Orion aka "Ol' Boom-boom"

[Agarax]

Nyrath: This is an awesome mod. I've been an Atomic Rockets fan for a while and it's fun to finally take ol' Boom-Boom out for a test drive.

If I may, I have two suggestions - one minor and one major.

Minor Suggestion: Orion-Class RCS thrusters. Even if you only load up with the smallest of the magazine selections, the ship turns like a beached whale even with the Kilowatt Rocketry RCS packs. Could you add some souped up RCS thrusters to the pack to allow a more nimble turn rate?

Major Suggestion: I'd love to see this turn from just an Orion Mod to an Atomic Rockets mod. An NSWR or gaseous core coaxial NTR could drag the Kerbals straight into the future of the 1950s. Taking the Polaris to Duna and back on a single stage would be pretty awesome.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

[nyrath]

Oh i thought the magazine parts would actually become one.

Alas, they become separate parts linked by ConfigurableJoints. But as far as the physics engine is concerned, they are still separate parts.

[nyrath]

Nyrath: This is an awesome mod. I've been an Atomic Rockets fan for a while and it's fun to finally take ol' Boom-Boom out for a test drive.

Minor Suggestion: Orion-Class RCS thrusters. Even if you only load up with the smallest of the magazine selections, the ship turns like a beached whale even with the Kilowatt Rocketry RCS packs. Could you add some souped up RCS thrusters to the pack to allow a more nimble turn rate?

Major Suggestion: I'd love to see this turn from just an Orion Mod to an Atomic Rockets mod. An NSWR or gaseous core coaxial NTR could drag the Kerbals straight into the future of the 1950s. Taking the Polaris to Duna and back on a single stage would be pretty awesome.

Thank you for your kind words.

Hmmm, I'll have to look into super jumbo RCS. Which will probably need super jumbo monopropellant tanks.

Yes, I had been toying with the idea of more ferocious atomic rockets. Nuclear lightbulb, gas core, all that. And a NSWR if I want to go full-Jebidiah on my mod-making. Again my main concern is breaking the game. With those monsters, who wants to play around with piddling chemical rockets?

[Canopus]

Yes we need more awesome propulsion methods

I have to saves, a "legitimate" one and one with Orion.

An NSWR or gaseous core coaxial NTR could drag the Kerbals straight into the future of the 1950s.

Well said, Agarax. btw there are some very strong RCS thrusters in the KW Rocketry pack. Edited July 3, 2013 by Canopus

[hoojiwana]

Hmmm, I'll have to look into super jumbo RCS. Which will probably need super jumbo monopropellant tanks.

Yes, I had been toying with the idea of more ferocious atomic rockets. Nuclear lightbulb, gas core, all that. And a NSWR if I want to go full-Jebidiah on my mod-making. Again my main concern is breaking the game. With those monsters, who wants to play around with piddling chemical rockets?

With 0.21 it'll be easy to add reaction wheels to any part, or making specific reaction wheel parts. That will mean being able to turn things much much easier at the cost of using electricity, something most Orion rockets right now probably don't use at all.

Orion already breaks KSP pretty well. Throw in the 400MN bombs and it really breaks the game. A big part of balance for parts later on will be cost and tech-level, but those will apply to career mode, something we don't have yet.

[Canopus]

Oh yes i forgot about the New Reaction wheels.

[Kenobi McCormick]

And a NSWR if I want to go full-Jebidiah on my mod-making.

Jebediah would be disappointed if you didn't.

Again my main concern is breaking the game. With those monsters, who wants to play around with piddling chemical rockets?

Bah, don't worry about it. Just make badass atomic rockets and let the people who enjoy them enjoy them. I don't find myself using Orion much because I simply never do anything in space that warrants an engine that crazy. I wouldn't say it's imbalanced, but I will say that it's the only 10m rocket engine in the game and there isn't really much use for one in my space program aside from effing about with insane TMRs and dVs.

I will say they're great for sundiving and for getting absurdly large orbits. I did launch one that flew out to a 600,000,000,000x600,000,000,000 orbit, then put the brakes on and established a new orbit only 3.4mx450k around Kerbol...and it still has enough nukes to come back to Kerbin if necessary. I have always wanted to build a space station out in the deep dark depths of interplanetary space, though, perhaps Orion could ferry modules over there...

Edited July 3, 2013 by Kenobi McCormick

[Agarax]

Orion already breaks KSP pretty well. Throw in the 400MN bombs and it really breaks the game. A big part of balance for parts later on will be cost and tech-level, but those will apply to career mode, something we don't have yet.

Seconded. Once you've reached this level of rocket nerd, you have to self limit your gameplay (kind of like how Scott Manley tries to make all his parts reusable). The challenge from an Atomic Rocket mod wouldn't be reaching Jool, it would be reaching Jool without creating a (theoretical) radioactive crater at KSC during liftoff and carrying enough Hitchhiker Storage Containers to account for all the work, sleep, and storage areas that most current designs don't have.

