Shuttle Adventures: An Album of Kerbalized Space Shuttle Missions

[GuessingEveryDay]

7 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Where’d you get the Chandra?

I think that's from Tundra Exploration.

[lemon cup]

PREVIOUS  PAGE  ROUNDUP
STS-109  - Columbia - 4th Hubble Servicing Mission - lemon cup
Proposed  - Discovery - First manned Moon landing of proposed SEI Lunar Base Program (1990s) - Beccab
STS-57  - Endeavour - Retrieval of EURECA Satellite and First Flight of SPACEHAB - lemon cup
ALT-12  - Enterprise - First Free Flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise - Kuiper_Belt

On 6/23/2021 at 10:27 PM, Kuiper_Belt said:

ALT-12 August 12, 1977

^Hands down the best 747 recreation I've seen in KSP! Having built several large planes myself I can only imagine how challenging it must have been getting this all put together and working just right.

 

14 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Where’d you get the Chandra?

Made it using some parts from NF eXploration and Procedural Parts. More details will be visible when I post the mission Soon^TM. 

 

[Kuiper_Belt]

3 hours ago, lemon cup said:

Hands down the best 747 recreation I've seen in KSP! Having built several large planes myself I can only imagine how challenging it must have been getting this all put together and working just right.

Glad to hear you like it! I shudder at the thought of the sheer amount of part clipping and the resulting aerodynamic toll it had on the tail cone...  Designing it was a mess! I kept getting weird scales between the orbiter and the plane (Especially with the fairing version I first started with!) and I eventually went to find the scale of Benjees orbiter to the real thing and working my way for the plane. I think in the end the 747 is a little bigger than it should be but It looked enough like the real thing for me to call it a day on that one. It was too big of a project to use once so I intend to included it in the end of any mission where the SCA was need to return an orbiter to the KSC!

[lemon cup]

                           STS-93   -   July 23rd, 1999                  

 

At the height of NASA's Space Shuttle program, Columbia took flight on its 26th mission to deliver the Chandra X-ray Observatory to the fringes of Earth orbit. On this flight, Eileen Collins made history as the first female Space Shuttle Commander. This mission also entailed the heaviest payload ever carried into orbit by a Shuttle, at 22.7 metric tons.

Chandra is an advanced telescope designed to record X-ray emissions from distant stars and galaxies. In order to capture these emissions in unprecedented detail, the telescope required an orbit that reached over 1/3 the distance to the moon at its apogee, high above the Van Allen Belts. To do this, Chandra required the help of the Boeing Inertial Upper Stage rocket. While the majority of its missions consisted of Spacelab research flights, Columbia was the only orbiter in the fleet that could accommodate the combined length of Chandra and the IUS. To make weight for the mission, the orbiter was stripped of most of its unique Extended Duration equipment, cryogenic fuel tanks, and all 400kg of ballast.

Moments into launch, Columbia suffered a number of engine-related failures that came closer than any other Shuttle launch to meeting the "Return to Launch Site" abort criteria. Already regarded as extremely risky with no guarantee of success, performing the RTLS with the 22 ton payload could have resulted in catastrophe. For a detailed technical look at the problems encountered on STS-93's launch, I highly recommend Scott Manley's 11 minute video, How A Gold Bullet Almost Destroyed A Space Shuttle

STS-93 launched from LC-39B at midnight on July 23rd, 1999 and returned 5 days later. 

                         
                         Composite image of Cassiopeia A using imagery from the Hubble and Chandra, one of the first images produce after activation. Image courtesy of www.nasa.gov

Edited June 26, 2021 by lemon cup

[KeaKaka]

4 hours ago, lemon cup said:

Where's that wonderful IUS plume from?

[lemon cup]

47 minutes ago, KeaKaka said:

Where's that wonderful IUS plume from?

Made this by fiddling with Waterfall configs. I did a bit of research and found that the plumes from vacuum-optimized solid motors pretty closely resembled those from kerolox and high-energy hypergolics, so I picked the best template I could match that look (can't remember exactly which one) and plugged it into a config. 

[AmateurAstronaut1969]

STS 37-R - Space Station Enterprise

July 1st, 1989, Pad-39A

After Years of Refurbishment and development, OV-101, the Orbiter Derived Station that was once Space Shuttle Enterprise, sits atop the Crawler Transporter awaiting the launch of its first and only mission to Space!

