Do you mean point at retrograde?
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Kerbal Space Program : like model rocket building but better and [no longer] free
- Thread starter FlyinJ
- Start date
Do you mean point at retrograde?
Whelp, seems that the nuclear rocket engines are bugged when having them on dual, triple and quad couplers together with the decouple thingamajig. Any other rocket engines works as it should when decoupling the main body below.
But how in the world do you guys manage to make a large refueling station?
But how in the world do you guys manage to make a large refueling station?
Rajack
Member
Scott Manley's videos are always so interesting.
Goddammit!
Can't make the heavylifters to work, if nothing else, the goddamn things wobble, and with 15 tonne payload, small wobble can lead to rapid unplanned disassembly, Straps can only do so much.
Reducing the rocket height would solve this but wide rockets are complex and wobble as well, though differently.
Another issue is that the rockets tend to start spinning (very, very slowly but enough to throw the rocket off-course), which makes placing large payloads precisely where i want very hard.
Good news is that i figured, sort of, how to combine 4 large tanks/engines. The bad news about it is that symmetry setting doesn't work if doing that, due to how the parts are combined (can't use symmetry during that). EDIT nevermind the bad news actually, symmetry does work, or should anyway, sometimes it doesn't.
Can't make the heavylifters to work, if nothing else, the goddamn things wobble, and with 15 tonne payload, small wobble can lead to rapid unplanned disassembly, Straps can only do so much.
Reducing the rocket height would solve this but wide rockets are complex and wobble as well, though differently.
Another issue is that the rockets tend to start spinning (very, very slowly but enough to throw the rocket off-course), which makes placing large payloads precisely where i want very hard.
Good news is that i figured, sort of, how to combine 4 large tanks/engines. The bad news about it is that symmetry setting doesn't work if doing that, due to how the parts are combined (can't use symmetry during that). EDIT nevermind the bad news actually, symmetry does work, or should anyway, sometimes it doesn't.
Yes you are correct ! Haha my bad I keep getting those terms confused. Follow the Retrograde as exact as you can to slow down descends and horizontal movement.
I give up on Titan-series, cursed launch system. 10 prototypes (plus smaller variations), couldn't get it work. One showed promise but only for lighter loads.
Need to figure out another name for my heavylifting-rocket family... Something related to ancient Greek and their mythology, but not gods, those are reserved for missions proper. Used Hercules for light rockets.
Need to figure out another name for my heavylifting-rocket family... Something related to ancient Greek and their mythology, but not gods, those are reserved for missions proper. Used Hercules for light rockets.
bengraven
Member
This actually makes me glad I'm holding out.
Someday I'm going to play a game that's extra rad, not just really rad.
I'm working on mine a little bit at a time. I managed to get this monstrosity into orbit today. Note this is a failed attempt, but after this I reconnected all the fuel lines (crossfeed style) and tried again and was successful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsWpC2SFA2Y
There are two full orange tanks that I'll hook up to my station tonight. I plan on launching two more after that and hooking them up as well.
BTW anyone notice MechJeb is doing gravity turns at 5km now? I though 10km was ideal.
troopershades
Neo Member
Sisyphus. Was a king so you got your non-god req.
Ah, yes, kings. Good source for names.
So i made something crazy.
A rocket (well, it is more like a plate) with 64 Mainsail engines. Side-by-side, like a chessboard.
It goes like Mach 3 (over 1000 meters per second at least) before it has risen 15km. Fuel runs out at that point, and then it continues until some 50km (not sure). At the apex of its flight, i'll activate stage two, which consists the cockpit and 24 Separatron rockets, which punch it another 50km. Landing with two parachutes.
Pics later. Framerate is about 6 when using the rocket.
The update added quadcoupler which makes this possible. Start with one, placing it normally. Then add 4 of them, upside down, under the first one, to corners. You should be able to see how it works at this point, just continue adding them until you've got enough them. Then start placing rockets.
A rocket (well, it is more like a plate) with 64 Mainsail engines. Side-by-side, like a chessboard.
