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

[akron]

4 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

Viking would require Mariner 8/9 parts, which aren't present in the mod right now.

Yup. Bus, HGA, Propulsion Module, maybe LGA.

The overhaul I was referring to was of the existing solar panels to make sure they match the correct size to fit a Mariner 8/9 bus. It would likely mean tweaking and adding a 3rd model to this line. I'm debating whether to add the larger single-panel (Early Mariner) version to replace the current ones and bumped the current ones a little bit later in the tree to fit Mariner 9/Viking. Only the Viking Orbiter had a solar array which hinged at the center. It makes perfect sense but I know you guys won't like missing out on it until a later tier.

The lander would have bus, landing leg, engine, propellant tank/attitude system, Snap 19 RTG, HGA, science. Separately it would also need the heatshield/de-orbit engine clusters and the aeroshell, I would skip the bioshield for simplicity.

[MaverickSawyer]

46 minutes ago, akron said:

Separately it would also need the heatshield/de-orbit engine clusters and the aeroshell, I would skip the bioshield for simplicity.

Awww... Why not make it a shroud when you install the aeroshell? Then, you just use the "Jettison Shroud" to release the bioshield when appropriate.

[akron]

5 minutes ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Awww... Why not make it a shroud when you install the aeroshell? Then, you just use the "Jettison Shroud" to release the bioshield when appropriate.

It would not be very realistic. The majority of the bioshield is actually not hard solid, but a pliable thermal blanket-like layer. The only reason it looks solid on pictures is because it is pressurized to further reduce the risk of micro-organisms getting inside.

EDIT: Plus just more layers to deal with

Here is the Bioshield while not pressurized. I don't know that it's worth dealing with 2 additional layers (top and bottom)

Edited February 14, 2018 by akron

[MaverickSawyer]

Okay, fair points. Perhaps you can come back to it at a later time.

[ChickenBot448]

9 hours ago, jdub3350 said:

Here's what I did, starting with a blank VAB- 

-Select the Draco core

-select forward heat shield and place under core

-select parachute and place on top node of core

-select back cover and move down toward core till it turns green

-select re-root tool, click on back cover, then on forward heat shield. 

-drag rerooted part to be saved as sub assembly. 

-then when assembling Meridani probe, select the Draco subassembly, rotate it so the back cover is vertical and facing the probe bus, it'll then snap into the ring decoupler on the side. 

-fin. 

Amazing, it worked!

[Drew Kerman]

12 hours ago, akron said:

I imaging it will bring KSP 1.4 as well

yes, 1.4 dropping the same day as Making History has been confirmed by the devs

Edited February 15, 2018 by Drew Kerman

[ChickenBot448]

Would it be a inconvenience to realise a .craft file for the Meridiani probe with the Draco probe attached. I've run it to the same problem again where i can build them separately, but not put them together.

[akron]

4 hours ago, ChickenBot448 said:

Would it be a inconvenience to realise a .craft file for the Meridiani probe with the Draco probe attached. I've run it to the same problem again where i can build them separately, but not put them together.

Try and see if this one works for you. Just drop it in a save folder. I did not get a chance to test the craft file too much though, apologies.

[ChickenBot448]

40 minutes ago, akron said:

Try and see if this one works for you. Just drop it in a save folder. I did not get a chance to test the craft file too much though, apologies.

Works brilliantly! Still have no idea how you did that, but at least we have one now

[akron]

2 hours ago, ChickenBot448 said:

Works brilliantly! Still have no idea how you did that, but at least we have one now

It really follows @jdub3350's method. This will cause the quirky need to switch control to Draco after you decouple from the orbiter.

I also took a look at the poll and it has now received more varied responses, although Viking is still a majority vote. I'll leave it open for a bit longer, but I judging from this and other comments, Viking might be it. Also, based on the preference of smaller packs, this next update might be smaller. We'll see

 

I am thinking about Viking's science modules, mainly how multiple experiments relied on the soil scoop arm. Not sure how to approach this animation-wise given KSP's science system. I could do more realistic animations by making the arm and science built-in to the lander bus at the sacrifice of flexible use. Alternatively, we could have vastly less realistic animations in favor of splitting up these into different parts that you can mix into other vessels. This is of course without any considerations to a custom module that I just do not have time to learn how to do.

[MaverickSawyer]

Hmmm. Perhaps have the arm include a couple of attach nodes for the experiments and  the arm animates to the appropriate point... Not sure how you could lock out unused nodes, though.

[akron]

30 minutes ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Hmmm. Perhaps have the arm include a couple of attach nodes for the experiments and  the arm animates to the appropriate point... Not sure how you could lock out unused nodes, though.

That's just it though. I'd need a way for the experiement to trigger an animation on another part (the arm), or the arm to detect which experiements are currently attached to it and on which nodes. Either requires a custom plugin.

