[1.12.*] Deadly Reentry v7.9.0 The Barbie Edition, Aug 5th, 2021

[stryker2279]

Maybe I'm just not doing something right, but for me the deployable heat shield acts batcrap crazy. When I deploy it, it automatically destroys any spacecraft that was sitting above it, and proceeds to float down at like 2m/s. It's almost as if it instantly gains a drag number of like 1000 and basically goes from heat shield to monster brick wall and the rest of the ship gets smushed behind it

[Starwaster]

Maybe I'm just not doing something right, but for me the deployable heat shield acts batcrap crazy. When I deploy it, it automatically destroys any spacecraft that was sitting above it, and proceeds to float down at like 2m/s. It's almost as if it instantly gains a drag number of like 1000 and basically goes from heat shield to monster brick wall and the rest of the ship gets smushed behind it

It does increase drag by quite a bit, but I've never had it destroy anything before. Except by occasionally flipping upside down and exposing the payload to 9000 degree superheated kerbal-cooking plasma.

[Rebelgamer]

I have a question about using DRE with RSS. I'm getting aerodynamic heating starting at about 115km, but I don't see any deceleration from drag until I hit 90km. Only issue is that the heatshield is already up to 200c before I even start decelerating. Is this normal, or do I need to make a change to a configuration file?

[Starwaster]

I have a question about using DRE with RSS. I'm getting aerodynamic heating starting at about 115km, but I don't see any deceleration from drag until I hit 90km. Only issue is that the heatshield is already up to 200c before I even start decelerating. Is this normal, or do I need to make a change to a configuration file?

It is normal but you can change it if you want a wimpier reentry.

The altitude at which heating occurs is linked to densityExponent. Small numbers of densityExponent mean that reentry heating will start at higher altitudes during descent. Conversely, it also means that it starts at slower velocities during ascent.

Larger numbers mean reentry heating doesn't start until deeper into the atmosphere.

If using the beta, the values for densityExponent per difficulty are:

Easy = 0.9

Normal = 0.8

Hard = 0.5

[Rebelgamer]

No problem then, I was just wondering about the disconnect between temp and drag. On a more serious note, Jeb suffocated when he ran out of fuel coming back from the Mun, and didn't get low enough to aerocapture on the first try(only got periapsis down to 76km, hit atmo at 10.3km/s). Ran out of O2 before he got back around. He will be missed. On a side note, even with no pilot, the craft still landed safely on its own...so his sacrifice was not in vain.

[Starwaster]

No problem then, I was just wondering about the disconnect between temp and drag. On a more serious note, Jeb suffocated when he ran out of fuel coming back from the Mun, and didn't get low enough to aerocapture on the first try(only got periapsis down to 76km, hit atmo at 10.3km/s). Ran out of O2 before he got back around. He will be missed. On a side note, even with no pilot, the craft still landed safely on its own...so his sacrifice was not in vain.

http://well-of-souls.com/tower/plague.wav

[AccidentalDisassembly]

Had an issue that NathanKell suggested was related to DeadlyReentry - my post (with log) here:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57988-0-25-x-Wenkel-Corporation-RealChute-Parachute-Systems-v1-2-6-16-11-14-paused?p=1584343&viewfull=1#post1584343

(Hopefully that link works)

[Starwaster]

Had an issue that NathanKell suggested was related to DeadlyReentry - my post (with log) here:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57988-0-25-x-Wenkel-Corporation-RealChute-Parachute-Systems-v1-2-6-16-11-14-paused?p=1584343&viewfull=1#post1584343

(Hopefully that link works)

That problem is sort of on my radar already though I'm seeing something in your log file that's new. Namely that there's errors while initializing the chute warning message. I trapped those errors to prevent them from breaking other things but it does beg the question how you're seeing the chute warning messages if it couldn't initialize them.

Obviously I'm going to have to rethink how I'm handling messages. I should only be initializing them once as a static field is what I should be doing....

[lextacy]

I might download this soon, how does a heat shield work in this mod? Does it just add a heat shield "module" in the part file ?

[Starwaster]

I might download this soon, how does a heat shield work in this mod? Does it just add a heat shield "module" in the part file ?

