Shuttle Challenge v6 - The STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly] - ANNOUNCEMENT: v7 IS LIVE!

[NightshineRecorralis]

Hey @sturmhauke, how strict are you going to be with losing parts on reentry? One of the nosecones on my shuttle keeps overheating and it's frankly the only nosecone that looks good on the Mk.3 cockpit so I'd much rather keep it.

[sturmhauke]

1 hour ago, GummiRevolution said:

As for the cryo and methane jets, it's just a MM patch that adds a B9 Part Switch module for switching between LH2, LF and methane. I kept the stock stats for methane, and increased the Isp a bit for the cryo versions. I can PM you the patch if you want. And it's fine I only got Pilot, I'm planning on moving the CoL forward and trying again today.

That sounds fine then. Here is your Pilot badge - feel free to repost for a Commander badge later.

42 minutes ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

Hey @sturmhauke, how strict are you going to be with losing parts on reentry? One of the nosecones on my shuttle keeps overheating and it's frankly the only nosecone that looks good on the Mk.3 cockpit so I'd much rather keep it.

I must insist on being very strict with part loss on reentry. The most I would allow is something like an antenna, navlight, solar panel - in other words, parts that aren't critical to the structure or flight control. Perhaps by KSP physics standards, the loss of a nosecone is no big deal. But remember that the Columbia was lost on reentry because of seemingly minor damage to the wing, and subsequent overheating of the internal structure. If the Columbia's nose had been damaged instead, I wouldn't expect it to fare any better.

May I suggest that you are coming in too hot? Perhaps you need more wing area to create drag, more elevons set as brakes, or a different reentry attitude?

[NightshineRecorralis]

22 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

I must insist on being very strict with part loss on reentry. The most I would allow is something like an antenna, navlight, solar panel - in other words, parts that aren't critical to the structure or flight control. Perhaps by KSP physics standards, the loss of a nosecone is no big deal. But remember that the Columbia was lost on reentry because of seemingly minor damage to the wing, and subsequent overheating of the internal structure. If the Columbia's nose had been damaged instead, I wouldn't expect it to fare any better.

May I suggest that you are coming in too hot? Perhaps you need more wing area to create drag, more elevons set as brakes, or a different reentry attitude?

So perhaps I should rephrase - I originally intended to switch out the nosecone for a heatshield as I discovered this issue in test flights, but went with a nosecone for aEsThEtIcS and it's biting me in the rear now that I've flown all the Mun missions and realized that it probably wouldn't be allowed.

Also, if I were to come in any higher I would not be able to aerocapture effectively... and with later payloads pushing the shuttle to its limits in terms of delta-v I think I'm looking at a complete redesign if I were to add more wing or airbrakes...possibly. I just think it's a shame that the nosecone that so nicely fits on the Mk.3 has such a 'low' temp tolerance. I might swap it for the shielded docking adapter or just a heatshield outright if this is an issue.

Edited June 11, 2020 by NightshineRecorralis

[GummiRevolution]

8 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

That sounds fine then. Here is your Pilot badge - feel free to repost for a Commander badge later.

Thanks! How do I add it to my signature?

(Sorry, I'm relatively new to the forum)

[sturmhauke]

32 minutes ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

I just think it's a shame that the nosecone that so nicely fits on the Mk.3 has such a 'low' temp tolerance. I might swap it for the shielded docking adapter or just a heatshield outright if this is an issue.

Yeah, some of the stock parts are a bit iffy like that. This is why I went the mod route. But if you want to go stock while keeping to the same aesthetic, I'd suggest looking at some designs from the v5 thread for inspiration. A lot of them find ways to add additional wing surface for more lift and drag - for instance, by adding panels to the underside of the fuselage. While the round nosecone still has that low heat tolerance, if the orbiter can slow down quickly enough on reentry it's not a big issue.

35 minutes ago, GummiRevolution said:

Thanks! How do I add it to my signature?

(Sorry, I'm relatively new to the forum)

Go to the top right, click your username, then Account Settings, then Signature. In another tab, right click the badge and copy its image address, then paste that into the signature box. If you want to add a link to this thread or your mission post or whatever, copy that address, highlight the badge in the signature box, click the link icon, and paste the address there.

[QF9E]

Another suggestion for the nosecone: build it out of a 1.25m fairing and clip the fairing base into the Mk3 cockpit. You can make the fairing virtually the same size as the standard nosecone (that for some reason has a much lower temperature tolerance than the Mk3 cockpit or a fairing) and if you have Making History, you can color it black. Well, technically it will be orange but the visible part will be black.