Originally, Space Station Enterprise came to be when the US was misinformed about Soviet plans for a large Orbiting Station called Mir. As a response to this, the US began their own Space Station project to show their dominance in space to the soviets. One leading idea was to make a station out of the ET of a Shuttle, however, such a Station would need a basecamp of sorts to provide life support and habitation whilst the crew retrofitted the ET out. That was the only problem with this plan until the idea to use an orbiter as this basecamp came about. Originally though, using an Orbiter was a sneaky plan to make president Regan consider a ‘proper’ station with the threat of Cannibalising one of their precious shuttles. However, the president bought into the idea, and work on the Station began.

However the tough choice of which orbiter to cannibalise was looming. Columbia was currently the only one flying, and using her would halt the program. Challenger was needed to relieve the strain of Columbia being the only Shuttle. Discovery and Atlantis were also out of the question as they were America’s new, Advanced Shuttles, lighter and capable of Docking. Destroying them was immediately off the table. Then, that left Enterprise, the Original Shuttle used for approach and Landing tests, the Shuttle that was too heavy to be converted into a spaceworthy vessel, would now go to space to stay.
And now we are back in 1989, 8 years after work Started on Space Station Enterprise, prepared for launch, all who worked on her for nearly a decade, hold their breath as the clock ticks down until launch...

Launch and Orbit Insertion

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Orbital Insertion

 

Enterprise has deployed its “keep alive” solar array, and is awaiting Atlantis on STS 38-R (Coming Soon...?)

 

I hope you all enjoyed this! I put alot of time and effort into it, and I think it came out alright. I’m sorry it kinda came late, but I can’t do much when I’m moving and I still don’t have WIFI, so it was a real pain to get these photos lmao. I might do STS 38-R; I did try it, but failed horribly and the lag was terrible. It might come soon, but don’t hold your breath lmao

Edited June 27, 2021 by AmateurAstronaut1969

[pTrevTrevs]

On 6/27/2021 at 5:25 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

STS 37-R - Space Station Enterprise

July 1st, 1989, Pad-39A

After Years of Refurbishment and development, OV-101, the Orbiter Derived Station that was once Space Shuttle Enterprise, sits atop the Crawler Transporter awaiting the launch of its first and only mission to Space!

Originally, Space Station Enterprise came to be when the US was misinformed about Soviet plans for a large Orbiting Station called Mir. As a response to this, the US began their own Space Station project to show their dominance in space to the soviets. One leading idea was to make a station out of the ET of a Shuttle, however, such a Station would need a basecamp of sorts to provide life support and habitation whilst the crew retrofitted the ET out. That was the only problem with this plan until the idea to use an orbiter as this basecamp came about. Originally though, using an Orbiter was a sneaky plan to make president Regan consider a ‘proper’ station with the threat of Cannibalising one of their precious shuttles. However, the president bought into the idea, and work on the Station began.

However the tough choice of which orbiter to cannibalise was looming. Columbia was currently the only one flying, and using her would halt the program. Challenger was needed to relieve the strain of Columbia being the only Shuttle. Discovery and Atlantis were also out of the question as they were America’s new, Advanced Shuttles, lighter and capable of Docking. Destroying them was immediately off the table. Then, that left Enterprise, the Original Shuttle used for approach and Landing tests, the Shuttle that was too heavy to be converted into a spaceworthy vessel, would now go to space to stay.
And now we are back in 1989, 8 years after work Started on Space Station Enterprise, prepared for launch, all who worked on her for nearly a decade, hold their breath as the clock ticks down until launch...

Launch and Orbit Insertion

  Hide contents

  Hide contents

 

Orbital Insertion

 

Enterprise has deployed its “keep alive” solar array, and is awaiting Atlantis on STS 38-R (Coming Soon...?)

 

I hope you all enjoyed this! I put alot of time and effort into it, and I think it came out alright. I’m sorry it kinda came late, but I can’t do much when I’m moving and I still don’t have WIFI, so it was a real pain to get these photos lmao. I might do STS 38-R; I did try it, but failed horribly and the lag was terrible. It might come soon, but don’t hold your breath lmao

I hate everything about this concept. 

[Selective Genius]

6 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I hate everything about this concept. 

Why? What's wrong with this concept? Just curious..

[AmateurAstronaut1969]

10 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I hate everything about this concept

Why? 

[pTrevTrevs]

6 hours ago, Selective Genius said:

Why? What's wrong with this concept? Just curious..

 

2 hours ago, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

Why? 

It’s just cursed.

