'Minuteman' ICBMs

[Volt]

Hey all, Volt here again with another mod-heavy missile. I posted my previous one in the Post your Spacecraft thread, but that\'s been swamped by new posts. So I made my own.

I decided - when the KW pack recieved core-stage SRBs and extra other SRBs - to try and create a missile based on the LGM-30 Minuteman III\'s designers\' concept of a rocket propelled entirely by solids. The reason for this is that liquid fuelled rockets are more costly to maintain at an alert level, due to the need for providing cooling and various other things to the fuel. The Minuteman III was designed primarily with ease of readiness in mind by eliminating any liquid fuel from the stack.

Big bombs launched on top of wobbly stacks with high-powered Boosters. Naturally, Jeb had to try it out.

My final result after three days of designing, in between spaceplane sorties, was this - the Minuteman II Heavy(WARNING BIG PICTURES):

In the VAB:

Just after the roll program for directing the missile to a target:

Final separation of the first-stage boosters. The boosters fire until after the core stage, meaning that when my missile has its target, I can fire the boosters in the hole and immediately fix my trajectory, even with SRBs. In the true spirit of Kerbal:

My trajectory after booster separation - I accidentally discovered the correct bearing and angle of attack to obliterate that area at the top of Kafrica. On previous flights I achieved a much shallower trajectory that would mean less chance of interception by anti-missile weaponry en-route, but 4 Control Canards to handle this beast at rollover is sketchy, to say the least:

My current use for the upperstage. In theory it can be used to greatly lengthen the range of the ICBM, but in this case my target didn\'t need that functionality. So I used it to make the re-entry more epic.

I apologise for my dreadful presentation; it\'s half past ten and I need sleep. I just wanted to document this rocket because I\'ll have lost the skill to handle it by tomorrow. Also, I know this missile currently smushes green men on KSP\'s enemies, but imagine that instead of three green men it\'s actually three green rods and a couple of sticks of dynamite in a metal tube. Kind of like Little Boy.

[Damonjay]

Im in love <3

How long did it take you to come up with that sexy beast?

[JupiterII]

It\'s funny how even thought it\'s a missile they still managed to get Bill, Bob and Jed strapped to the front!

[Tim_Barrett]

Compared to the entire rocket, aren\'t ICBM payloads really small compared to the rest of the structure?

[Volt]

Well, it didn\'t take me long to come up with it, to be honest. I had the idea that I would create an SRB-only ICBM, and started off by using the 3M core SRB, then a decoupler shroud, then the 2M core, then another shroud and a stock 1M SRB. It snapped. So I cut out the 2M middleman, because to be quite honest the added range from the first stage was negligible with the weight above it. Did I mention at this point there were no boosters strapped on? Eventually I perfected the 3m-1m core with 4 medium SRBs strapped on, and it reached my target, but I wanted a larger second stage booster so I went and stuck 8 more on. All this only took a couple of hours\' designing, but I kept getting frustrated with all the rocket wobbling and ASAS failures and retreating to playing chicken with mountains in a Vulcan bomber.

I have to say, the tuned ASAS probably helped with this flight a lot, because the Minuteman IP prototype I built at first made me motion-sick from waggling. This one wobbles about quite a lot, but not that much.

Glad you like it! If you want the .craft, I can attach, but I\'ll have to work out what mods I used and remove my custom radial decoupler. (it has 1 ejectionForce, gives a much more realistic \'nudge\')

[Tim_Barrett]

Well, it didn\'t take me long to come up with it, to be honest. I had the idea that I would create an SRB-only ICBM, and started off by using the 3M core SRB, then a decoupler shroud, then the 2M core, then another shroud and a stock 1M SRB. It snapped. So I cut out the 2M middleman, because to be quite honest the added range from the first stage was negligible with the weight above it. Did I mention at this point there were no boosters strapped on? Eventually I perfected the 3m-1m core with 4 medium SRBs strapped on, and it reached my target, but I wanted a larger second stage booster so I went and stuck 8 more on. All this only took a couple of hours\' designing, but I kept getting frustrated with all the rocket wobbling and ASAS failures and retreating to playing chicken with mountains in a Vulcan bomber.

