totm apr 2024 [1.12.x] Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit | Stockalike Space Shuttle Orbiter! | (Tubes!) | v1.1.8

[Spaceman.Spiff]

4 minutes ago, logi_22 said:

hey so do you think this shuttle will have enough delta v to get to orbit in jnsq

It was designed to, so yes. 

[logi_22]

4 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

It was designed to, so yes. 

hell yeah thank you 

[finkmac]

Is there any to get MechJeb to properly control a shuttle for docking? Currently, it just flies off without properly orienting.

I see there's multiple other posts in this thread regarding this issue, but none offer viable solutions.

Really frustrating to have a beautiful ship that is unusable for docking 

Edited August 6, 2021 by finkmac

[lemon cup]

3 hours ago, finkmac said:

Is there any to get MechJeb to properly control a shuttle for docking? Currently, it just flies off without properly orienting.

I see there's multiple other posts in this thread regarding this issue, but none offer viable solutions.

Really frustrating to have a beautiful ship that is unusable for docking 

Unfortunately after a lot of testing I (and others that use this mod as well) have found that the MechJeb Auto-Dock feature is not feasible, due to the SOCK shuttle's unique RCS layout (or really any shuttle for that matter).

Docking with the Shuttle is a task that takes some training to nail down. It must be done semi-manually, but thankfully MechJeb has other features that can be used to give you what I call "MechJeb-assisted docking."

The primary method I would recommend is using the SMART S.A.S. window "TRGT" mode combined with the Smart RCS window. Here is a quick step-by-step:
1. Rendezvous normally with your station.
2. Approach at low velocity, try to get close to the docking port you want to use.
3. When you are at a comfy distance, pull up the Smart RCS window, make sure the station is your current target, and select "Zero Rel Velocity."
      TIP: When you approach 0.0m/s toggle this setting on and off several times, the algorithm used to achieve true ZERO velocity is prone to glitching and toggling the setting fixes it.
3. Switch to station and pull up the SMART S.A.S. window. Select KILL ROT.
4. Switch back to the shuttle and turn off all SAS. Select the shuttle docking port and click "Control from Here." Now select the station's docking port and make that your current Target.
5. On the SMART S.A.S. window, select TRGT mode, then click the "- TGT" button. Your shuttle will reorient to where your docking port is now perfectly parallel to the station's, locked in pitch, yaw, and roll. 
6. You are now free to manually translate to the docking port using the HNJLIK keys. Turn off Smart RCS and carefully begin approaching the port. 
      TIP1: If you are indeed controlling from the docking port like I said in Step 4, then the "H" key will move you closer and the "N" key will move you farther. Also keep in mind that the "I" and "K" keys will behave sluggishly, while the H,N,J,L keys will be very responsive, just due to how the Shuttle's thrusters are laid out. 
      TIP2: It is my highest recommendation that you fly this part mainly using the NavBall. The trick is making sure the NavBall is set to "Target" mode (should be by default) and watching where your yellow Velocity indicator is pointing. Slowly approach the station and try to use the yellow velocity indicator to "pull" your center crosshair "towards" the pink Target marker. The end goal is to get all 3 of these markers lined up!

Step 6 is likely the hardest part to nail, especially if you have not practiced this method before (conventional vessels are a breeze to dock this way; Shuttles are more challenging but can still be mastered). I MIGHT be making a picture or video tutorial on this at some point in the future, but for now give it a shot and if you get hung up on anything, feel free to ask! It is seems like a lot but is definitely not as hard as it sounds!

[chris-kerbal]

55 minutes ago, lemon cup said:

Unfortunately after a lot of testing I (and others that use this mod as well) have found that the MechJeb Auto-Dock feature is not feasible, due to the SOCK shuttle's unique RCS layout (or really any shuttle for that matter).

Docking with the Shuttle is a task that takes some training to nail down. It must be done semi-manually, but thankfully MechJeb has other features that can be used to give you what I call "MechJeb-assisted docking."

The primary method I would recommend is using the SMART S.A.S. window "TRGT" mode combined with the Smart RCS window. Here is a quick step-by-step:
1. Rendezvous normally with your station.
2. Approach at low velocity, try to get close to the docking port you want to use.
3. When you are at a comfy distance, pull up the Smart RCS window, make sure the station is your current target, and select "Zero Rel Velocity."
      TIP: When you approach 0.0m/s toggle this setting on and off several times, the algorithm used to achieve true ZERO velocity is prone to glitching and toggling the setting fixes it.
3. Switch to station and pull up the SMART S.A.S. window. Select KILL ROT.
4. Switch back to the shuttle and turn off all SAS. Select the shuttle docking port and click "Control from Here." Now select the station's docking port and make that your current Target.
5. On the SMART S.A.S. window, select TRGT mode, then click the "- TGT" button. Your shuttle will reorient to where your docking port is now perfectly parallel to the station's, locked in pitch, yaw, and roll. 
6. You are now free to manually translate to the docking port using the HNJLIK keys. Turn off Smart RCS and carefully begin approaching the port. 
      TIP1: If you are indeed controlling from the docking port like I said in Step 4, then the "H" key will move you closer and the "N" key will move you farther. Also keep in mind that the "I" and "K" keys will behave sluggishly, while the H,N,J,L keys will be very responsive, just due to how the Shuttle's thrusters are laid out. 
      TIP2: It is my highest recommendation that you fly this part mainly using the NavBall. The trick is making sure the NavBall is set to "Target" mode (should be by default) and watching where your yellow Velocity indicator is pointing. Slowly approach the station and try to use the yellow velocity indicator to "pull" your center crosshair "towards" the pink Target marker. The end goal is to get all 3 of these markers lined up!

