AlphaMensae Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 (edited) VERSION 2.8! Download from Spacedock Download from GitHub ================================================================================================================= AlphaMensae's Modular Launch Pads Tired of wimpy launch clamps? Feel your KSP launch experience is lacking something? Well, then make any rocket launch an event by making a complete launch facility with launch base, towers and other accessories. Board your crew, start the countdown, then go for ignition sequence start! Modular Launch Pads is a collection of parts, including various launch clamp-type bases, towers, crew elevators, hold-downs and other accessories. You start by either attaching a base to a bottom center node on a rocket; this can be either the bottom node of an engine, or an attach node added by one of the included path files that add an extra node to various mod rocket tanks, stages or engine mounts. Towers attach to the four nodes on the sides of the base. Swing arms and drop umbilicals attach to nodes on the towers; other parts can be attached to the tower tops. Holdd-downs are surface-attached to the deck, frame top or support pad on the base. IMPORTANT: All the parts are now hidden by default from the stock Structural category. This was done to keep from clogging up that category with a ton of non-rocket parts. Use the included custom Community Category Kit tab or the stock custom category (accessed from the Advanced Mode in the part picker, also has subcategories) to find the parts. Delete the Hide_Parts.cfg file from the ModularLaunchPads/Category folder to bring the parts back to the Structural tab. IMPORTANT: Use of the left-shift key with the offset gizmo is required to customize the layout of the bases and towers, holding it down when dragging the gizmo's arrows gives you 20m of offset range; otherwise you won't be able to move a part very far. IMPORTANT: B9PS node-moving function doesn't work properly with rescaled parts, but the latest version of Realism Overhaul has patches to work around this error with the affected Modular Launch Pads parts, primarily the modular service tower sections with the top node that is moved as height variants are selected. I provide no support for RSS/RO/RP-1. Use at your own risk. I don't use RO so I cannot help with it, sorry. Please ask the RO users for help in using Modular Launch Pads in RO/RP-1. IMPORTANT: NOT compatible with Katniss Cape Canaveral, the launch bases will not work with it, they will explode upon spawn. If you want to try to get MLP to work with KCC, then you are on your own. IMPORTANT: The new anchoring system introduced into KSP after 1.8.1 causes a problem with the crew elevators, where the Kerbals riding the elevator car up start to phase through the bottom of the car floor and may even fall out entirely. The elevator car speeds have been slowed down to help reduce this effect, but cannot be eliminated completely. Solutions to this problem are either have the Kerbals jump and/or move while the car is going up, or else attach command chairs to the floor of the car and install Animated Attachment to have them move with the car. ================================================================================================================= NEW in 2.8.0 NEW Vandenberg SLC-6 Shuttle Mount and Tower parts. NEW Atlas-Agena Service Tower. NEW Atlas SLV3-Centaur Service Tower and modified umbilical arms. NEW Atlas I/II Service Tower and custom Umbilical Arm. NEW Modular version of the Delta IV Service Tower with core and top section parts. Remade the Round and Rectangular General Launch Stands and gave them adjustable-height legs. Modified the Shuttle Launcher Base with integrated adjustable SRB hold-downs and custom decks for different shuttle stacks, as well as an SLS variant. Modified many of the launch stands and launch plates by minimizing the stretchy launch clamp module meshes and adding a switcher to turn them off. Added blank decouple animations to all launch clamp bases, stands and plates to prevent throwing an orange-color NRE in the log. Removed the few RO craft files of mine as they are at risk of becoming outdated. NEW in 2.7.0 Revised Atlas Launch Stand by tweaking the meshes of the Atlas Pipes and adding deploy limit slider animations to allow the pipes to be used with the new Bluedog Design Bureau Atlas. Updated BDB Compatibility patch with atatch nodes for the new BDB Atlas 3400 and Atlas V 5300 tanks. Renamed RO Example craft files to begin with "MLP RO Example". NEW in 2.6.0 New General Launch Bases in six sizes--Micro, Mini, Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large--with different styling and fewer exhaust hole options per base. New Ariane V Flat Mast and Scissor Umbilical. New General SRB Hold-Down part with adjustable bolts. New N1 basic modular stackable tower part and separate platform part. New Aerobee Launch Stand-Tower with optional integrated cover New Modular Multi Tower part in three different sizes, each main size has multiple sub-sizes. New separate Multi Top part for all the sizes. New Micro General Strongback Tower featuring partial Electron styling, fits on the mew Micro Launch Base. Minimized the size of the launch clamp meshes in the launch bases, stands and plates that don't rely on them for the visual structure; added switch to turn them off, which does not affect the actual clamp function. Retitled a number of the General Parts to follow a more coherent and consistent naming scheme. Added craft files for the KNES Ariane V, TantaresLV N1, Chrayol PSLV, DodoLabs Electron and Taerobee Aerobee rockets. The three old General Launch Bases have been deprecated in preparation for version 3, they will not make the move to v3.0. Version 2.5.3 Note: Added patch, courtesy of KSP Forum member Zelda, to remove MOARdv's Avionics Systems (MAS) flight computer from the MLP crew arms and elevators that have crew capacity and the stock generic3 IVA. MAS (and maybe with the use of the Reviva mod as well) causes the screen to go black when these parts are present. NEW in 2.5.0 Added crew capacity to all Crew Elevators and hatches (Airlocks) to the elevator cars, so Kerbals can still "ride" the elevators up and avoid the anchoring system shenanigans which plague Kerbals on EVA. The hatches have no mesh, but