2 Saturn V Apollo craft - Selene mk1 - mk3

[Majorjim!]

Greetings fellow Kerbals,

 As some of you may remember I made a stock Saturn V a few years ago called the Selene project. It was a 'not to scale' Saturn V focusing on simulating all the parts of the Saturn V rocket and Apollo moon missions.

As a distraction from some grander projects I decided to completely remake the Selene Saturn V but this time I would make two different versions with varying part counts and features. I started by making the higher part count version and wanted it to be much larger than my original Selene craft but again not making it exactly to scale but to focus on recreating all the features of the Saturn V rocket.

I have made a completely custom lander which is made roughly to scale with the CSM three kerbal pod. This proved to be extremely hard to balance due to some odd behavior possibly brought on by the no offset mod. There is a discrepancy between the COM indicator in the editor and in-game. After a lot of annoyance I have balanced the lander as best I could and it can be easily flown now.

The lander has two seats inside that are deliberately pointing inwards and laying flat so that when the Kerbals leave the seat they pop out in the middle of the front of the lander! Just as if they had exited a hatch.

The lander has all the details that the real LM had including a two Kerbal rover and a science package. The rover has a reaction wheel so board the kerbal when it releases and simply flip it up on to its wheels!

a lot of user made Mun rovers suffer from an inability to be turned over which leads to frustration and crashes. With the reaction wheel the rover is completely stable and easy to flip back up.

I then set about making the rocket itself. I spent a huge amount of time making some custom fairings for the payload and two inter-stage fairings of the Saturn V. They are exemplary and release exactly as the real fairings do. I am particularly proud of the payload fairing as each of the four panels lines up perfectly with each other so their shape is the same as the real payload fairings.

I have added all the Ullage and retro rockets for very real looking staging events as can be seen in the video below. I have the correct number of engines for each stage except S1 as anyone who has made a large scale SV knows there is no good in between engine for the F1. The Rhino is too big and the Mainsail is too weak so I have 8 Mainsails for the first stage, not that you would notice by looking at it. 

The center engine has been designed to cut out early, and for an actual reason! The use of radiators as fairings has one drawback, they start to glow on ascent.. I made the center engine cut out early to slow the rockets acceleration to minimize the glowing of the fairings. If you ascend correctly they will not glow at all! I am very proud of that little trick. The slight glowing seen in the video is due to me flying a slightly different ascent path for the video.

The CSM has fuel cells but not the lander due to the number of solar panels I used to make the lander (it is the best parts for small custom builds as it is the smallest panel shape part. Oh and the panels do not cause extra lag as some users have said.

 The ascent stage of the LM is powered by RCS as the heat changes have caused an infinite amount of heat at certain distances so rocket motors destroy the descent stage which is inelegant so to avoid using SRB separators RCS is the best alternative.

The Mk1 Selene craft is the low part count version. This was an interesting exercise in minimal part count. It has the same basic shape as my original Selene craft. It was an absolute breeze to make obviously, less parts means less difficulty to make and test. It has an absolutely tiny 126 parts and still has many of the features of the Saturn V. Of course I could not use special, clever custom fairings so all are the stock squad fairings.

I have inter-stage fairings and the correct ullage and retro rockets for those nice staging events. The lander has no rover or science package but one could be added if you like. This version was made with as few parts as possible so I ditched those 'extras'.

Then center engine does not cut off early as there is no need to do this and may have incurred a part count penalty. As it is now it is fully playable even on low end systems. I get a green timer throughout the entire mission with this craft. The lander is simple and very easy to fly with enough fuel for corrections during those less than perfect descents. As you can see in the video I landed with only a few units of fuel left and that was due to a less than perfect descent. Again the ascent module is RCS powered to avoid the silly infinite heat issue.

Ok, I don't want to spend all day typing so I will move onto the flight instructions, pictures and video. This was supposed to be released a week ago but video editing issues delayed it..

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Selene mk1 instructions (Low part count version) 126 parts

Action groups:

1. LES

2. Fuel cell activation

3. LM release after CSM docking

This one is very easy to fly, it has good fuel margins for the launch and can be treated very roughly and still hold it's course. Fly as you would any rocket. The video shows an example ascent.

You do not need RCS until you leave Mun and as the ascent craft is RCS powered you will want to leave RCS off until then. One of the tanks may be set to off, so if you need it during ascent simply turn it back on.

 

Selene mk3 instructions (High part count version) 709 parts

Action groups:

1. LES

2. CSM fuel cell

3. CSM antenna

4. LM pod lights

5. Cargo covers release.

This is the big-boy of the two. It is however also very easy to fly needing minimal effort to fly. The only special thing you should do is select follow pro-grade before S1 separation. this is to avoid a minor nose lifting force that can be seen on most large SV replicas. The staging is set up correctly so you can just stage when needed. Let the Ullage and Retro rockets do their thing to put some distance between stages for realism and clean staging events.And clean they are! See vid for details on this.

