OHM Falcon 9 - Dragon spacecraft

[Jamesep3]

Mine works fine. If only I could learn how to pilot it better:lol:

 

[Kyle]

I've already sent my Dragon to the moon..

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

I just tried this.

In Orbiter 2006, the launcher is invisible, as previously mentioned.

In Orbiter 2010, the launcher is visible. As previously mentioned, I get a CTD if I press F after 1st stage jettison. Also, just after liftoff, the launch pad appears to suddenly change its orientation.

Great add-on though! :thumbup:

 

[IronRain]

I just tried this.

In Orbiter 2006, the launcher is invisible, as previously mentioned.

In Orbiter 2010, the launcher is visible. As previously mentioned, I get a CTD if I press F after 1st stage jettison. Also, just after liftoff, the launch pad appears to suddenly change its orientation.

Great add-on though! :thumbup:

Why do you press F? that's not necessary is it?

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Why do you press F? that's not necessary is it?

No, I just pressed it to see what would happen.

 

[Woo482]

I think I might have found a bug, whenever I add a second Dragon capsule to the scenario with the editor it doesn't show it's mesh or function properly, though the HUD text shows fine, which is pretty weird

 

[francisdrake]

I was waiting for this addon, and it turned out to be very well worth the wait! The quality of the model is amazing, from the engines to the fine exterior and interior details. I especially like the glowing-hot 2nd stage nozzle, looks very much like the real thing shown by the onboard cameras.
Also the on-orbit animations and the glowing heat shield during reentry look great!

A few feedback notes as I noted them in chronical order during the flight:

A short documentation (text file) would be nice, just list the keys and maybe the reentry attitude heads-down

Falcon:
No engine sound in first stage. Probably a user thruster is used (not the 'main' thrustergroup). I suggest either to use the main thrustergroup, or make a dummy main thrustergroup with very little thrust, with its thruster level slaved to the user thruster. (If Orbitersound detects a main thrustergroup, it will play the sound depending on its thruster level).

Launch orientation 'sideways' seems somewhat unlikely for a crewed mission. Probably launch attitude would rather be in a heads-down orientation (?).

Vessel center is at the engines (allowing a nice zoom-in on the engines).
Personally I would prefer to have the vessel center at the approximate mass center (somewhere in the middle of the vessel).

Dragon:
It seems to be too agile around the roll axis. Either the moment of inertia around the x-axis should be higher, or use only 2 roll thrusters on opposing sides (not all 4).

Please add the linear forward and backward attitude thrusters, so there is a full set of rot/lin thrusters, even if they are just another representation of the already existing main and retro thrusters.

Thanks for this great addon! :thumbup:

---------- Post added 07-29-10 at 08:37 AM ---------- Previous post was 07-28-10 at 11:41 PM ----------

Just a thought that came to me during orbital maneuvers to catch up with the ISS:

Because of the thruster placement in the capsule, the forward thrusters are angled outward. Forward thrust is lost according to the cosine of this outward angle. Assuming an angle of 30°, the effectiveness of the thruster is only cos (30°) = 0,87.

It is more fuel efficient to use the backward thrusters for orbital maneuvers, as their axes are parallel to the ships longitudinal axis.
This just requires all orbit changing maneuvers to be done in backward orientation.

I assume this is how SpaceX intends their capsule to be flown, and this is why there are two additional backward thrusters.
It might be worth to consider Dragons main thruster definiton being reversed, using the backward thrusters as main engines.

The linear RCS could be left unchanged (forward stays forward), as it is used for docking only. In this layout the retro thrusters should be deleted, to avoid confusion.

 

[Iberville]

The quality of the model is amazing, from the engines to the fine exterior and interior details.

Is it possible to have an interior view with a virtual cockpit? If I press F8, I can't seem to be able to see that.

 

[Glider]

Falcon:
No engine sound in first stage. Probably a user thruster is used (not the 'main' thrustergroup). I suggest either to use the main thrustergroup, or make a dummy main thrustergroup with very little thrust, with its thruster level slaved to the user thruster. (If Orbitersound detects a main thrustergroup, it will play the sound depending on its thruster level).

OK. I never used OrbiterSound, so I didn't know that it adds a sound to main thruster group.

Because of the thruster placement in the capsule, the forward thrusters are angled outward. Forward thrust is lost according to the cosine of this outward angle. Assuming an angle of 30°, the effectiveness of the thruster is only cos (30°) = 0,87.

.....

The linear RCS could be left unchanged (forward stays forward), as it is used for docking only. In this layout the retro thrusters should be deleted, to avoid confusion.

I'll do it, but may be retro thrusters should be remained instead of main because of their thrust direction (I think that it will emphasize opposite orientations for all orbital manoeuvres)?

