Project Tonsou - Space Station Escape Vehicle

[Pyromaniac605]

While REVIO development is keeping at a slow and steady pace I decided to start developing my own vehicle. This is the Tonsou (Japanese for Escape) Space Station Escape Vehicle. The first vessel from Expanding Horizons Aerospace, it will be used in case of emergency on a space station as an escape vehicle. The Tonsou will be docked at the back to the space station and can hold up to 6 people, it will then detach from the station, de-orbit and land like a seaplane in designated splashdown areas. This is the mesh so far, I have yet to add to flaps, the RCS, the dock and details. What do you think so far? Constructive critisim welcome. :thumbup:

Darren

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Update, mesh smoothed out, started modelling flaps. Any comments?

Darren

 

[mc_]

Did you started with some drawings on a simple paper to figure out the optimal and best-looking shape?
If you didn't, try it.

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Nah I didn't but each p[erson has their own way of doing things, I prefer to just get stuck in and change bits if they don't quite feel right. But thats just my way of dong things.

Apart from the mods itself, what do you think of the idea?

Darren

 

[RisingFury]

Update, mesh smoothed out, started modelling flaps. Any comments?

Darren

Flaps? You mean elevons? Flaps usually don't work on a delta plane, because they're located so far behind the center of gravity...

 

[IronRain]

I think he means Elevons
Looks good. do you already know how it's launched to orbit?

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Yeah I meant Elevons :facepalm: . The way I imagine it being launched into orbit is, in a cargo rocket launched into an orbit to rendevouz with the station.

Darren

 

[T.Neo]

Elevons... it's easy to confuse elevons with flaps since they're... flappy things.

 

[Pyromaniac605]

I think he means Elevons
Looks good. do you already know how it's launched to orbit?

I started making a LV for it pics attached. Please note I will try to get textures done for everything so that it looks better than it does now. I'll try make a little animation to show the LV putting a Tonsou into orbit. Just need to think of a name for the LV.

Darren

 

[statickid]

I like this idea alot, have you considered making something more like a capsule? I mean since it's an escape vehicle, maybe it should be incredibly minimalistic, like the Apollo capsule. it seems like you would want the smallest amount of mass so that it had the least impact on the station. Also, AFIK winged entries are alot more complicated than ballistic ones.

---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:48 PM ----------

not to mention wings are heavy, and if it doesn't reallllly need them....you know, being a splashdown vessel an' all....just sayin'.... :shifty:

 

[Izack]

[...]maybe it should be incredibly minimalistic, like the Apollo capsule.

I'd hardly call the Apollo capsule minimalistic. That was about as much stuff as you could cram inside a capsule. :lol:

 

[statickid]

wellll... i just meant the shape lol

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Well the delta-wing design is mostly because I really wanted something to show my modelling skills, as basic as they are. Another reason I didn't go with a capsule was mainly because there have been a lot of capsules throughout history, not so much for delta-wings. Another question, I'm trying to make my add-ons realistic, is this a realistic idea cost aside?

Darren

Edit: Glad you like this idea. If this gets enough DLs after release, I might start to make a series of vessels from EHA. In case you were wondering this will most likely be made with Multistage2.dll and Spacecraft3.dll since I don't have leet programming skillz, C64 BASIC is my limit and AFAIK it isn't compatible with Orbiter. :lol:

 

[River Crab]

:speakcool:
I think you could learn a lot about addon developing from this. That is to say, test out and sharpen your skills. Before you go ahead with that launcher, though, can I ask, is this to be similar to HOPE? Like a what-if revival of the project. There's already an H2B addon by Donamy, and it was seriously studied, to the level of scaled re-entry prototypes (like BOR).

[ame="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOPE"]ウィキペディア（英語のページより情報量が多い）[/ame]

とにかく、遁走で頑張ってね！

(Lame in-joke, thought it was fitting...)

 

[orbitingpluto]

I'm trying to make my add-ons realistic, is this a realistic idea cost aside?

It depends. Most winged designs are that way to allow more precise control over that very final part of reentry, the part when the craft makes touchdown. This is most important when you realize that without the ability to control that phase of flight, landing on a runway is impossible. The wings don't serve much purpose in all the rest of the phases and can even be a hindrance, but having them frees up the money spent on recovering the the craft, bringing it home and so on. Water landings were done by the early U.S. space program as a way to compensate for the fact a capsule ceases to be able to generate lift(and thus control where they land) once their speed goes below a certain point, and then dangle uncontrollably(think brick with a parachute) from their chutes, unable to steer. Water landings remove the hazard of hitting protruding landmasses(i.e. hills) and at the slow speeds of landing via parachute, water is more of a cushioned landing than dry land. The only problem with landing in water is the ships involved in recovering the craft and shipping the thing home, which is mostly a complexity and cost problem. Winged craft like the shuttle have wings so that the craft can land on runways and not have to be shipped around back to the starting point, a key thing if the craft is reused, because it helps lower turnaround times and keeps expenses like having a navy chase about your spacecraft from occurring.

If you want the wings, figure on Tonsou landing on dry ground. It makes sense to me.

 

[statickid]

this is the subject I was touching on. I don't really see the point in a winged water landing.

Here are some questions you might consider if you are going for realism:

What kind of emergency gives the need for an escape pod?

Does the winged pod need a runway, although it is nice to have one?

How many times is an escape pod really going to be reused???? Hopefully never?

Will the escaping crew be able to maneuver enough to land on a runway if the pod is needed at an inopportune time?

 

[Pyromaniac605]

I could add landing gear since the landing on water part seems to be the biggest problem. I agree I wasn't really thinking when I thought of that, it just requires remodelling the bottom of the hull. I can think of a few emergencies. If the station got breached badly and they couldn't repair it with the time left with the oxygen tanks. If the panels are damaged and the temperature is rising to dangerous levels the crew may need to escape, and what if a resupply mission fails and the resources for another aren't available until its too late?

Also if it were reusable it saves money on building another, crew safety is important but you need to stay within budget as well. The only reason for an escape vehicle to not be needed again is if the station is completely destroyed or not repairable.

This has nothing to do with HOPE I hadn't even heard of it until River Crab posted it, but it seems that it is a similar idea.

Darren

PS: Thanks River Crab for the link to Wikipedia. 我々は誰もが煩わしい、それを翻訳する場合、日本は、参照してくださいに投稿おいてください。 :lol:

Edit: Does anyone know how I can export the Anim8or files to Meshes and keep the animations?

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Double Post my bad.

Darren

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Just a quick update, I've been rethinking this and it seems that a capsule is probably a more realistic design for an escape in case of emergency vehicle. So I've been drawing up some designs for a capsule design. But I need a bit of help, do you think it would be possible to have the seat aranged in such a way so that during reentry the occupants would be sitting vertical in respect to the craft or would the stresses be too much for the body to handle?

So in case you didn't catch it I am completely redesigning the vehicle.

Darren

 

[statickid]

hmmm... i could be wrong but i think all the previous capsule designs had people facing backwards (face retrograde) didn't they? but the crew of the space shuttle sits "forward" i think. I guess it depends on how quickly you decelerate.

I think the capsules are pretty cool, did you ever fly the Orion add-on capsule? It has very interesting placement of RCS.

---------- Post added at 02:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 AM ----------

oh yeah BTW i wasn't questioning the need for an escape pod; I think its a great idea, I was just posing questions to think about how different emergencies could leave the crew stranded in odd orbits or with long wait periods for a good opportunity to land the vessel. For me, this would be the first thing to consider when deciding how much maneuverability to give it or how flexible it should be in landing sites.