Project New Shuttle

[Grover]

ive started modelling a new shuttle, and its sorta turned into another project its basically ESAs answer to the original shuttle, be it slightly bigger. i intend it to be a fictional "replacement" for the shuttle (or ESAs way of cashing in i suppose), combining elements of the Buran and of the STS craft, splicing in some of my own imagination and slapping some simple code into it

so far, ive got the main bulk of the fuselage, and the outline of the cargo bay (its rough shape) done, next ill work on the back end to make it less flat (which is no good for aerodynamics) and get the exhausts on

in the first picture, the shuttle itself is in the middle, the stock Atlantis is on the left, and my first poor attmept is on the right (good for salvaging the wings, exhausts and any other bit i find useful)

now i just need to work on the payload bay a little and perhaps start working on the front section (it will be a pain in sketchup) then give another update;
in the meantime, and name ideas? ive had no good ideas for a name

thanks guys

 

[Ross]

How about Albatross?

It is a goofy looking bird but very majestic
And there are a lot of references to the Albatross in pop culture (Monty Python, Pink Floyd, etc...)

 

[Izack]

How about Albatross?

Already done in Space Tankers:

"АЛЬБАТРОС" read phonetically is ALBATROS.

It doesn't really matter though. No copyrights or anything, and it is a great name for a spaceplane.

 

[Ross]

Oh right! Haha dangit! I should have remembered that too...

By the way thanks Izack for the profile picture (i got if from the demotivators topic...hahaha). I hope you don't mind I'm using it.

 

[Izack]

By the way thanks Izack for the profile picture (i got if from the demotivators topic...hahaha). I hope you don't mind I'm using it.

I knew I recognised it from somewhere! :rofl:
Well, anything I post here is free for anyone to use, so it's dandy.

 

[Yoda]

Very nice !!
Looking forward to seeing what the finished product looks like.
Will this be a vertical lift-off vehicle with boosters ?

As for a name, "New Horizon" sounds kinda cool in lue of end of the space shuttle program.

 

[Grover]

it will be a replacement for the STS fleet, so it needs another launch vehicle to get it to orbit (personally i'll use an energia)

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:09 PM ----------

ok, ive managed to model the front section, and put in some engines, and worked on the rear end a little. still need a name though

some technical stuff:
the engines dont require a pitch offset for burns, since they are pointed in the Z- direction, the torques are balanced between the upper engine and the lower engines.
the aerodynamic model will be roughly the same as atlantis, but perhaps with some tweaks later on.
there will only be two animations at first: gear and combined bay, radiators and docking port animation for simplicity
the cargo bay is bigger in all dimensions than the Atlantis, so you can bring any old STS payload along with you
i imagine implementing URMS, theres some room to mount two (Buran stule, yea!) RMSs on either side of the docking port, but since its URMS, theres nothing stopping you putting it on any old wall

ive also done the docking port, i think it will be animated, so the port rises upwards, to extend just above the top of the craft, to allow more room inside the front of the bay to act as a hab section, allowing the crew to stay between station and earth for longer, meaning they can perform longer cruise phases for orbital syncing etc.

theres also some radiators (STS style obviously) and im going to work in some elevons and rudder surfaces. dont worry, theres more detail to come

please let me know what you think, and any name ideas, put them forward.

before i finish now, you guys should know that this will be a spacecraft3 vessel for at least the first release

thanks guys

 

[Yoda]

Like the design although I think the wings look a bit flimsy compared to the mass of the body of the hull itself; feels like the wings need some more volume/mass to them to match the hull.
Can't wait to see the finished product though.

Will this be UMMU compatible ?

 

[Spike Spiegel]

So far, the design of the tail and the nose section remind me of a dolphin. You could call it that. I don't know if that's exactly "majestic".

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

 

[Izack]

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Funny, on an IRC channel we were just talking about that in relation to this shuttle...coincidence? :blink:

It does look just a tad aquatic. Not bad, though.

 

[Grover]

i agree about the wings, i can fix that easily, and i need to tweak the tail anyway, but the nose does look like a dolphin, my brother said that before, perhaps i can do something about that like putting in windows and RCS exhausts... you dont see them on dolphins

 

[IronRain]

but the nose does look like a dolphin,

Which is prety realistic because ESA also uses the Airbus Beluga..

And the Airbus Beluga is inspired from the Beluga Dolphin..

 

[N_Molson]

I live in Toulouse, France, home of Airbus. The company uses Belugas to carry Airbus parts. I often see those planes in final approach phase, and each time I look at them I wonder : "how can those things fly, at such a slow speed, with such a shape ?".

But they fly ! Aerodynamics is not a matter of esthetism ! :lol:

 

[Belisarius]

If it's going to be an ESA ship, you could name it after some of Europe's greatest heroes. Galileo is taken, but you could repeat. Voltaire, ditto. Curie. Turing. Einstein. Hawking. DaVinci.
Of course you could name it after the most heroic Europeans of all - FC Barcelona.

 

[Urwumpe]

Of course you could name it after the most heroic Europeans of all - FC Barcelona.

*cough* *cough* *cough*

If the Barcelona management goes on like that, it is the FC SEAT in 2 years. 58% of the clubs finances are debts, hardly heroic. And Real Madrid is also the more successful team in the Champions League - with much more debts for buying much more expensive players (This season 75 million for buying players and only 11 million for selling them - with such a statistic you wouldn't get much love in Germany).

 

[GoForPDI]

Surely if it is being launched by Energia, there is no need for the big main Engines on the aft end of the Orbiter, exactly like Buran?

 

[Grover]

Back to the shuttle... im sure the dolphin shape has some aerodynamic quality, due to the real life applications

Good idea with the names, ill give it some thought

Thnks guys

---------- Post added at 11:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------

Surely if it is being launched by Energia, there is no need for the big main Engines on the aft end of the Orbiter, exactly like Buran?

This thing will probably weigh 40% more than the Atlantis, so the energia may need a bit of a boost. But it also increases the thrust, making it easier to pilot. Im thinking about 300-400k of thrust? Ill tune it later but it is designed to pack a punch

 

[Donamy]

Then you'l need fuel.

 

[Grover]

and it still has fuel, the section between the back of the payload bay and the back of the fuselage would house one large central fuel tank, as well as oxidiser and life support stuff, and there would be fuel tanks inside the base of either wing if i decide that this thing needs a lot of juice

 

[Ripley]

If it's going to be an ESA ship, you could name it after some of Europe's greatest heroes...

Tycho Brahe??