[1.2.1] Mini Sample Return Capsule - Bring your experiments home safe! (v1.2 9/Nov/2016)

[CobaltWolf]

Hello all! I have another new mod for you. A couple weeks ago, the incredibly handsome @AlbertKermin asked me if I was interested in making a mini-mod. Inspired by the OSIRIS-Rex mission, he wanted a small sample return capsule that could be loaded with experiments and safely return.

The mod contains two parts, a command/parachute and heatshield/cargobay. It is currently 2AM, so I don't want to write more, but I wanted to post this in time for the weekend!

Compatibility:

RemoteTech configs are included.

Known Issues:

There is no data storage in the command module. It will be added soon.

Future Plans:

lol. Accept compatibility patches, keep it working with future KSP updates.

Credits:

@AlbertKermin - Configs, compatibility, balance
@CobaltWolf - Models, textures, Unity
@Deimos Rast - Compatibility configs

License:

This work is presented under a Simplified BSD license.

Art assets used in Mini Sample Return Capsule were made by Matthew (CobaltWolf) Mlodzienski and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

All source files for the mod, including uncompiled textures and models, are available upon request.

 

Edited November 9, 2016 by CobaltWolf

[Djolox]

Congrats on the release! I really love the Soyuz-alike style!

Edited July 9, 2016 by Djolox

[passinglurker]

2 minutes ago, Djolox said:

Congrats on the release! I really love the Soyuz-alike style!

(calls a mod from a US rocket maker "soyuz-style")

This will end well! 

anyway very well done cobalt very useful

[Djolox]

1 minute ago, passinglurker said:

(calls a mod from a US rocket maker "soyuz-style")

This will end well! 

anyway very well done cobalt very useful

LOL! But you must say that it looks like the Soyuz return capsule.

[CobaltWolf]

Just now, Djolox said:

LOL! But you must say that it looks like the Soyuz return capsule.

I wanted it to look more like the Soyuz headlamp shape, but I couldn't keep it at 0.625m if I did that. But there are only so many vaguely proper shapes for a reentry capsule

[Sir_Fanch]

This is awesome, I've always wanted a mod like this . Sorry if I'm being a pain, but, is there any chance this would work with the RO/RP-0 suite? I can't imagine there would be much needed aside from the parachute being RealChute-able and the RCS needing to use RF resources (HTP, Hydrazine etc). I don't know though my knowledge is severely lacking in the area . Sample return capsules are so important for RSS/RO RP-0, and mine never end up looking anywhere near as neat and nice as this one haha, sorry if RO/RP-0 isn't really your ballpark and you'd rather not, don't mean to be a nag just curious. Keep up the great work  

[CobaltWolf]

7 hours ago, Sir_Fanch said:

This is awesome, I've always wanted a mod like this . Sorry if I'm being a pain, but, is there any chance this would work with the RO/RP-0 suite? I can't imagine there would be much needed aside from the parachute being RealChute-able and the RCS needing to use RF resources (HTP, Hydrazine etc). I don't know though my knowledge is severely lacking in the area . Sample return capsules are so important for RSS/RO RP-0, and mine never end up looking anywhere near as neat and nice as this one haha, sorry if RO/RP-0 isn't really your ballpark and you'd rather not, don't mean to be a nag just curious. Keep up the great work  

I'd love to see it be useable in RO/RP-0, but I wont be the one to do it. Since its only two parts, perhaps @Ravenchant would be interested?

[Sir_Fanch]

@CobaltWolf Fair enough, I can't imagine it being too hard what I said plus avionics for RP-0 and maybe some changing of stats (mass etc), it's unfortunately out of my ballpark otherwise I'd try and help. Great mod anyway man, love the idea .

[pap1723]

This is great! Looks like the capsules used by the Corona Spy Satellites!

[Andem]

You're terrible! I set out to go for a lightly modded KSPRC career and you amazing stand-up guys have bloated my mod list to over 50 mods!!! Argghhh, take my rep!

[Joeybafoey]

Congrats on the release! Can't wait to download it! 

[CarnageINC]

Great little mod idea!  You've filled in a nice little niche with a simple mod addition!

[AlbertKermin]

I'd like to make a few notes-

1. My RemoteTech config is far from the best, so it could use some improvements.

2. From a near-Kerbin-asteroid orbit, a 41,300m periapsis was almost too hot for some of my tests. 

[CobaltWolf]

12 minutes ago, AlbertKermin said:

I'd like to make a few notes-

1. My RemoteTech config is far from the best, so it could use some improvements.

2. From a near-Kerbin-asteroid orbit, a 41,300m periapsis was almost too hot for some of my tests. 

Shoot me a PM if you have new/better copy written for the OP. I'm busy the next couple days still.

[Deimos Rast]

Awww, it looks so cute.

Looking at the config, generally when you do a remote tech patch it replaces a stock data transmitter, but I don't see one in the parachute module.

Also, as is the patch looks like it just adds a standard communotron to the capsule, but it requires a deployment animation, which the parachute part lacks, so it effectively doesn't do anything. You can make it into an always on omni antenna (probably at a reduced range for balance). Also, having the maxQ value will cause the part to break under dynamic pressure, which can cause issues if the part is the root.

I'll have a go at rewriting it, and maybe add a data transmitter to the parachute module, if you're cool with that. I'll also have a go at adding a real chute patch as well. Also, if you're open to it, we could do a KIS patch, but that might change the nature of the item a bit.

