[1.6.1] Chaka Monkey 161

[YANFRET]

can anyone tell me what exactly this adds? is it just model reworks?

You also get a free barrel of monkeys

[Motokid600]

Im going to quote what i said in this thread.

If you can't find a good reason to use 7.5m launch vehicles then you need to step up your game.

Try a manned land and return on one of the OPM planets with TAC life support. Even that Jupiter V wouldn't be enough to do it in one launch.

I'm currently doing just that. I'm working with a Chaka 6.5m ejection stage with 9km/s Dv. Then a 7.5 FASA Nova sustainer stage and 6x Chaka SLS SRBs to put that in orbit.

And that's just for the surface habitation module the kerbals need to stay in until the return window. I've yet to even begin construction of the ship that will carry the crew to and from.

I could put these parts to work immediately.

Needs more power I think i can fit eight.

Tylo/Slate landing hab.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Motokid600

[bigshow281]

Sorry about earlier, I didn't realize til I got home that I duplicated the cfg file contents, I fixed it now. As you can see, the mass of the "CHAKA / Common Structural Reinforced Berthing Mechanism" is 5 and the mass of the "CHAKA / Common Berthing Mechanism" 0.05. That's a big difference for two parts that are nearly identical. The part that weight 0.05 is the part that is rapidly overheating and exploding.

[YANFRET]

Im going to quote what i said in this thread.

http://i.imgur.com/EiEQAP7.jpg

Needs more power I think i can fit eight.

http://i.imgur.com/6TJNz6d.jpg

Tylo/Slate landing hab.

That's gangster

Sorry about earlier, I didn't realize til I got home that I duplicated the cfg file contents, I fixed it now. As you can see, the mass of the "CHAKA / Common Structural Reinforced Berthing Mechanism" is 5 and the mass of the "CHAKA / Common Berthing Mechanism" 0.05. That's a big difference for two parts that are nearly identical. The part that weight 0.05 is the part that is rapidly overheating and exploding.

As noted a few pages ago, there are high and low mass versions of the two Chaka dock port sizes, depending on whether or not a rigid structural connection is needed. However, I think the light weight one should at least be .5 rather than .05... so that's been fixed as of.... now.

[YANFRET]

SLS Block IB: Orion Plus

Initial flight test

Habitat mass exceeds Altair full lander config, in other words the next test flight will "one shot" from pad to Mun.

Edited August 15, 2015 by YANFRET

[YANFRET]

SLS Block IB: Orion Munar

"Apollo with solids"

[Tristonwilson12]

What is it?

it was a duna station all folded up... once it gets to duna it unfolds to be twice the size of the rocket it self

[YANFRET]

Improved structural bracing:

Edited August 16, 2015 by YANFRET

[Budgie]

Is that Upper Stage mounted just below the Orion required for the one shot moon mission? I would assume the EUS analogue does the Trans Munar Injection and circularises once in the Mun's SOI, and the Orion has enough dV to return? Though I haven't read into the mission hardware documentation as much as Yanfret has, probably. Nor played with CMES lately to know the Orion's performance.

This picture illustrates what I mean. The fairing around the payload just has an Orion above it, without a second upper stage:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/aa4gI.png

Edited August 16, 2015 by Budgie

[YANFRET]

We're going to need a few more test flights to answer that question. For several reasons it made sense to try it with the upper first.

At very least, my hunch is for a Munar surface mission we would need it, however it could probably be half capacity of what is shown above.

Another KSP technical variable... in order to contain the payload as shown in the notional diagram you presented, an entirely new part would need to be made, and it would not be possible for it to be procedural: the "up and angled in" fairing. Also the merits of such a design may not prove out when they cut metal. It might make sense to use the angled fairing volume for a dangled engine, allowing a cross brace as shown here, similar to the roof of a house having a brace under the pitch. Orion is a hefty sum to be waving around atop a composite, multi angle, bifurcating system.

However, if it were feasible, could we potentially run the fairing all the way up to the LES get rid of the SM fairing?

