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

sturmhauke
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OJT

OJT

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On 3/24/2022 at 6:22 PM, OJT said:

Did the STS-4 and STS-4R missions, here's the link

STS-4 and STS-4R for Commander rank

@Artienia Is the special badge only for Kerbin missions? Because the way it goes I might actually get some of the other missions before 10th April :)

I did the remaining Kerbin Series missions aswell. All of them for Commander ranks. As soon as I get the greenlight from you fellas I will move on to other missions :) @sturmhauke @Artienia

STS-5 Mission

STS-6 Mission

STS-7 Mission

STS-8 Mission

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Artienia

Artienia

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On 3/24/2022 at 11:09 AM, QF9E said:

Here's my April Fool's Shuttle mission. Flown according to the provisional flight plan laid out in my previous post.

Space Jester is a variant of my hitherto unpublished Osprey Shuttle project, which had the aim of building a Shuttle suitable for landing safely on Duna. Like its real-world namesake that I used as inspiration, it has two rotating propulsion pods to combine VTOL and normal atmospheric flight. It is much easier to operate on Duna than any other spaceplane design I've tested.

Some flight notes:

  • Being a Buran type Shutle design with main engines attached to the external tank it is a handful to fly, especially when the external tank is almost empty.
  • I was unable to plan my free return trajectory ahead of time because MechJeb's landing indicator was acting up. As a result I've had to fly the Munar flyby, re-entry and landing half a dozen times before I was able to land at the KSC.
  • During re-entry I had to rotate the pods engine-first to prevent the nose cones on these pods from burning up. My plan was to keep the pod rotation a secret until the landing but that was not to be, unfortunately.

Of course i excepted you to be the first one to get the badge, you certainly didn't dissapoint. Thank you for your vital contributions!

Af7WOZE.png

 

On 3/24/2022 at 6:22 PM, OJT said:

Did the STS-4 and STS-4R missions, here's the link

STS-4 and STS-4R for Commander rank

@Artienia Is the special badge only for Kerbin missions? Because the way it goes I might actually get some of the other missions before 10th April :)

The special badge is for all missions completed. it's like a special gift!

vnayumf.pngp5sBhgu.pngAf7WOZE.png

three badges at the same time, that is certainly rare i must admit. I really love the design of your space shuttle's rear. How do you even get a thing like that flying? I constantly struggle with that 

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OJT

OJT

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30 minutes ago, Artienia said:

three badges at the same time, that is certainly rare i must admit. I really love the design of your space shuttle's rear. How do you even get a thing like that flying? I constantly struggle with that

Thank you for the badges!

Despite its weird appearance it flies really well. It has a lot of wing area, but it also utilizes the limited KSP aerodynamics: KSP actually doesn't take into account the wing span for its lift calculations. So, with a narrow placement and enough wing panels, you can make a narrow plane that glides and flies as well as (or even better than) the contemporary designs. The shuttle design came up from my earlier experiments with narrow Mk.2 designs which worked surprisingly good so I adapted it for the STS challenges.

The hardest part by far has been designing payloads because Mk.2 cargo bays are way too small. I somewhat managed to power through the Kerbin Series, but I am doing prep work for Mun Series at the moment and it is geniunely a struggle. Some Mk.2 fittable payloads are actually impossible without Breaking Ground stuff. I'm gonna stop there though, don't want to spoil too much ;)

Speaking of Series by the way: must the series after Kerbin be completed in order aswell or I can do them in the order I want? For example if I do Eve mission before Duna set, or if I go interplanetary before exploring the Mun?

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Artienia

Artienia

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16 minutes ago, OJT said:

Thank you for the badges!

Despite its weird appearance it flies really well. It has a lot of wing area, but it also utilizes the limited KSP aerodynamics: KSP actually doesn't take into account the wing span for its lift calculations. So, with a narrow placement and enough wing panels, you can make a narrow plane that glides and flies as well as (or even better than) the contemporary designs. The shuttle design came up from my earlier experiments with narrow Mk.2 designs which worked surprisingly good so I adapted it for the STS challenges.

The hardest part by far has been designing payloads because Mk.2 cargo bays are way too small. I somewhat managed to power through the Kerbin Series, but I am doing prep work for Mun Series at the moment and it is geniunely a struggle. Some Mk.2 fittable payloads are actually impossible without Breaking Ground stuff. I'm gonna stop there though, don't want to spoil too much ;)

Speaking of Series by the way: must the series after Kerbin be completed in order aswell or I can do them in the order I want? For example if I do Eve mission before Duna set, or if I go interplanetary before exploring the Mun?

