Better Stock Crafts: Ion Tech

[Captain Sierra]

Anyone familiar with BSC run by Xeldrak will be very familiar with how this works. For starters, I too outsourced the rules and guidelines to a blog entry here.

Better Stock Crafts: Ion Tech

Today, we'll be working on improving the included example crafts for Near Future Propulsion, a wonderful mod for ion engines. Obviously, you'll need to download Near Future Propulsion if you haven't already. Make sure you also install the example crafts, which are included in the gamedata/near future/... directory. They, and other design requirements, will be the basis of this.

How this works:

Like stock BSC before this, you will have 168 hours, one week to begin construction. To keep things easy for me, the time officially begins tomorrow at 12 noon EST (eastern time). It will end next Sunday at 12 noon EST. There will then be a 1 week period of voting. If there are more than 10 entries, we will do a preliminary and final round of voting, taking the top 5 from preliminaries. Each vote will have 5 days in such case. It is strongly recommended that you download and test fly the craft files before voting.

Let it be known that Nertea knows about this and has given me some assistance with what kinds of things the crafts should demonstrate for the pack.

For the pack, I usually like the example ships to demonstrate particular concepts that the pack uses.

• A ship with insufficient power to run engines that must use capacitors
  
• Ships using solar power to run engines
  
• A ship demonstrating clustering of many small engines
  
• A ship using the VASIMRs to achieve low and high inefficiencies
  
• A ship using hydrogen-fuelled engines
  
• A ship using xenon-fuelled engines
  
• A ship using argon-fuelled engines
  
• Ships demonstrating the "standard" placement of conformal radiators on reactors
  
• Ships demonstrating use of non-conformal radiators
  
• A tug-type vessel for pushing an Orion or similar
  

The craft time time is:

Skyfall

This craft has some serious shortcomings. Let's review:

Design Descriptors:

• A ship using solar power to run engines.
  
• A ship demonstrating clustering of many small engines.
  
• A ship using argon fueled engines.
  
• A tug-type vessel for pushing an Orion or similar.
  

Pros:

• Good torque, easy turning
  
• lots of fuel, can easily get to Dres and back
  
• ample solar power for engines
  
• Semi-decent TWR, shorter burns are reasonably quick
  
• Rear docking port for attaching a conventional rocket 'kick' stage
  

Cons:

• Poor solar panel placement, many dead zone angles
  
• Low fuel on the Orion CSM
  
• No way to refuel CSM's limited monopropellant supply
  
• low TWR makes high dV maneuvers (i.e. ejection burns) somewhat painful
  

That's a lot of things you can work with. The design challenge is to make something which can push or pull a CSM craft out to other planets. It does not necessarily have to be Orion style, but it should hold at least three kerbals. Keeping in the style of the example, It would probably be best to rely on solar power rather than reactors, just make sure you have enough!

Useful Facts:

The 8 Gyro-Two lensed Hall thrusters consume roughly 488 Ec/s (~61 per engine) and can be powered by four OKEB-125 blanket panels or two OKEB-250 blanket panels.

Hall thrusters are reasonably efficient, even with 8 clustered, and the current argon capacity will take the craft to Dres and back, at least.

The Mk 1-2 pod only holds 30 units of monopropellant, which is only good for a handful of dockings if you're conservative.

The lensed Hall thrusters produce more power over the standard ones, but require more power to run as a result.

[Nertea]

This craft has some serious shortcomings.

Sadface .

But seriously, make me a better version of this, people . I like the idea, but I don't really have time to make nice example craft.