engineering. Craig Ventnor has proposed genetically engineering bacteria to be super-efficient at this process, and given the proposed timeline of the flyer it would be fair to assume that, along with other duration extending systems like water purification, this technology would be incorporated into the design – with used air being pumped through tanks of algae-like genetically engineered protozoa, and producing nice clean breathable. Mission Profile The following mission profiles would fit our craft. · Transportation The movement of people and materials to and between bodies · Resource Gathering Collection of rare and desirable resources from Space or from other astral bodies · Exploration Travel to distant bodies, and utilizing scientific equipment or launching probes to this effect. All essentially require the use of a cargo bay, so we will incorporate one into the centre of our craft, which could contain raw materials, a rover for surface ISRU\G or other payload. WIP So I've started the model, with the saucer shape and nacelles for the EMDrives and shock cone at the top for the turbojet, leaving a large area underneath for the rover hanger. Image here... https://ibb.co/je0JLv

Ahh, i see it was depreciated in v2.2 - grabbed it from an old version. Ta.

This is a great mod. I seam to have lost the cargo lift that fitted inside the ventricle bays, any idea how to get it? Thanks Dave

@ziw Thanks for that. Its bizarre, I've got the content of your 1.0.2 IR sequencer in the magicSmokeIndustries folder ontop of a 2.0.7 IR install - do i have do anything else? Edit... Re-installed again and it started working, @ziw thanks ever so much for your help (and your mod) KR Dave

Thanks Ziw. Heres the log..

Thanks Ziw. Heres the log..

Thanks Ziw. Got the auto strut disabled now, thank you. Not seing the sequencer icon appearing though even after i add a new part - is there anything else i should try?

Hi, I've been struggling ever since 1.2... Can someone please help with a couple of issues please:- 1) None of my IR works, and I'm pretty sure its because I need to disable auto strutting, but for the devil of me i don't know how - can someone please point me in the right direction. 2) No matter what order i install packs in, i can't get the icon up for the sequencer, please help Thanks, Dave

Keep hearing about adding autostruts with a couple of clicks in 1.2 Beta, can anybody tell me how to do that please?

Chasing the dawn with my Kandromeda class shuttle 'Dawn of September'

I'd love to see the ability to set the position, root and orientation of a part, relative to the craft root. How many times do you build something in the SPH to discover in orbit above Duna you've actually attached something to the wrong part, or the alignment is off by .1 degrees and you are bouncing to your doom down the runway. There are mods to display the orientation numerically, but not to set it, and AFAIK nothing to change its position. My problems were compounded when i built a twin hulled space plane, for which the symmetry does not work, so i had to build a hull, complete with fins etc, duplicate the part, apply it to the hull, use a mod to remove the symmetry, delete parts that are no longer needed to be mirrored and then attach everything to the craft root. Not only a nightmare, but impossible to adjust anything as you cannot make the adjustments match on each side of the craft.