[WIP] FLEXrack - Portable Payload Racks

[popeter45]

this looks great

[sumghai]

Way too cool, nothke. I especially like the VAB/SPH-style module attachment whilst in orbit.

Looking forward to any preliminary release(s).

Edited May 17, 2013 by sumghai

[Lazurkri]

you know, done right, you could theoretically, have a module piece that you could use as a sort of "Rotary Docker".

Like, say you have a ship thats a carrier ( bear with me). Instead of a big, singular, and bulky enclosed hanger, you'd have the Rotary system with a series of smaller, one ship bays set up so it'd pull ships that are small enough into one where it could be protected from debris. That way your carrier is as sleek as possible, and without the gaping vulnerability of a open hanger door (s).

Another use for this could be in conjunction with escape/drop pods; instead of the pods hanging off a docking port/decoupler, they'd be in their own niches in the hull, and thus not taking up space.

Yet another use, and fitting in with the modular payload, would be the ability to shed the items on the rack; I envision this being used to drop multiple satellites out of a single ship without having to clutter up docking ports like the idea above. You'd simply drop a satellite, shift to a different orbit, and repeat as needed.

I know my ideas are a little oddball, so bear with me.

[Moon Goddess]

Oooo this would make really cool cargo drops.

Say we put a base on Mun or Duna that uses KASPAR, then we make a resupply flight, the resupply ship wouldn't need to deorbit simply decouple a landing pod with KASPAR sockets full of supplies. Kerbals then transfer the full containers to the base and the empty containers to the landing pod.

Landing pod could be designed to ascend and dock with supply ship or could be discarded as debris.

[Hyratel]

please make the Boilerplate module available as a unity project part, for purposes of other makers making bits for this

[videomaji]

reminds me of something i did while back using attachment mod to slap on fuel, keth, ect you could stack them. when send them out to planets and later on when you need the resource say ? like keth theres a keth flower growing you can just pick up attach to your ship walla your ship gets it's dose of keth fuel.

[karolus10]

I don't want criticize (I'm impressed, BTW) but front section of container shouldn't be a bit shorter (less deep) ? I mean that I'm not sure it should fit to 2.5m rack modules (in layout like on ISS) or larger diameter modules .

Entire concept of unified rack containers would be very interesting in building modular IVA's - It would use dozen of pre-made modules (like bed, workstations, WC, tanks, lockers, suit stand etc.) and then use them to fill corridors in modder (or even player if game allow to use bare station modules and then customize by putting proper "bricks" inside) discretion .

Edited May 24, 2013 by karolus10

[comham]

Glad to see a pillow storage pallet. Absolutely essential for any self-respecting space program.

[Lazurkri]

IDK about you but I'd be using this for easily and cheaply deploying Orbital Weapons Platforms in orbit of any planet I want... Well, OWP's or target drones, either works.

[PringleMan]

I think I would use this to conveniently shift around fuels for refining in concert with kethane. Launch this up to a station, change out keth tanks for an empty tank, send the transfer vehicle back to the keth field, and then while it is on the way switch back to the refining station and process it. No docking required, and the bugs that KAS sometimes has can also be eliminated, again through no need for docking.

Also makes it possible to do counter-weights and ballast for VTOL ships.

[Moon Goddess]

The most obvious thing to say here is simply, I want this.

I'm so impressed by this mode that I'm obsessed, I keep checking this thread like over and over hoping to see news.

[Arrowstar]

Yeah, this looks great! Looking forward to seeing where it's going.

[nothke]

Back on the project!!

Update:

I've been building a better model, the racks are a bit shorter now, so they perfectly fit now on the girders and are easier to carry around. I have also been making the new "skeleton edition" without the covers so you can have exposed cargo.

I have spent most time on "stylising" the racks. I have tried a few different looks, and then in the end I returned to the first one xD

some attempts:

The new KAS update by Kospy has improved functionality, now you can align racks almost perfectly and also you get a preview before you place it. Also the mass of the rack is added to EVA while carrying, so it's realistic that there's more inertia and you'll need more EVA fuel to carry heavier rack.