the colliders are big enough for easy clicking. Elevator car floor should be at least a few cm above any crew arm walkway or tower floor to avoid the hatches being blocked. Greatly increased the speed of all crew elevator cars, as the slow speeds were no longer necessary with the new hatches. Apologies to anyone wanting to use the elevators normally in KSP versions after 1.8.1. NEW in 2.4.0 Added additional height variant, front wall options and umbilical attach nodes to the Mini General Crew Elevator Core. Added new Mini Crew Walkway, a stripped-down short version of the Mercury-Atlas Crew Walkway, designed for the Mini General Crew Elevator. Retitled the crew elevators and crew arms to a standard scheme so they will be grouped together in the CCK category in Simple Mode. Retitled the General Service Tower parts to add "General" at the front so they will be grouped together in the CCK category in Simple Mode. NEW in 2.3.0 Added Delta IV Launch Stand, Service Tower and three Delta IV-specific swing arms. Added attach nodes for rockets to all four launch rails and updated Module Decouple for the rails accordingly. Rockets still can surface attach to the rails, and made the rails surface-attachable too. Modified the Saturn Hammerhead Crane to have a switch between the full crane and the remnant core, which appeared for some shuttle launches. Added v2.3 craft file for the Bluedog Design Bureau Delta IV Heavy using the new Delta IV parts. Updated BDB MLP patches, adding extra attach nodes for the Delta IV lower core tank and the Saturn LRB Engine Mount. Updated MLP Custom Category. NEW in 2.2.0 NEW: Animated Decouplers has been replaced by Staged Animation, graciously provided by NathanKell Staged Animation, It has the same animation staging function and decoupler icon, but no actual decoupler function. It also works with Mechjeb's auto-staging feature. NEW: All uses of the stock ModuleAnimateGeneric have been replaced with ModuleAnimateGenericExtra, contained within the StageAnimation .dll and also graciously provided by NathanKell. This version allows for custom titles of the deploy limit sliders used by many of the parts, and also can fully disable the animation toggle/start/end buttons. The PAWs for those parts are now far more understandable as a result. NEW: Titan III Launch Stand added to the historic launch stands group. It is designed to work with the existing Titan III Auxiliary Mast and Service Tower parts. Can be configured for both the Titan III and Titan IV, and has integrated hold-down bolts that are fully adjustable in position. NEW: General Fallback Umbilical Tower added to the General Service Towers group. It is a generalized, square-truss version of the Thor/Delta Fallback Tower, with many more height variants. NEW: Extra Large General Crew Elevator added to the General Crew Elevators group. It replaces the old 130m height version of the Large Crew Elevator Base, and is compatible with the Large Crew Elevator Section and Side Extension. NEW: Saturn Milkstool Launch Stand has been added. It is a standalone launch-clamp version of the Saturn Milkstool part, with a short height variant along with the default full-height version. REVISED: General Droop Umbilicals have been remade, with an additional size added. An adjustable-length mount extension tube has also been added to provide better custom-fitting to a rocket stage. REVISED: Large Crew Elevator has been revised with new General and Saturn truss styles; the General style is the same as that of the new Extra Large Elevator. The Elevator Tower Section also now has more switchable detail optons to allow it to be used with the Extra Large Elevator. REVISED: Color of the side panels for the Large and Extra Large Crew Elevator towers can now be separately switched. REVISED: More attach nodes for umbilicals and swing arms, including new side mount rails, have been added to the Large General Crew Elevator Section part. REVISED: Large Crew Arm now has an option for a bare hatch interface, with all three sides open and no angled hatch brace. REVISED: An additional height variant has been added to the Large, Medium and Small General Modular Service Towers. More attach nodes for umbilicals and swing arms have been added as well. REVISED: Integrated hold-down support pads have been added back into the Large, Medium and Small General Launch Bases. These have three width options, and are adjustable in position with newly custom-titled deploy limit sliders. REVISED: The Delta II single-piece service tower now has an adjustable-height structural detail group via deploy limit slider, so it can be positioned where desired. REVISED: The Atlas Launch Stand's center clamps are now toggleable like the side umbilicals, for use with the Atlas IIAS (the one with the Castor SRBs). REVISED: The Redstone Launch Stand's integrated umbilical pole can now be switched among 8 positions on the ring, and it's horizontal position is now adjusted with a deploy limit slider. REVISED: The Mercury-Redstone Crew Elevator now has a new long mount rail option, and the tower's rollback position can now be adjusted with a deploy limit slider. REVISED: The Titan II GLV Service Tower droop-style umbilical arms have been revised to match the style of the revised General one, and also include the adjustable extension tube. The Gemini version also has been changed to match. REVISED: The Saturn Launch Stand has been retitled the Saturn IB Launch Stand to make clear what it was designed after. REVISED: The old Saturn V combo swing arm part has been separated into individual arm parts, one for each Saturn V arm (8 total) and one for the Saturn IB's S-IB first stage. Internal revisions have made each arm much smaller in size than those in the old integrated part, and only one animation is now run when retracted. REVISED: The old Saturn Tower General Swing arm has been converted into a telescoping adjustable arm like that of the General Swing Arms, greatly reducing the complexity and .mu size as a result. The pipes can also now be independently switched among 15 variants. REVISED: The Saturn and Shuttle Launch Bases now have the attach nodes for towers and accessories move properly when the base is rotated with the B9PS switcher. The things attached to those nodes won't rotate, but they will be in the right position. REVISED: The Saturn Tower