Gaming Hatsunese Space Program in KSP with Real Solar System/Realism Overhaul

[Pipcard]

[OUTDATED - new version here]

Recently, I have started to do a playthrough of Hatsunia's space development history in Kerbal Space Program.

This is basically going to be my personal VSA (virtual space program) with a structured career.

I used these mods in particular (but they are not the only ones, I also use mods like Procedural Parts and Kerbal Construction Time):

• Real Solar System (which replaces the default tiny alien solar system with our own)
• Realism Overhaul (which adds realistic propellants and engine behavior)
• Realistic Progression 1 (which adds a career mode, a.k.a. RP-1)

However, RP-1's career progression seeks to emulate a "superpower" (US/USSR) space program, and the tech tree expects you to collect the science points from sending humans to the Moon in the 1960s. Since the Hatsunese Space Program is more like a "great power" space program, I might have to cheat with the science points just to unlock the parts representing later decades.

Negishima Space Center (I edited EarthHeight.dds and EarthSurface.dds):

Launch of the Negi-A sounding rocket on 1956-08-31:

(for in-game captions, I am using the "Kerbal Historian" mod)

Diameter: 339 mm
Height: 7.1 m
Wet mass: 958 kg (no payload)
Dry mass: 213 kg (no payload)
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s
Thrust: 28.2 kN
Burn time: 57 s

It reached a height of 307 km:

The Negi-A was launched 9 times between 1956-08-31 and 1957-07-09, and carried a thermometer and barometer.

Kerbal Construction Time simulates the time it takes to build and roll out a rocket. For Negi-A, it only takes 8 days to build, but I assumed 39 days between launches because a rocketry program like Japan or the UK at the time did not launch that often.

Sounding rocket mission contracts in RP-1 work like this: you send a specified amount of "sounding rocket payload" (SRP, which is treated as a resource loaded into pressurized tanks) to a certain altitude.

The 8th flight of Negi-A carried 345 SRP, which means that it carried 345 liters of sounding rocket payload. SRP always has a density of 0.5 kg per liter. I used a modular payload container system in which each segment contains 30 liters.

The Negi-B sounding rocket was prepared for the International Geophysical Year.

Diameter: 539 mm
Height: 9.7 m
Wet mass: 3191 kg (no payload)
Dry mass: 609 kg (no payload)
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s
Thrust: 93.9 kN
Burn time: 59.3 s

It launched five times between 1957-08-31 and 1958-04-11.

Its first launch carried an Ion Mass Spectrometer to analyze the composition of the upper atmosphere.

IMS = Ion Mass Spectrometer, Bio = Biological payload, (R) = Payload recovered with parachutes

The payload was recovered via parachutes.

The second launch had a biological payload: several mice with life support equipment.

The third launch sent 275 kg of payload over 100 km.

 

[Pipcard]

Negi-C was a two-stage sounding rocket, first launched on 1958-05-17 with a Geiger-Müller Counter. It was essentially a Negi-A stacked on top of a Negi-B.

Total wet mass: 4137 kg (with no payload)
Height: 16.2 m (assuming three modular 100 L containers)

1st stage diameter: 539 mm
1st stage wet mass: 3141 kg
1st stage dry mass: 560 kg
1st stage thrust: 93.9 kN
1st stage burn time: 59.3 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

2nd stage diameter: 339 mm
2nd stage wet mass: 996 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 251 kg
2nd stage thrust: 28.2 kN
2nd stage burn time: 57.0 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

The second launch (and all subsequent launches) used 100 L modular containers.

Negi-C launched twenty times from 1958-05-17 to 1958-12-10 (GMC = Geiger-Müller Counter)

Negi-D had a new upper stage with the same diameter as the lower stage and a vacuum-optimized nozzle. It was first launched on 1960-01-13.

Total wet mass: 4905 kg (with no payload)
Height: 14.5 m (assuming three modular 100 L containers)

1st stage diameter: 539 mm
1st stage wet mass: 3141 kg
1st stage dry mass: 560 kg
1st stage thrust: 93.9 kN
1st stage burn time: 59.3 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

2nd stage diameter: 539 mm
2nd stage wet mass: 1764 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 402 kg
2nd stage thrust: 53.9 kN
2nd stage burn time: 57.2 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

Negi-D launched sixteen times from 1960-01-13 to 1961-05-25.

Size comparison with the Kronal Vessel Viewer mod:

 

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The Negi-E sounding rocket had twice the diameter of its predecessor. It would become the first stage of an orbital launch vehicle.

Diameter: 1039 mm
Height: 14.6 m
Wet mass: 14661 kg (with no payload)
Dry mass: 2474 kg
Thrust: 539 kN
Burn time: 48.8 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

All flights carried a recoverable payload with a camera.

Negi-E launched four times from 1961-08-17 and 1962-04-26, carrying 1012.5 kg of payload with an additional 100 kg package containing a camera.

Negi-F added a second stage, which approximately doubled the apogee.

Total wet mass: 20725 kg (with no payload)
Height: 19.4 m

1st stage diameter: 1039 mm
1st stage wet mass: 14560 kg
1st stage dry mass: 2373 kg
1st stage thrust: 539 kN
1st stage burn time: 48.8 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

2nd stage diameter: 1039 mm
2nd stage wet mass: 6165 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 1102 kg
2nd stage thrust: 239 kN
2nd stage burn time: 47.9 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

Negi-F launched four times from 1962-07-17 and 1963-03-20.

On 1962-10-01, the Rocket Development Promotion Headquarters of the Hatsunia Science and Technology Agency was converted into a dedicated space program: the Hatsunia Aerospace Science and Development Agency, or HASDA. The first satellite was planned to be launched in late 1964.

