[0.20] Munstrosity I - Russian N1, LOK, LK Lander!

[GusTurbo]

Apollo-style craft get a lot of play around here, as they should, because they are fantastic. Mulbin's Munbug series has really captured the essence of the US manned Moon-landing program, and inspired craft designers like myself to use innovative techniques to capture the look of these real-life rockets.

What I noticed is that the US efforts have been covered a lot, but the Russian Moon program has been largely ignored. One obvious reason for this is the fact that it failed spectacularly...

At the beginning of the 1960s, the OKB-1 design bureau led by Sergei Korolev started work on a super-heavy rocket booster, later designated N1. Originally proposed as a multipurpose vehicle for a variety of military and scientific tasks, the N1 evolved into a project with a single mission -- to beat America to the Moon. However, the N1's catastrophic failures during four test launches in 1969-1972 doomed the Soviet effort to land a man on the Moon and left the ill-fated rocket under a veil of secrecy for decades.

Despite the failures, I have been fascinated with Russian rocket design ever since I started creating Soyuz-style craft in .19. As I became more interested, I came upon a daunting challenge: re-creating in appearance and function the N1 rocket, a towering skyscraper of fuel, engines, and struts. With 30 engines in the first stage alone, I knew it would be a challenging build.

For some things, I sacrificed accuracy for function. For example, I put the lander above the LOK (the "command module") because I built it from the ground up. So I had to choose between sending 3 kerbals or 1, and I decided to go with 3. There were a few other details, like the shape of the LOK and the LK, which were somewhat less of a focus on this design. This was mainly an exercise in the staging process of the N1.

Flight Instructions/Hot Keys:

a. Activate ASAS, set throttle to full

b. Press stage button to lift off

c. Start gravity turn at 10,000m

d. There's really not much else to it. Drop stages as they run out of fuel, achieve Kerbin parking orbit, then make your transfer to the Mun.

Backspace (Press TWICE) - Abort : This activates the launch escape system. The first time you hit it, the Sepratrons fire. The second jettisons the fairings and decouples the upper stages from the rocket. The lander's engines also fire to assist the LES.

1. Hit after aborting, this detaches the capsule from the LES and opens the chutes.

0. Press after liftoff for verisimilitude*.

Some pictures of the Munstrosity in flight:

Full gallery:

http://imgur.com/a/5vwpn

Craft File

http://www./?bb794mcn93ef1su

*Pressing 0 may cause minor "discomfort". Launch escape system is available in case of "discomfort."

Edited May 30, 2013 by GusTurbo

[Rune]

Awesome N1 is awesome. Also a lag cannon, probably.

[GusTurbo]

I have a laptop with an i3 and 4GB of RAM and I don't find it unbearable.

[Rune]

Then indeed 0.20 has been a huge increase in performance, Can't wait to play it!

[rodion_herrera]

Epic ship! Love the (proposed) Russian lifters and landers. Great work!

[sgt_flyer]

i tried it, it's really well built, i didn't noticed wobble, but the third stage has only lvt 30's and is thus unsteerable during G-turn (had to abort, couldn't make it to orbit because i started tumbling at 35000 meters ^^) so yes, perfect replica ^^

Edited May 30, 2013 by sgt_flyer

[GusTurbo]

i tried it, it's really well built, i didn't noticed wobble, but the third stage has only lvt 30's and is thus unsteerable during G-turn (had to abort, couldn't make it to orbit because i started tumbling at 35000 meters ^^) so yes, perfect replica ^^

I may need to investigate that. I didn't have any problems when testing that stage, but I did make some changes after taking all those screenshots which I haven't totally tested. Pod torque was enough before, though.

[Darth Lazarus]

that thing is ... huge ! 778parts and my PC is melting, BUT it is flying ... i love the discomfotbutton XD

[Dyflinn432]

A more than worthy complement to the Munbug series, great work and thanks for uploading!

[dimovski]

Wait, 0 makes it explode like the real one?Me gusta!

