Shuttle Challenge v4 - The STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly] [THREAD CLOSED 06.08.17]

[Comet Tail]

Heyo. Okay, so there's that one rule...

Quote

You may not use autopilot mods (except "MechJeb" and "Pilot Assistant") when flying the shuttle

What if we write our own script in kOS? Isn't programming an ascent trajectory from scratch more difficult than using MechJeb, or even flying it manually?

I'm thinking of taking up this challenge in realism overhaul with a precise Space Shuttle replica. 

So landing accurately with it is going to be ludicrously difficult, heck, making a landing kOS script would be freakishly difficult, too, dealing with actual re-entry heating, and requiring the insane precision that RSS will require... The accurate, guided re-entry part would have to be a summer project

[Dunbaratu]

7 hours ago, Comet Tail said:

Heyo. Okay, so there's that one rule...

What if we write our own script in kOS? Isn't programming an ascent trajectory from scratch more difficult than using MechJeb, or even flying it manually?

Yeah I don't understand that one either.  Presumably the reason for such a rule at all would be some kind of preference for making sure the success or failure is entirely "the player's fault".  If that's the goal then forbidding all autopilots flat out would make sense.  Alternatively, forbidding just the ones that come pre-made for you, while allowing the ones that are more "your fault" would also make sense.  But doing it the other way around and allowing the ones that come pre-made but disallowing the ones where the autopilot is more "your fault"... I don't get the motivation for that rule.

 

[Cipher_077]

On 3/31/2017 at 7:01 PM, foobar said:

STS-9 complete. Not my preferred way to land a potato, but it worked out in the end.

Holy mother of God! @foobar this is amazing. I just finished that mission as well with my stock shuttle but I went for a class A asteroid since it was my first time ever landing one. 

I'm just waiting for him to approve my other entries so I can post this,  but yours is very impressive. I mean, how much does that thing weigh? I should probably have gone for a heavier one but then again, it was the first time! 

[foobar]

18 minutes ago, Cipher_077 said:

Holy mother of God! @foobar this is amazing. I just finished that mission as well with my stock shuttle but I went for a class A asteroid since it was my first time ever landing one. 

I'm just waiting for him to approve my other entries so I can post this,  but yours is very impressive. I mean, how much does that thing weigh? I should probably have gone for a heavier one but then again, it was the first time! 

50 tons, no big deal. Pretty sure @Nefrums managed to land a class D a bit earlier in the thread. I only made one attempt and decided it was too tedious to try for anything larger.

Edited April 6, 2017 by foobar

[Fdkhio]

Thank you Cipher_077 and Numerlor

 I have indeed succeeded.Made my very own stock-ish shuttle!

I have no pics of the first flight because i really didn't think it would work(no really,I can't even fly the Dynawing).

I'll upload pics soon though i can't guarantee it.Will talk later with pics

Thanks all.

[Spricigo]

about autopilots:

While I'd like to use the one I have installed, I think it makes sense to allow just a couple. For the sake of fairplay its necessary to put the 'competitors' in similar footing and much broader options make it more difficult.

Also keep in mind that the OP is not required to know every single autopilot mod out there, restricting to a few he know better helps him to judge the entries.

[biomecaman]

STS-1a and STS-1b complete!

mods used:

Kerbal Engineer

Editor Extensions Redux

Dark Multiplayer

Is that still considered stock?

Final Ap/Pe for STS-1b 66,935.1 km / 66,902.3 km
 

 

[Fraus]

I may get to STS 2 soon™, but as of now here is my new shuttle, I have been trying to make one that visually looks highly realistic but this is what I got. I tryed it with my block II variant of this version of the shuttle and could barely circularize, so went to block II using LRBs similar looking to those proposed to be used with the actual shuttle.

So to sum it up, STS Chronus Block II 198.2 km x 198.2 km

[biomecaman]

18 hours ago, Fraus said:

I may get to STS 2 soon™, but as of now here is my new shuttle, I have been trying to make one that visually looks highly realistic but this is what I got. I tryed it with my block II variant of this version of the shuttle and could barely circularize, so went to block II using LRBs similar looking to those proposed to be used with the actual shuttle.

So to sum it up, STS Chronus Block II 198.2 km x 198.2 km

nice Fraus, I like how your shuttle keeps true to the real Space Shuttle. mine doesn't ;-p

[W. Kerman]

I decided to put the Shuttle on top of the rocket! This is my stock entry for shuttle mission 1.a

-W. Kerman

EDIT

I've now done the 1.b challenge!

 

Edited April 9, 2017 by W. Kerman
Mo Cowbell!