Yes, you can pick any of the next planets to go to! I also love the MK2 parts but unfortunately i'm a conservative so i value commander-stock badges the highest, and without modded parts its very very hard to complete all missions .

One more thing, @sturmhauke personally i have a suggestion as a user, not as a mod. I've counted and there are a total of 60+2 (Christmas + April fools) stars. i've been thinking that it would be nice if there was a badge for 10/20/30/40/50/60 or 10/25/50/60 stars. personally i'd think they'd look quite cool. My intial idea was that it would be a square instead of a round badge with either the number or the amount of stars contained perhaps? I think a lot of us badge collectors would love a badge like that!

zxcHyCS.png

just a very dirty draft on what the border would look like. same style but square. Not sure if it's feasable?

Edited by Artienia
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Artienia

Artienia

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5 hours ago, Austin_Kerman said:

Space Shuttle Destiny has successfully completed her first mission on STS-1 in an overall uneventful maiden flight, and landed at the KSC Runway after a few orbits of Kerbin.

@Artienia Here is my Imgur album showing the mission, and with this mission done, I am applying for the April Fools special badge:

Af7WOZE.png

Looks good! You are the third person to get the april fool's badge, congrats!
AX2Tsan.pngAf7WOZE.png

I'm looking forwards more of your missions

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Andetch

Andetch

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STS-2 Mission Report
 

I managed to place 3 sats into a GKO thanks to some help from other pilots (you know who you are). 

Took screen grabs from the video I made, as it turned into a 2hour+ mission I am not posting the video. 

Sloh-Rye-Dah took x4 sats and a small tug on this mission. 3 sats were placed in GKO with a 4th placed into a highly eccentric near polar orbit to allow for better communication with a deep space network. There is also a 5th model of this probe in space heading out to a trans-eeloo orbit that I sent there in an earlier attempt to put in into GKO (I forgot to lock the monoprop tank on that mission and found there was no way I could maneuver it delicately enough so just pointed it prograde and burned all the fuel).

Due to an oversight, the tug didn't have enough TWR to move the fuel pod easily and we gave up trying to put it back into the orbiter. 

On touchdown at the KSC we came in too hard and destroyed the main landing gear. (I forgot to do a quicksave before the landing approach) So we made an emergency "pancake" landing on the Island Airfield in an attempt to save the crew. (Sadly the video stopped recording because it reached the 2 hour limit and I forgot to restart it, but that would have made a really great video!) 

The pancake landing was a success, all the crew were able to exit the orbiter safely with only minor cuts and bruises. Bill also suffered some minor whiplash. It should be noted that I touched down on the runway on the island airfield. But due to the effects of landing without the gear it rolled off onto it's side. We feel that this demonstrates the safety of our shuttle, as it can also touch down without killing everyone with wing damage - one time during testing the side booster destroyed 50% of the RH wing on stage separation, yet we still landed the orbiter safely.

See below for mission proofs.

GKO Proof

GKO Insertion Parking Orbit
KvRNEDs.png

Deployment of Sat

vA7lYky.png

Effects of "Pancake" landing with no main landing gear

RpIEssn.png

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sturmhauke

sturmhauke

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On 3/26/2022 at 5:42 PM, Artienia said:

Yes, you can pick any of the next planets to go to! I also love the MK2 parts but unfortunately i'm a conservative so i value commander-stock badges the highest, and without modded parts its very very hard to complete all missions .

One more thing, @sturmhauke personally i have a suggestion as a user, not as a mod. I've counted and there are a total of 60+2 (Christmas + April fools) stars. i've been thinking that it would be nice if there was a badge for 10/20/30/40/50/60 or 10/25/50/60 stars. personally i'd think they'd look quite cool. My intial idea was that it would be a square instead of a round badge with either the number or the amount of stars contained perhaps? I think a lot of us badge collectors would love a badge like that!

zxcHyCS.png

just a very dirty draft on what the border would look like. same style but square. Not sure if it's feasable?

Interesting idea. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with when I have the time. Partly I've been busy with work, partly with family stuff, and partly I've been playing other stuff - Elden Ring for instance.

I've also considered doing a completed mission log index, like some of the other long-running challenges have. It'd be a fair bit of work though.