Maybe the arm and the experiments can be this huge assembly which you then attach inside the bus. Won't do much for stand-alone use, but it is the only elegant way to properly do the animations without custom plugins. I could also include an "arm only" version which only does soil scooping without any bio-chemistry.

[Kerbal01]

@akron

is the actual Huygens probe not in yet or am I dim?

Release notes say's it's in but this is what pops up when I search for "draco" https://imgur.com/a/Hf5Kj

Edit: tried out the craft file above, missing the part so i'm not insane. I didn't actually update the dependencies that came with 0.16, lemme try that.
edit2: nope, didn't work

Edited February 17, 2018 by Kerbal01

[MaverickSawyer]

Clean reinstall?

[Kerbal01]

why? the first install worked fine and I have all but one part.

[akron]

On 2/16/2018 at 8:44 PM, Kerbal01 said:

@akron

is the actual Huygens probe not in yet or am I dim?

Release notes say's it's in but this is what pops up when I search for "draco" https://imgur.com/a/Hf5Kj

Edit: tried out the craft file above, missing the part so i'm not insane. I didn't actually update the dependencies that came with 0.16, lemme try that.
edit2: nope, didn't work

I posted a fix for this one or two pages back. I'll post it again later but you can find it. Part loading is failing because the texture swapping cannot find the texture it's looking for. I cannot replicate this problem at all on my computer though, so I can't test it  I have tried but this just does not happen on my computer. The solution is to copy the textures over to their respective folders and remove the texture swap code from the cfg. So far Draco is the only part that has been reported with the problem

[Cheesecake]

4 hours ago, akron said:

I posted a fix for this one or two pages back. I'll post it again later but you can find it. Part loading is failing because the texture swapping cannot find the texture it's looking for. I cannot replicate this problem at all on my computer though, so I can't test it  I have tried but this just does not happen on my computer. The solution is to copy the textures over to their respective folders and remove the texture swap code from the cfg. So far Draco is the only part that has been reported with the problem

Hm, for me the Draco-Probecore is there but what is this Decoupler showed in Kerbal01 pic (irst pic, first line in the middle)? I do not have it.

Edited February 18, 2018 by Cheesecake

[Kerbal01]

found those two files on page 80, trying now after I save my sarnus orbiter from crashing into eeloo.

[Kerbal01]

Those two files worked, now to read back a few pages to figure out how to put the dang thing together. quick Q: is it supposed to have both chutes or one or the other?

Edited February 18, 2018 by Kerbal01

[akron]

6 hours ago, Kerbal01 said:

Those two files worked, now to read back a few pages to figure out how to put the dang thing together. quick Q: is it supposed to have both chutes or one or the other?

One or the other. The drogue is probably good enough for Eve and Tekto

[Kerbal01]

I just landed a Huygens on Tekto... w/o a chute. After the heatshield jettison took out the chute. Touched down at 18 m/s which is apparently inside the impact tolerance.

[akron]

9 hours ago, Kerbal01 said:

I just landed a Huygens on Tekto... w/o a chute. After the heatshield jettison took out the chute. Touched down at 18 m/s which is apparently inside the impact tolerance.

Lol, nice! I'm trying to picture how the heatshield did that

I think you have to deploy the chute before releasing the HS. I also like to angle the lander a little bit as I do it to help spread them apart. Draco has enough reaction wheel power to do that; not very realistic, but it helps with gameplay.

[Gibster]

Question: Can the Aegis probe core withstand re-entry temperatures without being destroyed? From what I understand it has a higher temperature tolerance than other cores. I like using it as a science package drop off pod and I was wondering if my inclusion of a heat shield is unnecessary.

[Kerbal01]

5 hours ago, akron said:

Lol, nice! I'm trying to picture how the heatshield did that

I think you have to deploy the chute before releasing the HS. I also like to angle the lander a little bit as I do it to help spread them apart. Draco has enough reaction wheel power to do that; not very realistic, but it helps with gameplay.

fully deploy the chute? I separated "HS Jettison button in the r-click menu" when partially deployed. and the chute popped off, no "Structural failure between Draco probe core and parachute" it just popped off and floated away.

[akron]

2 hours ago, Gibster said:

Question: Can the Aegis probe core withstand re-entry temperatures without being destroyed? From what I understand it has a higher temperature tolerance than other cores. I like using it as a science package drop off pod and I was wondering if my inclusion of a heat shield is unnecessary.

It depends on the atmosphere. It has a max temp value of 1700, so not too crazy. I think the bigger problem you'll have is that your science instruments will burn up way before the core. Try it out, but I'd shield it if nothing but for the realism.

43 minutes ago, Kerbal01 said:

fully deploy the chute? I separated "HS Jettison button in the r-click menu" when partially deployed. and the chute popped off, no "Structural failure between Draco probe core and parachute" it just popped off and floated away.

I can't recall if I jettisoned it while partial or fully deployed. But it just popped... off...? Might be a bug. I'll test it. Did you aerobrake from orbital velocity? or from a higher velocity fly-by?

Edited February 23, 2018 by akron