[1.12.5] Bluedog Design Bureau - Stockalike Saturn, Apollo, and more! (v1.14.0 "металл" 30/Sep/2024)

[Pudgemountain]

Wild Wind V attempting to land on the surface of Windswept.

Still using Juno Guidance units as the base.

I went with a different antenna so I wouldn't have to use a wider heat shield, plus it relays off of Wild Wind IV.

Also the landing is filmed live with a ranger camera.

We did land on the surface unfortunately the chutes deployed too late, either thin atmosphere or wrong chute setting. I'll call it a partial failure, the core and some instruments did not blow up but I did lose the topsoil scoop and seismometer.

The Camera still works and even found these strange structure like things.

Might have to try a water splashdown with Wild Wind VI.

Also Bonus of a Gemini capsule landing near a cryovolcano.

[zakkpaz]

@CobaltWolf  are you planning on making custom IVa's for the X-15 cockpits or are you just sticking with the Mk1? If I recall correctly your one of the modders that hates making IVA's(if I recall correctly all modders hate making IVA's).

Anyway I had the Idea of patching in the one IVA from @Well's Blue Steel mod, they go together pretty well i think, just need to figure out how to raise the iva a bit, and having a patch in Bluedog_DB_Extras would be nice for users of both mods if anyone wants it want it. there's even two-seat one for when that part is done.

@PART[bluedog_X15_Cockpit]
{
	
	@INTERNAL
	{
		@name = blue_steel_cockpit_s0_interior
	}	
	
}

Also can anyone tell me how to reposition the IVA?

Edited April 26 by zakkpaz

[Taco Salad]

I'm trying my best to find a good way to use them because nuclear thermal is SUPER cool, but the dry mass cost of the tankage needed to even get close to the DV gotten from conventional cryogenic stages just isn't working out for me. Lower launch weight, 1/3-1/2 the upper stage dv.

Anyone got some tips or examples of using them in builds?

[Pudgemountain]

15 hours ago, Taco Salad said:

I'm trying my best to find a good way to use them because nuclear thermal is SUPER cool, but the dry mass cost of the tankage needed to even get close to the DV gotten from conventional cryogenic stages just isn't working out for me. Lower launch weight, 1/3-1/2 the upper stage dv.

Anyone got some tips or examples of using them in builds?

You talking about the NERVA engine?

[Taco Salad]

2 hours ago, Pudgemountain said:

You talking about the NERVA engine?

Yeah, all but the LOX augmented timberwind. 

[Zorg]

On 4/27/2024 at 5:54 PM, Taco Salad said:

I'm trying my best to find a good way to use them because nuclear thermal is SUPER cool, but the dry mass cost of the tankage needed to even get close to the DV gotten from conventional cryogenic stages just isn't working out for me. Lower launch weight, 1/3-1/2 the upper stage dv.

Anyone got some tips or examples of using them in builds?

are you comparing stages of similar size? All LH2 means lower propellant density so for the same Dv you will need a much bigger tank (which should still be lighter overall resulting in further effciencies in the launch stack below the nuclear the stage). Alternatively build an even bigger stage with the same mass as a hydrolox one and you will have a lot more Dv.

Edited April 28 by Zorg

[Pudgemountain]

12 hours ago, Taco Salad said:

Yeah, all but the LOX augmented timberwind. 

You could just launch a few NERVA stages and dock them together like some early proposals for Mars missions.

[MashAndBangers]

We launch it like this, right?

Am I supposed to be this high?

Um, it's a bit hot...

I over shot the landing...

Recovery efforts are under way to save Jeb.

[Taco Salad]

10 hours ago, Zorg said:

are you comparing stages of similar size? All LH2 means lower propellant density so for the same Dv you will need a much bigger tank (which should still be lighter overall resulting in further effciencies in the launch stack below the nuclear the stage). Alternatively build an even bigger stage with the same mass as a hydrolox one and you will have a lot more Dv.

True. I remember seeing some old pics somewhere of a NERVA on a S-IVB which always looked cool but I guess it just doesn't have the volume needed to run the engine (as far as I can tell.) I'm sure I'll figure something out. Or just go for a 6.5m stage.

9 hours ago, Pudgemountain said:

You could just launch a few NERVA stages and dock them together like some early proposals for Mars missions.

