[WIP][RSS/RO] Alternate Apollo

[MacLuky]

Assuming you have module manager installed, just create a text file in the game data folder that has the .cfg extension . I create a sub folder _partches so I can find them more easily

[OrbitalManeuvers]

These parts are fun - thanks to all contributors!

I'm having one issue though - the capsule overheats on re-entry on JNSQ, KSP 1.11.2. Last flight profile was Ap 850k, Pe 32k. Ablator was still in the high 100's when the capsule overheated. I'm not using any re-entry/aero modifiers, just JNSQ. I looked back several pages and haven't seen anyone have the same problem, but maybe someone has some idea?

[Cheesecake]

17 hours ago, OrbitalManeuvers said:

These parts are fun - thanks to all contributors!

I'm having one issue though - the capsule overheats on re-entry on JNSQ, KSP 1.11.2. Last flight profile was Ap 850k, Pe 32k. Ablator was still in the high 100's when the capsule overheated. I'm not using any re-entry/aero modifiers, just JNSQ. I looked back several pages and haven't seen anyone have the same problem, but maybe someone has some idea?

You can change the maxTemp in the .cfg of the pod. As far as I know it was really low.

[Cinoxiiz]

@mcdoubleIs the apollo node available?

[OrbitalManeuvers]

1 hour ago, Cheesecake said:

You can change the maxTemp in the .cfg of the pod. As far as I know it was really low.

Hmm, skinMaxTemp is set to 2400, which is the same as BDB capsules, and  the same-ish as stock capsules. I also noticed that the parachutes heated up, and they're on top of the capsule, so it seems to me like there is something happening with the aerodynamics maybe?

[DaveyJ576]

@mcdouble, you are a sneaky son of a gun! You kind of slid this little gem in without saying...

Thank you for doing this! I have wanted to run a mission with some of the other LEM designs that were not built and now I have the opportunity. I haven't flown it yet, but I will throw it in with my BDB setup and see how she flies! Thanks again!

[DaveyJ576]

The 1962 LEM flies very well! It is a bit of a dog, as it weighs in nearly 6 tons heavier than the actual 1969 LM, but that is historically accurate. The ascent stage is slow getting off the Mun due to its weight, so launch a little prior to your CSM flying overhead. It has a fuel cell so electricity is not a problem. One other note: if you place the antenna where it shows in historical models, it won't fit in a BDB SLA adaptor, even when retracted. I had to move it to the position shown.

 

[OrbitalManeuvers]

23 hours ago, DaveyJ576 said:

The 1962 LEM flies very well! It is a bit of a dog, as it weighs in nearly 6 tons heavier than the actual 1969 LM, but that is historically accurate. The ascent stage is slow getting off the Mun due to its weight, so launch a little prior to your CSM flying overhead. It has a fuel cell so electricity is not a problem. One other note: if you place the antenna where it shows in historical models, it won't fit in a BDB SLA adaptor, even when retracted. I had to move it to the position shown.

Yeah I had to shift the whole thing to the side a little to get it to fit. Ended up putting it somewhere entirely different, since alternate means alternate

I wonder if there's an easy fix for the RCS plumes all being backwards? The thrust is applied in the proper direction, but the plumes go the opposite way. I wish I knew how to write, or even borrow, waterfall configs for stuff like this!

 

 

[DaveyJ576]

7 hours ago, OrbitalManeuvers said:

I wonder if there's an easy fix for the RCS plumes all being backwards? The thrust is applied in the proper direction, but the plumes go the opposite way. I wish I knew how to write, or even borrow, waterfall configs for stuff like this!

 

 

Perhaps CobaltWolf would know, or one of the other BDB dev team. 

[Bellabong]

On 6/28/2021 at 6:42 PM, OrbitalManeuvers said:

Yeah I had to shift the whole thing to the side a little to get it to fit. Ended up putting it somewhere entirely different, since alternate means alternate

I wonder if there's an easy fix for the RCS plumes all being backwards? The thrust is applied in the proper direction, but the plumes go the opposite way. I wish I knew how to write, or even borrow, waterfall configs for stuff like this!

 

 

I'm working on a waterfall config for Alternate apollo as part of real fuels

 

[OrbitalManeuvers]

On 7/16/2021 at 6:56 AM, Bellabong said:

I'm working on a waterfall config for Alternate apollo

Hiya - just wondering if you ever got far enough to release something into the wild?

 

Also - am wondering if anyone else is seeing this too: the solar panels only generate EC when they are edge-on to the sun. Neither the front nor the back produce any EC?

Edited January 7, 2022 by OrbitalManeuvers

[Staticalliam7]

Just found this gem - great work!

[OrbitalManeuvers]

3 hours ago, Staticalliam7 said:

Just found this gem - great work!

Personally, I would be suuuuuper interested to hear what you (and others) think about the D2 parachute (the donut one), specifically the deceleration curve. I dunno if I'm crazy but I really, really like the way this chute slows down so slowly. 