Step 6 is likely the hardest part to nail, especially if you have not practiced this method before (conventional vessels are a breeze to dock this way; Shuttles are more challenging but can still be mastered). I MIGHT be making a picture or video tutorial on this at some point in the future, but for now give it a shot and if you get hung up on anything, feel free to ask! It is seems like a lot but is definitely not as hard as it sounds!

Doing the docking always manually, I can only add to this: be slow and avoid big movements. The shuttle is quite slow in reacting, hence it takes time. Also use some proper indicator mod, like

or to keep the shuttle aligned

As always: The better you can do it manual, the easier the use of automated systems is for you.

[benjee10]

6 hours ago, finkmac said:

Is there any to get MechJeb to properly control a shuttle for docking? Currently, it just flies off without properly orienting.

I see there's multiple other posts in this thread regarding this issue, but none offer viable solutions.

Really frustrating to have a beautiful ship that is unusable for docking 

Because of the RCS layout, controlling from the docking port can cause issues with some thrusters not being able to fire in the correct direction, so I find it is best to dock manually with control still from the cockpit. Using the IVA view out of the aft flight deck windows (looking out into the payload bay) can make this easier.

The next update will feature improvements to the way the RCS is set up that will make it possible to 'control from here' from the docking port in the bay (or anywhere else on the vessel for that matter) and still get correct thruster firings, which should make using auto-docking systems more functional too.

[slaintemaith]

Ooooh!  Ooooh!  Will the next update have control surfaces that aren't node-attached so FAR doesn't break it?!
(I know.  I should post in FAR, "Ooooh!  Ooooh!  Will the next update be able to deal with node attached control surfaces?!")

Edited August 6, 2021 by slaintemaith

[benjee10]

23 minutes ago, slaintemaith said:

Ooooh!  Ooooh!  Will the next update have control surfaces that aren't node-attached so FAR doesn't break it?!
(I know.  I should post in FAR, "Ooooh!  Ooooh!  Will the next update be able to deal with node attached control surfaces?!")

Probably not I’m afraid, that would be quite a major change. Doesn’t the left/right mesh switching also break FAR?

[slaintemaith]

17 minutes ago, benjee10 said:

Probably not I’m afraid, that would be quite a major change. Doesn’t the left/right mesh switching also break FAR?

Almost certainly.

[Razgriz1]

5 hours ago, benjee10 said:

Doesn’t the left/right mesh switching also break FAR?

That is actually THE thing that makes it unusable. You can deal with node attachment by manually offsetting the mean aerodynamic chord, but with the mesh switch, it just picks the first node in the list and always uses that one as it's calculation point, even if the node is switched off in the part switch. So when you do the manual offset, on one wing it's fine, and on the other it's inside the fuselage. I have a version where I moved it around to where it is in roughly the same point on both wings, but it is in no way near correct.

I took a stab at creating my own parts that had the default mesh opposite the originals, but I'm not familiar enough with how mesh-switching works in order to be able to do it. I just ended up with a part where both meshes were present simultaneously and haven't had time to sit down and work out exactly how I could make it work.

[Secarius]

I'm having problems with certain parts in the mod, mainly the engines and docking ports. I've used SOCKS before but after a clean KSP install and redownload, somethings broken. The KJ-10 OMS won't properly attach to the aft fuselage, mainly.  Stock engines attach fine, but the KJ-10 will act like its attaching but then turn invisible. Then the whole aft fuselage becomes unusable because all of the snap points act as if something is already there. Strangely too, when picking up the aft fuselage and attempting to delete it, the whole fuselage simply won't delete, just remains red and you can't replace it to the cargo bay.

 

The only other mods I have installed at the moment are ReDIRECT and visual mods (EVE, AVP, scatterer, kopernicus, waterfall, etc) 

 

Any ideas? I only saw one other person having this problem, but there was no resolution. 

