The Moderation Nation Space Program

[Deddly]

Something a Little More Close to Home

What's with all this fancy-mancy super-dooper pricey interplanetary stuff, eh? We at Deddly Design decided to run a simple mission to show just how much can be accomplished right here on Kerbin, and right on our home turf, too!

 

Take it nice and slow
 

I was going for the VAB but got distracted...

I was disappointed to get no science from the control tower, but was classed as "flying low over Kerbin"

 

 

Oh look, there's a helipad. Perhaps, in retrospect, I should have gone for that one first.

125 science for almost no money, and I think there's much more to be found nearby.

[NSEP]

This is cool! Well done mods!

[Geschosskopf]

Good missions!  Running before you can walk is always fun 

And VTOLing instead of rovering around KSC....  who'd a-thunk?  Bet you can't land on the tracking antennae tho 

[Deddly]

2 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Bet you can't land on the tracking antennae tho 

Hmmmm...

Challenge accepted. 

See you in a few months

[Geschosskopf]

Just now, Deddly said:

Hmmmm...

Challenge accepted. 

See you in a few months

Well, I was thinking of that ship you used in the mission, as is.  But it might be possible if you put spidery strutty legs under it, to fit around the lip of the big dishes.  Probably be easier to try to perch on the central spike of the dish.  But that's assuming there's nothing funky about the dishes due to them being moving parts.  I've never tried this myself.

[Deddly]

3 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Bet you can't land on the tracking antennae tho 

...and 23 more science

[Geschosskopf]

1 hour ago, Deddly said:

...and 23 more science

Very good  But a real pilot would have landed on the upper edge of the dish  

Did you notice anything weird due to the dish being a moving part?

[luizopiloto]

I won... where is my prize?

[Geschosskopf]

3 hours ago, luizopiloto said:

I won... where is my prize?

Virtual beer all around

[Snark]

Successful flight of the Capricorn II, an uncrewed mission bringing additional exploration hardware to our crew on Duna.

Imgur album:  https://imgur.com/a/3y3hQ

This mission sent a return pod, mining vessel, laboratory, and resource scanner probe to Duna, all in one launch.

Results of mission:

• Funds:
  • Started with 856K funds
  • Ended with 1690K funds
• Science:
  • Started with 94 science
  • Ended with 874 science
• Researched:
  • High-power Electrics
  • Specialized Control
• Miscellaneous accomplishments:
  • First docking in Duna orbit
  • First orbit of Ike
  • Scanned Ike for ore deposits

Capricorn Station now has a return pod, lab, and mining ship.

It's all ready for the return of the Capricorn I crew from Duna's surface... but that will have to wait for another mission.

 

[TheKosmonaut]

1 hour ago, Snark said:

 

Behold! The mighty Kerbal SRB, now with load-bearing capabilities! Tremble in fear before these mighty columns of fire and smoke!

[Deddly]

10 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Did you notice anything weird due to the dish being a moving part?

Just a little jiggle from time to time. Nothing terribly odd. It would have been interesting to leave it there and timewarp... I'll have to experiment with that another time, but I have a hunch it will just clip and explode.

[Snark]

9 hours ago, TheKosmonaut said:

Behold! The mighty Kerbal SRB, now with load-bearing capabilities! Tremble in fear before these mighty columns of fire and smoke!

Actually, not all that surprising, if you take a moment to think about the math.

Any rocket is going to have to be able to stand up to a fair amount of load along its longitudinal axis-- specifically, load that's significantly higher than its own weight.  That's because all rockets have to have a TWR significantly > 1 in order to lift off the pad.

A Kickback has an ASL thrust of 593 kN.  Dividing by Kerbin gravity of 9.81 m/s², that's equivalent to the weight of about 60 tons of rocket.  So, if you're using a Kickback as a load-bearing member, then if you've got less than 60 tons sitting on it, that's actually less stress than it routinely gets on every flight.

In this case, the Capricorn II is 211 tons on the pad.  Sitting on four Kickbacks, that's only about 53 tons each, i.e. less than the Kickbacks' own thrust.

So... not such a surprise that they can take it, and really not #lolsokerbal at all.  Kind of like saying, "Behold, my mighty leg bones!  Capable of withstanding my weight without shattering, when I'm just standing perfectly still and not putting any other stresses on them!" 

(And yes, I know that there are other subtleties of construction IRL, and that (for example) just because a rocket can take that stress via its thrust chamber doesn't necessarily mean it can take that stress sitting on the rim of its nozzle, and so forth.  Pick me no nits.)

