What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Krazy1]

Pics added last page ICYMI. That was a size E... there's an I coming in 40 days. Can't even guess how big that is. 

[swjr-swis]

14 hours ago, Krazy1 said:

 

Go home, asteroid... you're drunk.

[N_Danger]

I sent a rescue lander to Niven. Well I sent many of them.

"This one landed intact!"

OK Science and Picture time.

Take off!

Collecting the science from the lander.

Leaving Niven

Arriving at Gael

And a happy re-entry with explosion's to celebrate coming home.

 

[Toaster355]

9 hours ago, N_Danger said:

And a happy re-entry with explosion's to celebrate coming home.

 

Explosions? I think you mean fireworks lol 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Toaster355

[Watermel00n]

Scatterer configs makes @RevanX_LSR's LSR look 10x better

[Krazy1]

Launched a reasonable rocket on an absurd mission to test landing gear and a jumbo nuclear engine on a solar orbit. It would have been nice to USE the 12 ton engine to get to solar orbit but that would invalidate the test. It had some (overly?) complex staging.

Spoiler

f

radial booster sep fail #485

radial booster sep fail #486

finally...

 

 

[RevanX_LSR]

So I played around with LSR (a system replacer for the JNSQ size, and here is Heyu, a tidally heated ocean world orbiting a huge distant gas giant with 6000+m cliffs on all sides):

I NEED to darken Heyu's atmosphere.

Still amazing though.

Edited September 5, 2023 by RevanX_LSR

[DunaManiac]

[Kimera Industries]

On 9/2/2023 at 6:32 PM, Duke MelTdoWn said:

How fast are you going on the jet engines before you switch to rocket motor? As I said earlier, it is possible to fly to space on 2 Wheesleys and a Swivel. But you need to make sure your plane does not create any unnecessary drag (e.g. put solar panels, parachutes, antennas, science experiments all inside a service bay).

I did some experiments on the drag of the different intake types a while ago and the result was that Ramp Intake sucks because it creates huge amounts of drag. Definitely stick to those Shock Cones! 

I'll have to check my separation speed, but I think it is somewhere above 1200 m/s, and may be much higher. It gets me high enough that my engine's isp can be used effectively. I think one of the reasons my craft may not be performing as well as some others is that not only does it have a cockpit, it also has a monopropellant tank (not a radial one, to decrease drag) an inline clampotron and a crew compartment. All of these features are ones that are a must for the final design, so I think overall the only radial parts aside from wings are RCS and landing gear. Question- Do RCS blocks have higher drag than other options? Am I making a huge mistake using them? If not, then I'm not worried, because aesthetics went down the drain a while ago.

[Kimera Industries]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:13 AM, Krazy1 said:

Or (a simple spaceplane also works) with a Whiplash and 2 Terriers. Ladders also have huge drag. Add another crew seat for an engineer, put the ladder in storage and weld it on when you land. Other mistake I made was pitching up too high. You only need 5 deg. maybe 10 when you turn on the rocket engines. Let your horizontal speed carry you to orbit 1/4 orbit ahead. 

I don't really have a need for a ladder, since the only time Kerbals are exiting the craft is in space, and anywhere it could feasibly reach with refueling, (Minmus, basically) Kerbals can use EVA packs easily. I already have space for 2 more crewmembers, so if the need ever arises, it's an option. The flight procedure that I've worked for this thing is to pitch 10 deg immediately after liftoff, then let Kerbin fall away as I get higher. When I stop getting faster, (about when whiplash TWR falls below 1) I activate the rocket engine, then ditch the jets when they burn out and continue burning until apoap. is 70 km. Keeping a high AoA will make apoap. slowly rise to a slightly safer distance from the minimal lift at high altitude and speed. Then I am left in LKO with usually about 500 m/s, which can be used for orbital shenanigans and deorbit. I'm thinking of having a separate "deorbit package," with some separatrons or something to give me a little nudge into the atmosphere, and that way I won't have to worry about the main engine running out of fuel. But, the drage from separatrons on ascent might not make it worth it.

[space_otter]

The Reditus missions continue as the space program prepares for the Astra program. Reditus 2 targeted the Mun's lowlands. to retrieve precious samples. 

Again, the proton rocket was used to launch the mission to space.

The ascent and TMI burn was fully successful, and Reditus 2 arrived in the Mun's SOI.

The landing and takeoff sequence was nominal, including performing a short hop to perform science experiments.

Unlike Reditus 1, the re-entry was benign and the spacecraft splashed successfully in the Western sea.

[Duke MelTdoWn]

7 hours ago, chimera industries said:

 Question- Do RCS blocks have higher drag than other options? Am I making a huge mistake using them? If not, then I'm not worried, because aesthetics went down the drain a while ago.

You should be fine. I also always place the RCS blocks into the airstream and am not aware of any good alternatives.

I started out building a small fighter, but the project degenerated into another spaceplane. Now it is basically a cheaper, lighter version of Sleipnir with less frontal area. Performance on the way to space is not bad, I did not try the reentry characteristics yet.

