What did you do in KSP1 today?

[RoboRay]

I'm launching early weather satellites for cash to upgrade the Tracking Station and Mission Control so I can try for a lunar flyby in my restarted RP1 campaign (now that I've figured out RP1, _mostly...)

My second-generation satellite launch vehicle uses a single LR-79 booster engine on a 2 meter wide tank for the first stage.  Second stage is 1 meter diameter, powered by an AJ10-42.  Third stage is an Aerobee in the AJ10-27 configuration.  The launcher isn't much, but it's enough to put dinky 100 kg satellites into the 600'ish km, 45 degree orbit needed, and it's fairly cheap as well as quick to build.

Well, it can usually reach the right orbit, if nothing goes wrong.  And occasionally even if something does.

On my latest mission, the LR-79 broke about halfway into the ascent, resulting in a major performance loss.  It left me low and slow with the second stage ignition.  The AJ10 ran like a champ, though, lofting my apogee nearly to the planned perigee.  I ran the second stage RCS tank dry of peroxide to eek out every meter per second I could get.  I knew I was going to need it.

Approaching apogee, I fired the Aerobee and it also performed flawlessly.  It got me a positive perigee, but not quite enough for a stable orbit.  I still had 25 liters of peroxide in the upper stage, which had turned out to be excessive on previous missions, but I hadn't removed it because it provided a nice maneuvering reserve.  Now, it just might save the mission.

600 km circular obit achieved, with 2 liters of propellant to spare!  I jettisoned the third stage and deployed the omni antennas I slipped into the satellite design to turn all the contracted weather sats into a low-LEO communications cloud. Don't laugh!  It's 1958 and nobody has invented the dish antenna yet.

Edited September 4, 2018 by RoboRay

[Triop]

Pole2Pole day 3, this is gonna take forever so I've started a new topic:

I hope to get to the South pole before 2019.

[Cavscout74]

The good:  Sunrise near Duna

The bad:  Oops!  There goes 600k  into the ocean.  Oh, also no fishing is advised for the next few hundred years.

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Cavscout74

[chazbanx]

9 hours ago, Zeiss Ikon said:

I had looked at limiting the thrust on one pair of the Castors to get staggered booster sep back on the Bumper D series, and found the TWR wasn't adequate, but I'll check it again.  If I could avoid the high gravity losses after booster sep, I might be able to do some "space high" and comsat contracts with Bumper E1 instead of having to grind funds and then wait for the pad upgrades to accommodate Bumper F1 (4x RD-103 booster, 1xRD-103 full burn second stage, it's over 120 T and 35 m tall).

I don't have anything similar to Titan I or Atlas anything yet, I'm still waiting for those lazy-butts in R&D to put down their coffee and invent some engines with more thrust and higher Isp than these alcohol-burners.  You'd think they'd never seen a jet engine running on kerosene.

I'd recommend searching YouTube for "KSP" or "Kerbal Space Program" and "tutorial".  As long as you get a tutorial based on 1.2.2 or later, almost everything you see should apply.  I didn't find the game difficult, even when I started playing, but I've been a rocket enthusiast since the Gemini program was still ongoing (and they were calling the planned Moon rocket "Nova"), built model rockets about the time Apollo ended, etc., so understood about things like rocket stability, thrust-to-weight ratio, and the basics of orbital mechanics.

Mostly i installed the spacex mods. trying to find a build blueprint.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

I have returned from my brief hiatus!!! Today I decided to celebrate by (finally) posting my A380 replica.

Download link for those who want it. https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/Kronus-A380-861

[MisterKerman]

1 hour ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

I have returned from my brief hiatus!!! Today I decided to celebrate by (finally) posting my A380 replica.

...

Download link for those who want it. https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/Kronus-A380-861

Part count?

[Kronus_Aerospace]

1 hour ago, MisterKerman said:

Part count?

A lot....

 

2159

[CatastrophicFailure]

An Incomprehensible -hensive Unscientific Analysis of Air-drop Launch Vehicles
A Stupidly Long Post.