Oh I'm gonna do something like this in the future, I was just trying to figure out a nuclear thermal stage for launch use. No assembly required.

[Pudgemountain]

23 minutes ago, Taco Salad said:

True. I remember seeing some old pics somewhere of a NERVA on a S-IVB which always looked cool but I guess it just doesn't have the volume needed to run the engine (as far as I can tell.) I'm sure I'll figure something out. Or just go for a 6.5m stage.

Oh I'm gonna do something like this in the future, I was just trying to figure out a nuclear thermal stage for launch use. No assembly required.

The only thing I can think of is build a B.A.R aka Big Ass Rocket lol. But I'm not that great on the NERVA, the others might help.

[Zorg]

1 hour ago, Taco Salad said:

True. I remember seeing some old pics somewhere of a NERVA on a S-IVB which always looked cool but I guess it just doesn't have the volume needed to run the engine (as far as I can tell.) I'm sure I'll figure something out. Or just go for a 6.5m stage.

I dont quite remember everything I've gathered for the NERVA research but iirc, the reactor in flight test (RIFT) would have used NERVA on an S-IVB. However this is just for testing. The Nuclear shuttle designs as well as crewed interplanetary designs for NERVA II all used S-II sized (6.25m in game) stages. Optimising nuclear stages is a little bit harder since KSP uses higher dry mass fractions than real life. However, the key takeaway is that useful nuclear stages end up a lot bigger than you might think with rather long burn times required.

[GoldForest]

7 hours ago, MashAndBangers said:

We launch it like this, right?

Am I supposed to be this high?

Um, it's a bit hot...

I over shot the landing...

Recovery efforts are under way to save Jeb.

Nah, cute attempt, but you got it all wrong.

(Teaser images, but anyone care to guess what I'm launching X-15 on? Hint: It's not the obvious answer)

[GoldForest]

X-15 to the Mun!

Full album (It's out of order, also, yes, some of the images are in 1440P because I had to downgrade them. Why? Ask imgur why it won't accept the 4K version...): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

(No, I didn't just do direct reentry from the Mun, I got into low Kerbin orbit then deorbitted.)

Edited April 29 by GoldForest

[Entr8899]

So uhh, what's SEASAT looking like? And Pioneer Venus? And that weird ramjet engine thing? And all the other stuff on the backburner that I can't think of on the top of my head?

@CobaltWolfUnrelated, but is there any chance you could add a white switch for the Saturn vernier engines so they can be used for other rockets without looking odd? I'd be very grateful

[LoadingTimeExpert]

42 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

X-15 to the Mun!

Full album (It's out of order, also, yes, some of the images are in 1440P because I had to downgrade them. Why? Ask imgur why it won't accept the 4K version...): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

(No, I didn't just do direct reentry from the Mun, I got into low Kerbin orbit then deorbitted.)

How did you get a larger first stage than the standard S-1C? Parts from another mod?

[GoldForest]

6 minutes ago, LoadingTimeExpert said:

How did you get a larger first stage than the standard S-1C? Parts from another mod?

Yes. Near Future Launch Vehicles has 7.5m parts which I used to get the Nova C-8 first stage. 

[CobaltWolf]

On 4/26/2024 at 5:43 PM, zakkpaz said:

@CobaltWolf  are you planning on making custom IVa's for the X-15 cockpits or are you just sticking with the Mk1? If I recall correctly your one of the modders that hates making IVA's(if I recall correctly all modders hate making IVA's).

Anyway I had the Idea of patching in the one IVA from @Well's Blue Steel mod, they go together pretty well i think, just need to figure out how to raise the iva a bit, and having a patch in Bluedog_DB_Extras would be nice for users of both mods if anyone wants it want it. there's even two-seat one for when that part is done.

I was not planning on making a custom IVA, but I must say that Blue Steel one fits pretty well, all things considered.

 

2 hours ago, Entr8899 said:

So uhh, what's SEASAT looking like? And Pioneer Venus? And that weird ramjet engine thing? And all the other stuff on the backburner that I can't think of on the top of my head?

@CobaltWolfUnrelated, but is there any chance you could add a white switch for the Saturn vernier engines so they can be used for other rockets without looking odd? I'd be very grateful

If you haven't seen updates on something, assume that it hasn't been touched or looked at. I am working on X-15, Zorg is working on Atlas, that's it for the time being.

