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

[biohazard15]

6 hours ago, Transformatron said:

Having SIb troubles again, with the H1s in the original config and the SM set to orbital I only have a twr of 0.93.  Playing in 2.5 KSRSS.

What are "Supplies"? Life support mods usually add mass. Sometimes too much mass.

[Zorg]

10 hours ago, Transformatron said:

Having SIb troubles again, with the H1s in the original config and the SM set to orbital I only have a twr of 0.93.  Playing in 2.5 KSRSS.

I have a sea level atmospheric TWR of 1.19 with orbital config SM and full ablator with original config engines. If you're playing with life support you may just need to make some compromises and upgrade your engines, reduce ablator, reduce life support supplies maybe even solid fuel in the abort tower etc.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Zorg

[Zorg]

Couple of new decals

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Zorg

[CobaltWolf]

More LRV progress. Planning on streaming dev work Friday night, maybe Saturday as well.

 

[Pappystein]

52 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

More LRV progress. Planning on streaming dev work Friday night, maybe Saturday as well.

 

A) I still can't believe this is a project that is being undertaken it looks amazing and I know you probably feel it is just over half done!  

B) Have an odd-ball but hopefully an easy request.    Any chance of 6.25, and 4.25m Heat shields for Recoverable Saturn stages?    I am tempted to just create re-scales of either the Gemini or Big-G Heat shields but thought I would put this up on the "part potential Radar" as potential quick and easy part fodder. (gosh I hope those would be quick and easy!)

 

17 hours ago, Transformatron said:

Having SIb troubles again, with the H1s in the original config and the SM set to orbital I only have a twr of 0.93.  Playing in 2.5 KSRSS.

I know this has already been specifically answered... it is your Life Support mod.  

All Life Support mods seem to think "ADD A TON OF MASS" = Good Life Support (I haven't found one that DIDN'T add a crap ton of mass that was already on the base spaceship parts.)     I stopped using LS mods because every one of them breaks the game balance in a NEGATIVE way (ok yeah that is my opinion.)    In fictional craft you may not see this... But in historically accurate ones... that are modeled as close to realism as the BDB team shoots for....   Well you can clearly see the problem.

 

[Pappystein]

3 hours ago, Zorg said:

Couple of new decals

 

 

Flown any P-40 Warhawks or A-10 Thunderbolt ][s  recently Zorg?

***SO SHARKY***

3 hours ago, Zorg said:

 

 

Ugh!  ***NOT Sharky!***  

Seriously Thanks for the Decals!

Edited June 22, 2022 by Pappystein

[Zorg]

5 minutes ago, Pappystein said:

 

***SO SHARKY***

Ugh!  ***NOT Sharky!***  

 

Before eating a GPS satellite and after eating a GPS satellite, you decide which is which  

[Pudgemountain]

4 hours ago, Zorg said:

Before eating a GPS satellite and after eating a GPS satellite, you decide which is which  

We lost the probe heading towards Dres.....apparently the fairing on the rocket ate it.

[Shlyopa]

Thats the thing i wanted most... Also do decals work with SAF?

13 hours ago, Zorg said:

Couple of new decals

 

 

 

[pTrevTrevs]

Skylab 5: We Renovate Anything!:

 

July 1975: NASA prepares to round out Phase One of Skylab's lifetime with the addition of a final manned mission added to the original planned series of three. Skylab 5 was initially planned to use the new Apollo Block III spacecraft and Saturn IC launch vehicle, and would have flown a 60-day mission to the orbiting outpost to continue the research begun by Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Unfortunately, complications with the new Saturn and its new facilities at the reactivated LC-34 and LC-37 Saturn Launch Complex threatened to postpone the vehicle's man-rating certification far into next year.
 

Quote

 

With the Space Shuttle also set to enter service as early as 1979, some within the administration questioned the continuing need for Apollo/Saturn at all. Why continue flying (and funding) a spacecraft meant to make use of inexpensive legacy hardware yet which could not reenter operational service until 1977, barely two years before the more economical Shuttle? Indeed, why hold on to Apollo-era hardware at all if it threatened to deprive other programs of funding for little in return? Five second-generation Saturn Vs were sitting in storage at the Cape requiring tens of thousands of dollars every month to maintain, with the administration unclear on whether there would ever be missions for them. Meanwhile, unmanned exploration division was preparing ambitious plans to land on Mars and Venus, as well as explorations of the four outer planets, in the next five years, and the cost of STS's development rose higher by the day. In order to save what was left of Apollo the "Capsule Division", as the AAP team had come to be known around the MSC, would need to prove the continuing viability of Apollo in the approaching Shuttle era. In Skylab 5 they would have one chance to do it.

