parts [1.10.x] SDHI Service Module System (V4.0.4 / 11 October 2020)

[drtedastro]

No worries.  Worth the wait.

Thanks.

[RoketMan]

On December 26, 2015 at 1:57 PM, sumghai said:

Known issue with the AnimatedDecouplers plugin, which should be fixed in the next release.

1.0.5 broke a lot of things in SDHI SMS, so please be patient.

 I'm not using 1.0.5. Ckan won't let me. so I'm still on 1.0.4.

Edited December 28, 2015 by RoketMan

[sumghai]

17 minutes ago, RoketMan said:

 I'm not using 1.0.5. Ckan won't let me. so I'm still on 1.0.4.

CKAN won't let you use KSP 1.0.5? Not sure how this has anything to do with SDHI SMS

[Starwaster]

4 minutes ago, sumghai said:

CKAN won't let you use KSP 1.0.5? Not sure how this has anything to do with SDHI SMS

Or how it's even possible...

[RoketMan]

Well I mean I'm on 1.0.4, and the BPC isn't working. 

[sumghai]

11 minutes ago, RoketMan said:

Well I mean I'm on 1.0.4, and the BPC isn't working. 

Unfortunately, my time right now is better spent on getting SDHI SMS working for KSP 1.0.5/1.1 rather than retroactively fixing old releases. Sorry!

[sumghai]

A quick update on where I'm at with the next update for SDHI SMS:

 - The fairings, Boost Protect Cover (BPC) and Service Module colliders have been extensively reworked into convex ones compatible with KSP 1.0.5/1.1 (#66)

 - Fixed BPC jettison motors not firing when assigned to same action group as cover decoupling action, which was due to an issue with the AnimatedDecouplers dependency (#67)

 - BPC jettison motor thrustTransforms relocated to prevent the exhaust from overheating nearby parts; also modified BPC textures with additional jettison motor nozzle graphics and better warning decals (#69)

 - Side Fairings now decouple more reliably; attachment points have been moved from the SM Adapter to the Service Module itself, which will require updates to the how-to guide on the wiki (#70)

Outstanding issues:

 - [LOW PRIORITY] Find replacement plugin for self-inflating-on-splashdown floatation collar, as Klockheed Martian Special Parts plugin is no longer maintained; no plugin author has taken on this request yet (#61)

 - [MEDIUM PRIORITY] Prevent umbilical port model on Mk1-2 Pod from being toggled outside VAB; new feature introduced in KSP 1.0.5, early tests at tweaking the configs unsuccessful, still investigating (#63)

 - [HIGH PRIORITY] Parachute-equipped docking ports not showing parachute staging icon by default; may require changes to RealChute dependency itself (#65)

New features I'd like to include in the next release:

 - [MEDIUM PRIORITY] SDHI escape tower, with built-in RCS thrusters that allow some pitch control of the crew pod during abort; need to investigate whether KSP 1.0.5 allows RCS thrusters built into a part to be disabled by default and re-enabled via action group (#51)

 - [MEDIUM PRIORITY] Modify the IACBM docking port variant to limit docking angles to four orientations; new feature introduced in KSP 1.0.5 (#64)

 

[FlyingRoss]

It seems that the service module does not have a decoupler in it anymore?

[StevieC]

Your poll mentions a solid-fuel-burning RCS. That makes no sense, as solid-fuel engines, once started, can't be shut down.

[WuphonsReach]

I use Smart Parts for auto-inflation of parts (or auto-deployment of parachutes).

[Starwaster]

2 hours ago, StevieC said:

Your poll mentions a solid-fuel-burning RCS. That makes no sense, as solid-fuel engines, once started, can't be shut down.

The purpose is to simulate the steering motor that real launch escape towers have.

Do you have a better idea for doing that? If so, put it on the table. The way it's done in stock is too powerful and should never have been added to the stock LES. 

[StevieC]

Ahh, I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about an RCS thruster that would be used for maneuvering whilst in space. My bad.

[sumghai]

5 hours ago, WuphonsReach said:

I use Smart Parts for auto-inflation of parts (or auto-deployment of parachutes).

I don't think Smart Parts handles buoyancy.

5 hours ago, StevieC said:

Your poll mentions a solid-fuel-burning RCS. That makes no sense, as solid-fuel engines, once started, can't be shut down.

3 hours ago, Starwaster said:

The purpose is to simulate the steering motor that real launch escape towers have.

Do you have a better idea for doing that? If so, put it on the table. The way it's done in stock is too powerful and should never have been added to the stock LES. 

2 hours ago, StevieC said:

Ahh, I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about an RCS thruster that would be used for maneuvering whilst in space. My bad.

The stock LES steering motor is activated immediately along with the main lifting motor, which would cause the pod to tumble and spin shortly after abort - as such, the aim is to use an integrated RCS PartModule to act as the steering motor for the new SDHI LES.

