Development of Automated "Hoverslams"/ "Suicide Burns" for eventual Return to Landing Site or Barge landings

[Soda Popinski]

There's still some fudging going on with the script. I haven't figured out how to get available_thrust for the engines at sea level, so for now, I just put in the thrust Micro Engineer states for the suicide burn calcs. Same with ISP, which is what I'm using to calculate final mass after the suicide burn.

Since available_thrust is giving me the vacuum thrust, the hover throttle calculation is giving me a throttle setting below actual required throttle. Until I figure that out, I added a small proportional gain, but that can lead to some overshoot.
Previously, in kOS, I was calculating suicide burns using a time slice method, "simulating" one second at a time. This time, I realized thrust is constant, while acceleration is dependent on mass, which drops at a constant rate, so calculus should be able to handle this. I barely passed calculus in the 90s, but found this post on the kOS subreddit that had an equation that worked (eventually).

This really won't be functional in a campaign until a mod like FMRS or Physics Range Extender comes out, and I can control both first and second stage.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Soda Popinski

[Soda Popinski]

Follow up test with an orbital class booster.
 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Soda Popinski

[Sylvi Fisthaug]

Great project! 

Where did you get the gridfins on the rocket from your second video? 

[Soda Popinski]

On 5/9/2023 at 7:38 AM, Sylvi Fisthaug said:

Great project! 

Where did you get the gridfins on the rocket from your second video? 

Got it from the SORRY mod.  

Continuing progress, and got a "successful" return to KSC.  Not exactly ideal...
 

 

[Soda Popinski]

Part 3.  More or less made it back to KSC.  Put in a bit more detail on the development and actual process.