Development steps:

Spoiler

Started out with Spaceplane Tailfins for huge amounts of lift.

Made Whiplash disposable and added Nerva. Used Big-S Wing Strakes for extra LF.

Tried bigger wings for more LF capacity.

This did not work out because now I did not accelerate fast enough. Back to the small wings.

Why use a disposable Whiplash + Nerva if I can just use a Rapier?

Replace Engine Precooler with Radial Ramp Intake so I can squeeze in more rocket fuel.

Now the Rapier looses thrust too soon and the whole thing tops out at 1300 m/s at 16k  Drop the Cockpit and replace it with Shock Cone intake.

We are in business. This reaches 1600 m/s airbreathing and has 1790 m/s left in 100x100 km LKO. Only two passengers though.

 

 

[Hotel26]

On 9/3/2023 at 8:32 AM, Duke MelTdoWn said:

it is possible to fly to space on 2 Wheesleys and a Swivel

Would love to see your rendition of this (coz I want to avoid taking it on as a challenge myself).

Any chance you would post something to KerbalX...?  T'would be of interest to many, methinks.

UPDATE: we just crossed paths.  So you might like this Whiplash-plus-NERV combination: Geist.  Ah, yes, and Poltergeist, which simply switched the Whiplash to the centerline thrust position.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Hotel26

[Duke MelTdoWn]

9 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

Meltdown: it is possible to fly to space on 2 Wheesleys and a Swivel.

Would love to see your rendition of this (coz I want to avoid taking it on as a challenge myself).

Any chance you would post something to KerbalX...?  T'would be of interest to many, methinks.

Sorry, these are not only partially on KerbalX because I built them some months ago.

MiSTO I: 183 science required; 17.998 tons; about 100 m/s left in LKO
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2968514518

https://kerbalx.com/Meltdown/Minimalist-SSTO-I

Tipp: you want to reenter belly up so the landing gear does not melt.

MiSTO II: 198 science required; 17.415 tons; just enough delta-v to get to orbit;  now with science experiments!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970030289

MiSTO III: 243 science + runway upgrade required; 25.640 tons; about 650 m/s left in LKO

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970140620

Edited September 6, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn
Add KerbalX link for MiSTO I

[miklkit]

Came up with a pretty good MK3 rover hauler.  It just got back from a rover repair contract on the Mun and worked great.  Leaving farside crater after repairing the rover.

Looking for a smooth place to land.  The 2 Whiplash can keep it cruising at over 300m/s.

 

 

[Lyra]

3 hours ago, miklkit said:

Came up with a pretty good MK3 rover hauler.  It just got back from a rover repair contract on the Mun and worked great.  Leaving farside crater after repairing the rover.

Looking for a smooth place to land.  The 2 Whiplash can keep it cruising at over 300m/s.

 

 

Always love a good Mk3 cargo SSTO. The Big-S wings can look awkward sometimes but you made it work well

[Duke MelTdoWn]

2 hours ago, Lyra said:

Always love a good Mk3 cargo SSTO. The Big-S wings can look awkward sometimes but you made it work well

Yes, nice integration of the biplane with the engines. This looks much more like a plane and less than a sea turtle than my last attempt with MK3 parts 

I added an Extended Range version of Skidbladner that has a little bit more fuel. This is to make sure you can get to Minmus and back even if fully loaded with 8 passengers and cargo (about 1620 m/s left in 100x100 km LKO).
https://kerbalx.com/Meltdown/Skidbladner-ER-Short-Range-Shuttle
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3031886826

 

'Minimalist SSTO I' is now also on KerbalX if you like the low-tech stuff. https://kerbalx.com/Meltdown/Minimalist-SSTO-I

___________

I completed the Mk1 SSTO study. The nice thing about this is the low frontal area, which means low drag and good acceleration. But I would not try to land it on water.

"Ceci n'est pas une cigare."

'Falhofnir' Cheap Shuttle
1x Rapier
Delta-v: ~ 1700 m/s left in 100x100 km Kerbin orbit (with crew and cargo)
TWR: ~1.40 in low Kerbin orbit
Launch Mass: 18.2 tons
Price: 28,815
Crew capacity: 4

I lost an air brake during the test flight, but was able to recover by transferring fuel to the nose. So I am pretty happy with the handling.

Spoiler

Steam Workshop:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3031915463

Edited September 6, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn
Falhofnir

[miklkit]

Thanks all.  I use MK3s a lot as only they have the carrying capacity and range to do anything really useful.  I have recently started doing V-wing designs and the look pretty clean.  This is a different one on the Mun.

[Duke MelTdoWn]

21 hours ago, miklkit said:

Thanks all.  I use MK3s a lot as only they have the carrying capacity and range to do anything really useful. 

Agreed. I played around with packaging small landers and miners into Mk2 cargo bays some time ago. It is possible but there are drawbacks. The landers get tall and skinny and therefore tend to topple over. You can only fit a small ISRU so refueling takes a long time. And you should not be a "Allow part clipping in editors = off" purist.