According to the official factsheet for the Orion LAS, the steering motor (here called the Altitude Control Motor) is essentially a set of eight proportional valves fed by a single slug of solid propellant. By varying each valve, RCS-like steering can be achieved.

I made a quick prototype SDHI LES with a built-in RCS as the steering motor, and although the end user will need to take some extra steps to set it up properly, it works really well, giving users some (but not absolute) control over where to land their crew pod in an emergency. That said:

- I wanted the steering motors to have a smaller version of the same yellow plume as the main lifting motors, but KSP 1.0.5 does not support custom FX for RCS; NathanKell informed me that custom RCS FX may become available in KSP 1.1

- I obviously still need to refine the model, but that's a trivial matter

 

 

[Starwaster]

Just now, sumghai said:

According to the official factsheet for the Orion LAS, the steering motor (here called the Altitude Control Motor) is essentially a set of eight proportional valves fed by a single slug of solid propellant. By varying each valve, RCS-like steering can be achieved.

Damn clever these humans.

[MaverickSawyer]

10 hours ago, StevieC said:

Your poll mentions a solid-fuel-burning RCS. That makes no sense, as solid-fuel engines, once started, can't be shut down.

I would beg to differ:

Here's a few examples that prove that there is merit to this concept.

[Curiosity7907]

Orion has 4 drouge chutes not 2.

[sumghai]

9 hours ago, Curiosity7907 said:

Orion has 4 drouge chutes not 2.

Please provide a source to back up your claim.

Also, the SDHI SMS is not meant to be a faithful reproduction of the Orion/SLS, but rather, a stockalike analogue, so it doesn't really matter how many drogue or main chutes I choose to have.

[sumghai]

A quick preview of the new SDHI Launch Escape System - if you want to play with it ahead of an official release, you can get the latest dev build of the SMS pack.

 

 

 

 

[Starwaster]

14 hours ago, sumghai said:

Please provide a source to back up your claim.

Also, the SDHI SMS is not meant to be a faithful reproduction of the Orion/SLS, but rather, a stockalike analogue, so it doesn't really matter how many drogue or main chutes I choose to have.

He's probably mistaking the pilot chutes for drogues.

[sumghai]

9 hours ago, Starwaster said:

He's probably mistaking the pilot chutes for drogues.

I see.

I omitted pilot chutes for drogues and mains because:
 - The former are much much smaller than the latter
 - They are only present for a brief period of time when the drogues/mains are predeployed; as soon as the latter fully inflates, they detach and are discarded
 

[sumghai]

Okay, yet another update:

 - Still no good replacement for the flotation collar plugin with the same featureset as Klockheed Martian. I'm asking @RoverDude if he has any suggestions or whether USI Survivability Pack could be modified to support this feature.

 - Waiting to hear back from @stupid_chris regarding the missing parachute staging icon in the VAB

 - Still trying to fix the old bug where the stock animation module allows the umbilical retrofitted onto the stock Mk1-2 Pod to be toggleable outside of the VAB. I know 1.0.5 now comes with new parameters to selectively disable animation toggling in certain scenes, but I haven't been able to get it to work yet.

 - The new LES with built-in steering motors is pretty much good to go.

 - Did a quick experiment with making the IACBMs only dock at 90 degree increments, using more new stock parameters coded in by @NathanKell. Initial tests seemed to work well, but I'll need to adjust the acquireMinRollDot and captureMinRollDot values to make the system a little more lenient on misalignments. I'm also wondering if tweaking parameters such as minDistanceToReEngage, acquireRange and captureRange and doing some clever trickery with invisible animated colliders would make the system much easier to use. Unfortunately, this means I may need to redo the IACBM models for both SDHI and FusTek based on newer understanding of the real-life ISS CBMs, which means limiting IACBM docking orientations will probably not make it into the next update for SDHI SMS. Might have to shelve this idea for another time.

[StevieC]

Re: inflatable parts, I think LackLusterLabs' SXT parts-pack has a few of those in it.

[sumghai]

16 minutes ago, StevieC said:

Re: inflatable parts, I think LackLusterLabs' SXT parts-pack has a few of those in it.

Yes, LLL's SXT does have a inflatables pack. However:

• It does not inflate automatically on splashdown
• The buoyancy does not change between the inflated and deflated states
• It uses the FSbuoyancy PartModule from Firespitter, and I already dropped Firespitter as a dependency not too long ago, and I'd doubt I'd want to flip-flop back to re-including it any time soon

[StevieC]

Okay, fair point.

[Lack]

Yeah, it's a bit of a hacky fix really, and you still have to assign action groups manually. I wonder if you'd be able to fool the stock buoyancy system through either low mass, or changing the collider size (providing it actually tracks that). I doubt it'd be strong enough then and it doesn't do anything about splash-down.

If you do find a better module for the flotation, do let me know.