Project Mir station complex / UR-500 family
- Thread starter MaxBuzz
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N_Molson
Addon Developer
I'm struggling with the tower complexity, any good picture of it welcome. Found a couple, but they are a bit limited in resolution and angles... More precisely I'm trying to figure how the "rings" and the walkways / the structure are articulated.
ILS calls it the "MST" (Mobile Service Tower). Of course the ones used at site 200 have some minor differences with those used at site 81, but I can deal with that, any close-up would be very valuable.
ILS calls it the "MST" (Mobile Service Tower). Of course the ones used at site 200 have some minor differences with those used at site 81, but I can deal with that, any close-up would be very valuable.
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N_Molson
Addon Developer
I'd say the main beams and their supports beams are mostly done, now I'm knee-deep into the hard work : figuring out a plausible way to articulate the rings, and having everything matching : the staircases, the walkways, and the rings themselves.
Once that done I'll do the fun stuff that looks pretty like handrails, pipes and such.
The final version of the tower has 8 such "rings", plus 1 "rogue ring" that has no number and is painted in a different way (I have no idea why). Maybe added later for the shorter Briz 4th stage ?
Again, if you find any technical documentation on those towers, understanding how it works would help.
Once that done I'll do the fun stuff that looks pretty like handrails, pipes and such.
The final version of the tower has 8 such "rings", plus 1 "rogue ring" that has no number and is painted in a different way (I have no idea why). Maybe added later for the shorter Briz 4th stage ?
Again, if you find any technical documentation on those towers, understanding how it works would help.
MaxBuzz
Well-known member
I find it difficult to search for this kind of documentation in English or French, I will try to find
After walking through the railway forums, I discovered that the next car had an unspoken name and a set of numbers, like in a cell phone.
N_Molson
Addon Developer
Very interesting ! It seems like the tower height was something planned from the start, what they added are the "service rings" for the upper stages. On this picture I can see rings 1 to 5 ; I'd say rings 1-4 position stayed very much the same but ring 5 went up later (seems to be the "fairing ring" there).
So I think it will be possible to export the rings as separate meshes, and then display the right number. In the module you can set the mesh position in xyz coordinates so making the 5th ring higher or lower shouldn't be too much of extra work.
From ILS stuff I'd say this is where they put the air filters and other compressors used to keep the payload inside the fairing in a temperature-controlled environement, also probably the Briz stage which I suspect is fueled before the rocket is installed on the pad (else it would have time to cook or freeze while on the train given Baikonur's extreme weather). Also electrical generators/transformers/normalizers to keep the payload properly powered. We can see quite a lot of exhaust grids that suggest some heavy heat-generating machinery inside.
Could also be interesting to know how they do the Blok-D (RP-1/LOX) fueling, given it is the only cryogenic stage (with the never used KVTK).
So I think it will be possible to export the rings as separate meshes, and then display the right number. In the module you can set the mesh position in xyz coordinates so making the 5th ring higher or lower shouldn't be too much of extra work.
From ILS stuff I'd say this is where they put the air filters and other compressors used to keep the payload inside the fairing in a temperature-controlled environement, also probably the Briz stage which I suspect is fueled before the rocket is installed on the pad (else it would have time to cook or freeze while on the train given Baikonur's extreme weather). Also electrical generators/transformers/normalizers to keep the payload properly powered. We can see quite a lot of exhaust grids that suggest some heavy heat-generating machinery inside.
Could also be interesting to know how they do the Blok-D (RP-1/LOX) fueling, given it is the only cryogenic stage (with the never used KVTK).
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N_Molson
Addon Developer
Been busy figuring out a staircase design that matches the drawings and also should be functional (like all the stages are linked so there should be "path" from bottom to top). Found some similar industrial staircase companies that give some standards in terms of thread dimensions, staircase clearance and angle. Went with a 60° angle, with is the maximum for "standard" stairs, higher angles "stair-ladders" being usually found on ships. Well I must say the structure with all those metal decks makes me think to some big warship. But the 60° angle seems to work well with the drawings, and I'd be more than exhausted if I had to climb all the tower on 60° stairs !
I sure learned a lot about stairs today. I realize I was quite stair-ignorant ?
I sure learned a lot about stairs today. I realize I was quite stair-ignorant ?
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N_Molson
Addon Developer
Started to work on the "rings" themselves. The key thing is to keep in mind they are the technicians main workspace. There will be an handrail around the "hole" where the rocket should be. The ring outer wall is very thin which explains the iconic structural "HHH" pattern on the exterior of the rings. That pattern is made of thin, almost blade-like structural support beams.
N_Molson
Addon Developer
Looks very good to me, it will be massive with the rocket on the cars ! ?
Was busy today, a 10-pages essay on Bertrand RUSSELL's Religion and Science for University... ? Still quite amazing how he predicted in 1935 that research would become mostly driven by utility and commercial needs...
Was busy today, a 10-pages essay on Bertrand RUSSELL's Religion and Science for University... ? Still quite amazing how he predicted in 1935 that research would become mostly driven by utility and commercial needs...
