How to make interesting satellites...?

[SpacedInvader]

On 2/5/2017 at 4:26 PM, samstarman5 said:

I always like to include a habitat module or capsule of some kind with my satellites. If they are going to stay around a certain place, then they can also double as an emergency shelter for errant kerbals.  Interplanetary probes, not so much.  Those I actually prefer to keep as small and light as possible, depending on what the mission is.  Further out from the Sun, then there will be more of a power requirement, of course.

Who cares what they look like?  Only everyone who is even remotely interested in space travel.

Courtesy Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorer_1

This was the kind of thing kids stayed up for or snuck into theaters to see, and that was just a skinny cylinder with loose antennae.

Then there were the Voyagers.

I lived to watch videos about Voyager 1 and 2 as a kid, especially those that recreated the probes as they passed each planet, even showing it shift on its axis to bring each instrument to bear.  The Voyager probes are weird, asymmetrical, and awkward, but so beautiful.  And still working today, 40 years later, practically in interstellar space now.

 

Maybe they were built with efficiency and specific functionality in mind, making sure each part and instrument performed at the top of its potential, but there was still an engineer's love put into how they ultimately came to be.

Hell, there was an entire climax to a movie culminating with this very reveal:

Still gives me goosebumps.

 

So you ask, who cares?  Everyone.

Make your probe how you wish.  Take pride in what you produce. Doing any less in a game about constructing air and space vehicles is a disservice.

Funnily enough, I learned something new about Io in that old Voyager video, namely that it is stripped of particles and leaves a charged field encompassing its orbit. With that out of the way, something in there really reminded me that I'm missing an important mod that might help some with improving flight shape - Infernal Robitics. I'll have to see if I can get it up and running.

[Wanderfound]

I tend to do a lot of monoprop-powered satellites. They're less efficient than LFO on a mass basis, but they're more compact. As I'm usually delivering them to orbit via SSTO, space is more important than weight.

A side bonus is that you have more freedom in craft aesthetics. No tube unless you want it.

[samstarman5]

8 hours ago, SpacedInvader said:

Funnily enough, I learned something new about Io in that old Voyager video, namely that it is stripped of particles and leaves a charged field encompassing its orbit. With that out of the way, something in there really reminded me that I'm missing an important mod that might help some with improving flight shape - Infernal Robitics. I'll have to see if I can get it up and running.

All the moons are like rubber balloons that you rubbed in your hair, only in decreasing amounts the further from Jupiter you get.

[seaces]

In one save I was trying to make a satellite that will have all antennas required to communicate with every planet in Outer Planet Mod and I was using RemoteTech mod. This would save me to have every time send a new satellite for new planet comm. I ended creating huge satellite that was looking like those huge relays that you can see on the hills in real life. And it was flooded with different antennas. Was silly to see it drift through space, a huge relay pole.....as if somebody removed one from the surface and sent it up in space. Shame I do not have a pic of it.   

Edited February 8, 2017 by seaces

[septemberWaves]

On topic of designing interesting satellites, there's a lot you can do with power generation.

Solar panels are great until you're beyond Duna, so if you're using them then you should think about what sort of solar panels will be best. The small sun-tracking panels, large sun-tracking panels, and static panels all have their uses. On a lander, it's generally good to have static panels that only point upwards. For an example of what I mean, check out this lander I made the other day. The transfer stage has sun-tracking panels, but the lander itself only has upward-facing static panels. Their size also makes them a perfect fit to the 0.5m sides of the QBE probe core.

 

Alternative power generation methods are fuel cells, batteries, or RTGs.

First let's consider fuel cells. They're not particularly useful on most missions, but for probes which only need a limited lifetime they can be quite effective. An example might be a lander for fulfilling a landing contract; it only really needs power to last until it's safely landed and has transmitted its data back. Fuel cells are quite efficient, and a single Oscar-B tank will last a stock fuel cell for quite a while provided you only run it when your battery power gets low. Fuel cells are pretty good for landers when you get far from the sun. Your transfer stage can have solar panels or RTGs to power it, and the lander saves mass on the large number of solar panels that are needed at Jool orbit and beyond by just using a fuel cell and feeding it with the main fuel supply (note that this method does require compensating for the fuel being drained for power).