It goes like Mach 3 (over 1000 meters per second at least) before it has risen 15km. Fuel runs out at that point, and then it continues until some 50km (not sure). At the apex of its flight, i'll activate stage two, which consists the cockpit and 24 Separatron rockets, which punch it another 50km. Landing with two parachutes.
Pics later. Framerate is about 6 when using the rocket.
The update added quadcoupler which makes this possible. Start with one, placing it normally. Then add 4 of them, upside down, under the first one, to corners. You should be able to see how it works at this point, just continue adding them until you've got enough them. Then start placing rockets.
Perseus, him stealing fire allowed rockets to be invented.
You're mixing him with Prometheus...
But useful name all the same. Prometheus is reserved for a space-station.
Have enough names for a few rocket families now...
PjotrStroganov
Member
My secret prototype orbital launch system.
Still can't get a heavylifter to work.
3 stage rocket would work, but they wobble too much, can't get them where i want precisely enough*. Getting the center of mass to right place would help but unfortunately that seems impossible, so i try to make 2 stage (+payload) rockets. Which don't work for various reasons either...
My goal is 18 tonnes (that one fuel tank masses that and is excellent test payload) to 200-250km.
*I'm considering making a space-tug to move stuff to right orbits but first i need to get a heavylifter to work long enough to get one to orbit, with sufficient fuel...
EDIT Not relevant right now but what kind of rocket do i need if i want to make a space station to KSO (kerbisynchronousorbit)?
3 stage rocket would work, but they wobble too much, can't get them where i want precisely enough*. Getting the center of mass to right place would help but unfortunately that seems impossible, so i try to make 2 stage (+payload) rockets. Which don't work for various reasons either...
My goal is 18 tonnes (that one fuel tank masses that and is excellent test payload) to 200-250km.
*I'm considering making a space-tug to move stuff to right orbits but first i need to get a heavylifter to work long enough to get one to orbit, with sufficient fuel...
EDIT Not relevant right now but what kind of rocket do i need if i want to make a space station to KSO (kerbisynchronousorbit)?
Images would probably help telling what you're approaching wrong. My rockets, carrying Duna ships and stations, place 50-60 tons up there, and my best heavy lifter can put a 120 tons payload into low orbit.
If it shakes too much, chances are your rocket is too long and you should move some things to radial decouplers. Some struts can work wonders too, especially of you notice the shake originates around big decouplers.
If it shakes too much, chances are your rocket is too long and you should move some things to radial decouplers. Some struts can work wonders too, especially of you notice the shake originates around big decouplers.
How do you make a ship that can carry 60 tons to Duna? EDIT i assume this is from the space center, not assembled in orbit.
Do note i play without any mods.
Hell, 120 tonnes to low orbit?
EDIT and do you mean the whole ship or just payload? Me, i was talking about payloads only.
Do note i play without any mods.
Hell, 120 tonnes to low orbit?
EDIT and do you mean the whole ship or just payload? Me, i was talking about payloads only.
I'm trying to build a "throw pod" that'll launch a low orbit rescue ship from a disposable space plane, and I can't get the program to connect the parts together.
This is what I have, just to illustrate the concept:
This is what I want it to look like:
I'm using decouplers to connect the pod to the rest of the craft, like in the two-stage lander stock craft in the VAB. They should connect, and sporadically do, but I can't stick it. I've had the same issue a lot in recent updates, is there a mod that improves this?
I could use a radial decoupler and rotate the pod horizontally, but it wouldn't look as cool >_>.
This is what I have, just to illustrate the concept:
This is what I want it to look like:
I'm using decouplers to connect the pod to the rest of the craft, like in the two-stage lander stock craft in the VAB. They should connect, and sporadically do, but I can't stick it. I've had the same issue a lot in recent updates, is there a mod that improves this?
I could use a radial decoupler and rotate the pod horizontally, but it wouldn't look as cool >_>.
I tried an odd rocket configuration. It... towed the payload. Well, there was one rocket under the payload too but it ran out quick.
Starting with the remote guidance module, i built a complex, sturdy 4-armed construct, rockets and boosters attached to the arms.
It looked a bit like this from side(R denotes rockets, P is payload, the rest are the "spine", L for ground):
.....I.....
