[1.0.5] FASA 5.44

[NathanKell]

I would rather think another difference would be no LOX tank

[MaverickSawyer]

Indeed. The reason I ask is because I know that the S-IVB stages were hot fired less than 10 miles from where I live. I can't imagine what a "hot" fire of a S-IVN would have been like. Let's just say that the property values around the stand wouldn't be what they are today!

(BTW, the concrete foundation of that hot fire stand is still around, but the gantries are LONG gone... I'm trying to find out what it would take to go take a walk around it, just to be able to touch such a piece of history.)

[zakkpaz]

Indeed. The reason I ask is because I know that the S-IVB stages were hot fired less than 10 miles from where I live. I can't imagine what a "hot" fire of a S-IVN would have been like. Let's just say that the property values around the stand wouldn't be what they are today!

spreading nuclear massive amounts material into the air? that's what central Nevada for.

[CaptRobau]

I went to a NASA exhibit in the Netherlands last week and I thought I'd share some of the photo's that apply to this mod:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Without FASA I probably wouldn't have taken such an interest in the Gemini part of the exhibit. The one thing that impressed me is how big everything was about it. You don't really get that in KSP (due to the scaling and the third-person perspective) but the aft section with the golden foil is just humongous. How for Aldrin and all those astronauts must've felt spacewalking around such a monstrosity (especially when attached to the Agena).

[wasmic]

Let's just say that the property values around the stand wouldn't be what they are today!

You know, the exhaust of a nuclear engine isn't radioactive. Only the engine itself

EDIT: Oh, and Frizz, I have a question: what is the Centaur Transtage supposed to be? A Centaur upper stage or a Transtage upper stage? I think the transtage was used on the Titan something, but I know that the Centaur was used as an Atlas-D upper stage.

Edited January 13, 2014 by wasmic

[Nibb31]

EDIT: Oh, and Frizz, I have a question: what is the Centaur Transtage supposed to be? A Centaur upper stage or a Transtage upper stage? I think the transtage was used on the Titan something, but I know that the Centaur was used as an Atlas-D upper stage.

The FASA Centaur is a mislabeled Transtage, not a Centaur. I really wish FASA could include a real Centaur, because it is one of the most iconic upperstages in space history. It just celebrated its 50th anniversary and it's still flying.

[frizzank]

I didn't have time to make 2 engine packs that did almost the same thing, in the game at any rate, so I picked what I thought was the cooler looking one and went with it. Centaur will come eventual.

Nice pictures, I really wish KSP had reflection maps for god foil and such.....

Edited January 13, 2014 by frizzank

[Guest]

You know, the exhaust of a nuclear engine isn't radioactive. Only the engine itself

Actually, in the NERVA, LH2 ran right through the reactor and did get irradiated in process, via neutron activation. So yeah, it is radioactive. Now, it's possible to build an engine with a heat exchanger, which fixes that, but it lowers efficiency and increases weight.

[wasmic]

Actually, in the NERVA, LH2 ran right through the reactor and did get irradiated in process, via neutron activation. So yeah, it is radioactive. Now, it's possible to build an engine with a heat exchanger, which fixes that, but it lowers efficiency and increases weight.

AFAIK, when hydrogen absorbs a neutron, it turns into deuterium, which isn't radioactive and will reflect and slow neutrons rather than absorb them, which is why D2O is preferred to H2O in nuclear reactors. Of course, some of it will turn into tritium, but the biggest part by far shouldn't spend enough time in the reactor to become radioactive. Or otherwise I just remember incorrectly.

[Kerbal01]

Centaur needs to be made to make this pack complete

[MaverickSawyer]

Actually, in the NERVA, LH2 ran right through the reactor and did get irradiated in process, via neutron activation. So yeah, it is radioactive. Now, it's possible to build an engine with a heat exchanger, which fixes that, but it lowers efficiency and increases weight.

Not to mention the little bits of engine core coming out after hydrogen erosion of the graphite fuel/moderator matrix. They never did totally solve that issue, if memory serves. Yes, they did put liners in, but in the environment it was exposed to, just about EVERYTHING broke down to some extent after a 30 minute burn!

[Guest]

AFAIK, when hydrogen absorbs a neutron, it turns into deuterium, which isn't radioactive and will reflect and slow neutrons rather than absorb them, which is why D2O is preferred to H2O in nuclear reactors. Of course, some of it will turn into tritium, but the biggest part by far shouldn't spend enough time in the reactor to become radioactive. Or otherwise I just remember incorrectly.

It's true, that's why NERVA exhaust is pretty nonradioactive, but that's not to say it's completely harmless in that regard. The fuel gets bombarded by charged particles and some of that is gonna stick. Also, remember that NERVA, as a spacecraft engine, had to be rather light, meaning that it could also potentially activate air around it (due to much lighter shielding), which is more vulnerable to this than hydrogen. Hydrogen exhaust, after dispersing in the air, could also decay and activate more vulnerable molecules. The results would certainly be detectable, though the actual dose from a single test would be rather low.