If I remember, I tried doing an all-white one and it looked weird because of how I'd unwrapped the part. I can try taking a look.

 

[Blufor878]

3 hours ago, GoldForest said:

X-15 to the Mun!

Full album (It's out of order, also, yes, some of the images are in 1440P because I had to downgrade them. Why? Ask imgur why it won't accept the 4K version...): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

(No, I didn't just do direct reentry from the Mun, I got into low Kerbin orbit then deorbitted.)

That's actually really cool.

Wait, you gave the pilot snacks, right?

[GoldForest]

34 minutes ago, Blufor878 said:

That's actually really cool.

Wait, you gave the pilot snacks, right?

Yeah, they were in the external tanks. 

[GoldForest]

So, I figured out how to get BDB Dev Branch to load. You need to have KSP Community Fixes installed. 

@CobaltWolf Might want to make it a requirement until you fix the bug in BDB itself. 

Edited April 29 by GoldForest

[CobaltWolf]

20 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

So, I figured out how to get BDB Dev Branch to load. You need to have KSP Community Fixes installed. 

@CobaltWolf Might want to make it a requirement until you fix the bug in BDB itself. 

We are aware, but all it does is (effectively) delete the parachute, so it's not really a solution. I'm not sure what to do at this point, seeing as putting the ventral on at all makes the whole thing way less stable (just like real life!)

[ArgentBlue]

1 hour ago, CobaltWolf said:

We are aware, but all it does is (effectively) delete the parachute, so it's not really a solution. I'm not sure what to do at this point, seeing as putting the ventral on at all makes the whole thing way less stable (just like real life!)

Perhaps spliting the ventral fin into three parts, a decoupler, a parachute, and a control surface, may work? Though the actual parachute part would have to fit within the control surface part without clipping when it is deflected which would generate its own set of headaches.

[Pudgemountain]

All weekend I sent 3 (technically 4 but one blew up on launch) to Windswept and its Moon Tension.

First Mission Wild Wind VI was an attempted splashdown on Windswept, turns out it might be a Barren Wasteland ^^;.

Spoiler

Maybe use of Aerobrakes might help us out.

Well 1 chute deployed the other kinda...

What are those things,

Trees?

We ended up on our side.

Thankfully Bill suggested to use the Aerobrakes to level the probe up and surprisingly it worked.

I can safely say that at one point, Windswept had life but then dried up.

Next mission was a flyby of Tension I dubbed Wild Wind T1, unfortunately it flewby the dark side.

Spoiler

Got a nice shot of Windswept and Tension together.

It was alright.

Next Mission Wild Wind T2 was more successful with orbiting Tension and had some interesting pictures.

Spoiler

The overall design is that of Wild Wind III and IV but replaced the Nimbus atmosphere instruments with others.

Look at that canyon.

My favorite part is a Windswept rise which reminds me of Apollo 8.

All those missions were broadcasted live for the Kerbals at home thanks to the Ranger.

Next step is to make a unmmaned lander for Tension, might name that one Chiatzou because Tension sounds like Tien Shinhan. Unless someone else has a better idea that fits lol.

[guest10985]

10 hours ago, GoldForest said:

X-15 to the Mun!

Full album (It's out of order, also, yes, some of the images are in 1440P because I had to downgrade them. Why? Ask imgur why it won't accept the 4K version...): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

(No, I didn't just do direct reentry from the Mun, I got into low Kerbin orbit then deorbitted.)

https://imgur.com/a/zuK3dHi

(Just the part were MORL solar panels are sticking out the side of the S-IV)

[Pappystein]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:26 AM, GoldForest said:

X-15 to the Mun!

Full album (It's out of order, also, yes, some of the images are in 1440P because I had to downgrade them. Why? Ask imgur why it won't accept the 4K version...): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

(No, I didn't just do direct reentry from the Mun, I got into low Kerbin orbit then deorbitted.)

 

Nice album GoldForest!   I have One question and one comment.

Question:  Did you intend to land on the island field or is that a result of an overshoot?  I see you heading BACK towards KSC on the vanilla Kerbin planet (regardless of any re-scale)?

Comment:  Well it is the same as Guest10985:  https://imgur.com/a/zuK3dHi

Post-script,  Did the ventral fin not survive re-entry (I see it in some pictures and missing at the end)?