michal.don Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 On 10. 8. 2017 at 2:43 PM, oAsAo said: STS-2B A nice mission, everything looks good. I can't see whether the sats are spin-stabilised, but other than that, everything seems fine. Here are your badges: On 11. 8. 2017 at 3:43 AM, 53miner53 said: Because the new thread was being created, I decided I needed to mark the occasion somehow. My idea: build another shuttle! Hey, @53miner53 with another shuttle, what a surprise Jokes aside, this shuttle is really a great looking spacecraft, and looks like a capable one, as well. I think the reusability of the booster somewhat limits the capacity of the shuttle, but I'm looking forward to see what comes next! On 11. 8. 2017 at 10:34 PM, Ozelui said: I wanted to give this challenge a try, but didn't find the moment... until today, so here's my first mission report: Welcome to the challenge, I'm glad to hear you decided to take part, the shuttle of yours looks quite interesting. A for the changes, I agree that they probably won't be neccessary for the next few mission, I'm curious how far you'll get before the need to extensively modify your shuttle comes Here are your badges: Just a small detail - could you please provide a screenshot of the fuel pod in the final orbit with the resource tab open? I can't see the pod anywhere in the album On 12. 8. 2017 at 6:48 AM, Speeding Mullet said: Alrighty then! Since I had a couple of hours to play with today, I decided to finish off a Shuttle I was working on and take it on a test flight. Great to see you back in service What can I say about the shuttle? It looks terrific, and very elegant for its proportions. Just curious, what is its payload capacity to LKO? And I believe that the LV-N propulsion will have suffucient delta-V to go pretty much anywhere you like with a bit of planning. So, a very well earned commander badge: Looking forward to seeing more! (I'll review more missions later today, and probably merge the posts) Michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozelui Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) On 14/8/2017 at 9:58 AM, michal.don said: Just a small detail - could you please provide a screenshot of the fuel pod in the final orbit with the resource tab open? I can't see the pod anywhere in the album Actually, there was no payload on that report. I believed the first mission was just to reach orbit, and the fuel pod was part of the second mission, but i guess i misunderstood how the missions should be done. Fortunately i had the report for that flight ready https://imgur.com/a/cGosm Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Ozelui/Pulsar-shuttle-mk-1---M1-Do-you-even-lift The shuttle is pretty much the same, with a bit more fuel in the external tanks, some boosters for take off and small modifications in the cargo bay to connect the cargo. Edit: The 15th image shows the fuel pod with the resource tab open. Edited November 14, 2017 by Ozelui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 On 12. 8. 2017 at 7:03 AM, qzgy said: Finally got around to building that station. Should be commander level (Station assembled in 320x320ish orbit, landed at KSC all the time.) Yep, all looks good for commander level! Nice series of missions, the station really looks great, and it seems the precision of the reentry and final approach improved from mission to mission. Congratulations, and happy potato hunting! On 12. 8. 2017 at 3:21 PM, Alchemist said: Ok, here is my report for the STS Jool-5 Ah, so the most daring shuttle project of all time is finished! I can't really describe how impressed I am, this is really something entirely else. Deep respect to you and your crews, and it's an honor to award you the badge: Also, since this badge doesn't give enough credit to this unbelievable mission, I must award you with the "Skunkworks" badge - the one for extraordinaly awesome engineering and piloting. I hope and believe the former admins of the challenge would agree with me. On 13. 8. 2017 at 3:43 AM, qzgy said: STS Mun-1 entry. Could be commander, depending how you view a inclination change into a parking orbit You sure aren't wasting any time The inclination change burn is fine by me, so nothing prevents me from awarding you the commander badge: The shuttle looks really good, I'm curious how large a base you will construct fot the Mun STS 2-4 1 hour ago, Ozelui said: Actually, there was no payload on that report. I believed the first mission was just to reach orbit, and the fuel pod was part of the second mission, but i guess i misunderstood how the missions should be done. No problem - the STS 1-B and STS 2-B are voluntary missions which might or might not be completed alongside the STS 1 and 2 missions. So, if you decide to do so, you can complete the STS 2-B and take down the fuel pod on the flight where you take the commcats to keostationary orbit. It's up to you. Michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speeding Mullet Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, michal.don said: Great to see you back in service What can I say about the shuttle? It looks terrific, and very elegant for its proportions. Just curious, what is its payload capacity to LKO? And I believe