Dreaming Big - Supersized International Space Station (SISS) (ISS Alternate History concept)

[Kerbalsaurus]

11 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Oh, and here's a hint for the next launch vehicle, if anyone would care to guess:

I’m going to guess maybe a Saturn V. Maybe even a Space Shuttle, as you haven’t flown one of those for a while.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus
Les go, new page.

[GoldForest]

11 hours ago, Davi SDF said:

A Saturn V launch? (or at least, some derivative from it)

 

3 hours ago, kspbutitscursed said:

saturn c-8 nova perhap maybe 

or saturn v SLS maybe

 

2 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

I’m going to guess maybe a Saturn V. Maybe even a Space Shuttle, as you haven’t flown one of those for a while.

 

Saturn is correct! Though, that you mention Nova.... *evil grin*

[GoldForest]

 

[GoldForest]

So... yeah, as you guys see above, the station decided to self-destruct... thankfully, I was able to revert to VAB, so it's fine, for now. I honestly don't know what caused it to blow up. I'm assuming it's the robotic parts for some reason. They were moving around, even while locked. Anyway, the mission was complete, and I have all the pictures, but that happened, and I got angry so I decided not to post it, but I will go ahead and post them now. Just know that the modules are not currently on the station, but I will try to add them again, but if it explodes again, I'll have to figure out why. If I can't, this project might be ending with this mission... I don't want it to, I have a few more modules I'd like to add and a few glamour shots I'd like to get. If this project does come to an end, I'll start up a new one. I have a few ideas in mind. Alright, without further ado...

SISS 25: Shuttle Docking Modules S1/P1 and PMA-3,4,5 and 6 - August 8th, 1991

Flown by Saturn VI

SISS 25 sees the revival of an ancient launch vehicle, modernized. A private company set out to bring the Saturn family back to life with it's project, The Saturn Revival and Modernization Project, or SRAMP, pronounced Sir Amp. The project is almost entirely privately funded, with some public funding through donations.  NASA does contribute a small amount to the project, but not much.

The first vehicle to come from this project is the Saturn VI. The Saturn VI uses a widened third stage with 2 J-2T 400Ks. The second stage is a regular sized S-II, but powered by 5 J-2T 400Ks. The first stage is a 9m stretched S-IC with 6 F-1Bs.

Full album: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

[GoldForest]

Redid the mission and everything when fine this time. I do think it had something to do with the robotics parts. I unlocked them to try and fix their position, then they wouldn't lock again... this time I left them alone and no self-destruct. 

[GoldForest]

Why... just... why...

THe station keeps exploding, and then memory leak causing a crash... 

If anyone wants to help figure this out, here's the log: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yvqi8eqmi2qztxp/KSP.log?dl=0

Edited April 6, 2023 by GoldForest

[GoldForest]

Alright, well, the station keeps exploding, and I don't know why... It might be lost because I just tried loading it up and it exploded. I task managered KSP, but I might have been too late... 

[GoldForest]

Yeah, I think this project is over... I can't load the station without it exploding. 

[Kerbalsaurus]

1 hour ago, GoldForest said:

Yeah, I think this project is over... I can't load the station without it exploding. 

Aww...

 

[Ultim32]

It is very sad to see this project end. You did very well on it!

[GoldForest]

52 minutes ago, Ultim32 said:

It is very sad to see this project end. You did very well on it!

Thanks!

But yeah, there was just no saving the station. It kept exploding and I don't know why and don't want to waste the time trying to figure it out. 

There will be one final post to send SISS off... in the words of Sargeant Johnson. "Send me out... with a bang."

[Kerbalsaurus]

@GoldForest , have you tried the mod Kerbal Joint Reinforcement? It's helped with my bigger space stations not going BLAMMO! It's sort of like a permanent autostrut, but it doesn't induce the Kracken as much. It also helps with spacecraft rigidity.

[GoldForest]

14 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

@GoldForest , have you tried the mod Kerbal Joint Reinforcement? It's helped with my bigger space stations not going BLAMMO! It's sort of like a permanent autostrut, but it doesn't induce the Kracken as much. It also helps with spacecraft rigidity.

Yeah, I have it installed already.

[Royalswissarmyknife]

Sad to see it go.

 I hope you start a new mission report series (maybe not focused on a station).

[GoldForest]

48 minutes ago, Royalswissarmyknife said:

Sad to see it go.

 I hope you start a new mission report series (maybe not focused on a station).

I prefer to do stations instead of interplanetary stuff. If I do do another mission report series, it would probably be another station series, probably a less ambitious one so I can avoid the Kraken visiting again.

^{Or perhaps something more? (Shameless KSP 2 reference)}

[GoldForest]

September 20th, 1991

Disaster Strikes

September 20th, 1991, a day that will be remembered in the space industry forever, the day we lost an icon. 

September 18th, 1991 - An unstable asteroid is picked up by multiple asteroid monitoring sites as it approaches the Mun. The asteroid is spinning on not one, but two axises, making prediction of the target path hard. It's too small to pose a threat to Kerbin, but early predictions show asteroid 1991 SE would come dangerously close or even impact SISS. SISS is ordered to make a orbit change of course, putting it out of the way... for now. 