In Orbiter 2006, the launcher is invisible, as previously mentioned.

It's not a bug. I already wrote that this addon is incompatible with 2006P1.(dlls was compiled for 2010 version and will not work with 2006P1)

The quality of the model is amazing, from the engines to the fine exterior and interior details.

Is it possible to have an interior view with a virtual cockpit? If I press F8, I can't seem to be able to see that.

It is possible, but I don't think that a VC would be useful, because the capsule has only small illuminators and simple interior.

 

[francisdrake]

quote:
The linear RCS could be left unchanged (forward stays forward), as it is used for docking only. ...

I'll do it, but may be retro thrusters should be remained instead of main because of their thrust direction
(I think that it will emphasize opposite orientations for all orbital manoeuvres)?
/quote

I understand that the retro thrusters are probably the better choice for backward thrusters. Otherwise users might get confused.
____

One other comment:
Some of the Shift-Key combinations are intercepted (for example Shift-P, Shift-S). I would suggest to use other key combos, as Shift-Keys should be reserved for MFD control. (Shift-P for example changes the orbital projection, Shift-S calls the Surface-MFD).

 

[korolevspace]

Remarks: SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft

Hi everyone. I just downloaded the Falcon 9 spacecraft on July 29, 2010. Everything seems to be working fine, including the launch tower and payload animations. However I did found some problems. First is the input of the launch and orbit parameters. Every time I type in the perigee of the orbit it doesn't respond. So if there are no launch and orbit parameters set the autopilot won't work, would it?

The second problem was the performance of the second stage. (I flew the rocket without the autopilot). When the first stage separated the second stage ignited as usual. However, when the second stage burned all of its propellant, the craft was not in orbit, instead, in a ballistic trajectory. Could you help bump up the performance of the second stage rocket? I would appreciate that.

The third problem was the airlock. When I pressed the shortcut 'A', for the airlock, it instead opened the cabin hatch (for the manned version) and all the cabin oxygen would have gone out of the cabin. I'm not sure if the docking port doubles as an airlock, but I'm pretty sure that it won't be appropriate if the cabin hatch opened in the vacuum of space.

I would be appreciated if you would make those changes. Also, I'm questioning that is there a virtual 3D cockpit for the manned version? I would appreciate that as well.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I've finally gotten 'round to deorbiting the Dragon, and have come across something odd. When the re-entry flames start, the capsule becomes transparent. I've tried multiple re-entry profiles (to see if perhaps I was burning the crew), but no matter how steep or shallow I come it, the same thing happens. If I get time again later I'll post a screen shot.

Other than that, this thing is a beauty. I like the 'chutes opening on their own too, I got called away from the computer and when I came back I expected to catch it just in time to slam into the surface, but was amazed as the capsule was gently wafting down under the main 'chutes.

I also had the same problem mentioned above with entering the launch parameters. Pressing either enter key yeilded no results, but, hitting [Esc] would clear the screen, and [L] would bring up the next parameter to be entered. A little clunky, but it still worked.

 

[silent_protagonist]

Fisrt off I have to say that I'm really impressed with this addon, the attention to detail that you've put in is amazing. :thumbup:

A few notes:

I've noticed that the silent 1st stage issue only shows up if you use the autopilot to launch; if you do a manual launch (or if your jittery joystick throttle does one for you ) it makes sound like normal.

All of the vehicle meshes seem to be rotated 45 degrees, such that if you set the prograde or hlevel autopilots the solar panels, hatch, etc are at an angle to the horizon. This is also true of the aerodynamic settings of the reentry capsule; I found I had to hold a 45 degree bank (wrt the cockpit view) during reentry to maintain positive aoa and zero bank (wrt the natural attitude of the capsule). I don't know if this is intentional or not, but it seemed a little weird...

The textures for the heat shield and heating effect seem to be backwards. During reentry, holding a positive aoa/heads down attitude (with the aforementioned bank), the "hottest" part of the heat shield is the lower/trailing edge; afaik the leading edge should get the hottest during this type of reentry. The pattern on the unburnt heat shield seems to be correspondingly upsidedown.

Hi everyone. I just downloaded the Falcon 9 spacecraft on July 29, 2010. Everything seems to be working fine, including the launch tower and payload animations. However I did found some problems. First is the input of the launch and orbit parameters. Every time I type in the perigee of the orbit it doesn't respond. So if there are no launch and orbit parameters set the autopilot won't work, would it?

The second problem was the performance of the second stage. (I flew the rocket without the autopilot). When the first stage separated the second stage ignited as usual. However, when the second stage burned all of its propellant, the craft was not in orbit, instead, in a ballistic trajectory. Could you help bump up the performance of the second stage rocket? I would appreciate that.

