[WIP] Coatl Aerospace ProbesPlus Dev Thread [Beta] 10/19/2020 (1.8-1.10)

[akron]

Update

Ok. So I began to sort through all the probe missions I looked at for science parts to identify what antenna will be modeled. I have a starter list, but I have a feeling that I will need a couple more sizes and/or designs as more parts are modeled. The largest diameter dish I have here is Voyager's which is around 2m or so in diameter. I don't think I will have probes so large that a bigger one is needed, but you never know. The largest so far will be the Soil moisture sensor/antenna from SMAP. Anywho, here is the preliminary list:

• Early tech extendable ground plane antenna
• Early tech static omni antenna (Based on the conic Lunokhod antenna)
• Folding omni (Surveyor)
• Extendable low-gain antenna (Mixed between Mariner and a concept design)
• Extendable planar array antenna + Solar panel (Surveyor)
• Small folding dish (ARSAT-1) DONE
• Small folding dish (Viking Lander, part of the lander pack)
• Medium folding boom dish (Mars Observer) DONE
• Large Umbrella dish (Galileo)
• XL deployable radar/antenna + Soil Moisture Sensor (SMAP)
• Small static dish (Mariner, Viking Orbiter)
• Medium static dish (Cassini) DONE
• Large static dish (Voyager) DONE
• Advanced-tech laser antenna (LADEE)

I desperately want more variety so I will be researching more non-NASA/ESA designs. Here are some progress screens. The Observer antenna will likely get its dish redone for more polys. I messed up again and gave it too little thinking it wouldn't look so bad on the small antenna. Meh, WIP, you were warned.

 

[CobaltWolf]

3 minutes ago, akron said:

Update

more snippage

Looking awesome! Great to see you making progress - just don't set out too many things for yourself at once. Break it up and organize it a bit before jumping right in.

Edited March 6, 2016 by CobaltWolf

[akron]

3 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

Looking awesome! Great to see you making progress - just don't set out too many things for yourself at once. Break it up and organize it a bit before jumping right in.

Not too many things. It's just some light work and some research... 

I hope I'm not going too crazy. I kinda expected to have about this many parts originally but I didn't flesh them out enough in the original announcement. I think this is manageable. With a few overlapping mods, I am pushing to get all mt stuff planned out so we people know what I'm working on. The only problem I am having now is staying focused on a set of parts before moving on. Lately I've been able to work on this one, maybe two days a week, so I just work on whatever part sounds fun that day. This makes it a little scatterbrained, but it keeps me interested.

I do see the temptation of adding more stuff though. Lately I've been looking at upper stage motors and service engines (Like Cassini's). I may end up working on a couple beyond the two on the synthetic aperture radar right now. I will be making some aesthetic changes to my planned Monoprop service module to make it match a bit more like the Russian/Chinese Fobos mission. I am aiming for a good spread and variety of designs, I hope I'm doing alright.

[CobaltWolf]

1 hour ago, akron said:

Not too many things. It's just some light work and some research... 

I hope I'm not going too crazy. I kinda expected to have about this many parts originally but I didn't flesh them out enough in the original announcement. I think this is manageable. With a few overlapping mods, I am pushing to get all mt stuff planned out so we people know what I'm working on. The only problem I am having now is staying focused on a set of parts before moving on. Lately I've been able to work on this one, maybe two days a week, so I just work on whatever part sounds fun that day. This makes it a little scatterbrained, but it keeps me interested.

I do see the temptation of adding more stuff though. Lately I've been looking at upper stage motors and service engines (Like Cassini's). I may end up working on a couple beyond the two on the synthetic aperture radar right now. I will be making some aesthetic changes to my planned Monoprop service module to make it match a bit more like the Russian/Chinese Fobos mission. I am aiming for a good spread and variety of designs, I hope I'm doing alright.

Wow. I don't have room on my desk for anything other than my keyboard and mouse. And I can't afford to print stuff.

Yeah, just work on what you feel like. Just know that you have to come back around to getting it done eventually. I usually get the stuff I really want to get done first, and then the less interesting but still necessary stuff done once I feel the rush of release approaching and I start getting really intent on finishing what I started.

For what it's worth, you haven't gotten part the number of parts I'd list for a single update

[CobaltWolf]

What would be really cool, IMO, would be having some way of making a distinction between low, medium, and high gain communications. Perhaps having certain experiments only able to communicate on minimum bandwidths or something.

[akron]

53 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

What would be really cool, IMO, would be having some way of making a distinction between low, medium, and high gain communications. Perhaps having certain experiments only able to communicate on minimum bandwidths or something.

Most definitely! I'm surprised that Remote Tech doesn't have that function (I am assuming it doesn't, actually, because I have never heard it does but I don't use it). I may look at this possibility, but it will definitely not be until well after the stock antenna redux

[blacsky33]

Damn, this RTG animation ! wp

[akron]

3 minutes ago, blacsky33 said:

Damn, this RTG animation ! wp

Uh... thanks...? I'm not sure what you mean...

[blacsky33]

Good job, love it  ! 

