Shuttle Challenge v5 - The STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly] - MAJOR CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT! - 30.3.2020

[michal.don]

Wow, I'm gone for a few days, and when I come back, there is so many new entries! Sorry for the delay, now let's get to it!

On 23. 10. 2017 at 12:59 AM, Secuas said:

Here is my entry for the STS-1a (commander) challenge. (gotta start somewhere right? )

Hello, and welcome to the challenge! Yup, you gotta start somewhere, and designing and flying your own shuttle is not an easy thing to do. And you succeeded at that, no doubt. It looks like a standard shuttle-ish inspired craft, and I really like the small differences - like the fins on the ET, or the main engine/OMS engine configuration. So, here is your well earned badge, and I'm looking forward to seeing more!

On 23. 10. 2017 at 1:00 AM, EpicSpaceTroll139 said:

Completed the STS-2a mission.

And it is a great mission, indeed. I love the SRB-propulsed. spin stabilised sats - it is a great example of using spin stabilisation. As for using SAS during one burn, it is not a problem at all - the rules are not very strict regarding the spin stabilisation, and just being able to spin-stabilise is usually enough. And regarding your script - A-OK as well, as generally all self written autopilot scripts. Here is your well earned badge:

(oh, regarding the badges - you may keep the old ones or take the new ones, whichever you prefer)

 

 

[michal.don]

On 23. 10. 2017 at 11:19 PM, hoioh said:

Figured I'd give this a try. Below Missions 1 and 2 including lugging the 40t tank around.

Hello, and welcome to the challenge!

First of all, I'd like to ask you for a modlist - I see MJ installed, So I see you are not running a completely stock install. Mods are absolutely ok in this challenge, but I need to know which you have installed, to place you in a correct category. Thanks!

Now, about the missions

STS-1a and STS-1b look great, you certainly have a really capable shuttle. so no problem.

Then I'm getting a bit confused  You managed to land the fuel pod. that is ok (despite moving the fuel from the pod, but I'll let that one slide  ). During the same mission, you took up the sats, but placed them in a wrong orbit.

Then the next album - you managed to place the sats in a GSO, and with a spin stabilisation. But then a rescue mission of a sort goes on - possibly STS-4? Could you please explain what happened there? Did you land the shuttle after reflying STS-2a? And could you please provide a close-up screenshot of the spin-stabilisation engines placement? I'll gladly award you the badges, but I'm trying to find out precisely which ones

Thanks!

On 24. 10. 2017 at 7:15 PM, panzerknoef said:

Finally put in the effort to start with this challenge! So, as is necessary I'm starting with STS-1a, quite simply getting into orbit.

Hello, and welcome to the challenge! It's nice to see a Mk2 shuttle for a change, most of the guys are on the opposite side of the size spectrum  A nice sleek design, mission flown without a hitch, and a precise runway landing, so that will be a shiny commander badge for you!

Congrats, looking forward for more!

 

22 hours ago, Andetch said:

I have an issue moving onto STS-2 mission. In my first mission I placed the MUD tank perfectly, and even docked with the tank after to complete systems set-up and place it into a very precise orbit.

Since then, my attempts to send the sats up (got WAY too many geosync sats now!) have been successful, and in trying to get the fuel pod, I have crashed into it so many times the orbit is no longer perfect.... I have however shot the pod down using an ICBM, landed it using a chute probe carried up by the shuttle etc. etc. Must I have the pod back inside the shuttle to qualify for landing it?

I like your creative approach about landing the pod without a shuttle, but since this is a shuttle challenge, I'm sorry, but these don't count. You have to land it in some sort of cargo bay on your shuttle to qualify for STS-2b. But, since STS-2b is a bonus mission, you do not need to complete it to move to STS-3 and beyond. So, if the fuel pod frustrates you too much, just shoot it down, pretend it never existed, and go build be a hubble

Michal.don

[panzerknoef]

STS-2a: completed!

My Ubehebe shuttle didn't actually have the cargo space to comfortably carry 3 sats into orbit, so I added a bit of cargo bay to obtain myself a new Ubehebe-XL. Flew just as pleasantly as the first version did.