(warning: old models in the screen)

I have also decided how to solve the balancing issue, by which I mean: if you have different kinds of cargo on opposite sides of the ship, the center of mass would shift from the center making powered flight difficult. Therefore I will have to standardize cargo mass into 3 categories:

- light - 0.05t - empty racks or something very light like simple electronics or things made of plastic

- medium - 0.15t - electronics, panels, batteries, various equipment

- heavy - 0.45t - fuel and water tanks

(values subject to change)

I still need to see how much would each unit weight according to possible volume so it's correct and not OP/UP.

also this would mean that you need to pay attention with fuel tank racks as you need to keep the fuel level equal in opposite racks. But of course if you use them just on space stations where perfect center of mass is not an issue then... it's not an issue =)

Kospy will help make a system that would allow proper and precise attachment to the closest slot in the cargo hold. For now, I am placing them "by hand" using the "h" attach

generally it's still just experimenting-testing-experimenting-testing until I am satisfied with the result. Then I will polish the models and probably publish the first bunch. Until then stay tuned. Also I hope to write updates more often now =)

Edited June 6, 2013 by nothke

[Moon Goddess]

So what's the new size of the racks, I'd love to try my hand at making a module

[nothke]

So what's the new size of the racks, I'd love to try my hand at making a module

Those are vertex x and y positions, the height is 0.65. Note that position will be slightly changed (the vertical axis) cause of the center of mass. Also the rack should be centered by height to origin. So the shape is correct, but the position of the rack will be changed.

The difference between the old one is as you can see very little.

When I complete the styling, I will post the whole tutorial how to make a rack from scratch together with chamfers and extrusions. And I will also provide my empty rack models as .fbx so you will be able to put it in unity and export it with your cargo.

[taniwha]

nothke: do you have anything to download yet? Or is everything still in too much flux?

[nothke]

Not for now, but soon... I just need to finish the basic models and I'll publish an alpha version

[Keenan Smith]

Waiting in hope...

( i wonder if this would go well with Nutt's Cygnus and my Antares parts ... ? )

meaning something to do other than dock... mostly for station keeping..

[betaking]

this would be awsome for a robotic arm.

[Moon Goddess]

That would be cool but right now he appears to be following the KAS model, which is EVA only.

Not sure if it would be possible to make them be movable by EVA and still movable by robot arm.

[betaking]

no I was meaning like, you'd put a robotic arm in a bay, rather than like have it stick out of the side of your craft or something, idk,

[nothke]

no I was meaning like, you'd put a robotic arm in a bay, rather than like have it stick out of the side of your craft or something, idk,

If you need a cargo bay, you have it in several mods like B9 Aerospace pack, mk3 Fuselage Expansion pack or SpaceJunk (round) cargo bays. Use these for general purpose, my cargo bays could be used for anything you want, but are primarily meant for racks.

[Camacha]

I think the arrangement of the containers inside rounded objects do not really make sense. A lot seem to be oriented in not the most space-efficient way. Other than that I do like the idea!

[PringleMan]

I think the arrangement of the containers inside rounded objects do not really make sense. A lot seem to be oriented in not the most space-efficient way. Other than that I do like the idea!

I think you need to elaborate on this. Because other than a potential related-rates calculus argument for most efficient ratio of height to radius, I cannot understand what you mean.

Round objects have the highest ratio of volume to surface area, the best of which is the sphere.

For example, lets compare a cylinder, a sphere, and a cube. We will make these unit-shapes, meaning every dimension is 1 meter.

Cylinder: Volume = 3.14 m^3

Surface Area = 12.57 m^2

Ratio ~ 1:4 volume to surface area

Sphere: Volume = 4.19 m^3

Surface Area = 12.57 m^2

Ratio = 1:2.976 volume to surface area

Cube: Volume = 1 m^3

Surface Area = 6 m^2

Ratio = 1:6 volume to surface area

So as you can see, trying to fit into a "square" area is the least efficient possible. And remember, every square centimeter of surface area is waste weight. You want the most volume per unit surface area (or basically the lowest ratio possible) that you can possibly get. Unfortunately the sphere is not really practical engineering wise, because it does not attach nicely without additional material and it would be impossible to totally fill the area with an easy to access container system. This leaves the cylinder as the logical choice in terms of cost and ease.

Edited June 15, 2013 by PringleMan

[Bobhendly]

Anything New?