[Virtualgenius]

This looks excellent love the probe parts is there a download for the probe parts or is it still WIP

[akron]

There will be a dev release soon ^TM

[Virtualgenius]

Awesome News

[problemecium]

I like the part with the spiders xD

[akron]

1 minute ago, parameciumkid said:

I like the part with the spiders xD

Awesome. I'm glad someone noticed

[problemecium]

So would these be actual spiders, or a cluster of LV-1R "Spider" engines secretly providing the thrust? xD

[akron]

3 minutes ago, parameciumkid said:

So would these be actual spiders, or a cluster of LV-1R "Spider" engines secretly providing the thrust? xD

I would suggest a closer look at the description... 

[akron]

Update

Okay, so there has been a lot going on, and at the same time not a lot. I have tweaked and re-exported every part I've done (Except NERVA-HT) due to UV, animation, or texture tweaks. It's a lot of work but you guys might not notice the changes unless you pay close attention. Every finished and textured part is now in-game and I started finishing up CFGs and doing some balancing and play-testing in preparation for the upcoming Beta release. I worked on the animation for the barometer, which will not play automatically when you run the experiment, I am not sure how to fix that. You can still deploy it manually though. Torekka got reaction wheels now and a larger mono-prop capacity, and with it a weight increase. Quetzal is unlocked first and will be the more basic bus. The parts that aren't in-game yet (Mostly antenna and the H-II stuff) got some love too. I started wrapping up the UVs (Pun intended) to get them ready for textures and to go in-game. I really want to finish the first two probe lines for the Beta release, Pioneer (CA06 'Quetzal') and Voyager (CA08-M 'Torekka'). I am shooting for a release later today or tomorrow.

In the texturing front, I finished the 'Quetzal' medium dish (Cassini). As you'll see below, I also started experimenting with a new gold foil texture that more closely matches the orangy color I have seen in most reference pictures. All the science experiments and the antenna will have it. I look forward to getting feedback on it from screenshots or from the Beta. Once it looks good, I will retrofit it to the probes who will keep the yellowish foil for now.

This is what will be included in the first (or two) release(s). DMagic is a pre-requisite for the Magnetometer

Spoiler

• CA08-M Torekka (Voyager/OKTO)
• CA06 Quetzal (Pioneer/HECS)
• CA-25i, 100i, and 300i batteries
• Single and triple reaction wheels
• Magnetometer boom
• Thermo, barometer, and Gravity Wave experiments (stock)
• CA-AACS computer
• CA-A200 Medium Dish for Quetzal
• CA-A300 Large Dish for Torekka
• CA-R3500 deployable RTG
• CA-R8200 RTG (New Horizons/Cassini)
• CA-R2000 RTG Boom (Voyager)

 

EDIT: Here is Torekka with its proper antenna. Added to the album above but imgurl is slow to update

Edited March 16, 2016 by akron

[akron]

update

It looks like release will be tomorrow. I am still stuck with the last couple of parts and the Quetzal probe. If I don't finish it, I'll just upload what I have. I did finish one of the RTGs though! I am just a slow worker. Up next, Voyager's RTG.

@tygoo7 How about this for your New Horizons probe?

Edited March 17, 2016 by akron

[akron]

Sorry to triple post again. Can I get a second opinion on the Voyager RTG? Is 1680 polys too much? I am not done yet but I can easily expect another 200-300 or so for completion as it lacks the plume shield and some of the structure, like the animated parts. Voyager is one of my favorite spacecraft (If you can't tell) and I wanted to splurge a little, but I am not sure if it is worth it, or if I should simplify some parts. The intention of the mod was never to be realistic, and I did use some creative freedom despite having schematics for it. 

Oh why did it have to have 3-in-one RTGs...

 

[Virtualgenius]

I like it with the release of 1.1 due we all will have a little more overhead to run stuff so why not splurge a little

[CobaltWolf]

1680 is fine. Don't worry about it. @VenomousRequiem will be happy. It's all looking great.

[VenomousRequiem]

Hehehe, yes, I am very happy. I've been wanting to do Voyager but I don't know how to animate the arms.

[akron]

7 minutes ago, VenomousRequiem said:

Hehehe, yes, I am very happy. I've been wanting to do Voyager but I don't know how to animate the arms.

Would you like to learn? I haven't animated them yet

Edit: I am only doing the RTG right now. The science boom comes later.

EDIT2: Am I correct in that these are deployed by pyrotechnic bolts and not any motor system?

Edited March 17, 2016 by akron

[CobaltWolf]

59 minutes ago, akron said:

Would you like to learn? I haven't animated them yet

Edit: I am only doing the RTG right now. The science boom comes later.

EDIT2: Am I correct in that these are deployed by pyrotechnic bolts and not any motor system?

Most such things are intended to move one way, and then they latch into place. Don't make a system any more complicated than needed.

[akron]

19 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

Most such things are intended to move one way, and then they latch into place. Don't make a system any more complicated than needed.

Awww...

Seriousness: I am in no way going to try and emulate any sort of pyrotechnic explosive bolt stuff. It's just that everywhere I have checked, the method for the boom's deployment is rather ambiguous. I couldn't figure out how it deploys from the schematics either, but didn't see any mechanical devices to do so. I do know that the system locks into place with a strut after it deploys and actually caused NASA some concerns about whether it had done so properly in (I think) Voyager 1. I will animate it deploying with the locking strut as if it was actuated.

EDIT: Do these look like servo motors to you?

Edited March 17, 2016 by akron