Shuttle Challenge v3 - The 1.1.x STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly][11.10.2016 - CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT]

[Speeding Mullet]

2 hours ago, n.b.z. said:

I have a question about the mission "STS-5-7: Can You Build Me?"

Since the numbering runs from 5 to 7, can i assume that three flights are enough to qualify, and that it's allowed to carry both of the "2 scientific modules" on the same flight?

Ahha!  I think you spotted an error from the previous thread which carries through to this one.  The missions are numbered 5-7 when 4 modules are required.  Looking back at my entry (as I was the first to achieve STS1 all the way through to STS 7) I actually launched 4 times to build my space station. Edit:  Just to be clear also the challenges are meant to be done in numbered order.  So 5-8 requires the completion of the previous missions.  I've pulled through rule 8 from the original challenges to make this clearer!

I will amend the numbering on the challenge.  To be clear - 4 modules and 1 launch per module.  Sorry for the confusion!

@Norcurion, @Gaarst great to see you both doing another entry to the challenge.  I will review when I get home from work in about 10 hours as I cannot view the galleries on work PC

@commonnerfer Welcome to the challenge, and our first video entry!  Rest assured I will also watch this with tea in hand on my return home from work!

 

Have a great day / night everyone!

SM

Edited April 27, 2016 by Speeding Mullet

[n.b.z.]

20 minutes ago, Speeding Mullet said:

Just to be clear also the challenges are meant to be done in numbered order.  So 5-8 requires the completion of the previous missions.

Ah, I hadn't realized that. Thanks for the clarification - that saved me from wasting time on building some station modules.

So I will do first things first, and try for the basic STS-1 mission. I do already have a shuttle, but would have to move some stuff out of the cargo bay to be able to fit the large subassemblies such as the Bonus Fuel Pod anyways.

[mythic_fci]

@Speeding Mullet I'll probably be flying a modified version of the KTS-3; surprisingly, the KTS-4 has lower performance in terms of heavy lifting compared to the KTS-3. I'm starting to build my challenge ship now By the way, do you allow stock-category entries to use 'pilot assistance' mods such as BetterBurnTime or Docking Port Alignment Indicator?

Edited April 28, 2016 by FCISuperGuy

[cadaverific]

Been a while since i've done either a challenge or a shuttle, so here we go. (Last time i made a shuttle i was stuck using the old Mk3 and a crazy number of wing parts "shudders")

Introducing the Mk 420.69, because i'm an adult and i name things how i like. Also working off norc's format b/c it looks nice. I believe this is also the first FAR entry.

Misson: STS-1:  Bonus Fuel Pod Mission (Can You Carry Me?)

Mods & Parts:

• Mechjeb & KER - Info readouts.
• SpaceY - Boosters and sepratron nosecones.
• Tweakscale - Fuel pod is 3.75m boosted to 5m, wing parts boosted 200%, decouplers set to 150%.
• Raster Props - IVA and external cams. Kind of pointless based on current iva setup, the monitor positions really suck.
• FAR - Cant go back after finding it.
• Real Chute - Same as FAR.
• Proc Fairings - Makes the nosecone nice and round.
• GPO Fuel Pump - Absolutely necessary as the only updated fuel management system for 1.1.
• Various visuals and sound additions - Makes  my game pretty.
• Lots of other mods that don't make an appearance... yet.

Specifications:

Payload Limit -  Unknown

Height Limit (empty bay) -  easily < 350/400 km with more flight practice and tweaking

Height Limit (extra fuel) - Unknown

Orbiter(Dry) - Weight ~ 41t; Price: 116,193 F

Weight on Launchpad w/o Payload - 803.96t

Weight on Launchpad w/ Payload - 844.92t

Full Launch Price - 253,637 F

Details/Pictures:

Decided to jump right in with the full first challenge. This is actually the first iteration with just some minor tweaking atm, excessive data crunching and FAR experience helps. First orbital flight put me in a 300x300 with quite a bit of fuel left. It was pretty good landing practice too. After some tweaking i was ready for the payload launch. Despite my shoddy piloting everything went pretty well. I had nearly full OMS fuel after hitting 100x100, but being a first real test i didn't want to push my luck. I may try it again later after getting some more experience and ironing out a few wrinkles. The only scary part was hitting the runway at ~180 m/s, but then again FAR is mean like that and i stuck it anyways. Here's the album with all the interesting bits:

 

[Speeding Mullet]

19 hours ago, commonnerfer said:

i have been waiting for this challenge here is a video

Wow!  That was an absolute frenzy haha!  I rewound several times to get what was going on but certainly a video worthy of the STS Pilot - Rank 1 award.  I've often toyed with using an ablative nose cone but discarded the thought.  Having seen yours I might chuck one the Buran on and do a dummy mission to see how I find it!  Collect your badge here   

 

18 hours ago, Gaarst said:

Second entry here:

Doing the STS-1 mission Commander rank with the bonus fuel pod inside, using the SRMC-Mulish (Somewhat Reusable Manned Carrier) shuttle.

*Gallery snipped*

Went better than last time: I lost control later during reentry and ended up closer to the KSC.

