Project Firebird II HLV + RARoG shuttle

[Donamy]

GenericVessel gives you a few more options with SC3 addons.

 

[Cizurator]

Generic Vessel looks like a very close recreation of SC3.:hmm: Is it 100% safe to convert any SC3 vessel to GV by now?

Thanks for reminding me this, I'll keep my eye on it for sure!

...

By the way, I'd like to bring up my little question about virtual cockpit HUD group requirements once again. Does it have to be a one-sided rectangle justlike MFD's ? I'm unable to make it work with my existing octagonal HUD

 

[K_Jameson]

GenericVessel gives you a few more options with SC3 addons.

And various other things that still don't work...

 

[Donamy]

And various other things that still don't work...

One of the biggest disappointtments of Orbiter is ... You can't have everything.

 

[K_Jameson]

You can't have everything.

I say it every day. :lol:

 

[fred18]

By the way, I'd like to bring up my little question about virtual cockpit HUD group requirements once again. Does it have to be a one-sided rectangle justlike MFD's ? I'm unable to make it work with my existing octagonal HUD

I think it should be like the MFDs.

from orbitersdk:

The mesh group specified by nmesh and ngroup should be a square panel in front of the camera position in the virtual cockpit. This group is rendered separately from the rest of the mesh and should therefore have FLAG 2 set in the mesh file. The group material and texture can be set to 0.

The HUD centre position and size are required to allow Orbiter to correctly scale the display.

Orbiter renders the HUD with completely transparent background. Rendering the glass pane, brackets, etc. is up to the vessel designer.

if you have an octagonal shape you can separate the center square and use it for the hud, leaving the remaing four trapezoids for cosmetic view.

One question: I noticed that the firebird II will be based on multistage2.

I'm about to finish multistage2015, if you want to choose the new module for the release and need an help on how to exploit it at its best just let me know!

 

[Cizurator]

Thank you, I think I'll add an extra square panel in front of the HUD.:thankyou:

I've briefly looked at your multistage2015 thread, and I really like where it's going.
There's never enough particle effects, and - most of all - multistage always needed a better guidance.

Same question as with GenericVessel: Is it 100% safe to convert from MS2?

 

[fred18]

Same question as with GenericVessel: Is it 100% safe to convert from MS2?

The very first thing I did was to recreate MS2 exactly as it was, in order to guarantee retrocompatibility. I also added in the guide a simple procedure to rename the dll files directly in order to have ms2015 immediatly on all the old ms2 vessels. Up to now I have tested this with all the ms2 vessels i had in my orbiter installation and I still haven't found any retrocompatibility issue so I take courage and say yes: it is 100% safe! If it was 99% forgive me :lol:

 

[Cizurator]

:tiphat: Hats off

I have spent alot of effort on timing multiple particle streams of Firebird II via invisible stages, so the exhaust changes dynamically: as the vehicle ascends to higher altitudes, the exhaust stream expands and gets more transparent. And, of course, it needed some nice supersonic vapor effect. You could see it this way on Firebird I, too. But all these effects had to be re-timed for every single configuration of the rocket (different speeds - different timing). Very impractical.

Does Multistage2015 (or is it going to) allow to trigger particle streams according to speed / altitude? That would save me from having to use these invisible stages. If not, take it as a suggestion

 

[fred18]

I have spent alot of effort on timing multiple particle streams of Firebird II via invisible stages, so the exhaust changes dynamically: as the vehicle ascends to higher altitudes, the exhaust stream expands and gets more transparent. And, of course, it needed some nice supersonic vapor effect. You could see it this way on Firebird I, too. But all these effects had to be re-timed for every single configuration of the rocket (different speeds - different timing). Very impractical.

Does Multistage2015 (or is it going to) allow to trigger particle streams according to speed / altitude? That would save me from having to use these invisible stages. If not, take it as a suggestion

The vent effects and mach1 effects can be set directly via .ini file through new commands.

The dynamic particles is a thing that is still in study: I did the growing particle effect with jarvis dll but it was quite hard and quite difficult to generalize, so I'll see if I can make a general setup for this effect and will get back to you!

 

[Cizurator]

To be honest, Jarvis was my inspiration for these changing particles.