I have to say, the tuned ASAS probably helped with this flight a lot, because the Minuteman IP prototype I built at first made me motion-sick from waggling. This one wobbles about quite a lot, but not that much.

Glad you like it! If you want the .craft, I can attach, but I\'ll have to work out what mods I used and remove my custom radial decoupler. (it has 1 ejectionForce, gives a much more realistic \'nudge\')

Yea... too bad explosions currently rely on how many objects are crashing, other than it\'s explosive capabilities alone (like hunk of metal vs a bomb)

[Volt]

I assure you as soon as we can scale-up explosions and possibly animate our own explosions and epic stuff like that, and someone makes a nuke, I\'ll be dropping them from orbit, suborbit, spaceplanes... you name it. I think I\'ll even nuke the Mun.

On a side note, just before I finished off this design I modified C7\'s SR-MockingBird with 4 RCS tanks to allow it to work (more) efficiently in space. It worked a treat, except that for some reason no matter how slowly I go, that damn plane can\'t land without the gear tearing it apart. Even with six parachutes open and a metric tonne of VTOL thrusters firing. I also made a little self-propelled \'drone\' which deploys from the belly - much more successfully than the ridiculous SR-71 drone testing that the USAF felt the need to carry out.

[feanor]

Whelp, this thread was made for me.

I am currently putting together a mod pack for an ICBM LGM-30 Minuteman missile. Base diameter will be 1.2-1.3 meters, 1 meter on top of that. As soon as command module swapping is implemented, a MIRV with air resistance of 0.01 or thereabout will be made as command module.

Of course, I came to the conclusion that I wanted this pack after I made a few tries myself with other modded packs. I laid a few extra challenges on myself:

-the diameter is 1 meter.

-It has 3 solid rocket stages and a liquid low-capability post boost stage with RCS thrusters, just like in real life.

-It has to be precisely targetable.

-it has to vaguely look like a real missile

-The reentry has to be ballistic, without the the post-boost vehicle.

Here is my missile! - the name is simply 'ICBM' for now.

On the launch pad! It\'s so smooooth.

I use a mod that has a reskinned SAS module as liquid engine. *BUT* that liquid engine has a minumum and maximum thrust of 400. This makes for easy Solids in various sizes. Stack a fuel tank above one with 200 fuel and you have a big SRB, one with 50 for a low capability SRB. This was the only way to keep it inside 1 meter diameter and reasonably stumpy, like a real ICBM.

Liftoff. Heavy G-loads, just like in real life...

Second stage burnout. The first 2 stages used this modded SAS part.

The third stage solid is a PAM, payload assist module.

3rd stage firing.

Trajectory at the start of the 3rd stage burn. Not very impressive, right?

And here at the end of the burn!

I aim for the place between 2 big islands on the map where my trajectory ends. I must have fired a few dozen ICBMS at that area by now. In the last screenshot i\'m still quite a bit off, but luckily, I have another ace in the hole...

Course corrected!

With this sort of retro-burn-that-also-raises-apogee-and-finetunes-your-reentry. You can now see that the 2 islands are not actually islands at all. They are connected by a small landbridge. This vaguely L-shaped landbridge is the target!

The post-boost part. Small lunar ascent engine, RCS with small tank, Retro engines ( they\'ll come later! ).

Target is visible on the lower right of the screen, just above the crew portraits.

After final finetuning on apogee, the post-boost vehicle decouples with a zero-force decoupler. Just like in real life, this allows for very precise MIRV deployment. Problem is that the post-boost vehicle then stays in the same reentry path as the mirv. Just like in real life, to stop this, the post boost vehicle actually backs away. I use 2 small retro solids for this, since i can\'t control the RCS after it\'s decoupled.

ballistic reentry mode started! This is the speed at the start of the higher atmosphere. After modelling the command module / MIRV drag to MIRV proportions, I get 2000m/s at impact, but that\'s not in this flight, so this reentry capsule with 3 big green kerbals will slow down a bit more then realistic.

The land mass is getting rendered better and better; it\'s directly below the command module.