[TheKosmonaut]

1 hour ago, Snark said:

[...] Pick me no nits.

Picking Intensifies. 

[Just Jim]

10 hours ago, TheKosmonaut said:

Behold! The mighty Kerbal SRB, now with load-bearing capabilities! Tremble in fear before these mighty columns of fire and smoke!

That is a glorious beast!  But I'm curious, did you run into any problems jettisoning those boosters?

Edited October 20, 2017 by Just Jim

[Snark]

29 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

But I'm curious, did you run into any problems jettisoning those boosters?

Nope, no problem at all.  Went like clockwork.

I'm curious why you ask?  It's a pretty straightforward "jettison radial booster" situation.  Things that mitigate the risk of collision with the central stack after ejection:

• I used the heavy-duty radial decoupler ("Hydraulic Detachment Manifold"), which has a fair amount of ejection force.
• These are Kickbacks, which have a really long burn time.  By the time they burn out, my altitude is pretty darn high (don't remember exactly), so aero forces are virtually negligible and there's nothing slamming them into the center stack.
• It's a well-executed gravity turn; basically just "pitch to 20 degrees away from vertical upon takeoff, set SAS to hold and hands off the controls except for throttle."  So, since the craft is pointing perfectly with no maneuvering going on, that means there's really nothing for the ejected boosters to do, really, other than drift lazily perfectly backwards relative to the ship.

In general, in KSP I've hardly ever had any problems with any ejected radial boosters colliding with my ship.  My experience has been that folks who have problems are usually doing something like "not always flying all the way up", or "failing to attach their boosters as low on the radial decoupler as they can", or something like that.  Stick to prograde, attach the boosters low on the decouplers, and there's never a problem.

[Just Jim]

35 minutes ago, Snark said:

I'm curious why you ask? 

It's just every now and then when I launch something that big I run into problems with the boosters colliding with the big side tanks, but it looks like you have enough clearance.

Edited October 20, 2017 by Just Jim

[TheKosmonaut]

Mission(s) complete! 

Album here.

[Geschosskopf]

Showroom article instead of the real thing?  I"m surprised things went as well as they did  

[TheKosmonaut]

@Geschosskopf You can make anything work with a little bit of elbow grease and some flex-tape!

[Deddly]

UNEXPECTED PAYLOAD

Sometimes, no matter how well you plan and how hard you try, things just don't work out as you had hoped. This was to be one of those times.

The Space Skuttle project was the culmination of countless hours of research, development, hopes and dreams. Deddly Design had noted the soaring launch costs as the Moderation Nation space projects got ever more complicated and adventurous. They were convinced that the key was Reusability, and so the first craft in this project would be known as the Column (as in the first of a procession) Bringing Reusabulity.

As the engineers who had spent their days, nights and weekends working on the project looked on, the CBR Space Skuttle was gradually rolled out to the launch pad. It was truly a sight to behold that early summer morning.

 

Bill was still annoyed that the team was unable to develop a sufficiently-powerful SRB in order to reduce costs further, but he was hoping that the Package of engines available would Expand in the future. Either way, he knew that the team was Making History today with the launch of this new technology that he was convinced would revolutionise space travel.

...3, 2, 1, and we have lift-off!

 

 

The booster separation was glorious...

...for a moment
 

Spoiler

 

The crew caught their breath as they felt the entire Skuttle shudder from a glancing impact. Thankfully, Lagerdorf Kerman had a steady hand on the controls and his lightning reflexes were enough to keep the ship under control and on course. But what would this mean for reentry? Would he be able to keep Column BR at the correct heading and orientation throughout the buffeting of the lower atmosphere at supersonic speeds? None of the training scenarios had prepared him for this. But for now there was no choice but to continue with the mission, and work out the details in the relative calm of orbit.

 

As the moment arrived to launch the first module of the Moderation Nation station, the crew discovered a fatal flaw that would mean a damaged wing would be the least of their concerns.

In spite of their best efforts, they were unable to extract the cargo from the hold.

