KSP Interstellar Extended Continued Development Thread

[KAL 9000]

I'd love to help with new parts and .cfg files!

[Northstar1989]

On Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 2:46 AM, FreeThinker said:

Now before I can implement Methane Pyrolisis, I need you to figure out how much power it requires to break down a ton of Methane into Hydrogen and Carbon.

Adding the ability to remove the soot by an engineer sounds good Idea. I had a similar idea for the engine nozzle, which have a similar problem, but this properly requires reactor shutdown  otherwise the Kerbal will be fried.No Kerbals, except fearless would be that stupid

 

The energy requirement is simple.  Since the standard free energy of a substance is defined as the energy change that occurs during the formation of a substance from its constituent elements in its standard states, and all you are doing is breaking down Methane into its constituent elements in their standard states, it is simply the opposite.

The standard free energy of Methane is -50.8 kJ/mol.  Therefore the energy required to pyrolyze it back into duatomic hydrogen and graphite is 50.8 kJ/mol of energy.

You do know how to do the rest of the math from here, right?  Just calculate how many moles are in a more useful unit of mass, such as a single game unit of Methane.  Add some reasonable-sounding but arbitrary anount of extra energy to this number to run the pumps and such in the reactor, and to account for energy loss to the external environment before it can be used in the reaction, you've got your energy requirement.

 

Also, I hate to sound like a broken record, but since we're on the subject of energy requirements: the Sabatier Reaction (4 H2 + CO2 --> CH4 + 2 H20) is actually spontaneous without the input of any external energy, and in fact releases heat as it proceeds.

Thus it should have a very low energy requirement- the energetic needs of the reactors planned for Mars are mainly due to the need to electrolyze water to recover hydrogen (our reaction *DOES* give players water instead of just Oxygen and reduced Hydrogen consumption, right?  Cough, cough, *some* players might want to use the water directly, or to store most of their Oxygen as water- as it doesn't suffer boil-off like Oxygen does with RealFuels installed...) and the need to cool down the hot Methane produced to cryogenic temperatures.  While you're adding in Methane Pyrolysis, you might want to go and reduce the energy requirement of the Sabatier Reaction- I'd say by a good 10-20 % at a bare minimum, and probably substantially more than that...

 

Regards,

Northstar 

Edited August 24, 2016 by Northstar1989

[Aghanim]

It seems that CKAN Realism Overhaul messed up with KSPI engines tweakscale settings, making it unresizeable. However the reactors and generators are still scalable...

I'm on KSP version 1.1.3, Xubuntu 16.04

This is on KSP clean install with KSPI installed through CKAN with all of its dependencies

This is the same installation as before but with Realism Overhaul with all of its recommended mods:

The Tweakscale slider is missing, so I cannot change thermal turbojet scale

 

By filtering Player.log through a series of grep I found this;

Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/AlcubierreDrive
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/KspiSuperCapacitator
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/MicrowavePowerReceiver
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/MicrowavePowerTransmitter
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/AntimatterStorageTank
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/AntimatterCollector
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/AtmosphericIntake
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/ISRUScoop
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarRefinery
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarResourceScienceModule
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/FNAntimatterReactor
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarTokamakFusionReactor
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarInertialConfinementReactor
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarCatalysedFissionFusion
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarFissionMSRGC
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarFissionNTR
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarFissionPBDP
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/ThermalNozzleController
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarMagneticNozzleControllerFX
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/ElectricEngineControllerFX
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/ElectricRCSController
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/InterstellarRCSModule
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/VistaEngineController
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/DaedalusEngineController
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/ModuleEnginesWarpVista
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/VistaEngineControllerAdvanced
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/FlatFNRadiator
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/FNRadiator
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/StackFNRadiator
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/FNGenerator
Config(TWEAKSCALEEXPONENTS) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/FNModuleCryostat
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/surface_flat
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/stack_nerva
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/stack_interstellar
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/stack_interstellar_250
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/stack_interstellar_225
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/surface
Config(SCALETYPE) WarpPlugin/Patches/TweakscaleConfigs/surface
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/AluminiumHybrid/part/AluminiumHybrid1
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/AugmentedArcjet/part1/FNSmallAugmentedArcjet
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/Daedalus/Deadalus/DeadlusEngine
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/LANTR/NERVA/KspiLANTR
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/LightBulb/LightBulb/KspiLightbulb
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/MIFEngine/MIFEngine/KspiMIFEngine
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/MPD/InterstellarPlasmaThruster/InterstellarPlasmaThruster
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/MagneticNozzle/MagneticNoozle/TweakableMagneticNozzle
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/MagneticNozzle2/MagneticNozzle2/KspiMagneticNozzle
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/MagneticNozzle3/MagneticNozzle3/KspiMagneticNozzle3
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/NuclearTurbojet/NuclearTurboJet/KspiNuclearJetEngine
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/NuclearTurbojet/NuclearTurboJetUpgraded/KspiNuclearJetEngineUpgraded
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/PlasmaWakefieldAccelerator/PlasmaWakefieldAccelerator/KspiPlasmaWakefieldAccelerator
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/ThermalLaunchNozzle/ThermalLaunchNozzle/ThermalLaunchNozzle
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/ThermalRocketNozzle/ThermalRocketRamjet/Kspi_ThermalRocketNozzle
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/ThermalTurbojet/ThermalTurboJet/TweakableThermalTurbojet
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/ThermalTurbojet/ThermalTurboJetUpgraded/TweakableThermalTurbojetUpgraded
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/Tokamak/Tokamak/KspiSupernova
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/Vasimr/Vasimr/KSPIE-VASIMR
[ModuleManager] Applying node RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines/@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul] to WarpPlugin/Parts/Engines/vista/Vista/VISTAEngine

 

That tells me that something in RO is doing something with the engine through MM, so I looked further and found this in GameData/RealismOverhaul/RO_Engines.cfg

// final added to catch engines where gimbal is added by RO
// this method does not catch the LEM ascent engine specifically
// ModuleCommand added to not catch MechJeb

@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleEngines*],!MODULE[*Decouple*],@MODULE[ModuleGimbal],!MODULE[ModuleCommand]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul]
{
	%category = Engine
}

//  ==================================================
//  Make sure that no engine has a TweakScale module.
//  ==================================================

@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[TweakScale],@MODULE[ModuleEngines*]]:FOR[zzzRealismOverhaul]
{
    !MODULE[TweakScale]{}
}

So RO removes TweakScale support from engines so it breaks KSPI with its resizable engine, what should I do now?

EDIT: Currently I just commented out the problematic TweakScale remover MM config, but there must be a better way, let me ask Realism Overhaul thread

Edited August 27, 2016 by Aghanim

[FreeThinker]

Well this is something new. please make the same report at the Realsim overhoal mod. Clearly some over zalous MM script removes the tweakscale partmodiule on all engines and replaces it by it's own. I guess they didn't fully think though all consequences. It wouldn't be the first time.

Edited August 27, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Aghanim]

Done

[raxo2222]

Looks like downscaled turbojet overheats too easily.

Is this DR fault?

http://imgur.com/a/wSHJ8

[Aghanim]

@FreeThinker I found this guideline on how to support unsupported mod in Realism Overhaul: https://github.com/KSP-RO/RealismOverhaul/wiki/Contributing-Guidelines

I think it is a good idea to make sure that KSPI and RO works together, especially since I found more bugs with RO like Attila in LqdWater mode doesn't accept Water from Real Fuels tank, or Attila doesn't have any visible plume with RealPlume

Eventually if I have time I want to make RPM MFD that can control the reactors and the warp drive so that we can do interstellar travel with RO + RSS Extrasolar in full IVA

[FreeThinker]

Any help is welcome, but what does RPM MFD  mean?

[Nansuchao]

1 hour ago, FreeThinker said:

Any help is welcome, but what does RPM MFD  mean?

Raster Prop Monitor (JSI), MultiFunctional Display.