[DaveyJ576]

10 minutes ago, OrbitalManeuvers said:

Personally, I would be suuuuuper interested to hear what you (and others) think about the D2 parachute (the donut one), specifically the deceleration curve. I dunno if I'm crazy but I really, really like the way this chute slows down so slowly. 

I found it’s behavior to be markedly different from other mods, and not necessarily in a bad way, now that I think about it. BDB tends to have a very sudden and super rapid deceleration, nearly instantaneous. I actually think the deceleration curve in this mod is closer to reality, but perhaps a bit too slow. Is there a happy medium?

Just the other day I was running some on-the-pad abort tests and was a bit worried that the chute wasn’t going to slow the descent module quickly enough from the relatively low altitude. I ended up touching down on land at about 12 m/s (and still decelerating) which proved to be survivable. 
 

A couple of observations on the chutes:

1. I think there should be at least one drogue. It seems unrealistic to not have one, given the techniques perfected on Mercury and Gemini.

2. Given the three person crew and the fact that you would be returning lunar samples and such, wouldn’t it be more realistic to have at least two chutes? Redundancy alone would dictate this.

3. Under the current setup, the DM descends on an even keel, which would not happen given the offset position of the chute.

4. In the current setup the chute appears to be too small (see #2 above).

5. From an artistic rendering standpoint, the chute needs some TLC improvements. 
 

None of this should be taken as a dig against @mcdouble. He has done some fine work here and this is one of my favorite mods. 

[OrbitalManeuvers]

1 hour ago, DaveyJ576 said:

I actually think the deceleration curve in this mod is closer to reality,

https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/pdf/19740072963_as11-entry-analysis-19700220.pdf#page=30

Maybe this is saying that from highest to lowest forces (the chutes portion) is about 100 seconds, at an almost perfectly linear decrease?

[DaveyJ576]

1 hour ago, OrbitalManeuvers said:

https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/pdf/19740072963_as11-entry-analysis-19700220.pdf#page=30

Maybe this is saying that from highest to lowest forces (the chutes portion) is about 100 seconds, at an almost perfectly linear decrease?

I don't really have the background to interpret those charts properly, but to my layman's eye I would say yes.

[mcdouble]

Didn't really realize people actually still use this mod, I was actually just cleaning up some of the textures since a lot of the grime/wear was way too strong.

As for the parachutes any weird functionality was probably just due to me not knowing what I was doing, so can't really help there lol  

[DaveyJ576]

3 hours ago, mcdouble said:

Didn't really realize people actually still use this mod, I was actually just cleaning up some of the textures since a lot of the grime/wear was way too strong.

As for the parachutes any weird functionality was probably just due to me not knowing what I was doing, so can't really help there lol  

Hey! Great work and thanks! 

[Beccab]

6 hours ago, mcdouble said:

Didn't really realize people actually still use this mod, I was actually just cleaning up some of the textures since a lot of the grime/wear was way too strong.

As for the parachutes any weird functionality was probably just due to me not knowing what I was doing, so can't really help there lol  

I'm absolutely still using it, it's great! The D-2 capsule is so unique, and the original rope ladder is perfect

[Galileo chiu]

does it work well with BDB?

[OrbitalManeuvers]

1 hour ago, Galileo chiu said:

does it work well with BDB?

yes

Spoiler

 

[DaveyJ576]

@mcdouble, is there a possibility of getting inventory slots added to the LEM ascent and descent stages?

Edited February 10, 2022 by DaveyJ576

[OrbitalManeuvers]

surprise when I happened to check Github this morning!

Spoiler

WF configs! Thanks to the author for adding this. There are also texture updates that aren't really visible here.

Tiny caveat: I tweaked the plume's scale param for this image to 0.66,0.66

 

[DaveyJ576]

My favorite part of this mod is the 1962 LEM. Recently I decided to play around with it a little and add a few greebles to make it look a tad more authentic. With the exception of the cargo pods, all of the added stuff came from Bluedog, with the logos coming from Conformal Decals.

Spoiler

I am hoping that @mcdoublewill someday be willing to add some inventory slots to either the Ascent or Descent Module. Until then, these look the best. Just enough cargo space to set up a minimal ALSEP.

[mcdouble]

On 2/16/2022 at 3:55 PM, DaveyJ576 said:

My favorite part of this mod is the 1962 LEM. Recently I decided to play around with it a little and add a few greebles to make it look a tad more authentic. With the exception of the cargo pods, all of the added stuff came from Bluedog, with the logos coming from Conformal Decals.

  Reveal hidden contents

I am hoping that @mcdoublewill someday be willing to add some inventory slots to either the Ascent or Descent Module. Until then, these look the best. Just enough cargo space to set up a minimal ALSEP.

Wow, that looks nice. I'll have to look into how the inventory configs work but I should be able to do that at some point

edit: ok it was quite simple, added an inventory module to the ascent stage

Edited February 25, 2022 by mcdouble