September 19th, 1991 - Asteroid 1991 SE broke apart as it entered the Mun's gravitational well. Asteroid 1991 SE was now a shotgun blast instead of a single impactor. The Mun's gravity also changed the orbit and sent the asteroid into SISS's path once more. SISS had wasted too much fuel to make another correction burn that would save the station. An order that has never been given to any space station before now was finally given.... Evacuate. Astronauts and Cosmonauts alike were ordered to return to Kerbin as soon as possible. SISS was put into an angle that would try to minimize debris once the asteroids hit before the crew donned their spacesuits and left the station, hoping to return, but that hope was soon squashed when they learned there was a 83% certainty that the asteroid debris cloud would hit SISS. 

On the ground, people wept and some even demanded NASA or Roscosmos send an emergency launch to the station to give it fuel, but they knew there was nothing that could be done. No rocket could be prepared in under 24 hours. So, the world watched in horror as the giant station awaited its death, people using telescopes to get one last look of the giant station as it passed overhead., some taking photos. 

September 20th, 1991 - Death Day. The world watched as NASA broadcasted a live feed from both SISS station and a nearby Kerbin observation satellite that had been reoriented to record the destruction from afar, well outside the danger zone. The wait was both exciting and gut wrenching. Finally, at 1:37 PM CST (6:37 PM UTC), the first of the debris struck SISS. It shattered a few solar panels and punctured the hull of supermodule as well as one or two other modules.  Early debris continued to strike the station until the main debris arrived twenty minutes later. A large basketball asteroid ripped through Supermodule, creating a hole big enough for explosive decompression, the station starting to tumble head over heels. Another large chunk of asteroid ripped through MOK, causing another explosive decompression that actually lessened the tumble, but didn't stop it. 

The bombardment of SISS lasted for a good hour before the debris cloud of Asteroid 1991 SE cleared its orbit and fell into Kerbin's upper atmosphere where it harmlessly disintegrated. 

At some point the cameras on SISS were all taken out or their protective covers and/or lens cracked and/or shattered to the point you couldn't see through them. The live feed from the observation satellite was also cut a little before the end of the debris cloud due to a malfunction with the streaming software at NASA. The feed was restored, but only after the disaster was over. When it came back, people were met with SISS in a tumble and spin with solar panel debris all around. It looked like every solar panel had been destroyed and ripped from the station, even the stowed panels. The solar truss had been ripped clean off after the S1 and P1 radiator segments, which themselves were missing said radiators, along with all the radiators on the Russian segment, safe for one stowed radiator on MOK.

NASA allowed the feed to go on for thirty minutes before cutting it so they could focus on assessing the damage, working with Roscosmos to do so. 

After a few hours, Roscosmos found two solar panels that were damaged, but still able to generate power. They were stowed on the Foreword Research Module docked to the Universal Docking Module. They quickly deployed the panels and got some power pumping into the dying station, but it was a life support measure at best. They also deployed the stowed radiator to help keep the computer's cool, but without the main radiators, it was quickly reaching its limits. 

September 21st, 1991 - After reviewing the damage and assessing what to do, NASA, Roscosmos and the other international space agencies decided that it would cost too much to repair the station in orbit. It was decided that the station would be deorbited the same day. The decision was made at around 5 in the morning. Roscosmos fired up the engines on all the modules it could, but with leaking fuel, they didn't know if they could deorbit SISS. The RCS thrusters pointed SISS retrograde, and the command was given to light the engines. SISS slowly began to lower its orbit into Kerbin's atmosphere and soon had a predicted oceanic grave. 

The predications were wrong though as debris made it through reentry and impacted land, near a city no less. Emergency crews were dispatched, and thankfully no one was hurt, except for a few trees in the forest. Fires of course erupted, but fire crews managed to contain the blaze before it got out of control. 

September 25th, 1991 - An emergency session of the International Space Union was held to discuss the debris that remained in orbit. Some debris was on a slow descent into the atmosphere, but most of it remained in orbit and would for up to two and a half decades. Proposals were made and requests made of the space industry. Ultimately, Kerbin orbit was unsafe with so many chunks in orbit. The decision was made to send up debris cleaning spacecraft.  It would take up to 5 to 10 years for spacecraft to find and deorbit enough debris to make space safe again, so the ISU and member nations got to work. 

Full album: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Edited April 12, 2023 by GoldForest

[GoldForest]

January 15th, 2001

Leak...

A leaked photo from inside one of NASA's facilities...

Edited April 10, 2023 by GoldForest

[GoldForest]

April 3rd, 2001

Leak 2...

A leaked photo from inside a Roscosmos facility... 

Edited April 10, 2023 by GoldForest

[ra4nd0m]

37 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

A leaked photo from inside a Roscosmos facility... 

Roscosmos didn't exist back then. It was federal space agency.

I hate roscosmos and how it ruined russian space program.

Edited April 8, 2023 by ra4nd0m

[Kerbalsaurus]

I just noticed, are you using JNSQ? Or is this the main stock system, and I'm just dumb?