Edited August 16, 2015 by YANFRET

[Budgie]

I would argue that in the real world, that would make the most sense, in regards to running the angled fairing all the way up, unless it's bearing the load of the Orion, as I may have (erroneously?) heard elsewhere.

In our KSP world, Budgie Aerospace Contracting has run various studies and advises Chaka Monkey Exploration Systems that it may be best to keep the everything above the angled fairings separate and common to all systems featuring Orion, as SLS Block IIB will not be the only system offered by CMES with an Orion payload.

Also, is that upper stage common to other CMES craft files? In the end, I'll likely use it however it's given to me, but I guess I'm just curious because I'm sure the designers and CDR people for the real SLS had a lot of similar questions to answer.

[YANFRET]

I would argue that in the real world, that would make the most sense, in regards to running the angled fairing all the way up, unless it's bearing the load of the Orion, as I may have (erroneously?) heard elsewhere.

In our KSP world, Budgie Aerospace Contracting has run various studies and advises Chaka Monkey Exploration Systems that it may be best to keep the everything above the angled fairings separate and common to all systems featuring Orion, as SLS Block IIB will not be the only system offered by CMES with an Orion payload.

Also, is that upper stage common to other CMES craft files? In the end, I'll likely use it however it's given to me, but I guess I'm just curious because I'm sure the designers and CDR people for the real SLS had a lot of similar questions to answer.

Yeah I agree with that, I think the step we missed is that the service module bottom is the primary structural path up to Orion, that's why the heat shield cover has structural bits inside like an airplane wing.

The mini upper we added is the Chaka 375 Express upper stage available in 3 sizes and it's totally off the shelf, having been implemented a few revisions ago as a lower delta alternative to our DCS/ICPS. It is used for example on all EMLV I vehicles.

Adding it was an idea to fill the space inside the shortened angles failing with something shorter then the ICPS.

As far as stage balancing is concerned, I think the lower capacity version would be more efficient overall than what we pictured above.

Also keep in mind NASA can only show pictures if what the legislature says it can, the moon surface is not on the table and they are prohibited by law from showing pictures of Altair in any config, and reaching the moon surface without A) MLS style advanced boosters or a mini upper like we added, might restrict mission mass too far if the classic Ares lander baseline is assumed ( keep in mind that config used the Altair to get polar access )

[Budgie]

That last point makes a lot of sense, hadn't thought about it that way. Anyway, hope to see what your testing results in. Either way, a one-shot moon vehicle will be very useful.

On my own end, I finally played with the newest version of CMES last night, and it's great as always. I plan to start flinging SLSs and MLSs to the Mun and Duna as soon as I get off work.

[ebphoto]

Wow, those solar panels are big enough to catch Sandra Bullock & George Cloony! Now, how does one monkey acquire such large panels so I too can set up a Sandra/ Cloony trap?

Peace, out,

E

the ones on pages 36-38 I think...

though the the panels above are fine, just the ones on the other pages are much better for traping!

Intermonkey Space Station

Testing continues with SLS version (600km target orbit)

At 600 km EMLV I Snacks services station and EMLV II Orion transfers crew.

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4811/WqAR49.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/4414/nZ2qZu.jpg

Next the MLS version will target a Munar orbit.

In MLS config, the Altair pod is launched with the stack (sold separately in SLS config)

Direct Munar injection targets 1000 km Munar orbit. EMLV II Snacks Plus serivces station and EMLV III Orion transfers crew

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8467/geOW7g.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot to mention this the other day when I posted. I seem to run into issues when trying to do have to the station core module. If I use Stock couplers it seems to work okay ( as far as I can tell). However, if I'm using the Chacka couplers I can't dock some of the time. I've even let MechJeb2 to try and dock up. It does fine until you actually have to click the connection to dock. Push and push, nudge, nudge then Slam and still it will not connect. Has this been a reported problem or has anyone else noticed this? I'll try tomorrow with a clean 1.04 and just Chacka to see if it is the mods I have installed with it or if it happens by itself.

thanks,

E

Edited August 18, 2015 by ebphoto
Supposed to go on to earlier pages...

