Balancing Breaking Ground Experiments Size

[DStaal]

I'm starting to write some personal patches to put storage for the Breaking Ground experiments into mod parts, and I thought it might be a good idea to start a discussion on how large a 'slot' is.  Most of the parts I'm using for the storage are KIS storage parts, which I clone and repurpose - and nicely, they all have storage sizes available in Liters.  So a thought is to do a conversion to Liters.  Now obviously the different Breaking Ground experiments are different sizes, but what would be a good size?  The Control Station is probably a good middle-ground choice for size for discussion - basically a square box.

The current KIS flat out refuses to calculate a size for them (for compatibility reasons).  The Breaking Ground storage units are obviously using advanced space-compression technology.  My first guess is that a slot is around 100L - so a KIS Portable Container would fit about 2 slots.  (A bit more, nearly three but not quite.)  That's less than the smaller SEQ-3, but I think feels more right.  Anyone else have thoughts?

[Tonka Crash]

@DStaal The version of KIS available on release of Breaking Ground allowed the experiments to be put in KIS storage. They don't deploy correctly when pulled out of a KIS inventory which is why IgorZ excludes them from KIS currently.

What I saw then was the box shaped ones were reporting to be around 120L-130L, but the smallest was 95L (It think it was the RTG). The ones that deploy all spread out like the solar panel was reporting over 300L, but this seemed to represent the deployed state and it would probably packing into a much smaller space.

[DStaal]

So 100L isn't that far off, good to know.  I expect almost all of them pack up just a bit smaller than they'd measure deployed (everything but the RTG sits on legs which could be collapsed, for instance), so it's probably a decent rule-of-thumb conversion.  (I could use something more complex like 110L, but it'd just make the math harder and wouldn't add that much.)

For what it's worth: The SEQ-3 get's measured by KIS at 280L.  So they're definitely folding space to fit three in there - two would be much better.

[zer0Kerbal]

just for fun, to push that red button....

 

I just want to point out that 100L is over 26.5 gallons - so over 5x5 gallon buckets.

now in comparison:

180# human fits into 17.76 gallons (~67.3 L).

Jeb in spacesuit weights about 90 kg so 19.6 gallons or 74.2 L (needs to lay off the S.N.A.C.K.S! )

 

So - I would think that each experiment / item would be more along the lines of 20-30L each (packed up). In fact, I swear this is what KIS was reporting them as before they were banned for misbehaving after leaving.

 

Concerning the size (in L) of the Deployed* parts - 35L would be what I'd expect, with the low end being around 22L for the smallest, lightest part.

Edited June 9, 2019 by zer0Kerbal

[DStaal]

Why bother going via weight?  Liters is a volume measurement: 10cm*10cm*10cm.  Weight will just confuse the issue, as 1L = 1kg only for water at 4 degrees C.

Anyway, I get your point @zer0Kerbal .  I tend to see a Kerbal and visualize myself there by habit - but a Kerbal's less than half my height.  100L is a box about 1.5ft by 1.5ft by 1.5ft.

Let's use some photo reference:

The KIS container on the right is spec'd to hold 280L.  The Breaking Ground container on the left is spec'd to hold 3 slots.  I'm pretty sure those three pieces don't actually fit in the container that they came out of - but should they all fit in the KIS container?  At 30L/slot the KIS container can hold 9 slots.  If we round a Kerbal's height to one meter, and take the controller as a half his height cubed, it's 50cm*50cm*50cm - which is 125L.  So by that it would hold two of those.  The weather station looks smaller undeployed, and the RTG is taller and narrower.

Working through that - 100L sounds about right again.