that the LV-N propulsion will have suffucient delta-V to go pretty much anywhere you like with a bit of planning. So, a very well earned commander badge: Thanks for the badge! It's great to be back in service. Thanks for the comments Payload to LKO I'm really not sure of, but payload to Mun surface is only about 7.5t at this stage - Mostly as the shuttle is carrying about 12t of deep space habitation and ISRU equipment, but also as the ET was literally thrown together in about 10 minutes just to test the thing, and really isn't fit for purpose. I'm hoping to be able to get 54t to LKO, which would be a Rockomax Jumbo-64 and an X200-32 joined together, or the maximum physical size for the tail sections cargo bay. Just in process with Mun STS 2-4 at the moment, designing the payload for STS 3. The weight constraint I'll stick with as the next ET upgrade is only scheduled for the Duna Missions. EDIT - I totally agree with you on @Alchemist's incredible Jool 5 mission and the Skunkworks badge!! SM Edited August 14, 2017 by Speeding Mullet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 8 hours ago, Fraus said: Well It would seem its going to take a while to figure out how to integrate this and make it function properly, but perhaps some food for thought for anyone else on the stock end of shuttles? I can't really see it in the dark picture, but are you possibly designing a stock robotic arm? If that is so, please do share your progress, it looks really interesting! 8 minutes ago, Speeding Mullet said: I'm hoping to be able to get 54t to LKO, which would be a Rockomax Jumbo-64 and an X200-32 joined together, or the maximum physical size for the tail sections cargo bay. Well, 54t should be more than enough equipment for almost any mission. Good luck on the base building, looking forward to seeing the base Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oAsAo Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 STS-3a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 (edited) 16 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said: 7.5t at this stage Only 7.5t? Weak.... I think this might just be showing off. Something around 50t base on the mun, 1 shuttle. Michal.don, I think that answers your question. Edited August 15, 2017 by qzgy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speeding Mullet Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 2 hours ago, qzgy said: Only 7.5t? Weak.... I think this might just be showing off. Something around 50t base on the mun, 1 shuttle. Haha yep, very early in development though, so I may have to "weak" your 50t down the line . How did you package that into the shuttle?! SM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Speeding Mullet said: Haha yep, very early in development though, so I may have to "weak" your 50t down the line . How did you package that into the shuttle?! SM Like So. I have two very big cargo bays on the side of the main fuel tank. Essentially, the four crew arms are attached to a big Quad adapter and then the isru unit is attached to another node. Then, hidden by the tail ramp, there is the tiny joiner with the small rotating scanner and a small rover which was useless. On the other side, the two other 2.5m components and the two long skinny components. Antenna pressed against the lab with the electrical unit precariously offset above it. In the blister above is the claw thingies. The entire base was a PITA to setup, since I a) had no prior experience and b) didn't have wheels to help dock stuff. Also nothing was balanced well when airlifting it with the claw units. Luckily, I was able to drag stuff on the ground, so that was a plus. Also, TBH I just built the base at random and it happened to fit so nicely in the cargo bays. So that was a plus. Edit: See those two cargo bays on the sides, in those pod things. Each of them has a large isru unit and ore tank and a large drill. Plus 2 solar panels and a Medium TCU. So in theory, I could ditch those for extra capacity... Edited August 15, 2017 by qzgy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Awesome Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Now that the challenge is back i should probably finish my entry for sts 2 *watches shuttle explode during re-entry without a quicksave beforehand uh… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 14 hours ago, oAsAo said: STS-3a You sure aren't wasting any time, either Except for the docking port missiong on the array, it looks like an almost routine mission, finished with a pin-point landing - good job! Here is your badge, congratulations! 