R--O--R
R...I...R
R...P..R
R...P..R
.....R.....
.....R.....
LLLLLLLL
The idea was to reduce stress and wobbling by having the rockets to (mostly) pull the payload. This is a real concept, for spaceships anyway, not for rockets (i think). The ship from Avatar (ISV Venture Star?) is an example of such a spaceship. By having the engines towing the ship, the structure of the ship can be much lighter and simpler, reducing mass and thus allowing more delta-v.
It worked surprisingly well (test payload was a full Jumbo fuel tank), i could probably make it work perfectly with tweaking but the rocket is very complex and has a lot of parts, making it a bit annoying to use due to framerate issues.
-----------------
Also tried some rockets from the KSP forums. Unfortunately anything with over 400 parts are practically unusable (probably, my designs are about 350 parts at most), and anything with over 250 can be problematic if they have a lot of engines (my Perseus I with a space station core (327 parts) works pretty well since it doesn't have but 7 engines online at once).
Still, very beautiful Soviet N1 rocket... http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/32817-0-20-Munstrosity-I-Russian-N1-LOK-LK-Lander!
Too bad i can't use it.
-----------------
Since my Perseus I works can lift 18 tonnes to 200km, i can construct my Prometheus station (started building it already actually, core is up). The only thing i'm not sure about is how i get fuel tanks there, i can't lift Jumbos with Perseus I if they're full, and i have no idea how to lift empty ones (is it even possible outside emptying it with a rocket?), and if i could get empty ones up, i'd have to fill them for for future expeditions...
Starting with the remote guidance module, i built a complex, sturdy 4-armed construct, rockets and boosters attached to the arms.
It looked a bit like this from side(R denotes rockets, P is payload, the rest are the "spine", L for ground):
.....I.....
R--O--R
R...I...R
R...P..R
R...P..R
.....R.....
.....R.....
LLLLLLLL
The idea was to reduce stress and wobbling by having the rockets to (mostly) pull the payload. This is a real concept, for spaceships anyway, not for rockets (i think). The ship from Avatar (ISV Venture Star?) is an example of such a spaceship. By having the engines towing the ship, the structure of the ship can be much lighter and simpler, reducing mass and thus allowing more delta-v.
It worked surprisingly well (test payload was a full Jumbo fuel tank), i could probably make it work perfectly with tweaking but the rocket is very complex and has a lot of parts, making it a bit annoying to use due to framerate issues.
-----------------
Also tried some rockets from the KSP forums. Unfortunately anything with over 400 parts are practically unusable (probably, my designs are about 350 parts at most), and anything with over 250 can be problematic if they have a lot of engines (my Perseus I with a space station core (327 parts) works pretty well since it doesn't have but 7 engines online at once).
Still, very beautiful Soviet N1 rocket... http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/32817-0-20-Munstrosity-I-Russian-N1-LOK-LK-Lander!
Too bad i can't use it.
-----------------
Since my Perseus I works can lift 18 tonnes to 200km, i can construct my Prometheus station (started building it already actually, core is up). The only thing i'm not sure about is how i get fuel tanks there, i can't lift Jumbos with Perseus I if they're full, and i have no idea how to lift empty ones (is it even possible outside emptying it with a rocket?), and if i could get empty ones up, i'd have to fill them for for future expeditions...
gutterboy44
Member
Take some screenshots and post them. It will go a long way to better illustrate your builds. Also, KSP pics are the best.
The hitchhiker really doesn't like being attached to things on the sides. It's a pain in the ass.This is what I want it to look like:
This, however, is full of awesome (via reddit):
I got two Kerbals stranded on the Mun right now. I brought over a rescue lander which landed about 50km away from where my Kerbals are. Right now I got a little heavy piece of object sitting on my "W" key so the Kerbal is heading towards the rocket as I type this on another computer LOL... RUN KERBAL RUN ! I estimate this will take an hour and more for one Kerbal to reach the rescue lander... hahaha. I'm doing this because the rescue ship doesn't have enough fuel to go to where they are, pick them up and then fly back home 
No kidding, but good to know it's not just me >_<. Ended up attaching it horizontally, then putting the probe on top to preserve orientation. Strapped on a second engine due to weight:
After the plane rockets, the rescue craft fires at ~50km, I just swapped to it a little late >_>.