[GoldForest]

1 hour ago, ra4nd0m said:

Roscosmos didn't exist back then. It was federal space agency.

I hate roscosmos and how it ruined russian space program.

Alternative history.

1 hour ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

I just noticed, are you using JNSQ? Or is this the main stock system, and I'm just dumb?

It's the stock system with 2.5x rescale mod applied.

[GoldForest]

December 30th, 2001

Rebirth

SISS 2 AKA Nova Stella: Supermodule 2

Ten years. It took twenty years to make Kerbin orbit safe again for space stations, satellites and spacecraft leaving for the Mun. Mun missions did happen between the death of SISS and now, but they were far and few in between, space agencies having to time the launches down to the second to avoid debris hitting the leaving spacecraft. In those ten years, NASA and other space agencies also went quiet about any plans they had for orbital stations. The media didn't report much of anything outside official launches and the public was starting to wonder if any space stations were abandoned indefinitely. That is, until a photo popped up on a space enthusiast forum. The photo was a close up of, presumably, a space station module. Said module was large and had a artificial gravity ring, but not much else was shown. The poster of the photo posted it anonymously, but left a caption stating that, "Photo of a module being worked on. Hope is not dead." The module shown looked a lot like a modified Supermodule from SISS. 

Rumors started circling the web and news stations. NASA stated quiet however or gave a "No comment." The other space agencies, Roscosmos, JAXA, CSA, ESA and others also declined to make an official statement. 

Months passed and nothing came of the leaked photo. No official statement, no announcement, nothing. Radio silence about the leak. 

Then, a few months later, another anonymous user posted a photo on the same space enthusiast forum, this time the photo was from inside a Roscosmos facility, showing what looked like the bottom of a modified MOK module. The photo was followed by a caption as well. "Prigotov'tes' uvidet' Novuyu Zvezdu na nebe v etom godu." Translators were quick to change it into other languages. "Prepare to see a New Star in the sky this year."

People were quick to notice the capitalization of two words. Novuyu Zvezda. New Star. 

The rumor mill again fired, in full force. Within a week there were three popular theories: 

There would be two new stations in orbit.

There would be a new Supersized International Space Station.

This was an elaborate hoax by some photoshopper trolls. 

Those that believed the first two rumors started to pay attention to NASA and Roscosmos, asking questions which of course got no answers. They began to look at the launch listings and rocket providers. That's when someone noticed DIRECT was a buzz with activity. An amateur space enthusiast photographer managed to get a picture from a rented Cessna of an elongated Jupiter core tank, and while the photo was fuzzy, people were able to make out that it had not the regular two SRB mounts, but four, and judging by the distance between the top and bottom supports, the SRBs would be five segments, not four. After the leak, DIRECT took further precautions to protect against leaks, like moving stuff at night. The FAA also stepped in and put-up restricted zones whenever a supposed moving of space hardware took place. 

People were wondering why such secrecy needed to be taken. What was going on?

Fast forward to November. The International Space Union, ISU, made a televised announcement. SISS 2 had been in development for the last two years and the first module was ready to launch. Supermodule 2 would launch on the thirteenth anniversary of Supermodule 1's launch, and MOK 2 would follow a month later, barring any delays. The name of the station was also revealed to be Nova Stella which translated to New Star in Latin. Space forums exploded. 

December 30th, 2001. Launch day. The massive DIRECT Jupiter 243 Rolls out on to the launch pad. The world watches as the first space station since SISS was awaiting launch. The stands at NASA's launch center were filled to capacity and then some, the overflow spilling out into fields and parking lots. The countdown reached final phase, and everyone watched with anticipation and hope for a good launch, the stands erupting with applause as the mighty rocket jumped from the pad. 

Full album: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Teaser image: 

Edited April 12, 2023 by GoldForest

[ra4nd0m]

That's some classic KSP-style fairings here. I wonder what those engineers used to reinforce rockets so they wouldn't collapse under such mass.

So your timeline Earth have Wakanda for vibranium?

[kspbutitscursed]

sooo gold forest you are going in for round 2 i guess lol 

also these are amazing screenshots so keep up the good work 

On 4/7/2023 at 5:47 PM, GoldForest said:

Yeah, I think this project is over... I can't load the station without it exploding. 

for now.................

[GoldForest]

7 hours ago, ra4nd0m said:

That's some classic KSP-style fairings here. I wonder what those engineers used to reinforce rockets so they wouldn't collapse under such mass.

So your timeline Earth have Wakanda for vibranium?

Wakanda foreva!

But in seriousness, nah, just really good strengthening of the upper and core stage to take the weight.  It is a one off after all, no need to make it mass producible. 

1 hour ago, kspbutitscursed said:

sooo gold forest you are going in for round 2 i guess lol 

also these are amazing screenshots so keep up the good work 

for now.................

Yeah, decided to keep the thread alive. SISS 1 project did die, but this is SISS 2. A new project, a sequel to the last. 

And thanks!

Edited April 11, 2023 by GoldForest