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First Flight (Epilogue and Last Thoughts)

KSK

By KSK
in KSP Fan Works

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Patupi

Patupi

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Multi-mode Aerospace Complete Engine. MACE, for short. Just to throw it back at the two swords. After all, swords are elegant weapons. A mace uses brute force.

Or perhaps it just uses pepper as fuel :sticktongue:

Nice Acronym, but I think Muti-Atmospheric Cyclic Engine might work a little better. Or perhaps Multi-Atmospheric Cycle Engine. I hadn't thought of non sword one. I was trying desperately to get one for Gladius :D No luck.

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KSK

KSK

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Yeah, the KSA certainly wouldn't sneeze at a MACE powered SSTO. :)

Thanks for the suggestions folks! I was trying to get something for PONIARD, ending in Advanced Reaction Drive, but couldn't get anything to fit. I suspect seven word acronyms are always going to look a bit contrived.

Keep the ideas coming if you have a spare moment or two. Assuming folks don't mind, I may well appropriate one of them in an upcoming chapter - with full credit to the contributor of course.

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Madrias

Madrias

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I went for the fact that Squad has the RAPIER, there's a real SABRE, so I had to one-up both and shorten it up further. Hence the MACE. Plus it leaves room for someone to make the RAPIER later if they get that far, a better engine than the MACE. I know it's your story, KSK, but I half envisioned the MACE being manually switched, unlike the RAPIER's more elegant automatic switching.

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KSK

KSK

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What the hell's a poniard?

It's a place where you keep ponies of course. :P

Nope - what Cerebrate said. Can't remember if it's designed to punch through chain mail, or whether that's another short range bladed nasty that I'm thinking of.

Madrias - I think I'll borrow that! Not 100% sold on MACE yet (although it fits neatly with your rationale), but the notion of having an early version of the RAPIER, I do like. Early tests with a manually switched version makes sense too - at the very least you'd want a manual override to the automated systems whilst exploring the flight envelope, so yeah... I like it!

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Madrias

Madrias

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As for a further revision on MACE, Manually Actuated Combination Engine. I think best when I've been up for 24 hours or more. I know you're not sold on the name, it's just something that was bugging me, that my previous acronym had been rather clunkily assembled.

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KSK

KSK

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Keep them coming folks!

Best I've come up lately is LOCHABRE (as in the axe) for Low Orbit Capable Hybrid Air Breathing Rocket Engine. Hmm, the more I think about this, the better MACE is looking. :) It's also nice and neutral - doesn't really tell anybody what it does, which suits the secretive C7 style.

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Patupi

Patupi

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Thank you KSK, that was an excellent read. :)

How about. . .

PONIARD -- Precooled Oxidant/Nastic Intake Adaptive Reaction Drive

Nastic? Is this an organic drive? Well, they are supposed to be plants I guess :D 'Warp factor 10, engage the Kerm drive!'

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Ten Key

Ten Key

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Nastic? Is this an organic drive? Well, they are supposed to be plants I guess :D 'Warp factor 10, engage the Kerm drive!'

Ha, not exactly. :) It looks like the real world SABRE has a movable air inlet that adjusts its geometry based on current operating conditions. Not unlike a flower opening in response to a change in sunlight or humidity, a "nastic" air intake widens or narrows automatically in response to changes in atmospheric pressure and air speed.

I concede that "nastic" is an unlikely engineering term, but given the setting it might be plausible.

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KSK

KSK

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Sweet - I just learned a new word! So if photonasty is a non directional response to light, then what is videonasty? :)

More seriously, I'd say PONIARD just became a contender for a more advanced version of the engine as per Madrias's post. I can well imagine that kerbal engineering would be bio-inspired in places - probably more so than human engineering given their background - so having them use biological terminology more directly, works.

Cheers Ten Key, and welcome to the thread! Glad you enjoyed the read so far.

Patupi - you'd need to check with Jake, but I have a suspicion that the DONGLE was a key breakthrough in developing the Alkerbierre Drive. :)

Awsumindyman - that's an interesting thought actually. It was intended as a bit of random background really, to show that other organizations (other than the KIS, Rockomax and C7) are experimenting with launch vehicles, but I might just come back to it. Probably in a Buran / Dreamchaser configuration rather than the STS style side-mounted orbiter.

Cheers.

KSK

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Patupi

Patupi

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Patupi - you'd need to check with Jake, but I have a suspicion that the DONGLE was a key breakthrough in developing the Alkerbierre Drive. :)

Oh yeah, it's that interpreter device that plugs into the Alkerbierre control computer :D The security system wasn't it?

I can just see jeb in an Apollo-13 style pose.

"RCS thruster check.... Power systems go... Plugging in dongle..."

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