Steam: Skyfly VIII + Duna Lander, Skyfly IX + DEM VIII

Steam: MoEM VI + NIPS E, Skyfly X + Moho Excursion Module VII

MEM VII is the best version of Mk2 miners I have built. But the expendable Skyfly X SSTO concept is questionable. The Nuclear Interim Propulsion Stage is probably better because you can use a less draggy SSTO to get into Kerbin orbit.

_____

So I went down the Mk2 rabbit hole again, thanks for the inspiration.

A full report on the exploits of Skyfly XI and Moho Excursion Module VIII will follow tomorrow. Here is a teaser - if you are allergic to part clipping you might want to skip this one

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Duke MelTdoWn
Skyfly XI

[Hotel26]

High Command insisted on this.

Nobody here in the SPH was 'onboard'...

Capt. Jerfry "Lucky" Kerman ("unlucky in love and unlucky at work") drew the short straw to fly the maiden flight.

If that 'asymmetric' thrust thingy in the brochure is that little vent near the tip of the RACL ("Rocket-Assisted Carrier Landing"), Jerfry better have cinched his straps extra tight coz he's in for a helluva ride on this bronco...!  It's on wrong.

[Flight's paused right here as we enter this into the Ops log.  We're about to find out...  Brace yourselves.]

FIRE TRUCKS!  Assume your stations!!

Spoiler

It is true what the recruiters say: " you only get to git this much fun in the military, son!"

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Hotel26

[Watermel00n]

Finally fixed all the NullReferenceException, config errors and other goof-ups in the LSR Scatterer configs...

[Kimera Industries]

On 9/6/2023 at 4:21 AM, Duke MelTdoWn said:

On 9/5/2023 at 8:44 PM, chimera industries said:

 Question- Do RCS blocks (on the outside) have higher drag than other options? Am I making a huge mistake using them? If not, then I'm not worried, because aesthetics went down the drain a while ago.

You should be fine. I also always place the RCS blocks into the airstream and am not aware of any good alternatives.

It might be possible to have a cargo bay with monoprop and RCS, maybe 2 on either end of the plane so you can have better control of translation and rotation. You would open the cargo bays in space (where you would need them) and then close them for reentry and takeoff to eliminate their drag. Not sure of how well it would compare to RCS blocks on the outside and an inline tank as far as drag, but it might be a slightly better alternative. Plus it would look better cooler.

[Lyra]

On 9/6/2023 at 3:21 AM, Duke MelTdoWn said:

You should be fine. I also always place the RCS blocks into the airstream and am not aware of any good alternatives.

You could use a bunch of the singular RCS ports and angle them, like this (forgive the terrible MS Paint drawing):

 

I've done it a few times before when RCS blocks at the front would keep blowing up on ascent. It looks a lot cleaner as well, but you don't get forwards and backwards translation(unless you angle them even more, which gets tedious) and it's 3x the part count. I usually do this on the front of a craft and put regular RCS blocks towards the rear.

[Hotel26]

This is another episode in the life of Capt. Jerfry "Lucky" Kerman.

He has just maneuvered his trusty ASR Revere II inside the 100m perimeter of the Simplicity booster.  This puts the booster in range of his ASR Debris Dematerializer device that will send its components back to KSC for reuse.

The previous recovery had been performed just 20 klicks west and so he had chosen to fly at 20m ASL.  Slowing down on approach to the target, he dialed in 2m on the autopilot (you can see where this is going).

Then he made an impulsive decision to avoid a head-on impact with the target by dialing in a 1-degree heading change to port.  Too late, he thought about wing clearance as the port wing swung down to shake hands with the Great Briny...

A ferocious cartwheel with the spray subsiding to reveal everything intact.  Except the vertical stabilizer.  Oh oh, and the elevators.  No more flight for this machine.

                                                                     

Rules of ASR now make this Revere II (and its hapless pilot) in need itself of Air-Sea Rescue (nicknamed by some KSC wags as the "Fetch-Quest Unit").

                                                                     

After a good deal of RT negotiation (i.e. begging), Jerfry has convinced High Command to permit him to try a high-speed water taxi to Cape Horn AFB, about 40 more clicks eastward.

I am going to go out on a limb here with the prediction that this Captain has a promotion and pay raise in his near future -- to a desk job.

Spoiler

Stable at 58 m/s (not risking higher since we are already above Vs...)

 

A few minutes later: bet you're sorry now, Jerfry!  "We here at KSC Mission Control just wish to remind you of your personal parachute, dude.  You did bring it, right?"

Spoiler

Flying on the Almighty Autopilot in the Sky and by the seat of his panther Gimbals...

 

 

If he gets back alive...

Edited September 9, 2023 by Hotel26

[space_otter]

4 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

Flying on the Almighty Autopilot in the sky and by the seat of his panther Gimbals...

What mod is that runway from?