Might I also suggest adding a ScienceContainer module to the cargo bay?

Might be a bit, as I'm at brunch, and after brunch comes siesta, and you can't fight that.

[CobaltWolf]

^All those things sound awesome. I don't have a GitHub set up for this yet but if you just post them I'll integrate them and release a patch.

[Stone Blue]

Wait... Doesnt having a data transmitter MODULE kind of defeat the whole purpose of having a sample return part in the first place?

EDIT: unless it has a REALLY short range?... like just a couple hundred meters or less?

Edited July 10, 2016 by Stone Blue

[CobaltWolf]

6 minutes ago, Stone Blue said:

Wait... Doesnt having a data transmitter MODULE kind of defeat the whole purpose of having a sample return part in the first place?

EDIT: unless it has a REALLY short range?... like just a couple hundred meters or less?

In stock, it doesn't/shouldn't have a data transmitter. In RemoteTech, it is supposed to have one so that you can control it during EDL. We hand waved it for stock by saying it has a radio beacon.

[Deimos Rast]

2 minutes ago, Stone Blue said:

Wait... Doesnt having a data transmitter MODULE kind of defeat the whole purpose of having a sample return part in the first place?

well you can always transmit back at terrible returns on your investment, but that is a good point. What I neglected to mention is the part in question is a probe, thus gets a RT omni transmitter at (I forget the exact tech) unmannedTech, at a range of 3000m. If you can transfer data at 3000m from KSC, lol, you might as well recover the probe.

[Stone Blue]

15 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

In stock, it doesn't/shouldn't have a data transmitter. In RemoteTech, it is supposed to have one so that you can control it during EDL. We hand waved it for stock by saying it has a radio beacon.

Ok... maybe I'm not fully understanding the function of the data transmitter MODULE... I thought it was ONLY for transmitting science, and NOT required for control...

[CobaltWolf]

Just now, Stone Blue said:

Ok... maybe I'm not fully understanding the function of the data transmitter MODULE... I thought it was ONLY for transmitting science, and NOT required for control...

Well, only in RemoteTech. You need to have a connection, and a control module.

[Stone Blue]

1 minute ago, CobaltWolf said:

You need to have a connection, and a control module.

'K... THAT I knew...

[Ravenchant]

On 9. 7. 2016 at 4:50 PM, CobaltWolf said:

I'd love to see it be useable in RO/RP-0, but I wont be the one to do it. Since its only two parts, perhaps @Ravenchant would be interested?

Apologies that the RO/RP-0 work was on hiatus,I return home tomorrow and will finally try to look at the antennae and instruments. The return capsule as well

[Deimos Rast]

@CobaltWolf

I did the unthinkable and...skipped siesta.

I finished the patches. RT, KIS, SciBox, RealChute.

A couple things:

• I think the Min/Max drag values on the cargo box are flipped (at least the min>max)
• RealChute might have an issue with the drag on the probe/parachute. I know it adds in a maxdrag value when there isn't one, and sets it at 0.32, whereas the capsule has 0.01, which might affect the parachute (although I think other values override this, not sure exactly which has final say). Unsure on this, probably not an issue.
• KIS. Currently the patch just adds 500 volume in a 6x8 grid (pretty generous, but 500 volume won't get far and a kerbal seat defaults to getting 300). That's in addition to the cargo bay. That might seem a bit much. What I've seen some people do is create two versions, and on the KIS version, obscure/remove the cargo bay module, so it's just storage. It jives a little better balance wise (since that space has to live somewhere).
• SciBox was originally taken from the Lab, but I commented out the portion that allows duplicates (last line). I figured it might be a good option to have.
• RealChute patch - I scaled diameter based on the 375 drag vis-a-vis the 500 drag of the stock Mk1 parachute RealChute patch. Works out to a clean 75%. Probably other ways of doing it, but should be fine.
• RealchutePatch - has a portion that sets the cost & mass to the current mass and cost 0.1 & 725. This is only and issue if you change it in the configs and forget to change the patch. Not sure it's strictly necessary (it's for procedural sizing changes I believe, which we're not doing here), so can probably be removed. I could probably switch things to variables (for casemass atleast), but, I'm just doing what RealChute stock patches do.

I'll post them in a sec, just making sure they load, then it's not my department anymore.

Edit1: Initial tests promising, especially because I forgot to install half the mods required to test them.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Deimos Rast

[Deimos Rast]

Here be the patches. And a few more comments.

• The remote tech patch is standard stuff, 3000m omni antenna unlocked at unmmanedTech. I would honestly boost it, since where are you going to put an antenna on this guy? Unless you want to stick a DP-10 in the Cargo Hold.
• The Ablator + Cargo Bay combo is a bit...awkward. Cargo bays get ModuleConductionMultiplier generally, which your's has, but doesn't that affect the Ablator as well? As is, conceptually, the entire cargo bay is encased in an super ablative substance, not just the bottom. I took one out for an orbital spin to test the parachute, and the bottom doesn't glow, but the cargo bay does, which seemed odd. I would drop the ablator down significantly, as it weighs a lot for such a bitsy part. I personally find the stock ablators rather dense as is, and I think your's is even denser (assuming I'm reading things right, and a test seemed to confirm it).

Cheers.

KIS

RealChute

RemoteTech

SciBox