5 hours ago, qzgy said: Michal.don, I think that answers your question. Yeah, I think it does And it makes me curious how the rover and the EEV will look like, this is absolutely crazy... Carry on, I'm looking forward to the mission report (also, a great example of compact packaging) 1 hour ago, Agent Awesome said: *watches shuttle explode during re-entry without a quicksave beforehand Yeah, explosions are a neccessary component of any shuttle design and program here Don't let that discourage you, and I'm looking forward to see your report! Michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.U.N.E Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Hello I am planning on doing this for a YT series (If that is OK). Also, what are the restrictions to SSTO designs, if I added the massive fuel tanks and took off like a standard shuttle with a design that could perform an SSTO is that legible or is it still against the rules? Just wondering as I have a massive SSTO that might look even more comical with extra fuel tanks to help launch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 On 14.08.2017 at 1:12 PM, michal.don said: Ah, so the most daring shuttle project of all time is finished! I can't really describe how impressed I am, this is really something entirely else. Deep respect to you and your crews, and it's an honor to award you the badge: Also, since this badge doesn't give enough credit to this unbelievable mission, I must award you with the "Skunkworks" badge - the one for extraordinaly awesome engineering and piloting. I hope and believe the former admins of the challenge would agree with me. Yeah, HRO was designed to be the kind of large overengineered overpowered all-purpose shuttle (OK, not as overbuilt as some other entries for interplanetary missions, but turned out to be quite optimized for such scale missions). So when you take two of them at once - this is what happens. Of course the very description of Laythe mission left no doubts about using HRO-M03 with the mining base in the payload bay, but necessity to have the second vessel, capable of refueling at minor moons, quickly escalated into "well, this configuration should be capable of visiting at least Vall" I think for Mun STS-2-4 I'll have to try flying them there and back without ISRU - at least this way there is some challenge 3 hours ago, D.U.N.E said: Also, what are the restrictions to SSTO designs, if I added the massive fuel tanks and took off like a standard shuttle with a design that could perform an SSTO is that legible or is it still against the rules? Just wondering as I have a massive SSTO that might look even more comical with extra fuel tanks to help launch it. That rule basically means not to do this (yes, that's what caused the rule to be explicitly put in there ) - just don't fly up to orbit and back in one piece. And this is the very orbiter that when launched in shuttle-style configuration got several high-end badges... pretty much the full batch of high-end badges, if you count in the landing-optimized version with cargo ramp. So, basically, it's not an issue that the orbiter can do SSTO (well, for Laythe mission it's almost a requirement, unless you do something way more complicated), it's just the question of it not being launched as SSTO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Finished that mun base. Now need to finish making that album. Only a little less than 200 images to sort through and annotate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.U.N.E Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Is that 50 T launcher fully stock? If so what engines are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdj64 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Laythe STS finished! Despite the response to my Duna missions with this shuttle Quote There are small and compact shuttles. There are somewhat larger ones. And then there is this beast It's in good company so far in the STS Challenge V5. It even felt a bit small for the Laythe mission. Just barely enough cargo space for the base, just barely enough fuel to make it home, not quite enough room to put more jets (or nukes)... But what came closest to mission failure was the Kerbin return, there wasn't enough fuel to do anything but aerobrake. It took about 10 attempts, eventually figured out that opening the cargo bay allowed it to enter stably pointed radial out and increased the drag just enough to capture without burning up. Like on the Duna missions, the huge lift provided by all the wing panels allowed it to bank towards KSC in the upper atmosphere for a pinpoint landing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 (edited) Very pretty shuttle. I feel there's a competition for who has the biggest shuttle. Mission report for my mun Base. Sorry about the length. Still very happy with deadsticking all my landings, and that most were nonexplosive. EDIT: Modlist - Only visual and informational. Apart from VesselMover which was used ONCE to reset progress from a quicksave while driving a Shuttle Edited August 16, 2017 by qzgy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 5 hours ago, D.U.N.E said: Is that 50 T launcher fully stock? If so what engines are you using? Oh yes. Very much Fully stock. I'm using 8 mammoths and 6 vectors at launch, and a single Rhino for orbital things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozelui Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) My shuttle feels very small after seeing the "pocket" shuttles in the previous posts Nice job! Mission 2 report, satellite deployment and fuel pod recovery. BTW the fuel pod likes to desintegrate on landing... even if it's a very soft one. https://imgur.com/a/TqXRL Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Ozelui/Pulsar-shuttle-mk-1---M2-Can-you-hear-me Edited November 14, 2017 by Ozelui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) 