[Mecripp]

Wow, those solar panels are big enough to catch Sandra Bullock & George Cloony! Now, how does one monkey acquire such large panels so I too can set up a Sandra/ Cloony trap?

Peace, out,

E

the ones on pages 36-38 I think...

though the the panels above are fine, just the ones on the other pages are much better for traping!

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot to mention this the other day when I posted. I seem to run into issues when trying to do have to the station core module. If I use Stock couplers it seems to work okay ( as far as I can tell). However, if I'm using the Chacka couplers I can't dock some of the time. I've even let MechJeb2 to try and dock up. It does fine until you actually have to click the connection to dock. Push and push, nudge, nudge then Slam and still it will not connect. Has this been a reported problem or has anyone else noticed this? I'll try tomorrow with a clean 1.04 and just Chacka to see if it is the mods I have installed with it or if it happens by itself.

thanks,

E

That has happen before and if remember right it was a mod, I was using , I will look back at the old thread and see if, I can find it.

EDIT- Looked through the old thread well not all of it more like jumped all around it but didn't see what, I was looking for but think it was a LS mod me and some one was using that did that.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Mecripp2

[YANFRET]

Experimenting with alternative configurations:

Edited August 19, 2015 by YANFRET

[ebphoto]

That has happen before and if remember right it was a mod, I was using , I will look back at the old thread and see if, I can find it.

EDIT- Looked through the old thread well not all of it more like jumped all around it but didn't see what, I was looking for but think it was a LS mod me and some one was using that did that.

It it must have been a mod since it hasn't happened with this latest install. It's so hard keeping a clean or semi clean install with all the cool mods that come out. However, I've made a copy of this install on a external HD. This way I can keep this install and mod the heck out of the other without worrying. When do you think the next version of Chaka will come out? This is by far, one of the best mods out there. I use these rockets for everything.

Thanks for all the help. Keep up the great job.

E

[ebphoto]

Improved structural bracing:

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/3465/LJSFWN.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/9332/GbDyLV.jpg

I was playing around with some ideas I had for some rovers. I was looking for different ways to carry and deliver them, when I remembered your posting of your ideas. How do you get the fairings to stop and not curve up? I played with the settings on the fairing base and I cant get it to stop curving in even with the auto settings turned off. Is there a special piece that I need for the actual fairing or something I'm missing in the settings?

Thank you,

Ebphoto

[YANFRET]

It it must have been a mod since it hasn't happened with this latest install. It's so hard keeping a clean or semi clean install with all the cool mods that come out. However, I've made a copy of this install on a external HD. This way I can keep this install and mod the heck out of the other without worrying. When do you think the next version of Chaka will come out? This is by far, one of the best mods out there. I use these rockets for everything.

Thanks for all the help. Keep up the great job.

E

Thanks! It's really cool that you find the launch vehicles useful and practical. It won't be too long before an update, but I want to get a lot of things right and not just ship it out the door half baked.

I was playing around with some ideas I had for some rovers. I was looking for different ways to carry and deliver them, when I remembered your posting of your ideas. How do you get the fairings to stop and not curve up? I played with the settings on the fairing base and I cant get it to stop curving in even with the auto settings turned off. Is there a special piece that I need for the actual fairing or something I'm missing in the settings?

Thank you,

Ebphoto

Yep, it took a few days of messing around. The biggest piece of the puzzle was adding specific scale values for the larger fairing, so that the original part is stretched left to right but not up and down. Then we had to tweak and trim things just the right way for all the edges to line up the way we want.

You're welcome to test it out with this beta zip of the CMES/Aero folder https://www.dropbox.com/s/goq872gds6jo7xn/Aero.zip?dl=0

[Budgie]

Yanfret, what kind of mission profile are you using for these flights with the USA and secondary payloads? I was playing around myself, and was curious to see what you're running.

