Project Roskosmos "тайга" Lunar Lander

11_06_24_11-04-56_Lander.jpg

Without the fairing, it looks like something out of KSP.
 
OK, so here's an update about the project, as promised :P

'have been diving back in the code, sorted some things out, re-understood weird things I did almost 1 year ago, and continued the work on the BlockDM-L and the LM stack.

I just made the separation of the both possible in-flight, which wasn't the case before (quite important :lol:).



So here the stack (unmanned) has just performed the LOI burn, and the LM is going to stay in "sleep" mode for 1 week or so in LLO, waiting for the 'SoyuzTMA-ML".

Also notice the (bad UVed) normal map on the toroid tank, that adds a welcome "roughness" to it, since MLI is never, as a cloth, a perfectly flat surface.

Oh and the landing gear should be retracted, the anims are quite messed up for know, I have to "re-align" all the meshgroups indexes. :coffee:

A beta v.806 should come quickly (a matter of days).

---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 AM ----------

OK, some other fixes about the stack management, including ullage burns and skirt separation :

The stack right after ProtonM stage3 separation :

12_02_22_22-02-36_LM3.jpg


Ullage burn and BlockDML "skirt" separation :

12_02_22_22-03-05_LM3.jpg


The stack clears the "skirt" :

12_02_22_22-03-26_LM3.jpg


Earth Orbital Insertion burn :

12_02_22_22-03-48_LM3.jpg


12_02_22_22-04-19_LM3.jpg


12_02_22_22-04-33_LM3.jpg


Oh and remind me to add some cable to connect the BlockDML and the LM (needed because the RCS systems are synchronized in order to allow docking).
 
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v0.81 beta & v0.811 beta

OK, here's a new beta, v0.81

Now you can use Thorton's Proton_LV 2.2 to send the lander in orbit. Of course you need to have the addon installed ;)





DL Link : http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/341678/RLM-v0-81-zip.html

Thanks for trying it, and tell me if it doesn't work. Also, bug reports are welcome (there are plenty of them). :tiphat:

---------- Post added 02-25-12 at 09:06 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-24-12 at 08:48 PM ----------

New release : v0.811 beta

Some improvements concerning the "propulsion display" (HUD submode) when the blockDML is attached, which should make the things a little more clear. :hmm:

DL link : http://www.mediafire.com/?i3du0vn7s9r767p
 
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Putting pieces together : here's a "makeshift" KVTK spacetug, that I will use for beta releases until Thorton integrates the excellent one he developped and modelled to his Proton_LV addon. The model is ugly and draft-modeled in 10 minutes ; but the specs are the same so there isn't a lot of change from a physical point of view. So it will be launched by the ProtonM, with a "dockable Fregat" as a payload. That Fregat will be sent into lunar orbit, and will be the "return ticket" for the Soyuz once inserted in lunar orbit.



Fixed quite a lot of bugs on the lander.

---------- Post added 02-27-12 at 03:26 PM ---------- Previous post was 02-26-12 at 08:20 PM ----------

Right, the makeshift KVTK tug works with Thorton's Proton_LV and Fregat. The only thing is that I experience incompatibility problems with the Proton_LV and the D3D9 client (but that's under investigation).

Update : great news, the D3D9 RC40 solved the above incompatiblity !
 
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looking BEAUtiful!

how will the scenarios be organised in the final release? i have an idea:

split the mission up, in chronological order, punctuated by breaks at each launch/major activity (be it a spacecraft launch , lunar landing etc), so the scenarios are organised a little like this:

Roscosmos lunar lander
>>first launch
>>checkpoint one (such as LEO insertion)
>>checkpoint two (eg. plane adjustment/lunar transfer)
>>further events that occur before launch 2
>>second launch
>>second launch events
>>third launch


and so on in this fashion

this allows a level of casual gameplay, as inexperienced pilots can "skip" parts of the mission that they are unable to perform (well/at all), by jumping into a mission that has already been carried out properly up to that point

otherwise... ill be getting lost with all the events to come together
 
Don't worry, I am planning something like that, which is anyway necessary for developpement :P
 
Currently working on finding the right sequence of launch windows for all those launches, it takes some time ;)
 
Awesome work so far, nice to see this going again. :thumbup: Though, with RLM back, will the 7K stay on hold?
 
Though, with RLM back, will the 7K stay on hold?

Yes, as there are mathematical functions needed for coding the Igla system that I don't understand for now...

---------- Post added 03-01-12 at 11:40 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-29-12 at 07:47 PM ----------

I've got the scenarios sequence for the first part of the mission : the Lunar Orbit Insertion of a Fregat. There are some D3D9 issues, but I'm confident they will be solved.

Now I'm going to plot the scenarios for the second part : the Lunar Orbit Insertion of the LM. 2 launches this time, and the additionnal requirements to achieve a EOR in 24 hours, and a LOI roughly on the same plane that the Fregat stage. :shifty:
 
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Bah, was enjoying all the fantastic features until i ended up in the not-so-official last page of this thread. :lol:

But, this thing is awesome! Keep up the good work! Can't wait to try this out :woohoo:
 
There are some D3D9 issues, but I'm confident they will be solved.

Good news as Jarmo's last RC41 have fixed them ! :tiphat:
 
Update : found a decent launch window for the second launch (LM+BlockDML). Almost exactly 28 days after the first one (1 lunar month I guess) did it.

Now scheduling the third launch (KVTK with APAS adapter). There will be 48 hours to dock with the LM/BlockDML. Well, in fact, the LM/BlockDML stack, which include a serious RCS fuel reserve (but in 2 separate tanks and 2 separate but coordinated RCSs) will perform the docking, because the KVTK tug has no linear translation thrusters.