---------- Post added 16-10-15 at 11:55 ---------- Previous post was 15-10-15 at 23:41 ----------

Finally, both MFD and HUD are working. Here's what a view from the finished cockpit looks like:

Edit: HUD vertically stretched to avoid data deformation (compare with picture above)

 

[fred18]

Does spacecraft3 work with orbiter beta?

 

[Cizurator]

It does, perfectly. At least on v.111105.

 

[Cizurator]

Small update:
Custom sounds of main engine and interior are finished. Reentry and landing tests are still underway to find out optimal landing trajectory profile. At this point I have divided the development into two variants: DV - dockable variant (Munin) and PV - payload variant (Hugin).

I'm thinking about creating some custom payloads - an extra fuel tank (for both PV and DV), a scientific platform (for the PV) or a small space lab (for the PV).

Munin showing it's docking adapter and manipulator arm:

---------- Post added at 22:37 ---------- Previous post was at 15:50 ----------

Edit: There will be three configurations after all. My intent is to overcome possible complications with additional fuel transfer. The current docking adapter will be shortened to save some more space for payload.

PV (payload variant), represented by Munin, payload bay is available for up to 2,5 tons of cargo

DV (dockable variant), represented by Hugin, payload bay partially occupied by docking adapter. The rest can take up to 1,5 tons of cargo

DEV (dockable endurant variant), represented by Sleipnir, payload bay occupied by docking adapter and additional fuel tank with 1,5 tons of fuel and oxidizer.

 

[Cizurator]

Does spacecraft3 work with orbiter beta?

I forgot about one little thing: I dont know if it's just my case, but now since i use the beta, i have to deactivate NumLock, when i want to trigger animations or to control the RMS.

---------- Post added at 20:19 ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 ----------

Here's the first custom payload for PV Hugin: Modular Space Laboratory "Newton" with animated antenna. MSL Newton expands scientific capacity of LEO missions. In its purpose it's similar to the Spacelab. It's not designed for autonomous flight, so it flies and lands with the shuttle.

 

[K_Jameson]

A thing that I don't like is the cargo bay so far back. Seems that you haven't left enough space in the aft compartment for fuel tanks and all the equipments related to the propulsion. Also, I think that the cargo bay should be centered in order to not modify excessively the balance of the spacecraft when full/empty.
Only a feeling... sorry for the criticism.

 

[Cizurator]

A thing that I don't like is the cargo bay so far back. Seems that you haven't left enough space in the aft compartment for fuel tanks and all the equipments related to the propulsion. Also, I think that the cargo bay should be centered in order to not modify excessively the balance of the spacecraft when full/empty.
Only a feeling... sorry for the criticism.

Don't be sorry for any criticism

There are some differences of configuration from the Space Shuttle, that compensate the problems you've described. Space Shuttle's payload needs to be centered, because it's maximum mass is relatively large in comparison to the rest of the shuttle. Corvus payload bay is relatively shallow, but it can take only maximum of 2500kg of payload. That's not very much in consideration to mass of the rest of the shuttle (17 tons incl. fuel) and in consideration to payload bay dimensions: ( roughly: length 5.8m, front width 2m, rear width 3m, front height 1.5m, rear heigth 2m.), The shuttle fits well for deplyoing rather lightweight, yet relatively expansive payloads.

The next thing is, that the rear part is limited to engines, some fuel lines, two RCS clusters, radiators and a braking chute casing. Two tons of fuel are located right below the rear end of payload bay (behind main landing gears).

Here's a quick look inside, that i made up in five minutes

The green part is crew's compartment, the blue represents the payload bay. The red represents the instrumentation or life support systems, the yellow represents the fuel tanks section, and the purple stands for engine and parachute compartment.

 

[Cizurator]

Another payload for Hugin: Astro-3 ultraviolet telescope, inspired by Astro-1 and Astro-2 telescopes for the Space Shuttle. Just like the Newton, it's a very simple sc3-based payload, designed for a short flight inside the payload bay.

 

[Cizurator]

This time a special payload for Munin: a reusable resupply container "Liberty" for 1.5 tons of (fictional) supplies to LEO. Unlike the MPLM, this container is connected with the docking adapter, so there is no need (and actually no way) to dock it directly to the station. It is also possible to transport material back to Earth, or to stuff the container with (fictional) waste and release it before reentry. It's named it after the famous Liberty class cargo ship from WW2.

 

[K_Jameson]

It's named it after the famous Liberty class cargo ship from WW2.

Brilliant citation!!