Space Shuttle Ultra 1.25 Revision B development

[Donamy]

So everything is broken again ?

 

[Poscik]

I want to try to do some tps heating during re-entry, so separate heat shield is needed. Anyone can try to do such mesh?

 

[Donamy]

Something like this ?

 

[Poscik]

Yeah, exactly. This is real photo of re-entry taken by HYTHIRM.

 

[DaveS]

Checked in: New LC-39 concrete hardstand mesh and textures. Right now the adaptations to this new mesh is only in SSU_Pad1985. Still be aligned is the GOX vents and the pad stadium lights. Also updated the attachment point in the MLP.

Another change is that I corrected the X axis offset of the SRBs.

Thanks to Poscik for adding the RBUS animation!

---------- Post added at 07:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:31 PM ----------

I'm nearly done re-aligning the stadium lights. Just a quick code question. The POS parameter is structured like this: _V(-60.4, -0.75, 45.25) + _V(7, 32, -85),

What is the first vector set? The DIR vectors are specified separately so that can't be it.

 

[SiameseCat]

The first vector seems to correspond to the offset of the hardstand mesh. IIRC, the lights were part of the hardstand mesh, so I used MeshWizard to get the positions and then added the offset.

 

[DaveS]

The first vector seems to correspond to the offset of the hardstand mesh. IIRC, the lights were part of the hardstand mesh, so I used MeshWizard to get the positions and then added the offset.

Thanks. Noticed a bug with the lights, they don't turn off when the sun rises.

 

[Urwumpe]

Like always with the new NTRS, when you search something, you always find something else that is more interesting... in this case, I found the description and formal verification of the EA-1 and SPA software.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800013513_1980013513.pdf (12 MB PDF)

Need to read through this for a while, but the first pages I managed to browse over already contain the description of the self-test process.

 

[DaveS]

This is just a suggestion, nothing else: How about configurable ET types in the mission file(s)? Currently we're flying SLWTs for all missions, when it would be appropriate to fly a LWT or a SWT.

 

[Urwumpe]

This is just a suggestion, nothing else: How about configurable ET types in the mission file(s)? Currently we're flying SLWTs for all missions, when it would be appropriate to fly a LWT or a SWT.

Was planned to do...just like also supporting the early tanks of STS-1 to STS-3

Somebody just needs to code and document it... I am sure we have already something there, but I don't know where it is left.

 

[DaveS]

Was planned to do...just like also supporting the early tanks of STS-1 to STS-3

Somebody just needs to code and document it... I am sure we have already something there, but I don't know where it is left.

The first five flights used the initial SWT batch. STS-6 was the first flight to use a tank from the second batch which was LWTs. STS-7 used the sixth and last SWT. From that point on until the introduction of the SLWT on STS-91, all flights used LWTs.

STS-107 was the last flight to use a LWT and there's one more LWT in storage at MAF(ET-94).

 

[Donamy]

I think there are much more worthwhile things to be finished, before thinking about what ET's flew. How about manuevering the SSME's into orbit stow position, radar rendezvous, or KU tracking ? JMHO

 

[DaveS]

I think there are much more worthwhile things to be finished, before thinking about what ET's flew. How about manuevering the SSME's into orbit stow position, radar rendezvous, or KU tracking ? JMHO

Well, the type of ET has a direct impact on the mission. The whole reason for initiating development of the SLWT was that ISS got moved from its optimal 28.5° inclination orbit to a suboptimal 51.6° inclination orbit.

This change in orbital inclination seriously impacted the shuttle's upmass capability. In order to make up the shortfall, NASA initiated the development of the SLWT after the ASRM project got cancelled in 1993.

And STS-93, the Chandra AXAF launch in July 1999 used a SLWT even though it launched into the optimal 28.5° inclination orbit as Columbia was too heavy to launch the AXAF with a LWT. The other three orbiters had already been modified with the External Airlock which prevented them from carrying the AXAF.

 

[DaveS]

Thanks. Noticed a bug with the lights, they don't turn off when the sun rises.

Here's a screenshot of the bug(the red color is just to make the lights stand out better in daylight):

---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 PM ----------

Checked in the RSS in the proper size and configuration to match the 1985 FSS. Vehicle is now correctly aligned on the pad.

 

[Donamy]

Should the stack be raised or the beanie cap lowered ? It doesn't quite cover the LOX vent in your screen shot.

 

[DaveS]

Should the stack be raised or the beanie cap lowered ? It doesn't quite cover the LOX vent in your screen shot.

The ET needs to be resized. A while ago I resized the ET to fit the new pad not knowing that the vertical offset was incorrect. Once I'm done with the Centaur mods to the orbiter, I'll deal with the ET. That's just a simple rescaling.

 

[SiameseCat]

I just had a look at the pad code, and I noticed that a new project (Pad1985) has been created. Is there a reason why we have two distinct sets of code for the different pads? If the only issue is animation/mesh creation, we can have a config file line to specify the mesh version.

---------- Post added 04-21-11 at 12:05 AM ---------- Previous post was 04-20-11 at 10:53 PM ----------

BTW, the pad light bug is fixed; I'll check the code in once I know what's happening with the different Pad projects.

 

[DaveS]

I just had a look at the pad code, and I noticed that a new project (Pad1985) has been created. Is there a reason why we have two distinct sets of code for the different pads? If the only issue is animation/mesh creation, we can have a config file line to specify the mesh version.

---------- Post added 04-21-11 at 12:05 AM ---------- Previous post was 04-20-11 at 10:53 PM ----------

BTW, the pad light bug is fixed; I'll check the code in once I know what's happening with the different Pad projects.

The reason for the different versions is that the FSS/RSS was different back in in the mid-80's. The FSS and RSS didn't have the large OWP Curtain Walls they now have. Those were added sometime in 1986.

Also, the FSS was sporting another T0 umbilical called the Rolling Beam Umbilical System or RBUS for short. The RBUS was the hydrogen service umbilical for the Centaur upper stage. It connected to a panel on the port side of the orbiter midbody which allowed for Centaur LH2 fill/drain and GH2 GND venting.

Once the Shuttle/Centaur project got the axe after Challenger, KSC wasted no time getting rid of the RBUS from the pads. Today, only the FSS platform on which the RBUS was mounted on remains.

Challenger's next mission after 51L was going to be STS-61F, a mission to deploy a Centaur with the Ulysses ISPM spacecraft. Launch was targeted for May 15 1986. Atlantis was being prepared to head out to the pad for a series of Centaur tanking tests after which she would have gone back to the OPF to be readied for the STS-61G mission, yet another Centaur mission, this time to deploy Galileo. The targeted launch date was May 20 1986.

 

[SiameseCat]

Is there any actual difference in the code (apart from animation coordinates and mesh names)? I don't get why we need 2 different dlls, instead of one dll which can support both pad meshes.

 

[DaveS]

Is there any actual difference in the code (apart from animation coordinates and mesh names)? I don't get why we need 2 different dlls, instead of one dll which can support both pad meshes.

No. It's just that the 1985 code removes the OWP animations while adding another (RBUS). So it isn't just the coordinates that's different, it's the animations themselves along with the control dialog.