Did slight modifications to the orbiter, essentially moved wings backwards a bit, wasn't really useful. BTW, I don't know how KSP calculates the CoL position, but when your plane/shuttle/rocket/bird/rock/whatever-you-throw-into-the-air wants to fly backwards, it is NOT behind the CoM.

Overshot the KSC by a good quarter of Kerbin, so I tried to do S-turns to lose velocity not to end up too far from the KSC, and that is when I lost control; so no S-turns next time, just better aiming.

Flying for 15-20mins is annoying, your stupid laptop deciding it can't handle 84 parts and giving physics lag while running at 770MHz is even more annoying. I really have to aim better.

Blew up the runway when landing; just add this to the SRMC program's cost, they won't even notice the difference.

 

EDIT: craft file here for anyone interested

 

EDIT2: @Speeding Mullet, you mention no autopilot in the rules, is Pilot Assistant considered as an autopilot ? (I wish to use it to keep constant pitch during reentry)

 

That's one sturdy runway!  Clearly your shuttle is a beast to blow up the runway on landing.  Anyway great mission and I will update the leader-board shortly with your entry!  Small request for next time that you keep the UI visible in all the screenshots that aren't just for "KSP is pretty" as it helps me see what is going on properly with the mission.  Here are your badges!   

Regarding why your plane/shuttle/rocket/bird/rock/whatever-you-throw-into-the-air wants to fly backwards the COL behind COM thing is part of the story but not the full story.  To quote @NathanKell directly from this thread:

"Just because the CoL is behind the CoM at one angle of attack doesn't mean it always is. Try slowly rotating your plane in the SPH so it has more and more pitch (simulating AoA), and watch the CoL move. Remember that your Mk2 fuselage also provides list.

Finally, recall that what matters is the aerodynamic center (which, sadly, KSP won't show you)--i.e. the sum of all aerodynamic forces, not just lift. Just because the center of lift is behind the center of mass doesn't mean draggy bits forward of the center of mass aren't moving the aerodynamic center forward..."

On the topic of the mod "Pilot Assistant" it is currently banned, but with the caveat that I am waiting on a response from the mod's author/maintainer as an adjudication on whether it should be allowed.  Reading into it it does make flying shuttles much much easier, but I've not used it so wanted someone with authority to educate me before I immediately rule it out.  In short I'll get back to you on that one

 

14 hours ago, Norcurion said:

MY: STS-1:  Bonus Fuel Pod Mission (Can You Carry Me?) - Entry

basically its the same Orbiter as in the First Challenge.

Mods USED: -Mechjeb (start was flown by hand aimed loosely after the Ascend Node);

                     -Orbital Changes by Maneuver  Planner: only without the payload. The 300x300 Orbit is done by hand

                     -Kerbal Engineer Redux: HUD

Mods Installed and NOT Used: X Science; Hyperedit

Specifications:

Payload: >42t to 300x300 LKO

Orbiter(Dry):  Weight 32.8t; Price: 108.800 Funds

Weight on Launchpad incl. Payload : 459.7

Price (Full Assembly - Dry Orbiter) w/o Payload : ~65300 ---> ~1.6 Funds per Kilogram

Craft File (Mod Free and without Payload - for the purists):

http://kerbalx.com/Norcurion/Space-Shuttle-by-Norcurion

 

Detailed report of the ascend + payload delivery + lowering of the orbit in the Album

*Gallery snipped*

Reached Payload Orbit:

                     APO(m):           Peri(m):            Apo-Peri(m):             Inclination(°):                

                   299,983.8          299,981.5                 2.3                             0,45

Detailed report of the landing fashioned as a Landing Guide

*Gallery snipped*

 

You clearly have a well thought out shuttle there and capable of the finest precision.  Little more than 2 meters between Periapsis and Apoapsis is incredible, I don't remember seeing anyone that accurate before!  Another excellent mission with clear report and well flown mission.  Please collect your Flight Directors badge, I will update the scoreboard shortly!!  

Also I want to mention that your guide to landing is excellent!  I rarely bother coming down to a standardized altitude but it's something I may employ in the future for more "regular" re-entries.  Mostly I just melt it in for some fun and to see what the Buran 11F35 Kerbal B can handle.  By far and away my favorite re-entry in my Buran was this 3.2 km/s screamer (Rest in Peace Patcan Kerman):

Could that be a clue to STS-8?

 

4 hours ago, FCISuperGuy said:

@Speeding Mullet I'll probably be flying a modified version of the KTS-3; surprisingly, the KTS-4 has lower performance in terms of heavy lifting compared to the KTS-3. I'm starting to build my challenge ship now By the way, do you allow stock-category entries to use 'pilot assistance' mods such as BetterBurnTime or Docking Port Alignment Indicator?