[BubbleWrap]

After a couple of attempts, I am forced to accept that I am unable to fly well enough to land an orbiter with an asteroid attached Here is STS-9 up to re-entry, I guess I'll just ditch the asteroid in LKO and do something with it later.

I did manage to finish Mun STS 1 though, on the third attempt.

 

 

 

[Ourworldalpha1]

Could I use Ksp Interstellar mod for this challenge

 

 

[Speeding Mullet]

On 3/20/2017 at 1:41 AM, Nefrums said:

STS4

Boom - well done @Nefrums!  Comments are going to be short as I have so much catch up to do!  

 

 

[Speeding Mullet]

On 3/20/2017 at 9:51 PM, Nefrums said:

The mk4 form factor is nice when building space stations out of the USI Kolonization parts.    The shuttle can comfortably fit the size 3 "Tundra" parts, or even two 2,5m stacks side by side.

I built this station in four launches:

*Image snip*

 

STS5-8 album

 

Lovely station there!  I was trying to work out how you lofted the donut, but then I saw it was a super compressed module.  REally nice job and I love the overall aesthetic!  

 

On 3/21/2017 at 9:41 AM, Nefrums said:

Wow...  that sounds really bad.

 

I have after several attempts managed to land a class D astroid:

STS9 Album

I normally snip the pictures, but I've left that one in just for posterity!  I have to say the idea of the rocket in the cargo hold by the COM was inspired!  Unlucky on missing KSC, but still very well earned!  

Also that's a massive rock!

 

On 3/23/2017 at 6:05 AM, Alteroz said:

Hmm, challenge accepted! Going to upload on my channel.

Look forward to it!  Link us when you are ready!

 

On 3/23/2017 at 7:14 AM, foobar said:

My entry for STS-1a/b... left the fuel pod at ~80km within 100m of circular and (barely) landed at KSC.

Awesome work and welcome to the challenge!  I will have to update the OP one of these days     

 

On 3/23/2017 at 8:48 AM, Nefrums said:

I did it,  I managed a proper landing with an asteroid:

STS9 second attempt album

Again picture left in for the might of it!  Also - Ventral engines to assist with lift on the way in - once again inspired.  I think I have a badge for you:    and another for the overall design  

 

On 3/23/2017 at 8:47 PM, *MajorTom* said:

I create psto (parallel stage to orbit) "Kama-Ls" shuttle for other challenge, but now i thought.. why not get an extra badges here ..so its my flight ... 

Parts of ship: unmodded

Flight mod used for this mission: Kerbal Engineer Redux, NavHud, KerbinSide (for map navigation after reenty)... other mods i really not use it

Very nice!  I'm glad you decided to enter as it's definitely a different design!  Have a badge o worthy one!  

 

On 3/23/2017 at 10:15 PM, Nefrums said:

Here is my next entry:

Prolific aren't we!  Give me 2 minutes to review.....Yep -  This one was probably a breeze for you having landed a class D!  

 

On 3/24/2017 at 0:11 AM, jonny said:

Thank you very much. I had a hard time getting the CoM and CoL right in all configurations, but it works fine for STS 1B and STS 2A, which I already uploaded:

Nice here you go!  

 

On 3/24/2017 at 5:09 AM, 53miner53 said:

@Speeding Mullet, I think you didn't notice the fuel pod in Challenger's mission: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eMT8zRijNmbHkxcmNEUFBNS28

edit: I think I forgot to take a picture of the actual deployment, but the picture linked is the final orbit of the fuel pod.

Edit 2: found it! https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eMT8zRijNmTS1ucU5IUG9SSlk Its very dark, but its there.

edit 3: due to Atlantis having problems with not losing parts of wings during reentry, and Endeavor having its fuel pods (yes, plural, it's a mk 4 shuttle) mounted too close to each other, I don't have a mission today. 

Lol can you just tell me what I'm supposed to award you?  My brain is mush!

 

On 3/24/2017 at 5:31 AM, Numerlor said:

Well, i managed to pull off telescope mission on first try even with horrible lanch and my docking capabilities without MechJeb. I also hope music fits this and serious respect to every youtuber that finds proper music for videos

Sorry for the quality I noticed it too late

Ahha, videos, which means a cup of tea.  Give me a while.....

Certainly a very interesting telescope concept for STS-3.  Here's your badge!  

 

For STS-4 I noticed your space background which I probably should have noticed earlier.  Nice little water deployment with the drogue chutes.  Here's another badge!  

For STS 5-8 again well done!  Sorry I can't put more time into wordy replies   

 

On 3/24/2017 at 8:33 AM, jonny said:

And here we go: I managed to land the fuel pod:

Nice, very well done indeed!  Still loving that pod you designed into the shuttle, it'll be a winner in some of the later missions too I reckon!  