[Canopus]

Seconded. Once you've reached this level of rocket nerd, you have to self limit your gameplay (kind of like how Scott Manley tries to make all his parts reusable). The challenge from an Atomic Rocket mod wouldn't be reaching Jool, it would be reaching Jool without creating a (theoretical) radioactive crater at KSC during liftoff and carrying enough Hitchhiker Storage Containers to account for all the work, sleep, and storage areas that most current designs don't have.

I kinda did this after old the original mission plan. Did i ave enough storage Area? maybe i have to think about that. Would make for an interesting mission.

[Mekan1k]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a nuclear lightbulb lifter engine. Please!

[Scotius]

Seconded And don't worry about game-breaking engines nyrath. Sooner or later Kerbol system will grow yet again, and we'll get another gas giant with its own ensemble of moons. And likely it will be farther away than Eeloo is now. I have a feeling it will be straining abilities of curent stock parts to get there - mainly because of stupidly long coasting times and rare launch windows. I don't fancy sending one and only mission there before another update comes and breaks my stuff mid-flight Having and engine capable of achieving brachistochrone(sp?) trajectories would be a godsend.

[Boosterspice]

I think that the Kerbals would appreciate more nuclear rockets, just because it's FRICKING AWESOME! An Atomic Rockets pack would also amuse the Devs, if I know them right

[nyrath]

In that case, the main thing I have too look out for is too fine a granularity. For example, the Orion had 2MN magazines and 3.5MN magazines (for historical authenticity reasons). As it turned out, nobody was really using the 2MN magazines (with a couple of notable exceptions), so they were wasted parts just clogging up memory (blasted textures were 3 megs apiece).

So I have to choose my atomic engines such that they have thrust and specific impulse sufficiently distinct from each other.

I am tempted to make the nuclear lightbulb more cinematic. In the real design one cannot actually see the lightbulb through the engine bell, but I think it would be much more visually interesting to be able to see it glowing in all its radioactive fury.

[Canopus]

In that case, the main thing I have too look out for is too fine a granularity. For example, the Orion had 2MN magazines and 3.5MN magazines (for historical authenticity reasons). As it turned out, nobody was really using the 2MN magazines (with a couple of notable exceptions), so they were wasted parts just clogging up memory (blasted textures were 3 megs apiece).

So I have to choose my atomic engines such that they have thrust and specific impulse sufficiently distinct from each other.

I am tempted to make the nuclear lightbulb more cinematic. In the real design one cannot actually see the lightbulb through the engine bell, but I think it would be much more visually interesting to be able to see it glowing in all its radioactive fury.

Just keep it realistic. Would an engine with visible lightbulb work? And one thing you have to do is the NSWR, the ultimate atomic Rocket if you ask me

[ecat]

Can a mod be any more Kerbal than this? Love it.

A great way to experiment with technologies we'll probably never see. Also a great way to get those high part count ships to orbit. Here is the experimental Ion Flair Mk I, I forget the total part count but with over 450 Ion engines you can imagine the rest.

The Ion Flair series is so environmentally friendly and earns so many environmental credits that an atomic lift stage is not so much justified as it is mandated.

[Boosterspice]

There's your huge payload, nyrath

Interesting thing, ecat. What is it's purpose? Seems quite fast

[ecat]

There's your huge payload, nyrath

Interesting thing, ecat. What is it's purpose? Seems quite fast

Purpose?

I'll get back to you on that one.

If I remember correctly the justification went something like "Hay. Look. We've just found a pile of unused Ion engines, any ideas?"

Sometimes you just need to look at the numbers, other times it helps to actually build a model. Launching either of these would have been impossible without this mod.

[Canopus]

Orion nuclear pulse drive and Ion engines in one ship? HERESY! (just kidding ;D)

[nyrath]

Can a mod be any more Kerbal than this? Love it.

A great way to experiment with technologies we'll probably never see. Also a great way to get those high part count ships to orbit. Here is the experimental Ion Flair Mk I, I forget the total part count but with over 450 Ion engines you can imagine the rest.

The Ion Flair series is so environmentally friendly and earns so many environmental credits that an atomic lift stage is not so much justified as it is mandated.

Great Galloping Delta Vee!!! Look at the size of that monster!

[Mekan1k]

Here it is spitting out a 3m tank from KW

What happened to this version of the vehicle Where did it go? It is perfect for KSP, and seems to fit everything!

Any ideas?

[Canopus]

What happened to this version of the vehicle Where did it go? It is perfect for KSP, and seems to fit everything!

Any ideas?

Nova is on Vacation i think and he had some problems with it.

[Mekan1k]

Aww! That was the coolest looking version of the Orion I had ever seen!

When he is back, can we ask him to release it, so that we can debug it?

[Canopus]

Aww! That was the coolest looking version of the Orion I had ever seen!

When he is back, can we ask him to release it, so that we can debug it?

I asked him long ago about it and he said that he also had to work on other stuff but he will get back to it eventually i think.

[Boosterspice]

He said earlier in this thread that it was not complete and very difficult, so I think that Nyrath is the best so far

Still, we might be able to persuade you to make several versions, Nyrath?

[Canopus]

He said earlier in this thread that it was not complete and very difficult, so I think that Nyrath is the best so far

Still, we might be able to persuade you to make several versions, Nyrath?

Nova just made a different model using nyrath's plugin, so there is no competion going on.