Parachutes deploy at the same time to keep the pilot safe. Much more tedious than just building a rocket, but I figured splitting a plane in half was a very Kerbal thing to do.
Looks like Atomic Rocket site owner/creator has made Orion Nuclear Pulse Propulsion mod...
http://www.projectrho.com/public_ht...on--Kerbal_Space_Program--Orion_nuclear_pulse
http://www.projectrho.com/public_ht...on--Kerbal_Space_Program--Orion_nuclear_pulse
You can't make it rotate. If SAS is not engaged and you're controlling the thing, you can get it rotate, but not slowly enough to keep facing the planet all the time.
And the satellite stays there as long as it is above 70km, you don't lose it if you make something else, as long as you end flight and don't revert (throttle down first).
Not at the moment, at least not without mods (and i'm not sure if mods can do that either).
Yes there are mods that provide rotating parts. That ship though would be nigh on impossible to construct and fly with any sort of reasonable frame rate...Is it possible to build rotating parts? I want to build the Icaruswhich will undoubtedly be WAY too ambitious and fail miserable haha
gutterboy44
Member
Oh god, I had a disaster of a Mun rescue mission this weekend. It all started when I flew an SSTO to my orbiting fuel station and Jebediah being the ace pilot he is decided to fly to the moon after refueling. Naturally he had to see if he could land his plane on the surface of the moon...he did not. He crashed into a rather larger crater, climbed out of the crater, planted a flag and awaited rescue.
I decided to do a more complicated rescue than a single lander I have done in the past. I went for an Apollo approach with a detached lander and moreover a detached robotic rover to go pick up Jebediah since I am sure I won't land terribly close to him.
Needless to say I had so many things go wrong just getting to the surface of the Mun. All of my launch stages were ace, but my lander craft had way too little fuel, fuel line issues, just so much that I had to go back and redo. After finally landing, driving 13Km to get Jeb and driving back, nothing on my return little capsule worked and now I have two Kerbals stuck on the Mun. At least they have company now. Not sure what I should do with Bill who is still orbiting the Mun. I think I should just send him home, plan a new, way better and simpler lander and return ship and go pick up his buddies. When the final rescue is complete I can post some pics from all the insanity along the way. Lander capsules mounded upside down that inverted my controls, massive Dukes of Hazard moon crater jumps, and two very sad Kerbals.
Love this game.
Edit: This is how hours of planning and flying ended.
I decided to do a more complicated rescue than a single lander I have done in the past. I went for an Apollo approach with a detached lander and moreover a detached robotic rover to go pick up Jebediah since I am sure I won't land terribly close to him.
Needless to say I had so many things go wrong just getting to the surface of the Mun. All of my launch stages were ace, but my lander craft had way too little fuel, fuel line issues, just so much that I had to go back and redo. After finally landing, driving 13Km to get Jeb and driving back, nothing on my return little capsule worked and now I have two Kerbals stuck on the Mun. At least they have company now. Not sure what I should do with Bill who is still orbiting the Mun. I think I should just send him home, plan a new, way better and simpler lander and return ship and go pick up his buddies. When the final rescue is complete I can post some pics from all the insanity along the way. Lander capsules mounded upside down that inverted my controls, massive Dukes of Hazard moon crater jumps, and two very sad Kerbals.
Love this game.
Edit: This is how hours of planning and flying ended.
