[0.90] Kerbin Shuttle Orbiter System v4.13

[Starwaster]

the thing is DRE as awesome as it is it works diffrently from actuall real life reentry, in real life you want a step decent to reduce speed quikly and not let the heat transfer into the space ship (not gonna explain as it works in detail)

No no no. In real life you can have a reentry angle that is too steep and you burn up. Too shallow and you skip out of the atmosphere.

Reducing speed too fast means heating up faster than you can shed heat. Some vehicles reenter at steeper angles than others. Shuttle had a shallower reentry than Apollo.

[mostlydave]

Looking great so far! I can't wait to try phase II out! I sat down to try play a little KSP last night and was thinking about the new parts the whole time!

[schoff123]

Shuttle had a shallower reentry than Apollo.

true. it comes down to the type of heat shielding: ablative or reflective. Shuttle used reflective (or thermal soak, same thing) shielding. Apollo used an ablative resin shield, meaning the shield was built to melt away, bringing thermal energy away with the vaporized resin. Each one needs a different ascent profile because they cool the craft in different ways.

[IsamuHigashi]

No no no. In real life you can have a reentry angle that is too steep and you burn up. Too shallow and you skip out of the atmosphere.

Reducing speed too fast means heating up faster than you can shed heat. Some vehicles reenter at steeper angles than others. Shuttle had a shallower reentry than Apollo.

Well as far as my knowlege about the topic goes we boath are correct, yes its true that at a too steep angle the ship will burn up when it has a reflective heatshielding like the shuttle, but for ablative shielded rockets they used a mutch steeper angle.

The rason is that theres a shockwave layer betwehn the heat shield and the hot air thats keeping the heat a bit away ffrom it so if your returne is to shallow the heat has time to soak in to the heat shield, and another thing is after reentry the heatshield was usually detacht becous otherwise the heat would ssink into the main capsual.

another thing the deceleration in returns with capsuals in real life is at really high gforce leves so high they almost high enough to break bones in some flight, in ksp with dre you cant have 3 g your ship will disintegreat.

reflective heat shields are diffrent from ablative and so need diffrent reentry profils and i guess for those dre kinda is correct even do i think you still have to be to shallow in Dre compered to how reentry would be in real life.

Ofcourse im not a rocket sientist so its allso possible that im completly wrong if thats the case im sorry but the shuttle use instructions on FAR and DRE are still ok so thats somthing^^

[Westi29]

The 31st of my STS KSO Shuttle Missions and 27th Flight of the Tenacious! STS 131's objective is to deploy the KSO Duna Scout Base Core Module and return to the KSC Runway! The Duna Scout Base will house two kerbals, two greenhouses, a communications tower, and a rover.

The construction and deployment missions run STS 131 through STS 136.


Most of the footage is shown in 4x speed for quick viewing.

STS 132 will deploy the Duna Scout Base Propulsion Module!

[GoldForest]

The 31st of my STS KSO Shuttle Missions and 27th Flight of the Tenacious! STS 131's objective is to deploy the KSO Duna Scout Base Core Module and return to the KSC Runway! The Duna Scout Base will house two kerbals, two greenhouses, a communications tower, and a rover.

The construction and deployment missions run STS 131 through STS 136.

Most of the footage is shown in 4x speed for quick viewing.

STS 132 will deploy the Duna Scout Base Propulsion Module!

May I suggest a future mission? Build a interstellar ship and take a shuttle to four shuttles to a different planet like eve, duna, Lathe, or any other atmosphere planet. The shuttle can hold the long 1.25m tank in the cargo bay, so you could bring extra fuel. I haven't tried to make the shuttle for atmosphere flight, but I'm sure with some adjusting it could be possible.

[Westi29]

May I suggest a future mission? Build a interstellar ship and take a shuttle to four shuttles to a different planet like eve, duna, Lathe, or any other atmosphere planet. The shuttle can hold the long 1.25m tank in the cargo bay, so you could bring extra fuel. I haven't tried to make the shuttle for atmosphere flight, but I'm sure with some adjusting it could be possible.

Was a flyby of Jool to prove the concept. My ultimate goal is to build a colony on Laythe using EPL and launch & return KSO missions to the Jool moons from the new Laythe colony. Some missions after the Duna Base will be to swap crews at the Eve Space Station and to deploy a Duna Scout Base Crew Swap vehicle. Thanks for the suggestions! I hope my plans will follow along with what you want to see!