Hammerhead Crane now has an 180° rotation animation and a deploy limit slider to adjust the rotation amount. REVISED: The two crew access arms for the Shuttle FSS Tower have been retitled to "Shuttle Tower Crew Access Arm: Orbiter" and "Shuttle Tower Crew Access Arm: Rodan" to position them later in the part list. REVISED: Title changes for the Saturn Tower sections, Shuttle Tower sections and Shuttle Tower arms to better position them in the part list. REVISED: Nunmerous edits to to the part .cfg files to add/modify B9PS UI Groups and switchers, and to use StagedAnimation and ModuleAnimateGenericExtra where needed. REVISED: Edits to the Saturn and Shuttle custom subcategory names to "Saturn V Mobile Launcher" and "Space Shuttle Launch Platform". NEW in 2.1.0 NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW All parts are now hidden from the stock Structural category. Use the custom CCK category tab or the stock custom category (which has subcategories) to find the parts. Delete the Hide_Parts.cfg in the Category folder if you want the parts back in the Structural tab. The former multi-size merged parts have been split off into separate parts, but the older internal part name is still used for one the new parts. Existing v2.0 craft files will still load, but most likely won't look the same, and will need to be rebuilt. NEW: Historical launch stands for the Bluedog Design Bureau Vanguard, Redstone/Jupiter/Juno, Thor/Delta, Atlas and Titan II rockets, but can be used with other rockets of the same diameters. NEW: Historical service towers for the new historical launch stands. The Titan II tower comes in single-piece and modular section versions. NEW: Jupiter-style Petal Cover for the Redstone Launch Stand. NEW: Mercury-Atlas Crew Elevator, with separate Mercury-Atlas Crew Walkway. Walkway has switchable mounts for use with the smaller crew elevators. NEW: Atlas Mini Modular Tower, which serves as the historical Atlas tower. Has switchable styles for Agena and Centaur upper stages. NEW: Atlas-Agena and Atlas-Centaur retracting umbilical arms. The Centaur arms are also available as separate parts. NEW: Launch Plates, ultra-low profile flat clamp bases for the minimalist style. Three sizes of round and square types. NEW: Falcon 9-style Launch Plate, and interim N1 and Energia Launch Plates. NEW: Mini Milkstool Launch Stands. These are small launch-clamp versions of the Saturn Milkstool, with three sizes, each with two height variants. NEW: Separate non-launch clamp versions of the Mini Milkstools, with built-in decouplers for use with Launch Plates and Launch Bases. NEW: Launch Rails, add-on part for Launch Stands, Plates and Bases. Four sizes with built-in decoupler, can be rotated with Animated Attachment or B9PartSwitch. NEW: Extra-Large General Service Tower, styled after the Titan III/IV fixed service tower. NEW: Titan III/IV Mast, the angled structure which was located on the Titan III/IV Mobile Launcher. NEW: Small General Crew Elevator, comprised of separate modular sections (base, multi-height core, top). Uses the Large General Arm, Small General Crew Arm or Mercury-Atlas Crew Walkway with appropriate mount types. NEW: Mini General Crew Elevator, comprised of separate 2-height core and multi-height tower sections. Uses the Small General Crew Arm or Mercury-Atlas Crew Walkway with appropriate mount types. NEW: Small General Crew Arm, with separate versions for the Small and Mini General Crew Elevators. NEW: Droop-style general umbilicals. Four sizes of simple bent-style umbilical hoses for a bit more realism. NEW: Two more sizes of the basic beam-style swing arms. NEW: Mini size General Fallback Tower, sized for Electron/Falcon 1-style rockets. NEW: Rodan Crew Access Arm, sized for the Tundra Exploration Rodan (SpaceX Crew Dragon) capsule, and used with the Shuttle FSS Tower. NEW: General Mounting Platform, an alternate version of the Mini Flat Launch Base, with solid deck, toggleable railings and side attach nodes. Use for supporting ground structures. REVISED REVISED REVISED REVISED REVISED: General Launch Stand has been split into separate Round and Rectangle versions, and both completely remade. Redstone-style service pole removed from Round version (now in the Redstone Launch Stand), but still available as a separate part. REVISED: Flat and General Launch Bases have been split into separate sizes, with added detail and hole options, and new ladders. Ladders and railings have separate switchable colors. REVISED: General Service Towers have been split into separate size versions, and each split into separate modular section parts: stackable core, multi-height section (except for the Extra-Large Tower) and top section with optional mast(s). REVISED: The former General Crew Elevator and Crew Arm have been renamed the Large General Crew Elevator and Crew Arm. Elevator has been split into modular section parts, with two versions of the base. Large Crew Arm has separate Large and Small Elevator mount types, and more length variants. Large Elevator Tower also has a separate Extension section for mounting on the tower side REVISED: General Swing Arms have been split into separate size versions, and all completely remade. REVISED: General Straight Umbilicals remade. REVISED: Atlas V Service Mast and Delta II Service Tower, with additional details and/or changed styling. Separate modular section versions now available. REVISED: Former Small Test Stand had been split into three separate versions: Cradle type, Tower Type and Engine Type. REVISED: Flat Vertical Bolt General Hold-Down now has a tall bolt variant. REVISED: Saturn and Shuttle Towers have been split into separate modular sections, consisting of the base, multi-heght core, 2-height crew access and top. REVISED: Shuttle FSS tower sections have an alternate SpaceX-style black&white color scheme, and optional mesh side panels added. REVISED: Shuttle RSS Hinge has been split off into a separate part, with the detail being toggleable, and black color option added. Now the current state of the FSS on LC-39A can be recreated without having to add the full RSS. REVISED: Saturn Hammerhead Crane is now an animated part instead of free-rotating. The original-style lightning mast is included, also still available separately. REVISED: The tall white cylinder alternate Saturn Lightning Mast is now the Shuttle