I should've completed it at commander level, but that call is eventually up to you to make of course. Album of the full mission can be found right here

And even though I'd love to go for the bonus b missions as well, my shuttle just isn't large enough to carry such stuff to orbit, work is being done to come up with a larger shuttle that can do it though.

[michal.don]

24 minutes ago, panzerknoef said:

STS-2a: completed!

As I said before, it's really nice seeing someone flying a small-ish shuttle  Very nice and compact design of the comm-sats, and, except for the 16G approach, a smooth flight! Congratulations, here is your commander badge:

And I'm quite curious if you manage to fit a hubble and the MMUs in the Mk2 cargo bay

Michal.don

[panzerknoef]

1 hour ago, michal.don said:

And I'm quite curious if you manage to fit a hubble and the MMUs in the Mk2 cargo bay

Michal.don

To answer that last question, yes I did manage to fit everything in there, and I didn't even use an extended shuttle variant.

But it wasn't easy to make it work... Parts were so close together that it took a few tries to figure out in what sequence I had to decouple everything without being attacked by the kraken. And don't even get me started on the MMU's I built, gosh they were a disaster to fly, out of balance and only having control in 2 directions... But you can read more on that in the mission album, as I did in fact complete it!

Album

Once more great fun to do the mission, next one is gonna be more challenging with this craft, but I'll see what I can do with it!

[Shadow dream]

7 hours ago, panzerknoef said:

And don't even get me started on the MMU's I built, gosh they were a disaster to fly, out of balance and only having control in 2 directions...

If it helps you next time, the setup I am currently using is a combination of RCS and reaction wheels. The trick is: On RCS thrusters, deselect Yaw, Pitch, Roll. Only use the strafe controls! Let the RW do the rest.

It's WAY easier to steer because you can let SAS maintain your heading without burning your Monprop. Also you don't lose control that easily. Provided your RWs are strong enough (which shouldn't be an issue here) you kind of have "unlocked control" since everything is independent and not wasting something you might need to save up. I love it especialy for docking my ships since it saves me from panicing "RCS on! No! RCS off! Cr*p I'm too fast! RCS on again! sh*t my ship is spinning and burning all my Monoprop, RCS off again!" -- kinda have to smile now =)

The dificult part may be to switch the muscle memory. But I'm sure you'll figure it out, it helped me a lot. (BTW here's my STS 3 )

Edited October 26, 2017 by Shadow dream

[EpicSpaceTroll139]

Is it alright if I combine STS-2b and STS 3? It seems like a waste to launch with an empty cargo bay, and I think the large plane-change maneuver would be a nice test of my shuttle's delta-v budget.

[panzerknoef]

11 hours ago, Shadow dream said:

If it helps you next time, the setup I am currently using is a combination of RCS and reaction wheels. The trick is: On RCS thrusters, deselect Yaw, Pitch, Roll. Only use the strafe controls! Let the RW do the rest.

It's WAY easier to steer because you can let SAS maintain your heading without burning your Monprop. Also you don't lose control that easily. Provided your RWs are strong enough (which shouldn't be an issue here) you kind of have "unlocked control" since everything is independent and not wasting something you might need to save up. I love it especialy for docking my ships since it saves me from panicing "RCS on! No! RCS off! Cr*p I'm too fast! RCS on again! sh*t my ship is spinning and burning all my Monoprop, RCS off again!" -- kinda have to smile now =)

The dificult part may be to switch the muscle memory. But I'm sure you'll figure it out, it helped me a lot. (BTW here's my STS 3 )

Thanks for the info, I'll do that next time! These MMU's of mine could've been good though, if it wasn't for the fact that I quite simply forgot to put on 4 times symmetry instead of 2 times

[michal.don]

22 hours ago, panzerknoef said:

To answer that last question, yes I did manage to fit everything in there, and I didn't even use an extended shuttle variant.

Yep, pretty impressive  To be honest, I expected the telescope to be larger, but to be fair, the size is not specified anywhere in the rules. So, kudos to you for stuffing all the hardware in the cargo bay, even with the MMU's "limited" functions  A commander badge for you, and good luck with the rescue mission!

9 hours ago, EpicSpaceTroll139 said:

Is it alright if I combine STS-2b and STS 3?