Again keep the RCS off until you leave Mun. It is not required before then and is the fuel for the ascent. Keep RCS on for the mun ascent too.  That is about it! Two sides of the building coin, both easy to fly and as clean as builds get.

So on to the pictures!

 

 

https://imgur.com/a/1kL

 

Album 1kLoq will appear when post is submitted

 

 

And now the video. The following video is 14 minutes long and a bit of a Hodge podge due to my adolescent editing skills and inadequate software, it does however show all the important parts of each rocket in an interesting way and has massive over use of the Apollo 13 movie soundtrack! Yipee! Cinematic!

Unfortunately my original video was blocked.. Here is a re-upload but alas I deleted the video and audio files so its just a test render I made before the finished video so it has long patches of no sound.. But it shows the workings of the craft.

 

Thank you all so much for looking and if you have an questions/ complaints/ marriage proposals please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

DOWNLOADS

mK3 - High part count version

 

Mk1 - Low part count version

 

MJ out.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by Majorjim!

[Dman979]

Awesome vehicle man! I didn't know that @Kuzzter's bloaking device worked for the whole Saturn V!

Don't worry @Majorjim, you'll sort it out.

[Majorjim!]

8 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Awesome vehicle man! I didn't know that @Kuzzter's bloaking device worked for the whole Saturn V!

Don't worry @Majorjim, you'll sort it out.

LOL. It's up now mateys.

MJ

[Dman979]

@Majorjim Nice work! One minor quibble- the LEM was a prototype. The final acronym was LM, which is what was used in Apollo.

[Bubbadevlin]

Dang dude, Great job! 

This REALLY makes me want to revisit my own Saturn V, those custom fairings look just plain fantastic!!

[EVA_Reentry]

Beautiful!

[Rune]

Pretty cool, I like that you have included a low part count version playable in normal computers. With a bit of help from Claw's stock bugfixes, you can make stock fairings that open in four monolithic petals like the real thing, and sill keep it stock. In fact I imagine 1.1 fairings will work just the same.

The low part count LM looks a bit rushed (sure two lander cans wouldn't have looked better?), and I don't get why you didn't use a Vector for the big SPS nozzle like in the big build but, you know, minor nitpicks. Also, can I get an exploded view of the S-IVb on the Mk1? That promises to be an interesting faring job to get the diameter between 3.75 and 2.5m, consistent, and not create fairing bugs. Plenty of open-ended fairings, with the one that covers the LM and joins the S-IVb coming from the CSM, I presume?

 

Rune. Or you know, I could be a bit less lazy and actually DL the file.

 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Rune

[Majorjim!]

2 hours ago, Rune said:

Pretty cool, I like that you have included a low part count version playable in normal computers. With a bit of help from Claw's stock bugfixes, you can make stock fairings that open in four monolithic petals like the real thing, and sill keep it stock. In fact I imagine 1.1 fairings will work just the same.

The low part count LM looks a bit rushed (sure two lander cans wouldn't have looked better?), and I don't get why you didn't use a Vector for the big SPS nozzle like in the big build but, you know, minor nitpicks. Also, can I get an exploded view of the S-IVb on the Mk1? That promises to be an interesting faring job to get the diameter between 3.75 and 2.5m, consistent, and not create fairing bugs. Plenty of open-ended fairings, with the one that covers the LM and joins the S-IVb coming from the CSM, I presume?

 

Rune. Or you know, I could be a bit less lazy and actually DL the file.

 

Hey man, Thanks for the comments. I will try to address each point.

 I have used the stock fairings fix but you cannot use it and hide the ugly bases without running into release issues..

  The low part count LM was not rushed just kept very simple. Maybe, but that is what you used and I used a lander can in the original version so I wanted to try something new. I like the look of it and there is space for a rover and science bits if needed.

The choice to not use the vector was due to me wanting to keep a similar look to the original Selene craft. Sure I will upload an exploded pic later this eve man.

Yeah there is one fairing that is not released the one that joins the payload fairing, it is open ended. LOL, yeah dl it by all means Rune. I know I could have reduced the part count even more and may do so but it wont look quite as interesting, the lander I mean.

23 hours ago, Dman979 said:

@Majorjim Nice work! One minor quibble- the LEM was a prototype. The final acronym was LM, which is what was used in Apollo.

Changed, thanks mate!

22 hours ago, Bubbadevlin said:

Dang dude, Great job! 

This REALLY makes me want to revisit my own Saturn V, those custom fairings look just plain fantastic!!

I am really happy you liked it man. Damn I love making custom fairings, those panels are too perfect for it!

21 hours ago, EVA_Reentry/Strangelove II said:

Beautiful!

Thank you!

[Majorjim!]

Here you go @Rune I hope this is revealing:

 

Did you watch the video? It shows the fairings release on both craft.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Majorjim

[Azimech]

Seriously impressive! I haven't been to space in a very long time but your Selene mk3 might motivate me!

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Azimech said:

Seriously impressive! I haven't been to space in a very long time but your Selene mk3 might motivate me!

I know the feeling man. I haven't released anything designed for anywhere further than Duna. I have visited every world but that was a long time ago with very basic craft. Maybe time for a Laythe mission.

