OHM Falcon9 for Orbiter2016

[BrianJ]

Just came across some nice video of Mr.Steven maneuvering....pretty nippy forwards or reverse.

 

[BrianJ]

Update v.180930 on OH:
Added Crew Access Arm to LC39A.
Small cosmetic changes to Upper Stage engine.
Post Upper Stage burn LOX vent.

You will need the latest"LC39A SpaceX" v.180930 for the Crew Access Arm to sit correctly on the FSS tower.
Crew Access Arm can be removed by pressing N from "Strongback" cockpit, or adding

ARMVIS 1

to scenario "Strongback" vessel entry.

Cheers,
BrianJ

 

[Interceptor]

Thanks Brian.

 

[pappy2]

Hello Brian
still very nice work

Following your last update with the crew bridge
an update of your ADDON "Crew Dragon for Orbiter2016"
and it necessary ?



Because I can not find the keyboard key combination to put the gateway on the dragon capsule

 

[BrianJ]

Hello Brian
still very nice work

Following your last update with the crew bridge
an update of your ADDON "Crew Dragon for Orbiter2016"
and it necessary ?

Because I can not find the keyboard key combination to put the gateway on the dragon capsule

Thanks
There is no update for "Crew Dragon for Orbiter2016" (nothing new required for using the Crew Access Arm).

The Crew Access Arm is part of the LC39A "Strongback" vessel.
Arm is automatically retracted when "Strongback" is lowered.
Ensure "Strongback" is raised, press B to rotate Crew Access Arm.

I think maybe I will disable the automatic retract function in future, it's uneccesary and confusing.

Cheers,
BrianJ

 

[pappy2]

Thanks Brian, :thumbup:

In fact "Strongback" was already removed from the Falcon9 ready for launch ! :blink:
So the gateway can not get back into place....It's logic :facepalm:

 

[barrygolden]

Hey Brian. really super job again but the strongback and access arm seem to move forward at T-0 then the Falcon takes off ?

 

[BrianJ]

Hi Barry,
I never had that problem - do you have "Attachment Manager" (or similar module) enabled in the modules list? That will cause problems like that, sometimes.
Disable the module, if so.

Otherwise, run the scenario where the Strongback moves, exit and post your orbiter.log.

P.S. I put the upper stage post-burn venting on for you ;-)

Cheers,
Brian

 

[4throck]

Had great fun yesterday flying the Crew Dragon to the ISS. The launchpad and rocket are detailed and great to fly. :thumbup:


I docked using the external view and the camera position is WAY off.

It needs to be moved a few meters back.





The boat was a nice surprise. Didn't manage to catch the fairings, but got close to a few meters



:tiphat:

 

[BrianJ]

Hi,

I docked using the external view and the camera position is WAY off.
It needs to be moved a few meters back.

Yes, a quick solution for a clear view forwards.
I'll fix it next update

 

[barrygolden]

Yes I think I have the attachment manager on.

We are working on getting Venture Star to work in 2016 and might need little help

 

[turtle91]

Btw...attachments:
Is it possible to implement the "P"-feature in the strongback ?
So we could have the ability to launch multiple Falcons without re-loading the scenario.

"P-feature", like in the Falcon:
-switching to strongback-vessel
-hitting "p"
-vessel will ask for a name and will attach the named-rocket (+reset its state)

...just an idea....

 

[BrianJ]

Btw...attachments:
Is it possible to implement the "P"-feature in the strongback ?
So we could have the ability to launch multiple Falcons without re-loading the scenario.

"P-feature", like in the Falcon:
-switching to strongback-vessel
-hitting "p"
-vessel will ask for a name and will attach the named-rocket (+reset its state)

...just an idea....

I can probably do that.
However, I'm not sure the Falcon9 will behave well if spawned by the Scenario Editor already in orbit!


But you could have an extra Falcon9 already stored somewhere (SpaceX hangar?), then put it on the pad when you're ready, using the "P-feature".
Would that work for you?


Remember that you need a separate .dll for each Falcon9 in the scenario - see the "Multiple Launchers" section in the manual.



Cheers,
Brian

EDIT: Ah! It turns out that you CAN spawn a Falcon9 in orbit, no problem.
So, I'll add that P-feature as requested, in the next update

Remember, you still need a separate .cfg and .dll for each Falcon9.

 

[turtle91]

>However, I'm not sure the Falcon9 will behave well if spawned by the Scenario Editor already in orbit!

I tried this already many times, even with Orbiter 2010.
I used the Dragon-variants, so I am not sure how the fairings will behave when spawned in orbit.

The trick I use to i.e. spawn a Cargo-Dragon:
- pause Orbiter
-spawn Dragin via SCN-Editor
-put on ground (i.e. KSC pad 1, or use the strongback's coordinates
-un-pause Orbiter
-use "P" to attach new created Dragon on the Falcon

I guess to spawn a Falcon9 with fairings, it would be best to put Orbiter on "pause-mode", like I do with the Cargo-Dragon.

>Remember that you need a separate .dll for each Falcon9 in the scenario
It's ok for me to have just one active Falcon at the same time in the running SCN
When not needed any more, I would delete it via SCN-edit..and would spawn another one.

 

[Zach121k]

Has LZ-1 Been Updated to the IRL layout?

 

[BrianJ]

I'm not great at making surface tiles, but I think I've got a workable result for the LZ-1 area. Need to re-work the landing pads, pad scenario entries, and elevation tiles, for compatibility. See if I can get it done later today

 

[ZacharyS41]

Has LZ-1 Been Updated to the IRL layout?

If you download Kyle's SpaceX Mission Package, it includes an IRL layout of LZ-1. Should you download BrianJ's addon and then Kyle's addon, the latter's version will overwrite the former.

 

[BrianJ]

Update v.181007 on OH:

Added "Attach Vessel" function to launch pads.
(Press P for dialogue box, enter vessel name)

LC39A Crew Access Arm can be moved whether strongback is engaged or not.

Max-Q throttle-down reinstated to autopilot.

Surface tiles for LZ-1 area added.

LZ Landing pad mesh can be rendered invisible(press N or add PADVIS 1 to scenario vessel entry)

 

[Zach121k]

If you download Kyle's SpaceX Mission Package, it includes an IRL layout of LZ-1. Should you download BrianJ's addon and then Kyle's addon, the latter's version will overwrite the former.

Will Try, Hope Rockets land correctly

 

[BrianJ]

....but I was wondering how @BrianJ managed to get the autopilot so incredible accurate (I mean it is doing the same burns at the same time as the original)? Did you just reverse-engineer the original SpaceX one from videos, or did you have some better source?

Thanks. I guess my "solution" to the problem of landing the 1st stage back on the ground has gradually converged towards the SpaceX solution, which is no doubt close to optimal.

Since SpaceX have not been forthcoming with much hard info about the specs and functions of the Falcon9, I have relied on estimated data from Spaceflight101 (which concurs with most other websites) and comments dropped at press conferences etc., as well as watching the launch videos.

Apart from that, this old 1962 Ministry of Aviation paper "Minimum Energy Ballistic Trajectories Over A Non-Rotating Earth", was a help figuring the boostback flight vector.

The rest of it is put together from whatever I still remember from High School maths and physics :-D

Watching the SAOCOM launch video, I note the 1st stage came down a bit slower than the add-on, and the upper stage burned a bit longer, but otherwise the timings are pretty close. Which is nice

Cheers,
BrianJ