Yes, I don't see any reason why not. And, as you said, the inclined orbit makes it even more difficult, so go for it

 

Michal.don

[panzerknoef]

19 minutes ago, michal.don said:

Yep, pretty impressive  To be honest, I expected the telescope to be larger, but to be fair, the size is not specified anywhere in the rules. So, kudos to you for stuffing all the hardware in the cargo bay, even with the MMU's "limited" functions  A commander badge for you, and good luck with the rescue mission!

Yeah I did want to use a bigger telescope, but with the size of a Mk2 cargo bay, that's quite hard...I might try again later with a new shuttle or with the larger cargo hold variation. Thanks for the badge!And I'll sure give my best for the mission!

[B-STRK]

@michal.don, my turn as well for STS-3  

And hope to join you in STS-4, @panzerknoef! (Although admittedly, mine might come later, I'm about to face a really busy month myself .)  

[panzerknoef]

Development of a new, bigger shuttle has been completed! The Inyo shuttle can carry way larger payloads into orbit, thanks to a vastly more powerful power plant and a mark 3 cargo hold. I put it through its paces by completing both STS-1b and STS-3 again, with the bigger telescope "someone" wanted to see. I didn't do them in a single mission though, my shuttle ain't that large either. And while it's bigger and more powerful, it's not as pleasant to fly as the Ubehebe shuttle, thanks to a harder to balance design which requires in flight toggling of engine thrust on both the booster and the shuttle to keep it stable. Albums are to be found behind their mission names, but I presume you figured that out already.

[macktruck6666]

Well, I made a shuttle, but I can't figure out how to make a rocket it works with. I have fuel in the shuttle so the rocket wants to always spin out.

[G'th]

19 hours ago, macktruck6666 said:

Well, I made a shuttle, but I can't figure out how to make a rocket it works with. I have fuel in the shuttle so the rocket wants to always spin out.

Well, if you're going for a stack like the real Shuttle it'd be prudent to put most of your fuel and thrust into the rocket parts.  But if you're doing your own thing, then you want to work on balancing your thrust vectors so they fire through the COM consistently. If you have KER or VOID and you turn on your COM and COT markers they should give you a read out of how off your thrust vectors are in X,Y,Z.  So obviously, 1 in X means its going to yaw left of your COM. -1 means its going to yaw right. And so on.

Anyway, @michal.don yay a badge!  Also, here's a video I made of a realistic Orbiter reentry using my Shuttle (but now in 2.5x scale!)
 

 

But I was wondering it was ever considered to add a Magellan/Gallileo/Ullysses type mission to the mission list? Those probes were one of the big accomplishments of the real Space Shuttle and it seems odd to not have a mission based on them.

Edited October 30, 2017 by G'th

[B-STRK]

@G'th Well, I guess looking at it from a skills (both engineering/design and piloting) perspective, any shuttle challenge player capable of an STS-2a is already capable of an interplanetary space probe launch; it's just a question of designing the probe (as opposed to the shuttle, which would be the STS-Duna/Jool missions) to go interplanetary and having a payload bay big enough to hold the probe. I think it could be a substitute STS Duna/Jool for an RSS playthrough (although I can imagine some mad scientist gunning up the VAB for a Jupiter-capable ubershuttle), though, but something additional might have to be added to the challenge besides "get probe to Jupiter/Mars/Venus") to beef up that challenge to proportionally match what a stock-system player would face in the Duna/Jool STS missions. (Except probably for Ulysses, both on stock and RSS, given the challenge to go out-of-ecliptic as far as actual!Ulysses did.)

But ultimately, such design and piloting challenges are focused on the probe post-launch; the only time the shuttle is involved is in the launch process, which STS-2a already covers. Probably that's why doing a geosat launch would be enough to show off the necessary mojo covering STS' probe launch capabilities (after which, the challenge can move on to the other major aspects of the Shuttle program, e.g., orbital construction, shuttle rescue and support, Asteroid Ride-em-down Mission/Asteroid Drilling and Nuke-Planting Mission/Okay Who Let Michael Bay Into Mission Control?)