 

As I keep tweaking the concept to the point of ridiculousness, I thought I'd do some uncontrolled testing so see how much benefit there is.

Spoiler

 

Both (real companies) StratoLaunch and Virgin Orbit have embraced the idea of air-dropping their carrier rockets; now as I understand it, in reality, there's not a huge benefit to doing this in terms of payload or fuel savings. They're starting from 35-40,000 feet, which is above a lot of the atmosphere, so they can squeeze a little more thrust and ISP from their booster stage, but the main reason they've gone with the concept is versatility: they can launch from "anywhere" (some restrictions apply, see your local gov't office), into "any" orbit, where as a terrestrial launch site is much more limited. Y'know, since major population centers generally frown upon burning rocket bits falling on them (not you, China). Anyways, KSP is not reality, but I decided to see what benefit there is in the concept in this sandbox-so-there's-no-benefit game.

(all numbers are -ish.)

So, first launch: carrier aircraft at 9000 meters, release speed Mach .8 (270m/s), straight-and-level unboosted launch:

Standard launch procedure: freefall about a second (frantically mashing spacebar), ignite engines, immediately pull up to 50* (MechJeb handling all maneuvers for, er, consistency...) Once clear of area near carrier aircraft, engage slightly-tweaked Ascent Guidance, rest of launch sequence is automatic.

 

Booster sep: 15kms, speed: 606m/s

 

MECO and circularize, standard 100x100(ish) orbit. 289m/s ΔV remaining in winged core stage. Good stuff. OK, moving on...

 

Or, rather, backwards...

0/0 launch from launch pad.

Standard MechJeb ascent again.

 

Booster sep: 8.3kms, 320 m/s. 

Big hit to performance already, both boosters are gone before air-drop altitude, and not yet even through Max Q. The core stage struggles from this point, with a low TWR, flying at a significant angle to maintain trajectory.

 

And the core stage is not enough. Core out of fuel and separated, 48kms, 1960m/s.

 

This rocket is ridiculously overbuilt, of course, reaching orbit still with 2731km/s available on the upper stage even after using some to complete the launch.

 

That's less than the previous test, but still more than enough to send 7 or 8 tonnes of payload anywhere in the stock solar system. 
So I sent Jeb and Bill to Jool.

 

Did you bring a book or anything?
No.

Do you wanna play a game?
No!
I spy, with my freakishly large eye...
<groans>
...something beginning with... S...
Space. It's space, isn't it? You're seeing space.
Right! Now you go.
No.

Er, anyways...

Final test of the full system.

Straight and level, 9000 meters. Fire up two Vectors on carrier aircraft and pitch up to 40*

They only have a few seconds of fuel, and quickly burn out.

 

Rocket release and engine ignition, 12,300 meters, 200m/s, and pointing significantly more upward.

Pitch up to 50*, get clear, engage MechJeb

 

This time booster release is at 21kms, 786m/s.

 

MECO and circularize, core stage now has 600m/s remaining, and upper stage is untouched. Tho it's not giving the right d/v in the display, should be 3211m/s after staging.

 

So... there is a very definite advantage to air-dropping in stockish KSP. See? Even Bartrid is happy. And back from the dead, apparently. Not to mention that you get your carrier aircraft back. Sort of. Even without the boosters, this setup could put a few tonnes into orbit with fully reusable "first" and second stages (more on that later).

 

 

[MisterKerman]

7 paying customers returning from Minmus. The eighth luckily had not paid to visit Minmus, so he provided a seat for Bob to take some Eva reports and surface samples at the landing site.

 

Refueling for next leg of the journey. Most have also paid to go to the Mun. I'm getting low on fuel so I think I'll devise freaking enormous refill tanks and a heavy-duty-lifter once the station's original initial-orbit-obtaining-booster is used up and ready to be de-orbited.

UPDATE: Okay yeah, this isn't going to work with jumbos... I put every last drop of fuel into the lander's booster and it still isn't full.

