The Bifröst Program - A bridge to the heavens

[TheSuperintendnt]

Hello and welcome to my reports on The Bifröst Program!

This thread is just going to be a running log of my largest, most complicated and quite possible insane venture in KSP yet.

I have some doubt in its completion as conceived, that however has stopped me before IRL, but this a game, and kerbals like explosions!

The Bifröst Program is SuperTech LLC's response to the KRON Series of IPVs, these are produced and operated by The Ministry Of No Better Things To Do. The basic idea for the mission has been "bouncing around in the CEO's head like a hyperactive kid in a bouncy castle" for some time now, thanks to the KRON Series, the bean counters are finally listening.

The Bifröst Program

Mission: Tour the Kerbol System, learn all that is learnable (well most not all, one of our engineers kept spouting about a "V'ger")

The Ship: The Bifröst, the program's namesake she is the pinnacle of kerbal technology as well as the largest vessel ever built.

Mission Status: Planning

I've been working on the Bifröst, I'm on the third prototype, below are albums of each one

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The BIS-X1 STLLC's first design, though capable it was "to complex with to many parts to work" it also highlighted a number of issues with the design. These include but weren't limited to: abysmal maneuverability "makes a ore tanker seem fast"-Bill, heat issues, over complex, and lack of a modular design meant a orbital construction facility would be needed.

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The BIS-X2 didn't resolve all of the X1's issues, it provided several advances to the project as a whole. These advances are: sufficient greenhouse space for 8 kerbals, greater hab space, decreased length, decreased complexity, overhauled supplier(mod) list, new centrifuge design, better reactor and reactor cooling. Unfortunately it: lacks a drive section (the X1 is far to complex), relience on Gyros to maneuver, ore processing blocks internal passage to centrifuge B and again lack a modular design.

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The BIS-X3 already has two sub variants 'a' and 'b'. Orbital testing of 'a' has shown major improvement in: complexity, docking space, internal passages and for the first time a Science Lab(seriously someones' gonna get fired for that). Taking what was learned from these test X3a was overhauled and designated X3b, 'b' finally resolves the issue of modular design, and improved centrifuge stability from 'a'.

As of this moment I need to work on the drive section, seriously all 3 current X3b modules total ~100parts and the old X1 drive module is 170+ parts!

Also if anyone has any info on how DSEV radiators work that would be great, X1's would overhead and detonate moments after deployment.

Updates will come as I have them.

Edited June 3, 2015 by TheSuperintendnt
Added more info for each protype

[The Destroyer]

A very interesting concept, I wish you luck.

[Alewx]

The BIS-X1 is a nice version but the pusher configuration might cause problems when it comes to precise navigation.

Also where did you get the shield from?

[Ferdoni]

Wow looks very, very cool!!

How do you set up the turning parts? Claws with free pivots?

[Alewx]

Wow looks very, very cool!!

How do you set up the turning parts? Claws with free pivots?

Infernal Robotics, it has parts for that.

[Ferdoni]

Infernal Robotics, it has parts for that.

Mmm time to check out some mods I think

[lajoswinkler]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to TheSuperintendnt again.

So Bifröst is to Kron what SpaceX is to NASA, I guess. The Kerbal Ministry of No Better Things To Do will be carefully observing the progress of your company.

[Cydonian Monk]

Very nice ships so far. (And wow do I wish Infernal Robotics or something like it was stock.) Any notes on why the earlier prototypes have been discarded/revised? (Or is that in the Imgur comments? They get cut off on mobile.)

[LtWhiskers]

Good luck with your mission! The ship designs with the rotating pods sucked me right in

[TheSuperintendnt]

A very interesting concept, I wish you luck.

Thanks!

The BIS-X1 is a nice version but the pusher configuration might cause problems when it comes to precise navigation.

Also where did you get the shield from?

I tend to build pushers, but I could work on a alternative puller engine module. The shield is from Procedural Parts.

Wow looks very, very cool!!

How do you set up the turning parts? Claws with free pivots?

Infernal Robotics, it has parts for that.

Mmm time to check out some mods I think

Not exactly, though it is powered by IR it actually the centrifuge parts from DSEV, indeed you should check out some mods !

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to TheSuperintendnt again. http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/angry-smiley.gif

So Bifröst is to Kron what SpaceX is to NASA, I guess. The Kerbal Ministry of No Better Things To Do will be carefully observing the progress of your company. http://www.animateit.net/data/media/smiley712/reading.gif

Ah yes, I've had the issue before , SuperTech LLC has been learning from the Ministry's exploits, its is only fair that they finally get to "smell whats cookin' ".

Very nice ships so far. (And wow do I wish Infernal Robotics or something like it was stock.) Any notes on why the earlier prototypes have been discarded/revised? (Or is that in the Imgur comments? They get cut off on mobile.)

Thanks and indeed I wish it was stock to. I should add some notes on each prototype, I will also added notes to the BIS-X1 and BIS-x2 albums.

Good luck with your mission! The ship designs with the rotating pods sucked me right in

SAME, I have always loved them and thanks!

Edit: I added some info to the OP on each prototype.

Edited June 3, 2015 by TheSuperintendnt

[Alewx]

Did you try to weld some parts, that can reduce the part count and make your life a bit easier.

