Project Mars Design Reference Mission 1

[markp]

Most probably will add the breathable area to see what it is like. The pressure in the greenhouse (if it was real) would be about 10 times lower than on Earth but I think with a pressure suit it might be possible to breathe there.

Hope all your other UMMU's are ok

 

[markp]

So some small developments.

Light fitted to greenhouse (BrianJ's spotlight addon)


RCS working on lander aeroshell


Put the deorbit engines on the backplate. There are doors that open in the backplate when the engines need to be used.

 

[markp]

Had a little problem on organising the breathing area for the greenhouse. I don't know how a breathing area can be programed into a dll so I have used a combination of a base, with a breathing area, and a dll based module (so in the future the greenhouse can have features added). The UMMU has to then unpack two boxes like shown in the pictures to build the greenhouse. It's probably more realistic approach because I don't think a large greenhouse could fit in one UCGO box!

 

[markp]

Added winds to the lander parachutes. Tests so far indicate about a 1 km deflection from the target. Requires a bit more fuel for the powered descent. However if a sounding rocket or balloon is sent up before a landing then you'll know what to expect and plan a better landing somehow ...

There is the option to switch the winds off. I may also add the ability to offset the coordinates of the target so the lander can adjust for the extra drag from the winds.

I have also added a basic reefing animation to the parachute. I understand this is used to keep parachutes partially open, during the initial deployment, to prevent too high forces acting on the canopy.







So I will update the documentation and hopefully it'll all be ready in a couple of weeks.

 

[cymrych]

How awesome! Parachutes with snivel built into their opening!

 

[markp]

Been chasing a few bugs with the updated autopilots. Maybe I have packed so much decision making into the landers they have become conscious! They occasionally decide to divert during powered descent. Not sure why. I'll have to check through these so it'll be a little while before I can release them into the wild.

Here is the result of a recent test landing at Olympus base using the Deltaglider as the target vessel for the autopilot.

 

[markp]

I have been testing the landing autopilots over the holidays at numerous sites on Mars. Seems to be working ok now. Also been trying out some launch scenarios from Earth and selecting a new landing site on Mars.

I have been using the Falcon XX launcher addon for launch tests
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=5442"]SpaceX launch vehicles and Dragon[/ame]

I have been using the "News textures for Martian landmarks" addon for selecting a landing site (makes existing meshes look much nicer).
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=5492"]New Textures for Martian Landmarks. PART 1[/ame]
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=5493"]New Textures for Martian Landmarks. PART 2[/ame]









The landing site shown in the third image down is Isidis Highlands. I've noted its location in the map with all the other locations of the meshes as well.

 

[Mattyv]

In the second picture, what is that stage?

 

[Capt_hensley]

If he's using the Falcon XX, I don't know, the Falcon XX designs I've seen did not have a web Interstage, they use a solid fairing interstage like Apollo.

 

[markp]

That's my attempt to launch an Nuclear Thermal Rocket stage to later dock with the landers and take them to Mars.

The real DRM1 however requires a launcher with a 240 mT to LEO capability. I'll make one for DRM1 eventually but in the mean time I'm trying other ways.

 

[Capt_hensley]

That's my attempt to launch an Nuclear Thermal Rocket stage to later dock with the landers and take them to Mars.

The real DRM1 however requires a launcher with a 240 mT to LEO capability. I'll make one for DRM1 eventually but in the mean time I'm trying other ways.

Is this weight a dry or wet weight? Will the launcher be multi-stage?

 

[Cras]

my I suggest you avoid multistage if at all possible? Velcro is a good alternative.

 

[markp]

Hadn't thought of Velcro for this actually. That may work.

 

[Cras]

Velcro has the upper hand to multistage when it comes to that the core vessel exists on the launch pad, where in Multistage, the vessel does not exist until it is jettisoned from the launcher. This leads to some things that cannot be done with multistage.

Velcro's autopilot does work for the most part, all it requires really is a few parameters in the scenario file, and the launch heading can be changed in sim. But for a project this comprehensive, a lua autopilot may be better serving.

I find Velcro do be very easy to work with, so I always tend to gravitate to that for my own needs.

 

[Donamy]

How would you get a launch vehicle to roll quicker with Velcro rockets ?

 

[Cras]

that is a problem with Velcro for sure. The autopilot really likes to wait on the roll and pitch.

Can use Universal Autopilots to guide the stack to a precise orbit. That lets you have a little more control over the initial time for those things, but it still doesn't lead to realistic values.

Rolls should be done almost immediately after clearning the tower, not several thousand feet up. One solution would be to implement a Lua autopilot. That way you have the benefits of Velcro, but the same precision in the launch profile as you get with Multistage and its guidance files.

 

[Capt_hensley]

that is a problem with Velcro for sure. The autopilot really likes to wait on the roll and pitch.

Can use Universal Autopilots to guide the stack to a precise orbit. That lets you have a little more control over the initial time for those things, but it still doesn't lead to realistic values.

Rolls should be done almost immediately after clearning the tower, not several thousand feet up. One solution would be to implement a Lua autopilot. That way you have the benefits of Velcro, but the same precision in the launch profile as you get with Multistage and its guidance files.

Love your tag line, saw it for the first time on Big Bang the other night.

 

[Donamy]

Can Velcro rockets be used to have boosters assist in the hover position ?

 

[markp]

Well I've downloaded Velcro Rockets. Launched the landers with the Nova MM S10E-1 quite nicely! :thumbup:

It means now a lander and NTR propulsion stage can be launched together (I think I will perhaps combine them into one vessel for launch).

 

[Cras]

Can Velcro rockets be used to have boosters assist in the hover position ?

I have not tried this, so I cannot be 100% certain, but I do believe this is possible. You do control how and where the boosters are attached. I am not sure if the booster command will register hover engines to start them burning, so you may have to tap the main engines to get them to start going, or just have them set to run on a countdown and use the velcro command to start the sequence (which is "o"), but then the autopilot may then try to steer the craft as well, so that is something to keep in mind.

My main focus with velcro rockets has been to get XR-2s into LEO from a vertical launch configuration. Haven't tried just boosters attached, but the thought did cross my mind as a way to get the XR-5 up into orbit.

---------- Post added at 02:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 PM ----------

Love your tag line, saw it for the first time on Big Bang the other night.

Sheldon Cooper, for the win.