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

[sturmhauke]

That sounds fine then, everything seems to be in order. Congratulations, Commander!

[Entropian]

I've built and flown a shuttle that complies with the rules in the OP, but was flown in RSS.  Is it possible to do the missions RSS-themed?  I'm pretty sure I can complete the Kerbin and Mun series requirements with Earth and the Moon...

[sturmhauke]

5 hours ago, Entropian said:

I've built and flown a shuttle that complies with the rules in the OP, but was flown in RSS.  Is it possible to do the missions RSS-themed?  I'm pretty sure I can complete the Kerbin and Mun series requirements with Earth and the Moon...

@Ourworldalpha1 asked about RSS a while back, and I said no. However, after reviewing the previous 2 versions I saw that there have been a few RSS entries over the years, including one from michal.don himself (the v5 admin). So I'll tell you what - if you write a quick proposal for an RSS version and make the necessary adjustments for orbital parameters, I'll look it over and approve it, possibly with some tweaks first. If you just want to run STS-1a right now you can, since that's pretty much "go to space and don't dead".

[Entropian]

Ok, great! 

For STS-1b I think the current orbit requirements still can be used, just the lower bound (70km) should be changed to 140km, to stay out of the atmosphere.

I flew STS-1a and STS-1b in the same mission, but I can refly STS-1b if you disagree with the orbit I put the fuel pod in.

This is the massive rocket I used to lift the shuttle into orbit:

It has a large Mk3 cargo bay, and a lot of fuel for nuclear engines.  The fairing at the top contains reaction wheels and ISRU components.  It's stock parts, but redone with Restock.  The only other mods used were informational, visual, PersistentThrust, and, obviously, RSS and its dependencies.

Liftoff:

Ascending:

Beginning gravity turn:

SRB separation:

Central stack ignition:

First side booster detach (it's asparagus'ed):

Second booster detach:

Third booster detach:

Core detach:

After adjusting the orbit:

Fuel pod detach:

Resultant orbit:

Atmospheric entry:

I definitely missed KSC...

Splashdown!

I'm planning on doing STS-2a next.  I can still deploy 3 comsats to equidistant geostationary orbit; will that be satisfactory?

[sturmhauke]

@Entropian That is a very impressive mission, well done! Everything looks good, and STS-2a and 2b are clear for takeoff as well. As for the badges, the standard set doesn't seem quite adequate but it's what I have for now. I'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, here you go, you've earned it!

[Entropian]

1 hour ago, sturmhauke said:

STS-2a and 2b are clear for takeoff as well.

Ok, great!  I'll probably do them tomorrow evening.

[s_gamer101]

Here's a little preview for my next mission report. The tiny little thing attached to the space potato is an MMU similar to those that I used for the space telescope mission with this new small variant of the AGU. (Yes the Kerbal in the command seat is still alive). But I'll probably replay the last part of the landing because the first touchdown was on the runway's embankment at the side and I want to do a commander landing.

[sturmhauke]

Mmm, space potato...

[Entropian]

Well, so much for tomorrow evening.  I redid STS-1a and STS-1b because I was annoyed that I didn't land on the runway.  I also completed STS-2a and 2b.

STS-1a+1b:

Liftoff:

SRB sep:

Core sep:

Corrected orbit:

Deployment:

Atmospheric entry:

I severely undershot my trajectory, and had to use all my remaining fuel to get back to Kourou:

I barely made it back; I was stalling as soon as I reached the beginning of the runway:

Landed! (whew!):

STS-2a:

Liftoff:

Ascent was uneventful.  I forgot to take photos of the burn to GTO though...

GTO:

First relay deploy:

In GEO:

I forgot to take photos of the other 2 satellites deploying, but here's the final constellation:

Atmospheric entry:

Nearly there...

Landed!

STS-2b:

Liftoff:

Core sep:

Orbit achieved:

After some maneuvering:

Nearly there:

Docked!

Atmospheric entry was... interesting to say the least:

I had to turn around because I overshot:

Landed!

Edited August 28, 2020 by Entropian
Corrected incorrect ordering of photos

[Entropian]

And I finished STS-3!

Some ascent photos:

The MMU:

Orbit achieved:

After some corrections:

It's inclined at 23 degrees.

Open cargobay:

Telescope deployed:

Attaching the first solar truss:

Attached:

2nd truss attached:

Complete:

Atmospheric entry:

Gliding back:

The engines are still hot from burning off the rest of the fuel.

Landed:

[Entropian]

And I just realized 23 degrees was not in the margin.  Grrrrr, now I have to redo it...

[s_gamer101]

Here's my entry for STS-9: https://imgur.com/a/Y3XOzYQ

I replayed the landing now to qualify for a commander rank. This mission was indeed harder than the previous one. However, I'm surprised how light a mined out A-class asteroid is. I managed to land it while Val was riding it with an MMU. I wanted to deploy the EVA parachute, during landing (for coolness), but it didn't work for some reason.

After many failures, I wanted to use mechjeb for attitude holding during reentry, but I was to lazy to read a mechjeb manual and couldn't figure out how to use mechjeb's attitude holding autopilot tools so I ended up holding the attitude manually. That's why mechjeb was installed but not used at the end of the mission.

Mods: KER, EEX, RCS Build Aid, Trajectories
DLC: MH and Breaking Ground

Finally landed this space potato. The R&D will now cook and eat analyze it.

[s_gamer101]

Here's a little failure-album of my STS-9 mission: https://imgur.com/a/oHqxqER Unfortunately I don't have a screenshot of every fail, but at least a few.

[Entropian]

@sturmhauke I redid STS-3 and put the telescope in a 27 degree inclined orbit:

Launch photos:

Cargobay:

Bill in an MMU:

Assembling the first solar panel:

Done!