[KeaKaka]

1 hour ago, Secarius said:

I'm having problems with certain parts in the mod, mainly the engines and docking ports. I've used SOCKS before but after a clean KSP install and redownload, somethings broken. The KJ-10 OMS won't properly attach to the aft fuselage, mainly.  Stock engines attach fine, but the KJ-10 will act like its attaching but then turn invisible. Then the whole aft fuselage becomes unusable because all of the snap points act as if something is already there. Strangely too, when picking up the aft fuselage and attempting to delete it, the whole fuselage simply won't delete, just remains red and you can't replace it to the cargo bay.

 

The only other mods I have installed at the moment are ReDIRECT and visual mods (EVE, AVP, scatterer, kopernicus, waterfall, etc) 

 

Any ideas? I only saw one other person having this problem, but there was no resolution. 

Make sure you have the latest version of Benjee10_sharedAssets. I believe that fixes the problem.

[Secarius]

12 hours ago, KeaKaka said:

Make sure you have the latest version of Benjee10_sharedAssets. I believe that fixes the problem.

I was using the one bundled with SOCKS, never thought to see if there was a more updated version. I’ll try that tonight after work, thanks!

[DaBaby Kerman]

Hi, does anyone know how to land the Shuttle back in FL? I don't know how and would appreciate some help.

[slaintemaith]

 

 

3 hours ago, DaBaby Kerman said:

Hi, does anyone know how to land the Shuttle back in FL? I don't know how and would appreciate some help.

 

[Spike88]

On 7/16/2021 at 12:11 AM, lemon cup said:

You saying I’m the type of dude that makes custom decals for my Spacehab and doesn’t put my ISS on a 51.6 inclination?? 

I was thinking about this earlier. The ISS is on a 51.6 inclination because of Russia. Russia launches rockets north east to avoid dropping failed launches on China and due to the location of Baikonur. 

In recreating you ISS you wouldn’t have to content with China, but it would be best to launch on an inclination that aligns the Dessert Launch site(Baikonur) and KSC. I just don’t know what the best way to calculate this is lol. 

[Emilius73]

25 minutes ago, Spike88 said:

I was thinking about this earlier. The ISS is on a 51.6 inclination because of Russia. Russia launches rockets north east to avoid dropping failed launches on China and due to the location of Baikonur. 

In recreating you ISS you wouldn’t have to content with China, but it would be best to launch on an inclination that aligns the Dessert Launch site(Baikonur) and KSC. I just don’t know what the best way to calculate this is lol. 

Since KSC is in the equator, you could set it up at any inclination, just one that's high enough so rockets from Dessert can reach it.

[MajorLeaugeRocketScience]

Hate to ask @benjee10, but how’s Buran coming along? You’re new art style is really, really great and I cannot wait to see my favorite spacecraft replicated in your amazing work

[Spike88]

22 hours ago, Emilius73 said:

Since KSC is in the equator, you could set it up at any inclination, just one that's high enough so rockets from Dessert can reach it.

So I ended up watching an hour long video on inclination, azimuth and latitude and have a better understanding of why the ISS is on its inclination and how inclinations affect your launches(although most of it is based on restrictions based on inhabited land or foreign countries.) 

 

So I may set my ISS to the same inclination as the real one for recreations sake or set it to 45 degrees as that would align it with KSC, Dessert, and Woomerang. 

[MikeD]

On 7/14/2021 at 9:36 AM, lemon cup said:

STS-101, one of the many space shuttle missions to the ISS

Hi y'all,

I was wondering what mod was used in order to improve the textures of the shuttle in these images. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Clamp-o-Tron]

3 hours ago, MikeD said:

Hi y'all,

I was wondering what mod was used in order to improve the textures of the shuttle in these images. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I think that’s default SOCK, probably with texture detail turned all the way up.

[chris-kerbal]

3 hours ago, MikeD said:

Hi y'all,

I was wondering what mod was used in order to improve the textures of the shuttle in these images. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

1 minute ago, Clamp-o-Tron said:

I think that’s default SOCK, probably with texture detail turned all the way up.

And maybe some TUFX profile used.

[MikeD]

44 minutes ago, chris-kerbal said:

 

And maybe some TUFX profile used.

 

55 minutes ago, Clamp-o-Tron said:

I think that’s default SOCK, probably with texture detail turned all the way up.

I was more referring to the added decals and how the boosters and external tank look different (More closely resemble the real life shuttle).  Like for example in the picture that I quoted above the external tank was a more solid orange with less patches of a lighter color. 

[Spaceman.Spiff]

25 minutes ago, MikeD said:

 

I was more referring to the added decals and how the boosters and external tank look different (More closely resemble the real life shuttle).  Like for example in the picture that I quoted above the external tank was a more solid orange with less patches of a lighter color. 

I believe that’s Benjee’s ReDirect mod. The decals are probably Conformal Decals

[lemon cup]

1 hour ago, chris-kerbal said:

 

And maybe some TUFX profile used.

This. The model and textures Benjee created for his Shuttle are incredible, but lighting is everything. 

The game’s default lighting will make even the best textures look flat and uninteresting, TUFX can boost your lighting effects significantly.