Edit: in addition, the nosecone will heat up less if you re-enter with a higher angle of attack. I often re-enter with a 90 degrees AoA to generate as much drag as high in the atmosphere as possible.

Latest iteration of my Gemini shuttle design with nosecones made from fairings.

Edited June 12, 2020 by QF9E

[NightshineRecorralis]

So I found out that I'm less stupid than I made myself out to be and I actually made proper quicksaves. If any of the videos feel jarring in the middle that would be why. Same modlist as before, aka all utilities, visual, and with the DLC - this time the only DLC part I used is the very broken and OP Wolfhound engine for that sweet sweet vacuum ISP.

Viscount III w/ DLC parts: https://kerbalx.com/NightshineRecorralis/Viscount-III

Viscount III-M w/o DLC parts: https://kerbalx.com/NightshineRecorralis/Viscount-III-M

Once again I believe all of these qualify as Commander but again if I need to fix anything let me know!

Mun STS-1: Demo mission + Research lab

Spoiler

 

 

Mun STS-2: Mun base part I - EEV

Spoiler

 

 

Mun STS-3: Mun base part II - Hab Module

Spoiler

 

 

Mun STS-4: Mun base part III - Rover & EEV

Technically the shuttle's return and the EEV's return were conducted in tandem but I show the EEV at the end to minimize confusion. That's why the dates and the alarms might not make sense.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by NightshineRecorralis

[GummiRevolution]

My updated STS-1a submission:

Spoiler

 

 

️

1

Spoiler

Launch:

The explosion in the background is one of two sepratron-based "celebratory fireworks" strapped haphazardly to the wings and detached before liftoff. It's basically the same as my last submission, but with a further-forward CoL. I also stretched the booster tank a bit since I was getting low on Delta-V during ascent.

Starting gravity turn with KSC in the background:

Almost to separation:

Stage separation:

I need visual mods, but I don't have nearly enough RAM. Most of my ships put it at 85-90%, and that's with DX11.

Orbital insertion with the shuttle's OMS/upper stage engine:

In orbit!

Deploying payload, now with WAY TOO MANY reaction wheels:

Inspecting the ion drive:

Val on her way back to the shuttle:

Deorbit burn:

Overshot the KSC a bit, turning around:

On the way home:

Approaching the runway. A bit higher than what I would like, but I can deal with it.

Landing!

Picking up Val and Bob with a prototype Mun rover. My current version is pressurized, but this is designed to be as light as possible.

After this I hope to try the Skylab boost mission. But it turns out Halo solar panels are too heavy for Kerbals to lift, so I'm working on an MMMU (Multiple Manned Maneuvering Unit) to bring two of them without the hassle of keeping two EVA Kerbals in range at once. It's actually two modules, because otherwise it seems weird to make part of the habitation module detachable. The station will be boosted by my standard ion tug, and the whole thing will be launched in S-1, a Mk3 shuttle derived from my much older Charon.

edit: the emoji are back! I wrote a python script to see if anyone is messing with my computer, and I still can't edit them out!

Edited June 15, 2020 by GummiRevolution

[sturmhauke]

@NightshineRecorralis

MUN STS-1: Looks like a solid mission, with a nice base and some hair-raising, upside-down Munar landing maneuvers. Nice work, Commander!

 

MUN STS-2-4: I might feel bad for Sondo, stuck up there in the EEV by himself for a few days while the rest of the base arrives, but he seems fine. Looks like you had some staging problems with the EEV too, but you got that sorted out. And I'm impressed you did a barrel roll in a shuttle, I don't think I've seen that before. I'll have to see if mine can pull that off. Another badge for you, Commander!

[sturmhauke]

@GummiRevolution

STS-1a: Landing looks good, and you have a little bonus payload too. Good work!

 

As for Skylab, you are allowed to attempt STS-4T at any time. But you might want to cut your teeth on other orbital assembly and recovery missions first - in particular, STS-2b for bringing stuff back to Kerbin, and STS-5-8 for constructing a space station.

[NightshineRecorralis]

17 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

@NightshineRecorralis

MUN STS-2-4: I might feel bad for Sondo, stuck up there in the EEV by himself for a few days while the rest of the base arrives, but he seems fine. Looks like you had some staging problems with the EEV too, but you got that sorted out. And I'm impressed you did a barrel roll in a shuttle, I don't think I've seen that before. I'll have to see if mine can pull that off. Another badge for you, Commander!

