Kerbal Dynamics: Operation Kessler

[ihtoit]

OK, short challenge: using just TEN launches, place as many pieces of "debris" into LKO as you can to act as a Kessler space denial system.

RULES:

- TEN launches is what you get.

- "Debris" defined: 1 Stayputnik probe core in independent ballistic flight. Of course, you can mount as many of these per launch as you want. Go NUTS. NOTE: Stages, SRBs, radial decouplers, etc., do NOT count.

- Launches MUST be into a retrograde equatorial orbit (between 135 and -135 degrees inclination, ie East-West at 45 degrees or less instead of the normal West-East) to maximise impact probability.

- For this challenge, LKO is BELOW 100km at apoapse.

- Normal physics rules apply.

Scoring:

+1pt for each piece of persistent debris in LKO (which is pretty much probe count on the orbital map selection dropdown).

(Challenger's Note: Yes, this was inspired by the Kerbal Warfare thread. I have a platform already, it's just a case of getting it mounted and launched.)

EDIT: For the My Computer Is Bigger Than Yours Award, use QBE cores instead of Stayputniks, but you won't score - you're competing on part count!

(Challengers Note: Reducing part counts is soooo easy, and you don't even need octagonal struts! Just mount two Stayputniks (or three QBEs) onto a radial decoupler which slaps straight onto the side of the tank! Instant 67% part count reduction! You're welcome!)

Edited May 31, 2014 by ihtoit

[cyberklad]

The score for this challenge is determined by how many parts you computer can handle per launch. Pretty much all you need to do is to attach a radial attachment point with a decoupler and a stayputnik on it on the top of a good few fuel tanks. Then launch them while you computer fries over 10 launches. Not much of a challenge for the player here. And there are a lot of benchmark software out there that is easier to run and will give a lot more accurate results.

[ihtoit]

reread the challenge: decouplers do not count. Even my paltry dual core can throw a 1500-part decoupler bird up there with little problem. It's more difficult when you've got n probe cores all with their own gyros all fighting to stabilise their own little universe... when there's 20 that's 6kN of torque in several different directions at once.

Not an entry, this is just a little experiment in deployment.

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(yep. Never done an album embed before.)

Edited May 30, 2014 by ihtoit

[Claw]

If you want to embed the album, put the five letter identifier in imgur tags.

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[cantab]

reread the challenge: decouplers do not count. Even my paltry dual core can throw a 1500-part decoupler bird up there with little problem. It's more difficult when you've got n probe cores all with their own gyros all fighting to stabilise their own little universe... when there's 20 that's 6kN of torque in several different directions at once.

If that's a problem, simply disable torque on the probe cores.

[ihtoit]

If you want to embed the album, put the five letter identifier in imgur tags.

sweet! Fixed

[Claw]

I'm actually giving this challenge a shot. I built a rocket capable of 192 pieces of "debris." However, it's turning my computer into a slide show. I'm not sure if I want to actually launch this thing 10 times...

Edit: No kidding. I just timed it. Right now I'm at 9:1 time ratio (9 seconds of real time for every 1 second of game time)...

Edited May 30, 2014 by Claw

[nli2work]

I'm actually giving this challenge a shot. I built a rocket capable of 192 pieces of "debris." However, it's turning my computer into a slide show. I'm not sure if I want to actually launch this thing 10 times...

Edit: No kidding. I just timed it. Right now I'm at 9:1 time ratio (9 seconds of real time for every 1 second of game time)...

woudln't need to launch 10 times. If the setup works 1 time, it'll work 10 times.

[Claw]

woudln't need to launch 10 times. If the setup works 1 time, it'll work 10 times.

Sure, I got that. But that's not how the rules are written.

By the way, here it is almost 10 real minutes later. I'll let you know if it ever makes it. Will only take about an hour... ha

[ihtoit]

192 cores in orbit is top of the leaderboard right there, 1920 would be pretty damn hard to beat.

(BTW, I *might* extend the challenge if there's enough takeup on it, to include effectiveness testing - LKO launches of something with a large face, like say a "stock" Spacedock:

...into prograde orbit with ap=100 pe=70 to see whose Kessler cloud can do most damage... and yes, I know that isn't a stock Spacedock in the image, it's just as easy to build one around a Rockomax Jumbo64)

[Claw]

Well, first one is in orbit with 192 cores. I'll post pictures tomorrow since it took so long.

Question: Do you have to actually do all 10 launches?

[ihtoit]

nope, you don't *have* to do all ten, but it might improve chances of interception the more cores you have up. So far I've got 152 cores up from 2 launches (my second launch is an upgrade with 128 cores, took 45 minutes to get into orbit (while my laptop was busy rendering video at the same time!) and another 10 to deploy - I think I might have thought of a way to reducing part count somewhat without using partwelder, watch this space!)

The Baby Kessler II:

Edited May 30, 2014 by ihtoit

[Kasuha]

The least part count solution I can figure out is mounting a lot of docking ports on a fuel tank and attaching stayputniks to these ports. Then either release them with action key or, if you don't want to bother with action keys for so many parts, just aim some engines at the tank and let it explode.