Sure, for parts that are heat shields. Most spaceplane parts are so equipped as are the heat shield parts in the mod and in other mods that have DRE configured heat shields.

The Mk1 command pod already has a heat shield. The Mk1-2 has to have one attached to its bottom.

[MartGonzo]

I was thinking, a very small surface attaching shielded fairing would be a really useful part for this mod, to put in front of vulnerable parts.

[Maxwell Fern]

Hi guys, I'm in my Spaceplanes period right now but can't figure out how to properly shield a Mk2 ship (former Spaceplane+). Everything quickly disintegrates when hitting the 30k mark, from the wings to the cockpit. Note that I have no problem with regular pod reentry.

Do I need to up my game and design some crazy contraptions or is it possible to add directionnal heatshields on Mk2 parts (and wings) ?

I'll never thank you enough for this thrilling mod. Please keep up the good work !

[girka2k]

Hi guys, I'm in my Spaceplanes period right now but can't figure out how to properly shield a Mk2 ship (former Spaceplane+). Everything quickly disintegrates when hitting the 30k mark, from the wings to the cockpit. Note that I have no problem with regular pod reentry.

Do I need to up my game and design some crazy contraptions or is it possible to add directionnal heatshields on Mk2 parts (and wings) ?

I'll never thank you enough for this thrilling mod. Please keep up the good work !

Perhaps your trajectory is too steep?

I just recently piloted a SSTO from MK2 parts. At reentry I had to fly almost half of the world at an altitude of about 30000, before I was able to slow down to a relatively safe 4-5 M. I fly with angle of attack about 10-15 degrees to increase drag and with a roll of 50-80 degrees to keep the vertical speed to zero. Any attempt to descend below 28000 at speed of 5M or higher - and my plane immediately was falling apart or burned up.

[Maxwell Fern]

My trajectory could probably be more shallow. I could try gliding around the world as high as possible to shake the excess speed, I could try using high altitude drogue chute, retro-rockets... KSP always offers its bunch of alternatives

My wish though is to shield those parts to perform a glazing, ablative, direct reentry straight to the KSC, à la Space Shuttle. If I can't it's no big deal, but I'd have regretted not to ask. Especially because I suspect it might just be the matter of a couple of lines in a cfg.

[Wanderfound]

Hi guys, I'm in my Spaceplanes period right now but can't figure out how to properly shield a Mk2 ship (former Spaceplane+). Everything quickly disintegrates when hitting the 30k mark, from the wings to the cockpit. Note that I have no problem with regular pod reentry.

Do I need to up my game and design some crazy contraptions or is it possible to add directionnal heatshields on Mk2 parts (and wings) ?

I'll never thank you enough for this thrilling mod. Please keep up the good work !

You're coming in too steep. Level off as soon as possible and hold it just above 30,000m until you drop below 1,500m/s. After that, start doing S-turns and gradually descend as you slow.

[girka2k]

My trajectory could probably be more shallow. I could try gliding around the world as high as possible to shake the excess speed, I could try using high altitude drogue chute, retro-rockets... KSP always offers its bunch of alternatives

My wish though is to shield those parts to perform a glazing, ablative, direct reentry straight to the KSC, à la Space Shuttle. If I can't it's no big deal, but I'd have regretted not to ask. Especially because I suspect it might just be the matter of a couple of lines in a cfg.

Are you calling "...series of rolling/banking flight maneuvers" as direct reently straight to the... ?

Also:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle7.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/28985-coming-home-from-space-space-shuttle-reentry-video.htm

[Maxwell Fern]

Thanks guys, I'll give this different reentry profile a try. Can't be worse...

Anyway I'll stick to my question: is there no way to add a shield to a part ? I see DR adds one to the stock Mk1 pod, so how can I add one to say the Mk2 cockpit's underbelly ?

[Jovus]

The Mk2 already has a heatshield; it reflects 25% of all heat that otherwise would be applied. Same with most of the Mk2 parts, and all the wings and control surfaces. If you want to increase the protection, just go into the SPP.cfg file and change the value from 25 to whatever you feel comfortable with.

If you want to add an ablative heatshield to something, it's probably just as easy, but I don't know how personally.

[Starwaster]

Just remember that if you go adding ablative and you're using any sort of aerodynamic correction (FAR, NEAR or SDF) then that added mass is going to make it harder to brake.