The crewed EEV was done a little out of necessity as I have yet to set up a lunar comsat system on this save, but the EEV and base are both oversized for their rated crew capacity for extra comfort, plus he was well stocked with snacks! If you noticed the mission name the EEV was supposed to launch last with all the crew but since it was the heaviest component with the least mobility I thought it would be prudent to send it to the Mun first   The staging broke when I attached it to the shuttle - it was perfectly fine in testing! Darn those engineers that assembled it.

If you're referring the the aerobrake of STS-2 with the barrel roll that was the only mission of the 4 that I didn't refly due to the nosecone breaking and frankly I'm not sure how it didn't break. If that's not it I'm actually not sure when and where I did a barrel roll? This intrigues me.

[sturmhauke]

4 minutes ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

If that's not it I'm actually not sure when and where I did a barrel roll? This intrigues me.

I was referring to your orbiter landing approach on MUN STS-4. Although you're also losing altitude rather than maintaining, so it's not quite the same.

 

[NightshineRecorralis]

Just now, sturmhauke said:

I was referring to your orbiter landing approach on MUN STS-4. Although you're also losing altitude rather than maintaining, so it's not quite the same.

 

Gotcha - I was only doing that to lose altitude and speed safely while maintaining roughly the same distance from the KSC. S-turns are overrated! Didn't realize it was still technically a barrel roll while descending as I would've called it a corkscrew (and a poor one at that) but thanks for noticing!

[sturmhauke]

Maybe it's a corkscrew, I dunno. Still impressive though.

[QF9E]

Since my original STS-3 (space telescope) was awarded a modded badge, I decided to do the mission again, this time with a fully stock build. The original telescope only had 2 non-stock parts: I used DockRotate to rotate the mirror segments into proper alignment, and Infernal Robotics to operate the telescope shutter. I therefore had to find stock solutions for the shutter as well as the mirror segment alignment. I built the new telescope shutter out of a pair of stock elevons; to maintain proper mirror segment alignment I used pairs of docking ports: I recently discovered that this gives a more precise alignment than using a single docking port. I also switched to gold-foil panels from the Making History DLC for the mirror segments, to make it look more like the real-life James Webb telescope.

I launched my shuttle into a 25 degree inclined 600x600 km orbit before assembling and releasing the telescope. Afterwards I landed both my shuttle and the booster on the KSC runway, with both doing a direct re-entry from inclined orbit.

Full mission report here: https://imgur.com/a/WVrq8eJ

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by QF9E

[sturmhauke]

3 hours ago, QF9E said:

Since my original STS-3 (space telescope) was awarded a modded badge, I decided to do the mission again, this time with a fully stock build.

That is an impressive piece of space engineering! Well done!

[s_gamer101]

Here is my entry for STS 1a:

I wanted to combine STS 1a and STS 1b, but unfortunately, I accidentialy used the wrong Fuel Pod for STS 1b (I downloaded it quite a long time ago and today, when I decided to attempt this challenge again, I didn't notice that there is a new Fuel Pod that has a reaction wheel and a battery). I will fly this mission again for STS 1b, but with the rigth Fuel Pod this time.

Link to the imgur-album: https://imgur.com/a/qiCF7Dx

Mods used for this mission:

• Editor Extensions Redux
• Kerbal Engineer Redux
• Trajectories
• RCS Build Aid

The other mods I have installed were not used here.

Edit: I used the Making History Expansion too.

Edited June 28, 2020 by s_gamer101

[s_gamer101]

So this is my entry for STS 1b now, but this time with the rigth payload.

https://imgur.com/a/Ju6562f

Mod list is still the same.

@sturmhauke What is your exact definition of a runway landing for the commander rank? Is it already a runway landing when the touchdown is on the runway?

Edited June 28, 2020 by s_gamer101
Forgot to mention the mod list.

[sturmhauke]

Welcome to the challenge, @s_gamer101! STS-1a looks good, aside from the incorrect fuel pod. Here is your shiny new badge:

 

STS-1b also looks good overall. For a Commander landing, the orbiter needs to touchdown and come to a complete stop (<1 m/s) on the runway. The paved shoulder still counts as the runway, but the embankment or surrounding terrain does not. After the orbiter has stopped moving, you can taxi it off the runway either under its own power or with a tow vehicle. It's unclear from your last screenshot whether your orbiter fits that criteria or not. Do you have any other screenshots?