I had the same trouble with the autopilot, it seems to not except values close to the edges of the range (i.e. perigees around 100km, etc), and even if it does accept the perigee alt, if it's too low it won't hit the specified orbit correctly. Try putting in 150km and 250km, respectively, I've found that works pretty reliably and makes for a nice initial orbit.

 

[Glider]

Hi everyone. I just downloaded the Falcon 9 spacecraft on July 29, 2010. Everything seems to be working fine, including the launch tower and payload animations. However I did found some problems. First is the input of the launch and orbit parameters. Every time I type in the perigee of the orbit it doesn't respond. So if there are no launch and orbit parameters set the autopilot won't work, would it?

Do you input an integer more than 100 and less than 200 ? (other values isn't allowed) Example 125 or 145.(without points)

Conditions for launch parameters to be accepted (only integers allowed):
100 < PRG < 200
100 < APG
0 < Launch heading < 180

The second problem was the performance of the second stage. (I flew the rocket without the autopilot). When the first stage separated the second stage ignited as usual. However, when the second stage burned all of its propellant, the craft was not in orbit, instead, in a ballistic trajectory. Could you help bump up the performance of the second stage rocket? I would appreciate that.

It was on ballistic trajectory because you used inefficient launch trajectory. Autopilot can achieve stable 130/350 km orbit with ~1000 kg of remaining fuel.

The third problem was the airlock. When I pressed the shortcut 'A', for the airlock, it instead opened the cabin hatch (for the manned version) and all the cabin oxygen would have gone out of the cabin. I'm not sure if the docking port doubles as an airlock, but I'm pretty sure that it won't be appropriate if the cabin hatch opened in the vacuum of space.

The docking port doesn't doubles as an airlock. In both cases, the cabin must be depressurised to allow an EVA. It was so also in Apollo spacecraft (that had similar design) and in Lunar module. Dragon is a small spaceship without airlock.(real Dragon probably will not be designed to do EVA. only crew and cargo transport to ISS)

All of the vehicle meshes seem to be rotated 45 degrees, such that if you set the prograde or hlevel autopilots the solar panels, hatch, etc are at an angle to the horizon. This is also true of the aerodynamic settings of the reentry capsule; I found I had to hold a 45 degree bank (wrt the cockpit view) during reentry to maintain positive aoa and zero bank (wrt the natural attitude of the capsule). I don't know if this is intentional or not, but it seemed a little weird...

Yes, all meshes is rotated 43.53 degrees around z-axis. It is intensional. (it allows thrust vectors produced by att engines in linear mode to be directly on y and x axis)The proper orientation during re-entry is when capsule's hatch is in upper position and parachute cover is at lower.( because lift vector direction is from center of capsule to the capsule's hatch )

 

[francisdrake]

I put a few pictures of the Falcon 9 and Dragon in flight in the screenshot thread:
http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=202896#post202896

Here just one example:

 

[kerlix]

Good add-on. The only things I think need work have already been mentioned. First stage sound and a better ascent guidance program to make it a little less wobbly. Other than that, very nice work.

 

[ryandtw]

For some reason pressing F after the first stage is jettisoned causes a CTD.
Here is the orbiter log I have no plugins enabled except orbiter sound

**** Orbiter.log
Build Jun  6 2010 [v.100606]
Timer precision: 2.79365e-007 sec
Found 0 joystick(s)
Devices enumerated: 3
Devices accepted: 3
==> RGB Emulation
==> Direct3D HAL
==> Direct3D T&L HAL
Module AtlantisConfig.dll .... [Build 100606, API 100606]
Module AtmConfig.dll ......... [Build 100606, API 100606]
Module DGConfigurator.dll .... [Build 100606, API 100606]
Module AbsoluteKillrot.dll ... [Build ******, API 060425]
Module InterMFD54.dll ........ [Build 100616, API 100603]
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> WARNING: Obsolete API function used: oapiRegisterMFDMode
At least one active module is accessing an obsolete interface function.
Addons which rely on obsolete functions may not be compatible with
future versions of Orbiter.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Module OrbiterSound.dll ...... [Build ******, API 060425]
Module ScnEditor.dll ......... [Build 100606, API 100606]
Module transx.dll ............ [Build 100528, API 100527]
Module LaunchMFD.dll ......... [Build 100609, API 100606]
Module AutopilotMFD.dll ...... [Build ******, API 050206]
Module ReleaseMFD-Mouse.dll .. [Build ******, API 060425]
Module OrbiterSound.dll ...... [Build ******, API 060425]