Good luck building the ship FCI!  Look forward to seeing it as KTS-3 definitely influenced some of the functional detail on my Buran!  To answer your questions:

Better Burn time - Allowed
Docking Port Alignment Indicator - Allowed

Neither of those mods take over the actual re-entry from your hands so absolutely fine as far as I am concerned.  A big part of the challenge as you will know is based around designing a shuttle that is stable in flight, particularly re-entry, and as these are both more "quality of life" rather than "do my job" mods they are welcome.  To qualify for stock entry only the craft has to be purely stock barring a few planetary system altering mods, RSS, HarderSolarSystem two examples off the top of my head.

 

18 minutes ago, cadaverific said:

Been a while since i've done either a challenge or a shuttle, so here we go. (Last time i made a shuttle i was stuck using the old Mk3 and a crazy number of wing parts "shudders")

Introducing the Mk 420.69, because i'm an adult and i name things how i like. Also working off norc's format b/c it looks nice. I believe this is also the first FAR entry.

Misson: STS-1:  Bonus Fuel Pod Mission (Can You Carry Me?)

Mods & Parts:

• Mechjeb & KER - Info readouts.
• SpaceY - Boosters and sepratron nosecones.
• Tweakscale - Fuel pod is 3.75m boosted to 5m, wing parts boosted 200%, decouplers set to 150%.
• Raster Props - IVA and external cams. Kind of pointless based on current iva setup, the monitor positions really suck.
• FAR - Cant go back after finding it.
• Real Chute - Same as FAR.
• Proc Fairings - Makes the nosecone nice and round.
• GPO Fuel Pump - Absolutely necessary as the only updated fuel management system for 1.1.
• Various visuals and sound additions - Makes  my game pretty.
• Lots of other mods that don't make an appearance... yet.

Specifications:

Payload Limit -  Unknown

Height Limit (empty bay) -  easily < 350/400 km with more flight practice and tweaking

Height Limit (extra fuel) - Unknown

Orbiter(Dry) - Weight ~ 41t; Price: 116,193 F

Weight on Launchpad w/o Payload - 803.96t

Weight on Launchpad w/ Payload - 844.92t

Full Launch Price - 253,637 F

Details/Pictures:

Decided to jump right in with the full first challenge. This is actually the first iteration with just some minor tweaking atm, excessive data crunching and FAR experience helps. First orbital flight put me in a 300x300 with quite a bit of fuel left. It was pretty good landing practice too. After some tweaking i was ready for the payload launch. Despite my shoddy piloting everything went pretty well. I had nearly full OMS fuel after hitting 100x100, but being a first real test i didn't want to push my luck. I may try it again later after getting some more experience and ironing out a few wrinkles. The only scary part was hitting the runway at ~180 m/s, but then again FAR is mean like that and i stuck it anyways. Here's the album with all the interesting bits:

*Gallery snipped*

What a wonderful shuttle!  The Mk 420.69 () clearly has what it takes and is indeed the first FAR entry.  I like your considerable use of comfort and quality of life mods as well as parts mods so well done there.  Doesn't look like you'll need to much development from here to hit the heady heights of the rest of the STS missions available!

Wear your badges with pride, mod that thing to hell and carry on as you were!  

 

Another awesome day of challenge entries everyone!  Look forward to seeing more entries soon, and am working on publishing the STS-3 and the STS-8 Missions tonight

 

SM

[Norcurion]

1 hour ago, Speeding Mullet said:

 

Also I want to mention that your guide to landing is excellent!  I rarely bother coming down to a standardized altitude but it's something I may employ in the future for more "regular" re-entries.  Mostly I just melt it in for some fun and to see what the Buran 11F35 Kerbal B can handle.  By far and away my favorite re-entry in my Buran was this 3.2 km/s screamer (Rest in Peace Patcan Kerman):

Could that be a clue to STS-8?

I'm in awe and a little bit scared of the COM shift and the changed aerodynamic propertys of that shuttle

[Alchemist]

I have an Idea for orbital assembly (not exactly a station. that is, not stationary), but there may be fifth launch which doesn't exactly count, if you don't mind...

Because the biggest issue with Buran is...

Spoiler

...you don't have to take Buran itself!

 

[Gaarst]

4 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

That's one sturdy runway!  Clearly your shuttle is a beast to blow up the runway on landing.  Anyway great mission and I will update the leader-board shortly with your entry!  Small request for next time that you keep the UI visible in all the screenshots that aren't just for "KSP is pretty" as it helps me see what is going on properly with the mission.  Here are your badges!   

Regarding why your plane/shuttle/rocket/bird/rock/whatever-you-throw-into-the-air wants to fly backwards the COL behind COM thing is part of the story but not the full story.  To quote @NathanKell directly from this thread:

"Just because the CoL is behind the CoM at one angle of attack doesn't mean it always is. Try slowly rotating your plane in the SPH so it has more and more pitch (simulating AoA), and watch the CoL move. Remember that your Mk2 fuselage also provides list.

Finally, recall that what matters is the aerodynamic center (which, sadly, KSP won't show you)--i.e. the sum of all aerodynamic forces, not just lift. Just because the center of lift is behind the center of mass doesn't mean draggy bits forward of the center of mass aren't moving the aerodynamic center forward..."