Target directly in sight! It\'s nice and flat and has some recognisable features both from space and from lower; that\'s why I chose it.

End of mission! target nuked!

To make range bigger, for now, it\'s pretty easy to make the fuel tanks I use bigger. But, as said, i\'ll model 1st 2nd and 3rd stage solids and decouplers, perhaps more, to make it more realistic.

hope you like my try. It\'ll be better with mod packs!

[rdfox]

For the record, most ICBMs and SLBMs do use a small liquid-fuel rocket (powered by storable hypergolic propellants) mounted on the warhead bus for precision targeting of the warheads before releasing them. (Most Russian ones, in fact, are *still* all-liquid, using storable hypergols for all stages!)

Additionally, they tend to use 'fire in the hole' staging (engine fires simultaneously with the previous stage being jettisoned) to simplify their flights, be they solid- or liquid-fueled. (The Titan II, with its hypergolic fuel, famously did this and had the oxidizer tank explode about one second after staging on every single flight due to the upper stage thrust impinging on it...)

Here\'s something to provide some inspiration, an animation by the manufacturer showing a (time-compressed) flight of a Minuteman with live warhead(!) from Vandenberg AFB to the test range at Kwajelein:

(The annotations aren\'t entirely accurate, but the animation is.) And in case you\'re wondering, that burst of flame at the top of the third stage before staging is the Thrust Termination System, blow-out panels that vent the pressure inside the stage and thereby extinguish the solid rocket, to allow a more precise targeting.

[feanor]

For the record, most ICBMs and SLBMs do use a small liquid-fuel rocket (powered by storable hypergolic propellants) mounted on the warhead bus for precision targeting of the warheads before releasing them. (Most Russian ones, in fact, are *still* all-liquid, using storable hypergols for all stages!)

I know; I use this in my current vehicle; this post-boost vehicle is what I love the most. small liquids, small RCS. firing at apogee, this can make for some very exquisite targeting options. I love the ' big capability - small package ' rocket building.

Additionally, they tend to use 'fire in the hole' staging (engine fires simultaneously with the previous stage being jettisoned) to simplify their flights, be they solid- or liquid-fueled. (The Titan II, with its hypergolic fuel, famously did this and had the oxidizer tank explode about one second after staging on every single flight due to the upper stage thrust impinging on it...)

My previous post uses this aswell. I only changed it for the animation, so you could see the fairing decoupler between 2nd and 3rd stage.

Here\'s something to provide some inspiration, an animation by the manufacturer showing a (time-compressed) flight of a Minuteman with live warhead(!) from Vandenberg AFB to the test range at Kwajelein:

I moddeled my rocket on this animation and another one; my mod will look like this aswell. Simple tubes, but 1st stage bigger then the other 2. I\'ll tweak the firing length / weight to provide a similar T/W ratio and mission profile.

The only thing I am unsure about is the 3rd stage; I think i\'ll have to make it pretty weak, otherwise the rocket might be overpowered - but i do want to be able to orbit, which is easy with 2 stages, almost too easy with 3. Ah well, tweaking galore. I could imagine modding it so that 2 stage gets you into orbit, and the 3rd is for deorbit, but it\'d prefer the 3rd stage gets you highly epileptic, with post boost at apogee for final targetting.

Tweaking this might take some time. I want to preserve the action packed, high T/W ratio of the original..

And in case you\'re wondering, that burst of flame at the top of the third stage before staging is the Thrust Termination System, blow-out panels that vent the pressure inside the stage and thereby extinguish the solid rocket, to allow a more precise targeting.

Quite. There where earlier threads in the dev forum about this. A destroy package might have the same function and would be good enough as well.

The fairing might be hard. I want it to be like in the video; I might edit some standard 1 meter fairing to have attachment points and press 2-3 solid escape engines on there. possibly even 4, to make the weight standardized - then you fire 2 for escape, then 1 a second after seperation to move it out of the way.

edit: added in a small modification after I realized I no longer have a parachute... A nosecone, detaches after 3rd stage firing.

Can\'t attach rockets to it yet...