Lightning Mast with different mount options. REVISED: Saturn and Shuttle Launch Bases can now be properly rotated using B9PartSwitch--no more misaligned support legs! REVISED: Mass values for the Saturn and Shuttle tower sections have been reduced to tiny amounts. REVISED: The Freestanding versions of the Saturn and Shuttle Launch Bases (in the Extras folder of the download) now have switchable masses: 1 ton for transport, 2000 tons for on the launch pad. REVISED: Soyuz Launch Base parts now have a third blue color option, based on the ESA Soyuz pad colors. REVISED: Soyuz Large Fuel Arm, Small Fuel Arm and Gantry. More height options, straight-sided extension for the Small Arm and switchable-adjustable platform stack for the Gantry. GENERAL GENERAL GENERAL Extensive use of B9PartSwitch transform move and rotate, node move and UI Group features for smaller part sizes and easier to understand Part Action Windows. All launch clamp bases and stands can now have the staging disabled when a milkstool or launch rail or other part is attached to them. Various part title and description changes; part cost is now 1 for everything. Removed simple rescale patch from Extras. Realism Overhaul now directly supports Modular Launch Pads, ask the RO devs for additional support/help if needed, it is their responsibility. Remade all craft files for v2.1. Subassemblies removed, there are now four Example MLP craft files (with a stock rocket for demo purposes), along with bare versions of the Saturn and Shuttle launchers. ================================================================================================================= Recommended Mods: The LC-39 pad statics in particular from KSC Extended are a great companion to the Saturn and Shuttle launchers; the shuttle launcher especially only properly fits on the KSC Extended LC-39, with the RSS sitting entirely on the top of the pad static. The FSS base and RSS both have an alternate variant for the LC-39 pad which shortens the supports so they sit correctly on the top of the pad static. BDB as it is known is the perfect part mod for Modular Launch Pads, as many of the launch stands and towers were designed for and even around BDB rockets. ================================================================================================================= Installation Instructions Modular Launch Pads v2.2 is only for KSP versions 1.8.1 and higher, older KSP versions are no longer supported. Modular Launch Pads v2.1 is only for KSP versions 1.8.1 and higher, older KSP versions are no longer supported. Delete any existing Modular Launch Pads folder. Always do this when updating, as file names can change, and simply copying a new version over the older one can cause problems. In the download .zip file, there is a GameData folder. Copy the folders ModularLaunchPads, B9PartSwitch, CommunityCategoryKit and StagedAnimation from there into your KSP GameData folder. DO NOT put the GameData folder from the .zip into your KSP GameData folder, there can be only one GameData. If you already have the latest versions of the dependencies, then you do not need to copy them over. Otherwise copy over the ones you need from the .zip into your KSP GameData folder. B9PartSwitch is required for all mesh and texture switching, as well as transform moving, node moving and the UI Groups, and must be present in your KSP GameData. CommunityCategoryKit is required, as the parts are hidden from the stock categories by default, and the custom CCK category is needed to find them. The included stock custom category (located in the Advanced mode of the part picker) can also be used, and includes subcategories. Staged Animation is required and replaces Animated Decouplers, but it also has ModuleAnimateGenericExtra, which gives deploy limit sliders custom titles. Staged Animation does the same animation staging function but without any need for a decoupler action (still gives a decouple icon in the staging stack) Craft files go into your KSP/saves/xxxx/Ships/VAB folder. Subassemblies go into your KSP/saves/xxxx/Subassemblies folder The Extras Folder has the older freestanding versions of the Saturn and Shuttle Launch Bases. Copy the .cfg and .mu files into the ModularLaunchPads/Saturn_Shuttle folder to use them. ================================================================================================================= * * * * v2.2 Features * * * * ================================================================================================================= General Bases and Towers: The Core (cick for full version) Multi-purpose non-specific launch bases, launch stands, launch plates, service towers, crew arms, umbilicals and swing arms for mix-and-match creations. Includes: Three sizes of General Launch Bases, launch clamps inspired by mobile launch platforms that carry a rocket to the launch pad. Three sizes of Flat Launch Bases, low-profile launch launch clamp platforms. Launch Plates in Round and Square styles, with three sizes of each. Ultra-low profile minimalist launch bases for when a full base is too much. Also includes special versions for the Falcon 9, N1 and Energia. Launch Stands in Round and Rectangle styles, with integrated switchable hold-down bolts and clamp arms. Great for early career mode when part count is limited. Mini-Milkstool Launch Stands and separate decoupler versions, tiny versions of the big Saturn Milkstool. The stand versions are launch clamps, with three sizes each with two height options. The separate decoupler versions are add-on parts for the launch bases, plates and stands. Saturn Launch Stand, styled after the historical LC-34/37 stool for the Saturn I and IB, but can accomodate rocket sizes from 4.25m to 1.875m in size. Has integrated adjustable hold-down arm and a separate pedestal for a tower. Four sizes of Launch Rails, add-on parts with built-in decouplers for launch bases, plates and stands that provide a rotatable surface-attached rail for angled launches. Four sizes of General Service Towers, each with three modular sections: a base core section, can be stacked with the base pad turned off; multi-height (except for the Extra-Large Tower) addtional tower section; top plate with toggleable masts. Three styles of Mini Modular Service Towers, simple single-piece multi-height towers which can be stacked to create a