On the topic of the mod "Pilot Assistant" it is currently banned, but with the caveat that I am waiting on a response from the mod's author/maintainer as an adjudication on whether it should be allowed.  Reading into it it does make flying shuttles much much easier, but I've not used it so wanted someone with authority to educate me before I immediately rule it out.  In short I'll get back to you on that one

Thanks for the explanation, I kinda forgot the whole issue about CoL and aerodynamic centre since I haven't been building shuttles for a long time; I will look into that to try to make this shuttle a bit more flyable. And I'll keep the UI on the following screenshots.

Next entry coming up today hopefully, depending on how much I can improve behaviour during reentry.

[cadaverific]

11 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

What a wonderful shuttle!  The Mk 420.69 () clearly has what it takes and is indeed the first FAR entry.  I like your considerable use of comfort and quality of life mods as well as parts mods so well done there.

Thanks, I'm excited that my fairly high-spec pc will finally start to show (my 16GB of ram are now useful). I also can't wait to get my hands on some more high-res stuff for EVE, once I'm confindant things are stable. It felt like something was off when i was re-entering yesterday and i figure it out: no DRE. It seems like it just got updated today so I'll have to undergo some extensive re-entry testing to come up with a decent profile.

Update: Just noticed CKAN seems to install the low res version of SVE, going up to highest res to see what happens. Should look even better in the future.

Edited April 28, 2016 by cadaverific

[cadaverific]

Misson:  STS-2:  Can You Hear Me? Commander Edit.

Mods & Parts:

• NEW Deadly Reentry Cont. - I'm some kind of masochist
• NEW Kerbalism - Not sure how much of a difference it'll make, but ships now have food and O₂.
• Forgotten Saturatable Reaction Wheels - Makes reaction wheels feel a bit less cheaty and forces more use of RCS. Probably why reentry is so difficult for me.
• Mechjeb & KER - Info readouts.
• SpaceY - Boosters and sepratron nosecones.
• Tweakscale - Fuel pod is 3.75m boosted to 5m, wing parts boosted 200%, decouplers set to 150%.
• Raster Props - IVA and external cams. Kind of pointless based on current iva setup, the monitor positions really suck.
• FAR - Cant go back after finding it.
• Real Chute - Same as FAR.
• Proc Fairings - Makes the nosecone nice and round.
• GPO Fuel Pump - Absolutely necessary as the only updated fuel management system for 1.1.
• Various visuals and sound additions - Makes  my game pretty.
• Lots of other mods that don't make an appearance... yet.

Specifications:

Orbiter(Dry) - Weight ~ 41t; Price: 116,193 F

Weight on Launchpad w/ Payload - 817.71t

Full Launch Price - 266,041 F

Details/Pictures:

 

This challenge was made more difficlut mostly due to the addition of DRE. Launch was fairly uneventful and it was easy to get up to a fairly even 390 km circular orbit. The comsats were released and ended up a bit closer to one another that i would have liked but whatever. In order to land i had to drop orbit to 100x100 before deorbiting. Reentry went fine until i hit ~40 km where i lost most RCS thrusters on the nose (NOTE: if using FAR & DRE i would recommend the use of vernor thrusters on the nose for higher heat res and better control authority). I made sure to document my descent path in the album somewhat in case anyone else has trouble with it. Despite giving myself half of Kerbin to land, i completely overshot the space center and had to use my remaining fuel to (barely) land at the island. Being much lighter on fuel this time around, i was able to land at ~130 m/s. Despite the lower speed it was still a bit to close to falling off the airstrip for my liking, i'd rather not try it again if i can help it. Here's the pics:

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by cadaverific
Forgot a fairly important mod

[Speeding Mullet]

23 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

On the topic of the mod "Pilot Assistant" it is currently banned, but with the caveat that I am waiting on a response from the mod's author/maintainer as an adjudication on whether it should be allowed.  Reading into it it does make flying shuttles much much easier, but I've not used it so wanted someone with authority to educate me before I immediately rule it out.  In short I'll get back to you on that one

@Gaarst Having consulted with the developer of the mod on this one I have decided to allow it.  In his own words:

PA does not have any automatic tuning of it's control system while MJ does. Assuming MJ allows any arbitrary pitch/bank to be held, I don't see the difference.
PA has no automation of its actions along the lines of MJ ascent guidance or other true autopilot functionality. I've always viewed it more as a control abstraction aiming to resolve issues with flying by keyboard rather than a true autopilot

So with that in mind I will update the allowed mod list to include this one and you can go ahead!  Look forward to your next entry!

 

21 hours ago, Norcurion said:

I'm in awe and a little bit scared of the COM shift and the changed aerodynamic propertys of that shuttle

Yet for the best part of the 3.2km/s re-entry it held its AoA, even with only the cockpits SAS to control it (and some RCS), proof of how well balanced it is in flight I guess!

 

21 hours ago, Alchemist said:

I have an Idea for orbital assembly (not exactly a station. that is, not stationary), but there may be fifth launch which doesn't exactly count, if you don't mind...

Because the biggest issue with Buran is...

  Reveal hidden contents

...you don't have to take Buran itself!

