The ISS Replica Project - Proton Added!

[MrMeeb]

The ISS Replica Project

Over the past three years of playing KSP, I have made many stations, and about a third of those were attempts at making our beautiful ISS. Of all my attempts, the one that got the furthest only got as far as the Z1 truss, and it was hardly accurate. So this time, I decided that I would go all out and build the most visually accurate ISS replica I can possibly manage, module by module, and share it with you guys! My goal will be to build the modules, and put them in orbit with realistic launch vehicles, to be constructed in a realistic fashion, while providing educational shorts explaining the purposes and capabilities of each module (soon^tm). I hope you enjoy the ride!

A modlist required to run the WHOLE PACK (lists for the individual modules are included in their sections) can be found here:

Spoiler

Tantares

Bluedog Design Bureu

Tweakscale

Contares

Cx Aerospace

Canadarm

Procedural Parts

Hraban's Tantares PP Textures

Infernal Robotics (and the IR Model Rework)

Procedural Fairings

TantaresLV

Tweakscale

MainSailor's PF Textures

My own textures, included in the MrMeeb folder with the DL

Module 1: Zarya

After around two weeks of solid work on my Zarya replica, it is finally (at least for now) finished! You may have seen it in other parts of the forum, but it is now up for download, and ready to go to space.

The Zarya module (meaning 'sunrise' in Russian) was the first module of the International Space Station. Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, November 20th, 1998, it marked the dawn of a cooperative relationship between the space programs of the USA and Russia towards a common goal of a habitat in space. The main purpose of Zarya on launch was to provide propulsion and power to the Zarya - Unity module pair while waiting for Zvezda to launch and dock with the station, which would offer a more permanent propulsion solution. Based off proven technology developed in the Mir programme (for which Zarya was originally intended to be part of), Zarya was based off the already proven TKS-derived module technology. Ever since Zvezda docked, Zarya took a secondary role, and is now a main part of the ROS living quarters and fuel storage for the Zvezda booster system. 

Craft Specification:

Spoiler

Parts: 62

Mass: 15.744t

Height: 7.1m

Width: 2.5m

Lenght: 2.5m

Mods required:

Tantares
Bluedog Design Bureu
Tweakscale
Contares
Cx Aerospace
Canadarm
Procedural Parts
Hraban's Tantares PP Textures
Infernal Robotics (and the IR Model Rework)
Procedural Fairings
My own textures, included in the MrMeeb folder with the DL

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Up Next - Module 2: Unity

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Other bits included:

Proton (Zarya Configuration)

Spoiler

This Proton is configured to launch the Zarya, mounted in the picture. Included in the pack is a craft with Zarya pre-mounted, and a subassembly that you can just hook on to the bottom node of whatever payload you want (even if the mount probably isn't optimised for it).

Mods required: 

Tantares

TantaresLV

Contares

Firespitter

MainSailor's PF Textures

MrMeeb Assets

Markings implemented by NEBULA Flags, distributed by myself under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, with full credit to Krasimir.

Download

To install, extract the downloaded file and merge the GameData and Ships folders with the respective folders your KSP directory

 

Think I've done something wrong? Want to help me improve what I've done? I'm all ears! Just let me know in this thread  

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by MrMeeb

[NeoFatalis]

Do use realism overhaul? 

Btw:it looks awesome!

[Beale]

17 hours ago, MrMeeb said:

Parts: 62

The part count of the entire construction should be something to behold!

But, aside from that it is very beautiful, nice job.

[cxg2827]

Beautiful!

18 hours ago, MrMeeb said:

Cx7 Aerospace

tell me more of this Cx7? 

[TheAceOfHearts]

I have all of the necessary mods except for Hraban's Tantares PP Textures (I can't find a link to download it anywhere that's not kerbalstuff), and the craft file doesn't seem to work for me. It says I'm missing Zaryarear and IR.Pivotron.RangeNinty. Is there something else I might be missing? I really love what you've done and am excited to build the ISS!

[MrMeeb]

13 hours ago, NeoFatalis said:

Do use realism overhaul? 

Btw:it looks awesome!

Nope, the screenshots are from my (VERY cheaty) RSS save. However, the craft and rockets do work entirely in stock scale  

3 hours ago, Beale said:

The part count of the entire construction should be something to behold!

But, aside from that it is very beautiful, nice job.

I mean, it's pretty high, but when you consider that the original (pre-part welding) was around 180 parts, 62 is nothing to shake a stick at  Besides, I can only see Zvezda having something of a similar level, as the ROS modules are the most complex. On top of that, all my US segment will be made using @cxg2827's Cx parts, which are already pretty high levels of detail, so I probably won't have much to do myself when making them other than adding Canadarm grappling points. I'm aiming for something in the realms of 600 parts!  