[michal.don]

On 27. 10. 2017 at 10:11 PM, B-STRK said:

my turn as well for STS-3

Oh, my favourite idiot agency at it again, and they certainly did not disappoint   A great mission report as always, and nicely flown! Here's your badge, and I'm getting scared wat kind of emergency will result in a rescue in STS-4

 

On 28. 10. 2017 at 12:56 PM, panzerknoef said:

Development of a new, bigger shuttle has been completed! The Inyo shuttle can carry way larger payloads into orbit, thanks to a vastly more powerful power plant and a mark 3 cargo hold.

And things are getting bigger! Good job on designing a new vehicle, I'm sure you'll learn how to handle its quirks soon. Nice re-fly of the STS-3, and congrats on completion of STS-1b:

On 29. 10. 2017 at 7:24 AM, macktruck6666 said:

Well, I made a shuttle, but I can't figure out how to make a rocket it works with. I have fuel in the shuttle so the rocket wants to always spin out.

Yeah, it's not easy to design a system where CoM doesn't move significantly in relation to CoT, we've all been there. I'd recommend to look at other's designs, to see what kind of things work, and then try to design something similar yourself. And, if you want to make your life a bit easier, you could slap some engines on the ET to balance the thrust a bit.

 

9 hours ago, G'th said:

But I was wondering it was ever considered to add a Magellan/Gallileo/Ullysses type mission to the mission list? Those probes were one of the big accomplishments of the real Space Shuttle and it seems odd to not have a mission based on them.

Hmm, an interesting idea. To be honest, I did not consider these missions yet, because if you can go to other planets in your shuttle, just sending a probe seems almost too easy. But I might have an idea, thanks for the tip!

 

Michal.don

[hoioh]

On 26-10-2017 at 10:32 AM, michal.don said:

 

On 23-10-2017 at 11:19 PM, hoioh said:

Figured I'd give this a try. Below Missions 1 and 2 including lugging the 40t tank around.

Hello, and welcome to the challenge!

First of all, I'd like to ask you for a modlist - I see MJ installed, So I see you are not running a completely stock install. Mods are absolutely ok in this challenge, but I need to know which you have installed, to place you in a correct category. Thanks!

Now, about the missions

STS-1a and STS-1b look great, you certainly have a really capable shuttle. so no problem.

Then I'm getting a bit confused  You managed to land the fuel pod. that is ok (despite moving the fuel from the pod, but I'll let that one slide  ). During the same mission, you took up the sats, but placed them in a wrong orbit.

Then the next album - you managed to place the sats in a GSO, and with a spin stabilisation. But then a rescue mission of a sort goes on - possibly STS-4? Could you please explain what happened there? Did you land the shuttle after reflying STS-2a? And could you please provide a close-up screenshot of the spin-stabilisation engines placement? I'll gladly award you the badges, but I'm trying to find out precisely which ones

Thanks!

 

Hi Michal.don,

Yeah I get the confusion, it all happened so fast! For some insane reason during my retry of STS-2 while launching sat nr. 2 my shuttle exploded. I figured Jeb had been gnawing on the fuel lines again, but I can't be sure ;-) It might just have been an attack of the kraken or some such, so I launched a shuttle identical to the first one in all but 1 aspect: the claw on the front and used that to resque the crew. It landed without issue, I mean these things are a bit unstable at low speed and altitude, not to mention unwieldly, but I can land em just fine once I survive re-entry (the shuttle that launched the sattelites was lost). So what happened is that I resqued the STS-2a crew using a secondary shuttle. It was a resque mission, but in no way was it anything like the originally planned mission STS-4: floating the two shuttles at a 90 x 180 degree angle and EVA transferring the crew. I simply clawed the cabin and transferred the crew directly into the new shuttle.

As for mods: I got MJ installed and Airplaneplus, but I only used stock parts. So other than MJ, nothing of relevance.

Here's a close-up of the sattelite spin drive:

https://imgur.com/a/rKoIy

Edited October 30, 2017 by hoioh

[Alchemist]

17 hours ago, G'th said:

But I was wondering it was ever considered to add a Magellan/Gallileo/Ullysses type mission to the mission list? Those probes were one of the big accomplishments of the real Space Shuttle and it seems odd to not have a mission based on them.