 

As long as the "orbital assembly" is built to the challenge requirements of 4 modules 4 launches, and contains one service module with RCS, engines, and reaction wheels, one habitation module, and two 2 scientific modules, then you have completed the requirements and any extra launches are not counted towards the mission.  i.e. if that core requirement is filled you can launch another 300 times if you wish and do a whole story line mission and I'd welcome that!

 

12 hours ago, cadaverific said:

Should look even better in the future

I installed a million mods then had to scale it back as it was crashing every 3 seconds.  Realised last night that I was opening KSP from the 32 rather than 64 bit launcher so I'm waiting for any 1.1.1 resets and will CKAN myself to the max again.  I love the realistic exhaust plumes and lighting that you used.  I had them but removed them due to ^.

 

4 hours ago, cadaverific said:

Misson:  STS-2:  Can You Hear Me? Commander Edit.

Mods & Parts:

• NEW Deadly Reentry Cont. - I'm some kind of masochist
• NEW Kerbalism - Not sure how much of a difference it'll make, but ships now have food and O₂.
• Forgotten Saturatable Reaction Wheels - Makes reaction wheels feel a bit less cheaty and forces more use of RCS. Probably why reentry is so difficult for me.
• Mechjeb & KER - Info readouts.
• SpaceY - Boosters and sepratron nosecones.
• Tweakscale - Fuel pod is 3.75m boosted to 5m, wing parts boosted 200%, decouplers set to 150%.
• Raster Props - IVA and external cams. Kind of pointless based on current iva setup, the monitor positions really suck.
• FAR - Cant go back after finding it.
• Real Chute - Same as FAR.
• Proc Fairings - Makes the nosecone nice and round.
• GPO Fuel Pump - Absolutely necessary as the only updated fuel management system for 1.1.
• Various visuals and sound additions - Makes  my game pretty.
• Lots of other mods that don't make an appearance... yet.

Specifications:

Orbiter(Dry) - Weight ~ 41t; Price: 116,193 F

Weight on Launchpad w/ Payload - 817.71t

Full Launch Price - 266,041 F

Details/Pictures:

 

This challenge was made more difficlut mostly due to the addition of DRE. Launch was fairly uneventful and it was easy to get up to a fairly even 390 km circular orbit. The comsats were released and ended up a bit closer to one another that i would have liked but whatever. In order to land i had to drop orbit to 100x100 before deorbiting. Reentry went fine until i hit ~40 km where i lost most RCS thrusters on the nose (NOTE: if using FAR & DRE i would recommend the use of vernor thrusters on the nose for higher heat res and better control authority). I made sure to document my descent path in the album somewhat in case anyone else has trouble with it. Despite giving myself half of Kerbin to land, i completely overshot the space center and had to use my remaining fuel to (barely) land at the island. Being much lighter on fuel this time around, i was able to land at ~130 m/s. Despite the lower speed it was still a bit to close to falling off the airstrip for my liking, i'd rather not try it again if i can help it. Here's the pics:

*Gallery snipped*

OhmywordDRE.  Seriously now you are going for some kind of ultra mode on the modded section here.  A lot of people assume I think that modded means loads of parts that make life easier but I think you have gone the other way entirely.  I am very very interested in your experience with Kerbalism by the way.  I've never toyed with life support to this point but decided a while a go that with 1.1 release I would make a choice of one Life support mod and integrate it into my install and see how I went.  I've seen a lot of opinion against (mostly from people that wanted to carry on using another life support package) but I don't much care about that - I'd rather have a fully integrated system and there's a lot of praise flying around from that side of the fence.  How are you going with it?

Nice recovery of the landing resulting in your grand award ceremony (I'm assuming here you deployed the sats with spin stabilization?) of Commander - Rank 2 (modded)  Well done!  

 

Also means I need to get my butt into gear and release the new Hubble Space Telescope on behalf of xoknight which I now have.  Let me get right to that and also update the leader-boards and a couple of other things!

 

SM
 

[Alchemist]

Well, here's some progress report on the orbital assembly:

The first launch looked like this:

Because if it doesn't fit into Buran, put it instead of Buran!

Apart for the rocket suddenly disintegrating (after it ran out of fuel, but still what the Kraken?! maybe a bug with fairings) which almost ended in control loss of the payload (maybe I should have launched it engines first... but it's not TKS-based, if you get the reference), it got to 350 km orbit even if the payload turned out to be a bit heavier than what Energia can get to LKO (that is, the trajectory was a bit more suborbital than usual).

And then the first launch with Buran - delivering the service module:

Yeah, this module was docked before pulling it out of the bay

Landing notes:
1. Aerobraking went better than expected. Had to boost with OMS to avoid undershooting by the entire continent.
2. Buran still flies very good (no damage done by aerodynamics changes in 1.1)
3. Who the hell replaced the landing gear???

 

And the second run with Buran:

The Command/Crew/Reentry module left the payload bay and docked to the Service module on its own (well, docking in darkness without checking the power wasn't the smartest idea... but there was Jeb in there), then Buran docked to it (wasting way too much monopropellant...). Other than overcompensating everything (even slightly overdoing the S-turn on landing) it went smoothly enough.

