mythic_fci

Nice! I now have a confirmation that I will be available from at LEAST 9:00pm EST (8:00am GMT+8 - my time) to a maximum of 11pm EST (10:00am my time) on weekends; I may be able to stretch it to 8:30pm EST (7:30am my time) to 12pm EST (11:00am my time), but I can't confirm if I'll be able to commit for that long. Therefore, if the launch is during that time period, you can confirm me as RSO for the mission. One question though - can people not on duty (ex. Booster, RSO, etc.) join the MC radio channel and just listen in? -FCI

Interesting... Do you have a link to the 70 ton payload you used? I've got an itch to give it a go. The KTS-3 should be able to lift it to perhaps 100-200km. Even clustered together with 8 per SRB, they proved too hard to control and didn't have a lot of thrust. Now, however, because I've done some major balancing on the Orbiter and the ET, I'll seriously consider SRBs for either KTS-4 or KTS-5

KTS-3 'Discovery' has now been released! This huge update contains a new wing and tail design, redesigned, lighter LRBs with tweaked seperatrons and less parts, a redone ET/Orbiter connection point for added structural stability, completely redone RCS for realism, aesthetics, and maneverability, new OMS pods which have more thrust and are much more balanced, and tweaked SSME positions for added stability, especially with payloads. New flight instructions have been posted in the OP. Get the new update [URL="http://kerbalx.com/fcisuperguy/KTS-3-Discovery"]HERE[/URL]! Also, I've reflown the STS Fuel Pod mission - the KTS-3 is now rated to carry 42 tons up to an altitude of 700+km! More could still be achieved when flown in the right hands... Here's the flight: [imgur]Sq0fc[/imgur] Have fun, and enjoy your flight! -FCI

What are "boosers"? ;) Anyway, nice shuttle! I'll be sure to give it a run and see how it performs.

Awww, how cute! Have some rep!

Since your post was a bit unclear, it seemed like you were using this thread to release your own shuttle; therefore, I apologize. I'd recommend changing the sentence "And I've got a new shuttle for you..." to "I've made a new spinoff of this shuttle for you..." or something like that.

Erm... I'd suggest making your own thread about this. Hijacking another person's thread with your own craft isn't considered very respectful.

So... is this challenge still on or is it on hiatus? ATM it seems like it's been abandoned after 1.0.5.

DLC's already planned to be added at some stage. I highly dislike the idea of DLC myself, however. When you pay for a game, you're supposed to be paying for everything it offers, instead of having to buy seperate packs to enhance functionality. Also, it might cause issues for crafts that claim to be "pure stock" when in fact they use DLC parts which may be unavaliable to others. I'd prefer a "donate" button for those who want to give more money to Squad.

Just found out the KTS-2 was featured on Spacecraft Friday! Thanks a lot for your support, everyone! Really keeps me going and gives me the motivation to do this stuff. EDIT: Just got 2 bars of rep, thanks to this amazing craft! Once again, thanks to all of you. As a reward, you're getting KTS-3 'Discovery' on a fast track

Wow... Never thought I'd see my craft featured on here when I opened this up. Thanks a lot for the feature! It took me far too long to balance that thing, and it feels good to know it paid off.

Very nice! Maybe add a claw or something to allow it to hang on to the sea floor, as well as MMUs filled with ballast and RCS to allow for Kerbal EVAs under water (for the base)? In other news, testing a prototype for the next incremental update for the KTS - Version 2A. It features a few fixes for issues found in V2, as well as having a few improvements I was trying to get working and couldn't (at least in time for the release).

Thanks a lot! Version 2A's on the way already, with numerous incremental improvements over the previous version, including a redone RCS system and better balancing regarding the boosters and the engines. EDIT: Here's two preview pics of KTS-2A's prototype. If you can guess the main improvements, you get to name her

Version 2 has been released! Responding to your comments, I've redone the wings and completely rebuilt the OMS pods. I've also changed the ET/Orbiter connection point (moved it down), as well as completely redoing the fuel flow in the ET; now, it drains correctly from the bottom-up. Finally (unrelated to the update), I've redone the OP, making it clearer and adding extra info.

The necro tho...

Very nice! I fully support this project, and will definitely download it once it's done.