However, that only applies to hydrogen-powered nuke engines (NERVA was one, as was RD-0440), if you feed it ammonia, helium, atmospheric air or some other fuel, your results could be much less environment-friendly. In fact, there was an idea to use a nuclear ramjet as a weapon that would irradiate the enemy territory by flying over it. The amount of neutrons hitting the coolant is very high inside the reactor, that's why the exhaust velocity is so incredible.

[frizzank]

So I got a chance to actually play KSP and I came up with this gem the other night.

Its Rescue Big G in a shuttle configuration with a makeshift docking bay (MOL equipment part).

It took a bit to figure out the engine configuration but once I did it flew rather well.

[Cdodders]

So I got a chance to actually play KSP and I came up with this gem the other night.

Its Rescue Big G in a shuttle configuration with a makeshift docking bay (MOL equipment part).

It took a bit to figure out the engine configuration but once I did it flew rather well.

http://i.imgur.com/l3JWRuZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xS7Cg23.jpg

Awesome, just awesome

[aeTIos]

And that's why I love FASA: It's still stock-sized so you can go nuts with combining stuff!

[tmikesecrist3]

Thats true in fact I am finding the Agina to be really versatle

[MaverickSawyer]

Agena has turned out to be a surprisingly flexible package... Although I'm still trying to figure out if the Monopropellant engine burns out at the same time as the liquid fuelled engine, or much later. Either way, with a light payload and aerobraking, it's very much capable of a trip to Duna and back.

[tmikesecrist3]

form my experince the main engin burns out befor the Mono perpellent engin.... right now what I am testing is if I can use Agina to help build my space station....

I just ran into a porble.... with the Gemini's docking nose cone only dock with the docking port on agina?

Edited January 14, 2014 by tmikesecrist3

[rdfox]

On the topic of the launch gantry, I know that there was at least one combination (and I want to say Gemini-Titan) where the gantry for crew boarding actually swung down away from the spacecraft on a hinge at the *bottom* of the tower before launch. If you could get that to work for the final one, that'd be truly awesome!

[frizzank]

On the topic of the launch gantry, I know that there was at least one combination (and I want to say Gemini-Titan) where the gantry for crew boarding actually swung down away from the spacecraft on a hinge at the *bottom* of the tower before launch. If you could get that to work for the final one, that'd be truly awesome!

This would be cool but anyone that had something below the gantry on there rocket would see it ripped off on disconnect.

I know there were several versions of towers and walkways but i'm going to do a retracting one and make it sort of look like the Saturn IB one in style.

I only have time to make one, and I like the way this one looks. I could make a perfect replica of a historic launch tower but it would be completely static and only good for a specific rocket. The launch clamps have some weird restrictions on how they are built, and I would like people to use for more than one specific pre-made vehicle. The mesh and texture for the tower have to be square. The mesh stretches and the texture is tiled as it goes up, and this launch complex would work well for that.

I do however plan to make swing arms for fuel and electricity so you could if you wanted to load a completely empty rocket on the pad and fill it up with fuel, Kerbals and whatnot.

[DasBananenbrot]

This would be cool but anyone that had something below the gantry on there rocket would see it ripped off on disconnect.

I know there were several versions of towers and walkways but i'm going to do a retracting one and make it sort of look like the Saturn IB one in style.

I only have time to make one, and I like the way this one looks. I could make a perfect replica of a historic launch tower but it would be completely static and only good for a specific rocket. The launch clamps have some weird restrictions on how they are built, and I would like people to use for more than one specific pre-made vehicle. The mesh and texture for the tower have to be square. The mesh stretches and the texture is tiled as it goes up, and this launch complex would work well for that.

I do however plan to make swing arms for fuel and electricity so you could if you wanted to load a completely empty rocket on the pad and fill it up with fuel, Kerbals and whatnot.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Apollo_5_on_pad.jpg/447px-Apollo_5_on_pad.jpg

Those fuel arms would be truly epic

[MaverickSawyer]

form my experince the main engin burns out befor the Mono perpellent engin.... right now what I am testing is if I can use Agina to help build my space station....

I just ran into a porble.... with the Gemini's docking nose cone only dock with the docking port on agina?

It can also dock with another Gemini nose cone, or with the Clamp-o-tron Jr. Doesn't work with the Clamp-o-tron or the APAS-69 from Kosmos. I've tried and failed to dock to both of those.

[frizzank]

With .23 it broke my workaround of putting multiple docking modules on one part so it could dock with other sized ports. All of them are size0 ports or Clamp-o-tron Jr. size.

[UltraVires]

Hey Frizz, having a small issue with the Mini-LR-91 engine, the exhaust plume draws about 100 meters behind the engine. As in, nothing comes out of the engine, until you look behind it, and there it is! I did delete the old FASA before getting this latest version, so I don't know if it's me, or the pack.

[MaverickSawyer]

It's not just you: I noticed the same issue.