The New Colonial Alliance

[The-Doctor]

@FreeThinker This has been the most successful design to date, I think when KER and MechJeb come online, I should be able to properly see the delta v so I can know what to change, I think one fuel tank for the kerbstein drive should be enough, I also believe the size of the hydrogen drop tanks can be decreased, but on that field you're expertise is needed, since IDK  how long the mission will be and IDK how much hydrogen will be needed to turn to antimatter, but so far the ship is working perfectly, no rotations, good maneuverability, and is already in interplanetary space. I do think the number and the size of the fuel tanks should be reduced because of how efficient the engine is, the thrust is also 0.1g. Reducing the size of the fuel tanks and the number of them should help with mass size, better enabling us to accelerate fast, I also have to remember the cargo isn't included yet, the cargo will come from the KIS cargo pods, I have to make a slight change in it to enable one kerbal to can remove massive parts. Oh, this design I made, I did it just before I saw your post of the pics of the ship.

Now that I thin of it, the KIS cargo pods could be reduced to just one cargo pod which is attached inline with the ship rather than radially, the 4 landers would be attached radially, a command module would be at the front, along with life support and a particle shield. Shorter the length the more maneuverable and safer it is, as well as reduced mass, increased speed. Now the ships been burning for a long while, I think reducing the size and number of tanks may be ideal.

[The-Doctor]

@FreeThinker With just the Kerbstein drive as the engine, what parts exactly would be needed to serve as power generation? Do I still need the beam antimatter reactor added as well as the thermal power generator or would one of them work fine? Do I still need the hydrogen and the antimatter? What should I add and what should I remove? The main issue right now is getting up to speed fast enough, so I'm gonna focus on mass reduction and optimization.

 

[The-Doctor]

I was having problems with waste heat, the ship overheated really quickly so I added 4 gigantic radiators, also, ignore my last question, I had infinite electricity activated so that's why I didn't notice I needed antimatter, I just wanna know if I need the thermal power generator now. This is the most successful design so far, I reduced the ships size to 10x and have the engine at 20x, this gives more thrust, it's also controllable. When the cargo is to be added, they will just be 7.75x or so, maybe smaller, and likely attached in line rather than radially, the landers will be docked radially, 

 

 

 

 

I placed the ship in orbit around the sun, it's already on an escape trajectory. Currently at 0.0012c and gaining speed fast,I'm gonna leave it, go and do stuff, see how fast it will be in 2 hours or so. I also reduced the number of lithium hydride tanks to 1, antimatter tanks to 1, and antimatter reactor and thermal generator to 1, this more or less symbolizes the cost cutting measures taken by the NCA, also the risk of interstellar travel, since there is no backup for these. It's accelerating at 3.5G. 

The graphine radiators are overheating, gonna have to remove them in the final version.

[The-Doctor]

Looks like I may need to add another fuel tank, it's roughly gone through 5% of it's fuel and we're not yet at 1%c 

I'll leave it through the night to see how fast it gets us on one tank, that should give good info on how many tanks should be added

[The-Doctor]

On 5/14/2017 at 1:41 PM, Drunken Monkey Style said:

A few notes on the Engine -

Ludicrous ISP (5,200,000) - But this matches the performance figures given in the short story The Drive - http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse/drive/ , matched up with further details from Atomic Rockets website http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/enginelist.php#epstein

Runs on "efficiency" - Just kidding - Fuel is 99.8% water, .1% Lithium6 and .1% Deuterium.

Requires power to start. Generates a modest amount of electricity when running (alternator module) but can also generate power when idle (reactor mode) Currently does not generate MJ

Works with tweakscale - Prefab sizes of 1.25m, 2.5m, 3.75m, 5m, 7.5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 30m, 40m 

Here are some screenshots of the Epstein Engine (in its 2.5m size)  in action propelling a 'Yatcht' consisting of a 3 Kerbal pod with a ~1/3 vehicle mass fuel load. 



