Request Any SLS and Orion MPCV in development?

[RonDVouz]

Not sure about the flamebucket. So do I need to build lightning towers?

No.

But they look cool.


Couldn't you use the surface mesh of the existing flame bucket and roll your launchpad on top of that?

---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 PM ----------

The flame trench/bucket is below the surface, right?

I know it is doable. But is would be a visual effect. Why not use the existing pad features?

The real one is above the surface, the crawler rolls up it at an angle so the vehicle remains level. It really is a visual effect but a powerful one to me. I think it's all the little details that make it feel more realistic.

Here's the AMSO launchpad, the flame trench is below the pad but still above the ground. This structure in real life remained intact and for the SLS program has been slightly modified, from what I recall they needed to reinforce the walls that make up the trench and the wedge shaped object to direct the thrust out (not back up into the engines) is getting a makeover to handle SLS's increased output.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-..._orbiter+2013-12-04+22-04-16-36-70+images.jpg

 

[gattispilot]

Yes. But I think you would add it as a base or vessel, Not sure.

 

[Donamy]

I always considered it not that important for SSU, but DaveS has done extensive work on the crawler and pad. Why not use it ?

 

[gattispilot]

Well on the crawler. I can not compile it so it is not go for me. Well any of the SSU for that.
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=34636

On the launch tower. It sounds like DaveS' might be true to the actual tower. But mine will be more flexible with adjustable up/down swing arms.

 

[orbitingpluto]

Since the tower is being coded by you, depending on how easy/hard it can be, you could just add lights directly to the tower via code. No spotlights for users to wrangle, but it'll be extra complexity for you. Something to think about, since setting up a bunch of attachment points and leaving the spotlights to be handled individually sounds unwieldy.

On dressing the pad up, I like the idea of leveraging off prior works. There's [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1373"]this addon by Kev[/ame] that has a LC 38 pad in it's Apollo form, which is 'bare' enough with the MLP\tower removed(it's easy, as the pad and tower/mlp as two meshes) to reasonably be used for SLS. Putting something together for a SLS release could be as simple as having the Kev addon above as a requirement to be downloaded separately, setting up a custom Earth.cfg to call a custom KSC with Kev's pad as static meshes, and having the scenarios call a custom Solar system that uses the custom Earth. Since it's mostly copying configs and renaming them, with only a few lines of actual editing, it's quick and easy on the your end, and with only one extra download for the player. One could go a lot more in depth, perhaps borrowing stuff from SSU and doing a full on custom launch site, but that would take time on effort on someone's part.

I'm certain that with a half-hour or less of time playing with configs we could have Kev's pad set up without much difficulty, ready to have your tower park above it and launch some stuff. Likely less time(like 5 minutes or less), since one could borrow from [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4704"]this addon's[/ame] configs to place the pads without having to do the placing yourself.

On a unrelated note, that new upper stage mesh requires "AresI_J-2S.dds", and I don't have it. I did have the previous mesh to roll back to, so it's not stopping me.

 

[gattispilot]

Thanks. I got the stage 1 cargo to work. I can launch a probe and my ARV with it.

Still can't get the SSU to compile So I can't use their crawler.

---------- Post added 10-02-14 at 06:10 AM ---------- Previous post was 10-01-14 at 08:23 AM ----------

Here is my tower and stage 1 cargo sls.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71242599/slstower1.zip

You need Velcro rockets and Mayfly.

[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3388"]http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3388[/ame]

[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2155"]http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2155[/ame]


I got the crawler. Didn't see any info in the doc from SSU 2.0 about it. Like how to attach?


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71242599/crawlersls.jpg

 

[DaveS]

The crawler is driven much like any other vessel using the NumPad keys. +/- increase/decrease the commanded velocity while 1/3 inputs a commanded turn angle. B is used for the service brakes.

In order to move the crawler, the parking brakes need to be off and the gear set either FWD or REV. There are also three steering modes, Great Circle, Independent and Crab. G CIRC is the standard mode while Crab is used to align the crawler with the ML/MLP.

Once beneath the ML/MLP and prior to moving over the Mount Mechanisms either in the VAB, pad or the ML/MLP Refurb Sites, press Ctrl-J to jack the crawler up so it can pick the ML/MLP up. Once the crawler touches the bottom of the ML/MLP, press J to attach it. Once attached, press Ctrl-J again to raise the crawler/ML off the mounts. Once at clearance height, you can begin the trip by applying some velocity. Once clear of the mounts, press Ctrl-K to to return the crawler to standard travel height.

Velocity is in MPH. Max velocity unloaded is 2 MPH but should not exceed 1 MPH. Loaded, the crawler computers restrict the max velocity to 0.8 MPH.

Any MLs/MLPs should be have an attachment point with the ID of XMLP.

 

[gattispilot]

I am looking at what the 2nd stage should look like.