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Artienia

Artienia

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Posted
Just now, sturmhauke said:

Interesting idea. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with when I have the time. Partly I've been busy with work, partly with family stuff, and partly I've been playing other stuff - Elden Ring for instance.

I've also considered doing a completed mission log index, like some of the other long-running challenges have. It'd be a fair bit of work though.

Sounds good! Don't get too overwhelmed, after all that's why i'm here ;)

18 hours ago, Andetch said:

STS-2 Mission Report
 

I managed to place 3 sats into a GKO thanks to some help from other pilots (you know who you are). 

Took screen grabs from the video I made, as it turned into a 2hour+ mission I am not posting the video. 

Sloh-Rye-Dah took x4 sats and a small tug on this mission. 3 sats were placed in GKO with a 4th placed into a highly eccentric near polar orbit to allow for better communication with a deep space network. There is also a 5th model of this probe in space heading out to a trans-eeloo orbit that I sent there in an earlier attempt to put in into GKO (I forgot to lock the monoprop tank on that mission and found there was no way I could maneuver it delicately enough so just pointed it prograde and burned all the fuel).

Due to an oversight, the tug didn't have enough TWR to move the fuel pod easily and we gave up trying to put it back into the orbiter. 

On touchdown at the KSC we came in too hard and destroyed the main landing gear. (I forgot to do a quicksave before the landing approach) So we made an emergency "pancake" landing on the Island Airfield in an attempt to save the crew. (Sadly the video stopped recording because it reached the 2 hour limit and I forgot to restart it, but that would have made a really great video!) 

The pancake landing was a success, all the crew were able to exit the orbiter safely with only minor cuts and bruises. Bill also suffered some minor whiplash. It should be noted that I touched down on the runway on the island airfield. But due to the effects of landing without the gear it rolled off onto it's side. We feel that this demonstrates the safety of our shuttle, as it can also touch down without killing everyone with wing damage - one time during testing the side booster destroyed 50% of the RH wing on stage separation, yet we still landed the orbiter safely.

See below for mission proofs.

GKO Proof

GKO Insertion Parking Orbit
 

Deployment of Sat

 

Effects of "Pancake" landing with no main landing gear

 

While i certainly like your design, i'm afraid i can't give the badge to you as the craft seems to have split into multiple parts. Breaking a gear or two is fine however i see fuselages scattered. Unfortunate however i believe you can successfully do it the next time you try!

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Andetch

Andetch

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Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, Artienia said:

While i certainly like your design, i'm afraid i can't give the badge to you as the craft seems to have split into multiple parts. Breaking a gear or two is fine however i see fuselages scattered. Unfortunate however i believe you can successfully do it the next time you try!

Okay, I will try again... 

Edited by Andetch
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Artienia

Artienia

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On 3/30/2022 at 1:58 AM, OJT said:

@Artienia @sturmhauke Did the first Mun Series mission. A lot of planning went into this one, so I hope everything is in order ^_^

MUN STS-1 for Commander rank

Man i love the longboy shuttle. You are right that there are no restrictions on how far the launch system can carry the shuttle itself, Good thinking!
EDIT: I accidently gave STS-2 badge but not like you won't get it in 2 days anyways. here's the correct one 

IqAxHYn.png

Edited by Artienia
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Artienia

Artienia

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Posted
20 hours ago, OJT said:

@Artienia Well, it did take more than two days lmao, but I did finish the Mun STS 2 to 4 missions. Links to reports are all below. All of them for Commander levels

Mun STS-2

Mun STS-3

Mun STS-4

Great work as always! Love the visuals. You should display your badges in your signature yknow :D
dp7pOFU.png

I saw you are already at LOP-G, so i'm intregured how the final space station will look ;)

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Artienia

Artienia

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Posted
47 minutes ago, OJT said:

@Artienia LOP-G finished! Although it doesn't look as fancy as you might expect: small Mk.2 cargo bays barely leave any space for creativity (both literally and figuratively) :D Links below

Mun STS-5 for Commander level

Mun STS-6 for Commander level

Mun STS-7 for Commander level

A long station for a long shuttle, a fitting end. We will patiently wait for your duna missions! 
lUmkIxv.png

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OJT

OJT

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@sturmhauke @Artienia I have some questions regarding support packages that one can bring along for most of the interplanetary missions

