[Modded] Need Tips for a Space Shuttle Design

[bulletrhli]

Hello there. Ive recently taken interest in the NASA shuttles, especially the last one flown in 2011, the Endeavor. I have been trying to make my own style of it but I have been having troubles with the unpowered flight. I am in the testing phase at the moment so I am not attaching the LF tanks or SRF Boosters atm. I have tried two different designs, one with the wings seating under the carriage of the shuttle, as well as the attached on the sides but can't seem to get it quite right. I am looking for some tips to improve my design. I have not provided any pictures as I do not have a solid model to build off yet, but will as I go on.

I am currently using the following plugins to build my shuttle.

- B9 Aerospace

- Space Shuttle Engines Pack

Should this be in the wrong forum section, I give full permission for this thread to be moved.

Edited January 12, 2014 by bulletrhli

[bulletrhli]

Bumpity bump

[TechnicalK3rbal]

If you're going for realism, at the bottom near the undercarriage. Also do this if you have DR, as the heat shield seems to work better. If you want it to be more stable, put it in the middle of the fuselage or even at the top.

[Raven.]

Shuttles in KSP, even with the listed mods, are not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Shuttles is pretty much where the men are separated from the boys.

What I did with my Marlin shuttle (I can provide pics later on this evening, as I'm not at my gaming rig), was I designed it in the spaceplane hanger and then saved it as a sub-assembly, and then attached it in the VAB. I did all the balancing in regards to the aerodynamics with the assumption that the fuel tanks were going to be empty on re-entry. This means that if you have left over fuel, you will have to burn it up somehow. This seems to have done the trick for me as far as the unpowered flight is concerned.

Now with the wing design, I did not do a realistic, classic shuttle design. I used more of a gull wing type configuration stuck straight on the side. It's not realistic, but in KSP it works wonders.

A quick recommendation, grab the EVA parachutes mod: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/25305-0-23-Vanguard-Technologies-EVA-parachutes-23!-Sry-4-not-fixing-earlier-%28Dec-30%29

That way, if worse comes to worse, Jeb can say "screw the landing" and simply bail.

[Klingon Admiral]

Shuttles in KSP, even with the listed mods, are not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Shuttles is pretty much where the men are separated from the boys.

Tbh, shuttles aren't *that* hard once you realise you don't have to stick to the assymetric design of STS/Buran and could easily build the rocket "around" the orbiter. For this particular approach, I recommend sticking the wings to the side of the main body, as you probably want to stick your rockets on those.

[Raven.]

Tbh, shuttles aren't *that* hard once you realise you don't have to stick to the assymetric design of STS/Buran and could easily build the rocket "around" the orbiter. For this particular approach, I recommend sticking the wings to the side of the main body, as you probably want to stick your rockets on those.

Let me clarify, the shuttles such as the STS/Buran that are "piggy-backed" onto a massive fuel tank are not easy.

As far avoiding the asymmetric thrust problem, you can also stick the shuttle on top of the rocket and then strut it down to prevent wobble.