**** Creating simulation session
DirectDraw interface OK
Direct3D interface OK
Graphics: Viewport: Window 1274 x 928 x 32
Graphics: Hardware T&L capability: Yes
Graphics: Z-buffer depth: 32 bit
Graphics: Stencil buffer depth: 8 bit
Loading 112519 records from star database
Module Sun.dll ............... [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(E) Sun: Precision 1e-006, Terms 554/6634
Module Mercury.dll ........... [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(B) Mercury: Precision 1e-005, Terms 167/7123
Module Venus.dll ............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
Module VenusAtm2006.dll ...... [Build 100606, API 100606]
VSOP87(B) Venus: Precision 1e-005, Terms 79/1710
Module Earth.dll ............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
Module EarthAtm2006.dll ...... [Build 100606, API 100606]
VSOP87(B) Earth: Precision 1e-008, Terms 2564/2564
Module Moon.dll .............. [Build 100217, API 100215]
ELP82: Precision 1e-005, Terms 116/829
Module Mars.dll .............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
Module MarsAtm2006.dll ....... [Build 100606, API 100606]
VSOP87(B) Mars: Precision 1e-005, Terms 405/6400
Module Phobos.dll ............ [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Deimos.dll ............ [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Galsat.dll ............ [Build 100217, API 100215]
Module Jupiter.dll ........... [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(B) Jupiter: Precision 1e-006, Terms 1624/3625
Module Io.dll ................ [Build 100217, API 100215]
Module Europa.dll ............ [Build 100217, API 100215]
Module Ganymede.dll .......... [Build 100217, API 100215]
Module Callisto.dll .......... [Build 100217, API 100215]
Module Satsat.dll ............ [Build 100215, API 100212]
Module Saturn.dll ............ [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(B) Saturn: Precision 1e-006, Terms 2904/6365
Module Mimas.dll ............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Mimas: Terms 113
Module Enceladus.dll ......... [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Enceladus: Terms 33
Module Tethys.dll ............ [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Tethys: Terms 101
Module Dione.dll ............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Dione: Terms 59
Module Rhea.dll .............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Rhea: Terms 68
Module Titan.dll ............. [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Titan: Terms 100
Module Iapetus.dll ........... [Build 100215, API 100212]
SATSAT Iapetus: Terms 605
Module Uranus.dll ............ [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(B) Uranus: Precision 1e-006, Terms 1827/5269
Module Miranda.dll ........... [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Ariel.dll ............. [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Umbriel.dll ........... [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Titania.dll ........... [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Oberon.dll ............ [Build ******, API 060425]
Module Neptune.dll ........... [Build 100215, API 100212]
VSOP87(B) Neptune: Precision 1e-006, Terms 391/2024
Finished initialising world
Module SpaceX.dll ............ [Build 100723, API 100606]
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: side2.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: DDraw error DDERR_INVALIDPARAMS
>>> [ReadDDSSurface | .\Texture.cpp | 240]
---------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: TextureManager::LoadTexture|ReadDDSSurface (code: -2147024809)
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: SpaceX_0.7\wires2.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: SILVER_F.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
**** WARNING: Mesh not found: .\Meshes\SpaceX_0.7\f9_1st_stg_p_cover.msh
**** WARNING: Mesh not found: .\Meshes\SpaceX_0.7\f9_1st_stg_ps.msh
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: PANEL.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: SILVER_F.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
Module LC40.dll .............. [Build 100723, API 100606]
Finished initialising status
Finished initialising camera
Finished initialising panels
Finished setting up render state
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: side2.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: DDraw error DDERR_INVALIDPARAMS
>>> [ReadDDSSurface | .\Texture.cpp | 240]
---------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: TextureManager::LoadTexture|ReadDDSSurface (code: -2147024809)
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: SpaceX_0.7\wires2.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ERROR: Missing texture: SILVER_F.dds
>>> [TextureManager::AcquireTexture | .\Texture.cpp | 750]
---------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, me too...

 

[squeaky024]

Is there a way to load this attached to the rocket with scenario editor? If so how would I do this, all I can load is invisible parts.

 

[paleto]

Me too have problem with textures.

 

[astrosammy]

Great add-on. I used the sounds of the COTS 1 launch to have engine sounds and it just was amazing. I was able to get to my own space station in a 1000x1000 km, 28° orbit.

But the aerodynamic model of the Dragon capsule seems to be wrong. When it reenters this way,

it has much higher lift than here:

But shouldn't the bottom picture have higher lift? It's like moving the nose of an aircraft down to fly up...

Also it would be nice if the mesh could be rotated for reentry. You don't need translational thruster for it, and it would make the capsule easier to fly.