SFJackBauer

Something regarding the launch clamps - I dont know if it can help, but they behave perfectly if you launch from the runway instead of the launch pad.

The launch clamps problem have nothing to do with FAR, I don't know from where you guys managed to think it is. Ferram is working on a plugin completely unrelated to FAR, that helps create stronger connections between parts. That's all.

Brilliant designs! I will try them later.

No need - the Magellan is released! Instructions in first post.

I had one time being able to splashdown a capsule intact. Even though the chutes opened at their correct altitudes (using one drogue and three radials), the capsule continued to fall at ~150m/s until very close to the sea (50m), then it braked to 7m/s and splashed down. Couldn't reproduce it as in my next attempts the chutes always break off.

Oh God, I'm totally trying it. EDIT: Deadly Reentry, forgot to add heat shield. Command pod destroyed on reentry at 40km altitude, 3800m/s speed. EDIT2: Heat shield didn't changed the outcome.

That B9 cockpit is sturdy isn't? Lol @ the kerbals faces! Yeah the propulsion approach I've used for Andromeda does not leave much margin to error... but have you eventually gotten to orbit? I have not flown it in 0.22, should be no different than before though. If you follow the instructions to the letter, you should be able to. But hopefully Magellan will be easier to handle. I was tinkering with making a FAR-friendly version, but I see this is gonna take more time than expected. So I will release the non-FAR version first.

I don't even remember how I found this thread... but reading it made me want to download and use FAR immediately. Immediately.

I can only suggest to the mod creators to make the downsized textures default? I'm sure that a few of the complaints are from people that never noticed the "Textures_Reduced" folder inside the zip.

Its Links 2-3-4. I don't know of any. I have experimented with angling the nose like below, but the problem is the reference point for the entire craft, for every maneuver, ends up angled too.

Quoting myself as now with 4.0c and the reduced texture pack, KSP went back to 2.8GB in the main menu screen. So indeed it was the texture res. Managed to download from mediafire just fine.

"Broken" is an understatement For instance, I verified that if you want to disable completely a part, you have to remove not only the .cfg, but also the .mu and .mbm files since they still get loaded even if not referenced by anything. EDIT - Memory woes aside, this is a quality release! Love the landing gears, the hidden struts and the enclosed lights!

Let's see if this can explain the increase. I've loaded KSP without B9. Main screen appears with 2.4GB. Since with B9 3.3 it ends up in 2.8GB, that's a 400MB increase for 170 parts. Now, what are those 35 parts that increased 600MB?

Some measurements I did in my install (it has several other mods): B9 3.3 - KSP ends up in main screen with 2.8GB in Task Manager. B9 3.3 and PolecatEZ texture pack - KSP ends up in main screen with 2.6GB in Task Manager. B9 4.0 - KSP crashes as memory usages reaches 3.4GB So yeah... something is odd if the only thing changed was the format from PNG to TGA.

This is a step in the right direction. Whatever Squad did with the current tech tree is hopefully not set in stone. It makes zero sense a world where science progress from manned spacecrafts -> probes -> aircraft. I hope they give the parts progression a better meaning, considering the educational potential KSP has, and not just balancing them like potions in a MMORPG.

I appreciate the compliments! This is not intended as an exact replica in the looks sense, but more in the "spiritual" sense... if that makes any sense. Hmmm just used "sense" three times in a phrase, weird. I updated the first post with the first (yes - the first) reentry and landing attempt on it.

Hah, that's expected, I'm better at designing planes in KSP that looks good than ones that fly good... always learning though.

Yes, the SRBs variable thrust makes the transition smoother (and it makes them burn for longer also, helping the initial push). But the key here is the vectoring - these SRBs have 2 degrees of range while, for comparison, KW ones have 0.3. IRL the thrust curve in the shuttle SRBs was designed to relieve the vehicle of aerodynamic stress. The trimming was done with the gimbals on boosters and shuttle. Even then, it is still flyable with the KW boosters. The SAS in 0.22 is really much better. But these are so pretty... I think I'll share two craft files, one with each. EDIT - Oh, just realized that, if I share the resized boosters, I'll have to include the plugin. Are you okay with that? Of course I will give proper credits =)

Strange, I built this shuttle without it and can fly it as you seen in the video. Granted, the thing I did was upping the shuttle engines vectoring to 10 from the default 1. Now with the 0.22 SAS, it is perfectly stable even without MJ.

So lets have one stock and one modded variant - here is the modded (only B9 needed): http://www./download/o9rjucxinq24kpd/B9_Concorde.craft