Two more modules to get there... and each of the modules has different docking procedure...

Edited April 29, 2016 by Alchemist
update

[Gaarst]

Here is my entry for the comsats mission (STS-2), rank Commander.

Didn't lose control during reentry, but I still need better aiming...

[cadaverific]

22 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

OhmywordDRE.  Seriously now you are going for some kind of ultra mode on the modded section here.  A lot of people assume I think that modded means loads of parts that make life easier but I think you have gone the other way entirely.

Nice recovery of the landing resulting in your grand award ceremony (I'm assuming here you deployed the sats with spin stabilization?) of Commander - Rank 2 (modded)  Well done!

 

Yeah i like to use mods to make things a bit harder. It gives you a reason to use things like heat shields and retro burns and such. I did use that spin stabilization, it's just kinda hard to see in a still picture . I thought i had a pic of the empty sepratrons in there but i guess not. Really DRE just made reentry take longer than the whole rest of the mission. There were a lot of lost practice ships (and kerbals) in the process of figuring out the reentry profile.

 

Quote

 I am very very interested in your experience with Kerbalism by the way.  I've never toyed with life support to this point but decided a while a go that with 1.1 release I would make a choice of one Life support mod and integrate it into my install and see how I went.  I've seen a lot of opinion against (mostly from people that wanted to carry on using another life support package) but I don't much care about that - I'd rather have a fully integrated system and there's a lot of praise flying around from that side of the fence.  How are you going with it?

i haven't done too much with kerbalism yet since i want to do a spaceplane centered career and landing gear were making my planes dance on the runway. The whole centralized system is the most interesting part. Another cool thing is that its being actively balanced and developed atm, mods like TAC and such aren't going anywhere anymore. I think the simplicity of the life support is the best part for me. You have O2 with scrubbers and food with greenhouses. Very similar to USI but with actual death. I also like how malfunctions give you a reason to actually take engineers on missions for once, but they are never ship breaking i think you get something like 50% efficiency loss at worst. The QoL give you an actual reason to add things like hab modules instead of just a command pod. Signals are like an easier Remote Tech, which was too tedious for me. Radiation is interesting since its the first i've seen someone emulate the van allen belts, but still leaves plenty of room to have safe low orbit station. Shielding and such is just a bit of extra weight and shouldn't be much of an issue to plan for. The science rate change is something i just like in general. To top it all off there's an actual planner that ties it all in so you can plan the whole thing out pretty easily. 

So yeah i think i covered most of how i feel about each part of it. I like what i see so far i'll just have to play with it more. Perhaps there will be an orbital assembly interplanetary mission for this challenge in the future  where i can test these things out better.

 

Update: Rescue portion is complete, album should be up tomorrow

Edited April 30, 2016 by cadaverific

[xoknight]

Looks like STS3 is up, awesome. Hope you guys find a way to fit that monster in a cargo bay and assemble it. (hint: if you leave the assembly the way it is, and if you try and assemble it in space, it may get a bit bright)

[Gaarst]

6 minutes ago, xoknight said:

Looks like STS3 is up, awesome. Hope you guys find a way to fit that monster in a cargo bay and assemble it. (hint: if you leave the assembly the way it is, and if you try and assemble it in space, it may get a bit bright)

Though the OP is sublty advertising for a thing called MMU to assemble it in orbit, I wonder what that could be ?

[Speeding Mullet]

On 4/29/2016 at 2:26 AM, Alchemist said:

Well, here's some progress report on the orbital assembly:

*Snip to end all snips*

I can see where you are going with this and I like it!  Great idea to ditch the shuttle and just loft a massive payload for the launch that doesn't count towards the actual mission.  It's not exactly in line with the challenge requirements but as previously mentioned as long as the core requirement is satisfied I am happy

 

On 4/29/2016 at 6:13 AM, Gaarst said:

Here is my entry for the comsats mission (STS-2), rank Commander.

*Gallery snipped*

Didn't lose control during reentry, but I still need better aiming...

Nice mission once again.  I see you have picked up the roll maneuver to bring the shuttle over the main tank.  I definitely use that in my Buran flights as apart from being a cool roll program it does as you say increase stability for some reason!  Good re-entry and flight over the mountains with Minmus in the distance, and thoroughly worthy of your next badge in the series!  

 

@cadaverific - Thanks for the run down on the mods.  Just waiting for all things 1.1.2 to update and then I will probably pick up this mod moving foward. Nice one!  Also it sounds like you have done the rescue mission already, but save that until you've completed the now running STS-3 mission if you wouldn't mind .  Good luck!

 

 

2 hours ago, xoknight said:

Looks like STS3 is up, awesome. Hope you guys find a way to fit that monster in a cargo bay and assemble it. (hint: if you leave the assembly the way it is, and if you try and assemble it in space, it may get a bit bright)

Once again @xoknight thanks very much for updating the Hubble Space Telescope for this new v3 challenge thread.  As you have consistently kept the module updated across three separate version of this challenge I am pleased to announce that you are part of the exclusive Architects Club, as without you this challenge wouldn't be the same.  Here's your badge!  