Negi-G added a third stage, which didn't have as much of an effect on apogee as the second stage, but would serve as a crucial component in the upcoming orbital launcher.

Total wet mass: 22646 kg (with avionics and no payload)
Height: 21.5 m

1st stage diameter: 1039 mm
1st stage wet mass: 14560 kg
1st stage dry mass: 2373 kg
1st stage thrust: 539 kN
1st stage burn time: 48.8 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

2nd stage diameter: 1039 mm
2nd stage wet mass: 6065 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 1001 kg
2nd stage thrust: 239 kN
2nd stage burn time: 47.9 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

3rd stage diameter: 1039 mm
3rd stage wet mass: 2021 kg
3rd stage dry mass: 539 kg
3rd stage thrust: 83.9 kN
3rd stage burn time: 40.0 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

Negi-G launched five times from 1963-06-10 to 1964-05-23. The second launch (and all subsequent launches) implemented a guidance system, and was not spin-stabilized like previous sounding rockets. The extra mass of the avionics slightly lowered the maximum apogee.

1964-08-31 01:39:00 UTC - The first orbital launch of HASDA, in the same year in which the "bullet train" was introduced. Instead of modular payload-carrying tanks, there was a jettisonable payload fairing with the satellite, which would also act as the fourth stage.

Total wet mass: 22849 kg
Height: 19.4 m

1st stage diameter: 1039 mm
1st stage wet mass: 14560 kg
1st stage dry mass: 2373 kg
1st stage thrust: 539 kN
1st stage burn time: 48.8 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 220 s

2nd stage diameter: 1039 mm
2nd stage wet mass: 6065 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 1001 kg
2nd stage thrust: 239 kN
2nd stage burn time: 47.9 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

3rd stage diameter: 1039 mm
3rd stage wet mass: 2019 kg
3rd stage dry mass: 535 kg
3rd stage thrust: 83.9 kN
3rd stage burn time: 40.0 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

4th stage diameter: 350 mm
4th stage height: 1580 mm
4th stage wet mass: 193 kg
4th stage dry mass: 42 kg
4th stage thrust: 13.9 kN
4th stage burn time: 24.6 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 231 s

Fairing mass: 12 kg
_________________________

Second stage

The third stage carried liquid propellant tanks along with small thrusters on the sides. They would be used after burnout of the solid rocket motor.

The small thrusters were fueled by hydrazine, and were used to spin-stabilize the fourth stage prior to ignition.

The fourth stage ignited about 12 seconds before the apogee.

The satellite was called "HATSUNE" (High Altitude Test Satellite Utilizing New Experiments), orbiting with a perigee of 339 km and an apogee of 2522 km. It had a dry mass of 42 kg and carried instruments to detect micrometeorites and gravitational perturbations, along with telemetry equipment and a thermometer.

[The probe core is a custom mesh. Later, I noticed that there was a bug in which the burning sound would play if I loaded a vessel with a procedural SRB from the tracking station. No thrust was produced, but the orbit changed very slightly.]

Comparison of all the rockets so far. Hatsune Miku added for scale.

 

[Pipcard]

The Negi-2 launch vehicle first lifted off on 1965-03-09. It had a maximum capacity of 300 kg to a 250 km low Earth orbit (but most launches would involve using up to half of the capacity, and launching into a higher inclination).

Total wet mass: 52729 kg (assuming no payload)
Height: 22.9 m

1st stage diameter: 1.58 m
1st stage wet mass: 33634 kg
1st stage dry mass: 5451 kg
1st stage thrust: 1339 kN
1st stage burn time: 51.6 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 250 s

2nd stage diameter: 1.58 m
2nd stage wet mass: 14550 kg
2nd stage dry mass: 2844 kg
2nd stage thrust: 539 kN
2nd stage burn time: 56 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 263 s

3rd stage diameter: 1.58 m
3rd stage wet mass: 4329 kg
3rd stage dry mass: 542 kg
3rd stage thrust: 33.9 kN
3rd stage burn time: 4 m 58.5 s
Propellant: IRFNA/UDMH
Specific impulse: 272.5 s

(note: 3rd stage engine config is slightly modified from the AJ10-118-D)

4th stage diameter: 0.439 m
4th stage wet mass: 165 kg
4th stage dry mass: 81 kg
4th stage thrust: 13.9 kN
4th stage burn time: 15.6 s
Propellant: Solid
Specific impulse: 263 s

Fairing mass: 51 kg

Most of the stages used solid propellant...

...except for the third stage, which used a LE-S1 engine ("Liquid Engine - Storable propellant"). It had a thrust of 33.9 kN and a specific impulse of 272.5 s. UDMH (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) was the fuel, and IRFNA (inhibited red fuming nitric acid) was the oxidizer. (custom config based on AJ10-118D)

Fairing separation

Spin-stabilization prior to 4th stage ignition

The fourth stage was small, and was used for getting that last bit of delta-v to put the satellite into orbit.

The satellite was dubbed "Neginohana" (葱の花, green onion flower), and was an engineering test.
[analogous to "Kiku" (chrysanthemum), the imperial seal of Japan]

More launches would follow.

1965-10-12 - Tanryoku (淡緑, light green) was an engineering test satellite developed by students at the University of Miraito (light green being the school's official color)

1966-05-15 - Shinsei (新星, nova) analyzed the ionosphere and cosmic rays.

1966-12-07 - Ume (梅, plum) was another ionospheric analysis satellite.

1967-07-08 - Ajisai (紫陽花, hydrangea) was a geodetic satellite, measuring the shape of the Earth and its gravitational field.

List of HASDA's orbital launches so far. These would not be the only launches of Negi-2.
[I am making my own custom contract configs that better fit the launcher's capabilities]

Orbital paths around Earth

Negi-1 + 2 comparison