[selfish_meme]

Hey Majorjim, fantastic work as always, I was just watching the video, the mk3 not the mk1 half, and I have no input to offer you on the craft itself, your expertise and knowledge of the Apollo craft is way above mine. The video was really good too.

I have a couple of minor suggestions with the video, that struck me while I was watching it. Some of the black gaps are too long, in the middle of them I am thinking am I missing footage or something, I have found that more than a second of gap prompts a 'somethings wrong' response. One other very minor quibble, what happened to the LM extraction from the S‑IVB, it sort of went straight to the moon.

Your editing and video are really good, these are tiny, tiny quibbles.

Edited March 7, 2016 by selfish_meme

[The Optimist]

On a scale from 1 to 10, this scores a solid 94 points. Good work!

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

This is amazing!  One (very) minor nitpick: the docking camera/window hashmarks would be looking at a docking target, not the actual docking port:

Spoiler

 

That aside, that LM is amazing!  I didn't even know that one could look that good and still be that small!  And nice video.  The sped up Apollo tracks sound a lot like kerbals!

[GoldForest]

@Majorjim Very lovely designs dude, also, one thing about the movie. I don't think the Lander was detached at the moon, I think they kept it for living space on the three day journey back.

[Castille7]

Sweet! what another great project, my jaw is on the floor somewhere! can't say enough, this is some incredible work, great job man!

[Majorjim!]

Thanks all, I am late for work so I will respond to each when I get back tonight.

[Rune]

7 hours ago, GoldForest said:

@Majorjim Very lovely designs dude, also, one thing about the movie. I don't think the Lander was detached at the moon, I think they kept it for living space on the three day journey back.

That actually happened on Apollo 13, but only because they had lost power on the CM and were using it as lifeboat. On more nominal missions that actually had gotten to a captured lunar orbit, the CM didn't have the fuel to leave lunar orbit with all that extra mass.

 

Rune. So in the movie Apollo 13, maybe, but that's a special circumstance.

[GoldForest]

2 minutes ago, Rune said:

That actually happened on Apollo 13, but only because they had lost power on the CM and were using it as lifeboat. On more nominal missions that actually had gotten to a captured lunar orbit, the CM didn't have the fuel to leave lunar orbit with all that extra mass.

 

Rune. So in the movie Apollo 13, maybe, but that's a special circumstance.

Oh, okay. 

[Yukon0009]

Really nice! I've got an Apollo in the works too. (After I finish my big pile of other stuff to do)

[Columbia]

This is awesome! So many innovations in one ship. Liked the cinematic as well! 

(PS: What mod did you use for the Kerbal Helmet IVA?)

[Majorjim!]

20 hours ago, selfish_meme said:

Some of the black gaps are too long, in the middle of them I am thinking am I missing footage or something, I have found that more than a second of gap prompts a 'somethings wrong' response.

Hey man thanks for the comments! I totally agree looking back at it! It was a cinematic attempt to leave out the extraction. I may upload a full mission video in a week or two taking those things into account.

14 hours ago, The Optimist said:

On a scale from 1 to 10, this scores a solid 94 points. Good work!

Thank you Optimist!

14 hours ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

the docking camera/window hashmarks would be looking at a docking target, not the actual docking port:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

Yeah, but.. laziness. And thank you for the kind words man.

13 hours ago, GoldForest said:

@Majorjim Very lovely designs dude, also, one thing about the movie. I don't think the Lander was detached at the moon, I think they kept it for living space on the three day journey back.

Thanks GoldForest, yup Rune has it right.

2 hours ago, Yukon0009 said:

Really nice! I've got an Apollo in the works too. (After I finish my big pile of other stuff to do)

I look forward to seeing it mate!

2 hours ago, Columbia said:

This is awesome! So many innovations in one ship. Liked the cinematic as well! 

(PS: What mod did you use for the Kerbal Helmet IVA?)

Cheers dude. I used the excellent Hullcam mod. That's how I did the fairing view bit too.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Majorjim

[WooDzor]

Wow awesome work once again! I wish I had the patience to put all these solar panels in place :-( I quite like the lower part count Saturn, looks pretty clean! If only we could get rid of these FF-ing yellow stripes on the fairings, these things have been making me want to vomit since they were added to the game:-/

[selfish_meme]

12 minutes ago, WooDzor said:

Wow awesome work once again! I wish I had the patience to put all these solar panels in place :-( I quite like the lower part count Saturn, looks pretty clean! If only we could get rid of these FF-ing yellow stripes on the fairings, these things have been making me want to vomit since they were added to the game:-/

There is a Fairing Texture Switcher mod, I've been using it bit lately, you could also use Texture Replacer I think.

[Majorjim!]

18 minutes ago, selfish_meme said:

There is a Fairing Texture Switcher mod, I've been using it bit lately, you could also use Texture Replacer I think.

Sweet I shall give it a go! I am not a fan of that (why squad?) yellow stripe..

 To the butt hurt one star troll: Jealousy is a cruel mistress.