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

[Pappystein]

57 minutes ago, VhenRa said:

Doesn't it require a vacuum optimized Castor-120? For the second stage I mean? 

There is no such thing IRL.   It was SUGGESTED that one be developed for the later Athena rockets but given most rockets that launch Castor-120/Castor-120  are still in the lower atmosphere and given the High Vaccum ISP already on the Castor-120 such a development would give a negligible gain for a greatly increased rocket cost.   Further in the case of Athena rockets the later versions were to use the Orion upper stage with a much more efficent engine than the early Athenas and their origional upper stage

I would add that there IS a Castor-120XL

 

Edited September 25, 2018 by Pappystein

[golkaidakhaana]

You can sort-of make a Corona satellite using tweakscale:

Edited September 25, 2018 by golkaidakhaana

[CobaltWolf]

12 hours ago, VhenRa said:

Doesn't it require a vacuum optimized Castor-120? For the second stage I mean? 

It says so in Eyes, but honestly the difference is probably fairly marginal especially in KSP. In any case, I am probably already wasting a lot of time and clogging up the VAB part list with all these solid based LVs, so adding even more marginal parts (for ex, vacuum optimized versions of the Castor-120 and GEM-40, a proper SR-118, etc) is a step too far. If it's essential then I'm sure someone will make an optional MM patch to create the missing parts.

If anyone is curious, we're talking about the Carrack launch vehicle from Eyes Turned Skywards, which is basically the same idea as the Peacekeeper-derived rockets IRL (hey, the DoD will subsidize us in exchange for helping them keep the Peacekeeper production lines open) except a little earlier and, y'know, commercially successful for at least a decade before reusables push it out of the market.

[TheSpitfire24]

On 9/25/2018 at 12:10 PM, VhenRa said:

Doesn't it require a vacuum optimized Castor-120? For the second stage I mean? 

If i remember correctly, the Carrack from ETS had a Castor-120 with a regressive thrust curve as its second stage, not a vacuum optimised one

[CobaltWolf]

On 9/24/2018 at 10:10 PM, VhenRa said:

Doesn't it require a vacuum optimized Castor-120? For the second stage I mean?

16 hours ago, TheSpitfire24 said:

If i remember correctly, the Carrack from ETS had a Castor-120 with a regressive thrust curve as its second stage, not a vacuum optimised one

I just checked, you're both right - it was a regressive grain AND a vacuum optimized nozzle

Quote

Based on the initial leads with the DoD, ALS reached out to Thiokol, the manufacturers of the Peacekeeper first stages about production of a slightly modified civilian variant. ALS wanted two subvariants--one fitted with a vacuum optimized nozzle and a regressive-burning grain for the second stage, and the other for the first stage designed with variable number of booster attach points. ALS envisioned stacking one of the altitude-compensated civilian SR-118 stages (which received the designation “Castor 120” in civilian use for their loaded weight in thousands of pounds) on top of another Castor 120, this one optimized for sea level and fitted with attach points for up to 4 additional Castor 120 boosters. With a suitable liquid stage, ALS calculated that such a Carrack would be more than capable of replacing the Caravel for the 1 ton and greater range their customers were requesting, and equally capable of expanding their maximum payload from 3 tons to almost 6.

Link to original Eyes Turned Skywards post.

Well, I don't have the new decoupler or fairing base in game that will let you keep these rockets all-white, but in the meantime, who wants to show us what a Carrack looks like with these new parts and the BDB Agena D?

[MaverickSawyer]

4 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

Well, I don't have the new decoupler or fairing base in game that will let you keep these rockets all-white, but in the meantime, who wants to show us what a Carrack looks like with these new parts and the BDB Agena D?

How's this?

Sorry about the nighttime...

[Pappystein]

Well for some reason KSP won't let me take screenies with my current build...  IDK why.  But I have been flying Minotaur Vs and VIs the past two nights thanks to the new parts.   Have not tried to orbit an Agena yet but I think I could do that once I figure out what the Agena is going to be a bus for.

 

Eventually I will have a correctly functioning SR-118 for those of you who want the full Minotaur III+ Experience... Or for those of you who are actually crazy enough HAVE nukes in your game due to some weapon mod. (Say no to nukes, say no to Jello, say no to nukes!) 