[s_gamer101]

@sturmhauke I am quite sure now that it was not a runway landing, since I overshot the runway so far that I was already on the surrounding terrain, but I have a screenshot of this that I could upload later.

[sturmhauke]

What you have is good enough for a Pilot badge. If you want the Commander badge, you can replay from reentry to landing and submit new screenshots; you don't have to redo the entire mission.

[s_gamer101]

22 hours ago, sturmhauke said:

If you want the Commander badge, you can replay from reentry to landing and submit new screenshots;

Maybe I'll do that later (I made a named quichsave after reentry).

Today I made STS 2a and STS 2b as a combined mission: https://imgur.com/a/rEa3Ao7

Edit: Here is a screenshot I forgot to add to this imgur-album: https://imgur.com/a/FIEjaby

At the end, I had just enougth delta V left (97 m/s for the deorbiting burn)

The mod list is still the same (EEX, KER, Trajectories, RCS Build Aid), Making History parts were also used.

I'm looking forward to the next missions.

Edited June 30, 2020 by s_gamer101

[sturmhauke]

20 hours ago, s_gamer101 said:

Today I made STS 2a and STS 2b as a combined mission: https://imgur.com/a/rEa3Ao7

Edit: Here is a screenshot I forgot to add to this imgur-album: https://imgur.com/a/FIEjaby

Let's see, everything looks good... wait, one of your satellites is at an inclination of 0.00898 degrees?! Zomg, it's a complete failure! Actually no, it's really heckin good. 

Here are your new badges - a Pilot badge for STS-2a for deploying 2 comsats, and a Commander badge for STS-2b for a runway landing after fuel pod recovery. Congratulations!

[s_gamer101]

On 6/30/2020 at 8:43 PM, sturmhauke said:

Let's see, everything looks good... wait, one of your satellites is at an inclination of 0.00898 degrees?! Zomg, it's a complete failure! Actually no, it's really heckin good. 

Here are your new badges - a Pilot badge for STS-2a for deploying 2 comsats, and a Commander badge for STS-2b for a runway landing after fuel pod recovery. Congratulations!

Thanks

And here is me entry for STS-3:

Both DLC's were used. Mods: KER, EEX, RCS Build Aid, Trajectories

Imgur-album: https://imgur.com/a/nfXTZKe

This is probably the most epic satellite I have ever built. I used the Hubble Space Telescope as inspiration. This mission was a lot of fun.

[QF9E]

In my quest to obtain a complete set of unmodded badges I did a re-run of my STS-4/4R rescue mission, this time with a fully stock shuttle. Since this mission does not involve cargo I developed a new Shuttle design, Sunchaser. Sunchaser is a business spacecraft with room for two pilots and 8 passengers. The mission follows two Kerbal space tourists on a very special mission: they are on their way to become the first couple to have their wedding in space. Famous Kerbonaut Jebediah Kerman, as captain of the Sunchaser-1 mission, will do the honours. Apart from the wedding couple, the spacecraft houses 4 more space tourists as wedding guests, some champagne, an elaborate wedding cake and a copious number of exquisite snacks.

After the wedding, an emergency is declared because the spacecraft propellant tanks have sprung a leak (rumours that the wedding guests drank the propellants after finishing the champagne are completely unfounded)! Now no longer able to deorbit, the newly-weds, their guests and the crew of Sunchaser-1 need to be rescued ASAP! A second Sunchaser mission is launched with just a 2 Kerbal crew, which leaves enough room in the passenger cabin for the Sunchaser-1 crew and passengers. However, since the wedding guests don't have EVA suits with them, Sunchaser-2 will have to dock with Sunchaser-1 to transfer them.

In short, I launched Sunchaser-1 into a 390 x 390 km circular, 25.6 degrees inclined orbit and then dumped all its remaining propellants. I then launched the Sunchaser-2 rescue mission into the same orbital plane, rendez-voused and docked with Sunchaser-1. I then transfered all Sunchaser-1 crew and passengers to Sunchaser-2. Finally I deorbited Sunchaser-2 before landing on the KSC runway.

Full mission report here: https://imgur.com/a/USpqfz3

Some highlights:

Sunchaser-1 ascent. Sunchaser is an inline shuttle design with a single stage booster. While the current booster design is single-use, it should be possible to develop it into a re-usable flyback booster.

Sunchaser-2 (left) docking with the out-of-fuel Sunchaser-1 (right).

Sunchaser-2 landing on the KSC runway, with crew and passengers of Sunchaser-1 onboard.

Edited July 2, 2020 by QF9E