STS-7/E Space Shuttle (Stock NASA Replica) Still Flies in KSP 1.4.3 - Re-enters Like the Real Thing!

[inigma]

Quick question - the shuttles don't seem to be using any battery power.

Have you got an RTG hidden somewhere (to simulate the fuel cells that the real ships had) or is this something that Mk3 parts do stock?

There are 4 RTGs installed inside the bottom of the monopropellant tanks. I might consider removing two of them to reduce part count back to 280 in the next gen shuttle. No worries though - I don't plan on tweaking the shuttle until 1.0 at this point.

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-DMSP save 1 unsigning off! I got lucky, my computer turned on for two minutes, I got all my files off, unplugged the thumb-drive, and my computer crashed. (I am doing this on my phone)

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STS-7 photos!

Wow! Awesome mission pics. As always! Great non runway landing! Enjoy looking at them always! I even use a few rotating into my desktop picture.

Hey post any one of your missions orbiting over 200km and making it back to KSC runway to receive this for your forum signature:

Commander

Qualification

From the STS Space Shuttle Challenges

[Frannington]

Well you wanted a few pics, so here we go. This is 'Myshka', which is a slightly Anglicized version of the Russian word for "Little Mouse".

Myshka had default fuel, no cargo, and was lofted to about 150KM. Here she is on orbit:

De-orbit is a busy time and I have no pics of that, but here we are, completely missing our target:

I won't be beaten by this, any more than the woman this craft is named after would be. We're landing at the runway, not ditching in the sea, and that's that.

Down and safe, my first ever shuttle landing. I play MS Flight Sim quite a bit (I've got 10,000 hours in FSPassengers, mostly in 757-200s) but this was a very different experience.

Thanks for viewing, and many thanks once again to inigma for creating this complete barrel of laughs. And also for the answer about the RTGs.

:EDIT: I should point out that I initially tried this landing by using Mechjeb, which totally let me down and led to the situation in the second picture. So I hand-flew the bird in, and got a flawless victory on my first ever landing attempt. If that doesn't tell that this model is high-quality and well thought-out, I don't know what will.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Frannington

[Majorjim!]

Looking at that second to last picture really makes me feel like Squad didn't think about the mk3 shuttle parts enough.

The only realistically sized engine for the shuttle is the skipper but it's impossible to position them realistically and not have them clip out of the sides of the shuttle..

I really don't like that at all. What exactly were they thinking??

Having said that you seem to have made a very popular shuttle man.

Ease of use? I think using liquid fuel for boosters makes it easier to fly.

Anywhoo, good job!

MJ

Edited March 6, 2015 by Majorjim

[DMSP]

There are 4 RTGs installed inside the bottom of the monopropellant tanks. I might consider removing two of them to reduce part count back to 280 in the next gen shuttle. No worries though - I don't plan on tweaking the shuttle until 1.0 at this point.

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Wow! Awesome mission pics. As always! Great non runway landing! Enjoy looking at them always! I even use a few rotating into my desktop picture.

Hey post any one of your missions orbiting over 200km and making it back to KSC runway to receive this for your forum signature:

http://i.imgur.com/sE1QW9Q.jpg

Commander

Qualification

From the STS Space Shuttle Challenges

Cool! Sadly my shuttle program was scrapped indefinitely along with the rest of my programs probably because KSP doesn't work on my school cpu (School gave one to us to borrow) and they won't allow it and I play fair... I draw, so I will be drawing payloads and rockets in the time being (My drawings can get very detailed and some are just plain awesome)! STS-9 to 15 will be sat deployments, and I'm taking some cool stuff up. STS-8 will be Low Lab module two and a crew switch. The station right now can only host 3 Kerbals because I only have one escape rocket (Looks kinda like a Soyuz). Also, with photos for STS-6 and STS-7, what badges could I get?

Also, Jenvis is BadS! Got a good pilot here, so no killing him!

[Frannington]

Update: Elizabeth didn't make it home intact, but all crew are safe and well.

Nice even approach, but too much speed burned off:

I could see we were going to fall short, but by the time I noticed it we were already approaching an aerodynamic stall. She belly-flopped gracefully and all crew were recovered:

[DMSP]

Update: Elizabeth didn't make it home intact, but all crew are safe and well.

Nice even approach, but too much speed burned off:

http://i.imgur.com/6VW6COA.jpg

I could see we were going to fall short, but by the time I noticed it we were already approaching an aerodynamic stall. She belly-flopped gracefully and all crew were recovered:

http://i.imgur.com/E4uoA65.jpg

That shuttle is incredible eh? On STS-2, I got it gliding too 25 MPS before gently hitting the water. Amazing, another reason I love this shuttle! Now I'm drawing base plans...

[Sampa]

Yeah, and I had a launch abort occur and, near touchdown, I LOST both wings and the main engines! However, that was the extent of the damage

[Frannington]

That shuttle is incredible eh? On STS-2, I got it gliding too 25 MPS before gently hitting the water. Amazing, another reason I love this shuttle! Now I'm drawing base plans...