[feanor]

Well, some more modifications. After adding the fairing I decided to tweak the size of my SRB\'s a bit, by adding an additional tank; my srb\'s where intercontinental, but a bit underpowered. They can still aim just the same: close on- gives nice apogee and a higher reentry speed.

Same target as the previous post, but much higher apogee..

Target a few seconds before being hit- note higher reentry speed. Me like!

Updated version on the pad. New mission; first time aiming for the same target as Volt used!

In the 3rd stage burn..

Post-boost vehicle seperates from fairing ( top right ) and 3rd stage solid ( lower left )

To make some use of my post-boost vehicle, I decided to aim for a small island just off the coast. New testing of the dynamics, never aimed for something so small before.

trajectory adapted...

Target just below the post boost vehicle.

Post-boost vehicle seperation and backing-away.

reentry vehicle on it\'s way!

..hmm, Kerbals need better maps. Turns out it\'s a small island chain, and that it\'s a bit more south then expected. Reentry course is also a bit overshot, me thinks.

yep, overshot the chain a bit. Ah well. Seeing as how the nuke/reentry weight is 1 ton, I think they might still get some blast effect...

I\'ll get you next time, damn islands!

Next mission is furthey away. let\'s try to hit something on the dark side, I\'ll keep my eye open for good targets...

[Guest Flixxbeatz]

Using the Kerbonauts as warheads? Now that\'s Kerbal 8)

[RedRockets]

M - multi-KERBAL

I - independently - targetable

R - reentry

V - vehicle

I can imagine a mini - 1 kerbal reentry capsule that can be jettisoned separately, placed symmetrically, and designed to look like one of the real reentry vehicles below.

All pics from Wikipedia. I do not own these pictures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIRV

[RedRockets]

Anyone give crash courses in part design?

[RedRockets]

How about a penetration aid?

And I don\'t mean an obsession with KSP.

Quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_aid

'A penetration aid is a device or tactic used to increase an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead\'s chances of penetrating a target\'s defenses.

These can consist of both physical devices carried within the ICBM, as well as tactics that accompany its launch, and may include one or more of the following:

MIRV bus carrying the nuclear warheads can have some form of stealth technology...

Chaff wires may be deployed over a large area of space, creating a large, radar-reflecting object that will obscure incoming warheads...

Decoys consist of mylar balloons that can be inflated in space and are designed to have the same radar characteristics as the warhead...

Incidental or deliberate fragmentation of the final-stage rocket booster can cloud the enemy\'s radar by projecting a radar cross-section much larger than the actual missile'

Check out the pic and the article.

[Volt]

Hmm, I might possibly try attaching a lot of CaptainSlug\'s explosive bolts to the side of my final stage and deploying them when I enter the atmosphere. They might act as good chaff. Or, they might vanish. I\'m not sure how the bolts actually function because there\'s usually some huge SRB cluster in the way of my view when they fire.

[Zeroignite]

How about attaching a bunch of CaptainSlug\'s flares to the explosive bolts?

[Volt]

Even better. That\'s a pretty good idea.

[greatorder]

hmm... I managed to create an ICBM with a large rsnge out of vanilla parts. the only problem is, it only looks slightly ICBM-ish once the first stage has been dropped.

[RedRockets]

Adapted the previous design from feanor and added the flares to the explosive bolts...

What does everyone think?

RRs

[RedRockets]

More pics same ICBM

Pic 1: Firing the Explosive Bolt/Flare Combo

Pic 3: Area Spread of the Penetration Aid Flares

RRs

[Volt]

Hot damn.

Looks like a complete cluster****, but it\'s actually effective. They won\'t know what hit \'em (who are we shooting at, again?)

[RedRockets]

The island/peninsula/large protuberant area to the North, North-West, of Kerbafrica.

[Guest Flixxbeatz]

Speaking of ICBMs... I got this:

No. it\'s not the LGM-118 Peacekeeper. It\'s the MGL-811 Peacebreaker. Also known as the MK Missile (Missile Kerbal).

Can only carry a warhead at this time, but I\'m currently testing 9 and 17-warhead versions. 8)

[millsw]

Can someone make a cockpit replacer that looks like a warhead?