 

2 hours ago, Gaarst said:

Though the OP is sublty advertising for a thing called MMU to assemble it in orbit, I wonder what that could be ?

The MMU's are included in the sub-assembly by xoknight and are the awesome little craft that are made to be used to assemble the telescope in space.  They are the bit that requires a little thought to construction as the way they are built into the sub-assembly currently means that the package won't fit into the cargo bay.  Bit of thinking and construction savvy required for STS-3 now!

 

As mentioned the STS-3 challenge is now up and running and it looks like people are really tearing through this challenge.  Quite frankly it's brilliant to see and is just the kick I need to get into gear and release STS-9.  I've also definitely got an idea for an STS-10, but I want to see who completes 9 first

EDIT:  I'm pleased to announce STS-9 is now live, and well, um, just check out the OP.  It's a doozy!

 

SM

Edited May 1, 2016 by Speeding Mullet

[Gaarst]

8 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

As mentioned the STS-3 challenge is now up and running and it looks like people are really tearing through this challenge.  Quite frankly it's brilliant to see and is just the kick I need to get into gear and release STS-9.  I've also definitely got an idea for an STS-10, but I want to see who completes 9 first

EDIT:  I'm pleased to announce STS-9 is now live, and well, um, just check out the OP.  It's a doozy!

Very excited about this challenge !

Just a question though: can we launch multiple missions (using shuttles of course ) to bring the asteroid in LKO before actually reentring with it ?

[Alchemist]

The laboratory module has no propulsion, so Buran had to grab and dock it like this:

With slightly adjusted RCS configuration, Buran had absolutely no problems performing this kind of maneuvering.

Also, there was some free space left in the bay, so I took some extra fuel to top the ship off (the propulsion module was launched almost full, but there still was some empty space).

14 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

I can see where you are going with this and I like it!  Great idea to ditch the shuttle and just loft a massive payload for the launch that doesn't count towards the actual mission.  It's not exactly in line with the challenge requirements but as previously mentioned as long as the core requirement is satisfied I am happy

Because Energia was totally made with such options in mind. Some of the concepts for Mir-2 station included several large modules launched by Energia. And there also was Skif orbital laser platform...

14 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

EDIT:  I'm pleased to announce STS-9 is now live, and well, um, just check out the OP.  It's a doozy!

I'm totally sending this ship to hunt something appropriate. (You can probably guess what kind of additional hardware will be sent along with the Observation module).

[Speeding Mullet]

19 hours ago, Gaarst said:

Very excited about this challenge !

Just a question though: can we launch multiple missions (using shuttles of course ) to bring the asteroid in LKO before actually reentring with it ?

Great, I'm as excited to see how people get around the difficulty of this one, I reckon there's going to be a lot of variability in the mission.  On variability as there's quite a lot of missions here that require you to do A, B, C with quite tight limitations I am going to open this one up as follows:

• For the STS Pilot - Rank 6 multiple missions may be flown to retrieve the potato as long as said potato is de-orbited using a shuttle.  
• For the STS Commander - Rank 6 only one launch is permitted for the whole mission (Pilot category will still be awarded if the landing is not at KSC etc)

How does everyone feel about this?  I want to be able to differentiate between Shuttles capable of doing this in one hit, but still open it up for people to get mega creative.

13 hours ago, Alchemist said:

The laboratory module has no propulsion, so Buran had to grab and dock it like this:

*snip*

Excellent - I'm counting 3 out of the 4 required modules now unless I am mistaken.  I have an inkling what you are going to attach to your ship before you go potato hunting.  Can't wait to see!

I always forget about Energia being used to loft standard payloads in piggyback.  Hell with the ability to loft a shuttle AND the 42t payload to such heights I bet it's actually a super capable launch vehicle.  Might or might not be going to test that theory out

 

SM

[Alchemist]

On the last run... everything got docked to different ports

And now I have to compile the video report.

Yeah, it was designed to investigate the dresteroid belt. Might add a lander or two for Dres itself. Not really meant to haul large rocks, but can probably bring something not too large to Kerbin orbit.

4 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

• For the STS Pilot - Rank 6 multiple missions may be flown to retrieve the potato as long as said potato is de-orbited using a shuttle.  
• For the STS Commander - Rank 6 only one launch is permitted for the whole mission (Pilot category will still be awarded if the landing is not at KSC etc)

Or, if I can launch Buran with full bay of spare fuel, it should be able to use it to intercept something on its own. Speaking of which, I seem to have found a low hanging fruit:

4 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

I always forget about Energia being used to loft standard payloads in piggyback.  Hell with the ability to loft a shuttle AND the 42t payload to such heights I bet it's actually a super capable launch vehicle.  Might or might not be going to test that theory out

It really had similar payload capacity to N1 (95-105 t to LEO, depending on some adjustments). Of course, with second stage separating on slightly suborbital trajectory (and reentering over Pacific) the payload has to pack enough propulsion for circularization. Or you may include another stage in the payload.