 

Another problem I encountered was my probe core for my station's fuel tank had inadequate torque to orient itself into facing retrograde. I instead oriented my station retrograde, detached, then using the booster's now enormously unbalanced CoM as a hinge to swing the entire station out and away from the spent fuel tank, fire the fuel tank away, then swing back into position. It was a really really satisfying affair for whatever reason.

 

At least now I have something to work towards that's less stressful than career-breaking moon tourism missions!

Edited September 4, 2018 by MisterKerman

[Cavscout74]

I had an idea last night.  I was planning on sending a second spaceplane to Laythe as a backup in case I break the first one.  But my usual design isn't intended to provide snacks for the long trip.  For the first one, I just sent it up unmanned - it has a Mk 2 drone core.  But I'm not crazy about flying spaceplanes unmanned due to lose of signal due to plasma blackout.  So I decided to add an escape pod, carried like the D-21 drone on the A-12/SR-71.  Granted, the Pumera spaceplane flies wonderfully in all its configurations & I haven't lost one yet due to signal loss when flown unmanned.  But the experiment was fun.

Managed to take off without breaking anything.  Always a good start.

Extra drag was not an issue.  I actually built up slightly more speed in air-breathing mode with this one than I usually do without the pod.

After establishing orbit & refilling the Pumera at a fuel depot, the pilot transferred to the seat in the pod, jettisoned it & is preparing for reentry burn:

Works like a charm.  I may slide the seat down just a little bit in the future, but all was well during reentry

[MisterKerman]

I would very much appreciate some feedback on this one if that's okay on this topic. If not I'll slink shamefully into another more appropriate section of these forums and make an entirely new topic for it.

Is this payload feasible? Is there a better way to put a bunch of fuel into space in a very large amount all at once?? I don't know if I even want to attempt to see how much it takes to get something like this into orbit without using it's precious fuel up in the process, defeating it's entire purpose.

[LaydeeDem]

Downloaded the Kerbalism mod, started a new save, and took Bill, Bob and Val on a week long stay on the Mun. (We could have gone longer but I didn't anticipate just how hungry Kerbals were.)

 

Before I did that I landed a hab to ensure the Kerbals were cozy during their stay.

 

Then I sent up the MEM and CSM with two seperate launches using an SLS lookalike. (The Hab was sent up on one too, but it was a night launch so I didn't take any screenshots.

After that I docked up the two craft in LKO and sent them towards the Mun. I didn't bother avoiding the radiation belts during the transfer. Probably should have.

 

After Munar capture I undocked the MEM and proceeded to do my most hair-raising landing in a while. The sun hadn't risen at the landing site yet which led to a lot of !!FUN!! during landing. But alas! Insanity prevailed and the three kerbals made it safely to the surface.

Getting the rover down was a bit of an adventure in itself. The KAS winch didn't help and Bill had to flip the rover manually while Val and Bob took their seats. (Also a Munar eclipse happened!)

Once the rover was down, Bill, Bob and Val were free to take the rover for a joyride. First stopping at the Hab for a 1 hour break and EVA fuel, and then beginning the first trek of the mission, a survey of the nearby crater.

Using advanced survey techniques, the gang was able to determine that this crater was about 3.6 km in diameter!

 

After a careful drive back to the Hab, the crew climbed back in for a well deserved rest and snacks. There's 5 days left of food onboard, plenty of time for the exploration of the local area.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

18 minutes ago, MisterKerman said:

I would very much appreciate some feedback on this one if that's okay on this topic. If not I'll slink shamefully into another more appropriate section of these forums and make an entirely new topic for it.

Is this payload feasible? Is there a better way to put a bunch of fuel into space in a very large amount all at once?? I don't know if I even want to attempt to see how much it takes to get something like this into orbit without using it's precious fuel up in the process, defeating it's entire purpose.

[...]