Here I am posting the description and instructions for the Andromeda Space Shuttle. This is NOT a trivial craft to fly, and even using the recommended MechJeb flight plan it still requires atention and manual handling all the way to the orbit. However this is an open-ended development, and I will surely accept suggestions and tips in making it better. So please read the instructions carefully before attempting to destroy... errm fly it through the Kerbin atmosphere towards space! Mods used KW Rocketry v2.5.2 B9 Aerospace MechJeb 2.0.9 Performance data Overall (without payload) Delta-V - 6,607 m/s Total mass - 433,220 kg Payload compatibility - 2.5m and smaller Payload to 80 km orbit - 35,000 kg Payload to 600 km orbit - 10,000 kg Landing speed - 55 m/s (200 kph) Crew - 2 Part count - 92 (full stack without launch clamps) / 53 (orbiter) Flight manual Launch pad preparations Check that the payload fuel tanks, if there is any, are properly locked to avoid accidental draining during the ascent. Close payload bay doors (Action 1) and retract landing gear (G). Configure the bottom orange tank to drain first. You may do this by either: - Configure it in TAC Fuel balancer to "Transfer Out" (both liquid fuel and oxidizer) - Block flow from the top tank. This will add to your workload as you will have to unblock it later after SRB separation. Set MechJeb Smart A.S.S. to hold the launch attitude (after launch you need to execute the roll program to HDG 270) - Mode = SURF - HDG = 0 - PIT = 90 - ROLL = 0 - Press EXECUTE Configure the MechJeb ascent profile. Factory-recommended settings: - Orbit altitude, inclination - as desired - Prevent overheats = ON - Limit to terminal velocity = ON - Limit to acceleration = 30 m/s² - Turn start = 7km - Turn end = 70km - Turn shape 35º Launch and ascent Given the assymetrical nature of the shuttle, and since its center of mass changes during the ascent and also varies due to the payload mass, this shuttle have a differential engine control system. It means that, at certain points during the ascent, some engines will be needed to be turned on and off to distribute evenly the thrust around the center of mass. The shuttle stack has four engine action groups, laid out given the following illustration. Action group 7 - ET first main engine Action group 8 - ET second main engine Action group 9 - ET aux engine Action group 0 - Orbiter main engine Launch The stack is balanced to launch straight up with all engines firing if the payload mas is around the 15,000 kg range. If the payload mass is close to the limit of 35,000 kg, then the ET first main engine (Action 7) may have to be shutdown immediately after launch until SRB separation to properly trim the stack in a straight-up attitude. Roll program After launch and certifying that the craft is ascending straight up, you may execute the roll program to the desired orbit heading, by punching it in the HDG field of the Smart A.S.S SURF mode, and pushing EXECUTE. Typical value will be 270 for eastward orbits - remember that the ascent is flown heads down. When the roll program is completed you can then engage the ascent autopilot (Ascent Guidance window) for the gravity turn. During ascent As the booster and external tanks fuel are consumed and its masses decrease, it becomes harder for the autopilot to apply the required leverage to maintain the craft on its path. Therefore you should pay attention to the pitch control indicator pictured below, so that when it reaches its boundaries you switch off the engines, one by one, to balance the thrust against the stack. Pitch control indicator Typically, you need to shutdown the ET first main engine (Action 7) 20 seconds before SRB separation and relight it immediately after the separation. SRB separation Nominally, the SRB sep will occur right before the beginning of the gravity turn. However the SRBs are equipped with strong separation motors, so the risk of collision with the stack should be very low. If you don't use TAC fuel balancer to trim the external tanks, then it may be time to check out manually the flow, as the lower tank will be almost depleted at this time. ET first main engine shutdown After the ascent computer has executed the gravity turn, it may be time to shutdown the ET first main engine (Action 7). The exact moment depends on the payload mass; for a typical 15,000 kg payload the altitude at where this occurs is around 16,000 meters. As always, the pitch control indicator should be the reference as to when execute the shutdown. ET second main engine shutdown At around 30,000 meters for typical payloads, the ET second main engine must be shutdown (Action 8). From this point on, only the auxiliary engines, more efficient in the thin atmosphere, will thrust against the external tank. ET aux engine trim For the last 30 seconds of fuel left in the ET, it will be necessary to pulse the aux engine (Action 9) to keep the craft on its desired path. ET separation After the ET fuel is depleted, or after the desired apoapsis is reached, the External tank must be detached using the normal staging sequence. Then the orbiter maneuvering engines will be turned on for the circularization burn. You should also turn off the orbiter main engine (Action 0) so that the maneuver calculations don't take it into consideration. Reentry and landing The reentry is one critical aspect to a successful landing since the orbiter must be capable of doing it unpowered, after the deorbit burn. The figures given here are good for a return from a 80 km orbit. If your orbit is higher, the recommendation is to first lower to a 80 km orbit before the reentry preparations. Deorbit burn The deorbit burn must be a 100 m/s retrograde burn at around 900km away from the desired landing site. Using MechJeb Landing Guidance window, after the burn, the difference from target must be around 45 km and the predicted decceleration 3 gees. Reentry For the reentry the orbiter must be oriented prograde, with a pitch of 20 degrees above the horizon. This attitude must be maintained during the reentry until the orbiter has deccelerated to below Mach 3, or 900 m/s. Landing After reentry, with the airfield around 50km out, you should switch to the manual control for the landing. Keep SAS on to maintain yaw and roll in check. You must adjust the trajectory if you are closer or farther from the field. Even if you end up going too fast, you can simply point down directly at the runway threshold and use the denser air to deccelerate. You must keep about 100 m/s until the final flare above the runway. Then after touch down engage the brakes, come to a stop, and head to the nearest pilot bar to celebrate your mission!

Resized it for my shuttle program, kind of aligning it with the heavy solid boosters from KW. It works nicely.

Beautiful. Is the External Tank available too?

Work continues on the Magellan Space Shuttle. I've finised the engine pods to my liking, and I'm pleased with the results. The whole engine section snaps off as one piece from the craft, making maintenance easy... Who am I fooling, KSP does not have wear and tear Now the aero took a bit of tweaking. The 3 main engines add weight as you expect, and displaced the center of mass way back. I had to angle the surfaces to bring the lift more to the back. Wet CoM (yellow), dry CoM (red) and CoL (blue) Started tinkering with the booster. I want to extract 7000 dV from this baby, so I will need 4 solids. In this configuration it has 10 million newtons of thrust, so it remains to be seen how it will behave (i.e. rip) itself at launch.

Nice, didnt knew KSP had an ISS mod.