[Citizen Joe]

How exactly is the heat dissipation on the radiators supposed to work? The values they show in the VAB seem quite inconsistent relative to the surface area of the parts.

[Citizen Joe]

And how are you meant to deal with the "Helium 4" that builds up in the OMEGA fusion reactor?

Edited September 1, 2016 by Citizen Joe

[FreeThinker]

23 minutes ago, Citizen Joe said:

And how are you meant to deal with the "Helium 4" that builds up in the OMEGA fusion reactor?

Well any excess heliuum 4will leak away. You can convert the hellium gas into Liquid Helium which can be used as a propellant. It won't be very much, but over time it can count, and perhaps make a difference

Edited September 1, 2016 by FreeThinker

[FreeThinker]

11 hours ago, Citizen Joe said:

How exactly is the heat dissipation on the radiators supposed to work? The values they show in the VAB seem quite inconsistent relative to the surface area of the parts.

To be exact, the raw surface area is multiplied with some bonus values (current 4x and 1.6) and then used in the Stefan-Boltzmann Law heat formula to claculate dissipation. Note I have been graduly decreasing these bonus values

Edited September 1, 2016 by FreeThinker

[schlosrat]

Is there a known issue with MechJeb and electric thrusters? I'm finding that MechJeb doesn't seem to understand what the thrust or isp is until I've used a given engine on that stage, and even then the darn thing forgets again any time I switch vessels. Often I have to perform a small manual burn at full thrust before engaging MJ to execute a maneuver and some times even if I do that it still won't work. One clue is that if I have the MJ delta V window open there won't be anything listed at all for any stage until I do a manual burn using the KSPI-E electric motor to burn.

This is manifesting in both career mode and sandbox and affecting both ATTILA and Quantum Plasma thrusters. I've got GWs of power available both beamed and in many cases onboard via ractors and generators.

FYI, I've posted a more detailed report in the MechJeb forum since I suspect the problem is there, but I wanted to know if anyone here knew of a reason this might be so. I've tested in a clean install of KSP 1.1.3 with only KSPI-E and MechJeb installed as mods.

 

Edited September 4, 2016 by schlosrat
Added details

[schlosrat]

@FreeThinker I've been able to solve the problem I reported above with MechJeb by using a dev version that mod. @sarbian indicated that he thought this problem was originating with KSPI-E due to an incorrectly reported fuel flow issue. Apparently he was under the impression it had already been fixed at this end. Are you aware of this issue? Do you have plans to address it? It sounds to me that the MJ Dev build fix is more of a bandaid and not a proper fix and that something may be needed at this end.

As things stand, KSPI-E electric engines appear to be compatible with MJ v 2.5.8.0-634 (and perhaps other Dev builds in that family), but there is an issue where MJ is reporting an overestimate of TWR and DV in the VAB and also in flight prior to the KSPI-E engine being used for the first time. I don't know if this is related, but it is certainly the case that I've seen even with no other mods present other than KSPI-E and MJ.

[FreeThinker]

Compatbility issues with MJ  were only partly fixed, electric engines were left out, after the upcomming Beamed power overhaol, I intend to work on Electric Engines again and improve MJ compatibility

Edited September 5, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Amnesy]

After doing a complete reinstall of KSP with a bunch of mods and loading my old save (still a 1.1.3 save tho), I'm getting a NRE spam whenever I'm using the foldable radiators on any craft. The exception in the log states

Quote

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  at ModuleDeployableRadiator.UpdatePanelExtended () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ModuleDeployableRadiator.updateFSM () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ModuleDeployableRadiator.FixedUpdate () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 
 
(Filename:  Line: -1)

I guess relevant mods that could mess with the Radiator definitions would be NFT and MKS. 

On another note - the name change of the small fusion reactor caused a bunch of my crafts to fail loading due to the missing part...copying the relevant cfg from another install fixed that problem. 