taller tower. Seven types of cosmetic animated retracting hold-down arms to provide a visual means of "support" to your rockets. Can be animated manually or via staging with Animated Decouplers. Also includes a General ROFI part, or more accurately a hydrogen burn off sparker for your hydrolox rockets. General Swing Arms, Beam Swing Arms , Straight Drop Umbilicals and Droop-style umbilicals in different sizes/lengths for "connecting" your rocket to a service tower. All are animated manually or via stagign with Animated Decouplers. Three sizes of General Crew Elevator towers and two sizes of General Crew Access Arms for boarding your heroes onto your crewed spacecraft. The Large Crew Arm also has a toggleable transfer airlock to allow boarding of spacecraft inside a fairing via the transfer function. ================================================================================================================= General Test Stands: For R&D (click for full version) Need to do some Research & Development? The General Test Stands can handle it! Three styles are available: Cradle type for horizontal testing of stages or SRBs; Tower type for vertical testing of large liquid fuel stages; Engine type for testing only an engine, has built in fuel capacity to power the engine, no tank needed. ================================================================================================================= The Early Rocket Collection (Sceenshots by AlphaMensae; click for full version) Special Launch Stands and accessories for the Vanguard and Redstone/Jupiter/Juno rockets, designed for those from Bluedog Design Bureau. Includes: Vanguard Launch Stand and Service Tower. Stand has integrated hold-down bolts; tower uses the General Umbilicals and/or Swing Arms. Tower has two height options and can be stacked by turning off the base pad. Redstone Launch Stand, with integrated fallback service pole; pole is also available as a separate part. Stand can accomodate the BDB Redstone/Jupiter-C/Juno I, standard 1.25m rockets and 1.5m rockets Mercury-Redstone Crew Elevator, an animated rollback elevator tower with a ladder to reach the elevator car. Designed to sit snug against the Mercury-Redstone rocket, no crew arm or walkway needed. Jupiter Petal Cover, styled after the special cover used for the Jupiter IRBM, attaches to the Redstone Launch Stand. ================================================================================================================= The Thor/Delta Collection (Sceenshots by AlphaMensae; click for full version) (Screenshots by @Zorg; click for full version) For the whole Thor/Delta rocket family, a specialized launch stand and two types of service towers. Includes: Thor/Delta Launch Stand, with three variants: Original Thor ring style, Vandenberg Delta II ring style, and minimalist style with just the hold-down bolts. Hold-down bolts have three height variants to accomodate SRBs like the real stand had. Early-style Thor animated fallback tower with integrated adjustable umbilicals. The Mini Modular Type 1 and Small General Service Towers can be used for the later square-sided tower. Special Delta II tower in both single-piece and modular section versions. Has various switchable detail options to cover the full range of Delta towers, from the simple red open-truss style for the Delta D to the full blue paneled Delta II style. ================================================================================================================ The Atlas Collection (click for full version) The venerable original balloon tank Atlas space booster gets its own collection of parts. Includes: Special Atlas Launch Stand, designed for the BDB Atlas, but can be used with other rockets of the same size (1.875m); has two frame styles. Integrated hold-down arms and umbilicals have three color variants; they are also available separately for use with other launch bases, stands and plates. Has a rotation switcher orient the stand in different positions. Mercury-Atlas Crew Elevator, styled after the real emergency egress tower, but has an elevator for boarding the spacecraft. Separate animated Mercury umbilal attaches to to the tower. Uses the separate animated Mercury-Atlas Crew Walkway. Atlas Mini Modular Tower, like the Mini Modular towers, but designed for the Atlas with two truss styles and a toggleable front wall for Agena arm retraction. Atlas-Agena Umbilical Arm, an upward rotating "swing" arm with integrated adjustable umbilicals for the Agena upper stage. Atlas-Centaur Umbilical Arm, with two upward rotating arms for the original Centaur upper stage. The two arms are also available as separate parts. ================================================================================================================ The Titan II Collection (Screenshots by AlphaMensae; click for full version) (Screenshot by @Zorg click for full version) The mighty Titan II GLV (Gemini Launch Vehicle) gets special attention. Includes: Special Titan II Launch Stand, sized for the BDB Titan II and LR-87 engine, styled after the real one. Has special attach nodes for the Titan II GLV tower. Titan II GLV Service Tower, in both single-piece and modular section versions. Uses either the special Titan II GLV umbilical arms or standard general umbilicals. Remade Titan II GLV Crew Elevator, styled after the real Titan II GLV fallback erector and elevator. Fits snug around the Titan II like real one. Has theee height variants. ================================================================================================================ Soyuz Launch Base Collection (Screenshots by @Zorg; click for full version) (Screenshot by @DylanSemrau ; click for full version) Fully remade and expanded, the new Soyuz Launch Base is a launch base inspired by the actual Soyuz launch pad in Baikonur, but usable with other rockets with a core size from 1.875 to 3.75m. The base and arms have three color variants: the default "Tulip" green & yellow, gray-drab, or ESA blue & yellow. Base also has a full accessible deck and a built-in ladder for Kerbal access from the ground. Features: Mounting pads for the clamp arms can be switched between the default 45° positions or alternate 90° positions, or all of them can be turned on or off. Auxiliary attach nodes for the fuel arms and service gantry. Separately attached