michal.don Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 22 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said: I assume this was for STS Commander Rank 1, but I can't tell the difference between the badges. Looking at the OP, both STS Pilot Rank 1 and STS Commandr Rank 1 have two badges for each, and either I'm blind or I can't tell the difference between them, other than fir left badge for each has gold trim and tie right badge has white trim (the feathering to each side of the word Challenge in each) Exactly as @hoioh said, gold star is for commander level, and silver branches are for "modded" category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, hoioh said: The difference is in the colour of the stars for the ranks and the colour of the feathers for mods/stock Ok, thanks. So I guess that gold feathers is stock, and white feathers is modded Gaaah. Ninja'd Edited January 2, 2019 by linuxgurugamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 18 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said: STS-1B completed last night, here are the images and video. Note that the fuel pod's total weight is about 43 tons. This due to having to redesign it to fit into the Mk 2.5 shuttle Alright, now we have a proof of your shuttle's notable cargo capacity to (at least) LKO, and with quite a bit of fuel to spare! Very precise orbit, and a pinpoint landing, so a badge for you: I can't help but notice though, the fuel pod is quite a tight fit in the cargo bay - I'm curious how much trouble it's going to do in the recovery mission.... 18 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said: STS-2A completed last night, here are the images and video. Wow, the Octosats look very good And very nice usage of action groups to deploy all the stuff on them simultaneously, looking very nice in the video! Very good job building the comm network, and it seems you're getting the hang of the reentry procedures, too - you seem to get closer and closer to KSC every mission! So, a third badge for you: Congratulations, Michal.don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 4 hours ago, michal.don said: I can't help but notice though, the fuel pod is quite a tight fit in the cargo bay - I'm curious how much trouble it's going to do in the recovery mission.... Same shuttle, but will be replacing the wings. I'll use the docking port at the back to grab hold, and then will probably use eva struts to hold it in place (unless that isn't allowed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michal.don Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 20 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said: I'll use the docking port at the back to grab hold, and then will probably use eva struts to hold it in place (unless that isn't allowed) No reason why that would not be allowed. I'm just curious how you'll manage the docking with the very tight cargo bay, that's all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, michal.don said: No reason why that would not be allowed. I'm just curious how you'll manage the docking with the very tight cargo bay, that's all It will be very tight, at least until the docking port at the end grabs hold. I can't use a docking port on the base of the shuttle because it bleeds through, and would at the very least look very strange to see this round cylinder coming out the bottom. What I'm concerned about is the reentry and landing. That configuration won't have a lot of leeway, the jets only help, can't really keep it up. The fuel pod return is going to be my next mission, on Sunday evening, I think. Edited January 3, 2019 by linuxgurugamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laie Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said: I can't use a docking port on the base of the shuttle because it bleeds through, and would at the very least look very strange to see this round cylinder coming out the bottom. Talking about strange looks: the payload is heavy enough that the senior port can't keep it inside the cargo bay, at least not under 1g. On the runway, the cargo hangs out like a horse's... radish. 2 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said: What I'm concerned about is the reentry and landing. On my shuttle the CoM shift left me with so little control authority that the landing site was essentially determined by the de-orbit burn. Back to the drawing board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmhauke Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 My big shuttle has its disadvantages, but one advantage I like is that I can place cargo adapters all over the place to control where the CoM is, and TAC Fuel Balancer to help adjust it in flight if needed. It's designed so that the default CoM (fueled but no cargo) is nearly dead center of the cargo bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 3 hours ago, Laie said: Talking about strange looks: the payload is heavy enough that the senior port can't keep it inside the cargo bay, at least not under 1g. On the runway, the cargo hangs out like a horse's... radish Only if it isn't strutted, which it was. 3 hours ago, Laie said: On my shuttle the CoM shift left me with so little control authority that the landing site was essentially determined by the de-orbit burn. Back to the drawing board! That's one reason I had a fuel tank in front and in back. I use the PWBFuelBalancer Rebalanced & Resource Jettisoning which I revived and enhanced. In one of the shuttle missions above (the one which brought the 43 ton tank up), the balance was off enough that I lost control of the shuttle, but was able to both vent and rebalance it so that I was able to move the CG forward enough to regain control and land the shuttle back at the KSC 2 hours ago, sturmhauke said: My big shuttle has its disadvantages, but one advantage I like is that I can place cargo adapters all over the place to control where the CoM is, and TAC Fuel Balancer to help adjust it in flight if needed. It's designed so that the default CoM (fueled but no cargo) is nearly dead center of the cargo bay. I was not happy with TAC Fuel Balancer, which is one reason I revived the PWB Fuel Balancer mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmhauke Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 29 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said: I was not happy with TAC Fuel Balancer, which is one reason I revived the PWB Fuel Balancer mod PWB looks pretty cool, I'll have to check that out. One thing I like about TAC that PWB doesn't seem to have though is the ability to detect stages and act on their tanks as a single group. Like, maybe I want to pump fuel around my mothership but leave my landers alone, without having to zoom in on the lander and lock its tanks and docking port manually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, sturmhauke said: PWB looks pretty cool, I'll have to check that out. One thing I like about TAC that PWB doesn't seem to have though is the ability to detect stages and act on their tanks as a single group. Like, maybe I want to pump fuel around my mothership but leave my landers alone, without having to zoom in on the lander and lock its tanks and docking port manually. Interesting, I hadn't thought about that. Shouldn't be too difficult to detect, it's the UI which will be a vhallenge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 The Fuel dump functionality in PWB is brand new, so I'm sure other things will be added. My goal is to keep