[lemon cup]

On 6/27/2021 at 2:25 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

Space Station Enterprise 

I’m personally very glad you took the time to put this together and think it turned out great! I love the station livery on the side of the ET.

I got curious and read through some of the posts about this on AlternateHistory.com. Very fascinating and well thought-out concept, especially the accommodations for the inflatable passageways in the intertank. Was this idea based on a real proposed concept or is it fictional?
 

[Spaceman.Spiff]

On 6/27/2021 at 6:25 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

STS 37-R - Space Station Enterprise

July 1st, 1989, Pad-39A

After Years of Refurbishment and development, OV-101, the Orbiter Derived Station that was once Space Shuttle Enterprise, sits atop the Crawler Transporter awaiting the launch of its first and only mission to Space!

Originally, Space Station Enterprise came to be when the US was misinformed about Soviet plans for a large Orbiting Station called Mir. As a response to this, the US began their own Space Station project to show their dominance in space to the soviets. One leading idea was to make a station out of the ET of a Shuttle, however, such a Station would need a basecamp of sorts to provide life support and habitation whilst the crew retrofitted the ET out. That was the only problem with this plan until the idea to use an orbiter as this basecamp came about. Originally though, using an Orbiter was a sneaky plan to make president Regan consider a ‘proper’ station with the threat of Cannibalising one of their precious shuttles. However, the president bought into the idea, and work on the Station began.

However the tough choice of which orbiter to cannibalise was looming. Columbia was currently the only one flying, and using her would halt the program. Challenger was needed to relieve the strain of Columbia being the only Shuttle. Discovery and Atlantis were also out of the question as they were America’s new, Advanced Shuttles, lighter and capable of Docking. Destroying them was immediately off the table. Then, that left Enterprise, the Original Shuttle used for approach and Landing tests, the Shuttle that was too heavy to be converted into a spaceworthy vessel, would now go to space to stay.
And now we are back in 1989, 8 years after work Started on Space Station Enterprise, prepared for launch, all who worked on her for nearly a decade, hold their breath as the clock ticks down until launch...

Launch and Orbit Insertion

  Reveal hidden contents

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Orbital Insertion

 

Enterprise has deployed its “keep alive” solar array, and is awaiting Atlantis on STS 38-R (Coming Soon...?)

 

I hope you all enjoyed this! I put alot of time and effort into it, and I think it came out alright. I’m sorry it kinda came late, but I can’t do much when I’m moving and I still don’t have WIFI, so it was a real pain to get these photos lmao. I might do STS 38-R; I did try it, but failed horribly and the lag was terrible. It might come soon, but don’t hold your breath lmao

This is excellent!

I bet @e of pi would like to have a look. 

[AmateurAstronaut1969]

23 hours ago, lemon cup said:

I’m personally very glad you took the time to put this together and think it turned out great! I love the station livery on the side of the ET.

 

 

23 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

This is excellent!

Hehe thanks guys 

23 hours ago, lemon cup said:

I got curious and read through some of the posts about this on AlternateHistory.com. Very fascinating and well thought-out concept, especially the accommodations for the inflatable passageways in the intertank. Was this idea based on a real proposed concept or is it fictional?

Well it is a fictional concept, but there were real life Shuttle Station Concepts such as Space Station Columbia 

[Kuiper_Belt]

STS-79 September 16, 1996

STS-79 was the fourth Space Shuttle Mission to dock with Mir. Flown by Atlantis, the mission objectives included delivery of supplies and science experiments to Mir, return of various science experiments, and crew rotation. Shannon W. Lucid had been delivered to the Mir by Atlantis on STS-76 and had been onboard for 188 days. She would be replaced on Mir by John Blaha. STS-79 was the first Shuttle Mission to visit Mir in its now completed state since the Priroda module had joined Mir on April 26 1996. In addition STS-79 was the first mission to carry the SPACEHAB Double Module. Standing by at Pad 39-A, Atlantis would lift off before dawn.

Atlantis docked with Mir on Flight Day 3 and begin unloading the 1.8 metric tons of cargo over the 5 days docked to Mir. Atlantis would also receive 900 Kilograms of science experiments from Mir to deliver to the ground. Afterwards Atlantis undocked and landed 10 days later at Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center. Immediately work would begin on refurbishing her for her next flight, STS-81 the fifth Shuttle Mission to Mir.  

On 6/27/2021 at 5:25 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

STS 37-R - Space Station Enterprise

Awesome Mission and love the Idea! Can't wait to watch this develop further!