animated fall-back clamp arms with adjustable end pad size. Separate service gantry arms with animated retraction andmultiple height variants. The right-hand arm has a working crew elevator, with adjustable-height elevator pad and access platform, and an adjustable-length walkway extension. Optional transfer airlock can be turned on for crew boarding of a spacecraft inside a fairing via the crew transfer function. The crew elevator itself is also available as a separate part without all the overhead of the full gantry Separate small and large fuel arms, each with several height options and adjustable umbilicals, and with an animated retraction. ================================================================================================================= Shuttle Launch Platform Collection (Screenshots by @Zorg; click for full version) (Screenshot by @DylanSemrau) (Screenshots by AlphaMensae) The full NASA Space Shuttle Mobile Launch Platform and infrastructure, presently designed for the Cormorant Aeronology Mk3-based shuttle stack, but can be used with @benjee10's Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit (SOCK) with a lot of adjustment with the offset gizmo. Version 2.2 of Modular Launch Pads will have direct support for the SOCK shuttle and other shuttles, please be patient. Features: Shuttle Launch Platform base with separate main engine and SRB exhaust holes. It is a launch clamp, but a free-standing version is available in the Extras folder in the download. Fixed Service Structure tower compriese of separate modular sections: Base with the elevators, multi-height tower core, 2-height crew access with separate snap-in access floor, and top for attaching the beanie cap arm and lightning mast. The base has two separate elevators with different maximum height options, and the elevator pads stopping point can be adjusted downward. Intertank Access Structure which mounts to the side of the FSS tower using one of the side nodes. Separate animated retracting service arms: LOX Vent "Beanie Cap", Hydrogen Vent and Intertank Access. Crew Access Arm for boarding shuttle crews. Animated Tail Service Masts with retracting umbilicals and built-in sparkers (same FX as the General ROFI). Animated cosmetic SRB hold-downs with drop bolts. Shuttle FSS Tower sections now have an alternate black&white color scheme and optional mesh side panels for that current SpaceX experience. New Rodan Crew Access arm for the Tundra Exploration Rodan (Crew Dragon) capsule; attaches to the FSS Crew Access Section Assembly Guide: ================================================================================================================= Saturn Mobile Launcher Collection (Screenshots by @Zorg; click for full version) (Screenshots by @Friznit; click for full version) (Screenshot by AlphaMensae) "One giant leap...." The mighty Saturn V Mobile Launcher, complete with the base and the Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT). But it is not just for a Saturn V, the modular nature of the tower parts makes it usable for all kinds of (big) rockets, both real, proposed and imagined. Features: Launch clamp base, with a separate free-standing version in the download's Extras folder. The base has three switchable exhaust hole sizes to accomodate a proper-scale Saturn V (6.4/5.625m), SLS (5m) and Saturn IB (no Milkstool, 3.75m), each with a square and various types of rectangular shapes. The exhaust holes also have switchable hold-down arm support pads in various configurations. Separate tower base section, with two style variants (regular large angled and smaller square types) and two color options (classic red and gray). The base has two separate crew elevators, each with with multiple maximum height options (up to 120m) and furthur downward adjustment via deploy limit slider. Separate "Milkstool", the tall stand used for the Apollo-Saturn IB launches from LC-39. The top ring has switchable hold-down arm support pads that can be adjusted for different rocket sizes. Modular Section Launch Umbilical Tower, comprised of a multi-height tower core section, a 2-height crew access section with a separate snap-in access floor, and a top section with the hammerhead crane mount. All section types have two color options, red and gray. Two separate sets of animated side-mounted angled swing arms: A Saturn V (plus a Saturn IB arm) set modeled after the actual Saturn V LUT arms, with two size options for the the Bluedog Design Bureau and DECQ Saturn Vs, and a general set for use with other rockets, with seven unmbilical types and switchable preset sizes for 1.875, 2.5m, 3.125m, 3.75m and 5.0m fuel tanks. Both sets have the red and gray color options and animated retracting umbilicals, with the swing animation to the right. Crew access arm for boarding your heroes on their Mun mission, with the red and gray color options and animated retraction. Separate animated Hammerhead Crane . Has two color options, either the classic red and yellow version or a gray version. The crane has an integrated lightning mast , switchable between the original Saturn type and the later Shuttle type (first used for the Apollo ASTP Saturn IB launch); can be switched off. Separate Damper Arm, the wishbone-like "arm" that stabilized the Saturn V during the rollout to the pad, with animated raising and lowering, plus the red and gray color options. Separate animated retracting cosmetic hold-down arms, in both Saturn V and Saturn IB versions, and Saturn V Tail Service Masts. Assembly Guide: Version 2.3 Launch Rail Assembly Guide: ================================================================================================================= LICENSE This mod is being shared under the CC-BY-NC-SA license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Edited Saturday at 01:02 AM by AlphaMensae v2.8.0 Release Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abpilot Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 (edited) OHH wow...THANK YOU Edited July 22, 2018 by Vanamonde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Thanks! It was several weeks in the making. If someone needs help, just ask. I'll be streaming on Twitch soon, and will also try ti put together guide video. Custom patches to attach size 5 nodes to rocket parts from mods other than TantaresLV or BDB can be done by request if you don't know how to write an MM patch. I'll just need to know the mod and specific part(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drtedastro Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 great stuff, many thanks. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 (edited) Another note I forgot: If you don't want the gray tower sections and swing arms, the folder they are in, Tower_Gray, can be deleted without any problem. The two milkstool color versions are together in the Launcher_Base folder, as it was gray in reality; the red one is the alternative in case you want it to match the tower (which remained red through to ASTP) Edited March 25, 2018 by AlphaMensae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoadingTimeExpert Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 just a simple question, but would it be possible to add a large land vehicle that looks like the "crawler?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 @[email protected] I'm actually thinking about doing the crawler, and have been going over some ideas for the levelling and raise-lower systems. I think it's doable, but the tracks will require ones from Kerbal Foundries; will also see if a version using the stock XL rover wheels will work. I'm also planning on adding the space shuttle pad for v2.0. Uses a lot of the same stuff, but the configuration is different, as the shuttle's FSS and RSS were mounted on the ground...right where the stock launch pad has static features. Just going to need some creative work. Then there's the RSS itself.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoadingTimeExpert Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Just now, AlphaMensae said: @[email protected] I'm actually thinking about doing the crawler, and have been going over some ideas for the levelling and raise-lower systems. I think it's doable, but the tracks will require ones from Kerbal Foundries; will also see if a version using the stock XL rover wheels will work. I'm also planning on adding the space shuttle pad for v2.0. Uses a lot of the same stuff, but the configuration is different, as the shuttle's FSS and RSS were mounted on the ground...right where the stock launch pad has static features. Just going to need some creative work. Then there's the RSS itself.... cool!!! i love that thing, even if it moves at about 1 MPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Dry Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 There is an issue, when in VAB and opening the (Filter Extension) "Filter by Manufacturer" - "ModularLaunchPads", the fps drops from 60 (vsync) to 30. I have not seen such behavior for long time. When I remember right, it was InfernalRobotics 3 years ago that also had such fps drop just showing the preview animations in VAB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Just posted version 1.01 to Spacedock, as I discovered that the elevator animation had somehow been deleted from the angle base tower section; the square base sections were fine. The missing animations have been restored, and new version uploaded. Also added a small text file for the Bluedog Design Bureau Saturn V/IB. The needed parts for the tower to use with them are: 1 Angled base red 1 8x floor tower section 1 2x floor tower section 1 1x floor crew access section 1 1x floor tower section 1 1x floor top section 1 Hammhead Crane 9 Swing Arms Elevator deploy limit settings: For the crew arm: set to 87 For the milkstool: set to 36 @Gordon Dry Sorry, I don't know what would be causing that, as there is no support for the stock manufacturer option, and I don't use Filter Extensions, but I'll ask around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 BDB Titan IV on the Saturn pad with short gray tower: The TantaresLV Proton (ALV) also fits in the Soyuz pad with a bit of adjustment: But you can mix things up too! I think I'm going to increase the height of the Soyuz pad hinges to allow for more upward adjustment without having them appear in mid-air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aria_of_skittles Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 This looks amazing! Downloading now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wm1248 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 (edited) Can we get a MM config for FASA and RN’s rockets? Edited March 26, 2018 by wm1248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Dry Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 It it necessary that the bases have such a huge mass? I'm referring to the idea behind this mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beale Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Great work! They look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 5 hours ago, Gordon Dry said: It it necessary that the bases have such a huge mass? I'm referring to the idea behind this mod They have to be that heavy to prevent a powerful enough rocket from lifting them off the ground...I know that from experience. I wasn't even thinking of how these would work in career mode, as all dev work and testing was done in sandbox. And as the standalone modular Saturn pad evolved from the full Saturn pad and tower I had made earlier, I figure the Tier 3 launch pad (which was partly based on LC 39 at the Cape) would be necessary anyway. The Soyuz pad possibly could be lighter, but not so light an LV-T30 could pick it up I had thought early on about requiring launch clamps be used, but decided against it, as that would ruin the whole look of the pads, and they'd have to be placed individually, as stack symmetry goes wonky with the tructure of the mobile launcher base. In the end the simplest solution was just make the base's mass be high enough to keep it firmly on the ground. Also, career mode integration isn't actually supported for the pads right now--I just put all the parts into whatever tech tree node the part I used as a template for the .cfg files had it in. So they're probably all over the place. Basically, the pads require the Tier 3 launch pad to use in career mode. However, I do have an idea for pads to use earlier in career mode: Smaller, compact and low-mass versions that can be used with launch clamps to hold them down. The Soyuz pad is the obvious candidate for this, as it then could be a Sputnik/Vostok R-7 pad, but I could