 

On 3/25/2017 at 5:59 AM, foobar said:

 

I slightly re-worked my shuttle and successfully completed STS-2a+b:

 

Good stuff, neat mission report too so thanks and well done!  

 

[Speeding Mullet]

On 3/25/2017 at 6:04 AM, Fdkhio said:

I can never make a shuttle work

You'll get there my friend!  this thread is a great source of advice in itself, but otherwise ask on the forums and you will find loads of people including myself willing to offer advice

 

On 3/27/2017 at 5:44 AM, foobar said:

I reworked my shuttle again for STS-3. This Mk4 version has more cargo capacity and handles less like a brick.

Gaaad the cargo bays on those MkIV shuttles are spacious!  Very very neat telescope you deployed there, and with much aplomb.  Here's a badge!  

 

On 3/27/2017 at 6:38 AM, Wardstone111 said:

I have just completed the STS-1A using Mk 2 parts. I have used a modded install using the following mods:

Hi there welcome to the challenge!  Your mission report was only 7 images, not in order, and didn't really represent any relevant stages of flight.  To judge an entry I really need to see some more detail as to how the mission went.  Sorry!

 

On 3/27/2017 at 6:51 AM, Numerlor said:

just do it like me, strap on some rockets on plane

That's actually pretty good advice for a first shuttle!

 

On 3/29/2017 at 9:54 AM, foobar said:

STS-4 (reworked a bit after some tips from @Nefrums):

Beautifully done good sir!  

 

On 3/29/2017 at 11:48 AM, 53miner53 said:

Endeavour STS-1a complete! 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eMT8zRijNmNWlhd2tzdTBGcWc 

I was also going to do STS 1b, but the fuel pods were clipped into each other and would self destruct whenever I detached them. On a related note, I did reentry through a debris field! And did a retrograde burn in the atmosphere because I was overshooting the KSC at Mach 3.5 while pointing retrograde, and I haven't been able to land at the island runway during testing and aborts, and I had most of my fuel left!

Edit: forgot to mention that I had landed on the runway, then went off the left edge because I couldn't steer and the brakes weren't powerful enough. I then went into the water and turned around and went out of the water to go to the runway, and rolled over it again. 

I'm not joking here, the link was literally just a picture of Macgyver with a quote "his mind is the ultimate weapon"

 

On 3/31/2017 at 9:31 AM, foobar said:

 

Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories, docking port alignment indicator.

That was a lovely mission report and a superb space station.  Congratulations on completing what I consider one of the best and most satisfying mission sequences in the thread!  

 

On 4/1/2017 at 9:01 AM, foobar said:

STS-9 complete. Not my preferred way to land a potato, but it worked out in the end.

Firs like a 50t glove lol!  Great mission and a hefty lump to drag back to the deck!  You have become a legendary rider of asteroids!  Congratulations on passing one of the weirdest missions on here!  

 

On 4/3/2017 at 1:30 PM, Cipher_077 said:

I'm back with my crazy record breaking huge space shuttles!

This time what I have for you is SRDS 4 (Semi-Reusable Deployment System 4), launched by 4 KS-25 Vectors and 4 Twin Boar liquid fuel boosters. Its competing for stock, since my only mods are KER and Trajectories, which don't impact the shuttle itself but just give me useful information.

For mission 1a I take a relay satellite to orbit and land at KSC for the Stock Commander Badge! Here's the (hyper)link for the Imgur album (I'm not embedding it in the post because I have two links for you today)

 

For mission 1b I (again) break the Stock record and take the 40t pod to the edge of the SOI: 83,546.696 km

Again, only mods are KER and trajectories, so I think I can take the stock badge! Here's your Hyperlink to the Imgur album

 

So now I have a question: Since your post says "Missions must be completed in the logical order unless you are certified from either STS v1, v2, or v3 challenges to the relevant level", can I skip straight to the asteroid mission? Because I have completed all the way to the space station mission and I just wanna make sure I can skip those because some missions are slightly different in V4 of the challenge.

Just in case I missed something yep you can go straight onto the asteroid mission!  Imgur is overloaded right now so I can't review at the moment.  I'll go have dinner and come back to this and the rest of the mission reports shortly!

 

SM

[53miner53]

For Challenger: I had done 1b with the 1a mission from before, but I missed uploading a picture that showed the final orbit of the fuel pod/that there was a fuel pod in the cargo bay. I forget which.

for Endeavour: I must have pasted the wrong link. I had that one for the Google Picture War. Sorry! Here's the actual link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eMT8zRijNmX18xVVZUa3Bia3M I'll update the previous post as well,

[helcustom]

Here is my entry for STS-1a pilot rank 1 modded. The design of the shuttle is based of the Von Braun ferry 1952. 

mods used are KER, Mechjeb, B9 parts and wings, Galileos planet pack, SSTU, Tac LS, procedural parts and fairings, vens stock part revamp, EVE, kerbal konstructs, and editor extensions redux.

