Ever built a sacrificial "debris maker" ship?

[Deadweasel]

So I was trying to put together some source images for the next chapter in my story yesterday, and I needed a field of debris to realize the ideas I'd had for them.

To help make it happen, I designed a ship composed of lots of components separated by decouplers and docking ports, plopped all of them in one stage and Hyper-edited the whole lot into orbit, (hey no way was that monstrosity ever going to make it up there on its own!)

First attempt wasn't too bad, but it still kept things a little too clustered for what I was after:

So I went back and tried again, getting better results:

Yes, it was a lag-fest the likes of which had never before been seen on this system, but the point was to get some good shots, not to play around in it.

So I have two questions at this point:

Has anybody else ever built a ship designed with the specific intent to disintegrate the whole kit and kaboodle to see what would happen? And,

If so, would you be willing to share it?

I'd love to be able to use a couple to mix things up some more! The more varied and disastrous I can make it all look, the better!

If you're willing to share your "sacrificial research vessels", I'm running the following part mods in the photo cap installation:

• Aviation lights
  
• B9 Aerospace
  
• KW Rocketry
  
• Lionhead Aerospace
  
• Procedural Dymanics PWings
  
• Rollkage 1.1
  

[JupiterII]

Back when persistence was first added, I built ships to bring as much debris as I could into orbit. My Kerbin nearly had rings.

[AustralianFries]

Looks good! I kind of want to make a field of debris myself, now...for uhm...science...Yeah...

I've never gotten a field of debris in orbit like you have, but I've come close:

[Spartwo]

sorry about the darkness.

[Ferrit]

I've sent up vessels that left an expanding cloud of debris though not deliberately

Could just hyper edit up a random hodge podge ship and got to town with whack-a-kerbal?

Or build actual ships the wreckage is meant to be from, hyper edit them up and supply a crash course intercepting orbit with a second vessel for 'realistic' wrecks? I believe Scott Manley has a video on something similar.

[Deadweasel]

Here's what I used to get that debris cloud.

I present the Salvador Dali!

Since the debris is meant to represent the aftermath of the destruction of a massive generational ship, the chunks had to be a decent size and visible in at least one local group. It's inferred that there is much more debris out there, as the ship's explosion is so supposed to have happened a year ago.

[Deadweasel]

I've sent up vessels that left an expanding cloud of debris though not deliberately

Could just hyper edit up a random hodge podge ship and got to town with whack-a-kerbal?

Or build actual ships the wreckage is meant to be from, hyper edit them up and supply a crash course intercepting orbit with a second vessel for 'realistic' wrecks? I believe Scott Manley has a video on something similar.

Now this is an idea I pursued for a short time, but there were two obstacles blocking my way on that one. The first was that I didn't want to invest many many hours building the actual ship, as it would be far too huge for me to be able to build in any reasonable time. The second after that point would be the sheer amount of lag, likely system-crashing levels of it!

You do bring up another point I hadn't considered though. I've seen this Whack-A-Kerbal thing, but never understood what it's for....

EDIT: Oh! Oh no, here comes the insanity!

/runs off to shoot things in SPAAAAAACE!

Edited July 6, 2013 by Deadweasel

[Whackjob]

I have. Just not on purpose.

[Deadweasel]

I have. Just not on purpose.

I have seen your works. I'm gonna go ahead and call them "intentionally not on purpose".

[deadshot462]

Yes, I made a big ship which decouples / breaks in many pieces to simulate a meteor shower with reentry effects.

[Whackjob]

I have seen your works. I'm gonna go ahead and call them "intentionally not on purpose".

Hey, now. I've had my successes. I'm just not afraid to post my failures, too.

Celebrate your victories, but learn from your failures. Fear neither. That is the path of wisdom and coffee.

[Jon Tash]

I remember when 0.16 was out, I used to make missiles capable of destroying targets in orbit and make lots of debris, it was also the time when I build my first SSTO rocket/missile. Quite fun destroying things in orbit and looking at the debris fields. For science.

[Dweeb of Kerbin]

I created a ship which had several hundred separatrons linked together, connected by six or so stages. The core of each stage was the flat circular core bodies. The top stage pointed in the opposite direction of the other stages and they all launched at once, so if you toggled it in orbit it created a BIG debris field. It was sort of a galactic shot gun.

[Commander Zoom]

When I wanted a debris field on the Mun - the result of a failed landing - for a rover to visit, I made a small lander and dropped it from a middling height.

[CCKinnison]

Not intentionally.

That was a small space station core (only the tiniest bit survived... it WAS the "escape pod") and the last 2 lifter stages (asparagus, so 3 orange tanks and mainsails) ... apparently not enough struts, according to Bill.

[Deadweasel]

And according to Nelnard, a clean pair of pants is now required.

[Rage097]

I do it differently...I send up a big ship and destroy it with another ships weapons.

So now kerbin orbit looks like a war zone.