It is amazing, and Elizabeth did a water landing because I wasn't concentrating.

It's not perfect, but then the real one wasn't either. Hilariously, this one is probably safer. I love it, and inigma is a bit of a hero to be honest.

[inigma]

Well you wanted a few pics, so here we go. This is 'Myshka', which is a slightly Anglicized version of the Russian word for "Little Mouse".

Myshka had default fuel, no cargo, and was lofted to about 150KM. Here she is on orbit:

http://i.imgur.com/0xewpum.jpg

De-orbit is a busy time and I have no pics of that, but here we are, completely missing our target:

http://i.imgur.com/nzDJbMX.jpg

I won't be beaten by this, any more than the woman this craft is named after would be. We're landing at the runway, not ditching in the sea, and that's that.

http://i.imgur.com/cPDzwcZ.jpg

Down and safe, my first ever shuttle landing. I play MS Flight Sim quite a bit (I've got 10,000 hours in FSPassengers, mostly in 757-200s) but this was a very different experience.

http://i.imgur.com/qW5vnUP.jpg

Thanks for viewing, and many thanks once again to inigma for creating this complete barrel of laughs. And also for the answer about the RTGs.

:EDIT: I should point out that I initially tried this landing by using Mechjeb, which totally let me down and led to the situation in the second picture. So I hand-flew the bird in, and got a flawless victory on my first ever landing attempt. If that doesn't tell that this model is high-quality and well thought-out, I don't know what will.

You're too kind. Thanks, and that's an awesome feeling to land a gliding brick from space for the first time manually. Welcome to the club! Here's your badge. 50km short of a Commander qualification, but I don't doubt you'll hit it later!

Feel free to share your Maiden Flight mission here too for the record: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112399-STS-Space-Shuttle-Challenges-PROVE-YOUR-PILOTING-METTLE-Earn-a-Badge!

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Looking at that second to last picture really makes me feel like Squad didn't think about the mk3 shuttle parts enough.

The only realistically sized engine for the shuttle is the skipper but it's impossible to position them realistically and not have them clip out of the sides of the shuttle..

I really don't like that at all. What exactly were they thinking??

Having said that you seem to have made a very popular shuttle man.

Ease of use? I think using liquid fuel for boosters makes it easier to fly.

Anywhoo, good job!

MJ

Thanks Majorjim. I really love your crafts too, and I cherish your kudos. It means a lot to me!

Yes liquid boosters are easier to fly, and can get the STS Fuel Pod job done. I wish for larger solids in future KSP versions.

I am also hoping for better meet up of parts and enginers in 1.0 and later. Looking forward to next gen shuttles.

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Cool! Sadly my shuttle program was scrapped indefinitely along with the rest of my programs probably because KSP doesn't work on my school cpu (School gave one to us to borrow) and they won't allow it and I play fair... I draw, so I will be drawing payloads and rockets in the time being (My drawings can get very detailed and some are just plain awesome)! STS-9 to 15 will be sat deployments, and I'm taking some cool stuff up. STS-8 will be Low Lab module two and a crew switch. The station right now can only host 3 Kerbals because I only have one escape rocket (Looks kinda like a Soyuz). Also, with photos for STS-6 and STS-7, what badges could I get?

Also, Jenvis is BadS! Got a good pilot here, so no killing him!

Looking forward to it!

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Update: Elizabeth didn't make it home intact, but all crew are safe and well.

Nice even approach, but too much speed burned off:

http://i.imgur.com/6VW6COA.jpg

I could see we were going to fall short, but by the time I noticed it we were already approaching an aerodynamic stall. She belly-flopped gracefully and all crew were recovered:

http://i.imgur.com/E4uoA65.jpg

Heh, where we're going we don't need parachutes... Nice ocean ditch. Takes skill to keep the cargo bay intact.

[Frannington]

Awesome, thank you. Much of this is down to your design - I just flew it.

But I did land on the runway - what do I need to do to be a Commander?

Edit: I think you locked on to the Elizabeth failure and missed post 227 where Myshka came home safely. In fairness, I am not a Commander until Myshka comes home again. I will post tomorrow when that happens. And it will.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Frannington

[Majorjim!]

Thanks Majorjim. I really love your crafts too, and I cherish your kudos. It means a lot to me!

Yes liquid boosters are easier to fly, and can get the STS Fuel Pod job done. I wish for larger solids in future KSP versions.

I am also hoping for better meet up of parts and enginers in 1.0 and later. Looking forward to next gen shuttles.

Cool!

Thanks man, you really deserve the praise. You hit the sweet-spot with this one!

[inigma]

To consolidate my work on keeping this maintained, I am moving the Space Shuttle Registry to the Challenge thread. Feel free to keep posting your missions here or in the challenge thread!

People who post videos will still have their videos referenced in this Spacecraft Exchange thread's OP.

[ExplorerKlatt]

Really looking forward to trying your challenges as soon as I feel better.

[LABHOUSE]

Looking at that second to last picture really makes me feel like Squad didn't think about the mk3 shuttle parts enough.