Works fine for me. Used not to on my previous laptop though. In my specific case there were two factors: first, the water shader, for some reason, slows down the game a lot on some GPUs, so kerbin surface wasn't even good enough for planes. It all works mighty fine on my current laptop's nvidia quadro 2000m. Second limitation is that Unity is using an outdated version of the physics engine that isn't multithreaded, so your CPU's main core will directly limit the amount of parts you can use. since most of a ship is the ascent stage it can be partially fought by assembling big ships in orbit by docking elements brought there through several launches.
troopershades
Neo Member
Are there any good tutorials for rescues? I currently have Jebediah stranded on the Mun. I made the mistake of not reducing my horizontal velocity so I snapped a landing gear on touch down... Sad thing was my unmanned mission landed no problem. Alas no capsule. At least Jeb seems happy enough.
gutterboy44
Member
The easiest way to do rescue missions now is to just make a ship than can establish orbit around the Mun, land on the Mun and then fly back to Kerbin. Just put the three person command module on this ship but only put one Kerbal inside it. Now you have two empty seats. You can even fly it empty if you add a probe module on the ship. Going the Apollo route is so overly complicated. It is a lot of fun, but way more difficult it turns out. Landing close to your crash site tends to be the most challenging part.
I kerbal'd up my rescue attempts over the weekend too. I had sent a simple mission to the Mun to plant an official .21 flag there, but as I was descending in the dark my lights ran out of batteries and I came down hard on a very steep edge of a huge crater. The ship rolled down the hill, tearing to pieces along the way. Fortunately the command module and the three kerbalnauts inside rolled to the bottom safely.
Rescue X1 was launched to retrieve them, which was basically the same ship currently stuck there with the addition of a hitchhiker module. I managed to get pretty close to the crash site with the rescue ship, but ended up clipping a landing strut on some uneven terrain and dropped it on its side. >__< I EVA'd the three Kerbals from the first crash over to the second, so now I had six Kerbalnauts sitting in a tipped over spacecraft awaiting help from home.
Rescue X2 was launched to retrieve everyone. Same ship again, this time with a single kerbalnaut on board so the six on the Mun will have room to hop in for the return trip home. The pilot was Jebediah Kerman, because who else woulld be crazy enough to fly to the same place in a ship almost identical to two ships that crashed there before? I actually managed my best landing yet, coming down nice and soft only 1.2 km from the Rescue X1 crash site. I EVA'd all six Kerbals over to the new ship, than prepared for takeoff. However, some quick calculations revealed that we were about 200 m/s short on delta-v needed to get into orbit, let alone back to Kerbin.
So there they sit awaiting yet another rescue attempt. I'm going to rework my landing module so I can break off some pieces and squeeze a little more delta-v out of it tonight.
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/597010219770958878/C624800C5ECE336FED13B3A583C999C6B71C9F94/
troopershades
Neo Member
I thought that would be the way. I just didn't know how to make a seat open. At least I was on the right track in my thinking.
gutterboy44
Member
When you are in the VAB, hit the icon next to the parts and action groups icons and it will allow you to choose your crew. If it puts three crew members in, drag two of them out of the module. If you attach a probe module or one of the reaction wheel modules you can fly it with no crew. Every time you revert your launch to the VAB, you need to reapply your crew settings, it seems to reset every time.
Edit: Video of my Mun crater jump during my failed rescue mission *queue Duke's of Hazard theme song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jq1_AXN1_c
troopershades
Neo Member
Many thanks for the tip. I haven't delved into the meat of the game really. I've made a handful of rockets and found out the hard way about battery power and unmanned craft. I'm in awe at what some users are able to create.
That's awesome. I love the new craters on the mun. Makes driving around so much more enjoyable.
I just docked the engines to my space station. Now I only have to send a refueling mission to it and then we are ready to go to travel the solar system! ...I hope
How do you guys manage rendezvous? I can't wrap my head around it.
MechJeb makes orbiting, transfers, rendezvous, docking and landing pretty much trivial. Some people would argue for purism, but I'm more interested in building cool ships and landers and stuff.
Edit: and oh man, don't forget to but batteries on your ships if they don't have the nuclear reactor thing. No fun getting a rescue ship about 5 km off the surface of Mun and then just coasting into the surface because there's no light.
Iced_Eagle
Member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHkY3FusJIQ
Watch that. It helps a lot (anything by Scott Manley is great really). Start by trying to dock two really small ships (like a rocket with a docking port on the front).
Oh, and don't forget RCS thrusters and an RCS tank! You can't really do tiny adjustments without them. It's totally possible to dock using just your engine thrusters but it's not easy at all especially if it's your first time docking.