[0.25]KSP Interstellar (Magnetic Nozzles, ISRU Revamp) Version 0.13

[Videogama]

An inverter has nothing to do with his problems.

Fractal already has a solution to Manley's problem. But it would help if manley would read the wiki. He gets a lot of stuff wrong. Not the least of which is complaining about solar power stations manuvers, when he could simply launch more reactors into orbit instead. Not to mention that waste of time he spends sending up radiators for marginal power gains.

To be fair, there's definitely some good to be had with putting solar stations into orbit. Remember, he has that one week limit between launches. Reactors require maintenance, plus they're pretty damn heavy.

I would agree with the radiators, but then again I have no idea if he needed them or not, so eh. Reading the wiki would have helped him. In the end, his handling wasn't all that bad, aside from failing to actually read the documentation available to him

Edited April 16, 2014 by Videogama

[Einarr]

So, I'm working to incorporate Interstellar into a pre-existing career game. I have a station up in LKO utilizing some TAC Life Support, KSO Phase 2 (i.e. station parts), Near Future Propulsion (I hope to phase out dependency on NFP and remove it eventually), and other odds and ends. The station has no KSPI compatible radiators (though, the docked probe has an NFP reactor and associated radiators), and if I use it's solar panels, they generate WasteHeat (even though they are NFP panels). I've shut the panels down and am using the probe's reactor to power the station for the time being (until I can get the crew back down to Kerbin).

I noted that my Observation module (the KSO one with windows most of the way around), the KSO Hab, and KSO KerbalLab module now seem to have "Rad.: 27.45 uSv/h 240.60 mSv/yr" and "Rad status: High". What are these and should I be concerned about them? I assume they deal with radiation levels of some sort, just wondering if they actually do anything as of yet...and how I might add shielding to my station parts (I see the KSPI Sci Lab has Rad shielding).

Edited April 16, 2014 by Einarr

[Einarr]

Nope, I'll update the ModuleManager version in the next release of Interstellar but it doesn't matter. You should just use the latest version.

The latest Official version of MM seems to still be 1.5.6. However, there's an unofficial 1.5.7 and 2.0.1 floating around now.

[WaveFunctionP]

So, I'm working to incorporate Interstellar into a pre-existing career game. I have a station up in LKO utilizing some TAC Life Support, KSO Phase 2 (i.e. station parts), Near Future Propulsion (I hope to phase out dependency on NFP and remove it eventually), and other odds and ends. The station has no KSPI compatible radiators (though, the docked probe has an NFP reactor and associated radiators), and if I use it's solar panels, they generate WasteHeat (even though they are NFP panels). I've shut the panels down and am using the probe's reactor to power the station for the time being (until I can get the crew back down to Kerbin).

I noted that my Observation module (the KSO one with windows most of the way around), the KSO Hab, and KSO KerbalLab module now seem to have "Rad.: 27.45 uSv/h 240.60 mSv/yr" and "Rad status: High". What are these and should I be concerned about them? I assume they deal with radiation levels of some sort, just wondering if they actually do anything as of yet...and how I might add shielding to my station parts (I see the KSPI Sci Lab has Rad shielding).

Radiation does nothing currently, and the numbers aren't balanced. Don't worry about it.

[The Destroyer]

A question. I was using the thermal rocket with the special reciever thing. On rockets, the more vertical I was, the more power it recieved. On planes, the more horizontal, the more thrust. Wat.

EDIT: Seems based on what direction the power is coming from. For instance, if the engine blocks the reciever, it dosen't get nearly as much power.

And no, it's not a power problem- I'm generating 5.2 GW.

Edited April 17, 2014 by The Destroyer

[phoenix_ca]

A question. I was using the thermal rocket with the special reciever thing. On rockets, the more vertical I was, the more power it recieved. On planes, the more horizontal, the more thrust. Wat.

EDIT: Seems based on what direction the power is coming from. For instance, if the engine blocks the reciever, it dosen't get nearly as much power.

And no, it's not a power problem- I'm generating 5.2 GW.

Aspect angle between the transmitter and receiver matters.

Radiation does nothing currently, and the numbers aren't balanced. Don't worry about it.