The Block III spacecraft intended for Skylab 5 was actually already at the Cape, having sat for months in the Operations and Checkout Building awaiting its Saturn IC booster. Also at the Cape were the last two Saturn IBs. The first, SA-209, had been reserved for the Skylab Rescue mission which was on standby any time a crew was on Skylab. The second, SA-210, however, was about to be decommissioned as surplus hardware. Moving quickly, the AAP team drafted a solution to launch Skylab 5 on SA-210. Meanwhile SA-301, the first Saturn IC, was also scheduled to be flight-ready by July, although not certified for a manned launch. Originally it had been assumed SA-301 would carry an unmanned Block III spacecraft or a mass simulator as its first flight test. Now, however, thanks to AAP's resourceful planning, the Saturn IC would launch the second AARDV to provide Skylab 5 with enough supplies for a forty-day mission. With it appearing likely that no other crew would visit Skylab for nearly two years, the mission's objective was altered to prepare the station for a period of dormancy. Many of the station's systems were expected to need maintenance; in particular the Apollo Telescope Mount would need to be shut down and its film removed. Improvements would be needed for the station's electrical system, already strained from the loss of an entire solar wing during launch. With no crew to monitor the station's exterior, NASA desired a way to do so remotely, and a set of current radio transponders to 'futureproof' the station against the automatic rendezvous software set to roll out on future Aardvark spacecraft would be best installed now as well. Finally, the AAP team brainstormed for a way to prove the necessity of Apollo-based spacecraft by demonstrating in flight a procedure that the Shuttle could not. It was not long before they realized that they already had the answer; all Apollo would have to do in orbit was stay there. For all its cutting-edge advancements, thanks to its fragile thermal protection system the Shuttle was simply incapable of an extended stay in orbit. No shuttle which brought a crew to a space station would be able to remain on orbit to retrieve them in case of emergency; the best that STS could hope for was for a second shuttle to launch on demand. In contrast, Apollo had already proven its endurance by remaining in space for 90 days during Skylab 4. With all this in mind a cohesive flight plan was soon crafted, the final battle in AAP's fight to continue existing, Apollo's Hail Mary...

 

 

Quote

Skylab 5 will be flown by an all-rookie crew, a trio of new astronauts who had drawn the short straw and ended up in AAP during selection. 

On a muggy July afternoon the final Saturn IB launches from LC-39B with the first Apollo Block III spacecraft, forming a fleeting link between past and present.

Clear skies above the Florida coast allow infrared tracking cameras to follow the booster well into the S-IVB burn, even capturing the LES jettison relatively clearly.

Upon reaching orbit the first test of the new vehicle begins. Using the docking target suspended inside the SLA the crew assesses the new spacecraft's stationkeeping performance with the smaller service module.

The rendezvous itself serves as the second test, involving numerous burns of the new APS-derived engine on the Block III. Upon arrival at Skylab, the crew enters the station and powers it up for the busy weeks ahead...

 

Quote

Following the launch of Apollo 7 in 1968 LC-34 and LC-37 were deactivated as a cost-saving measure. From then on all Saturn launches took place from LC-39, and the pads fell into disrepair. With the conception of the Saturn IC, however, the pads began to receive notice once again. The gigantic VAB and LC-39 pads were ultimately oversized for Saturn I's descendants, and although the Skylab flights would use Pad 39B and a modified mobile launcher as a stopgap, to many it just didn't make sense to continue using the pads for sustained launches of such small vehicles. When STS was approved in 1972 and entered full development, LC-39 was favored as the program's launch site for obvious reasons. Thus, as LC-39A was temporarily decommissioned for conversion to Space Shuttle infrastructure in 1973, LC-34 was simultaneously given a comprehensive rebuild to bring it up to the modern standard. A new LUT taken from one of the mobile launchers was erected in place of the original, and the concrete launch stand was removed to make room for a new movable platform. The rolling gantry was torn down and replaced with a new static integration facility within which a Saturn IC could be stacked directly onto its launcher, just like in the VAB, before being rolled out and mated to the LUT. The blockhouse, originally a necessity of the limited technology of the 1960s, was abandoned and launch control was assumed by a new firing room building erected equidistant between LC-34 and LC-37 in order to supervise launches from both facilities. Additional infrastructure was erected closer to the pads as well, such as a new checkout building to process Apollo and AARDV spacecraft. The renovation was complete by early 1975, and work on LC-37 was scheduled to begin soon after.

Two weeks into Skylab 5's stay in orbit, its AARDV spacecraft launched aboard SA-301, becoming the first vehicle to launch from LC-34 in seven years. 

Among the roadblocks threatening Saturn IC's man-rating was the throttle-down capability with the F-1A engine. Although the F1-A had flown on the last three Apollo flights, G-limiting during ascent was accomplished in the same manner as other Saturn Vs, that is by shutting down the S-1C's center engine earlier than the other four. With only one engine, Saturn IC could not use this method. Due to technical difficulties and lack of time the F-1A on SA-301 had actually been repossessed from one of the Generation 2 Saturn Vs, SA-517, and thus did not have a throttle-down capability. As a result, the spacecraft experienced nearly five Gs of acceleration shortly before S-1E cutoff. This was an issue which would need to be rectified before astronauts could fly on Saturn IC.