2 hours ago, cxg2827 said:

Beautiful!

tell me more of this Cx7? 

That would explain why I always struggle to find your mod on google  

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

 

Proton Lifter (Zarya Configuration)

I'm releasing two versions of the Proton: one with markings, and one without.

Proton Subassembly Without Markings Required mods: TantaresLV Tweakscale File Name: [ISS] Proton (Zarya Configuration)

Proton subassembly with markings. Required mods: TantaresLV Tweakscale ZZZ Flags iPeer's In Flight Flag Switcher All the markings are included in the MrMeeb folder. While the flags are in the correct places on the subassembly, they will all start as the 'Mission Flag'. You will have to change them yourself   File Name: [ISS] Proton (Zarya Configuration) 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also about to update I have updated the OP with a new, better file structure, along with all this stuff  

Update:

42 minutes ago, TheAceOfHearts said:

I have all of the necessary mods except for Hraban's Tantares PP Textures (I can't find a link to download it anywhere that's not kerbalstuff), and the craft file doesn't seem to work for me. It says I'm missing Zaryarear and IR.Pivotron.RangeNinty. Is there something else I might be missing? I really love what you've done and am excited to build the ISS!

First of all, thank you!

Sorry, I should've probably made it more clear: when I say it needs IR, I mean IR and the IR Model Rework. For the PP Textures, a reuploaded version was linked in the thread here  

Interesting you're missing the zaryarear part...that's included! Give me about 10 minutes to improve the file structure and add Proton, then redownload and install and see if that works.

Edit: @TheAceOfHearts I have updated the OP with the relevant information. Try redownloading and installing, after adding in the mods you were missing.

Edited June 3, 2016 by MrMeeb

[WooDzor]

*following!

 

[sgt_flyer]

mmh. Be careful on physical collider count - the game performance in Unity 5 is affected by the number of colliders more than the number of parts now. (the more colliders present, the longer the 'freezes' will happen upon vessel loading) so even welding parts won't help much in those cases - parts with complex physical collider shapes (like the hollow structural fuselage) are made of lots of simple colliders instead of 1 complex. (that's one of unity 5 changes)

still, good luck with the modded ISS  

 

 

[selfish_meme]

Also if you use NEBULA decals (requires Firespitter and Tweakscale) you can save the decals without messing around with mission flags, plus it has better flag option sizes.

[selfish_meme]

It will still probably end up a similar partcount to our stock ISS, have you looked at Beenjee's mod Habtech?

 

[MrMeeb]

1 hour ago, sgt_flyer said:

mmh. Be careful on physical collider count - the game performance in Unity 5 is affected by the number of colliders more than the number of parts now. (the more colliders present, the longer the 'freezes' will happen upon vessel loading) so even welding parts won't help much in those cases - parts with complex physical collider shapes (like the hollow structural fuselage) are made of lots of simple colliders instead of 1 complex. (that's one of unity 5 changes)

still, good luck with the modded ISS  

 

 

Hmmm, I guess we'll have to see. Of course, when I'm using the parts, I can't tell how complex the colliders are. However, there won't actually be much part welding (if that may cause collider woes by merging colliders...I don't know or understand if I'm honest), other than Zarya and Zvezda, as I can see it. Hopefully it'll be okay  

1 hour ago, selfish_meme said:

Also if you use NEBULA decals (requires Firespitter and Tweakscale) you can save the decals without messing around with mission flags, plus it has better flag option sizes.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out! 

1 hour ago, selfish_meme said:

It will still probably end up a similar partcount to our stock ISS, have you looked at Beenjee's mod Habtech?

 

Yeah, I've seen HabTech. Great mod. Honestly, it's a difficult decision between HabTech and Cx Aerospace, but I've decided I'll be using Cx because it's just a bit more greebly by default; I wouldn't need to add my own handrails etc etc. 

Speaking of Cx Aerospace, here's a teaser shot I posted in its thread: 

While the module itself is simple, the lifter and the way in which it was connected are not (as far as I see it). My main question right now is whether I want to design a glider shuttle, or a jet assisted (which I've been quite successful with recently). It would be a form of peace of mind, and would bridge the gap between the excellent mathematicians plotting the trajectory of the Space Shuttle and a 17 year old studying Humanities. I know I said this is a replica, which it is, but I haven't quite decided whether I would like to make a more 'what if' form of the ISS, which would include cancelled modules like the US Hab and the Solar assembly you see in older renders. If I were to do that, then I could begin to look at features that would have been part of the shuttle had political decisions been different: LRBs, Extended Range versions etc. This would be the thing seen in videos documenting the construction that I plan to make. Has anyone got any opinions on this that they want to contribute?  

