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Apotheosist

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Posts posted by Apotheosist

    [Invention] The Mars Program

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    I have already been through this whole design process, but I decided to make the craft able to land on the mun, not just loop around it. I started off with the smallest Mun craft I could get, my ship, 'The Bare MiniMun II', http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=13953.0

    I then attached enough tanks with parachutes to get from LKO to the mun and back to land on kerbin. I did some suborbital tests to test the parachute landing, and when I was satisfied with that stage, I added enough bosters to get it into LKO, or just about. So I ended up with this craft, which can get to the mun and back twice, and should have more than enough fuel to land on and return from a mars like planet. I called it 'Double MiniMunshot': http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=14805.0

    [Stock] Double MiniMunshot

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    Jeb, Bill and Bob were walking on the Mun, collecting rocks for return to Kerbin to be analysed.

    'Coor, look at this beauty, this has got to be the best one yet!' Bill excliamed, holding up a large, impressive rock, with a shiny glazed surface.

    'Thats so shiny, Bill! The folks back on the ground will be very pleased!' said Jeb. 'Lets take it back to the ship!'

    The two Kerbals carried the rock back to their ship, and stowed it and themselves on board.

    'I can\'t wait to get this back! Let\'s go home!' Jeb said with excitement. He pressed the big red button. The little craft shot upwards into the vacuum, Leaving a storm of Lunar dust in it\'s wake.

    In their exited rush, they had totally forgotten about their comrade Bob, who was quickly out of radio contact range. The sudden swirl of dust made him look up to see the spaceship leaving without him. He shrieked in desperation, even though he was well aware that, in space, no-one can hear you scream...

    A few hours later, Jeb and bob were being shaken about in their seats during the re-entry phase back into kerbin\'s atmosphere. Then the parachutes opened, slowing their descent for a soft landing, assisted by the engines.

    'Perfect landing!' Jeb and Bill high-fived each other. 'lets get this rock back to base. Bill, Bob, see to it that the rock gets safely to the science guys!'.

    Only then did it strike either of them. They had forgotten Bob on the Mun.

    'Oh no! What are we going to do now Jeb?!'

    'There\'s only one thing we can do. We\'re going back for him.'

    'But we only have three tanks of fuel left! It would be impossible!'

    'It isn\'t impossible, It\'s Kerbal!'

    This is a minimalist ship I made that can get to the Mun and back, twice. I just felt like giving it a bit of a story, I rushed it a bit at the end lol, it isn\'t very good, I know, any suggestions for improvement are welcome. Anyways I have attached the ship and pictures.

    Edit: Just a few tips that might be helpful: My general flight plan is Straight up until first colour change on atmosphere indicator (~12km), at which point I lean over 45 degrees. I then carry on until the second colour change (~30km), and lean over about 90 degrees. Then circularize for 70km. This applies for the first Mun ship and the second.

    For landing with the parachutes, I usually try to land in the ocean. Slow down initially with the chutes, then at about 150m, thrust the engines at maximum. This should slow the craft down just enough for a soft landing, assuming you have very little fuel left in that stage (as there should be if you\'ve just been to the Mun and back).

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    Closette, much of my logic for designing rockets is based on things you and others have worked out in challenges such as the 'max altitude with this supplied spacecraft' challenge. Choosing to have just enough engines to have a T/W close to1.5, was based on that very graph and a remark I think you made on it about only losing 10% efficiency at T/W 1.5. Same with optimium velocities at certain altitudes. I\'ll take this opportunity to say I have learnt a great deal from your posts and others like you who apply maths to KSP to find out what works best. I now play KSP with a notepad, pencil and calculator beside me :P

    Also, I have noticed that both the altered rockets you posted have 2 liquid fuel tanks less than my orignial rocket. Was this a deliberate alteration, or had you accidentally removed 2 tanks? If you had it might explain why you 'can never make it all the way home with the LFEs alone'.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    Glad to see your\'e having fun with my designs! :D Also glad to see you making alterations to the rocket and sharing them! It can be a great help to many players to fly a rocket shared by someone else. And yes, I try to start off my rockets with a T/W of about 1.5, as it does not affect performance too much, and it minimizes engine weight. I then ensure I have enough fuel to keep my first stage going late into the burn to orbit, because the thrust to weight increases as fuel is used up, and is a good help. Above about 10k a T/W higher than 2 is optimal or so I\'ve heard. At a late stage in the burn, however, when the craft is in full pitchover, there is no need to carry those heavy engines, the small engines on the next stage are enough to circularize the orbit.

