maccollo

Welcome to the KSP forums =D Stock alike performance used to be quite managable in RSS. You could push payload fractions of about 2-3%. After the ISP nerf bat that dropped to 1%. Anyways, real fuels is required for this mod to work. The latest version of RF introduced changes that made the thrust curve not work, so the boosters burn out faster than they should. I have a fix that I will release tomorrow-ish. Also, since I realized that the F9 cores could work as boosters with the Merlin thrust increase I'm also going to make a special made decouples that can hold two F9s on each side of the SLS. This configuration can throw 60 tonnes to TLI! Screw the dark knight boosters, this is where it's at!

I put 4 full thrust F9 cores on the SLS.

Looked around for the max renetry velocity velocity of Orion, but I couldn't find anything substantive. I do remember that this was a thing that was discussed back about the Inspiration Mars plan, but that trajectory wasn't any Mars return trajectory. A low energy transfer from Mars to Earth will get you reentry velocities around 11.5 km/s-+ a few 100 m/s depending on the transfer window, while the Inspiration Mars trajectory resulted in reentry velocities of 14.2 km/s. That's like coming back from Jupiter. Since the heating rates go up by the cube of the velocity this is way way worse.

Is there some kind of special gravity calculation that can approximate the trajectory inside an L point? You couldn't use the standard laws of gravity, cuz then spacecraft could be flung to ludicrous speeds if you just hit the right spot in the center. You could also exploit that for crazy gravity assists.

Tried to delete the chase and rebuild it, but that didn't work either. Anyway, here it is.. Edit* Appears I forgot to add the thrust curve resource line back in. it works now =D MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines configuration = Ares1_5Seg modded = false CONFIG { name = Ares1_5Seg maxThrust = 17885.99 heatProduction = 100 PROPELLANT { name = PBAN ratio = 1 DrawGauge = True } atmosphereCurve { key = 0 268 key = 1 242 } thrustCurve { key = 0.99986 0.950 key = 0.9887 0.961 key = 0.97757 0.961 key = 0.96646 0.961 key = 0.95535 0.963 key = 0.94419 0.97 key = 0.93296 0.978 key = 0.92167 0.985 key = 0.91034 0.991 key = 0.89901 0.994 key = 0.88768 0.996 key = 0.87632 1 key = 0.86499 1 key = 0.85368 1 key = 0.8424 1 key = 0.83114 1 key = 0.81993 0.998 key = 0.8088 0.993 key = 0.79778 0.985 key = 0.78689 0.976 key = 0.77616 0.963 key = 0.76566 0.945 key = 0.75529 0.935 key = 0.74509 0.922 key = 0.73504 0.911 key = 0.72512 0.9 key = 0.71535 0.889 key = 0.70576 0.874 key = 0.69632 0.863 key = 0.68703 0.85 key = 0.67789 0.839 key = 0.66888 0.828 key = 0.65998 0.819 key = 0.65127 0.804 key = 0.64267 0.795 key = 0.63414 0.791 key = 0.62576 0.778 key = 0.61749 0.769 key = 0.60936 0.758 key = 0.60131 0.752 key = 0.59336 0.745 key = 0.58546 0.741 key = 0.5777 0.73 key = 0.57002 0.724 key = 0.56247 0.713 key = 0.55505 0.702 key = 0.54772 0.695 key = 0.54047 0.689 key = 0.53328 0.684 key = 0.52613 0.682 key = 0.51902 0.68 key = 0.51187 0.684 key = 0.5047 0.689 key = 0.49749 0.693 key = 0.49025 0.697 key = 0.48299 0.702 key = 0.47569 0.706 key = 0.46834 0.712 key = 0.46091 0.721 key = 0.45344 0.728 key = 0.44595 0.73 key = 0.43839 0.738 key = 0.43078 0.745 key = 0.4231 0.753 key = 0.41539 0.758 key = 0.40765 0.762 key = 0.39986 0.769 key = 0.39202 0.775 key = 0.38412 0.782 key = 0.3762 0.786 key = 0.36825 0.79 key = 0.36024 0.797 key = 0.35218 0.801 key = 0.34408 0.805 key = 0.33592 0.812 key = 0.32768 0.818 key = 0.31941 0.823 key = 0.31109 0.827 key = 0.30277 0.827 key = 0.29443 0.829 key = 0.28609 0.829 key = 0.27775 0.829 key = 0.26944 0.827 key = 0.26116 0.823 key = 0.25298 0.814 key = 0.24486 0.807 key = 0.23682 0.799 key = 0.22886 0.792 key = 0.22098 0.783 key = 0.21316 0.777 key = 0.20544 0.768 key = 0.19782 0.757 key = 0.19032 0.746 key = 0.1829 0.738 key = 0.17559 0.727 key = 0.16839 0.716 key = 0.16132 0.703 key = 0.15433 0.694 key = 0.14746 0.683 key = 0.14066 0.677 key = 0.13389 0.672 key = 0.12715 0.67 key = 0.12046 0.666 key = 0.11382 0.659 key = 0.10726 0.653 key = 0.10078 0.644 key = 0.09437 0.638 key = 0.08805 0.629 key = 0.08179 0.622 key = 0.07559 0.616 key = 0.06949 0.607 key = 0.06347 0.598 key = 0.05754 0.59 key = 0.05176 0.574 key = 0.04608 0.566 key = 0.04052 0.553 key = 0.03507 0.542 key = 0.02977 0.527 key = 0.0247 0.505 key = 0.0199 0.477 key = 0.01557 0.431 key = 0.01218 0.337 key = 0.00959 0.257 key = 0.00762 0.196 key = 0.00593 0.168 key = 0.00465 0.127 key = 0.00371 0.094 key = 0.00294 0.077 key = 0.00236 0.057 key = 0.00187 0.048 key = 0.00147 0.04 key = 0.00114 0.033 key = 0.00087 0.027 key = 0.00065 0.022 key = 0.00047 0.018 key = 0.00033 0.014 key = 0.00022 0.011 key = 0.00013 0.009 key = 0.00006 0.007 key = 0.00001 0.005 } } }