2nd solar panel:

Complete!

Cool photo of the MMU, telescope, and shuttle:

Redocking the MMU:

Heading back to the crew cabin:

Lowering the shuttle's orbit:

Atmospheric entry:

I ended up slightly overshooting Kourou, but I turned around just in time:

Landed!

[Entropian]

@sturmhauke I completed STS-4/4R:

STS-4 liftoff:

SRB sep:

Core sep:

In orbit:

It's inclined by 27 degrees.

"Uhh, Kourou, we've had a problem."

Liftoff:

In orbit:

Approaching:

Getting closer...

Docked!

I actually rescued 8 kerbals.  Undocking:

Orbit lowered:

Deorbiting:

Atmospheric entry:

Gliding back:

Landed!

 

[sturmhauke]

@Entropian, you've certainly been busy. I still haven't decided what the RSS badges should look like; I'll probably do a ribbon at the bottom or something, to also allow for other planet mod packs so they look uniform. Anyway, let's see what you've got here...

STS-1a and -1b: It's Fast and Furious: Kourou Drift! Looks good!

 

STS-2a: Triangle comm formation is go!

 

STS-2b: Your orbit here doesn't seem to match the one from STS-1b. There the fuel pod was left in an orbit of 713 km altitude, but here it looks like 396 km from what I can see. Can you clarify that please?

 

STS-3: The focal length on your telescope seems a little short, but maybe that's some advanced Kerbal engineering. But that's just an insignificant detail, looks good!

 

STS-4/4R: I like the wing damage on the first orbiter, that's a nice touch.

 

This has been an impressive run so far. I thought RSS would be significantly harder, especially with stock parts, but you don't seem to be having much trouble. Going to the Mun Moon might be another story though...

 

@s_gamer101, while your capture of a space potato does meet the requirements for a Commander badge, I don't know if it will make the best french fries. With that low density after mining, it might be better suited for cheese puffs or something like that.  Also your fail album is hilarious, I had a few situations like that when I did my potato run. Don't think I saved any screenshots though.

Edited August 28, 2020 by sturmhauke

[Entropian]

5 hours ago, sturmhauke said:

STS-2b: Your orbit here doesn't seem to match the one from STS-1b. There the fuel pod was left in an orbit of 713 km altitude, but here it looks like 396 km from what I can see. Can you clarify that please?

I'm not sure what happened, I may have retrieved the wrong fuel pod or ordered the pictures wrong.  I'm going through my pictures and trying to figure out what happened.

5 hours ago, sturmhauke said:

Going to the Mun Moon might be another story though...

Don't worry, I have a sanity-shattering slightly larger rocket planned...

EDIT: Ok, I figured it out.  I embedded the pictures from a failed attempt (I crashed on the runway), so that explains the discrepancy.  I'm fixing the posts now.

Edited August 28, 2020 by Entropian

[KingDominoIII]

I decided to try my hand at STS 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b.

It went okay.

https://imgur.com/gallery/kCkDbUC

https://imgur.com/gallery/Vez4Xes

STS-2 landed safely on the runway but Imgur isn't letting me update the album. Here's that image:

[sturmhauke]

On 8/28/2020 at 6:28 AM, Entropian said:

EDIT: Ok, I figured it out.  I embedded the pictures from a failed attempt (I crashed on the runway), so that explains the discrepancy.  I'm fixing the posts now.

That looks right, thanks for the update. Here is your badge:

[Entropian]

Thanks!

I'm doing the station missions now, and I'm curious, can I take more than one module up at a time to reduce the number of missions?

[sturmhauke]

I'm sorry Dave Entropian, I'm afraid you can't do that. Rendezvousing (I think that's a word) and docking with your increasingly large station is part of the challenge. The ISS wasn't built in a day, you know.

[sturmhauke]

4 hours ago, KingDominoIII said:

I decided to try my hand at STS 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b.

It went okay.

https://imgur.com/gallery/kCkDbUC

https://imgur.com/gallery/Vez4Xes

Hey look everybody, it's Mr. Lunex! His challenge series is based on an unused proposal for going to the Moon - it's a kind of ancestor to both the Apollo and Shuttle programs. You should check it out.

Anyway, on to the judging.

STS-1a and -1b: Mission looks good, and I like your take on the traditional shuttle. Nice work!

 

STS-2a and -2b: Your comsat orbits look a little off - slightly eccentric and not spaced 60 degrees apart. If they have maneuvering fuel remaining you can adjust and submit a new screenshot for just that portion. The fuel pod recovery looks good though.

[Entropian]

@sturmhauke I finished STS-5-8:

Habitation module:

Takeoff:

Core separation:

I forgot to take a photo of the final orbit, but it's shown in the next launches.

Payload deployment:

Atmospheric entry:

Gliding:

Landed:

Service module:

Takeoff:

Core separation:

Rendezvousing:

Payload deployment:

Almost there...

Docked!

Atmospheric entry:

Gliding:

Landed:

Science module 1:

Takeoff:

Core separation:

Rendezvousing:

Payload deployment:

Docked:

Atmospheric entry:

Gliding back:

Landed:

Science module 2:

Takeoff:

Core separation:

I forgot to take a photo of the rendezvous.  Here's the payload deployment:

Docking:

Station complete!

Now on to the Mun Moon!  Unfortunately, I can't do the asteroid landing mission due to mismatched colliders on the RSS asteroids.

[Entropian]

Ok, my CPU is dying trying to fly the lifter I designed.  Can I use a part welding mod and still have the entry count as stock?

[sturmhauke]

1 hour ago, Entropian said:

Ok, my CPU is dying trying to fly the lifter I designed.  Can I use a part welding mod and still have the entry count as stock?

I'll allow it. I heard those haven't been updated in forever though.