Maybe as alternative options to STS-2a? Because as far as the shuttle flying part goes, there is not that much difference (unlike further missions that do increase requirements for maneuvering the orbiter) - get to parking orbit, deploy the payload, return to Kerbin. But alternative payload options are really interesting

The badge requirements could be for Pilot just to get the probe in desired orbit, but for Commander to use the advanced maneuvers (aerobraking or gravity assists).

Yes, STS-2a could really become a list of possible destinations for the payload (with possibility to expand if somebody designs a good mission). Something like this:

• KSO - at least 2 satellites to stationary orbit. Commander badge: at least 3 equally spaced satellites deployed with spin-stabilization
• Mun - ?
• Sun - polar orbit. Commander badge: use Jool slingshot
• Eve - polar orbit. Commander badge: use aerobraking to get into near-circular low orbit
• Moho - ?      Maybe just flyby for Pilot and orbit for Commander (+ possibly Eve slingshot)
• Duna - ?       Maybe could involve a rover
• Jool -  put main craft in orbit and drop an atmospheric probe. Commander badge: use slingshot(s) around inner planets, perform flybys of at least the larger moons of Jool.

And then there could be Probemaster badge for completing at least 3 or 4 of these destinations (separately or together) + STS-3

[Ozelui]

Here is my entry for the Duna STS 1.

 

The cargo bay of the shuttle i was going to use originally ( the Nova ) was made with a fairing and wing connectors.  The fairing ended in a ring made of radiators, leaving the rear end of the fairing open, and allowing kerbals or parts to pass.  Until the ship was reloaded.  After a reload, the fairing acted as if it were completely closed, and undocking any part inside the fairing ended in an unplanned dissasembly.  Too bad i discovered that little problem in low Duna orbit.

Spoiler

The singularity was my support package, with a much bigger cargo bay but lacking any vtol / water take off and landing / mining capabilities.

The Nova was designed as a multi role shuttle, able to land on all kinds of enviroments.

This is the Nova's cargo bay, with the door in the background (redish light).  Out of 5 station modules, i was able to pull 3 out before finding the bug.

Unplanned Disassembly.

Surprisingly, in most of my tries to decouple the last two modules all the crew survived.

 

I really liked some characteristics of the Nova, so I decided to rebuild over the same design and the Supernova was born.  No fairings this time, only good old reliable wing connectors.  Since i had to start over ( false, a good chunk of the structure like wings, tail, nose, the whole payload... is the same ) , i also doubled the size of the cargo bay.  I have yet to run a few tests like water landing / take off, but i'm very happy with how it performed in the first Duna mission.

 

Warning: The video is half an hour long, so find some music you enjoy, a drink and relax. 

Spoiler

 

I tried to make the video as short as possible, and removed several aerobrake maneuvers in the way back to Kerbin. In one of those the nose solar panels exploded, other than that, the only damage to the shuttle can be seen during the final landing.

Craft file:  https://kerbalx.com/Ozelui/Supernova-mk-1

 

Edit:  I almost forgot it, i'm using the Kerbal reinforcement joints mod (only that one).

Edited October 30, 2017 by Ozelui

[michal.don]

21 hours ago, hoioh said:

Hi Michal.don,

Yeah I get the confusion, it all happened so fast! For some insane reason during my retry of STS-2 while launching sat nr. 2 my shuttle exploded. I figured Jeb had been gnawing on the fuel lines again, but I can't be sure ;-) It might just have been an attack of the kraken or some such, so I launched a shuttle identical to the first one in all but 1 aspect: the claw on the front and used that to resque the crew. It landed without issue, I mean these things are a bit unstable at low speed and altitude, not to mention unwieldly, but I can land em just fine once I survive re-entry (the shuttle that launched the sattelites was lost). So what happened is that I resqued the STS-2a crew using a secondary shuttle. It was a resque mission, but in no way was it anything like the originally planned mission STS-4: floating the two shuttles at a 90 x 180 degree angle and EVA transferring the crew. I simply clawed the cabin and transferred the crew directly into the new shuttle.

Oh, if that is the case, than I'm gladly awarding you the appropriate badges fir STS-1a, STS-1b and STS-2a - wear them proudly  Good job, commander!

