wizzertz Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Have been trying to experiment with radially mounted orbiters since I first installed Sunday Punch's new parts. So far every launch attempt has failed, albeit quite comically sometimes, with the explosions being rather large. Here's what I've been trying to do:The asymmetry of weight and drag seem to be the issue at hand. About 5-10 meters after launch, in it's pictured configuration, the launch vehicle has already attained a 90 degree un-commanded horizontal attitude towards the orbiter vehicle side. Then at about 20 meters from the launch tower, the launch vehicle has successfully reconfigured itself into a lawn dart.Have tried different configurations, including the use of the orbiter's engine to balance the asymmetry. However, doing it this way means you have to be jockeying the throttles constantly or the trajectory will destabilize rapidly/horribly. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorch Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 There isn't really much you can do other than attempting to balance the craft via rockets on the other side of the craft. Adding SAS modules on top of those SRB's should help too.HarvesteR has said that gimbaled rockets to account for assymetry is coming eventually, until then we will have problems with asymmetrical rockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrayEagle Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 jockeying the throttles constantlyThis seems to be the only solution atm.The Dev's are planning to get Gimbaling engines in the future, this will allow you to do this kind of thing. Until then, its symmetrical launch systems. Unless your really brave and quite clever and able to strap engines that have enough power (but not too much) to balance out the drag and weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millitron Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 The wings on the orbiter are also a problem I think. They might be generating lift in that direction, which would only exacerbate your asymmetry problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizzertz Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 There isn't really much you can do other than attempting to balance the craft via rockets on the other side of the craft. Adding SAS modules on top of those SRB's should help too.HarvesteR has said that gimbaled rockets to account for assymetry is coming eventually, until then we will have problems with asymmetrical rockets.Oh sweet jesus, gimbaled engines would be fantastic. I also tried to edit the thrust vectoring for the boosters/main engine, but it didn't have the right effect (that, and I really have no clue about how that parameter works). I also saw the placeholder parameter for engine gimbaling and assumed that was tied to the thrust vector parameter somehow. Also tried to place a dummy OV on the other side of the main fuel tank for weight symmetry, but the thing is still unstable. Also, no amount of SAS modules will help this bird. To show you how bad this thing launches, I'll attach it at the end if anyone wants to give it a go.This seems to be the only solution atm.The Dev's are planning to get Gimbaling engines in the future, this will allow you to do this kind of thing. Until then, its symmetrical launch systems. Unless your really brave and quite clever and able to strap engines that have enough power (but not too much) to balance out the drag and weight.And that is what I've been trying to do. It's a very precarious balance. Made it to 10K by pure luck at one point (and never again). Separated the SRB's, and from there, was able to nudge it a bit higher with the main 4 cluster engine and OV engine. The split second I over-corrected, things went side ways in a hurry. Jettisoning the main fuel tank went beautifully though.For now, might make a beefed-up cheater SAS module that could maybe handle the force. Maybe this would make throttle steering a bit easier perhaps?The wings on the orbiter are also a problem I think. They might be generating lift in that direction, which would only exacerbate your asymmetry problems.If you knew how bad this thing flies, wings are the least of the worries right now . I've also built a clean config version with only the necessities, which still flies just as bad. Going to work with getting this clean version stabilized first, then will add on the adornments. Anyways, good stuff, thank you all for providing some input.Addons used:Sunday Punch's Parts v1.05Excelsior Class Rocket FamilyLV-N Nuclear Engine (may or may not have this attached, depending on what experimentation/guessing was going on at the time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sordid Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 At about 20 meters from the launch tower, the launch vehicle has successfully reconfigured itself into a lawn dart.Sorry for the unhelpful post, but that made me laugh. And it got me thinking. You know what would be an even better idea than lawn darts? Combining lawn darts with fireworks. Rocket-powered lawn darts, yeah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizzertz Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Sorry for the unhelpful post, but that made me laugh. And it got me thinking. You know what would be an even better idea than lawn darts? Combining lawn darts with fireworks. Rocket-powered lawn darts, yeah!That would make lawn darts so much more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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