VASIMR engine

[meve12]

A compact nuclear reactor is right up at the top of my want list. I dedicate way too many parts to power generation on my space stations. If I could heft up a single 100t power core and be done with it, I'd be thrilled.

If that's added, I'd also make the NERVA engine use nuclear fuel(blutionium?) and liquid fuel(propellant?).

Although I don't see why use it on space stations over solar panels or RTGs unless you're doing something very energy intensive. Otherwise seems like a waste.

[Skyler4856]

Condescending is not a synonym of sciolistic. And I readily admit it was condescending (I even use that word in the original post). Just don't expect an apology for me being condescending in response to your own condescending post.

The post pointed out a significant flaw in the OP's argument, for that I shall not apologize

[Northstar1989]

A compact nuclear reactor is right up at the top of my want list. I dedicate way too many parts to power generation on my space stations. If I could heft up a single 100t power core and be done with it, I'd be thrilled.

I'd be thrilled too- because it would allow a more realistic implementation of VASIMR engines and ISRU if the devs ever added the two of these (both are extremely energy-hungry in real life). I just doubt it will ever happen...

Regards,

Northstar

[Maelstrom Vortex]

If you want to do a 50-100 year game technology projection, miniaturized fusion reactor + vasimir could work.

[CaptRobau]

It's highly unlikely the devs would ever add a nuclear reactor to the stock game- as much as I would like to see it myself...

Where did you get that from? It has historical antecedents and if the Kerbol system is ever expanded then solar panels would be truly useless for the outer planets.

[Vaporized Steel]

I have no idea how this could be feasibe for implementation. The Ad astra concept of a manned martian Vasimr tug has about 20times less TWR then the KSP Ion engines. So you want a electric plasma rocket that in real life is more effective then a ION engine overpowering a already overpowered in game ion engine. That would mean a KSP vasimr analog would almost act like a liquid reaction rocket.

In the VASIMR tug concept by ad astra it showed that the martian tug needed about 10 full earth orbits to reach escape velocity at full thrust into interplanetary space. It would then perform a very long acceleration burn to get there faster and deaccelerate again. So KSP would also need to implement a way to keep your engines running for a few in days game time and allow engine throttle and timewarp to co exist while still being able to control the vessel.

The argument of deleting all those features which makes vasimr well euh [VASIMR] just for in ease game purposes is completey lunatic as that would overhaul the specifications of a VASIMR engine into a normal liquid engine.

If that is what you want I'm sure you can take a stock atomic rocket and mod/file edit the ISP to your liking.

And lastly. Larger vasimr concepts require small nuclear fission reactors. Including the martion spacetug concept by ad astra. There wouldn't be another non fictional way of powering the large vasimr engine any other way. And by adding Nuclear reactors I think you get in the realm of mods like Interstellar. And then I would rather advice you to go to the developer of the interstellar mod requesting he/she could add a scaled up (unrealistic) vasimr engine design instead of requesting it to stock KSP.

[NERVAfan]

Really, my concern is that I don't want the game to end up getting balanced around something that's a billion times more effective than anything that exists in the real world. The basic ion thruster already has 400x the thrust of the 200 kW VASIMR (2kN vs 5N)

This. I totally agree.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

What could make this work is allowing anything under 1KN to work during time warp at full throttle. Maintains realism, keeps your life. Or making what works at different time warp levels dependent on their thrust.. the faster it is the slower time must operate. Only problem I see that this may run into is a slowdown due to increased rate of calculations, but there may be some tricks to expedite that. 2kn at x 1 < 5n at x 10000. It'd make interstellar trips much more manageable.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Maelstrom Vortex

[LaytheAerospace]

What could make this work is allowing anything under 1KN to work during time warp at full throttle. Maintains realism, keeps your life. Or making what works at different time warp levels dependent on their thrust.. the faster it is the slower time must operate. Only problem I see that this may run into is a slowdown due to increased rate of calculations, but there may be some tricks to expedite that. 2kn at x 1 < 5n at x 10000. It'd make interstellar trips much more manageable.

I'd say something like this is the correct way to make ion engines usable, rather than just making them even more overpowered. The problem is burn times being hard to deal with, so lets fix that, instead of just making them chemical rockets that burn for hours.

[Starwaster]

What could make this work is allowing anything under 1KN to work during time warp at full throttle. Maintains realism, keeps your life. Or making what works at different time warp levels dependent on their thrust.. the faster it is the slower time must operate. Only problem I see that this may run into is a slowdown due to increased rate of calculations, but there may be some tricks to expedite that. 2kn at x 1 < 5n at x 10000. It'd make interstellar trips much more manageable.

There is a mod out there that does exactly that. You can do full time warping while things like ion engines are in operation. I forget the name but I think Honeyfox made it?

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Tried looking for said mod, can't seem to locate it. Got a curse link or a forum link?

[NERVAfan]

Orbit Manipulator Series http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/70881-0-23-5-Orbit-Manipulator-Series-%28WIP%29-%28Updated-March-12-2014%29

It needs Module Manager for the ion engines...

But yes, this should definitely be stock... then drop the thrust by 10x or 50x...

[dacamp66]

IIRC, "KSP Interstellar" mod has a plasma-electric engine somewhere in the tech tree that is similar to the VASIMIR engine.

Direct quote from ksp interstellar thread "[ultra-High Energy Physics] Plasma Thruster: Magnetoplasdynamic ----> Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster"

[Aghanim]

IIRC, "KSP Interstellar" mod has a plasma-electric engine somewhere in the tech tree that is similar to the VASIMIR engine.

Direct quote from ksp interstellar thread "[ultra-High Energy Physics] Plasma Thruster: Magnetoplasdynamic ----> Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster"

Quantum plasma is propellantless, MPD is not VASMIR as it cannot adjust its ISP

[Ackoli]

it should definitely be added. but with vasmirs, there will have to be hyperlarge solar panels/large nuclear reactors.