Batteries are useful sometimes. Again, the best use for them is on landers, but if you're sending missions to Kerbin's moons and the probes don't require a long lifetime, batteries work just fine. Include several of them and set the probe core to hibernate in warp, and you can do quite well with just batteries.

The other option for power generation is an RTG. Though expensive, RTGs can be useful. Their best use is on space probes that are going beyond the orbit of Dres, and need to last for a long time.

 

The way you make these look will vary, but it's a good idea to get into the habit of experimenting with different power sources, as that usually leads to some interesting design choices.

Edited February 8, 2017 by eloquentJane

[justidutch]

Fairings with their multiple attachment nodes can make for some interesting designs on all ships including probes.

[septemberWaves]

Here's another example of some of the things that can be done with careful part choices:

The static solar panels can fit very nicely on the end of the hexagonal probe core, and can be used to surround things placed inside. The front of this space probe has a DMagic telescope inside the hexagonal panels, and the back of it has an engine. It's all concealed nicely in a way that works well for the design. I also think that placing the antennas so that they are just inside of the edges where the solar panels connect is a good method of attaching antennas.

Most of this stuff is made much easier by using Editor Extensions Redux to improve the functionality of the vehicle editor in the VAB/SPH, but I think its usually doable with the stock editor functionality if you're patient enough.

[DerekL1963]

1 hour ago, eloquentJane said:

Most of this stuff is made much easier by using Editor Extensions Redux to improve the functionality of the vehicle editor in the VAB/SPH

EER is, quite frankly, one of my 'must have' mods.

[SpacedInvader]

On 2/8/2017 at 1:55 PM, DerekL1963 said:

EER is, quite frankly, one of my 'must have' mods.

Also one of my must have mods...

 

I've been playing around with cubesat and fuel tanks plus some to try and get some designs that are at least non-tubular. Not having much luck though as the base pieces for cubesat are fairly small so I end up still bolting parts on the outside. What I'd really love to see is something structural that looks like the triangular piece from FTP so i could fit parts / experiments inside of it without having them all be clipped. Does anything like this exist?

[Voyageur]

Use TweakScale or the smallest stock parts to make micro-satellites. Especially when you create a mothership that has multiple "drones" symmetrically attached that drop off at different points in orbit. I've found that method to be more efficient in science gathering with a single launch, even. Also because aesthetics.  

[septemberWaves]

On 2/10/2017 at 10:55 PM, SpacedInvader said:

What I'd really love to see is something structural that looks like the triangular piece from FTP so i could fit parts / experiments inside of it without having them all be clipped. Does anything like this exist?

Not exactly, but Near Future Construction includes hexagonal trusses (which have a similar cross-section to that FTP tank), the smallest of which is great for probes. Stock structural panels also fit almost exactly on the sides of it, being 1 meter square with the truss just over a meter in height. The hex trusses have internal nodes too, so you can stick a fuel tank inside rather easily.

Also, I wouldn't consider it overly cheaty to clip things partly inside of the cube and triangular tanks from FTP. Whilst it tends to look best to have things on the sides of those anyway, they have an abysmal fuel:volume ratio, so going by the usual fuel densities there should be a reasonable amount of empty space inside (which is probably because they're expected to be used for probe bodies in exactly that manner). Also, the smallest one has exactly the same side dimensions as the square face of the stock QBE probe core, which makes it convenient for design.

And speaking of fuel tanks, RLA Stockalike adds some tiny RCS tanks and also some RCS thrusters which are perfect for probes. It also adds a very small radially-attached reaction wheel, which is also great for small probes. You should check out that mod if you want some good probe parts.

Edited February 12, 2017 by eloquentJane