    One of my next projects will be to create an EZ Minimun double-return capable ship, meaning it could go to the Mun, come back to Kerbin\'s surface safely, then use one of the the current EZ Minimun to go back to the Mun again and return to kerbin a second time. I have already made a Bare Minimun rocket capable of this, using 27 tanks in total. The creation of an easy to fly version of this would enable those who have never done a double mun return mission to try it if they so wished, without having a rocket too hard to fly, or having it so big as to considerably slow down their computer. A double Mun return mission is highly interesting and educational, involving a parachute assisted landing of a rocket on Kerbin. This type of mission could teach someone a lot about a Mars return type mission and prepare them for when another planet is added to the game.

    Until then, have fun!

    Also, @ purple 100, I have not taken it to Minmus myself, although I know Minmus missions need quite a bit less delta-v than mun missions. I have considered designing minimalist craft just for Minmus but I prefer working on Mun capable craft, and any craft that can go to the Mun can go to Minmus.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    @ mknote, thanks so much :D makes sense now. Very helpful indeed. The answer I got using Wolfram Alpha was n=a*(Mr-1)/(b-Mr*c), but I guess they\'re the same :P

    @ Closette, indeed, I considered this arrangement, but decided against it as that last RCS stage would not have any SAS and would require thrusting with RCS on landing, which is easy enough, but further complicates things. I also would be tempted to utilize that extra delta-v from the rcs, to make the ship even smaller XD. but then it would be much more difficult to fly, so I decided not to tempt that minimalist side of my brain, and just leave it with the rest of the stage. However I did experiment with it in the VAB, and I\'ve attached a pic of the lander with detachable RCS stage. Couldn\'t get the side tanks to the same level as the bottom of the ASAS, so even harder to scrape them off, hehe. Oh, also in the pic it for some reason doesn\'t have a parachute :/

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    This is the equation I came up with to help me find the number of tanks that need to be added to have a certain delta-v (if I know how much delta-v I want, then I can easily work out the mass ratio required to acheive said delta-v) . I just started off by describing what the mass ratio is equal to. So this is what I ended up with:

    Mr=(a+n.B) / (a+n.c)

    Where Mr=Mass ratio. (Initial mass/empty mass)

    a=Mass you start off with (including mass of any stages above and mass of all engines in this stage)

    b=Initial mass of one full fuel tank

    c=dry mass of one fuel tank

    n=number extra fuel tanks I need

    So I have this equation where I know Mr, a, b, c, but not n. I tried and tried to rearrange it to get n on it\'s own, but with no luck. I asked many of my friends in school, but they couldnt find a way either. I would very much appreciate if someone can rearrange it, showing all of the steps. I actually have an equation with n on one side, which I got with help fom Wolfram alpha. I just typed in my mass ratio equation, and it gave me different forms of the equation, and it showed what n was equal to. I then ran some numbers through it for a rocket I was familiar with, and the result worked. So I have the equation, but I want to know how to rearrange my mass ratio equation to end up with the equation for n. I won\'t post the equation here yet, so that those trying to rearrange the equation start off with a blank sheet. Please give it a go if you think you can do it.

    [Stock] EZ Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    This is a rocket I made in response to a challenge from closette to make a minimalist rocket that included SAS, RCS, and a parachute. It is fun and simple to fly, whilst also being a very efficient rocket. It could probably be further minimized, but that might make it more difficult to fly, which is not the point of this ship.

    Oh, I also landed it on a Mun arc thing :P

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    I have made alterations to my first EZ rocket, giving it a much more stable base to land on, and I\'ve also reduced the weight a bit and taken an engine off. The craft attached has not been tested, I tested one with 2 extra half tanks on the bottom of the first stage and I had plenty of fuel left over, so I\'m confident this rocket can make it. If you\'re not sure, just add two half tanks on the bottom of the first stage (adding them on the bottom gives more delta-v than if you add them on the top due to the lower density of the fuel in the half tanks)

    Edit: I have now tested the rocket, and I made it back to kerbin just fine.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    @ xclusiv8, that is one option, only two would be needed to keep it upright. Shouldn\'t affect the flight characteristics of the ship much either.

    @ closette, Hehe, thanks. I love designing ships :P . I\'ll always be happy to help design a ship if needed. And yes, I think it might actually have been one of your own posts that stated that at 30km, the optimim velocity is equal to orbital velocity. So I figured that at this altitude, the craft should be trying to get as much orbital speed as possible, hence the horizontal pitch.

    As for the formula, it\'s quite a simple one that I\'m not fully sure works. I was thinking of making a topic asking for help on it. I asked a few of my friends in school about it but they couldn\'t do much more with it than I :/ I\'m going to take a last look over it and will come back when I\'m ready.