On 6/25/2021 at 9:29 PM, lemon cup said:

  STS-93   -   July 23rd, 1999                

Fantastic work as always! That plume is stunning! Waterfall changes this game completely

The reworked Tantares parts are magnificent! Mir has never looked better! More missions coming soon!

 

[lemon cup]

STS-99 coming soon...!

[davidy12]

Man, you should try and do alternate Apollo missions sometime.

[AmateurAstronaut1969]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:18 PM, Kuiper_Belt said:

On 6/27/2021 at 11:25 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said:

 

Awesome Mission and love the Idea! Can't wait to watch this develop further!

Thanks 

[Beccab]

Alright, this one is gonna be a very different Space Shuttle. It's time for the:
Lockheed Starclipper

This version of the Lockheed's 'Starclipper' concept gained international prominence when George Mueller, NASA's Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, presented a downsized version of the design at a British Interplanetary Society meeting in August 1968. Mueller described the vehicle as a "space shuttle" primarily intended for space station crew transfer and resupply missions. Mueller and Hunter both stressed the importance of airplane-like low-cost operations and manufacturing techniques. Thus, the Starclipper was designed to take-off and land from air bases or major airports, although it did require a custom-built launch pad as well as clear areas downrange since the spent propellant tanks would be hazardous to people and property.

A combination of standardized refurbishment processes and ground support equipment, and self-contained on-board checkout systems would have purportedly have reduced the cost of launching payloads to as little as $15.00 per kilogram with turnaround times between flights of only 24 hours. The smaller version of Starclipper was sized for modular 11,300-kilogram space station payloads. Mueller described it as being ideal for satellite retrieval, repair and inspection of satellites as well. Apart from the computerized onboard checkout system, the biggest technical challenges appeared to be the main engines and thermal protection system. The alternate high-pressure engines accounted for 25% of the Starclipper's landing weight and featured two-position nozzles for added efficiency.

The Starclipper's passively cooled re-radiative-insulative structure was designed for 10-100 reuses and easy maintenance and replacement.

Original:

Spoiler

Edited July 2, 2021 by Beccab

[Jacktical]

3 minutes ago, Beccab said:

Alright, this one is gonna be a very different Space Shuttle. It's time for the:
Lockheed Starclipper

This version of the Lockheed's 'Starclipper' concept gained international prominence when George Mueller, NASA's Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, presented a downsized version of the design at a British Interplanetary Society meeting in August 1968. Mueller described the vehicle as a "space shuttle" primarily intended for space station crew transfer and resupply missions. Mueller and Hunter both stressed the importance of airplane-like low-cost operations and manufacturing techniques. Thus, the Starclipper was designed to take-off and land from air bases or major airports, although it did require a custom-built launch pad as well as clear areas downrange since the spent propellant tanks would be hazardous to people and property.

A combination of standardized refurbishment processes and ground support equipment, and self-contained on-board checkout systems would have purportedly have reduced the cost of launching payloads to as little as $15.00 per kilogram with turnaround times between flights of only 24 hours. The smaller version of Starclipper was sized for modular 11,300-kilogram space station payloads. Mueller described it as being ideal for satellite retrieval, repair and inspection of satellites as well. Apart from the computerized onboard checkout system, the biggest technical challenges appeared to be the main engines and thermal protection system. The alternate high-pressure engines accounted for 25% of the Starclipper's landing weight and featured two-position nozzles for added efficiency.

The Starclipper's passively cooled re-radiative-insulative structure was designed for 10-100 reuses and easy maintenance and replacement.

Original:

  Reveal hidden contents

Incredible! Nice to see a change from just the traditional space shuttle  Hope you and others can do more missions like this!

[Spaceman.Spiff]

On the topic of interesting flying wing designs from Lockheed,

@Kuiper_Belt would a Venturestar be considered a shuttle? And could I do a mission report on it?

[Guest]

 

On 5/26/2021 at 9:29 AM, lemon cup said:

Hello everyone,

I'm pleased to say that with  with @Kuiper_Belt's permission, I'll be doing some similarly themed posts here with some more historic Shuttle missions!

STS-40  June 5, 1991

Though one of the Shuttle's primary design considerations was the launch and potential retrieval of large military satellites, as the program matured it gained recognition as an excellent scientific research platform. Commissioned and funded by ESA, Spacelab provided a unique opportunity for entities around the world  - private and government alike - to fly manned experiments into space, and then recover them intact for further research.