Once in orbit, Aardvark 2 began its automated rendezvous procedure, and arrived at Skylab one day after launch. The approach and docking, however, would have to be performed remotely by the astronauts onboard.

Along with the consumables carried aboard, AARDV 2 also brought up most of the equipment which would be installed aboard the station as part of its renovation and mothballing. Just as Aardvark 1 before, Aardvark 2 would remain berthed to the station and provide storage space until shortly before the crew's own departure.

 

Bonus: One of the secondary objectives of Skylab 5 was to perform orbital observation of the launch of Satcom 1 on the first 3000-series Delta. From its position in GEO over the Pacific Ocean, Satcom would provide reliable communication between Alaska, Hawaii, and the mainland United States.

Quote

 

[SpaceFace545]

6 minutes ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Skylab 5: We Renovate Anything!:

 

July 1975: NASA prepares to round out Phase One of Skylab's lifetime with the addition of a final manned mission added to the original planned series of three. Skylab 5 was initially planned to use the new Apollo Block III spacecraft and Saturn IC launch vehicle, and would have flown a 60-day mission to the orbiting outpost to continue the research begun by Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Unfortunately, complications with the new Saturn and its new facilities at the reactivated LC-34 and LC-37 Saturn Launch Complex threatened to postpone the vehicle's man-rating certification far into next year.
 

 

 

 

Bonus: One of the secondary objectives of Skylab 5 was to perform orbital observation of the launch of Satcom 1 on the first 3000-series Delta. From its position in GEO over the Pacific Ocean, Satcom would provide reliable communication between Alaska, Hawaii, and the mainland United States.

 

I love the idea of apollo and shuttle coexisting 

[pTrevTrevs]

1 hour ago, SpaceFace545 said:

I love the idea of apollo and shuttle coexisting 

In a world where funding is no issue…

 

Actually a few months back I think I was pondering whether to go Shuttle or ETS/AAP after I finished my moon landings, had one too many drinks, and decided “¿Porque no los dos?”

[SpaceFace545]

31 minutes ago, pTrevTrevs said:

In a world where funding is no issue…

 

Actually a few months back I think I was pondering whether to go Shuttle or ETS/AAP after I finished my moon landings, had one too many drinks, and decided “¿Porque no los dos?”

I mean what you had made sense. It kinda plays the role of HL-20. I don’t know if AARDV fits in but it’s cool anyways. 

 

Personally I’d stick with the Saturn IB cause it’s cool as hell.

[Zorg]

4 hours ago, Shlyopa said:

Thats the thing i wanted most... Also do decals work with SAF?

 

You will need to place the decal on the fairing base and then translate up (sometimes holding shift if its troublesome?). All fairing bases in BDB should support surface attach, if you find one that doesn't let us know.

[Zorg]

Hot bleed cycle early NERVA

The full flow cycle late NERVA (about 3/4 the size of NERVA II but similar stats to hot bleed NERVA ) which was the baseline for  the reusable nuclear shuttle is also planned.  (plus a little surprise)

Edited June 23, 2022 by Zorg

[GoldForest]

1 minute ago, Zorg said:

Hot bleed cycle early NERVA

The full flow cycle late NERVA (about 3/4 the size of NERVA II but similar stats to hot bleed NERVA ) which was the baseline for  the reusable nuclear shuttle is also planned. 

Project Daedalus when?  JK

Looks great! We need something for the S-IVB. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by GoldForest

[GoldForest]

A little teaser of what I'm working on... having a little trouble, mainly that parts are clipping and don't want to stage properly... I'll get it working tho. 

And for those wondering. 31. 31 RL10s.

[SpaceFace545]

1 hour ago, GoldForest said:

A little teaser of what I'm working on... having a little trouble, mainly that parts are clipping and don't want to stage properly... I'll get it working tho. 

And for those wondering. 31. 31 RL10s.

Centaur Centaur is a though beast to get working 

[TheLoneOne]

ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the Saturn shuttle (I took a lot of liberties) 

 

Just now, TheLoneOne said:

ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the Saturn shuttle (I took a lot of liberties) 

 

and if your wondering she flys great.  even it the upper atmosphere.

[GoldForest]

32 minutes ago, SpaceFace545 said:

Centaur Centaur is a though beast to get working 

Not Centaur Centaur lol. Centaur Centaur can't fit 31 RL 10s

[TheLoneOne]

23 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

More LRV progress. Planning on streaming dev work Friday night, maybe Saturday as well.

 

do you need a driver's license to use it?

[MikoYurei]

53 minutes ago, TheLoneOne said:

ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the Saturn shuttle (I took a lot of liberties) 

Wery good-looking lv! I also build the Saturn-Shuttle, but using CA parts, not SOCK

[ballisticfox0]

Spoiler

 

[bigyihsuan]

I wish there were more Textures Unlimited configs for BDB parts so I can recolor them to incredibly garish color schemes...

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/a/8S1REFE

Edited June 23, 2022 by bigyihsuan

[SpaceFace545]

49 minutes ago, ballisticfox0 said:

  Hide contents

 

If only Bella TU was still being worked on or worked fully