Speaking of which: Multilaunch lunar mission with 3-stage Energia.
(the fairings are actually supposed to form a payload container around the entire third stage, but it didn't work for me, at least in that version.)

[Ace Warbringer]

Unfortunately I missed a bit.

it was a good landing I guess. cause the crew got to walk away.

try and try again.

this one made it to 200x200km. but needs work for reentry. after looking at everyone else's  it almost feels like a kids toy.

 

[cadaverific]

On 5/2/2016 at 5:05 PM, Ace Warbringer said:

this one made it to 200x200km. but needs work for reentry. after looking at everyone else's  it almost feels like a kids toy.

Oh don't worry you just didn't get to see all the failures. Not to mention most people here have a bit of experience making shuttles it seems. Patience and practice are the key. If you need help post a pic in the SPH with the aero and com and we can probably help with whatever issue you're having. Judging from the looking at it now it looks a bit too front heavy but i'd have to see the whole setup to say anyting definitive.

In other news on my end, the 1.1.2 update really messed up my mods quite a bit on CKAN, so i'll be waiting a bit before i can do anything. The double update and probably future hotfixes will stall me for a bit in the modded end. I may just post my rescue mission first just because.

[n.b.z.]

So since I spammed this thread with nitpicking about the rules, I guess it's my time to provide an entry.

Because, not long after I had built Some Shuttle, Inigma Industries had contracted me to take their 42t fuel pod up to the highest possible Kerbin orbit.

Which stunned everyone on the shuttle program, as neither the weight, nor the size of that thing was really within the payload specs that the designers had in mind. So the brand new shuttle was immediately and hastily tinkered with, mainly to find some more room in the cargo bay. One of these rather improvised fixes later almost ruined the mission.

I shall point out that the shuttle itself is not at all original or interesting. Standard stock parts were slapped together to produce just another clone of the concept.

One thing that might be worth mentioning: since there is no center tank in the orbiter, the main engines can receive fuel only from the external tank. And since the OMS engines are placed on radially attached tanks without fuel lines, they can only deplete their own dedicated OMS fuel.

However, there is one crucial piece of equipment that sets this shuttle apart from others. Carefully stepping around the rule prohibiting autopilot mods, it carries an array of no less than four TiltProbeCore™ units to provide valuable flight assistance. Namely, the ability to use SAS PROGRADE for the entire ascent. I really don't want to sound too arrogant here, but this fact very likely means that my shuttle is a whopping four probe cores cooler than yours.

CHALLENGE LEVEL:
    STS-1 Bonus Fuel Pod Mission (stock)

VEHICLE:
    Some Shuttle
    
CREW:
    Tecy (commanding pilot)
    Lubo (pilot)
    Tanlock (engineering payload specialist)
    Triliana (scientific payload specialist)

MODS:
    The vessel is 100% stock.
    All installed mods:

• Cursor Deleter
• Environmental Visual Enhancements
• Kopernicus
• Outer Planets Mod
• PlanetShine
• PoodsOPMVO ("Pood's Outer Planets Mod Visual Overhaul" which doesn't work yet for 1.1.2)
• Scatterer
• ModuleManager

PAYLOAD ORBIT:
    After payload release: periapsis 333,236 m / apoapsis 333,252 m
    After shuttle landing: periapsis 333,219 m / apoapsis 333,227 m

PLATFORM:
    KSP 1.1.2 Win64

MISSION REPORT:

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by n.b.z.
formatting

[algeo]

I thought I'd try my hand at this.

 

Mods used: MechJeb (only for the info window seen in the lower right hand corner of the images), FAR (because it's installed and I didn't feel like deactivating anything)

Mods in install: Maaaaaany. However the only ones that had any effect on the mission were the two mentioned above. I consider it stock with an info window and a more annoying atmosphere (didn't use the FAR info window as that would've made keeping the shuttle stable on descent easier). I went out of my way to make sure I used no modded parts and never rescaled anything. I have no other mods that affect the atmosphere or anything like that.

---

Craft specifics:

 

Name: Space Shuttle "Wonky" (a well deserved name, though "Wobbly" might've been more accurate).

Left-hand stats are with carrier. Right-hand stats are shuttle only.

Weight: 391.928t/123.083t

Parts: 81/62

Delta-v: 2319 atmo/ 3390 vac -- This is kind of pointless actually. I used all engines both in atmo and vac, and both separately and together. Around 5.5 to 5.8k in total anyhow. Complete overkill which just gave me problems on descent.

Cost: 302k/123k

---

The craft was wobbly and awful (mostly due to having the COM way too far back), but I had fun doing the challenge. As you may have noticed... I'm more of a spacecraft-person than a plane-person... that's what made this challenging for me I suppose.  I may consider doing the more difficult ones, but if I do I'll go modded instead of stock. Some SpaceY and Tweakscale would probably result in a much more stable craft.

---

I'm not sure if siphoning fuel from the carrier is against the rules. I couldn't find any such rule. Anyway, as you can see from the images I hardly needed the fuel I siphoned. I'm just a bit paranoid.

---

Images:

 

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by algeo
Fixed Imgur link