Maybe, maybe not.

I tried to change it to ModuleEngineRF as you suggested. No change ModuleEnginesFX has been in there since I added the part, and it has worked fine until right now when I updated real fuels.

I'm going mad trying to get the thrust curve stuff to work. It was working before, and then I updated to the lastest version of real fuels, and now it doesn't work. Besides the engine config name it's an exact copy of the config used for the same booster in realism overhaul, and that works fine, but my booster doesn't. I just can't figure it out. PART { name = SLS_b1_SRB module = Part author = Maccollo MODEL { model = SpiceLaunchSystem/parts/5segmentBooster/AKT_5-segmentBooster scale = 1.0, 1.0, 1.0 } scale = 1.0 rescaleFactor = 1.0 node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -23.8, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 3 node_stack_top = 0.0, 23.385, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 3 node_stack_middle = 0.0, -18.0, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 3 node_attach = -1.85, -18.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 3 attachRules = 1,1,1,1,0 TechRequired = start entryCost = 525 cost = 525 category = Propulsion subcategory = 0 title = 5 segment AKT booster manufacturer = AKT description = five segmented version of the STS solid rocket. orginally flown on the cancelled Ares 1 rocket it is now a stop-gap booster to be used with the SLS. mass = 100 dragModelType = default maximum_drag = 0.20 minimum_drag = 0.15 angularDrag = 2 crashTolerance = 10 maxTemp = 3400 stagingIcon = SOLID_BOOSTER bulkheadProfiles = size3, srf EFFECTS { running_closed { AUDIO { channel = Ship clip = SpiceLaunchSystem/sound/boosterLoop volume = 0.0 0.0 volume = 5.0 5.0 pitch = 0.0 0.2 pitch = 1.0 1.0 loop = true } MODEL_MULTI_PARTICLE { modelName = Squad/FX/SRB_Large transformName = engineFX emission = 0.0 0.0 emission = 0.05 0.0 emission = 0.075 0.25 emission = 1.0 1.25 speed = 0.0 0.5 speed = 1.0 1.2 } } engage { AUDIO { channel = Ship clip = SpiceLaunchSystem/sound/boosterStart volume = 1.0 pitch = 1.0 loop = false } } flameout { PREFAB_PARTICLE { prefabName = fx_exhaustSparks_flameout_2 transformName = thrustTransform oneShot = true } AUDIO { channel = Ship clip = sound_explosion_low volume = 1.0 pitch = 2.0 loop = false } } } MODULE { name = ModuleEnginesFX engineID = 5SSRB powerEffectName = running_closed thrustVectorTransformName = thrustTransform exhaustDamage = True ignitionThreshold = 0.1 allowShutdown = False throttleLocked = True useEngineResponseTime = True engineAccelerationSpeed = 8.0 minThrust = 0 maxThrust = 17885.99 heatProduction = 100 fxOffset = 0, 0, 0.0 EngineType = SolidBooster atmosphereCurve { key = 0 268 key = 1 242 key = 7 0.002 } } MODULE { name = ModuleGimbal gimbalTransformName = thrustTransform gimbalRange = 0.5 } MODULE { name = ModuleFuelTanks volume = 365487 basemass = -1 type = PBAN } MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines configuration = Ares1_5Seg modded = false CONFIG { name = Ares1_5Seg maxThrust = 17885.99 heatProduction = 100 PROPELLANT { name = PBAN ratio = 1 DrawGauge = True } atmosphereCurve { key = 0 268 key = 1 242 } curveResource = PBAN thrustCurve { key = 0.99986 0.950 key = 0.9887 0.961 key = 0.97757 0.961 key = 0.96646 0.961 key = 0.95535 0.963 key = 0.94419 0.97 key = 0.93296 0.978 key = 0.92167 0.985 key = 0.91034 0.991 key = 0.89901 0.994 key = 0.88768 0.996 key = 0.87632 1 key = 0.86499 1 key = 0.85368 1 key = 0.8424 1 key = 0.83114 1 key = 0.81993 0.998 key = 0.8088 0.993 key = 0.79778 0.985 key = 0.78689 0.976 key = 0.77616 0.963 key = 0.76566 0.945 key = 0.75529 0.935 key = 0.74509 0.922 key = 0.73504 0.911 key = 0.72512 0.9 key = 0.71535 0.889 key = 0.70576 0.874 key = 0.69632 0.863 key = 0.68703 0.85 key = 0.67789 0.839 key = 0.66888 0.828 key = 0.65998 0.819 key = 0.65127 0.804 key = 0.64267 0.795 key = 0.63414 0.791 key = 0.62576 0.778 key = 0.61749 0.769 key = 0.60936 0.758 key = 0.60131 0.752 key = 0.59336 0.745 key = 0.58546 0.741 key = 0.5777 0.73 key = 0.57002 0.724 key = 0.56247 0.713 key = 0.55505 0.702 key = 0.54772 0.695 key = 0.54047 0.689 key = 0.53328 0.684 key = 0.52613 0.682 key = 0.51902 0.68 key = 0.51187 0.684 key = 0.5047 0.689 key = 0.49749 0.693 key = 0.49025 0.697 key = 0.48299 0.702 key = 0.47569 0.706 key = 0.46834 0.712 key = 0.46091 0.721 key = 0.45344 0.728 key = 0.44595 0.73 key = 0.43839 0.738 key = 0.43078 0.745 key = 0.4231 0.753 key = 0.41539 0.758 key = 0.40765 0.762 key = 0.39986 0.769 key = 0.39202 0.775 key = 0.38412 0.782 key = 0.3762 0.786 key = 0.36825 0.79 key = 0.36024 0.797 key = 0.35218 0.801 key = 0.34408 0.805 key = 0.33592 0.812 key = 0.32768 0.818 key = 0.31941 0.823 key = 0.31109 0.827 key = 0.30277 0.827 key = 0.29443 0.829 key = 0.28609 0.829 key = 0.27775 0.829 key = 0.26944 0.827 key = 0.26116 0.823 key = 0.25298 0.814 key = 0.24486 0.807 key = 0.23682 0.799 key = 0.22886 0.792 key = 0.22098 0.783 key = 0.21316 0.777 key = 0.20544 0.768 key = 0.19782 0.757 key = 0.19032 0.746 key = 0.1829 0.738 key = 0.17559 0.727 key = 0.16839 0.716 key = 0.16132 0.703 key = 0.15433 0.694 key = 0.14746 0.683 key = 0.14066 0.677 key = 0.13389 0.672 key = 0.12715 0.67 key = 0.12046 0.666 key = 0.11382 0.659 key = 0.10726 0.653 key = 0.10078 0.644 key = 0.09437 0.638 key = 0.08805 0.629 key = 0.08179 0.622 key = 0.07559 0.616 key = 0.06949 0.607 key = 0.06347 0.598 key = 0.05754 0.59 key = 0.05176 0.574 key = 0.04608 0.566 key = 0.04052 0.553 key = 0.03507 0.542 key = 0.02977 0.527 key = 0.0247 0.505 key = 0.0199 0.477 key = 0.01557 0.431 key = 0.01218 0.337 key = 0.00959 0.257 key = 0.00762 0.196 key = 0.00593 0.168 key = 0.00465 0.127 key = 0.00371 0.094 key = 0.00294 0.077 key = 0.00236 0.057 key = 0.00187 0.048 key = 0.00147 0.04 key = 0.00114 0.033 key = 0.00087 0.027 key = 0.00065 0.022 key = 0.00047 0.018 key = 0.00033 0.014 key = 0.00022 0.011 key = 0.00013 0.009 key = 0.00006 0.007 key = 0.00001 0.005 } } } }