Note the total Delta V is roughly 6% c



Engine effects still need work.



Note - Note the 7 G thrust - Unlike other high ISP engines, this one is totally unbalanced as it also provides a high TWR



I'm still not totally happy with the texture maps, but it's a start.

@FreeThinker I noticed that the engine bell only has one exhaust light and also that the max thrust is no longer 7G, why the change? Oh, as for the magnetic nozzle, my main issues with it is the low thrust which would cause long wait times to get up to speed, but mainly, it EATS power and fuel like a monster lol. 

The ship doesn't handle physical time warp too well, the safest is 2x physical time warp, due to the lack of reaction wheels or RCS, but this is just a prototype, the main should have

I recently noticed the gigantic radiators gaining redder, no signs of increased waste heat though, yet I decided to reactivate the graphite radiators 

The graphite radiators are showing red hot bars, yet not at the max, just about 60% through and holding. Now just the forward graphite radiators are showing them with the rest being a dull red color 

[The-Doctor]

At 0.0042c and roughly 70%-65% fuel remaining 

[The-Doctor]

The ship is at 0.0079c and at 45% fuel left, doesn't look pretty. Given this, the acceleration rates and the speed issues, I think all ships will just go to Proxima B, 3 crewed ships, 2 unmanned cargo only ship. It may take more than a century to reach, highly likely, so definitely just proxima b. 

I may choose to again reduce the size of the hydrogen tanks, I hope you can provide a way to harness hydrogen in flight, because I'm uncertain as to how much hydrogen the ship will turn to antimatter to make electricity over the course of 1 to 4 centuries of flight, likely 4 centuries if we don't reach faster

[The-Doctor]

Oh I am so stupid lol, I just realized the ships speed, it's at 10% the speed of light, lmao, it's at 275688.0 meters per second, which is 10.87% the speed of light! GUYS! WE DID IT! Now by simply adding one more fuel tank for the kerbstein drive and reducing the size of the hydrogen tanks, the ship can easily reach 10%c again, with roughly 2-3 hours of engines at max! OH MY! WE ARE HERE!!

GUYS! Looks like we'll be able to colonize all the worlds after all! HAHAHA, the furthest system would take like, 140 years, but that's doable! I'll reoptimize and see it the ship can reach 25%c or higher

[The-Doctor]

My bad, not 10 c LOL  but still not bad, guess we may still just be heading to proxima b LOL 

[The-Doctor]

Ideally the engine size would be 40x, only reason I chose not is because stock adapters won't extend to that size

[The-Doctor]

@FreeThinker I doubled the fuel tanks,, reduced the size of the hydrogen tanks, and was able to get to 0.0115c with 56.57% fuel remaining. That gets us to ProximaB in about 500 years, which is doable. This version however lacked the additional cargo, I got to 0.01c with 60% fuel remaining, so any additional weight, plus the fact we'd be launching in RSS, would probably take up the extra fuel, once we reach 0.01c we'd shut down engines. We will likely have enough fuel to reach proximb, decelerate and enter orbit with this design.  

Btw, it took me roughly 3 hours to reach 0.01c

[The-Doctor]

I made some modifications again, currently at 0.01c with 87% fuel remaining 

[FreeThinker]

7 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

The ship doesn't handle physical time warp too well, the safest is 2x physical time warp, due to the lack of reaction wheels or RCS, but this is just a prototype, the main should have

you probably have found out by now the Kerbstein has a time warp feature which will work only if you first minimize thrust and then active timewarp where it automatically uses max thrust to propel the ship. This is what allows you to reach very high speed in a matter of minutes

Notice that if you use the Tri Aplha to power the Kerbstein (which can run on the same fusion fuel as the Kerbtein), thanks to high efficiencies you can create enough radiative power with a few skin radiators, allowing a very Sci Fi Look where you don't need excessive big radiators

Graphene Skin radiator are only 10% the mass of foldable radiator and  scale with exponent 2 (square) instead of exponent 2.5

10 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

I think I need to reassess the entire design, rather than have mounted engines on the sides, I should probably go with one long streamlined design, reduce the ship size, among other things. The magnetic nozzle takes a long while to get up to speed, I should opt for a pointy design, one massive kerbstein engine at the back, with the antimatter reactor to provide power, remove the magnetic nozzle etc, reduce complexity, length, scale etc

 

I agree you should first master the basics before you attempt advanced interstellar design. I suggest you make a basic slow sleeper ship first. Be sure to install a higher time warp mod, you are going to need it.