Being the heaviest orbiter in the fleet, Columbia was well-suited to perform Spacelab and other research missions, and as such these comprised the majority of the orbiter's flights throughout it's lifetime. STS-40 was host to the Spacelab "Space Life Sciences-1" mission, and also flew a large assortment of individual experiments in the form of "Getaway Special" canisters mounted to a bridge behind the laboratory.  It launched mid-morning of June 5th, 1991 into a 39-degree inclination, in order to execute a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California 9 days later.

o SorRy u CAnnOt AdD ANy MorE ReACTiOns ToddAY

Edited July 2, 2021 by SpaceX_Boi

[Kuiper_Belt]

2 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

On the topic of interesting flying wing designs from Lockheed,

@Kuiper_Belt would a Venturestar be considered a shuttle? And could I do a mission report on it?

Go for it! I’d love to see it.  I think NASA or Lockheed themselves should revisit the idea at some point in the future. 

[lemon cup]

         STS-99   -   February 11th, 2000         

 

The 14th flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-99 was also the first manned spaceflight of the 21st century. Originally scheduled to fly in late 1999, the mission was delayed due to a fleet-wide wiring inspection as a direct result of the malfunctions encountered during STS-93 by Columbia. STS-99 was dedicated to topographic mapping of the Earth's surface by means of a specially designed radar system called the SRTM, which was an evolution of the system used previously on STS-59 and STS-68, also flown by Endeavour. Unique to the SRTM was the addition of smaller C-band and X-band antennas mounted to the end of a 60m boom structure. By comparing radar data received by these antennas with the data from the main antenna assembly in the cargo bay - much like the process of human eyesight - surface depth could be perceived with unprecedented accuracy. 

The mission launched from Cape Canaveral LC-39A in the late afternoon of February 11th, 2000 into a 58 degree inclination (to map the vast majority of inhabited land) and lasted 11 days. Over 8 terabytes of data was collected and released gradually for both DoD and civilian use. This was the highest resolution radar data available at the time, until data from the "Terra" satellite was released in 2009. Chances are if you've ever viewed a detailed topographic map, STS-99 helped create it.

After completion of STS-99, all of Endeavour's future missions would be flown exclusively to the ISS.

@Kuiper_Belt Congrats on TOTM! And what better month than July of 2021, the 10-year anniversary of the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program.

@Beccab I love that Starclipper, amazing use of parts. 

@Spaceman.Spiff I'd really enjoy seeing that. When I was a kid (around 2000) we took a trip to the Johnson Space Center and received a pretty cool presentation of the X-33 project. From what I remember, everyone really thought the X-33/VentureStar would be the successor to the Space Shuttle. 
 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by lemon cup

[Beccab]

This one is probably the least realistic proposal i've made yet, but it was... interesting. It doesn't even have an official name, but it's more or less part of the "Sortie" vehicles proposals in the 80s:

Spoiler

A few years ago a company by the name of AirLaunch had a novel idea for a rocket—put it in a C-17 cargo plane and then slide it out the back at high altitude. The rocket would rotate until it was vertical and then fire, heading into orbit.

Now imagine that instead of a relatively small rocket, there was a much larger rocket, with a pilot sitting in the nose, watching as he was pulled out of the back of a massive C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft. And imagine that pilot falling backward, hundreds of feet, before a powerful Space Shuttle Main Engine ignited to push him into orbit. In the late 1980s Rockwell International, which built the Space Shuttle, proposed just such a system to the Air Force. According to Carl Ehrlich, an engineer for the company at the time, they had been inspired by footage of a 1974 test which involved dropping a Minuteman ICBM out the back of a C-5 and launching it. That test had proven successful, although the Air Force did not adopt the mobile ICBM concept. Ehrlich and other Rockwell engineers believed that there were certain advantages to air-launching a rocket, including rapid response and the ability to launch from virtually any location to any orbit.
Rockwell’s C-5 based proposal used a single rocket engine mounted behind two joined tanks. According to Ehrlich, in addition to the SSME and its liquid oxygen/hydrogen combination, “we also explored the effect of differing propellants on the payload capability of the orbital vehicle. We examined a wide variety of propellants ranging from storable hypergolics, RP/LOX, to fluorine/deuterium.”






I also plan to do a second Sortie proposal in the near future, a very little bit more "conventional", starting from the SCA craft that @Kuiper_Belt gave me