I plan a similar thing for one year already but didn't get it to work as the part count was still too high and there were parts that had problems also I wanted to have it using Interstellar.

[TheSuperintendnt]

Good news: The engineers finally got around to rebuilding the X1's Engine Module!

Bad news: The X2 Engine Module was still terrible, issues included: heat dissipation, no RCS, and a large part count(close to 100).

That said it provided the design department with needed data, namely the near complete lack of improvement, needless to say the bean counters aren't happy...

However, we here at SuperTech LLC are proud to advance technology even if its not our own, to this end we provided the Ministry with confidential data on efficient operation of NTRs!

We also like the idea of transparency in a company, in order to fulfill this wish SuperTech LLC has invested heavily in our "Clear As Mud (CAM)" transparency policy. Under this policy we are required to reveal nothing of our interactions and operations, but we will do so just to be nice. The 'confidential data' that we provided the Ministry was(this is top secret): NTRs only use LiquidFuel. This revolutionary concept has allowed both the KRON 4 and Bifröst tremendous advances in efficient propulsion systems!

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The X3 Engine Module has entered testing, more details to follow.

[TheSuperintendnt]

Sorry for the lack of posts, I was a bit burned out of KSP. But I've returned and intend to get the Bifröst program out of Phase I - design and planning!

To this end X3 Engine Module has been designed and several modules have been modified. The BHM-1 now includes a DeepFreeze module, we here at SuperTech thank the Ministry for the aid they provided in procuring the manufacture's phone number. The engineers are also happy to present the new 'Meili' series of Landers, built on the same "chassis" these landers are able to land and return from Duna as well as any bodies with less Dv/TWR requirements. The scientists are still arguing over which experiments and instruments they want to include in the science modules, luckily they can be launched after the ship is assembled in LKO.

So for the most part all ship modules are ready for launch, next step is constructing the launchers and well launching! In the mean time here are some shots from our most resent sim:

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Celestial heavens here we come.

[lajoswinkler]

Wow, that's a true mothership.

Where is the heatshield? Or will you just use the engine for orbital insertion? Will you use Hofmann or hyperbolic trajectory?

[TheSuperintendnt]

Thank you sir!

But to answer your questions:

Not sure if its gonna have a heatshield, for more then one reason, a) it would be massive, don't know how I would launch it, and c) it could be detrimental to ship structure.

So yeah I may use the engine for orbital insertion. Hofmann is preferred for efficiency but hyperbolic may be required so the mission doesn't take 100+ years!

[Angelo Kerman]

Thank you for calling Wild Blue Industries. All of our operators are currently attending to other customers, but your call is important to us. Please stay on the line. If you'd like to use our automated help system, please press One. no-

*beep*

Please press one for help on how the radiator-

*beep*

Based upon the Cooldown ship-wide heat management system by Wild Blue Industries, the Hot Plate radiator and its larger cousin, the Graphene Radiator (a.k.a. the "Plasma Screen TV") are designed to draw heat away from a vessel's parts and transfer them into the radiators themselves. At that point, stock heat mechanics shed the heat via radiative cooling.

Wild Blue radiators are calibrated to operate at approximately 85% of their maximum rated temperature of 2,400 degrees Kelvin, known as the working temperature. In accordance with the Stefan-Boltzmann law, the hotter the radiator, the more heat it sheds; it pays to let the radiators glow. For safety reasons, should the radiator exceed its maximum working temperature, it will automatically stop transferring heat into the radiator, allowing it to cool down. As an emergency measure, you can switch to Open Cycle Cooling to dump Coolant in exchange for rapidly cooling the radiator. You can tell when a radiator is in Open Cycle Cooling Mode by watching for streams of coolant exiting the base of the unit (with the latest update, of course).

Some ship components, such as the WB8 Supernova fusion engine and all three of Wild Blue Industries' fusion reactors, generate significant amounts of heat and thus require the active cooling provided by the radiators. Determining how many radiators a ship requires is a bit of an art; it depends upon how many engines/reactors are running, and how long a typical burn lasts for your vessel. The Discovery II, for instance, with one Supernova and one WB-2, requires a dozen Graphene radiators to function properly under full thrust, and can sustain burns for up to 5 minutes with Closed Cycle cooling, sufficient for most transfer maneuvers. The current generation of FLM fuel tanks also require heat management, though newer models no longer need active refrigeration, and will be available in a future update. You can however, retrofit your tanks by simply removing the ModuleTargetTemp.

We hope this brief introduction on Wild Blue Industries' Cooldown technology helps with you fulfill your vessel design requirements. To return to the main menu, press-

*click*

Your Bifrost ship looks really cool! I especially like the twin centrifuges. I'm looking forward to seeing your adventures.

[Jesrad]

The counter-rotating centrifuges have waaayyy too much cinetic moment and their combined gyroscopic torques will fold your ship around the middle the moment you pivot it around.

That is, they would IRL

[TheSuperintendnt]

Thank you for calling Wild Blue Industries.

Indeed, several of Bifröst's main componets are manufactured by WBI, your technology has saved our engineers countless hours of trial and error!(mostly error)

Meanwhile other side of the 4th wall: OMG...DSEV's dev 'Angel-125' commented on my thread!

That is, they would IRL

Yeah...but they look cool:wink:, also I haven't quite got the balance yet, thank kod this isn't IRL!