[ebphoto]

Thanks! It's really cool that you find the launch vehicles useful and practical. It won't be too long before an update, but I want to get a lot of things right and not just ship it out the door half baked.

See, that's why I like you guys so much. You put the hard work in to make it a good product and you have excellent support. I use these rocket builds for almost everything I do. After I mess around building something from scratch, then fine tune it, trouble shoot etc., there's just not enough time. I can just take one of your builds and tweak it a bit for the mission and I'm off to the races! Great stuff...

Yep, it took a few days of messing around. The biggest piece of the puzzle was adding specific scale values for the larger fairing, so that the original part is stretched left to right but not up and down. Then we had to tweak and trim things just the right way for all the edges to line up the way we want.

You're welcome to test it out with this beta zip of the CMES/Aero folder https://www.dropbox.com/s/goq872gds6jo7xn/Aero.zip?dl=0

Thank you, I will give it a shot. I appreciate you letting me test this out. I'll let you know my results. I knew there had to be something to make it work. I could get the fairing to stop at a given height but it would still wrap around on the upper part of it so when I went to jettison it, it would either hang up or hang up really bad and cause all kinds of things to go wrong. The only way I could get it to not cause problems was by making it too large but that was really ugly. It got very frustrating by the end of my night, tonight's! So, your response was a big welcome to my frustration level.

Thanks again and and ill let you know what I think.

E

[YANFRET]

Yanfret, what kind of mission profile are you using for these flights with the USA and secondary payloads? I was playing around myself, and was curious to see what you're running.

I'm struggling with that because it really doesn't make any sense to combine Orion with the payload unless its a small habitat module with a toilet. That itself us a compelling reason, but any more it seems better to launch separately

[ebphoto]

Hey a dloaded and unzipped the file. I'm either not understanding how to use this or I'm not explaining it right or both. I cant seem to get the fairing to work. I see the new parts and I'm selecting them but they behave the same way as the old ones did. I took a screenshot of what is happening without messing with the start stop settings and one with messing with them. Im only right clicking on the part, not going into the cfg file. I took a couple of screenshots in the hanger but I can't seem to post them. Basically, Im trying to use a fairing towards the middle of the orion or a few stages down from the top. If I od this and use the fairing it shoots all the way to the top of the orion or clips and curves into the stage that im trying to cover. Kind of trying to make it look like those big decouplers on the XLS ships. What am I doing wrong? Thanks...

E

[YANFRET]

once you add the inter fairing you must reduce the fairing size by right clicking on the base and sliding the bar left

[Budgie]

So I've managed to make my own SLS Block IB with the current CMES pack. On a white SLS with Shuttle-derived boosters, and the EUS (TALUS), with a payload of a procedural fairings interstage for the USA, an Orion and Orion fairing above and the Altair from some other CMES craft file, I was able to reach the Mun, land and return to Kerbin. No second upper stage for Orion. I used the following mission profile:

KSC > 400km orbit > Orion separation and redock to now-exposed Altair > TLI burn with EUS > Course Correction to set Pe at 150 km with EUS > Circularisation at Mun Pe with EUS > Separation from EUS > Land Altair (I'll see about adding latitude limits to this mission profile later) > Reorbit, dock and return to Kerbin without establishing orbit

Let it be known, however, that this was pushing the upper limits of the configuration. I had 100-200 m/s dV left in the EUS after circularising into a 0-inclination orbit around the Mun. The limiting factor, though, was the Altair. From 150km 0-inclination orbit, I was able to land in the centre of the polar crater, but just about not quite reach the original orbit with the NOS ascent module. I was about 40 m/s short, I think. I was using Mechjeb throughout, so there may be a way of doing it manually to make it more dV efficient (doglegging the ascent?)

A note about the USA. I don't think I'd use the procedural version. I'd be happiest with something that just fits the Altair inside, as anything else would likely be smaller than that (the Extended Mission Module, which I use without the Orbital Orb). I can't really think of other payloads in there, though. What would you suggest to ride along with Orion?