[Rushligh]

Im curious about some of the mechanics you've got for the engines... it seems that (looking from the CFGs) that each engine is really 2 engines, the interstellar engine that actually does the stuff, and then a normal KSP engine which acts as an interface for the player and other mods. Is that about right?

if so it would explain the incompatibility with mods like mechjeb and TCA. they're trying to limit the KSP engines but have no idea what the KSPI engines are really doing; especially since they now have a horrible throttle down time.

[schlosrat]

Is there a guide that talks about which reactors are the best choices for various roles? I've been trying to figure this out for the primary purpose of building economical nuclear power stations for beamed power, but also for use as a small power source when exploring out past Duna, etc.

it seems there are several kinds that are optimized or strongly biased for use as part of a propulsion system but that's not how I'm using them right now.

One thing that also has me confused is the various mark numbers on the performance. I've got every node in the tech tree except the last one that gives you the quantum singularity reactor and most of my reactor options seem to be stuck at Mk 2 or 3 out of 5 or 6. What do I need to do to unlock the upgrades and get better performance?

 

[FreeThinker]

@Rushligh It's not 2 engines, KSPI  engine schema is basicly a Stock KSP Engione with a controller that changes it performance and characteristics which works pretty well. As long as other mods only readout calues, they should be able to be made compatible. Mods that try to change KSP engine, are effectivly also controllers and therefore result  in  unexpected behavior at best

6 hours ago, schlosrat said:

Is there a guide that talks about which reactors are the best choices for various roles? I've been trying to figure this out for the primary purpose of building economical nuclear power stations for beamed power, but also for use as a small power source when exploring out past Duna, etc.

it seems there are several kinds that are optimized or strongly biased for use as part of a propulsion system but that's not how I'm using them right now.

One thing that also has me confused is the various mark numbers on the performance. I've got every node in the tech tree except the last one that gives you the quantum singularity reactor and most of my reactor options seem to be stuck at Mk 2 or 3 out of 5 or 6. What do I need to do to unlock the upgrades and get better performance?

 

In general you can devide kspi reactors into 2 categories, reactors which primary purpose is propulsion and reactors that are more suitable for power production. Reactors that are most suitable for power production start with the Molten Salt Reactor, Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor, Colliding Beam Fusion Reactor and eventualy the Quantum Singularity Reactor. The Magnetic Target Fusion Reactor is a bit jack of all trades in the sence it can be used effectivly both for power prodiction as well as propulsion, but other fusion reactor are more efficient in this role. For stationary orbit power generation I would advice the MCF reactor, which is heavier and bulkier, flexable.

Btw, next version will contain an overhoal of ksp beamed power meachanism, which will potentialy break any network you currenly might use.

Edited September 8, 2016 by FreeThinker

[ss8913]

For propulsion, the thermal rocket nozzle/thermal ramjet, attached to a plasma beam antimatter reactor, and using hydrazine as the ejection mass, seems to be the best thrust and ISP, especially at the 3.75m size.  I haven't found anything more efficient than that.  I do like the ATILLA arcjets for VTOL operations, however, but for long range sublight propulsion, can't beat antimatter and hydrazine with those thermal ramjets.

[Badfish]

Hi all,

This mod really expands the game, but I'm having some trouble with both Magnetic nozzles, I've searched and read a few pages back but can't find anything.  I hyper-edited a ship with a fusion reactor directly above a small magnetic nozzle into orbit, and my ship has full megajoules and EC and it is gaining charged particles with the Magnetic nozzle at full thrust, but the nozzle still says insufficient electricity (same thing happens with any size reactor and configuration I've tried, also if it is built in orbit).  When I drop the throttle from max to 0, the amount of charged particles I'm gaining goes up from -2.53 to -2.7, so I'm not sure what's going wrong (I'm pretty sure waste heat is not the issue).  In space Kerbal engineer also always shows TWR and dV to be 0, but I am able to see a plume out of the engine.  This is a fresh install of 1.1.3 with ksp-interstellar extended 1.9.11 and a lot of mods, but the same thing happens with just interstellar and hyper-edit in sandbox mode.

Any help will be much appreciated!