Edited April 12, 2017 by helcustom

[battlekruiser]

On 06.04.2017 at 7:35 AM, battlekruiser said:

My entry for STS-1a&1b. 

I fixed image order now, but embedded album didn't change (or is it just me?).Should be normal on Imgur.

Mods used: KER, Trajectories,Scatterer

si it not worthy for submission?

[W. Kerman]

1 hour ago, battlekruiser said:

si it not worthy for submission?

Well, he probably hasn't gotten to yours yet, because this thread gets so many submissions.

[Speeding Mullet]

1 hour ago, W. Kerman said:

Well, he probably hasn't gotten to yours yet, because this thread gets so many submissions.

Correct.  I spent an hour an a half reviewing submissions yesterday and have to balance with a very busy RL.  I've got a 4 day weekend coming up so should be able to get myself up to date.  Imgur crashing was the only thing that stopped me reviewing further entries last night. 

SM

[Agent Awesome]

I'll join the fun once my computer is fixed

(the hard drive's buggered)

[foobar]

Mun STS-1 completed:

Mods used: KER, KJR, B9, Near Future, Planetary Base Systems, Trajectories, SpaceY, Mk2 expansion, etc.

[Spricigo]

I have a question: how much of the orbiter need to land back to still count?

More to the two points:

Some missions (e. g. STS1-b)  requires to put something in orbit but not to bring it back. Its ok to use fairing instead of cargo bay? 

How about undocking after reaching orbit,  complete the mission and redock before reentry/landing? 

 

 

[Fdkhio]

STS-1A. Shuttle name is Willit (don't ask me how).

Mods are SSTU,Tweakscale,Component space shuttle,Procedural Fairings and Procedural parts

 

http://imgur.com/a/E7YAu

Sorry for the link. Embedding had problems.

[Speeding Mullet]

Right, back to review some more craziness.  Here goes another 2 hours of my life (pleasurably).

On 4/3/2017 at 1:30 PM, Cipher_077 said:

For mission 1a I take a relay satellite to orbit and land at KSC for the Stock Commander Badge! Here's the (hyper)link for the Imgur album (I'm not embedding it in the post because I have two links for you today)

 

For mission 1b I (again) break the Stock record and take the 40t pod to the edge of the SOI: 83,546.696 km

Again, only mods are KER and trajectories, so I think I can take the stock badge! Here's your Hyperlink to the Imgur album

Nicely done, great shuttle design and I like the wing tips.  Can't remember what you call them, something like winglets no doubt.  Here's a couple of badges to get you started:    

 

On 4/4/2017 at 2:14 AM, sdj64 said:

A long while ago I tried to build a "bobsled" space shuttle that has a side-mounted tank without a side-skewed center of mass.  Today I revisited that concept with a much smaller shuttle, and it works!  It's nice to use a Mainsail again, I've barely used them since Mammoths and Vectors were introduced, but it was exactly what this shuttle needed.  

This isn't officially an entry but it does complete STS-1.  I'll keep using my Mk3 shuttle for the real missions since this shuttle's cargo bay is too small for the later ones.

I like the bobsled concept for sure!  It would be cool if you could get the sled back for a runway landing also!  Here's a badgy-badge:  

 

On 4/4/2017 at 4:01 AM, 53miner53 said:

I wonder how @Speeding Mullet is doing...

I'm great

 

On 4/4/2017 at 5:13 AM, zolotiyeruki said:

wait, are imgur albums working again now?

It does appear so!  Not as nicely formatted as they used to be though

 

On 4/5/2017 at 8:57 AM, helcustom said:

I have completed STS Pilot Rank 1 using a kerbalized version of the Von Braun ferry rocket. Here is the album

Nicely done, that's one over-sized dream chaser!  

 

On 4/5/2017 at 9:55 AM, 53miner53 said:

I hope everything sorts itself out

It has just about!  4 day weekend really helps!

 

On 4/5/2017 at 3:39 PM, Spricigo said:

What I can get with this one?

Oooh, let me see.  How about a weird shuttle award?  OK that doesn't actually exist, but none the less, you can have this badge:  

 

On 4/6/2017 at 2:35 PM, battlekruiser said:

My entry for STS-1a&1b

Nicely done commander and welcome to the challenge!  I like that you overcome the COM issue in the same way that some others have - Just heaps of boosters everywhere they will stick   Here's a badge or two to get you on your way!    

 

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