Thanks! You guys really influenced my shuttle; if you look closely, mine has more than a passing resemblance to yours I'll do what I can to the wing to make it smoother-looking instead of looking like I cobbled it together on a Friday evening. Thanks for the offer, Inigma; however, TBH the reason I redesigned my wings was because I thought yours were too "blocky" compared to the real STS. I aimed for more "smoothness" with the double delta, which I almost achieved. I'll be releasing a KTS-1A which will feature new wings and possibly a bit more soon. EDIT: For some reason Imgur's deleted most of my captions on the demo flight. UGH. Since I was planning to push the limits of this thing, I'm going to be reuploading pics of a new demo flight soon.

Kerbal Transportation System VERSION 4 - 'Atlantis' "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." After the demise of most older shuttles after the 1.0.5 update, I took it upon myself to build a mostly-realistic shuttle that could perform better than anything else made while still being extremely easy to fly and needing a reasonable amount of parts (<300 was my goal). The original fuselage actually started off as a Buran analogue that I abandoned due to the CoL being way too far ahead of the CoM. I removed the original Mk3-based wings, rebalanced the fuselage, and designed a new composite wing based on pictures of the shuttle and Inigma's STS's composite wing. After a few simulated landing tests, I mated it with an external tank and two LRBs (liquid rocket boosters) to the shuttle - originally, I planned to use SRBs, but they proved inadequate for lifting any significant payload to orbit. After yet more dozens of test flights including RTLSs, TALs and ATOs, I finally managed to balance the Vector SSMEs and the LRB thrust as well as getting the correct fuel flow from the Shuttle, allowing it to lift Inigma's 42t fuel pod to a 550km circular orbit with around 500m/s of delta-v to spare. Thanks to Inigma, Westi, Naito, and Rune for their indirect yet huge contributions to this shuttle. It was their shuttles which I painstakingly dissassembled and put back together to understand how to get a shuttle analogue to work. Thanks to Squad for adding a new Vector engine and giving us 1.0.5, making the job of balancing this ship much easier (although I still went for perfection). Thanks to Speeding Mullet, who contributed greatly both directly and indirectly to the KTS-4 release of this shuttle - specifically, his Buran shuttle inspired the new wing and tail as well as the fuel cell system used. And finally, thanks to the brave men and women who flew the real Space Shuttle to orbit, deploying numerous satellites and aiding in the construction of both Mir and the ISS. Without you, we wouldn't know as much about space as we do today. Craft File Avaliable Here! (KerbalX) This orbiter is capable of ATO, TAL and ATO aborts with up to two engines out, speed and altitude at time of failure permitting. It is highly recommended to discard all payloads (or, if not possible, payload fuel) before landing. The payload demonstration flight album has been removed, pending a reflight due to changed flight characteristics. Flight Profile NOTE: The Shuttle comes with an empty cargo bay and full tanks. For lighter payloads, you can empty some of the fuel in the bottommost ET tank. LIGHT PAYLOADS 1. Activate SAS and ignite the SSMEs. 2. After the stack is stable after the "twang" (backwards sway) post-ignition, ignite the LRBs and away you go! 3. Roll the stack to a tail-down position at 85-90 degrees up 4. Pitch down to about 60 degrees up (30 degrees down from nose-up) by 20km (LRB seperation altitude). 5. At 40km, begin a gradual gravity turn to attain 0 degrees pitch by 50km. 6. At 50km, roll to a tail-up position and adjust your inclination/pitch as needed. 9. After achieving the desired apoapsis, shut down the SSMEs, seperate the ET and open the cargo bay doors. 10. Enjoy your flight! HEAVY PAYLOADS 1. Activate SAS and ignite the SSMEs. 2. After the stack is stable after the "twang" (backwards sway) post-ignition, ignite the LRBs and away you go! 3. Roll the stack to a tail-down position at 90 degrees up. 4. At 10km, press 'W' once to reset the SAS. 5. At 35km, begin a gradual gravity turn to attain 0 degrees pitch by 50km. 6. At 50km, roll to a tail-up position and adjust your inclination/pitch as needed. 7. After achieving the desired apoapsis or ET fuel depletion, shut down the SSMEs, seperate the ET and open the cargo bay doors. 8. If necessary, use the OMS to boost your apoapsis to your desired apoapsis. 9. Enjoy your flight! This shuttle is fully compatible with all subassemblies built for Inigma and Naito's shuttles, as well as all other payloads which fit in a CRG-100 Mk3 cargo bay. Feel free to use them if you wish. Stock Subassemblies EDO Pallet - Built by FCISuperGuy: Provides a LOT of extra d/v to lift those heavy payloads to high-inclination orbits! Attaches to the back of the cargo bay. STS Fuel Pod - Built by inigma: The heaviest STS payload around and an industry-wide lifting standard for shuttle payload capacity, this weighs in at 42 tons and has one orange tank and one yellow tank of RCS. Attaches to the back of the cargo bay. STS Operations Module - Built by inigma: Provides extra space on the middeck for 4 more Kerbals, as well as providing an ISS-style docking port and 2 MMUs for station construction work. Attaches to the front of the cargo bay. STS ComSats - Built by inigma: Mimic the STS-5 mission with this twin comsat subassembly. Attaches to the back of the cargo bay. STS Spacehab - Built by inigma: Flown on STS-107 for the first and last time. Now you can bring it home. Attaches to the rear of the cargo bay. STS-1 DFI Package - Built by FCISuperGuy: Mainly a cosmetic addon, this is a simple subassembly that is meant to look like the Development Flight Instrumentation package used on STS-1. It has a probe core and several scientific instruments, along with a few batteries. Inertial Upper Stage - Built by FCISuperGuy: This extra upper stage contains 3,881m/s (w/o payload) and can lift your communications probes to GSO or your Science! probe to other planets. TDRS Satellite - Built by FCISuperGuy: This communications probe is designed to be lifted to GSO on an Inertial Upper Stage. It has solar panels, RCS and (obviously) a communications antenna. Modded Subassemblies STS Service Module - Built by Inigma - Similar to the STS Operations Module, but has KIS containers, a KAS winch, and a remote arm. Attaches to the front of the cargo bay. Changelog v1 'Columbia: *First release! v2 'Challenger': *OMS pods redone *Wings redone *ET/SRB connection moved downwards for realism *ET fuel flow completely redone; fuel now flows from bottom-up v3 'Discovery' *Wings and tail completely redesigned for added control and lift, as well as aesthetics/realism *LRB engines completely redone to reduce part count and increase stability *LRB Seperatrons tweaked for better seperation *ET/OV connection moved for added structural stability *RCS redesigned for added realism, aesthetics, and maneuverability *OMS pods redesigned for maximum stability and increased thrust (helpful for heavy payloads) *SSMEs rebalanced for optimum performance w/ payload v4 'Atlantis' *Removed all ET SAS modules *New smoother ET tank *Brand new wing and tail with tail airbrakes *OMS engines rebalanced due to new CoM of Orbiter *RTGs removed in favor of using fuel cells (6-7 days of fuel avaliable) *RCS rebalanced for added stability when docking This spacecraft is dedicated to the brave men and women who perished in the tragic Challenger (STS-51L) and Columbia (STS-107) accidents, as well as to John Young and Robert Crippen who flew the first shuttle flight (STS-1) to orbit, pioneering a new era of space exploration. Ad astra per aspera (A rough road leads to the stars). Godspeed. Rest in peace.