it simple, if possible, yet powerful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoioh Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 10 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said: The Fuel dump functionality in PWB is brand new, so I'm sure other things will be added. My goal is to keep it simple, if possible, yet powerful Well, I use quite a bunch of mods you maintain and personally, I'm very happy with them! So, thank you! I haven't flown any shuttles in a while, but always do my own fuel balancing manually, it may be interesting to check out PWB to see if it makes flying easier, especially where it concerns off-axis thust, which is always an issue with my shuttles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4cheesecake Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 So, am I the only one who designs the orbiter to be flyable through the atmosphere at any given time without shifting any fuel? Guess, that's one the reasons why it takes me a couple of weeks to build a new one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerbolitto Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 4 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said: So, am I the only one who designs the orbiter to be flyable through the atmosphere at any given time without shifting any fuel? Guess, that's one the reasons why it takes me a couple of weeks to build a new one I don't touch the fuel except sometimes when landing with an unbalanced cargo, but my booster design is symmetrical so there's that .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoioh Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 5 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said: So, am I the only one who designs the orbiter to be flyable through the atmosphere at any given time without shifting any fuel? Guess, that's one the reasons why it takes me a couple of weeks to build a new one Days it takes me, at worst. Usually my shuttles are 1 or 2 day builds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4cheesecake Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 2 hours ago, hoioh said: Days it takes me, at worst. Usually my shuttles are 1 or 2 day builds Well, it happens a bit too often that I decide to throw away everything and start over again. The one I'm building right now is supposed to have ~3500m/s dV when arriving in LKO, so it can reach Eve and Duna (maybe even land on Duna) but I always end up with 4000+m/s when using nuclear engines or 2800 when using LFO engines. I could use the wolfhound to boost the LFO effiency but since the engine bell is really huge, it looks just stupid. Apropos look: it is supposed to be smaller (~cockpit + 8 x the length of the small MK3 tanks) It is a bit tricky though^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmhauke Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 My Bustard orbiter (the big one) took a few days, but after that the only modifications I've done are attachment point locations, and maybe a few minor tweaks. The Tetrax orbiter only took a couple hours - basically I took a Bustard, cut the cargo bay in half, cut the wings and vertical stabilizer down, reworked the engines, made a few other tweaks, then put the Firetail launch system on it. Speaking of launch systems, that's where I've spent most of my time. (That x-ray telescope I did for STS-3 also took a while, but that was mostly aesthetic.) The newer Firetail took like a day an a half or so - I've done similar things before, so it was mostly just adapting it to my shuttles. The older Phoenix (Energia-type) ate more hours than I can count, mostly in rebalancing the engine torque for each payload. I've started working on a Phoenix II system, with asymmetrical main engines. (thanks for the tip, @Alchemist!) Looks promising so far. Load testing with a weighted orbiter mockup shows much smaller torque variance due to CoM shifting over time. I can probably use the same strap-on boosters, I just need to change the mounting angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 10 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said: So, am I the only one who designs the orbiter to be flyable through the atmosphere at any given time without shifting any fuel? Guess, that's one the reasons why it takes me a couple of weeks to build a new one Nope, I've been doing that as well. Watch for a new mod to be released in the next day or so which will make it much easier to load and unload individual resources (ie: fuel) in the Editor from all tanks in a stage, or the entire vessel. This will make it easier to check the balance with different fuel loads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4cheesecake Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) 27 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said: Watch for a new mod to be released in the next day or so which will make it much easier to load and unload individual resources (ie: fuel) in the Editor from all tanks in a stage, or the entire vessel. This will make it easier to check the balance with different fuel loads Sounds interesting. When you say 'different fuel loads' does it mean 'full' and 'empty' or will we be able to set any fuel load we want? What ever it will be, the stage separation will be very helpful to balance the orbiter while it is strapped to the launch vehicle, so this is going to be great anyway I'm already excited Edited January 4, 2019 by 4x4cheesecake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxgurugamer Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 5 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said: Sounds interesting. When you say 'different fuel loads' does it mean 'full' and 'empty' or will we be able to set any fuel load we want? What ever it will be, the stage separation will be very helpful to balance the orbiter while it is strapped to the launch vehicle, so this is going to be great anyway I'm already excited You will be able to adjust each resource type, either for individual stages or the entire vessel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FleshJeb Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, linuxgurugamer said: You will be able to adjust each resource type, either for individual stages or the entire vessel That would be a wonderful thing to have within the RCS Build Aid interface. Not that it wouldn't work just fine externally, but I think the features you propose would be a bit more synergistic in combination with RCSBA. Edited January 5, 2019 by FleshJeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmhauke Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 So I'm working on STS-4, trying to engineer an accident to justify a rescue. It's surprisingly hard to create a semi-controlled explosion that does the damage you want without destroying too much. I think I got it though. The secret is strategically placed Fleas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4cheesecake Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 @sturmhauke I've used the 'Kaboom' mod for this, it's the perfect solution to create a controllable explosion Maybe the explosion will be a bit smaller, depending on how many parts you're going to destroy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmhauke Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Oh right, I've heard of that mod. I forgot about it before this though, oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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