Edited May 29, 2017 by FreeThinker

[The-Doctor]

@FreeThinker I have redesigned, I was able to get the ship up to 0.023c, which is enough to get the ship to ProximB in about 250 years, which is rather good. The plan is to use deepfreeze to put the crew to sleep. Question is, what does the maximum thrust button do? I've initiated it and nothing happens when I click.

Currently at 0.029c with 65% fuel remaining. When it gets to 60% fuel remaining, engines will be cut off and it will coast towards Proximab, reactivate engines to slow down and enter orbit around the star. The remaining 10% fuel will be used by the crew to enter orbit. I will look into your design when she ship reaches 60% fuel. It's been 6 hours at 2x physical warp, after a while it becomes unstable. likely this burn would have taken 12-15 hours without 2x physical time warp. My fear now is RSS. Since RSS is larger and needs more delta v, I wonder if the ship will be able to get that fast using just 40% of it's fuel, if not, then we'd have to aim for 0.01c and simply have a travel time of 400 years, which isn't so bad as long as we don't have much reaction wheels and breakable parts lol  

[FreeThinker]

4 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

@FreeThinker I have redesigned, I was able to get the ship up to 0.023c

 

Be warned that by default the Engine lightspeed display is the Kerbin universe lightspeed, not real light speed which is ten times as high (because Kerbin and it solar system is 10 times as small as the real solar system).  Only if real solar system is installed or Sigma dimension installed and configured to size 10 it uses the proper speed of light.

Edited May 29, 2017 by FreeThinker

[FreeThinker]

8 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

@FreeThinker I noticed that the engine bell only has one exhaust light

 

Ah yes, good for reminding me, I still need to fix the exhaust graphics

[The-Doctor]

Currently at 0.029c with 65% fuel remaining. When it gets to 60% fuel remaining, engines will be cut off and it will coast towards Proximab, reactivate engines to slow down and enter orbit around the star. The remaining 10% fuel will be used by the crew to enter orbit. I will look into your design when she ship reaches 60% fuel. It's been 6 hours at 2x physical warp, after a while it becomes unstable. likely this burn would have taken 12-15 hours without 2x physical time warp. My fear now is RSS. Since RSS is larger and needs more delta v, I wonder if the ship will be able to get that fast using just 40% of it's fuel, if not, then we'd have to aim for 0.01c and simply have a travel time of 400 years, which isn't so bad as long as we don't have much reaction wheels and breakable parts lol  

It's been 18 hours, currently at 0.06c, and fuel level is at 34%. This is with just one large fuel tank btw, I think maybe by going with 2, it should be able to accelerate to 0.1c. I could further reduce the size of the parts, that is, the scale. Funny thing is it's still in the solar system.

[KAL 9000]

Lifters! 

http://kerbalx.com/KAL_9000/Condor-9.craft

http://kerbalx.com/KAL_9000/Condor-9-Heavy.craft

http://kerbalx.com/KAL_9000/Condor-XX.craft

[The-Doctor]

I can confidently say the ship is just about ready, and the cargo included would be the final additions. Some testing is needed in RSS to see how well it does, but the design is solid. I'm currently testing a new version using the graphite radiators and an extra fuel tank to see if it can reach 0.1c, the last design got to it but used more than 50% of it's fuel. Only 40% of the fuel will be used to burn, since we need 40% to slow down and then 10% for maneuvering in system. The ship should be able to reach Proximb in 50 years if we reach 0.1c, if we get close we'd reach in 100 years, which is doable.