That's quite a task. Radiation doses are a ***** to calculate correctly. Modelling it effectively so there's a real and predictable difference between getting a bunch of radiation in a short period and the same dose over a long period of time sounds like a difficult task. For one, it can't be modelled perfectly based on real life; people would almost certainly have problems understanding it and predicting the effects. And if you were to model it accurately, you need to also be measuring absolute exposure in Gray, as sievert is intended only to measure the health effect of small doses over a long period of time. High Sv levels near a reactor don't actually make much sense. One would be more interested in the absolute dose over such a short period (for practical purposes one can often calculate that dosage and then treat it as if it were all given in a single dose).

And all that is already hurting my brain. Good luck Fractal.

Edited April 17, 2014 by phoenix_ca

[The Destroyer]

Aspect angle between the transmitter and receiver matters.

So in other words, should I just build ALL THE RELAYS to make sure it always has an optimal angle?

[phoenix_ca]

So in other words, should I just build ALL THE RELAYS to make sure it always has an optimal angle?

That's my approach. You lose some power because you're bouncing it around so it travels farther, but usually not enough to matter.

[VaporTrail]

So in other words, should I just build ALL THE RELAYS to make sure it always has an optimal angle?

You might find utilizing "all the orbits" to be a more practical answer. A nine relay constellation in three 60 deg inclined orbits with those orbits spaced so their equatorial ascending and descending nodes are spaced every 60 degrees around the equator (and their orbits timed correctly) should give you enough different angles that you'll get the most reception.

Though actually getting those spacings and timings... that's the trick. I know it can be done with Hyperedit... but actually getting those timings flown... the orbit rounding errors are going to be your bane.

[The Destroyer]

Well, I have a simple relay that can be deployed to geosync in 5 minutes after launch IRL time, so I think I'll be able to do it.

On a side note. When it has the optimal angle and lots of intake air... three of those thermal turbojets can pull 5 gees.

[smunisto]

Someone should post a relay tutorial.

My current save it kind of limited to science gathering for the 2-3k science nodes.

But my general concept of power generation would be 3,75m fission Akula reactors in LKO, with enough fuel to last them about 4-5 years and Transmitters.

Then 4-6 relay satellites in geostationary orbit - 4 evenly spaced on equatorial orbit and 2 above the poles.

Just to be clear - I need 2 transmission antennas on each craft and 1 receiver, right?

[phoenix_ca]

You can't have a satellite in GEO over a pole. It would have to be a statite, and would expend a mountain of delta-v every day to stay there. O.o You could have a geosynchronous satellite though. Is that what you mean?

As for getting things in the right position, take a look at my sig. The same principles can be applied to other inclinations and orbits, though unfortunately, once you get into inclined orbits you will also need to take into account launch times. Unless you go for equatorial, have all your satellites up in the same orbit with perfect spacing, and then burn to plane change at the same longitude for each satellite. That'd do it nicely. It'd be far from the most efficient way to do it, but requires the least amount of work and calculation on the player's end. Not something one would do in RL with satellites around Earth, but KSP is software. Who gives a damn about wasted fuel in KSP?

Well, I have a simple relay that can be deployed to geosync in 5 minutes after launch IRL time, so I think I'll be able to do it.

On a side note. When it has the optimal angle and lots of intake air... three of those thermal turbojets can pull 5 gees.

O.O That's a lot of acceleration. Before 23.5 I bet that kind of ship would rip itself apart. O.o

Edited April 17, 2014 by phoenix_ca

[akman]

So are you guys working on anything new?

[WaveFunctionP]

Someone should post a relay tutorial.

My current save it kind of limited to science gathering for the 2-3k science nodes.

But my general concept of power generation would be 3,75m fission Akula reactors in LKO, with enough fuel to last them about 4-5 years and Transmitters.

Then 4-6 relay satellites in geostationary orbit - 4 evenly spaced on equatorial orbit and 2 above the poles.

Just to be clear - I need 2 transmission antennas on each craft and 1 receiver, right?

If you intend for each power station to transmit power and also be a relay, you will need only 2 arrays. If you are only transmitting power, you only need one array.

[smunisto]

Thanks to both of you for the answers. Since I only have the 2-3k science point nodes left to unlock, I think it is time to head out in the Kerbol system.