It depends on how much money your career has. It's entirely possible to send over 100 kilotons in one shot with unlimited money. You should probably use mostly solids to minimize the cost. If you use any liquid stages, and are concerned with accidentally burning the payload propellant, just click the little green arrow next to the resource on each part, and it will be locked so nothing can use it.

[MisterKerman]

4 minutes ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

It depends on how much money your career has. It's entirely possible to send over 100 kilotons in one shot with unlimited money. You should probably use mostly solids to minimize the cost. If you use any liquid stages, and are concerned with accidentally burning the payload propellant, just click the little green arrow next to the resource on each part, and it will be locked so nothing can use it.

Well uh, fair enough lol. Good lord.

I wasn't using the word feasible that loosely though... This is definitely a bad place to ask for something like this so I might go to another section and just make a topic as I mentioned earlier.

Thanks for the feedback. That video was insane.

[Geonovast]

This happened, mainly because I want a legit glamor shot of all 4 shuttles docked at the station at the same time, and I'm far too lazy to do 4 launches with 4 rendezvous.  13 souls on board.  With a better launch profile and a small bit of tweaking on the lift, I might even be able to stick payloads in the shuttles!  This was an SSTO/E.

That's a lot of go juice.

Rather painless launch, profile could have been better, but wasn't terrible.  I wanna say the circularization burn at around 90km was roughly 300 m/s.

Still quite a bit in the tanks, do decided to burn about 400 m/s and do an impatient encounter.

My original plan was to move each shuttle over individually, but I'm tempted to dock the whole shebang and deal with separation onsite.

I also managed to trick the game into thinking it building and loading crew at the same time.  (Crew loading was better than I'd thought, since it couldn't tell me which cockpit was which.  Got two right on the first try!  Yes it matters.  )

 

Word of advice to anyone wanting to try shuttles: They're a lot more stable if you strap a bunch of them to a single center tank.  This ain't my first go-around with it. (I can't believe I found both of those so quick)

Edited September 4, 2018 by Geonovast

[CatastrophicFailure]

1 hour ago, Geonovast said:

Word of advice to anyone wanting to try shuttles: They're a lot more stable if you strap a bunch of them to a single center tank. 

And I'm sure when someone at NASA suggested this he was just shouted down. SMH.

[AngrybobH]

2 hours ago, MisterKerman said:

Is this payload feasible?

Totally feasible. Although I do recommend SpaceY heavy lifters(and SpaceY expanded) mod, though. Its just parts and very stock alike. No game changing involved. Put it all in a 5m fairing then a 5m stage, a 7.5m stage, and a 10m stage for launch. If you are doing a career save, it'll cost but it will work and not melt your computer with excess part count. A bit of warning about spaceY, once I started using it I couldn't help myself from brute forcing some truly ridiculous things into orbit. like this several hundred part, couple of kiloton, fusion powered ship(KSPI-E).

ok, maybe its a station that flies like a ship. Either way that was a single launch.

[kurgut]

[RSS/RO/RP-1] First flight of the Vokhod spacecraft, carrying for the first time 3 crew into Earth Orbit, and also the first ever astronaut EVA! It's launched with an upgraded R-7 rocket, with greater boosters/core stage engines, and a big upper stage.

Standing by to launch:

Lauunch!

Pride of the russian nation, the beautiful booster separation:

Then, the upper-stage fire few seconds before the core stage runnout of fuel, and then separate:

Orbit! Extending radiators, antennas, and the inflatable airlock

Then, Gherman Titov is preparing to go outside:

Here we are! Youri Gagarine took a nice photo from the Voskhod module, where we can see Gherman outside

By the way, we broke also an crewed altitude record of 7OOOkm, Earth looks so beautiful. But now, time to fire the retrorocket, after decoupling the airlock, to aim Pe at 68 km for reentry:

Few minits before entering the atmoshpere, the descent module separate from unwanted stuff during reentry:

HOOOT:

And back, we splashed west of Miami

[Adelaar]

I don't think a lot of peeps will pay attention, but here goes.
I started playing KSP again after aprox a 2 year hiatus, which endured because my mods were all broken, and most of my ships were outdated. I had about 106 ships saved in the VAB, my campaign was a mess which I had issues untangling and I didn't really understand what the hell was going on.