I have seen this:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24122088/SLS/20130013953.pdf

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Z515.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/SLS_130t_Cargo_-_expanded.jpg

From the one document it mentions the diamaters as LH2 Diameter as 8.4 and the LOPX 5 and length 19.

Just trying to figure how long the interstage length should be?

 

[DaveS]

The interstage adapter length looks like to be about the same as the CS LOX tank length. The other images are old and outdated, they precede the EUS.

 

[gattispilot]

Like this.
It seems the over length might be more than 19m

Then at one end is the cargo adapter

 

[RonDVouz]

I am looking at what the 2nd stage should look like.

I have seen this:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24122088/SLS/20130013953.pdf

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Z515.jpg

This upper stage configuration was modified to be the exploration upper stage, it has 4 J-2X engines.

I also found a couple of images showing cutaways of the proposed stacks.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Z223.jpg

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Z53.jpg

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Z104.jpg

I wish they were a little larger but you can pretty much see how they want to load the cargo. I particularly interested in that second image, a lander and cryo stage to rendezvous on orbit with.

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 PM ----------

What I'm seeing in this configuration is an ISS type hab module under the Orion/SM attached to a Delta single engine upper stage.

But what I see in this is confusing me:

Why would this lander module need the abort escape tower? Unless this isn't supposed to dock with anything and be a fly alone vehicle, but that doesn't makes sense to me.

What I was thinking is take the configuration for the hab module, swap that out for the lander and fly this stack. Use the upper stage for TLI, cut it free and return on the Orion's SM engine. Yeah, it's Apollo-y, but it should work and puts everything on one rocket.

 

[ISProgram]

Why would this lander module need the abort escape tower? Unless this isn't supposed to dock with anything and be a fly alone vehicle, but that doesn't makes sense to me.

It doesn't. That image, if I'm correct, is supposed to display the iCPS in-space tug, which, after riding on top of the DUUS and/or boosting Orion to a orbit, would perform its own missions, such as docking to a proposed lander module. So you're still right, just the lander module is not the spacecraft shown stacked, it's Orion.

Boeing concepts, gotta love them.

Also, just made a Dropbox myself, so hope this helps:

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/4anehgdk3ak0qes/AADQtZuzzaix1gVZHJvYMwBCa

 

[gattispilot]

So should the interstage part be white with the black squares? Or all white except the small ring part.

 

[RonDVouz]

It doesn't. That image, if I'm correct, is supposed to display the iCPS in-space tug, which, after riding on top of the DUUS and/or boosting Orion to a orbit, would perform its own missions, such as docking to a proposed lander module. So you're still right, just the lander module is not the spacecraft shown stacked, it's Orion.

Boeing concepts, gotta love them.

Also, just made a Dropbox myself, so hope this helps:

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/4anehgdk3ak0qes/AADQtZuzzaix1gVZHJvYMwBCa

A-HA! Now it makes sense, I forgot about asteroid redirect. I've just got landers on the brain. :lol:

So in your picture the hab section is different, it also looks like there's more space between it at the engine bell of the Orion. How tall is that module? And could something as large as the Altair fit underneath it?

 

[ISProgram]

A-HA! Now it makes sense, I forgot about asteroid redirect. I've just got landers on the brain. :lol:

So in your picture the hab section is different, it also looks like there's more space between it at the engine bell of the Orion. How tall is that module? And could something as large as the Altair fit underneath it?

No idea how tall it is, though Orion could be used as a reference image to discern the length. Since it seems to be based on a MPLM, that's probably how big it is, minus those tanks holding the consumables. I also don't think Altair could fit anywhere in this configuration, since it required a >8.4 m fairing all by itself.

These pictures, by the way, are depicting a proposed Orion Mars flyby in 2021.

 

[RonDVouz]

Interesting. I have always felt our first encounter with Mars would be a flyby.

And I mention Altair because it was the last considered lander proposal, I still think we have to put a lander with an upper stage on a cargo SLS.

 

[gattispilot]

Here is what the altair and Orion capsule and RM moduled loaded in my SLScargo 2.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71242599/slscargo2altair.jpg
I still get a CTD with a missing cfg
>>> ERROR: No vessel class configuration file found for:
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: 0
>>> [Vessel::OpenConfigFile | .\Vessel.cpp | 252]
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> TERMINATING <<<

 

[ISProgram]

Almost forgot to post this, saw it a few months ago and lost track of it. So in case you want to have some EUS statistics, and provided you didn't see it already, here you go...

 

[gattispilot]

So Should I use that or the DUUS? I guess on that the interstage is black/white while the exposed section is ribbed and white?

Sounds like the EUS is the way to go.

 

[ISProgram]

The DUUS and EUS are one and the same. The DUUS was renamed to the EUS because, interestingly, it sounded like a profanity in Japanese (pronounced "Duce").