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

[Ashtoruin]

My only worry is that the engine won't recognize/use the lithium and deuturium in the tanks if it uses the nonstandard resource handler Fractal_UK wrote, in which case you may have to pump them in manually or use TAC fuel balancer to keep it fueled.

My thoughts exactly. I also am not sure how much lithium/deuterium he would put in for a given volume.

[DaveStrider]

Yes, the normal core only stores science and acts as a command module. When it is upgraded, it begins research and counts as 2 Kerbals with 0 stupidity.

at moho I get 3 science/day from a science bay with 2 smart kerbals, and 6 science/day from an AGI unit

[forsaken1111]

My thoughts exactly. I also am not sure how much lithium/deuterium he would put in for a given volume.

I'll just have to make some approximations for now based on stock tanks. Will check back when I have something to show.

[Fractal_UK]

I need to rework the fusion resource system anyway. I think what I want to do is to change the vista to consume Deuterium and Tritium directly. Then I will give you full tanks of Lithium in the VAB which you can turn into Tritium using nuclear reactors.

Lithium could then also be used as another alternative plasma engine propellant, where it would sit somewhere between hydrogen and argon (but closer to hydrogen).

[forsaken1111]

I need to rework the fusion resource system anyway. I think what I want to do is to change the vista to consume Deuterium and Tritium directly. Then I will give you full tanks of Lithium in the VAB which you can turn into Tritium using nuclear reactors.

Lithium could then also be used as another alternative plasma engine propellant, where it would sit somewhere between hydrogen and argon (but closer to hydrogen).

I realize things will change in future but you don't mind me doing a few little changes in the interim do you?

[Libra00]

I think that's a KSP issue not a mod issue

Ah, I had never noticed it in stock probably just by chance. I still tend to forget about crew until I'm ready to mash the GO button, just happened to have made a change after I thought I was ready this time.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Libra00
Forgot to quote

[fenderzilla]

are you going to add electrolysis on eeloo? eeloo is made of ice, just like vall.

[Fractal_UK]

I realize things will change in future but you don't mind me doing a few little changes in the interim do you?

Go ahead, I'm going to try and do this fairly quickly though, it'd be nice to get this out with the latest round of little tweaks and bug fixes.

[forsaken1111]

Go ahead, I'm going to try and do this fairly quickly though, it'd be nice to get this out with the latest round of little tweaks and bug fixes.

In that case I'll hold off. I don't want to mess with your intended progression.

[K3-Chris]

For SCIENCE!

(spherical tanks and front tank drained of oxidizer, using the front 2 as drop-tanks, heading to Moho, 12 labs, 24 kerbals onboard).

Edited October 7, 2013 by K3|Chris

[Libra00]

Quick question: In determining what kind of heat radiation I need (for an orbital station), it's the Thermal Power output of the reactor, minus whatever is being used, yes? In which case with an unupgraded 3.75m reactor I would need 3 huge radiators to keep up with its waste heat production assuming it's on but nothing is using it? Or have I misunderstood and it's something else entirely? I realize consequences of waste heat are not yet implemented, but i'd rather have it dealt with before-hand.

[Libra00]

For SCIENCE!

(spherical tanks and front tank drained of oxidizer, using the front 2 as drop-tanks, heading to Moho, 12 labs, 24 kerbals onboard).

I've always loved the look of those spherical tanks but I can never seem to find the right application for them. Looks good!

[forsaken1111]

That looks fantastic!

[Ashtoruin]

I've always loved the look of those spherical tanks but I can never seem to find the right application for them. Looks good!

I use them for just about everything :3

I'll post a picture of my space station when I get it finished, right now its just a hub. Need to find things to add :/

Im thinking that I might make my ships entirely modular and use it as a shipyard, but not entirely sure how I want to do that yet.

[Xentoe]

The Heat Radiators are to weak. they fall off my ship (Yes in undeployed state)

Sometimes they fall even off at loading the ship. (when it does this little bounce).

And like said I want to re remember my suggestion of a additional Warpengenemodel for use at Spaceplanes.

This Question is mostly to the Modelmakers here.

I wonder if it would be ok when I announce little design Problem I got (I made me a work around but it is not a realistic one).

you know the warpdrive is a fully ring.

This works fine for the standart ship / Rocket.

But it is a (if we wanna stay realistic) dessaster for a Spaceplane based ship.

No landinggear is high enougth that the Ring does not break on the runway.

I made now with Magic Smoke a Swingable Ring.

