Attempting to go to space. With Canon... Re-ARMed!... An experiment report.

[Tw1]

 

With the advice of Temstar I set out to build a cannon to return my kerbals to the station, after they all jumped down. If I could use it for multiple launches, it's gotta be more economic than using all those rockets. And G-force Schme-force.

This was the concept:

Temstar said:

For some real muzzle velocity you need to build a multi-chamber cannon like the V-3:

 

But it seems KSP doesn't work that way.

The Nine mainsails were set up so they'd toggle on and off with an action group, so the kerbal sitting in the middle could be fired off using full thrust.

Unfortunately, the height reached was exactly the same as what using a single mainsail achieves.

And the launcher kind of collapsed on the way down.

Seems you must be right on top of an engine to get any force.

I did another test, to see if I could construct a funnel to concentrate the thrust from several engines. This would only work if I could deflect the thrust using wing pieces.

But, nothing happened. No version of this showed any thrust deflection at all.

Because Wehrwin's a very cooperative guy, I decided to do a different kind of test:

He completely ignored the wing boards above his head, and went soaring straight up, same as usual.

Looks like the mainsail fires kerbals at such a speed that the game does not have time to process any collisions.

Which gave me an idea...

Behold: The TowerCanon!

This could end in one of four ways....

Test fire looks good. We are go for launch!

Wehrwin Kerman, doing his duty...

He's alive! That's always good!

But will the multiple mainsails have done any good?

Nope. Hit that typical 5.4Km apoapsis.

On the way down, we saw the cannon causally tear itself apart.

And... BOING! Going up again. I love how they made the launchpad out of bouncy rubber. Or is it just the long grass?

Well, that's all there is.

Looks like my plans for a 30 mainsail powered canon will be permanently shelved. Considering the larger cannons tended to destroy themselves as soon as I switched to the flying Kerbal, It may be more economic to just use rockets after all.....

Edited December 17, 2015 by Tw1

[-RanZ-]

A+ for effort though

[TelluriumCrystal]

I am impressed. This is probably the most kerbal attempt to reach orbit I have ever seen.

[Tw1]

It was awesome fun.

It's literally 3:16 in the morning here.

I'm disappointed it didn't work out, it would've been a nice symmetry to launch with the canon, rendezvous with the jet pack, and then come down again using the jet pack and EVA parachutes.

Oh well. Perhaps I'll try SRBs with seats when they come out. Seats will be much lighter than command pods.

Hey, what about putting that SRB on the mainsail cannon.... No brain! Stop having ideas! I need sleep.

ZZZzzzz....

Edited May 17, 2013 by Tw1

[EndlessWaves]

Time for a plugin to give him a pointy cap to lower drag?

[Reavermyst]

And then the kerbals realized that turning the rockets the other way and strapping themselves to the top gets them to space faster!

maybe in the next update, if we get more parts, you'll be able to launch kerbals into space!

[Jarod645]

*snippity snip*

And... BOING! Going up again. I love how they made the launchpad out of bouncy rubber. Or is it just the long grass?

It almost looks like he's trying to do some sort of funky mid-air dance move or something

Gotta love ragdolling (is that even a word?)

[Tw1]

Yep, ragdolling is the term. I don't like it much myself, it's very inconvenient when waking a long a truss and then accidentally go to close the end of a strut connector, and....

"Fredming Kerman, now is not the time to do your ballerina impression! We have a job to do."

Mostly, this can be avoided but better craft design. Though it would be nice to have better ways to stick on when walking.

The best pose they do is near the top of the bounce. The frown turns to a big grin "I'm still alive :D", then they enjoy the rest if the ride, raising their hands up high, clipping them through the helmet.

May add a pic later.

Edit: Here it is

I suspect the only way to build the canon I originally envisioned is by modding, but I do have one more idea which I may try if I get time this afternoon.

I doubt I'll get near orbital spead, but I'd like to know what happens.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Tw1

[mushroomman]

I was thinking of using a cannon to launch small fuel cylinders and stuff off the surface of the Mun, but I think I'd end up using more fuel then it'd save.

[Supernovy]

You could maybe make it into orbit on a lower gravity body. Perhaps if you set up a horizontal mainsail cannon on top of minmus' highest peak?

I might try this.

[paleorob]

You could maybe make it into orbit on a lower gravity body. Perhaps if you set up a horizontal mainsail cannon on top of minmus' highest peak?

I might try this.

This would be worth seeing.

[drakesdoom]

Some of the lower gravity bodies can be lifted off with the jet pack alone so a boost couldn't hurt.

[Tw1]

I've seen people use a mainsail to return Kerbals home from the Mun. (Hope he packs a parachute next time.)

I want to put something like that on my Minmus base eventually.

It'd be the greatest skydive in (my) Kerbal history. Two whole days of free fall.

[paleorob]

Some of the lower gravity bodies can be lifted off with the jet pack alone so a boost couldn't hurt.

I think there is a Manley video about using a rocket exhaust boost to EVA a stranded Kerbal into Munar orbit, now that I think about it.

[Temstar]

Awww dammit, there goes my dream of re-enacting From the Earth to the Moon

The "gun-fired satellite" concept was seriously attempted in real life:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_HARP

They managed to achieve a muzzle velocity of 3600m/s, or more than 1/3 orbital velocity. The project got Saddam Hussein interested and he agreed to fund a new project for Gerald Bull to have another go at the super gun. But Israel (and a few other countries) didn't like the idea one bit since the super gun could also shoot nukes and chemical warheads very far so he was assassinated.

[Pbhead]

Saddam wasnt assassinated. he was tried and convicted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Saddam_Hussein

"The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on Saturday 30 December 2006. Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ite in the town of Dujail in 1982."

oh. you meant Gerald Bull ? nvm then.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Pbhead

[TelluriumCrystal]

Hmm... What if they replaced the conventional explosive charge with a nuke? And somehow got the payload to survive? This might actually work after all!

[Tw1]

Hmm... What if they replaced the conventional explosive charge with a nuke? And somehow got the payload to survive? This might actually work after all!

Makes me think of pulse detonation engines... I prefer nuclear thermal.

It reminds me of a story that claims an American manhole cover was the first man made object in space.

It was supposedly put over a shaft in which a nuclear weapon was being tested/exploded, and inadvertently achieved Earth escape velocity.

Dr Karl (a well known Australian science communicator) talked about it as part of a show he did.

[Superluminaut]

Have you tried launch clamps to prevent self destruction.

[Stelith61]

Idea - Mount cannon on a jet.

1. Go on suborbital hop

2. EVA, run cannon.

3. ???

4. Profit

You'd need a danny-mass-relay-style cannon, or just, you know, a really good plane.

EDIT: Built one, testing. Literally got my best plane and stuck a rocket on the front.

EDIT 2: Billy-Bobbles Kerman would like to express his distaste of this method.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Stelith61

[Tw1]

Have you tried launch clamps to prevent self destruction.

Maybe...

I avoided using them at first, as these where prototypes to work up to a bigger cannon, which would be at an angle, and permanently set up 2.5km away from KSC.

As it would need to be moved with hyperedit, and past experiments showed that the launch clamps don't like to be moved, so I was avoiding them.

[Taquarinha]

Danny2462 have made this with an "unique" part:

[Fel]

Well... yeah... if you use infinite thrust you can get a good canon.

[mushroomman]

I just realized that this is how they did it in "a Trip to the Moon"

[Splode]

I swear I saw this set up work on the catapult reddit challenge