I said I've been having success with shuttle designs, and this is my current, which (after some small design changes), I'd be very happy to fly for my recreation  

(It's not Buran! It has got 4 LRB boosters, and once they go, it looks much more like the STS)

A launch album link (can't embed because I'm on mobile): https://imgur.com/gallery/VQSM7

Edited June 3, 2016 by MrMeeb

[TheAceOfHearts]

 

On 6/3/2016 at 4:08 PM, MrMeeb said:

Hmmm, I guess we'll have to see. Of course, when I'm using the parts, I can't tell how complex the colliders are. However, there won't actually be much part welding (if that may cause collider woes by merging colliders...I don't know or understand if I'm honest), other than Zarya and Zvezda, as I can see it. Hopefully it'll be okay  

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out! 

Yeah, I've seen HabTech. Great mod. Honestly, it's a difficult decision between HabTech and Cx Aerospace, but I've decided I'll be using Cx because it's just a bit more greebly by default; I wouldn't need to add my own handrails etc etc. 

Speaking of Cx Aerospace, here's a teaser shot I posted in its thread: 

While the module itself is simple, the lifter and the way in which it was connected are not (as far as I see it). My main question right now is whether I want to design a glider shuttle, or a jet assisted (which I've been quite successful with recently). It would be a form of peace of mind, and would bridge the gap between the excellent mathematicians plotting the trajectory of the Space Shuttle and a 17 year old studying Humanities. I know I said this is a replica, which it is, but I haven't quite decided whether I would like to make a more 'what if' form of the ISS, which would include cancelled modules like the US Hab and the Solar assembly you see in older renders. If I were to do that, then I could begin to look at features that would have been part of the shuttle had political decisions been different: LRBs, Extended Range versions etc. This would be the thing seen in videos documenting the construction that I plan to make. Has anyone got any opinions on this that they want to contribute?  

I said I've been having success with shuttle designs, and this is my current, which (after some small design changes), I'd be very happy to fly for my recreation  

(It's not Buran! It has got 4 LRB boosters, and once they go, it looks much more like the STS)

A launch album link (can't embed because I'm on mobile): https://imgur.com/gallery/VQSM7

I know I personally have been lusting after a good ISS module pack and recreation for a long time, as there hasn't really been anything like that since bobcat left the scene. This doesn't mean there's not an interest for alternate history stuff, Eyes Turned Skyward for instance, but primarily I want to get the ISS built like it was and is in real life. 

P.S. As another 17 year old pursuing a history major, I fully understand the struggle of a less mathematically inclined spacecraft pilot. Good luck!

[MrMeeb]

15 hours ago, TheAceOfHearts said:

I know I personally have been lusting after a good ISS module pack and recreation for a long time, as there hasn't really been anything like that since bobcat left the scene. This doesn't mean there's not an interest for alternate history stuff, Eyes Turned Skyward for instance, but primarily I want to get the ISS built like it was and is in real life. 

That's fair enough. I think the ISS will be constructed in a realistic way, to the point that it is now. It's just how I do the shuttle. Right now, I'm planning on having a realistic stack, using the orange ET and SRBs, and I'll just add some jet engines - so instead of using the STS, I will incorporate it into my LBTS (Lifting Body Transport System) programme. The shuttle pictured earlier is LBV01 (Lifting Body Vehicle), named Adamant, on a Block A2 lifter. Here is the new vehicle - LBV02, named Lumos, on a Block B1 lifter. Looks familiar (other than the jet engines), right?  

It's not finished yet, and this is more of a proof of concept to me, to allow me to begin the process of balancing it to behave how I'd like it to for my save. It's actually currently waiting on some new parts that are in the pipeline of @Pak's Comorant Aeronology before I can class it as complete and flight ready. 

It's actually a similar situation for Unity itself. While it is an extremely simple module for me to build (what, like, only 11 parts?), @cxg2827 is in the process of revamping his current part, and I'd rather wait for that to happen before I launch it, than have to contend with the change later. I know the changes won't be craft breaking, but still. Besides, school starts again for another 5 weeks for me in a week, so I'll actually have some responsibility again, instead of 9 hours to play around in KSP. I don't mind waiting.