make something of a mix between the Atlas pad and the LC 34/37 pads for the Saturn I/IB, which were simple square stands with a hole at the top. 6 hours ago, wm1248 said: Can we get a MM config for FASA and RN’s rockets? Sure, I could do that, just give me some time. I also plan on making MM .cfgs for the varous SpaceX/Falcon 9 mods, as well as modern launchers like KK's Launchers pack. Next on the to-do list: a space shuttle version of the Saturn pad, due to feedback I''ve received This might require another version of the launcher base, as I might have to move the flame hole to accomodate the positioning for the FSS and RSS. The FSS will have its main support beams sunk into one of the stock launch pad's slopes on the side of the flame trench, so it will appear to be mounted on the "ground" when spawned. The RSS will then probably have to be hanging in the air when retracted...much planning to do! I also plan after that to make a SpaceX-style Falcon 9 strongback as a snap-in add-on for the Saturn pad. Not the whole current LC 39A setup, just the strongback, thus utilizing the already-made pad base and tower sections, plus the existing rectangular insert for the base that already accomodates 2.5m triple-core rockets like F9 and DIV Heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-313 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 @AlphaMensae, I don't know how to thank you enough. Looks like this is going to be my go-to launch facilities solution since now. Small demand for the Soyuz pad, though: can you add the cable and fuel feed masts for it? (bright orange in the scheme) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnj13 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 This is a really impressive mod. I am wondering, would it be possible for you to post the subassemblies / craft files for the launchpads? It would make using this mod significantly easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debaker02 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 This might benefit from having it's own tab for just your parts came structure tab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, jahnj13 said: This is a really impressive mod. I am wondering, would it be possible for you to post the subassemblies / craft files for the launchpads? It would make using this mod significantly easier. Thanks very much! I was working today, didn't get online until later in the day. I made a .zip of the Soyuz and Saturn pad subassemblies and the craft files for the four rockets in the trailer, plus one for a BDB Titan IV with gray tower. The Soyuz pad subassembly is complete; the Saurn pad is a basic subassembly with the standard-size launcher base, square insert 1 and red angled tower base section; hold down arms type 1 and tail service masts are also included. There are four craft files for the Bluedog Design Bureau rockets (Gemini-Titan II, Titan IV Saturn IB with milkstool, Saturn V), and one for the TantaresLV TLV; needless to say, BDB and/or TantaresLV are needed for those File is on my Github: https://github.com/AlphaMensae/Modular-Launch-Pads/raw/master/ModularLaunchPads_Craft_Files.zip (direct download). Edited March 27, 2018 by AlphaMensae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) @TK-313 Thank you very much! Yeah, the 2 main service arms, other arms and crew elevator are on the to-do list. I didn't include them now as I was concentrating on the "clamp" arms, and since crew access to a Soyuz spacecraft would require a custom rigid clamshell fairing (not a procedural one) with a hole in the colliders to allow access to the spacecraft hatch, I didn't want to spend time on something that couldn't be used right away. Edited March 27, 2018 by AlphaMensae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abpilot Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 @AlphaMensae will there be a road map? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 46 minutes ago, debaker02 said: This might benefit from having it's own tab for just your parts came structure tab I'll see about making a category for them; in the meantime, I set up the part titles for easy searching: "soyuz pad" should bring up the Soyuz pad parts, and "saturn launcher" and "saturn tower' will bring up the Saturn pad parts; you can get pretty specific, e.g. 'tower arm 1.875 red" will bring up the red 1.875m tower arms. 6 minutes ago, Abpilot said: @AlphaMensae will there be a road map? I hadn't thought of doing one, it's just plans in my head right now But I think before doing the shuttle add-ons, I'll make the alternative versions for early career mode. These won't be full-blown pads, but more like launch stands (with a separate simple tower for the "American/NASA" one). Depending on what ModuleLaunchClamp allows, I might even be able to make a one-part node-attached launch stand "clamp" version usable with the Tier 1 launch pad from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMensae Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Also updated the OP with the link to the subassembly-craft files .zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnj13 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 1 hour ago, AlphaMensae said: Thanks very much! I was working today, didn't get online until later in the day. I made a .zip of the Soyuz and Saturn pad subassemblies and the craft files for the four rockets in the trailer, plus one for a BDB Titan IV with gray tower. The Soyuz pad subassembly is complete; the Saurn pad is a basic subassembly with the standard-size launcher base, square insert 1 and red angled tower base section; hold down arms type 1 and tail service masts are also included. There are four craft files for the Bluedog Design Bureau rockets (Gemini-Titan II, Titan IV Saturn IB with milkstool, Saturn V), and one for the TantaresLV TLV; needless to say, BDB and/or TantaresLV are needed for those File is on my Github: https://github.com/AlphaMensae/Modular-Launch-Pads/raw/master/ModularLaunchPads_Craft_Files.zip (direct download). Hey Alpha, Thanks for responding to my post... I know what its like to have to work for living, that's why I try and do it as little as possible. Keep up the good work with this mod, it really adds another level of depth to launching rockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.