Need help with securing payload

[RainDreamer]

So I need help securing these 2 satellites in my SSTO cargo bay:

Struts are obvious answers, but how? I need the thing to be able to detached at will, but without having to decouple it in the first place. The plan was to use those powered hinges at the back to point the satellites away from the back of the cargo bay before launching them. But if I use struts, the hinges will not be able to move the thing correctly (will just bend the satellite). Without struts though, the thing just fall through the cargo bay floor in 1G.

I tried active strut, but since the plane, with the addition of the 2 satellites, is about 333 parts, when I tried to fly it with active strut, apparently it just froze at the "waiting for unity to catch up" process (and that is with Aggressive Active Texture management).

To cap up, I need:

1. A way to detach struts at will without the use of further mods. (got like 70 of them already, poor KSP).
   
2. Or, a way to secure this payload in any other way that still allow the hinge to work correctly.
   

Edited November 19, 2014 by RainDreamer

[Daveroski]

I had a similar set up with a microlander instead of a satellite.

I wanted it a make it easier to return it to the cargo bay so I had a Jr Docking Port on the hinge so he (the kerbal) could dock outside the bay and the hinge would swing the payload back into the bay.

Unfortunately I had the same problem as you when it came to starting the operation in the same way.

The kerbal had to leave the bay using RCS and upon his return would Link KAS strut connectors which were already in place to secure the load. I had to use a regular strut when leaving the SPH which disconnected when the microlander undocked.

I would be interested in your progress.

D.

[giddonah]

Do you have electromagnets in any of your currently installed mods?

[Alshain]

Your kind of tying our hands with the "no other mods" decree. Active Struts are exactly what your looking for.

The only other way I can think to do it is add a decoupler on the other side, and strut the decoupler itself. Then manually decouple that side only. Keep in mind the struts will break even if the decoupler is attached to the plane, so with careful positioning you can make it so the (radial) decoupler ejects out into space from the bottom of the plane to avoid damaging the sattelite.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Alshain

[endl]

you can use radial decouplers as strut anchors when you activate them the struts get released you can then use your infernal parts as i have noticed to reorient your satellite for launch

[sedativechunk]

I agree with the others, you may need to use a mod like active struts for this. I used to used the tiberdyne shuttle mod and build a massive space station piece by piece like the real deal. It became a huge hassle with trying to use decouplers with cargo. The problem is, all decouplers in the game are created specifically for rocket use to push objects away from your rocket. You are going to run into some problems if you try to use that approach. The satellites will smash and break into each other.

[Itsjustrocketscience]

Wow, people, read the text, that stuff that gives you the info, yeah that. The person already tried active struts! The answer is simple, put small decouplers on the outside wall of the cargo bay, place the first end of the strut on the sat and then move the camera out of the cargo bay and place the end of the segment on the decouplers. It won't look like it's attached, but in the eyes of the game it will be. When you're ready to drop the payload, detatch all the decouplers the struts are attached to, destroying the struts, then point the sat and release it.

[Hodo]

My suggestion.

Just place the B9 invisible struts on the load near the back of the load attaching it to the cargo bay. This is what I do with most of my large cargoes.

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[RainDreamer]

I didn't know you can attach struts directly on a decoupler. I think I can attach a few decoupler near the back end pointing up to space and attach struts on them, then decouple those when launching satellites. Gonna try that soon.

My suggestion.

Just place the B9 invisible struts on the load near the back of the load attaching it to the cargo bay. This is what I do with most of my large cargoes.

Are those flexible struts? I thought they are hard struts so they would hold back the satellites and bend them when I try to move them with the hinges.

Edited November 19, 2014 by RainDreamer

[Hodo]

I didn't know you can attach struts directly on a decoupler. I think I can attach a few decoupler near the back end pointing up to space and attach struts on them, then decouple those when launching satellites. Gonna try that soon.

Are those flexible struts? I thought they are hard struts so they would hold back the satellites and bend them when I try to move them with the hinges.

Unfortunately they will not work with hinges. They are quite hard.

You could attach the struts to decouplers and then blow the decouplers before you rotate the sats.

[Alshain]

I didn't know you can attach struts directly on a decoupler. I think I can attach a few decoupler near the back end pointing up to space and attach struts on them, then decouple those when launching satellites. Gonna try that soon.

I know you can with stack decouplers. I would assume you can with radials but I never tried honestly.

Are those flexible struts? I thought they are hard struts so they would hold back the satellites and bend them when I try to move them with the hinges.

They are standard struts with a transparent texture. Nothing fancy, just an optical illusion. (I too am not sure what Hodo was saying, perhaps he misunderstood the problem)

Edited November 19, 2014 by Alshain

[RainDreamer]

I know you can with stack decouplers. I would assume you can with radials but I never tried honestly.

Well, it does work!

Here are the struts on tiny AES decouplers:

Here is when I decoupled them out into space and they detached from the satellites (then realized how stupid I was launching both of them away when I was going to only launch 1 sat at a time. Had to deal with all the wobbling as I move to the other side of the first one's orbit):