So I spent my last few days untangling the mess by decluttering the VAB, saving only the lifting bodies which I use (10 lifting bodies), and the payloads which hook onto them (manned pods, landers, space probes, relay sats, etc). I then started to update my rockets and replace their parts for new ones, a proces which will take me a few more days. In the mean time, I've started to expand my relay sat network, and currently in the proces of bringing four sats into a polar orbit.

They are launched simultaniously (because that will save me the issue of having to allign four different launches), using a medium lifter, which has a recoverable first stage.

The missile launches on a polar orbit roughly 2Mm up. It uses up the first stage on the ascent to space, the second stage then propels the ship to a 2Mm orbit while I can recover the first stage which re-enters into the atmosphere.

At an altitude of 2Mm, the relays are deployed, which are then individually taken up to an altitude of 5Mm. That will ensure a (mostly) equal spread and similar orbits. After deploying all the relays, the second stage is then set to perform a retro-burn for re-entry. The launcher itself costs 106k, of which in theory, 35k is recoverable (in practise less because of the distance to KSC), each relay costs some 24k, but they shouldn't ever need to be replaced because of their strength and position above Kerbin.

Total mission costs: Approx 240k.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Adelaar

[Hotel26]

1 hour ago, Adelaar said:

I started playing KSP again after aprox a 2 year hiatus

I went off and spent a year playing Minecraft, too, at one time.  I'm glad I came back.  And glad you got your things sorted out, too, to make a triumphant return!  Have fun!  See you around the traps!

 

[Adelaar]

7 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

I went off and spent a year playing Minecraft, too, at one time.  I'm glad I came back.  And glad you got your things sorted out, too, to make a triumphant return!  Have fun!  See you around the traps!

 

Same here, but with From the Depths (a block based warfare game), been itching to get back into the game but every time I tried I spent so much time updating my mods which then all broke again the next update... Thanks for the warm welcome!

[Fireheart318]

I built a gigantic SSTO rocket and flew it to orbit. It's able to carry a full orange tank and various nick-nacks to orbit AND BACK without using any of the payload's fuel! I had some serious issues with landing without severing the bottom tank, losing control of the whole thing, flying into the air for a bit, and blowing up on the ground. I wound up using legs made of I-beams connected to one of the main tanks (not the one the engines are connected to) to cushion the landing and a set of 9 Vector engines to lift it into orbit. The hardest part is landing back at the KSC! I just can't nail it! I'm either off by a few degrees, come in too hot and blow up, or just miss entirely! The second-hardest part was maintaining aerodynamic stability; going up, I have a service bay with aerodynamic bits on the bottom of the rocket that I close once I get past ~35km, and going down, I use 2 sets of 8 airbrakes and a ring of vernor engines to adjust the pitch.

I can't get images of the finished product but I DO have an early prototype falling over on the launchpad. The final version has a bigger fuel tank, larger LfO tank separating the two cargo bays, and custom landing gear that's actually pretty good (assuming it doesn't burn up on re-entry).

Edited September 4, 2018 by Fireheart318
Forgot the image

[kurgut]

[RSS/RO/RP-1] Haha, I'm doing Luna mission (uncrewed landings/orbits), and for the last, I saw that an anomaly was in my trajectory, so decided to precise land there, and just look at what was there.. A Neil Amstrong memorial!! This excit me to found all others anomalies in RSS

[Man in the Mun]

My first ever Mun landing

 

Built a Mun Lander... Launched it... got a good orbit... Docked to refuel... Rendezvous with the Mun... made a good Mun orbit... Went to press the G key to lower the lander legs 

" [Expletive] " !

It only had one leg and not four !

 

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Noobton
Masked some profanity work around. Mind your language, please.

[DJWyre]

Ore-tug at Mun's sunrise.