The only realistically sized engine for the shuttle is the skipper but it's impossible to position them realistically and not have them clip out of the sides of the shuttle..

I really don't like that at all. What exactly were they thinking??

Having said that you seem to have made a very popular shuttle man.

Ease of use? I think using liquid fuel for boosters makes it easier to fly.

Anywhoo, good job!

MJ

And the shuttle was originally​ intended to have liquid boosters, that would land on the runway, budget cuts are bad... but it would have save money and possibly prevented the disaster.

[inigma]

Well took me a week but finally got the Hubble done, Make sure the lens cover is facing forward and have in mind that the solar panels must be manually attached (make sure to do it cautiously, the solar panels are VERY prone to breaking).

I comes with 2 MMU's and one giant telescope, have all tanks filled except for the bottom tank on the External tank.

Sub assembly: http://www./download/8cdr994hv0wsrrz/STS_Hubble_Space_Telescope.craft

http://imgur.com/a/h0wxY#0

As promised. My next mission, KTS-7 Space Shuttle Intrepid flying the STS Hubble Space Telescope while testing the feasibility of a new STS Space Shuttle Challenge mission:

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Edited March 7, 2015 by inigma

[Yukon0009]

Hey inigma, can you add my IUS to the OP?

[inigma]

Hey inigma, can you add my IUS to the OP?

Sorry. Didn't realize it was a sub you intended for the OP and thought it was just a cool picture. heh sometimes i wonder where my common sense goes. I'll post it tomorrow evening! Heading to bed now.

For me to post it, I need tonnage, any mods used, and a one line description!

[Yukon0009]

Stock, an upper stage intended to ship probes to Eve, Jool and beyond.

Not sure about the tonnage, will check ASAP.

[Frannington]

Myshka made it to 220km, albeit with an empty payload bay (haven't created any yet).

Judging by the amount of fuel I still had in the ET, I suspect I could've made it to 300km. Absolutely had to leave the bottom tank empty though - with the empty bay, the balance is all wrong and it had a tendency to tip forward in flight beyond what the control surfaces could cope with. I understand from this thread that's normal though.

[Rune]

As promised. My next mission, KTS-7 Space Shuttle Intrepid flying the STS Hubble Space Telescope while testing the feasibility of a new STS Space Shuttle Challenge mission:

http://imgur.com/a/Xv0xb

Hehe, my KMU is indeed zippy. Use it only with precision controls enabled! But what's really interesting to fly are the ones I still have flying in my save from previous versions: The probe cores lost the torque and they don't have all axises of control with RCS, but I was able to cannibalize some 4-way thrusters from half of them to give the others a 4x4 system with all the rotation vectors covered. But since I did all that with KAS, everything is kind of slightly misaligned, so using them is... interesting. I need both hands in the keyboard and the docking alignment mod, and even then docking is iffy!!

Rune. I love kludging together fixes with KAS!

[inigma]

Stock, an upper stage intended to ship probes to Eve, Jool and beyond.

Not sure about the tonnage, will check ASAP.

OP updated!

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Myshka made it to 220km, albeit with an empty payload bay (haven't created any yet).

http://i.imgur.com/1TnIku0.jpg

Judging by the amount of fuel I still had in the ET, I suspect I could've made it to 300km. Absolutely had to leave the bottom tank empty though - with the empty bay, the balance is all wrong and it had a tendency to tip forward in flight beyond what the control surfaces could cope with. I understand from this thread that's normal though.

If you made it over 200km orbit, orbited twice, and landed at KSC or KSC Island, your earn your Commander Qualification badge. Feel free to self-award youself for the accomplishment if you did.

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Hehe, my KMU is indeed zippy. Use it only with precision controls enabled! But what's really interesting to fly are the ones I still have flying in my save from previous versions: The probe cores lost the torque and they don't have all axises of control with RCS, but I was able to cannibalize some 4-way thrusters from half of them to give the others a 4x4 system with all the rotation vectors covered. But since I did all that with KAS, everything is kind of slightly misaligned, so using them is... interesting. I need both hands in the keyboard and the docking alignment mod, and even then docking is iffy!!

Rune. I love kludging together fixes with KAS!

Feel free to design a better, less twitchy KMU? I was really flopping over the place: http://www.twitch.tv/inigmatus/b/633696491

[Yukon0009]

Oh yeah Inigma, the IUS is 33 tons on it's own.

welp

[Majorjim!]

Hi commander,

I'm tempted to build a sub assembly cargo for your shuttle.

What cargos are you lacking or have thought would be cool?

[Yukon0009]

Hi commander,

I'm tempted to build a sub assembly cargo for your shuttle.

What cargos are you lacking or have thought would be cool?

I'm not Inigma but can you build a Shuttle-Mir docking node with a normal sized port on one side? I'm building Mir and might as well integrate this with Mir.

[Majorjim!]

I'm not Inigma but can you build a Shuttle-Mir docking node with a normal sized port on one side? I'm building Mir and might as well integrate this with Mir.

Hmm. Yeah I will see if I have time this eve. So, what ports on either side?