The TLI date is fixed already, so the variable is the third launch date. The later the better, because the KVTK is 100% cryogenic (LOX/LH2), and because they probably need some time between the two launches at Baikonur. The side effect is that the rendez-vous will require more Dv, which is precious for the TLI and the LOI.

Let's go simming ! :P
 
Found a good launch window for the third launch ; EOR successful in 10 hours with minimal propellant usage ! :)

Next step : TLI :probe:

---------- Post added at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 PM ----------

I was a little too short on propellant for that first attempt. I could only achieve a 800 x 1600 km lunar orbit. But my first TLI burn was badly planned and messy. That's the tricky part : the TLI burn is split on two orbits, because we are operating two tugs. So there is room for improvement, just need the time to do it properly.



The other parameter is to achieve roughly the same inclination than the Fregat that has been orbiting around the Moon for the last 30 days.
 
Got news from Thorton, this is giving to the project a new impulse ! :)

---------- Post added at 10:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 PM ----------

Made it to LOI (200x110km) on the desired inclination using the 2 burns method, and a short MCC burn. :)

---------- Post added 03-11-12 at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was 03-10-12 at 10:27 PM ----------

Launch#4 was a flawless success. KVTK#3 is in Parking Orbit. :) The LM is still in Lunar Orbit, as well as the Fregat tug. Everything is ok.

The cosmonauts make a last visit to Gagarin's start :



Here's my selection for the flight (given I set the date to 2018) :

Center : Major A.A. Skvortsov, Veteran Cosmonaut, Test Pilot, 52 Y.O, TsPK. Will be the mission commander, will pilot the SoyuzTMA-L and the Lunar Module.

Left : Y.O. Serova, Flight Engineer, supposed to have performed at least one flight by 2018, 42 Y.O, RKKE. As the Flight Engineer, she will manage the technical and scientific aspects of the mission, and will stay aboard the Soyuz during the lunar landing.

Right : J. Smith, Generic billionaire and Space Turist, 48 Y.O. Has paid to make the whole mission possible, and to have the privilege to walk on the Moon. Will be aboard the LM during the landing, and has of course followed a 2-years intensive formation in Star City to be more than dead mass.

---------- Post added at 10:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 PM ----------

Launch#5 successful ! It took me countless launches to find the right launch window, but the SoyuzTMA-L is in a 200x200km orbit, Rinc 0.00° with the KVTK ! :P



I used uMMuFA to put the cosmonauts in the SoyuzTMA-L. The interesting side effect is that it rose the mass of the spacecraft to 7500 kgs. Which simulates pretty well the mass increase caused by the reinforced heat shield (yes, I now have on my comp a version of Thorton's SoyuzTMA that can survive lunar reentry). The R-7 had no problem with that additional mass, since the orbit was set to 200x200km (for ISS ferry missions it's more like 210x350km).

So everything is "normalno" at this point, go flight ! :cool:

Tomorrow : rendez-vous, docking & TLI :hailprobe:
 
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Hmm... while the rendez-vous was a piece of cake (used 80kg of Soyuz's propellant), I realized that the launch window to the Moon had passed by several days... I must have been wrong somewhere ; or maybe it will be necessary to launch the KVTK+LM and the KVTK+SoyuzTMA-L in a very short interval... :hmm:



Or, given that the Lander fuel cell is the limitation, maybe using solar panels could be a solution after all (mounted on the torus tank for exemple). That would allow to plan the mission on 3 months, which would be more realistic for the launch campaign :hmm:.

I will do more tests ; maybe I could have launched the LM earlier.

---------- Post added at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 AM ----------

This tutorial is super-helpful, a must-read for this complex mission :

http://www.ioss.ca/OffPlaneTutorial/index.html
 
Still have serious problems to determine the good launch windows from Baikonur. It seems that the above tutorial isn't completely right, or I didn't fully understood it.

I began to work on the docking+solar panels adapter for the Fregat :





Added a dummy payload ; that way 250 kilograms are added to the Fregat mass.

Concerning the Y-Axis & TransX problem I have with the BlockDML-Lander stack, I think I've found some kind of solution, but I need time to implement it.
 
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I managed to have a makeshift-Killrot working in the tug-LM configuration, which makes piloting much more easier.
 
Reworking the docking port, after all we decided with Thorton to use the probe-&-cone system (that would require less modifications to existing hardware).



(WIP)

---------- Post added at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 AM ----------

I think it looks pretty convincing like that. Worked after a picture of a soviet/russian cone-&-drogue system. Needs textures, of course.



---------- Post added at 09:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:04 PM ----------

The main antenna (right) is under major refit, too :



It will be steerable on two axis.
 
The antenna's anims are defined, it just requires a little bit more coding to make it orientable by the user (like left/right arrows for rotation, up/down for tilt).



An "auto-tracking" mode is planned (Earth, orbiting Soyuz...), but maybe not for a first release.

---------- Post added 04-11-12 at 06:25 AM ---------- Previous post was 04-10-12 at 01:55 PM ----------

The antenna is now fully functionnal, thanks to SiameseCat.

It can be rotated and tilted using the arrows keys to point anything you like, makes nice screenshots :P

---------- Post added at 12:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:25 AM ----------

Just added a handrail that would allow to make an emergency EVA (with Sokol suits) between the Lander and the Soyuz, if really needed (if there was a problem with the hatch or the seal of the docking port).

 
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