CommSat Deployer

[schlosrat]

Here's a simple rocket that demonstrates one way to solve the lack of interstage nodes in the KSP 2 EA faring capability. This rocket will easily make it to the Mun or Minmus with fuel to spare, and can deliver three communications satellites into a nice network.

CommSat Deployer

Here's what the beast looks like. Note I used control surfaces instead of stabilizers.  Although the center of pressure is well behind the CM even with empty tanks, this beast gets a bit jumpy when you're going through Max Q, and stabilizers just didn't seem to be able to prevent it tipping over. Probably my piloting skillz just aren't as good as they need to, but if you keep SAS on Prograde after you've started your gravity turn and keep the angle above 45 until after max Q you should be able to get to orbit every time! In fact, you should be able to do most of your low orbit circularization burn with the first stage! If you prefer to ditch the fairing before circularizing, then you can move Stage 4 to be down between stages 1 and 2, then stage the fairing once you're clear of atmo and proceed. If you want to play it safe you can leave it where it is and ditch it after circularization.

 

This view shows the satellites stacked inside the fairing

 

This view shows a closer view of the full stack of three communications satellites with engine mounts used to stack them inside the fairing

 

This view show the Clamp-O-Tron Jr's used to attach the satellites and the engine mounts. Be sure your solar panels are retracted when you decouple or things can  get stuck!

 

This image shows the decoupler used to toss away the engine mount once you're done with it. These are found on stages 5 and 6, with the top one (first you'll toss) in stage 5. Be sure to point the host vessel away from it's intended line of travel or the recently deployed sat!

 

In this view I've deployed the second sat in the Normal direction then turned to the Anti-normal to jettison the engine mount clearing the path to deploy Sat 3 next. If you look closely, you'll see I goofed and deployed Sat 2 *before* circularizing (oops!). No worries, each sat has more than enough RCS to boost its own orbit back to circular, make tweaks to inclination, etc. Even this low in Kerbin's well it was no trouble at all!

 

Here we can see the deployer vessel lined up for it's next maneuver with both Comm Sat 2 and the engine mount that held it clear of the path and each other.

Edited February 26, 2023 by schlosrat

[xProphetx]

This thing just completely falls apart on the pad for me.

[Xanatos]

How to stack multiple things inside of a fairing?

[schlosrat]

9 hours ago, xProphetx said:

This thing just completely falls apart on the pad for me.

That's odd. I've never seen it do that and I've launched a number of them. Did you grab all three files and move them into your campaigns workspace? You should have "Micro CommSat Deployer.jpg", "Micro CommSat Deployer.json", and "Micro CommSat Deployer.meta" all in your "C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\LocalLow\Intercept Games\Kerbal Space Program 2\Saves\SinglePlayer\<Campaign Name>\Workspaces" folder.

The only mod I've done in the game is to edit the "JOINT_RIGIDITY" setting in "C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\LocalLow\Intercept Games\Kerbal Space Program 2\Global\PhysicsSettings.json" to be 1500000 (was 1500), but I didn't even do that until after I'd built and flown this craft a number of times.

If a loaded craft is falling apart like this you might want to post in the bug forum.

[schlosrat]

18 minutes ago, Xanatos said:

How to stack multiple things inside of a fairing?

The trick is to build from the inside out and make use of the merge capability. In this instance I first built the commsat.

1. Design your probe. The probe you're deploying should have a clamp-o-tron jr facing down on it's bottom side because you'll want to make more of those just like that.
2. Saved it twice. First as the individual probe(which we'll use for merging later), and then as the stack we're building. Continue working in the stack workspace.
3. Attach a clamp-o-tron jr facing up to the one on the bottom of the probe (like they're docked)
4. Mount an engine mount under that facing up, not down (you'll need to flip it over when you bring it in).
5. Attach a decoupler at the engine mount interstage node above the probe, followed by another engine mount (flipped again), and then a clamp-o-tron jr facing up.
6. Move this assembly to the side and go to the workspaces folder and merge in another copy of your probe.
7. Drag the new copy of your probe over and attach it to the upwards facing clamp-o-tron jr on the top of the upper engine mount.
8. Go back to step 5 and repeat if you want more probes, otherwise...
9. Attach a fairing below the bottom engine mount and build the fairing shell to encompass all the probes
10. Build or merge in and attach a launch vehicle below the fairing.

That's from memory, but it should work, give it a shot.

Also, be careful with the order of the stages in your final rocket. The upper most decoupler should go before the next one down and so forth.

 

[xProphetx]

53 minutes ago, schlosrat said:

That's odd. I've never seen it do that and I've launched a number of them. Did you grab all three files and move them into your campaigns workspace? You should have "Micro CommSat Deployer.jpg", "Micro CommSat Deployer.json", and "Micro CommSat Deployer.meta" all in your "C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\LocalLow\Intercept Games\Kerbal Space Program 2\Saves\SinglePlayer\<Campaign Name>\Workspaces" folder.

The only mod I've done in the game is to edit the "JOINT_RIGIDITY" setting in "C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\LocalLow\Intercept Games\Kerbal Space Program 2\Global\PhysicsSettings.json" to be 1500000 (was 1500), but I didn't even do that until after I'd built and flown this craft a number of times.

If a loaded craft is falling apart like this you might want to post in the bug forum.

I'll see if I can get a pic or something.  The only part that is 'falling apart' is the top where the sats are.

[schlosrat]

1 hour ago, xProphetx said:

I'll see if I can get a pic or something.  The only part that is 'falling apart' is the top where the sats are.

I'll be happy to help sort this out. I'd like this craft to be usable by others, so whatever is causing the issue I'd like to help get it ironed out.

[xProphetx]

OK so I even built my own... its something to do with the fairing and how its made.  If I make no fairing, but the actual object in the stack, she doesn't fall apart.  But once I create fairing, the higher it is the more each component in the satellite is pulled apart.  Very odd, doesn't seem to be happening to anyone else so I'm gonna see about reinstalling and see if that helps.

[xProphetx]

Reinstalling alone didn't do it.  Deleting the folder in appdata/locallow along with it fixed it.  Crazy.

[Fizzlebop Smith]

@xProphetx

This is something to do with the way the craft is modified after jettison of the fairing. 

it apparently saves the glitched component as part of the  rockets "code" .

If returning to the Tracking Station and back doesn't work.. try to reload a save from before the fairing was staged.

Frustrating but I have a couple builds that encounter this issue as well.

On those I have.. the stuck part will throw maneuvers off ever so slightly, but just nough to skew course over large interstellar distances.