[The-Doctor]

@FreeThinker This version works but it's too simple for my taste. I want your help designing an ISV Venture Star replica, can you help me?

[KAL 9000]

@The-Doctor We can use Konstruction to assemble ships in orbit without the extra mass and part count of docking ports on the finished ships, due to the Konstruction ports. 

@FreeThinker How can I store LithiumDeteuride outside of engines and reactors? I haven't found an InterstellarFuelSwitch tank that can store it. Is it possible to make it in ISRU? 

The Dart probe design is going well... Wait, the Antimatter Reactor makes HOW MUCH heat? 

@FreeThinker The Antimatter Reactor makes waaay too much heat. How on Kerbin can I dissipate ~5,000 FRICKIN' GIGAWATTS OF HEAT?! (The giant beamed power collectors on Radiator Mode do absolutely nothing)

[FreeThinker]

1 hour ago, KAL 9000 said:

 

@FreeThinker The Antimatter Reactor makes waaay too much heat. How on Kerbin can I dissipate ~5,000 FRICKIN' GIGAWATTS OF HEAT?! (The giant beamed power collectors on Radiator Mode do absolutely nothing)

 

 

 

1

Wasteheat is an inherit trait of when using antimatter power .

Protium-Antprotium reaction create 33.6% gamma radiation from which we assume 80% flies into space. The remaining 20% becomes Heat from which you effectively can only use 5% for power production

A single 2.5 Beam Core in charged particle propulsion mode produces 740 GW of effective power (the gamma power that escapes is already subtracted). To prevent reactor meltdown you need about 3200 M2 Graphene radiators, that is very good performance.

this is what 3200 M2 looks like

In realistic beam core vessel design, the size of radiators is measured in hundreds of Kilometers

1 hour ago, KAL 9000 said:

How can I store LithiumDeteuride outside of engines and reactors? I haven't found an InterstellarFuelSwitch tank that can store it. Is it possible to make it in ISRU?

 

the IFS/KSP Cargo  container has the ability to store LithiumDeteuride/LithiumHydrade

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by FreeThinker

[KAL 9000]

-Arrival At Proxima b- 

TheDoctor Kerman slowly regained consciousness inside the cryosleep pod. Blinking a few times (I'm assuming that Kerbals have eyelids, but it wasn't worth the effort to render them and simulate blinking) to adjust to the harsh electric lighting, he looked around at his surroundings. All around him, the cryopods containing the crew were beginning to thaw. A sign painted on the wall read CRYOSLEEP BAY 01, DECK 05. 

"Attention all ARC Destiny personnel currently awake. This is your shipboard AI speaking. We have successfully entered a circular 475 kilometer polar orbit around Proxima b. Possible side effects of long-term suspension of vital bodily functions and becoming a Kerbal Popsicle a few degrees above absolute zero include, but are not limited to, cancer, spontaneous combustion, insanity, loss of limbs, amnesia, bone loss, poisoning, malfunction of one or more vital organs, and a mid case of serious brain damage. REPOSoftTech is not responsible for any adverse effects of long-term hibernation in REPOSoftTech cryosleep pods." 

"MechJeb, give me a report on the ship's systems, please." 

"Affirmative. The ship sustained minor damage during the interstellar cruise, and the repair robots have been activated. Radiators nominal. Communications nominal. Reactor nominal. Kepstein drive nominal. Radiation shielding nominal. Central AI nominal. Repair robots nominal. Cryosleep pods nominal. Fuel levels nominal. Colonization equipment nominal. Docked vehicles nominal. Wi-Fi nominal. Reaction wheels and RCS nominal. Life support offline and heavily damaged, running on emergency oxygen, food, and water. Thermal control nominal. Supplies nominal. Misc. Ship Systems Nominal. Note: The AE-35 unit on the primary communications array has malfunctioned and requires repairing. The backup AE-35 unit is nominal and running." 