I will go out on a limb and say it will not be capable of doing that. SpaceX has upped the mass of the F9 on their website to 540 tonnes (a tonne is always a metric ton btw), so I assume the 1400 tonne mass for the FH also reflects the new mass with the 1.2 F9 components. If so then it would have a payload fraction of 4.76%. It's more probable that this increase in performance allows the falcon heavy to meet the 50 tonne target to begin with.

Nitrates have been found in both wind carried dust samples and scooped sample analysis. I have no idea if the concentrations are high enough to be useful. I thought "Someone must have tried to do this", and using google I also found that study. On the bright side the crops did very well in the Martian simulant. But then on the other hand they didn't include perchlorates. It's not part of their soil composition and the study doesn't address it's omission, which seems kind of odd given that it was published in 2014.

If someone wants to do it I'm ok with it. This mod being for RO just means I don't intend to do it myself. One problem with scaling this for stock is that the diameters of the parts do not match standard sizes. If you just scale the size down by around 65% upper diameter of the payload adapter and the boosters will at least match fairly closely at 3.75 and 2.5 meters, but the core will be 5.5 meters. It's not designed to be a modular set though, so maybe it doesn't matter. Anyway, now I have issues with the fairings again. I noticed they didn't fire when the the throttle was cut. I set the throttle to be locked in the config and that sorted that issue, but now the fairing separation has turned a bit more kerbal O_o

The controller is new, the fuel inlet pressure is 50% higher higher due to the core tank being taller than the shuttle ET, and peak G being higher. The fuel is cooler when it reaches the engines due to the path from the tank to the engines being more efficient than on the shuttle. They actually had to install heaters to heat up the fuel before letting it into the engines. The thrust will be higher (potentially up to 111%), and all the changes that come with that. It also wouldn't surprise me if the thrust profile was different. *ninja'd Anyway, the RS25 has been tested several times this year, but I there seemed to be a lot more attention given to this particular test. Is there something special about this particular test? ** Also the thermal environment is different and they applied some new ablative insulation to the nozzles.

Technically all you need is real fuels, although it actually perform quite poorly in the stock system because the TWR drops so much when you throw huge payloads on it.

Started working on the dark knights. In real life I would actually expect them to be almost entirely white due to thermal considerations. Can't have gigantic sections of black baking in the Florida sunlight. Still, it has to look different than the ares booster.

New version with EUS textures is up!

This is the lightest one I managed to build. 90 tonnes or so at atmospheric entry, 60 something at take off. Unfortunately I no longer have the craft file, but you can see how it's built.

Well yeah, some ascent profiles are more efficient than others. But you have to be able to account for the difference. In the case of the a bieleptical transfer vs a Hohnmann transfer the difference will still be accounted for in the gravity losses. It doesn't matter. If the orbit ends up elliptical then you will loose or gain velocity as you gain or loose altitude, gravity losses account for this. What I'm trying to get at is that this is a more useful and simple way of dealing with the problem of delta V losses. Gravity losses are simply reduced to change in velocity as a result of altitude and starting velocity, cosine losses are always just that. Gravity losses are no articulately mixed in with steering losses even if is done to avoid smashing into the planet. When added together with drag losses the sum will ways account for the difference between your current velocity and spent delta V, so it doesn't stop being relevant the moment you cut the engine. That article defines gravity losses to include aerodynamic drag.

