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TheEpicSquared

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    Epsilon Aerospace Inc. - Albatross 1 Rocket Flight 1 Successful (Submit a payload!)

    in KSP1 Mission Reports

    Posted · Edited by TheEpicSquared

    Welcome to Epsilon Aerospace
    The rocket company that will change spaceflight

    Hello everyone! With this mission report, I am trying to simulate the operations of real space companies (SpaceX in particular, because, y'know... everyone loves SpaceX)!

    I got the idea from @Kerbiter's successful, but now "dead" (:() SpaceY Inc thread, and @The Raging Sandwich's unfortunately less successful (:() Commercial Launching thread, both of which were trying to achieve the same goal: emulate a real life space company.

    And today, I too will be attempting this, with *drum roll*...

     

    EPSILON AEROSPACE
    (Flag coming soon)

    Epsilon Aerospace is a newly founded space company, with the eventual goal of making Kerbalkind an interplanetary species, and making space as accessible as possible.

    One key aspect necessary for these aims is low launch costs: and Epsilon Aerospace is planning to achieve that through reusability. Yes, you heard right, reusing rockets.

    Speaking of rockets, Epsilon Aerospace is currently developing their first rocket, an orbital-class launcher named the Albatross 1.

    The Albatross 1 is in the final stages of development, with the first and second stages of Flight Item 1 (FI1) currently being assembled at Epsilon Aerospace's assembly and testing facility in the remote countryside of Gael (yes, I'm doing this with GPP). Below is the first (and only, as of yet) hyper-realistic computer image of the Albatross 1:adWedyp.png

    Albatross 1 Launch Vehicle

    Spoiler

    Detailed vehicle description

    Spoiler

    First stage:
    The Albatross 1's first stage is powered by a single KW Rocketry Maverick-1D twin-nozzle engine, capable of generating sufficient thrust to lift the launcher off the ground. Once the first stage finishes its job, it will be detached from the second stage and will parachute down into the ocean, where recovery teams will recover the booster and bring it back to shore for refurbishment, testing, and hopefully reuse. The stage employs a combination of the Maverick-1D's gimbal, and fins on the bottom of the rocket, for control. These fins are also used to keep the rocket on a stable trajectory as it falls back down to Gael while waiting for the parachutes to deploy. There will be a total of five cameras on the first stage: two pointing downwards, two pointing upwards, and one pointing upwards inside the interstage.  

     

    Second stage:
    The second stage powerplant is the vacuum-optimized KW Rocketry Vesta VR-1, capable of achieving the efficiency needed to put a payload into orbit. The second stage uses the Vesta's gimbaling to steer when the engine is producing thrust, and 12 Place-Anywhere-7 Linear RCS Ports for orienting the rocket when the Vesta is not active. A further two of these RCS ports are used as ullage motors and for completing orbit for particularly massive payloads. Depending on the amount of usable propellant left after the payload has been successfully  deployed, the second stage may be deorbited to keep space debris as a minimum.The second stage will also be equipped with five cameras: two pointing downwards, two pointing upwards, and one pointing upwards inside the fairing.

     

    Payload:
    The maximum payload capacity for the Albatross 1 is currently 1.350 tons to a 150km circular orbit. This capacity will be improved in the future with more refined versions of the Albatross 1. When carrying its maximum payload, the second stage will burn all of its propellant before reaching a stable orbit. This is planned, and the two monopropellant-powered ullage motors will finish the burn, leaving an ample amount of monopropellant (~50 units, according to computer simulations) for on-orbit corrections. This ensures the safe, on-target delivery of any satellite in the Albatross 1's mass class.
    Future versions of the Albatross 1 will contain a custom-made multi-satellite deployer, allowing for multiple satellites to be launched in one go.

    Vehicle statistics

    Spoiler

    Mass and dimensions
    Mass - 18.981 tons
    Height - 21.3 meters
    Width - 2.9 meters
    Length - 2.9 meters

    Miscellaneous
    Part count - 51

    Vehicle performance (more detailed stats to come shortly)
    First stage (only sea level stats as this is a first stage)
    TWR (MAX) Sea level - 1.77 (3.63)
    Delta-V Sea level - 1,965 m/s
    Second stage (only vacuum stats as this is a second stage)
    TWR (MAX) Vacuum - I forgot to check, will be shown here tomorrow
    Delta-V Vacuum - I forgot to check, will be shown here tomorrow
    Complete rocket
    Delta-V Sea level - 3,663 m/s
    Delta-V Vacuum - I forgot to check, will be shown here tomorrow

     

    Payload submission requirements + form (each and every payload will be launched as long as it follows the requirements)

    Spoiler

    Want to submit a payload?

    Below are the payload requirements:

    Spoiler

    Payload requirements

    • Must be below or equal to the maximum payload capacity of the rocket (1.350 tons for the Albatross 1)
    • Must be unmanned (for now, may change later)
    • Mods used for payload must be balanced (i.e. no warp drives, antimatter propulsion, things like that)
    • No life-support mods except Kerbalism may be used for payloads, as I'm using Kerbalism and one life support system is hectic enough as it is
    • No mods that change fuel systems are allowed (eg. RealFuels, EngineIgnitor, CryogenicEngines, etc)
    • Craft download link must be provided (KerbalX, Dropbox, etc)

    And below is the payload submission form:

    Spoiler

    Payload submission form (answer these questions and the payload will be launched)

    • Payload name?
    • Payload provider (your "company" name, eg. Epsilon Aerospace)?
    • Type of payload (scientific, exploratory, communication, etc)?
    • Payload mass?
    • Payload height?
    • Payload length?
    • Payload width?
    • Payload part count?
    • Is the payload stock or modded?
    • If it's modded, what mods?
    • Which body should it orbit (remember that I'm using Galileo's Planet Pack)?
    • Intended orbit (apoapsis, periapsis, inclination, any other orbital info)?
    • Short description of the payload?
    • Any other info about the payload you think I should know?

    Note that because I'm using Kerbalism, I might have to make small adjustments to a payload, for example switching out antennas for stronger ones, ading radiation protection, etc.

    Mods / addons used

    Spoiler

    Mod list will be here shortly, when I decide on which ones I need and which ones I don't.

     

    Thanks for reading this far, and why not submit a payload for me to launch to keep this thread growing! :) 

    Blue Origin Thread (merged)

    in Science & Spaceflight

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, tater said:

    All pre-shuttle US craft landed that way (on their backs, really). As do the Soviet/Russian capsules. Oh, and the Chinese. And BO's capsule will as well. So far, we have 1 example of people landing seated with their posteriors down, everyone else lands on the astronaut's back (reduced spinal compression in the case of a hard landing).

    And the Dragon V2.. and the Orion.. and the Starliner.. and the Russian Federation capsule..

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