"What about the Dart probe we sent to Proxima?" 

"The Proxima Dart 001 arrived 15 years before us. It successfully performed an orbital survey and in-depth orbital study of Proxima b and is currently en route to Alpha Centauri A and B and their planets, after performing surveys and studies of the remaining planets, dwarf planets, and moons in the Proxima system, as well as Proxima itself." 

"How long were we in cryosleep?" 

"The crew has been in cryosleep for 43 years, 7 months, and 25 days, exactly as predicted from our departure trajectory. Five additional ARC Destiny-class ships and their Darts and support equipment and vehicles have been launched from the orbital shipyards, and are en route to various star systems, although we are still the first to arrive at our destination. The ARC Destiny entered orbit of Proxima Centauri 1 year, 3 months, and 4 days ago, and entered orbit of Proxima b itself three hours ago." 

"What about Proxima b? Is it habitable, and what are the resources on it?" 

"Proxima b has a surface gravity of 1.25 Gs, easily within the Kerbal comfort zone. The average surface temperature is 247 degrees Kelvin, slightly too cold for liquid water to exist, although enormous amounts of water have been detected as ice, roughly equivalent to twice Earth's oceans, groundwater, lakes, rivers, and ice caps combined. The atmospheric pressure is 1.75 times that of Earth's at sea level, and the atmosphere consists of 75% Nitrogen, 24% Sulfur Dioxide (probably due to past volcanism), 0.9% Krypton, and 0.1% trace gases. The planetary magnetic field is roughly five times as strong as Earth's, enough to protect it from Proxima's violent solar flares and CMEs. The planet's composition is almost exactly the same as Earth's, although there are significantly higher proportions of iron, nickel, aluminum, non-organic carbon-containing minerals, uranium, heavy water, and silicates, and a complete absence of organic compounds and minerals. No life signs detected anywhere in the planet. Conclusion: Proxima b is a mineral-rich world that is can be made habitable with minimal terraforming, although dome colonies are practical at the present moment." 

"Does it have any moons?" 

"Affirmative. Proxima b has three moons. One is roughly the size of Luna, and the other two are the size of Mimas and Enceladus. All three moons have the expected mineral compositions, although they have significantly higher levels of Helium-3, possibly due to Proxima's more intense solar activity and correspondingly stronger solar wind, especially at Proxima b's orbit, which is closer to Proxima than Mercury is to Sol." 

---

FYI, the moons part is speculation, and there aren't any moons around Proxima b in Constellations. I took a guess at its temperature and atmospheric composition, but the mineral levels were what I measured with a SCANSat in my KSP install.

Edited September 20, 2017 by KAL 9000

[KAL 9000]

37 minutes ago, FreeThinker said:

-snippety snip-

I scaled up the reactor to be 5 meters, inline with the Kepstein drive (which you should really make to be able to scale smaller). I have an idea to change that, though. 

Perhaps I can use an EM drive or antimatter-fueled engine! Then, with an antimatter collector to fuel the reactor (and engine if it's an antimatter-fueled engine), I can get INFINITE DELTA-V! WOOT!

[FreeThinker]

9 minutes ago, KAL 9000 said:

I scaled up the reactor to be 5 meters, inline with the Kepstein drive (which you should really make to be able to scale smaller). I have an idea to change that, though.

1

A 5m Beam core antimatter reactor would produce about 6 TerraWatt of energy and require about  8 x 3200 = 25600 M2 radiator surface to function properly

9 minutes ago, KAL 9000 said:

Perhaps I can use an EM drive or antimatter-fueled engine! Then, with an antimatter collector to fuel the reactor (and engine if it's an antimatter-fueled engine), I can get INFINITE DELTA-V! WOOT!

 

 

 

 

sorry to burst your buble but EM drive propulsion is not infinite, it requites power, which requires resource. Also Note that 99% of engine spend will become wasteheat. This is inherent disadvantage with EM drive

Edited May 30, 2017 by FreeThinker