Absolutely. If it didn't then steering + gravity + drag losses would not account for the difference between deltaV expended and final velocity. Let's say you launch on from Mun is KSP. On our first attempt we do an impulse acceleration of 578 m/s straight towards the horizon (and we don't hit any mountains). This gives us an apoapsis of about 25 km. When we arive at apoptosis we perform a 14 m/s burn to circularise. We spent a total of 592 m/s and our final velocity is 538 m/s On our second attempt we launch at a 45 degree angle. The first burn is 334 m/s, and the circulation burn is 320 m/s. So we spent 654 m/s of delta V, and our velocity 538 m/s. So the first ascent cost 62 m/s less than the second one. Now if we use gravity losses the way you define it, and we want to account for the difference between our spent deltaV and final velocity using gravity losses, steering losses and drag losses, then there is no way to explain this difference. If you define gravity losses to simply be velocity that is exchanged for potential energy then not only can we account for the losses in this ascent, we can do it for any ascent and also for any operations that we perform after getting to orbit. Current will equal delta V spent + initial velocity - gravity losses - steering losses - drag losses, and this will always be the case as long as we don't cross into another SOI. Like in this video between 1:07 and 1:40 https://youtu.be/Hmkxg5etEtE?t=1m7s The trajectory isn't perfectly flat, but let's say it is. Is this steering losses or gravity losses? They way I see it and they way mechjeb calculates it, it isn't gravity losses. It's simply steering losses. The point is that if you can't do that then the whole concept is worthless, because you can't use it to calculate your actual losses.

Threw some textures onto the EUS

This seems very limiting, because then you can't use deltaV minus drag, gravity losses and steering losses to calculate your current velocity at any arbitrary point of an orbit. Also what happens if you have a cruise phase during an ascent, and then circularise 70 km higher? Does the velocity lost during this phase not count? After all it's just an orbit like any other, and no total energy losses are occurring. If it doesn't count then final velocity plus gravity, drag and steering losses wont match total delta V expended. If it does count then why does it stop counting once you have an orbit that doesn't intersect the ground? This way of defining gravity losses also means that gravity losses can be steering losses and vise versa, like when you are doing a constant altitude ascent. I like to think of in the same way that mechjeb shows it. Gravity losses is velocity that is lost due to kinetic energy being exchanged for potential energy when ascending a gravity well. Steering losses are cosine losses.

Gravity losses do not stop once you shut down the engine. It is simply the velocity you loose as you ascend a gravity well. If you're falling down to periapsis you get negative gravity losses.

Everything is more or less functional now. The boosters don't have the decoupler rings or the septratrons modeled into them, The CMES Orion adapter works and has no problem hauling cargo while time accelerating through the launch. New version will be released shortly. In the meantime:

Trying to model the orion USA adapter, and I've realized that the way this thing is designed is going to be highly important. The highlighted object in the image below is the fairing shroud that the Orion rests on top of with the service module inside the smaller shroud. I'm assuming this thing is most likely going to be load bearing, holding the 20 tonne Orion on top of it... And it's tall. Regular fairings aren't exactly light, so the mass is going to be substantial. Unless the load can be shared with the payload so that it can be ditched after core burn out it would seem like it's really going to eat into payload margins. *edit Oh well, got it working kind of. In this example there is nothing inside the cargo fairing, and with KSP physics being what it is, it is possible to ditch the fairings and have Orion float 9 meters above the EUS. The idea is to attach the cargo to the bottom one of the two attachment nodes, and then conect it to the Orion with struts so that it at least appears as if the Orion is connected.

Not sure what scaled space refers to but I did a fresh install of 1.04, added RSS RVE and active texture management. Then each time before launching I bring up the RVE menu and hit apply.

Decided I was gonna try to get to orbit in RSS using raster prop equipped IVA. I'm evidently terrible at multitasking, because I almost flipped the rocket several times trying to look for the MET timer in the screens.