a stock strut that can be jettisoned once in orbit

[sedman]

I know I can add mods that do this is a round about way, but it really should be available in stock.

Struts are needed during accent, but once in space, it would be nice to be able to detach/jettison them.
Using decouplers leaves a mount, I can switch root and reverse the couple so the item+mount gets detached but it still leaves points on the original craft.
- I'd like to see a clean removal struts/decouplers.

Having to add mods and do an eva to remove them is tedious, I cant simply drop them in space, because I don't want trash floating around, so I have to store them all up and do something with them later - recycle or deorbit them in a container.

The whole root thing is limiting, would like an easy way to add snap nodes and be able to do multi node snapping, but I guess I'll have to wait for KSP2.

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2016 by sedman

[tater]

The fact that struts are needed in ascent is insane, frankly. Squad needs to look at some RL rockets, then look at some KSP rockets doing the same thing. When they notice the RL rockets have no visible struts, then maybe they can just do what KJR does, and struts can be for something else, rather than to hold together things that should just work without them.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, tater said:

The fact that struts are needed in ascent is insane, frankly. Squad needs to look at some RL rockets, then look at some KSP rockets doing the same thing. When they notice the RL rockets have no visible struts, then maybe they can just do what KJR does, and struts can be for something else, rather than to hold together things that should just work without them.

I agree.  Struts should be more of a vacuum thing than something keeping your rocket from becoming a wet noodle.

EDIT:

I will also never go back to not using KJR.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Guest

[Alshain]

53 minutes ago, tater said:

The fact that struts are needed in ascent is insane, frankly. Squad needs to look at some RL rockets, then look at some KSP rockets doing the same thing. When they notice the RL rockets have no visible struts, then maybe they can just do what KJR does, and struts can be for something else, rather than to hold together things that should just work without them.

Real rockets do have struts... and guess what happens when they don't work?.  You can hide them fairly well, or at least minimize their visibility.  You mentioned real rockets, but I'd bet money your rocket isn't built like a real rocket.  It is possible to build realistic rockets with minimal visible struts.  Very few of my rockets have easily visible struts.

Don't get me wrong though. There are a few places I've felt like there was an overly weak joint when there shouldn't have been, but it's not as rampant a problem as many people think, it's just that they aren't building sensible rockets.  While building non-sensible rockets is great and should be done if you have fun doing it (it's KSP after all!), you have to use struts to make it work.  That's not unacceptable behavior in my book.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Alshain

[tater]

The struts required for strength are within the structure of real rockets. Given the dry mass of KSP tanks, it's not unreasonable to assume massive reenforcement within. Given that part count is a non-trivial issue for most KSP players, a design decision to nearly double the number of parts for no good reason seems pretty absurd.

We have to micromanage strut placement but need not worry about sending a guy alone in a box smaller than a portapotty to what for them is Pluto.

 

 

[Alshain]

3 minutes ago, tater said:

The struts required for strength are within the structure of real rockets. Given the dry mass of KSP tanks, it's not unreasonable to assume massive reenforcement within. Given that part count is a non-trivial issue for most KSP players, a design decision to nearly double the number of parts for no good reason seems pretty absurd.

We have to micromanage strut placement but need not worry about sending a guy alone in a box smaller than a portapotty to what for them is Pluto.

 

 

Well, you are refering to a different kind of strut (actually like the one in the video that caused the crash really).  Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing, I'm talking about boosters, the space shuttles boosters were certainly external struts (technically decouplers/explosive bolts).  They weren't easy to see but I can do that too (see picture).  Any struts elsewhere are most likely because you are not building a rocket like a real life rocket.  Other than boosters I don't strut any of my rockets unless it's just a really strange thing I'm trying to launch. Like I said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's expected you would have to secure more unconventional rockets and payloads.

 

On another thing, I think I read the comments and misunderstood the OP.  So, to the OP, Struts can be detached if you start them on a detaching part.  So for example, if you are casting off boosters, start by attaching the first piece to the booster and the second to the payload or where ever on the main rocket.  The strut will go with the booster.

[tater]

I don't use struts at all, actually. I played 1.0.5 a while stock before modding it as well. If I were to build something with visible struts, it might look like a Von Braun moon lander (the one with the spherical tanks). STS had some, but I also don't do aircraft or spaceplanes. 

Regardless, I'd rather see squad make them fill a different role than they do now because they were less needed rather than adding a new strut, because noodle-rockets. Btw, the same way you can chose to remove something from staging, perhaps that could get added to the existing strut---"add to staging." Click that, and you can blow them.