  • I can choose how I carry the package into space (either with conventional rocket or with another shuttle), but are there any restrictions on how far I can carry said package? Like, for example, must it be docked to the Orbiter before leaving Kerbin SOI or can I bring it to the end destination separately from the Orbiter?
  • Are there any restrictions on the support package itself? Must it be something simple (like a barebone fuel tank) or I can get more creative with it (say, an interplanetary tug)?
  • Must the package be single segment or can I carry multiple segments? Like, with previous example, may I only launch fuel tank on one mission and then the tug on the other or am I allowed to launch both with one rocket in single mission?
  • Am I allowed to use support packages from other missions in the next ones? For example, if I bring a fuel tank to the orbital station in Duna STS-2, can I fuel my lander or my Orbiter from it in Duna STS-3?
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Artienia

Artienia

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Posted
7 hours ago, OJT said:

@sturmhauke @Artienia I have some questions regarding support packages that one can bring along for most of the interplanetary missions

  • I can choose how I carry the package into space (either with conventional rocket or with another shuttle), but are there any restrictions on how far I can carry said package? Like, for example, must it be docked to the Orbiter before leaving Kerbin SOI or can I bring it to the end destination separately from the Orbiter?
  • Are there any restrictions on the support package itself? Must it be something simple (like a barebone fuel tank) or I can get more creative with it (say, an interplanetary tug)?
  • Must the package be single segment or can I carry multiple segments? Like, with previous example, may I only launch fuel tank on one mission and then the tug on the other or am I allowed to launch both with one rocket in single mission?
  • Am I allowed to use support packages from other missions in the next ones? For example, if I bring a fuel tank to the orbital station in Duna STS-2, can I fuel my lander or my Orbiter from it in Duna STS-3?

1-2. I believe there are no such restrictions on these points
3. I do believe the package can carry multiple segments. Only personal restriction i'd place is that the package needs to be a cohesive whole. As in you can have a fuel tank and a tug in the same package, however you can't seperate them until they have both completed their lifespan (e.g. run out of fuel, got to destination). So nothing like launching a giant rocket with 30 smaller fuel tanks and placing it around duna orbit to be basically a drive through. That's my interpretation however
4.  I believe you should be able to use one package between multiple missions, as if this was denied then you'd just have to do the exact same process as previously. I also believe a sort of proto-station is a fun concept regardless. I think using your package between multiple missions makes the entire thing harder in the first place so i have no objections.

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Andetch

Andetch

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Question for the admins.... 

I have managed to deploy 4 wobbling sats in GKO, capture the fuel pod and return it to kerbin. However, despite being able to land this beast perfectly during testing, I am encountering some stability issues after touch down after a real mission descent.  Some of my descent profiles have been really steep, pulling some crazy maneuvering to get the speed down enough to hit the runway, hence it is different from development flights. I am working on some solutions. 

But the question is - you said that destroying fuselage is not okay, as per my no landing gear touchdown before but wing damage is okay. So... are any of these two landings permissible? 

u5rJO1K.png

 

SmyLiK2.png

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Artienia

Artienia

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Posted
1 hour ago, Andetch said:

Question for the admins.... 

I have managed to deploy 4 wobbling sats in GKO, capture the fuel pod and return it to kerbin. However, despite being able to land this beast perfectly during testing, I am encountering some stability issues after touch down after a real mission descent.  Some of my descent profiles have been really steep, pulling some crazy maneuvering to get the speed down enough to hit the runway, hence it is different from development flights. I am working on some solutions. 

But the question is - you said that destroying fuselage is not okay, as per my no landing gear touchdown before but wing damage is okay. So... are any of these two landings permissible? 

u5rJO1K.png

 

SmyLiK2.png

Well flipping a craft like that is def. now allowed. But if you reload the save and land the craft than that would be perfectly allowed

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QF9E

QF9E

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Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Andetch said:

Some of my descent profiles have been really steep, pulling some crazy maneuvering to get the speed down enough to hit the runway

One thing I found is that a straight in landing (i.e., fly straight to the runway and land) can be difficult, as it is hard to control the energy (speed and altitude) of your craft. What I often do when flying Shuttles is fly parallel to the runway (at speeds of 400 - 600 m/s or so) then turn around and land from the other side. This has two advantages:

1. A high-g turn is an excellent way of losing speed

2. You can go a bit farther or turn a bit earlier depending on your speed and altitude. The higher your speed and / or altitude, the further past the runway you can fly before making your turn.

This is a standard maneuver in aviation, where it is called flying the pattern (or circuit). Here's me, landing my Gemini shuttle in this fashion (and please disregard the booster landing - I had to land it upside down due to a design error):

 

Edited by QF9E
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