In terms of finished things I've done today, I decided to look into @selfish_meme's suggestion of using NEBULA decals. I think it's a better, less 'hacky' way than how I did it before, and it also reduces clutter in the flag selection section, so I migrated the Proton's markings over to the system. It also means that, should you want to use these parts, you don't need to set up each individual letter. Yay!  

I'll update the OP with a new DL link and change the Proton stuff.

 

 

[pw4x3r]

I've downloaded the four most recent versions of tantares and tantares LV and I cannot get this to load due to missing part Tantares.DockingMechanism.Y is missing. It is listed as an included part with the tantares pack but it isn't included???

--- removed and reinstalled tantares and its fine now, no idea.

Edited June 6, 2016 by pw4x3r

[TheAceOfHearts]

I'm currently getting the missing part MainSailorFairingConicBlk

The Zarya craft file is working, it's a part of proton that is missing

[pw4x3r]

15 minutes ago, TheAceOfHearts said:

I'm currently getting the missing part MainSailorFairingConicBlk

The Zarya craft file is working, it's a part of proton that is missing

that one came from procedural parts mainsailors procedural textures - complete edition

--- removed and reinstalled tantares and its fine now, no idea.

Edited June 6, 2016 by pw4x3r

[TheAceOfHearts]

26 minutes ago, pw4x3r said:

that one came from procedural parts mainsailors procedural textures - complete edition - where does tantares.dockingmechanism.y come from ???

It's working now. Thanks!

[MrMeeb]

41 minutes ago, TheAceOfHearts said:

It's working now. Thanks!

Oops. Sorry. Forgot to add that mod! 

[MrMeeb]

This evening I had a chance to practice using @Jeast's Canadarm 1 to move Unity from its position in the payload bay to the docking port, and it has left me kinda baffled as to why they mounted it into the payload bay the way they did. I'm sure there was a reason for it, but it made the use of a robotic arm even more difficult than it would be normally. The precision required was especially high, because some of the joints were at their limits of rotation at this point. For context, the Jr Ports were originally connected, with the docking port on the top facing into the back of the bay. It basically had to be rotated a almost 180 degrees before it could be connected. Strange. 

[sgt_flyer]

27 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

This evening I had a chance to practice using @Jeast's Canadarm 1 to move Unity from its position in the payload bay to the docking port, and it has left me kinda baffled as to why they mounted it into the payload bay the way they did. I'm sure there was a reason for it, but it made the use of a robotic arm even more difficult than it would be normally. The precision required was especially high, because some of the joints were at their limits of rotation at this point. For context, the Jr Ports were originally connected, with the docking port on the top facing into the back of the bay. It basically had to be rotated a almost 180 degrees before it could be connected. Strange. 

yeah, ended up facing similar issues with the stock canadarm i made for the stock iss @selfish_meme and me are working on. as the stock canadarm has even more limitations than the real one, in some cases, i ended up changing the canadarm's targets / payload position for having an easier time

[prazed]

I can't find the mod 'rsc' and 'srb' (sorry I just recently got ksp) Here's the log for both rockets

Craft Loading Error

Craft [ISS] Zayra was not loaded because it had the following parts missing

RSC.N...22p5

Craft [ISS] Zayra + Proton was not loaded because it had the following parts missing

RSC.N...22p5

SRB.Betsu.retro

[MrMeeb]

5 hours ago, prazed said:

I can't find the mod 'rsc' and 'srb' (sorry I just recently got ksp) Here's the log for both rockets

Craft Loading Error

Craft [ISS] Zayra was not loaded because it had the following parts missing

RSC.N...22p5

Craft [ISS] Zayra + Proton was not loaded because it had the following parts missing

RSC.N...22p5

SRB.Betsu.retro

I believe those are from the mod Contares. Make sure you have all the mods listed at the top of the thread!  

[TheAceOfHearts]

I hope work can resume on this once work is done on Shuttle Payload Technologies. 

I will provide whatever help is necessary and possible should it return.

[MrMeeb]

2 hours ago, TheAceOfHearts said:

I hope work can resume on this once work is done on Shuttle Payload Technologies. 

I will provide whatever help is necessary and possible should it return.

I hope I can work on it again too. The amount of time I have is now divided between a lot more things than it was when I started, sadly  

[SpaceEnthusiast23]

On ‎2016‎-‎08‎-‎26 at 5:45 PM, MrMeeb said:

I hope I can work on it again too. The amount of time I have is now divided between a lot more things than it was when I started, sadly  

Have you tried the ISS community mod? Here is the link. It says it is for 1.1.2, but it worked for me in 1.2.2.

 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Commander223323