What means it can change between horizontal and vertical alignment

(see screenshots)

Horizontal:

Vertical:

So the Point is now, this is technical not impossible. The ring does move through the solid shipstructure (Works because glitch) but in real life it is impossible.

so I thought now about one additional model for the warpringdrive.

LeT`s say an advanced construct, but only the small capacety one).

The follwing:

The Ring has 2 "states"

In the let`s call it offline state, it is rotated like on Picture 1, but it is not a full ring, only more like (on eatch side) 2 nearly halfrings like this: (-|-). (that should symbolise the plane, when we look down on it from above).

Than you set it online, and the 2 parts swing into vertical mod (like Picture 2) and connect both to be again a Ring. like this: O (Imagine the plane in the O`s center, (view from front))

Knows someone the Episode "The timemashine2 in Captain Future? There the Comet has too a Ringshaped shipaddition, that extends from a kind of narcels.

It is like said only an idea.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Xentoe

[Fractal_UK]

Quick question: In determining what kind of heat radiation I need (for an orbital station), it's the Thermal Power output of the reactor, minus whatever is being used, yes? In which case with an unupgraded 3.75m reactor I would need 3 huge radiators to keep up with its waste heat production assuming it's on but nothing is using it? Or have I misunderstood and it's something else entirely? I realize consequences of waste heat are not yet implemented, but i'd rather have it dealt with before-hand.

Yes, so if you have a reactor that produces say 1000MW of Thermal Power and a generator that produces electricity at 22% efficiency, you will get 220MW of "Megajoules" and 780MW of "WasteHeat." Some of the things that consume electricity aren't neccessarily entirely efficient, so you may end up getting heat from those too. For example, plasma engines only turn 72% of what they consume into thrust, the other 28% becomes "WasteHeat" as well. (In 0.6, the plasma engines will generate more than this but that will be fixed in 0.6.1).

ThermalRockets and ThermalTurbojets make use of open cycle cooling, so whatever WasteHeat the reactor produces will be used up by the engines.

[Libra00]

Oh, it sounds like the reactor itself doesn't generate waste heat but that it's generated by things which ask for ThermalPower and then inefficiently convert it into thrust, electricity, or whatever? That makes sense.

[zzz]

And like said I want to re remember my suggestion of a additional Warpengenemodel

I'm actually already started to make it yesterday, not completely as you suggested, because I decided it will obstruct big portion of space along hull and clip with wings, but in more crazy and overcomplicated(and less usefull) way.

Edited October 7, 2013 by zzz

[Mzxs]

may i say jest using kethane and making ice or water mine able and then turn that into deuterium same kind of stuff for lithium and aluminum

[Fractal_UK]

In order to make these changes, I've decided to make use of the HexCans part created by Greys. This allows someone with as little artistic ability as me to produce some fuel tanks.

They aren't beautiful, mainly due to my texturing, but you get the idea:

---

The other changes that I wanted to make turned out to be relatively simple and Lithium is a better compromise fuel than I perhaps first imagined. It offers about 58% of the Isp of LiquidFuel with plasma engines but consequently grants 172% of the thrust. I can see it being a useful choice.

Finally, a bit of time acceleration and we can see the effect of the nuclear reactor at work: bombarding our Lithium with neutrons and producing Tritium to power our Vista engines.

[forsaken1111]

So nuclear reactors will always convert lithium -> tritium or is that a set mode or what?

[Fractal_UK]

So nuclear reactors will always convert lithium -> tritium or is that a set mode or what?

I'm thinking of just an option on the nuclear reactor to enable or disable this feature, what do you think?

It should certainly be controllable by some means since it involves actually inserting the lithium into the reactor core.

[forsaken1111]

I'm thinking of just an option on the nuclear reactor to enable or disable this feature, what do you think?

It should certainly be controllable by some means since it involves actually inserting the lithium into the reactor core.

How about a "Lithium Enrichment" toggle button which when toggled on drops the reactor's efficiency but starts the conversion process?

Also with you making these changes soon should I hold off using any vesta drives? How soon do you think these will be ready? I had planned to use a vesta drive as my primary drive unit on the vessel I am assembling in orbit.

[Ashtoruin]

Also with you making these changes soon should I hold off using any vesta drives? How soon do you think these will be ready? I had planned to use a vesta drive as my primary drive unit on the vessel I am assembling in orbit.

I know right? Im thinking about making a tug for around Kerbal, but I kinda want to wait till he gets this all figured out :3

[forsaken1111]

Would it be possible to control lithium->tritium conversion from the science station but require the ship to have a nuclear reactor onboard to perform the reaction? And control the speed of conversion based on nuclear reactor size?

Might be too complicated.