[WIP] After Space Shuttle - Near Future Deep Space Exploration Concepts

[PugzInSpace]

A collection a parts for exploring the outer reaches of the Kerbol System. The focus of this project is on command modules and the like. Made for stock Kerbal Space Program.

A majority of the parts included in this collection will be 3.75 m in diameter or greater.

Andromeda:

3.75 meter advanced command/service module. Capable of long duration space flights. Accommodates a crew of six.

Planned Parts:

• 3.75 m Andromeda Command/Service Module
  
• 5.75 m Aquila Munar Lander
  
• 5 m Deep Space Habitation Unit
  
• 6 m Deep Space Propulsion Stage
  
• 5 m Odysseus Manned Exploration System
  
• And more...
  

Planned Features:

• KIS/KAS/Mechjeb Integration
  
• TAC Life Support Integration
  
• IVAs with RPM support
  

Disclaimer: Renderings in the thread look 10x better than their in game equivalents. They were post-rendered through mental ray.

Edited November 2, 2015 by PugzInSpace
New Scope

[VenomousRequiem]

First!

What strange sizes... Keep up the good work!

[PugzInSpace]

First!

What strange sizes... Keep up the good work!

I scaled everything based on the Orion Capsule

[G'th]

Sounds like a mix and match of SLS/Orion, SpaceX, Constellation and some others I think hardware. Very nice so far, look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[_Augustus_]

Cool!

[PugzInSpace]

First Progress Report: Got two parts into the game. Textures are still a little rough, and config balances won't come until more parts are done.

I present to you: the Common Booster Core.

A pinnacle of Kerbal engineering and a representation of raw power.

Jeb and Co. maxed out at 11 G's before stage burnout. They were traveling at 1,600 m/s with an apoapsis of 144km at 67 seconds into the flight. Take that gravity!

Edited October 18, 2015 by PugzInSpace

[G'th]

If thats what you call rough textures then I shudder at the thought of how awesome your polished textures will be

[Sudragon]

Looks like tweaked copies of SSTU.

[Sampa]

Will be watching this to seewhat becomes of it.

[TrainEngie]

Looks like tweaked copies of SSTU.

I don't think so?

[PugzInSpace]

Looks like tweaked copies of SSTU.

I started this before I knew SSTU was a thing. I can assure you that all of these parts are custom made by me. It's flattering that you would compare my work to such an amazing mod, though.

[PugzInSpace]

Another progress update:

I made a place holder Andromeda CSM for testing the Draco IV launch system. As you can tell, the Andromeda textures are not ready yet, but I wanted to figure out the part balances for the Common Booster Core. These are the models I will use for the finished product.

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I decided I would send it on a little trip to the Mun. I am using a lot of stock parts (until I make my own). The capsule is 3.75 meters in diameter, and the service module maxes out at 4 meters. Because of that, I have to resize the Common Booster Core (3.8 meters). Better to find out sooner than later.

Edited October 18, 2015 by PugzInSpace

[PugzInSpace]

This is the first progress update that I didn't throw together in less than 5 minutes. Enjoy!

So far I was able to get the Andromeda CSM models 90% complete. All that is left to do is the window geometry on the capsule, the structural adapter that connects the CSM to its launch vehicle, the umbilical that attaches the capsule to the service module, and the fairings that protect the RCS blocks and solar panels during launch.

Part list (from the top): Parachute Shroud, Parachute and Crew Tube, Capsule, Heatshield, Service Module (includes RCS blocks and the Orbital Manuevering Engines, which can barely be seen near the bottom), and finally the Engine.

The shroud is sized so that you can use the stock 1.25 meter docking port, or you can use the non-standard docking port I will be including in this pack.

All in all, I feel the models turned out very well. I will probably go through and try to reduce the polygon count as much as I can without sacrificing the level of detail that I want.

The next thing I want to do is run the parts through Unity, get them into the game, and balance their config files. Then I will finish up the modeling details and create the textures.

After that the plan is to make the solar panels and the Draco launch system (Delta IV analog). I pretty much decided to scrap the models and textures for the Draco; I want way more quality out of my work. My plan is to balance the parts in a way so that you are encouraged to use the Draco IV system to launch the Andromeda CSM, but if you so desire, you can use the stock parts for that purpose as well (it will just take a little more engines). I also plan on creating a series of adapters to connect the Draco parts (4 meter) to the 3.75 meter parts. The reason for the non-standard sizes for a lot of these parts is that I scaled them all to the Andromeda capsule. Because the Orion is 5 meters, when I scaled it down to 3.75 meters, the 5.1 meter Delta IV ended up going down to 3.875 meters (I decided 4 meters would be better though).

Obviously, I still have a lot of thinking to do about how I want to integrate these parts into the stock game. I want them to compliment the parts that Squad has provided. My goal is to balance them in such a way where it would be benificial to use them, despite the fact that some of them will be similar in size and function to parts that already exist. I am always open to ideas and suggestions, and I encourage you to provide them without mercy. Criticize me.

To be honest, before I started this project a little more than two weeks ago, I had very little experience in modeling, and absolutely no experience in UV mapping, texturing, Unity, and KSP's config system. I still have no experience in animation. I'm astonished with the rate at which I was able to pick these skills up. The internet is a wonderful place.

Thanks to xxhansonmaxx for all of his help so far, and I wish him good luck on his Hermes recreation.

That's all for now.

[PugzInSpace]

Finally got the window geometry done. It was a real learning experience.

At this point in time, all of the parts in the Andromeda family are modeled. I still have to add detail to the parachute shroud, animate the service module and solar panels, create the textures, model and texture the IVA, create a second texture for the lights on the capsule, run the parts through Unity, set up the configs, and then balance them so they feel right at home in Kerbal Space Program.

When this is all done, I can finally move onto the Draco IV (4 meter Delta IV analogue). Having an actual payload will make balancing the Draco much simpler. Doing the Andromeda first also gives me a chance to use all of my new found knowledge on developing the Draco.

The entire Andromeda Assembly is rendered in an exploded view (not literally) on the first page of this thread if you haven't seen it yet. That should give you a good idea of what the finished product will look like. I want my texture to be more like stock Kerbal Space Program, and less like the real Orion capsule. That way you won't feel weird strapping it to a Mainsail (or two).

Things are still coming along nicely, and I look foward to getting all of these parts into the game.

Edit: Added the top most RCS thrusters. Here is the capsule with the service module.

Edited October 24, 2015 by PugzInSpace

[sDaZe]

Wow im excited for this! good luck!

[mariohm1311]

Finally got the window geometry done. It was a real learning experience.

You didn't. You've got a lot to polish. Look at all those n-gons.

[PugzInSpace]

You didn't. You've got a lot to polish. Look at all those n-gons.

Good point. I'll look into that.

[PugzInSpace]

I don't really have anything to show for this update. I've been working mostly on ideas.

I have decided to limit the scope of the project to command modules and all the stuff that goes along with that. There are plenty of mods out there that offer heavy launch systems, and I honestly believe I could contribute much more to the community by focusing on a single topic.

I've realized that my Andromeda models are a little too detailed for stock KSP, and I don't feel they would fit into the tech tree that well, considering most of them have one purpose only. I will have to go through and re-evaluate which parts need to be changed or scrapped; the goal is to provide modular parts that can be used in as many different ways as possible. The command module should be mostly the same; I will just remove things like the RCS thrusters. I have an extreme dislike of reaction wheels, and was really looking foward to having a command module that relied on a reaction control system instead, but at some point I have to find a happy medium between my vision and reality (that reality being my desire to integrate everything into stock KSP ). From now on, this project is no longer intended to provide analogues of real world space craft, but rather it is intended to take those concepts and use them as inspiration for a series of parts that will fill gaps in the later tech tree and provide adaquate technologies for end game contracts (for example, larger parts for manned trips to Jool). I have also started work on something else. It is a 5 meter command module that accommodates a crew of 15, and its intended use is for outer Kerbol system exploration. It is named Odysseus, after the hero in Homer's classic epic. I felt it was an apt name because of the similarities between Odysseus' voyage and the nature of deep space exploration (mostly, they both take a very long time and are very lonely endeavors). It will be a self contained capsule that doesn't rely on propulsion, attitude control, life support, and etc. from a seperate service module (which is possible only through made-up technology ). I really want to shake up the current paradigm for command modules (which is the Apollo style CSM) and experiment with new ideas. I think I will divide the capsule up into many different modular parts, so that way you could have a different design for every single mission.

One idea I have is a heatshield that utilizes ram jet technology to slow down large payloads returning from very high energy orbits (like Jool); you would only have to budget enough fuel to perform an aerobrake into Kerbin's orbit. Basically, it has shock cone intakes at the bottom which funnel hypersonic air into combustion chambers that are injected with Liquid Fuel, and thrust would come out near the perimeter. I haven't worked out all of the details yet, but I guess it would make use of an engine module, and its thrust output would be dependant on the ships velocity and the local air pressure. I'm not going for physical accuracy here, I am just merely trying to provide interesting, new technologies that would make use of your hard earned science.

I am definitely going to hold off on any beta release of my parts until Kerbal Space Program 1.1 because it doesn't seem like a very good use of my time to develop an addition to a version of KSP that will soon become outdated. I understand that it is mostly plugins that will be affected, but it can be very time consuming to set up animations and the like in Unity, and with working full time and my next semester of school coming up, I won't have much time to give to this project. I can honestly say that I can't even begin to understand the gravity of this new update, and I definitely don't know if this is a good enough reason to hold off on any work in Unity. All I know is that Squad is hard at work improving a game that, in my opinion, they no longer have any obligation to release free updates for. It is dedication like that that really seperates them from a lot of companies, and I appreciate all the effort they are putting into keeping the community content. As for right now, I am going to focus on modeling and texturing.

On an unrelated note, because yesterday was Halloween, I decided I would binge watch old movies and television series that I had never seen before, despite the fact they are things that people have always told me I need to see. I had no real criteria for my selections, and none of them were really related to Halloween. The only reason I bring this up is one of the things I decided to watch was 2001: A Space Odyssey. I love Kubrick; I just never saw it until now. A lot of space epics seem to focus on exploration far outside the SOI of Earth. The Martian, Interstellar, and Star Trek to name a few. 2001: A Space Odyssey does this too, of course. But what really caught my attention was the amount of time that was dedicated to the Moon in the film. Sure, the first 30 minutes or so are dedicated to men hunched over in monkey suits and beating each other with femurs borrowed from the skeletons of long deceased animals, and the last hour and a half to computer that goes crazy and attacks a crew of astronauts. The steps that the man (I never really caught his name) took to get to the Moon really reminded me that just because people have already visited it (or pretended to), it doesn't mean we are done there. In fact, I feel returning to the Moon now would be a much greater achievement than the Moon landings of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Not on a technological level, because it is expected for technology to have advanced in the last 50 years, so getting to the Moon should now, in theory, be a much safer endeavor; instead on a geopolitical level, and there is nothing that says global relations and individual societies will improve over time. I thoroughly believe that the only reason the United States decided to send men to the Moon in the first place is because they were in direct competition with the USSR, and the only reason we haven't been back is because of the lack of the fear of nuclear annihilation. However, going back now would be a great step foward for humanity. It would be an excellent demonstration of the fact that we don't need conflict to drive progress, but instead just a yearning for discovery. I know that this is really off topic, but this is something that means a lot to me, and has really inspired me. Also, this is my thread, and I feel it is a good place to spread my ideas.

So far, I have really enjoyed the forums. There are a lot of dedicated people who take full advantage of the forums as a tool to learn and teach. Kerbal Space Program is a game that can really inspire, and I can tell it certainly has, and could continue to do so long past the expiration date of a normal video game. I feel like I am being way too sentimental, so this is where I will end the update. If you actually read all of this, I'm really impressed. My attention span, just like renting DVD's, is almost non-existent (such an odd thing to think about).

Edited November 2, 2015 by PugzInSpace
Grammar