 

17 hours ago, Alchemist said:

Maybe as alternative options to STS-2a? Because as far as the shuttle flying part goes, there is not that much difference (unlike further missions that do increase requirements for maneuvering the orbiter) - get to parking orbit, deploy the payload, return to Kerbin. But alternative payload options are really interesting

Probably not in STS-2, but I'll design some sort of probe launch mission along the lines of your suggestion. There's a whole new tier of missions coming soon™ , as soon as I get the new badges for them

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by michal.don

[michal.don]

17 hours ago, Ozelui said:

Here is my entry for the Duna STS 1.

And this, my fellow kerbalnauts, is how a combination of utter madness and brilliant engineering looks like  I'm thoroughly impressed - at your shuttle and "small orbital outpost" design, the payload deployment method and hardware, and by the fact you just by the way landed on Ike twice, too  Just curious - have you tried a "direct entry" on your way back to Kerbin (without the braking burn)? Could your shuttle survive that?

Regarding the KJR, Speeding Mullet considered that to be modded entry, but since the autostrut function could replace the mod, but I'm still using it, too, I'll award you the "stock" badge. And I don't want your badges not to match  Congrats, really great job!

Michal.don

[panzerknoef]

Here I am again, this time filing my application for STS-4. Did it with both of the shuttles I've currently got operational. The mission went fairly well I'd say, only my bigger shuttle's crew variant has a horrible glide path and that took some getting used to on the way down. Hope it qualifies! Album right here

[Ozelui]

2 hours ago, michal.don said:

And this, my fellow kerbalnauts, is how a combination of utter madness and brilliant engineering looks like

LOL! , Thanks!  And thanks for the badge too 

Yes, I did try a direct entry, and the shuttle survived it without loosing anything really important  - landing gear, wings, cockpit... - , but most of the weak parts - solar panels, radiators, landing lights, rcs thrusters, part of the cargo bay door... - were gone.  Carrying 30k? units of liquid fuel in the tanks, i didn't feel like loosing all that equipment.

Also, I noticed that only one of my satellites is working as inteded.  The rest either don't have the right antenna and are not able to relay the signal, or don't have enough electric charge to send orbital data back to the KSC.   The building tug had to be left in Ike orbit because of the faulty comm network.   So i have several things to redeploy in the next flight. 

[CaptainPanda]

Entry for STS-1A:

I tried to make my shuttle as much a clone of the actual American Space Shuttle as I could. To that end, I did use quite a few mods to get the look and feel of the shuttle just right. I present STS-100 Albatross:

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/XiAkeB6

https://imgur.com/r3JsvjU

https://imgur.com/uVdvZgQ

https://imgur.com/SL5sKDV

https://imgur.com/4DFXWTa

https://imgur.com/lknsOsu

https://imgur.com/32e4PPA

https://imgur.com/56WSpHw

https://imgur.com/kapwoYW

https://imgur.com/yZjHeJs

https://imgur.com/ehw62Cb

https://imgur.com/NbLgd8l

https://imgur.com/QZZE3Xu

https://imgur.com/Z8mXC68

https://imgur.com/lwUdWxa

I'd like to make the argument for 'Commander' status, but I'll defer to the judgement of the...judge.

Relevent Mods:

Spoiler

Cormorant Aeronology Mk3 Shuttle Lifting Body

Canadarm

Infernal Robotics

KAS/KIS

EVA Parachutes & Ejection Seat

FASA Launch Clamps

MechJeb

Kerbal Engineer

KW Rocketry

Stage Recovery

Hullcam VDS

Ferram Aerospace

 

Note: Hyperedit is installed in my game, but was not used for this challenge. Other mods are installed in the game, but were not used during this challenge.

 

[hoioh]

On 31-10-2017 at 1:13 PM, michal.don said:

Oh, if that is the case, than I'm gladly awarding you the appropriate badges fir STS-1a, STS-1b and STS-2a - wear them proudly  Good job, commander!

Thanks for the badges @michal.don! Can I have the STS-2b as well based on the first attempt at STS-2? I did land the fuel tank that time.

And to keep the flow going: here's my report on STS-3

https://imgur.com/a/VleMD

Edited November 1, 2017 by hoioh
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