23 hours ago, D.U.N.E said: Hello I am planning on doing this for a YT series (If that is OK). Also, what are the restrictions to SSTO designs, if I added the massive fuel tanks and took off like a standard shuttle with a design that could perform an SSTO is that legible or is it still against the rules? Just wondering as I have a massive SSTO that might look even more comical with extra fuel tanks to help launch it. Hello, and welcome to the challenge! The rules state: "The Orbiter must be lifted into space by a Launch System that decouples or un-docks once expended, allowing the Orbiter to land entirely under it's own power." That means, as @Alchemist correctly said, you have to use a launch system of ETs/boosters, even if your craft is capable of SSTOing Other than that, you can create a craft as crazy as you wish, the rules are pretty flexible. EDIT: Of course a YT series is OK, be sure to share the link here when you finish the missions 16 hours ago, sdj64 said: Laythe STS finished! Despite the response to my Duna missions with this shuttle Yep, it looks like enormous shuttles are the trend nowadays The margins were quite tight, and the reentry must have been hot like hell, poor pilots must have feared for their lives. But then again, they are Kerbals, so they might have had a good time in the flames. NIcely flown mission, congratulations on your new, shiny badge, commander! 15 hours ago, qzgy said: Mission report for my mun Base. Sorry about the length. A competition for the biggest shuttle, indeed I really like your base design, and the creativity it took to get it all to the Mun. Assembling it at the poles is a noteworthy deed as well. The only thing I mind a little is the fact the rover couldn't dock to the base properly - designing the payloads to be compatible on the Mun is a big part of this challenge. But given the fact that you assembled the base from many pieces on the surface, I think I can forgive that one detail, and award the commander badge: Good job seriously! 1 hour ago, Ozelui said: My shuttle feels very small after seeing the "pocket" shuttles in the previous posts Nice job! Don't worry about that, even smaller shuttles can be quite capable, as my "Kolumbia" proved time and time again - it completed all the mission despite being a small one too. Although I admit, sometimes it was quite hairy Regarding your mission - nicely flown, and I really like the design of the ComSat structure - a nice touch Good job, here are your badges, commander: Michal.don Edited August 16, 2017 by michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qzgy Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) Thank you. I did originally design the rover to dock properly with the shielded docking port and it worked fine on kerbin with the gravity hacked to .16 g the same as on the mun. So I was a little puzzled why it didn't work on the mun. I'm 99% sure that it's cause the front nose come on the cabin of the rover was colliding just a bit with a fuel tank segment. This meant I had to do some stuff to make the rover halves dock, meaning that the docking port was misaligned, relative to what it should have been. Either that, or in quickly changing 1 minor design detail, it some how changed the position of the base docking port. But I'm pretty sure it's the rover. Edit: Oh, @michal.don, it stated in the OP that an image from the first Mun STS 2-4 completed gets to replace the placeholder, right? So, seeing as I seem to be the first to complete it, can I ask you to use this image? Edited August 16, 2017 by qzgy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 18 hours ago, qzgy said: So I was a little puzzled why it didn't work on the mun. Yeah, KSP sometimes works in mysterious ways parts don't align, ships disappear, and other kraken-like accidents.... 18 hours ago, qzgy said: So, seeing as I seem to be the first to complete it, can I ask you to use this image? Thanks for the picture, OP edited. Michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oAsAo Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 (edited) STS-4/STS-4R Edited August 17, 2017 by oAsAo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zolotiyeruki Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Hmmm. Somehow my previous reply got eaten along the way. I've completed the new Mun missions (2-4). After entering a flat spin on each re-entry, I kept adding more vertical stabilizers at the back. Not sure if I got enough on by the end, though. Survived anyway I omitted a bunch of screenshots at launch, since literally every launch looked the same. Just a different payload each time Edited August 19, 2017 by zolotiyeruki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozelui Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Mission 3 report. https://imgur.com/a/xdUQx Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Ozelui/Pulsar-shuttle-mk-1---M3-Can-you-see-me I had a couple of incidents, one involving Bill and the kraken, and another related to landing. I don't know if this qualifies for pilot or commander level, up to you, @michal.don Edited November 14, 2017 by Ozelui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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