    @ colmo, yes, there are many advantages to using the C7 parts. The more efficient aerospike engine for one. However, I dont like to use C7 parts as many I believe are unbalanced, and may be balanced in future updates, thus altering the charactersistics of my craft. I\'m very much a stock purist, so much so that I\'m even sticking to the older stock parts! Hehe.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    Ok so I built a rocket, and flew it to the Mun and back. I gave it 3 rcs blocks as I figured that would cover movement in all directions. One problem with this ship was that the second stage (lander) has a narrow base and tips over easily. So I\'m going to try modifying it a little. Until then, I\'ve posted pictures of my flight and the ship. This rocket was optimised, but It could probably be further improved, as this was my first try.

    Also, the ascent plan I used for this was one I tried one day and found worked surprisingly well. It needs just two maneuvers, tilting to 45 degrees at ~13km (first colour change on the atmoshpere indicator), then tilting 90, horizontal at ~30km (second atmosphere indicator colour change). I then circularized for a 70km orbit.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! :D Hehe, I\'m on it. I actually have a formula I developed recently to help me work out how many additional fuel tanks I need to carry a certain amount of mass a certain distance (delta-v). So I will make a ship with an ASAS, parachute, rcs tank and how many rcs blocks?. I suppose 2 rcs blocks would be the minimum. And I suppose the capsule and a parachute will have to separate from the rest of the craft for a super easy landing, unless you are ok with doing some propulsion for a safe landing.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    You sir are a god among men

    Hehe thank you :D . Funny you should say that, as my name, 'Apotheosist', I came up with from the word 'apotheosis', which means 'For man to become God' or something like that. So yes, I\'m suggesting I\'m a god amongst men, as you said :P . But you probably already knew that.

    Physically Smallest Lander

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    This topic is about the smallest LANDER, the part that actually lands on the Mun. As such, your lander is four parts, less than the two of the true Bare Minimum lander. Yes, it is highly difficult to land on the moon with a SRB, but this does not make it impossible.

    Although using a small tank and small engine may be lighter than this setup.

    Forgive me, my interpretation of the Opening post, 'How small can you get to the Mun and back', was for the craft for a whole mission from liftoff to the Mun and re-entry and landing on kerbin. I was further led to believe this because the opening post stated that the craft used had the ability to 'go to the Mun, return to KSC with a powered landing, then take off again and make a 100km orbit!' But eh, gave me a chance to advertise my ship :P

    If the challenge was by your interpreted definition, then you are of course correct.

    [Stock] The Bare Minimun II

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    EDIT: No longer applicable to 0.16

    This is an altered version of my original 'The Bare Minimun' ship http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=11407.0 , which used landing legs for stage separation, which is no longer possible in 0.15. I initially thought that an extra half tank of fuel would be required make up for the aditional mass of normal decouplers, and I initially posted such a craft. However, it seems that with the new patched conics trajectory projection, it is possible to fly much more precisely and efficiently, wasting less delta-v. This craft should be 'update proof', in that it does not use any tricks or unbalanced parts that might get fixed or balanced in future updates.

    Please give it a go and post back with your results! :)

    Minimalistic Munar Landing And Return

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    I believe the smallest stock mun return craft that does not take advantage of some of the outrageously unbalanced new C7 parts is the altered version of my original 'The Bare Minimun' craft that used landing legs to seperate stages. Since that is no longer possible, i have ahd to use regular decouplers, and to make up for it I needed half a tank more fuel. The new craft is called 'The Bare Minimun II'.

    Once on the surface of the Mun, a lot of tricky dancing is required to get the craft pointing upwards for the burn. Another interesting note about this mission was that for the return I burned vaguely in the same direction as the mun, thus increasing my Kerbin apoapsis. Then I burned retrograde at apoapsis to bring my periapsis to 30k for re-entry. I believe this is called a bi-elliptic transfer, and can be more efficient than a Hohmann type transfer. I had enough fuel left to perform my classic landing where the tanks and engine is deliberately crushed in order to slow down the capsule enough to survive intact.

    Edit: You don\'t actually need that extra half tank in the core stage, I managed it with just 3 tanks.

    Stock Community Base 3.0

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    Apotheosist\'s Universal Lander has landed on Targuete! Legs are folded up due to the more-than usual fuel mass in the tanks causing them to be very temperamental, and randomly blowing up. I call it a Universal Lander as it has enough T/W and fuel to take off from kerbin. (It actually can do a single stage to the Mun due to the extremely unblanced engine, but decided not to do this so that I\'d be able to move the craft to other bases if I wish) I\'m not sure about the debris policy, I left a bit of junk in a 10k low orbit around the Mun. I expected all the pieces to stick together upon stage sep, so it would act as a nice orbital marker/space station type thing. Someone can remove the debris in the persistence file if they so wish, I do not know how to do that.

    Oh, and also add me on to the list again please. I\'ll probably be landing on Minmus.

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