Problem Boosters not sitting vertical in Orbiter 2016

[llarian]

I usually don't try to fly unmanned boosters, but decided to give it a shot. I had chosen to try to fly a Delta IV Heavy out of Vandenberg. When I first loaded the applicable addons and scenarios, I noticed that the booster was actually sitting below the surface at a considerable angle from vertical.

I know this is not unusual at first and do remember some discussion of it on the forum. When I tried to run a search for the condition, it come up with just about everything except what I was looking for. While I would like advice on how to adjust the problem, could anyone link me to the relevant posts, please?

Oh, yes. I'm running Orbiter 2016, D3D9.

Regards

 

[gattispilot]

So you are running 2016 but is the add on for 2016?

 

[llarian]

Delta IV Launch Vehicles 3.0 (for Orbiter 2010)
Multistage 2015 for Orbiter 2016
Vandenberg Air Force Base v.2.5 (Orbiter 2010)
EarthHi_11_05 (West Coast terrain addon)
Fred18's area flattening experiment.

Yes, I understand the problems of mix 'n match between 2010 and 2016 but I thought I remembered someone coming up with a solution to the booster orientation problem ... just can't find it. The mix of addons I'm using is probably contributing to my problem. Perhaps a recommendation of other addons to use instead?

Regards

Just a bare bones to give it a try.

So you are running 2016 but is the add on for 2016?

 

[Urwumpe]

The trick is remembering that Earth is no longer flat. You need to flatten the surface base or use a launch platform.

 

[4throck]

Fred18's area flattening won't solve the problem with 2010 addons. Those don't have the needed landing point information.


So don't bother with 2010 stuff, it's a dead end.
Your best bet is to use Multistage2016 and recreate the rockets there.

 

[Urwumpe]

Fred18's area flattening won't solve the problem with 2010 addons. Those don't have the needed landing point information.


So don't bother with 2010 stuff, it's a dead end.
Your best bet is to use Multistage2016 and recreate the rockets there.

Well - we COULD, in theory, create a generic auto-leveling launch pad that fixes that. (Of course, it would have to be an ACME auto-leveling launch pad.)

Just specify the name of the vessel to connect to and the z-offset to fit, and it creates the necessary attachment points on the fly.

Releasing could be automatic by +Z-thrust force exceeding the weight force by 10%

 

[gattispilot]

I suppose you would need to be able to adjust the height of the pad also. I know you can in the scn.

 

[martins]

Well - we COULD, in theory, create a generic auto-leveling launch pad that fixes that. (Of course, it would have to be an ACME auto-leveling launch pad.)

Just specify the name of the vessel to connect to and the z-offset to fit, and it creates the necessary attachment points on the fly.

Releasing could be automatic by +Z-thrust force exceeding the weight force by 10%

You mean a tiltable platform that auto-adjusts to keep any launch stack put on it vertical, no matter its mass distribution (ideally without sliding off)? That sounds like a cool project!

Although in practice I suspect it would still be more efficient to adjust the touchdown points and suspensions of the individual launch stacks instead of compensating by tilting the platform.

So in answer to the question of the OP: If you find that your launch stack is leaning over even on level ground due to its touchdown point configuration and/or suspension characteristics, a quick fix is to find a slope with just the correct gradient to correct for it, and launch from there :thumbup:

(You might still need to increase the friction coefficients of the touchdown points to prevent the launcher from sliding downhill though ...)

 

[Urwumpe]

You mean a tiltable platform that auto-adjusts to keep any launch stack put on it vertical, no matter its mass distribution (ideally without sliding off)? That sounds like a cool project!

Well, I wanted to cheat a lot there. :lol:


It should be just for making 2010 legacy vessels work without requiring recompiling them for 2016. Most spacecraft3 or earlier vessels should be easy to port to 2016, easier than making such a properly balancing platform.



That would be a better project for the Raspberry Pi thread. :hmm:

 

[fred18]

Well - we COULD, in theory, create a generic auto-leveling launch pad that fixes that. (Of course, it would have to be an ACME auto-leveling launch pad.)

Just specify the name of the vessel to connect to and the z-offset to fit, and it creates the necessary attachment points on the fly.

Releasing could be automatic by +Z-thrust force exceeding the weight force by 10%

When I developed MS2015 for Orbiter 2016 I still didn't know a lot of things about the touchdown points. If I am not wrong I never changed the launchpad procedure, so basically this is EXACTLY how Ms2015 dealt with the issue.

Today I would do it differently, but that's a long book that I could write...

 

[4throck]

(You might still need to increase the friction coefficients of the touchdown points to prevent the launcher from sliding downhill though ...)

Those parameters can't be specified on the vessel .cfg

So the user has no way of adding them


Only older style non working touchdown points are supported on 2016's cfgs :lol: