SLS goes orange

[Guest]

Oh, look.

NASA uninstalled KerbPaint.

[Hcube]

I guess it doesn't really matter. Since it's only going to be powerpoint slides anyway, they can use whatever color they want.

I give it about 40% for one launch, 0% for a 2nd one.

Edit: Actually I'm probably being way optimistic.

7 RS-25 tests, full-scale test coming soon, boosters ready and tested, parts currently being assembled... That's pretty advanced for a powerpoint slide.

+1 Kryten, i'd bet that it flies. Twice.

[StrandedonEarth]

It's not about budget, that is the problem. It is very much the,same reason nasa stopped painting the shuttle,et white. Weight. Paint does not have a lot of weight in small quantities. Maybe a gram at the most. But, for a,vehicle , the,size of the sls, it adds up!

600lbs worth of paint on the Shuttle ET, IIRC

[Bill Phil]

Yuck. I don't like that look. But I also like 50s car designs quite a lot, so I'm not one to judge.

[GeneCash]

Do you want to do an actual bet, if you're that confident?

Nah. It depresses me so much I feel like I should just start drinking.

This is based on the Ares 1-X experience. I even literally have the t-shirt, and the lapel pin. :-(

On the other hand, Falcon Heavy does give me a reason to live.

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7 RS-25 tests, full-scale test coming soon, boosters ready and tested, parts currently being assembled... That's pretty advanced for a powerpoint slide.

+1 Kryten, i'd bet that it flies. Twice.

X-33 got pretty far too, before Lockheed managed to strangle it with their incompetence. They had quite a few tests of the linear aerospike and a lot of structure assembled. All I got out of it was a Matchbox toy and yet another t-shirt.

Construction of the prototype was some 85% assembled with 96% of the parts and the launch facility 100%[4] complete when the program was canceled by NASA in 2001

Edited October 22, 2015 by GeneCash

[fredinno]

Same foam used on Japan's H-2/2A/2B series.

They're steel casings, so you wouldn't want to leave them exposed to the environment, they're boosters so a bit of extra dry mass makes minimal difference to payload, and they're smooth so they're much easier to paint than the rough spray-on insulation.

Also the same insulation used on Delta IV.

Still, why do they put logo paint on payload fairings?

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It looks way cooler in orange, also this way dumb uneducated-in-space-stuff people won't confuzzle it with the Saturn V.

Hopefully, they won't confuse it with Ares now...

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They're also painted for thermal reasons. If Orbital-ATK's advanced boosters (Dark Knights) are chosen they would still be painted white.

No, they are black, probably for UV protection reasons.

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7 RS-25 tests, full-scale test coming soon, boosters ready and tested, parts currently being assembled... That's pretty advanced for a powerpoint slide.

+1 Kryten, i'd bet that it flies. Twice.

I bet that it flys to the 2040s!(at least)

[G'th]

Also the same insulation used on Delta IV.

Still, why do they put logo paint on payload fairings?

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Hopefully, they won't confuse it with Ares now...

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No, they are black, probably for UV protection reasons.

Well, I'd say its mostly because in those cases the payload likely isn't pushing the launcher to its limit so the relatively small amount of paint would be fine on the fairings. You have to figure that those logos are likely going to weigh far less than painting the entire tank, and if you already have a lot of headroom in your vehicle it probably isn't going to matter.

And isn't the primary difference between SLS and Ares V just in the core engines and the second stage?

[fredinno]

Nah. It depresses me so much I feel like I should just start drinking.

This is based on the Ares 1-X experience. I even literally have the t-shirt, and the lapel pin. :-(

On the other hand, Falcon Heavy does give me a reason to live.

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X-33 got pretty far too, before Lockheed managed to strangle it with their incompetence. They had quite a few tests of the linear aerospike and a lot of structure assembled. All I got out of it was a Matchbox toy and yet another t-shirt.

SLS has been farther than Ares I and Constellation in implementation for a while now.

Orion CM prototype was complete in 2014, and LES and SRBs are going to be complete in about a year or so. Upper Stage bascially a Delta 5 meter upper.

[okan170]

Also the same insulation used on Delta IV.

No, they are black, probably for UV protection reasons.

This is incorrect. I have been told directly by people involved that they will be painted white for protection against heat, like the filament-wound boosters would have been had they flown on STS. The raw material of the casing is composite giving it its black color.

Edited October 22, 2015 by okan170

[NovaSilisko]

Remember SLS has major political muscle behind it, for better or worse.

[Kryten]

This is based on the Ares 1-X experience. I even literally have the t-shirt, and the lapel pin. :-(

If you think the SLS development has been anything like the Ares-I one was, you can't have been paying much attention back then. Ares was subject to huge changes at weekly intervals from the resonance and throw weight issues, neither of which were ever really fixed, SLS has sailed through various review stages and is well above target payload.

X-33 got pretty far too, before Lockheed managed to strangle it with their incompetence. They had quite a few tests of the linear aerospike and a lot of structure assembled. All I got out of it was a Matchbox toy and yet another t-shirt.

That's no better than any other of the dozens of SSTO proposals zipping about in the 80s and 90s, the idea is simply unworkable.

[okan170]

And isn't the primary difference between SLS and Ares V just in the core engines and the second stage?

Ares V was to be a full 10m core with the 6 RS-68Bs on it by the time it ended. SLS is in many ways a throwback to very early Ares V designs with the standard shuttle tank-diameter core and 4 RS-25s (originally 5' date=' but it was unnecessary). There is also a difference in their flight plans, Ares V would stage much lower than SLS does, letting the J2X upper stage push all the way to orbit and circularize. SLS stages almost at orbital velocity (the core can put something into LEO all by itself) letting much more efficient upper stages take over for in-space work.

If you think the SLS development has been anything like the Ares-I one was, you can't have been paying much attention back then. Ares was subject to huge changes at weekly intervals from the resonance and throw weight issues, neither of which were ever really fixed, SLS has sailed through various review stages and is well above target payload.

Yeah, SLS is now very far beyond where Ares 1 was when it was cancelled.

Edited October 22, 2015 by okan170
additional response

[G'th]

^ Indeed. I do kind of miss the Ares 1 though. Its my favorite basic design in KSP for pure crew launchers.

[fredinno]

Well' date=' I'd say its mostly because in those cases the payload likely isn't pushing the launcher to its limit so the relatively small amount of paint would be fine on the fairings. You have to figure that those logos are likely going to weigh far less than painting the entire tank, and if you already have a lot of headroom in your vehicle it probably isn't going to matter.

And isn't the primary difference between SLS and Ares V just in the core engines and the second stage?[/quote']

No, The Ares V had a 10 meter dia core, and 5.5 Seg SRBs, the SLS is using an 8 meter diameter core, same as the ET diameter.

[Finox]

Does anyone know the reason for the tanks being orange? Something to do with how its made I'd guess, but I know the early tanks weren't that color. I hope its not because someone thought it was a good idea to paint it that color. I mean its just kinda ugly, if it saves weight then ok I understand why, but the previous color scheme for SLS was better.

[Kryten]

The spray-on insulation is orange, and it's difficult to paint because the surface is rough. It's only changed now because they've confirmed they won't paint it in the latest design review, but it was never likely.

[G'th]

Its orange because the foam insulation for the tank is naturally that color. What you're seeing is essentially as if you saw the side of a metal sign that wasn't painted.

It was shown as being painted white during earlier renderings largely because it looked prettier. (or so I think anyway) It was pretty much a given that eventually the paint would be dropped.

Also, painting it would be like painting a popcorn ceiling except even more difficult.

[Frozen_Heart]

With that orange colour, the SLS is in the running for the ugliest rocket ever made.

[nothke]

I love the booster stripes! =)

Aaaaaand... Almost done..

Mission control: Damn.. We shed too much weight by taking of that paint...

(No Kerbal was harmed)

Edited October 22, 2015 by nothke

[JetJaguar]

Also, they're apparently painting the adapter orange to match the tank, for some reason.

Fun fact, the nosecone on the shuttle's ET was painted to match the foam also. But the foam slowly became darker in sunlight over time, so when they built the tanks, they would look at the schedule to see how long until that particular tank flew and paint accordingly. I was at the Michoud plant for a job interview in the mid-90's, and the guy that took me around on a tour of the facility mentioned they had color cards and everything, and said that they had gotten pretty good at predicting the shade. You could tell when a flight was delayed or moved up in the schedule by how much the nosecone was off on launch day. They had three completed tanks when I was there, the fresh foam was fairly pale.

X-33 got pretty far too, before Lockheed managed to strangle it with their incompetence. They had quite a few tests of the linear aerospike and a lot of structure assembled. All I got out of it was a Matchbox toy and yet another t-shirt.

Fun fact #2, I was at Michoud interviewing for an engineering position working on the ill-conceived composite fuel tank that doomed the X-33. They had one under construction on the floor, too.

Edit, found a pic of an ET rollout. Note the nosecone compared to the foam surrounding it:

Edited October 23, 2015 by JetJaguar
Added photo

[nothke]

Fun fact, the nosecone on the shuttle's ET was painted to match the foam also.

What was exactly the reason why they painted this small piece? It seems kind of pointless.. (unless there is a good reason)

[JetJaguar]

Most likely it offered some degree of protection to the material underneath.

[fredinno]

Most likely it offered some degree of protection to the material underneath.

Or to make it look less weird. Prob. only weighed as much as a 3U cubesat to paint it.

[NuclearNut]

With that orange colour, the SLS is in the running for the ugliest rocket ever made.

Actually I think it looks really nice and functional compared to a plain white paintjob, which, in my opinion, looks really ugly.

Than again, I find the nearby oil refinery to look nice, and tend to build hulking grey and yellow structures in minecraft, so it could just be me.

I love the booster stripes! =)

Aaaaaand... Almost done..

http://i.imgur.com/yMpwclI.png

Mission control: Damn.. We shed too much weight by taking of that paint...

http://i.imgur.com/0IPWnSj.png

(No Kerbal was harmed)

Must... have... link... to... mod.

[Endersmens]

Must... have... link... to... mod.

Those are stock parts with a paint job.

EDIT: Well, the biggest tank looks to be a mod, sorry. But the rest looks stock.