Photo bucket:

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by Badfish
wrong link

[FreeThinker]

Alright, you have at least 2 requirements , a thermal power generator and sufficient amount of radiators, however, the reactor size does not match generator size. They need to have the same diameter, otherwise the heat cannot transfer effectively to the electric generator. The third requirement is access to liquid , make sure nothing is actually blocking the flow

This is how is should look like

Notice different thrust and Isp at different throttle values

 

 

 

the Magnatic Nozzle contains a persistent thrust features which allows it to keep accelerating during time acceleration

when used in combination of Persistent rotation, you can low thrust but High Isp to spiral out of Kerbin in a matter of seconds

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Badfish]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly FreeThinker.  I made all my generators the same size as their reactors and turned the pumps on in the reactors, and even put a little LH2 tank with a yellow fuel line directly to the magnetic nozzle, but the engine still says 'insufficient electricity' even though I have full EC, mega joules, and charged particles with the engine at full throttle.  Is there another way to make sure fuel is getting to the engine?  I've never had a problem with that before and in the VAB Kerbal engineer says I have lots of dV.  If you or anyone else has any other ideas I'd really appreciate it, I've tried everything I can think of.

 

Edit:  Thanks for the additional info, I tried to replicate your setup with a brand new download of KSP 1.1.3 and KSP Interstellar Extended 1.9.11 but I keep getting status 'insufficient electricity'.  

 

When I use Hyper-Edit to give infinite fuel, the status on the magnetic nozzle changes to 'nominal' and prop. requirement met goes to 100%, but the fuel flow, thrust, and specific impulse all stay at zero.   I don't know how to get my log and post it, but if you feel like checking it out I'll figure it out.

 

 

Edit 2:  Here's the log just in case:

KSP: 1.1.3 Windows 64bit (brand new download)

Problem: No thrust/ISP on magnetic nozzle from KSP-I

Mods:    Full install of KSP-Interstellar Extended 1.9.11 from SpaceDock

from CKAN:         TweakScale v 2.2.13

                             AmpYear  1:V1.3.6.0

                             HyperEdit   1.5.2.1

                             REPOSoft Tech-Agencies      1.3.6.0

Reproduction (probably only happening to me): Magnetic nozzle attached to Large Fusion reactor attached to Thermal generator attached to liquid hydrogen tank attached to command pod with radiators

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0jmiojn5f58anib/output_log.txt?dl=0

 

Thanks a lot if anyone has the time!

Edited September 9, 2016 by Badfish
update and log

[schlosrat]

18 hours ago, FreeThinker said:

@Rushligh It's not 2 engines, KSPI  engine schema is basicly a Stock KSP Engione with a controller that changes it performance and characteristics which works pretty well. As long as other mods only readout calues, they should be able to be made compatible. Mods that try to change KSP engine, are effectivly also controllers and therefore result  in  unexpected behavior at best

In general you can devide kspi reactors into 2 categories, reactors which primary purpose is propulsion and reactors that are more suitable for power production. Reactors that are most suitable for power production start with the Molten Salt Reactor, Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor, Colliding Beam Fusion Reactor and eventualy the Quantum Singularity Reactor. The Magnetic Target Fusion Reactor is a bit jack of all trades in the sence it can be used effectivly both for power prodiction as well as propulsion, but other fusion reactor are more efficient in this role. For stationary orbit power generation I would advice the MCF reactor, which is heavier and bulkier, flexable.

Btw, next version will contain an overhoal of ksp beamed power meachanism, which will potentialy break any network you currenly might use.

Thanks for that breakdown @FreeThinker. So far the only microwave network I've built is with the current version in a sandbox save. I've been using that to try to get the hang of it and to develop some ships. I'm waiting for the next overhaul to refine my power sat designs then I'll pick one or two to implement in my career mode game.

Will reactors be changing much in the coming overhaul? Or is it more about the transmitters and receivers and such?

Also is there any merit in trying to develop solar power sats for low kerbol orbit with microwave beamed power? I've seen a few older posts on that topic but nothing recently and am wondering if that still works effectively in the game

Edited September 9, 2016 by schlosrat