Inertia's a <female dog perjorative> sometimes.

And she's having puppies.

[gump1119]

Due do some impatient errors, I ended up out of fuel from Duna en-route to Kerbin in a not-ideal orbit. I was going about 6100m/s and could not successfully aerobrake without dying (in my "simulations"). Using DE + FAR combo. I did some minor aerobraking and launched a refueling probe, which gave me enough fuel to adjust a bit and return to try again. It still wasn't ideal but I successfully reentered the Kerbin atmosphere (DE + FAR) going about 5000m/s in the Mk1-2 pod with a heat shield. I removed all attachments from the pod (Kerbal Attachment) except the radial chutes and I burned up all the mono-propellant. I jettisoned the rest of my ship and had a periapsis of about 31km. Doing a little of that pilot-sh*t, I was able to fly the pod in at about 1300C without burning up and kill enough velocity to capture into orbit. Net result was about +6000 science. *shew*

[Tochas]

Hi I have found an issue with Deadly Reentry and KAS 0.4.9

Taking things out of containers causes Deadly Reentry to throw an exception and causing the newly created object to disapear

[LOG 23:44:44.986] [KAS] WaitAndGrab(Container) - Waiting rigidbody to initialize...

[LOG 23:44:45.002] [ORS] Creating Resource Manager for Vessel SP-L 1x6 Photovoltaic Panels (WasteHeat)

[LOG 23:44:45.003] [ORS] Creating Resource Manager for Vessel SP-L 1x6 Photovoltaic Panels (Megajoules)

[EXC 23:44:45.016] NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

DeadlyReentry.ModuleAeroReentry.OnStart (StartState state)

Part.ModulesOnStart ()

Part+

.MoveNext ()

[LOG 23:44:45.022] OnVesselSituationChanged

The issue in the KAS repository is the following

https://github.com/KospY/KAS/issues/103

[Maxwell Fern]

Well guys, I was wrong, you were right. Spaceplanes part shouldn't have ablative shielding, and indeed the Shuttle had reflective tiles, nothing ablative. So Mk2 parts are fine as they are, it's my reentry profile that needs a rework...

However...

I'm working on a spaceplane capable of agressive reentry. In a nutshell, it has the inflatable heat shield as a nose and retractable wings (courtesy of Infernal Robotics). It's actually working pretty good, but I'm facing a problem with drag, and I don't know if the problems comes from DR or FAR:

- With the shield alone as the nose of the plane, the drag is insane, be it inflated or not: it actually doesn't make a difference (Cd value is the same). My several tons ship in a nearly vertical freefall with the heat shield deinflated hit the ground at barely 100m/s after a return from orbit.

- puting anything in front of the inflatable shield (shuch as another shield, or an air intake) negates entirely its drag, even inflated. Which means a lot more time to slow down in the upper atmo, and more overheating.

So, is the inflating animation just a visual trick ? From the amount of drag it generates, I would have said FAR consider it always deployed, but since hiding its center behind a small part makes the drag go away, I'm confused.

[Wanderfound]

Leaving aside the mod weirdness issues...

Any ablative heat shield is going to be a fairly high-drag part. Any object moving through atmosphere is going to want to rotate to place its centre of drag behind its centre of mass. Achieving aerodynamic stability when you hit the lower atmosphere at Mach 7 while you've essentially got a drag anchor strapped to your nose is not going to be easy.

Retracting the wings is likely to make things worse, not better. Rearset drag to balance the heatshield would be helpful.

[Starwaster]

@Tochas grab the latest beta. That problem is fixed.

@Maxwell it's probably setting fields that FAR depends on being blanked. I'll address it when I'm really awake.

[Maxwell Fern]

@Wanderfound: actually, stability isn't an issue. A couple of well placed linear RCS are enough to keep the ship pointed in the right direction, even during the hardcore part of reentry. Obviously there's no way to change your trajectory during this configuration, but that's the behavior I'm looking for: agressive pod-like reentry. Leaving the drag issue on the side, I've managed reentries from 300km orbits with an apo of 25 with a really decent stability. I'll eventually post seom screenshots of the final prototype

@Starwaster: thanks dude, you're awesome.