A proposed unit of measurement - the OTE (pronounced "oat")

[Norcalplanner]

In discussing rockets and trying to describe them, I've found that I keep coming back to using the orange tank as a point of reference. The yardstick, if you will, for measuring fuel amounts.

To that end, I hereby propose a new unit of measurement - the Orange Tank Equivalent, or OTE. Pronounce it the same way you would "oat". And yes, I'm inspired by the BED or banana equivalent dose used as a quasi-humorous reference point for describing exposure to ionizing radiation.

All of a sudden you can describe your rocket's fuel capacity in simple, quick terms. "It's got three OTEs on the launchpad." "I only had half an OTE left after the transfer burn." "I grabbed two OTES from the fuel depot before leaving orbit."

Please forgive me if anyone else has brought this up before, but it makes a lot of sense to my overly bureaucratic mind that spends its entire day working with obscure acronyms.

The OTE. Use it. Live it. Love it.

Now I have to go leave and tweak my 1.5 OTE SSTO tanker in the VAB.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Norcalplanner

[Kerbart]

How many Potzrebie's is that?

[astropapi1]

"My fuel tanker has 1.7OTE of fuel on the pad".

I like it!

[EdFred]

And of course when the Kerbals run out of snacks there's plenty of otemeal to be found in the VAB.

[Norcalplanner]

And of course when the Kerbals run out of snacks there's plenty of otemeal to be found in the VAB.

I would venture that OTEmeal is what's left after a rapid unplanned disassembly.

[Andrew Hansen]

What about tiny space probes? "I was landing on the Mun and I only had 0.0048 OTEs left!"

However, I think people do actually measure many fuel depots and stuff in orange tanks. With bigger tanks since 0.23.5, this hasn't been done as much, but it's still a nice yardstick.

[r4pt0r]

I will use this system.

[Norcalplanner]

What about tiny space probes? "I was landing on the Mun and I only had 0.0048 OTEs left!"

However, I think people do actually measure many fuel depots and stuff in orange tanks. With bigger tanks since 0.23.5, this hasn't been done as much, but it's still a nice yardstick.

Tiny space probes can already use Doughnuts as a unit of measurement. :-)

[tntristan12]

I usually use the 360s as my point of reference. One OTE is eight 360s. It works pretty well!

[astropapi1]

Or what about the Oscar-B?

OTE and OBE.

[TimberWolffe]

What about tiny space probes? "I was landing on the Mun and I only had 0.0048 OTEs left!"

.

milliotes?

...porridge?

or would porridge be a benign amount of OTEs?

[Norcalplanner]

Or what about the Oscar-B?

OTE and OBE.

In ye olde english system of measuring distance, there were many different units. If the OTE is the equivalent of the rod (16.5 feet, or 5.5 yards), then the field is wide open for the equivalent of the inch, foot, yard, chain, furlong, and mile. Propose something!

[cantab]

It's a good way to measure fuel amounts for larger rockets, but not really new.

For smaller rockets just giving the fuel amount suffices, or the mass of LFO.

[Johno]

OTEs. I love it!

Someone would need to work out the amount of fuel in a doughnut for a ready conversion . . .

DoTEs would be the best phrase for that.

[AlexinTokyo]

There are approximately 288.288 DTE (Doughnut Tank Equivalents) in one OTE, by either mass or volume.

Unless the units refer to the mass of the tanks themselves, not the fuel, in which case there are 264.7059 by mass, and by-volume calculations become ... decidedly non trivial.

[I_Killed_Jeb]

i'm a big fan!

[Moss]

So, would a thousandth of an OTE be a Microte?

[AlexinTokyo]

A thousandth of an OTE would be a milliOTE.

A millionth of an OTE would be a micrOTE.

[BudgetHedgehog]

If you launch an orange tank and leave it orbiting the solar system, does that make it a meteorote?

[Johno]

There are approximately 288.288 DTE (Doughnut Tank Equivalents) in one OTE, by either mass or volume.

Unless the units refer to the mass of the tanks themselves, not the fuel, in which case there are 264.7059 by mass, and by-volume calculations become ... decidedly non trivial.

Okay. But this is meant to be a ready and rough unit for basic comparisons. So . . . One OTE is 300 DoTEs.

[NecroBones]

How many quatloos does an OTE cost?

[Epthelyn]

How many quatloos does an OTE cost?

Depends on the exchange rate between Funds and Quatloos.

[dryer_lint]

So Kerbals measure fuel in units of OTEmeal and Doughnuts.

I love it.

[Wallace]

If you launch an orange tank and leave it orbiting the solar system, does that make it a meteorote?

No, it's an otesteroid, if it entered kerbin's atmosphere and hit the ground it would be a meteorote.

[Tex_NL]

No, it's an otesteroid, if it entered kerbin's atmosphere and hit the ground it would be a meteorote.

And when it's leaking and leaving a tail it's a comote?