[GoldForest]

Was a flyby of Jool to prove the concept. My ultimate goal is to build a colony on Laythe using EPL and launch & return KSO missions to the Jool moons from the new Laythe colony. Some missions after the Duna Base will be to swap crews at the Eve Space Station and to deploy a Duna Scout Base Crew Swap vehicle. Thanks for the suggestions! I hope my plans will follow along with what you want to see!

Kool! I will do some experimenting to see if the KSO can be converted into a space plane. it might have to carry wing mounted ram jets, but I don't think it will be too much of a problem if I balance it just right.

[Deathsoul097]

Helldiver, if you don't mind me asking, what is the mounting spot on the bottom of the KSO's ET for, exactly?

[vardicd]

Helldiver, if you don't mind me asking, what is the mounting spot on the bottom of the KSO's ET for, exactly?

For the unlimited possibilities of {[Our] Your} Imagination.

[Westi29]

The 32nd of my STS KSO Shuttle Missions and 28th Flight of the Tenacious! STS 132's objective is to deploy the KSO Duna Scout Base Propulsion Module and return to the KSC Runway! The Duna Scout Base will house two kerbals, two greenhouses, a communications tower, and a rover.

The construction and deployment missions run STS 131 through STS 136.


Most of the footage is shown in 4x speed for quick viewing.

STS 133 will deploy the Duna Scout Base Greenhouse Module #1!

[LawnDartLeo]

It tends to be a bit sloppy at the very end of the burn, pushing the blue node around to the point that it'll burn another 20-30 delta-V trying to fix it, often unsuccessfully. If you control the last little bit by hand, then it's okay, but it's just annoying enough to cause problems for longer flights.

I posted this a while back....

... About chasing the ball with MechJeb.

Nothing overly scientific here but these are my observations for establishing a 100km orbit.

1) I moved the MechJeb component to the surface just aft of the cargo bay doors. the top of the command section has a wee bit of an angle to it. Not saying that this is a stone cold solid lock of a solution but I swear that MechJeb performs better now that the unit is located in a "normal" plane.

2) I linked all the engines to a single toggle for trim control (AG1).

3) I grouped the 200's (AG2) and the 40's (AG3) into individual toggle action groups.

4) Prior to orbital insertion burn I toggle the trim (AG1) and shut down the 40's (AG3). I also shed the external tank even if it has a bit of reserve left in it.

5) Orbital insertion is done with the 200's. Once orbit is established I shut down the 200's (AG2) and activate the 40's (AG3).

I do not chase the ball at all.

YMMV.

Correction.... keep the OMS's off. The 200's albeit less efficient play better with MJ.

Seriously, I have little issue with MJ.

Edited March 20, 2014 by LawnDartLeo
clarification....

[sharpspoonful]

I've found placing the AR202 case inside of the cargo bay has done much to reduce it as well.

[SuperWeegee4000]

This shuttle is VERY hard to control. The OMS causes it to start pitching, and the guide doesn't give detailed instructions on deorbiting. In atmosphere, pitching upwards causes a spin - my error, I guess, but there should be more operational guidelines for landing. The mod looks very good, but it's certainly not beginner friendly.

GAH LANDING GEAR OPE-- *boom*

...Nope. I'm done. That's enough KSP for the night.

Edited March 20, 2014 by SuperWeegee4000

[GoldForest]

This shuttle is VERY hard to control. The OMS causes it to start pitching, and the guide doesn't give detailed instructions on deorbiting. In atmosphere, pitching upwards causes a spin - my error, I guess, but there should be more operational guidelines for landing. The mod looks very good, but it's certainly not beginner friendly.

GAH LANDING GEAR OPE-- *boom*

...Nope. I'm done. That's enough KSP for the night.

Watch a few of Westi29's videos. He lands without problem.

[helldiver]

This shuttle is VERY hard to control. The OMS causes it to start pitching, and the guide doesn't give detailed instructions on deorbiting. In atmosphere, pitching upwards causes a spin - my error, I guess, but there should be more operational guidelines for landing. The mod looks very good, but it's certainly not beginner friendly.