I plan to learn everything by the try&error method, strapping the max possible amount of Interstellar parts to one craft and testing multiple variations until I understand how it all works. Ever since I installed Interstellar the most of its parts I installed on a craft is just a reactor and a science lab. No power stations, no relays, not even rockets with Interstellar engines, which seem to be super efficient and I might try them when I get my power relays in orbit.

[TinyPirate]

Guys, I have a reactor up and a TON of coolant, but we're still overheating - you can see the stats and station in the following screenshot.

http://i.imgur.com/QgTLJGA.jpg

HALP!

Edited April 17, 2014 by TinyPirate

[AndreyATGB]

Guys, I have a reactor up and a TON of coolant, but we're still overheating - you can see the stats and station in the following screenshot.

HALP!

I'm gonna need a better resolution than 640x360 to help you.

[TinyPirate]

It's all about Thrust to Weight and how much you need. Doing orbital maneuvers? You need/want high ISP. Take off and landing vertically? You want/need high thrust. These are all the same KSP principles... where SPECIFICALLY are you confused? Don't be afraid to ask very specific questions on here. We do try our very best to be helpful and have a very friendly 1/2 dozen or so here that do just that.

Thanks! I'm going to have to have a look at your link! Ok, but specifically: ATTILA, Plasma and Thermal rockets. I can see they are high efficiency and I can see that they need power and special fuels (sometimes).. but, which sort of engine for which sort of use??? None seem suitable for atmospheric moves - so why would I use one engine over another to do orbital/deep space stuff?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm gonna need a better resolution than 640x360 to help you.

Sorry, the link to the image isn't too clear - it's just above the picture. Editing..

[Fractal_UK]

Guys, I have a reactor up and a TON of coolant, but we're still overheating - you can see the stats and station in the following screenshot

HALP!

Your waste heat bar is almost empty, you're worrying over nothing. Once it fills more, the rate of dissipation will increase.

[TinyPirate]

Your waste heat bar is almost empty, you're worrying over nothing. Once it fills more, the rate of dissipation will increase.

LOL - ok - so it will hit some sort of equilibrium at some point? .... lol. What a lot of flights I've put up trying to reduce heat to zero! Ta.

[nightdragon8]

I seem to be having a problem, I can't get the IR working, or at least generataing any science, Tho I guess I should also ask, is the RP that is generated the RP points for vanilla RP or ISP RP?

But otherwise, help, Yes I have the IR connected to the tank, and is selected on deep survey. so, kinda lost.

Thanks

[WaveFunctionP]

I've created a tutorial on power stations, relays and networks.

[bonesbro]

LOL - ok - so it will hit some sort of equilibrium at some point? .... lol. What a lot of flights I've put up trying to reduce heat to zero! Ta.

Yes. The hotter the radiators get, the faster they radiate heat. It's consistent with real physics. Hit I in the builder to show the thermal helper. You just need to make sure that max dissipation > total heat. You might need extra radiators on there too, because the efficiency of your generators drops as their temperature gets close to the temperature of your reactor. Mostly only a problem with unupgraded fission reactors.

[OctarineNoise]

@WaveFunctionP

I managed to get Interstellar features to work around PlanetFactory celestials, starting from your branch. If the changes I had to make are not too disruptive, consider accepting my pull request. I can't be the only one playing with a PF-modded system + KSPI.

[NeoAcario]

Thanks! I'm going to have to have a look at your link! Ok, but specifically: ATTILA, Plasma and Thermal rockets. I can see they are high efficiency and I can see that they need power and special fuels (sometimes).. but, which sort of engine for which sort of use??? None seem suitable for atmospheric moves - so why would I use one engine over another to do orbital/deep space stuff?

I'll say it one more time: Be more specific.

We can't offer you any kind of informed opinion on any type of reactor/generator/engine combination if we don't even know what you're trying to do. There simply are too many variables from one mission to the next. Mun Base? Kerbol Low Orbit Probe? Trying to set up a 500+ AU Telescope? Really, you have to tell us what kind of mission you are doing before we can offer an opinion. Even then, it's only an opinion. There is no absolute right answer (besides AM+Themral and AM+Plasma *AHEM*). It depends on what kind of fuel you have access to, personal preference, etc.

~Steve