 

 

[Drakenex]

 

 

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Nice! What parts are you using for the boattail and the fairing?

[debaker02]

AAAHHHH!! I was actually just using those parts in my career!!! Those parts are very cheap way to get like 3 tonnes to low orbit for my relay network (the "medium version of the rocket).....still flight testing for what is needed to get to GEO reliably.  I think the heavy will do the job, or i need to start making smaller relays lol.  

I don't have access to the best Belle parts yet so, time for more R&D!

I was saying something about an epic release a while back lol. 

[CobaltWolf]

23 hours ago, MaverickSawyer said:

How's this?

~snip~

Sorry about the nighttime...

16 hours ago, Drakenex said:

~snip~

Very cool!

 

16 hours ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Nice! What parts are you using for the boattail and the fairing?

Fairing looks like Procedural Fairing, boattail is a rescaled BDB 0.625m>0.9375m fairing base.

 

4 hours ago, debaker02 said:

AAAHHHH!! I was actually just using those parts in my career!!! Those parts are very cheap way to get like 3 tonnes to low orbit for my relay network (the "medium version of the rocket).....still flight testing for what is needed to get to GEO reliably.  I think the heavy will do the job, or i need to start making smaller relays lol.  

I don't have access to the best Belle parts yet so, time for more R&D!

I was saying something about an epic release a while back lol. 

I think smaller is definitely the way to go for these Peacekeeper-derived vehicles. They're pretty capable but definitely not GTO (speaking of which, do you mean GEO or GTO? Since most LVs are only obligated to get a payload to GTO) powerhouses, I imagine even with the extra strap-on Castor-120s.

 

19 hours ago, Pappystein said:

Well for some reason KSP won't let me take screenies with my current build...  IDK why.  But I have been flying Minotaur Vs and VIs the past two nights thanks to the new parts.   Have not tried to orbit an Agena yet but I think I could do that once I figure out what the Agena is going to be a bus for.

Eventually I will have a correctly functioning SR-118 for those of you who want the full Minotaur III+ Experience... Or for those of you who are actually crazy enough HAVE nukes in your game due to some weapon mod. (Say no to nukes, say no to Jello, say no to nukes!) 

F1 key isn't working for you? Darn, I'd love to see those...

The Carrack uses essentially a late-1980s vintage Ascent Agena (ie stripped to serve only as an upper stage, in Eyes Lockheed is still using them on Commercial Titan 3 into the early-90s), so no need to build it into a satellite.

Remember to rescale the length for the SR-118 too!

 

Well well, another work week almost gone by... that was quick! Checking my calendar, it looks like I'll be able to stream at the same time (~8 AM Eastern to 3 PM Eastern) not once, but *twice* this weekend! So tune in to https://www.twitch.tv/cobaltwolfy to see how the mod gets made! I'm thinking I'll focus on the remaining Peacekeeper-derived stuff, specifically the Castor 30 and 30XL, the Athena OAMS, and maybe more the Star-37 and Star-48 (more cus they need to get finished).

In the meantime, something else to maybe give y'all ideas for how to use these new parts...

 

[debaker02]

Hi, 

4 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

I think smaller is definitely the way to go for these Peacekeeper-derived vehicles. They're pretty capable but definitely not GTO (speaking of which, do you mean GEO or GTO? Since most LVs are only obligated to get a payload to GTO) powerhouses, I imagine even with the extra strap-on Castor-120s.

Hmm, good point I meant GTO.  Although i have yet to invent capable relays, so LEO is all i got for now.....just with a boat load of relays up there lol........ its like the kerbal way, moar boosters and moar space craft. Who needs a geo constellation that can be done with only a few craft!!!

[Jall]

Got Athena IIs up!

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by Jall

[CobaltWolf]

Dev stream about to start on Twitch!

[CobaltWolf]

Annnnd done! Made some great progress today, check out the 95% done Castor 30! Tomorrow we'll try and get the OAM (the gray thing above the Castor 30 in the pics) and the 30-XL done and then throw everything in game!

Y'know, I was worried - 'the Peacekeeper sections are so cool, who is ever going to want to use the Castor 30?'. Honestly, I love how it came out, and I think I might like it even more than the SR-119 and SR-120, even with their extending nozzles!