A visual examination confirmed that the docking ring had disengaged as designed, but there was a mysterious force holding the cargo solidly in place. No amount of maneuvering would budge it. It was almost as if there were an invisible docking port at the aft of the cargo bay. This was a cause of great concern - the Skuttle was designed to return empty, not with a full cargo. Added weight to the front of the craft would move the centre of mass forward to such an extent that it would likely be impossible to keep the nose up. Column BR had become a lawn dart and seemed doomed to either languish in space until life support was exhausted or be dashed to pieces on the surface of the planet the crew called home. Either eventuality would be devastating to the stated goal of reusability, but only one option had a slight chance of success, and so the crew was instructed to reenter the atmosphere and attempt the impossible. Lagerdorf Kerman heroically positioned the craft with the bay doors open facing the superheated air in an attempt to destroy the cargo by overheating it. But as he wrestled the sluggish controls, he realised that it just was not going to work - the station module was fitted with advanced cooling capabilities that easily overcame the reentry heating, and so the doors were closed again to prevent an uncontrolled death spin. The crew was ready to die, but there was no need to make the journey there unpleasant and vomit-inducing. Not in spacesuits. No thank you.

As suspected, the meagre control surfaces at the rear of Column BR were not enough to overcome the unwanted payload forward of the centre of mass, and the Skuttle headed rapidly off course and down towards the ocean.

 

Thinking fast, Lagerdorf made use of the split rudder, which arrested a great deal of speed and helped to lift the nose somewhat, but there was no-one foolish enough to believe that this would be anything other than a crash landing. The managers at Deddly Design held their breath, hoping and praying that there would be at least a few parts to salvage.

Lagerdorf's voice cracked over the intercom. He hardly knew what he was saying, but it scarcely mattered.

"Lady and gentlemen, the Captain has switched on the fasten seatbelt sign. Please return your seats to an upright position and fold away your snack trays."

"Cabin crew, doors on automatic. Cross-check."

"Cabin crew, please take your seats for impact, thank you....  It's been an honour, friends."

 

Spoiler

 

And by some miracle, there were some parts left at a fair value for recovery!

Oh yeah, and most of the crew made it too. Most? Yes. All the crew made it, apart from one very brave kerbal who loyally stayed at the helm until the very end. Please join me in a salute to what we assume to be the first tragic death of the Moderation Nation Space Program.

Missing, presumed dead

 

We did, at least, make some small contribution to the space programme:

Now that's the value of reusability for you. And what was the cause of the devastating bug that all the moderators were about to quit over? Engineers went over the design sheets with a fine-toothed comb and found one very suspect part hidden behind the bulkhead:

It was almost as if there were an invisible docking port at the aft of the cargo bay... Sabotage? Whatever the cause, Deddly Design is determined to get to the bottom of this, and that the Column BR disaster shall be the last and only one in the Space Skuttle project.

Spoiler

I legitimately have no idea how that docking port got there. I have no memory of placing it, and if I did, why would I clip it through the wall? Nothing in this mission was scripted. As for Lagerdorf's death, he was ordered to the cockpit, but I can only assume he could not or would not transfer from the lander can and it was destroyed during the hard splashdown.

[Geschosskopf]

Well, good job getting most of the ship and most of the crew home  

You know, there are these things called Sepratrons. They're my favorest part in the game, with thousands of entertaining uses.  But they also are nice to shove boosters away cleanly  

 

[Deddly]

46 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

You know, there are these things called Sepratrons....

Whaaaaa? What a great little rocket

Actually, if you look closely at this picture, you can just about see that there are actually Sepratrons installed. I just have the minimum of fuel for a quick burst, which is why you can't see the flame in the picture. But I don't think more fuel would have helped in this instance. My understanding is that, since the Skuttle was underneath the boosters, its wings lifted it up so that it collided with the booster as it was ejecting.

[Geschosskopf]

7 minutes ago, Deddly said:

Actually, if you look closely at this picture, you can just about see that there are actually Sepratrons installed. I just have the minimum of fuel for a quick burst, which is why you can't see the flame in the picture. But I don't think more fuel would have helped in this instance. My understanding is that, since the Skuttle was underneath the boosters, its wings lifted it up so that it collided with the booster as it was ejecting.

Aim the Seps at like 45^ so they push the boosters both up and out..  I like to see boosters get a good quarter mile of lateral separation before the Seps burn out.  They don't hold enough fuel to worry about saving money on that  

[Deddly]

7 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

Aim the Seps at like 45^ so they push the boosters both up and out..  I like to see boosters get a good quarter mile of lateral separation before the Seps burn out.  They don't hold enough fuel to worry about saving money on that  

That's certainly good advice. I was thinking of trying something like that for Space Skuttle Contender.

But but... all that extra weight