I disagree. My shuttle just needs one or two light taps to get the trajectory back on track post-turn. It takes inspiration from Inigma's STS, and can lift 42t to 500+km. Pictures coming soon (when I release it on the forums soon).

I HIGHLY recommend a redesign. My tests with a modified STS-7E with Vectors, a reworked ET, and slightly modified SRB skirts (only cosmetic) get the Fuel Pod to 350km, and my own prototype shuttle (100% made by myself; ET and SRBs based on yours) can reach 512km with a quick OMS boost after ET-sep.

I vote for the Life-Size Shuttle and the Munbug. Also, should the STS-7E really be considered obsolete? I'm using it myself, and even though its payload capacity is reduced, it can still lift a sizeable payload to LKO.

Interesting... I've done some tests, and with my experimental STS-7E2 (only change is replacing the Skippers with Vectors), I can reach a max of 300km; theoretically, if some OMS fuel is used, it might be possible to get 320km. Reentry might be a little hairy though, considering that there would be very little RCS fuel left for attitude control. I'll see what I can do and report back.

I've replaced the Skippers with Vectors, and oh man do they work well. The payload capacity isn't substantially increased, but the maneuverability in the solid-fuel version is improved twofold.

Hmmm... If EECOM and RSO are full, I'll probably have time to do FIDO night shift - of course, once again, this is dependent on scheduling. One question, however - does the FIDO calculate all maneuvers by hand and pass on the details to both the FD and CAPCOM for relay to the astronauts? If not, what method is used to calculate burns/maneuvers? P/S: My time zone is GMT+8.

If we do this over a weekend, I should be able to commit to a "night-shift" EECOM role for a max of 6-8 hours. What time (GMT) will the launch most likely be around? Depending on schedule, I could act as RSO during the launch.