Left - Minotaur IV
Right - Athena 2c

[CobaltWolf]

Dev stream booting back up on Twitch for day two! Going to see how far we can get on the OAM, Castor 30XL, and Peacekeeper PBV. Not sure I'll be able to fit it in the texture sheet.

 

[Daishi]

Outstanding work, yet again!

Kerbal rockets have no business being this pretty

[CobaltWolf]

Another stream, another part... The Peacekeeper Stage 4 / Post Boost Vehicle! These were actually studied for use in civilian space missions after the Peacekeepers were decommissioned, but most wound up getting destroyed. It's a neat little stage, with both an integrated monoprop RCS system for full attitude control, and a small LFO engine for correcting your orbit - or just giving your rocket a little more oomph after SRB burnout.

[Pappystein]

Dayum dude!   Why do you have to stream when I am working!

Just got home and logged in to see all this beautiful fun stuff I asked for.    Effin Awesome!  That OAMS might just be your new "Best Looking Part" in the mod.   WOW!

[CobaltWolf]

4 minutes ago, Pappystein said:

Dayum dude!   Why do you have to stream when I am working!

Just got home and logged in to see all this beautiful fun stuff I asked for.    Effin Awesome!  That OAMS might just be your new "Best Looking Part" in the mod.   WOW!

That's not the OAMS... that has yet to come

[notJebKerman]

With Castor 30 & 30XL all we need now is a warehouse full of old Krussian engines 

[Pappystein]

1 hour ago, CobaltWolf said:

That's not the OAMS... that has yet to come

Yup I skrewed up on that.  IDK why I was thinking OAMS... Obviously with the nestled Hypergolic engine it is the PBV... Only excuse is I worked on my day off today.

1 hour ago, notJebKerman said:

With Castor 30 & 30XL all we need now is a warehouse full of old Krussian engines 

Um There are PLENTY of mods that give you the more "fun" Soviet/Russian engines....    While not quite up to CobaltWolf's standards... a few (MadRocketScientist's or KOSMOS) are pretty nice looking.

[CobaltWolf]

3 hours ago, notJebKerman said:

With Castor 30 & 30XL all we need now is a warehouse full of old Krussian engines 

1 hour ago, Pappystein said:

Um There are PLENTY of mods that give you the more "fun" Soviet/Russian engines....    While not quite up to CobaltWolf's standards... a few (MadRocketScientist's or KOSMOS) are pretty nice looking.

He meant the Antares... I personally feel strongly that Antares deserved a better record than it got. If it was available 10 or 20 years earlier (I guess available by 2000?) it could have competed against EELVs and maybe gotten some upgrades, in addition to obviously sorting out the engine issue earlier... by the time it came online the only contracts it could secure were the ones NASA was basically obligated to give it through COTS. There were AMAs with former Orbital engineers talking about how there had been upgrade paths explored, chiefly being a hydrogen upper stage (Which, remember Orbital- er, NGIS now has for OmegA). I sometimes think about that being combined with, perhaps, Castor-120 with a fast-burning grain, suddenly it starts looking like an H-2A with a kerolox core...

In any case, no plans on creating Antares for BDB. I want to finish these rockets and then get back to the historical stuff. Right now perhaps my biggest thought is wanting to redo the Saturn engines (H-1, J-2, F-1) to the quality that things like the E-1 have received. I want to redo the Saturn series in general some day, but the biggest offenders right now are the engines IMO.

1 hour ago, Pappystein said:

Yup I skrewed up on that.  IDK why I was thinking OAMS... Obviously with the nestled Hypergolic engine it is the PBV... Only excuse is I worked on my day off today.

Yup, the OAM will be here soon enough though.

 

[Tyko]

21 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

Another stream, another part... The Peacekeeper Stage 4 / Post Boost Vehicle! These were actually studied for use in civilian space missions after the Peacekeepers were decommissioned, but most wound up getting destroyed. It's a neat little stage, with both an integrated monoprop RCS system for full attitude control, and a small LFO engine for correcting your orbit - or just giving your rocket a little more oomph after SRB burnout.

Blown away! fricking fantastic work  

[Abpilot]

On 9/23/2018 at 8:36 AM, Jay The Amazing Toaster said:

 

Mind if I copy it? 

Stalin will do it the Russian way...reverse engineering  it to look like N1 and say its different...