You planning on making a modded version one day? Theres a NK-33 in the works by bilsta, we already have the LOK (Soyuz) and the LK, and BobCat is going to rescale to realistic size the Blok D...with part generator for fuel tanks, Im semi-sure we might be able to create an accurate N1 for the 1st time ever!

[GusTurbo]

Wait, 0 makes it explode like the real one?Me gusta!

You planning on making a modded version one day? Theres a NK-33 in the works by bilsta, we already have the LOK (Soyuz) and the LK, and BobCat is going to rescale to realistic size the Blok D...with part generator for fuel tanks, Im semi-sure we might be able to create an accurate N1 for the 1st time ever!

I could maybe look into doing that in the future. The thing I like about making stock replicas of real-world craft is the challenge of putting together the parts available to me in a way that resembles the real thing.

As for Action Group 0, I have no idea what that does.

[GusTurbo]

I'm making progress on Munstrosity II. I realized that the first stage was waaaaay too fat after I found a comparison between the Saturn V and the N1.

So here's what I've got so far:

Much skinnier, and a bit taller, to get the proportions right.

[Flixxbeatz]

Master Kerbalizer approves.

[GusTurbo]

One issue I'm running into is that the thing keeps wanting to spin. For a smaller rocket, this wouldn't be a problem, but the spin combined with wobble really creates a difficult problem to overcome. I can't figure out what's causing it either. I suspect uneven engines around the bottom, because it is very difficult to place 24 engines in a uniform way.

[Giggleplex777]

I made a mini N1.

Doesn't have a Munar lander but it's pretty good for its size. Press 7 to reenact the fate of the N1.

[betaking]

should of put a hitchhiker for the orbital module on the soyuz.

[Mulbin]

I'm making progress on Munstrosity II. I realized that the first stage was waaaaay too fat after I found a comparison between the Saturn V and the N1.

Your N1 actually looks about the same size as my Saturn V... I'll have to set up a side by side screenshot later

[Flixxbeatz]

I said before that kerbalizing the N1 is impossible, since it needs to have a dedicated parts pack for it due to its design.

I stand corrected.

[GusTurbo]

I've been working on a Mini version which is a bit more usable because it has fewer parts, and I've changed my design strategy to be more like your Saturn V, Mulbin.

I'm pretty pleased with it so far, but I'm excited about the prospect of making a larger version, one that more properly approximates the shape of the real thing than Munstrosity I.

Credit to Mulbin for the Munbug design, which gave me the idea of wrapping smaller diameter tanks around a larger core, and Giggleplex for the Micro N1.

I also don't know why the idea didn't occur to me before because my Soyuz boosters use the same technique.

Edited June 7, 2013 by GusTurbo

[Mulbin]

Any update on the Munstrosity II? Really keen to fly it!

[GusTurbo]

No news yet on Munstrosity II, but I've finished my Mini, so it just might be in the cards soon.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/34125-Rocket-Builders-OKB-1-Russian-Rocket-Design-Firm-and-Repository?p=439671&viewfull=1#post439671

[Startreader]

Oh dear Kerbol...what have you done

[Chimochay]

Spectacular work!

I too have been fascinated by Soviet Aerospace lately and I think it would be great if we had two competing threads, an American Space Program one and a Soviet one, one upping each other.

As for my foray into Soviet history here is my replika. The Antonov An-225R Mriya with Buran Mock-up

Description: Jet Transport Aircraft

6 CF34 Turbofan Engines w/ Reverse Thrust

Max Thrust: 1000 kN (225,000 lbs. of thrust)

Max Cruise Speed: 230 m/s (~520 mph)

Flight Ceiling: 11,000 meters (~40,000 ft)

Fuel Capacity: 5,920 units

Range: ~9,000 kilometers

Wingspan: 85 meters

Length: 110 meters

Vessel Mass: 76.07 tonnes (167,705.64 lbs.) w/o shuttle

[GusTurbo]

And for my next trick, I will attempt to make this thing stop exploding:

[Nephf]

And for my next trick, I will attempt to make this thing stop exploding:

What the hell. This looks after a lot of work!

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