The explosion part could even work with stayputniks attached by cubic octagonal struts.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Kasuha

[Claw]

nope, you don't *have* to do all ten, but it might improve chances of interception the more cores you have up.

I should have clarified my question. Do you expect us to do all 10 launches or can we do 1 successful deployment and multiply it by 10?

The least part count solution I can figure out is mounting a lot of docking ports on a fuel tank and attaching stayputniks to these ports. Then either release them with action key or, if you don't want to bother with action keys for so many parts, just aim some engines at the tank and let it explode.

The explosion part could even work with stayputniks attached by cubic octagonal struts.

Intriguing. Back to the VAB!

EDIT: Hmm, turns out those really large tanks are quite difficult to overheat with simple engines. I even tried putting on SRBs but they overheated and blew up before the fuel tank did...

Oh well. Here's a test of the new design with 240 probe cores. I could probably get up to 288. This sort of does become a part count contest...

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More Edits: I think 288 would be my max. Takes about 10 minutes real time for it to get to 3500m.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Claw

[MarvinKitFox]

Well, i'm not going to custom build *and launch* 10 of them, but here's what i would be doing.

The Octo roost used in my preliminary study of the Migratory Habits of the common octo-2.

One launch releases 721 octo-2 probes, plus 1 for the launcher, into their native habitat.

And takes several hours to launch, at a speed of 1 frame per 5 seconds. (not 5 frames/sec, 1 frame/5 sec!!!)

a taster, if you don't want to read the whole report. Is this Kessler enough for you?

*disclaimers*

*not made for this challenge

*not stayputniks, octo-2 is easier to tame.

*not in low orbit

*not retrograde orbit

*still very effective as a space defense, as the *****only***** way to access your ship once on orbit is through mission control. Where you have to scroll through 102 pages to get to your ship.

Edited May 30, 2014 by MarvinKitFox

[MarvinKitFox]

More Edits: I think 288 would be my max. Takes about 10 minutes real time for it to get to 3500m.

Try 3 minutes to clear the water tower.. 4.7 hours to reach orbit.

That's what my octo roost took to launch, with its part count of 2300-ish, and why i'm not formally entering this challenge.

[ihtoit]

that is some mad Kesslering though... but my idea is to "pollute" the most common orbits with retrograde debris which actually causes damage on impact rather than just making orange flamey stuff (like the mess of decouplers on my Baby Kessler II did when I flew the launcher through them on the retro burn - I thought it was dead, the explosions were fantastic, but like the offspring of a phoenix and a giant space cockroach it just came on trucking though. Unscathed.)

[quietsamurai98]

Does it have to be Stayputnik? Or any probe?

[Kasuha]

EDIT: Hmm, turns out those really large tanks are quite difficult to overheat with simple engines. I even tried putting on SRBs but they overheated and blew up before the fuel tank did...

There's no problem to explode it with a few sepatrons ... as long as there's nothing attached to it. Once I attached a few probes, it became quite inert. I blame Unity's physics.

It definitely is part count contest. Here's my experiment, 384 probes, it's flying at 2 FPS.

[ihtoit]

gotta be stayputnik, racking cubes is too easy (I've had 1000+ cubes on one launcher half the height of an SC-4).

[Kasuha]

Stayputnik has more complex geometry than OKTO2 - many more polygons to draw. I guess lowering graphics detail level could potentially improve the framerate.

Anyway, this was kind of fun in a twisted sense so I successfully deployed one Kessler bomb in orbit at the end. There's major lag in map view and in tracking station so I am definitely not going to fly another. Fortunately I created a new save for this purpose, trying to delete 385 ships would be a nightmare.

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[Claw]

Stayputnik has more complex geometry than OKTO2 - many more polygons to draw. I guess lowering graphics detail level could potentially improve the framerate.

Anyway, this was kind of fun in a twisted sense so I successfully deployed one Kessler bomb in orbit at the end. There's major lag in map view and in tracking station so I am definitely not going to fly another. Fortunately I created a new save for this purpose, trying to delete 385 ships would be a nightmare.

http://imgur.com/a/qdQ56

Nice job, guess I don't need to bother with my 288 now.

[MarvinKitFox]

Well, as K has thrown down the gauntlet, who am I to refuse?

Ok.

25 minutes to design, 8 minutes to orbit.

7.5 hours later in real life, I have seriously f-cked up one orbital lane.

Herr Kessler, MkIII(gramps) launches 512+1 stayputniks into orbit.

Strangely enough, my universe didn't crash even once. Guess that texture-reducing mod does its job after all.

I tried the same thing with a 1024 variant, but launch speed was down to 1 frame per 35 seconds, so...... no.

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[Othuyeg]

Woah... What have I started.

I had no idea what my Kesslerbomb would start. Oh my. Oh my indeed.

"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another "

- Robert Oppenheimer

Also, great work guys.

Since it is not yet in this thread, I am going to add the gallery of my original KSS LR BMB mk1.

It will not compete in this challenge in any way.

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The ship in the first pictures is the target ship, designed for one simple purpose, to go in a retrograde orbit and intercept the kesslerbomb's little bomblets.