GAH LANDING GEAR OPE-- *boom*

...Nope. I'm done. That's enough KSP for the night.

And hundreds of videos (including a few I've done which you didn't watch) clearly demonstrate you're wrong. Not the least of which the reason for the mod popularity is the ease of use of the shuttle.

In fact that was my entire goal originally when I made it to make it easy for the average KSP user to use it.

So either you didn't install it correctly, or are using some mod that's affecting it, or who knows.

So either give more details of your installation if you want help, or otherwise move along and don't download this mod.

[saltandvinegar]

This shuttle is VERY hard to control. The OMS causes it to start pitching, and the guide doesn't give detailed instructions on deorbiting. In atmosphere, pitching upwards causes a spin - my error, I guess, but there should be more operational guidelines for landing. The mod looks very good, but it's certainly not beginner friendly.

GAH LANDING GEAR OPE-- *boom*

...Nope. I'm done. That's enough KSP for the night.

How did you find this hard to control? This thing is easier to fly than any of my stock crafts. This thing was easy to launch, fly in orbit, and easier to land from orbit than any other space plane I've tried in game. Maybe you've just never landed anything on the runway from orbit?

[Bioman222]

Helldiver, if you don't mind me asking, what is the mounting spot on the bottom of the KSO's ET for, exactly?

So you can do this:

In 1990, it was suggested that the [space Shuttle] external tank be used as a lunar habitat or as an orbital station.[17] These proposals have yet to come to fruition.

[Jason Cox]

How did you find this hard to control? This thing is easier to fly than any of my stock crafts. This thing was easy to launch, fly in orbit, and easier to land from orbit than any other space plane I've tried in game. Maybe you've just never landed anything on the runway from orbit?

I've found that if you try to land with too much propellant onboard, the KSO is less of a flying brick and more of a concrete block with cute little decorative wings. The lighter the KSO is when you re-enter the atmosphere, the easier it is to control and the less likely it is to *poof* on touchdown.

Alternatively, SuperWeegee4000, download RealChute and attach a few radial chutes to the hull, re-enter the atmosphere, get low and slow and pop your chutes. :-)

[Virtualgenius]

I have trouble landing as well but I just suck at landings I have trouble linning up the runway I am either to high or to low and cant seem to turn it, I would say its not the equipment at fault its just my terrible piloting skills with anything spaceplane

[Westi29]

I have trouble landing as well but I just suck at landings I have trouble linning up the runway I am either to high or to low and cant seem to turn it, I would say its not the equipment at fault its just my terrible piloting skills with anything spaceplane

The main goal of any KSO or space plane reentry is to be on fire (reentry effects) while flying over the mountain range to the west of the space center. This generally will mean you have lined up correctly. Obviously, the altitude that you choose to descend from will change exactly where you re-enter Kerbin's atmosphere, but your goal should always be to be on fire over the mountains.

[qnistNAMEERF]

http://i.imgur.com/CiRm55w.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/LclWBqd.png

This current download includes all phases up to this point (currently Phase II)

Click here or above to Download v2.04

Nice! Now I can't wait to get home from work! Great work Helldiver and Nazari.

EDIT: I look forward to your future videos utilizing phase 2, Westi29.

Edited March 21, 2014 by qnistNAMEERF

[wasmic]

Woohoo, this is gonna be great!

[CommanderSmith]

Okay, so I tried out phase II. Absolutely beautiful! I love the amount of detail that you have put into these parts. A small issue however, I took up a Habitation Module, and I didn't have very much fuel left after getting into a ~100x100 km orbit. This poses a problem as there are heavier parts than just the habitation module. I launched the KSO in the standard Space Shuttle configuration, using a fuel-optimal ascent, and I barely had enough delta-v to get back, even when using all of my RCS Monoprop. I managed to land eventually, albeit in the middle of nowhere. Some way of increasing the KSO's delta-v needs to be implemented, otherwise we would all simply have lots of Shuttles stuck in orbit.

Aside from this matter, the rest of the pack is absolutely beautiful. I love each and every part of it. This truly is one of the greatest mods for KSP.

[kiwiak]

I just browsed trought pdf manual.

Can someone elaborate more about how shuttle weight and mission affects how far i have to pitch during ascent and why?