Project XR2 Ravenstar - Mk II

[santy86]

Actually this PB-XR idea looks pretty cool. It could be used as salvage capsule for space station personnel (like an HL-20 or spiral), work bee (with a robotic arm or something similar)

Of course it should be slightly bigger than the original PB (3 seats, one behind the other could be good)

 

[Urwumpe]

When the life support system could usually only support two astronauts for 3 days, this would make docking already scary enough. You need to be really good to achieve docking in 2 days.

Actually this PB-XR idea looks pretty cool. It could be used as salvage capsule for space station personnel (like an HL-20 or spiral), work bee (with a robotic arm or something similar)

Of course it should be slightly bigger than the original PB (3 seats, one behind the other could be good)

Well, lets say, you size it that two such work bees fit into a standard TEU container. 3 seats would be pretty crowded then, but a realistic size for a work bee.

 

[santy86]

Yes you are right, 2 is better. I just didn't realize very well dimensions

 

[Coolhand]

Why not something thats both lander and workpod? With perhaps one main vertical engine like a lander. Something that you could pack a few of into an XR5 and just maybe would fit into an XR2 as well. Perhaps if you want to launch it from earth and rendevous with an orbiting XR or whatever it could use a booster.

 

[dutchpirate]

Small vessels could also be used to transfer people from a large vessel like an XR-5 to a station where docking is not available due to the size of the ship or the location of an available docking port and other ships already docked on the station. Naturally you could uMMU, but this lends itself to scenarios with civilians or injured personell that can't do a suited transfer. Also good for a transfer from Brighton Beach to another base on the Moon, Prelude II perhaps.

 

[santy86]

Coolhand, here i totally agree with you.

The XR0 (or PB-XR) should be able to perform both operations (lander and workpod).

About launching, it should weight less than 6 tons, so even a soyuz, zenith or other lihgt launcher could do the trick

 

[Coolhand]

This whole discussion has given me some ideas that might be really cool, maybe nothing to do with an XR-0, maybe something different. I'll wait and see what doug thinks before i mention anything in here but i really like the idea of using multiple XR's to achieve a common goal and it would have something to do with that. It's either a great idea or really stupid, I've possibly had too much caffeine to be able to tell. *begins violently shaking*

In other news, doug and myself have been discussing some kind of visual representation of spacecraft damage for the 2, and scenarios that might show these effects and dougs advanced damage modelling to the fullest.

 

[Coolhand]

Coolhand, here i totally agree with you.

The XR0 (or PB-XR) should be able to perform both operations (lander and workpod).

About launching, it should weight less than 6 tons, so even a soyuz, zenith or other lihgt launcher could do the trick

yeah it wouldn't take much, though it's a pretty big departure from the usual spaceplace scenario... you'd only use a launcher if no other vehicle was available but it would give it standalone capabilities.

 

[TSPenguin]

In other news, doug and myself have been discussing some kind of visual representation of spacecraft damage for the 2, and scenarios that might show these effects and dougs advanced damage modelling to the fullest.

I am more than happy to hear that

2 cents:
Wouldn't it be possible to have the XR-0 modular or in several versions?
Wouldn't it be beautifull to have a XR-0 Rig. Placed in a Vanguard's bay.
You walk up to the console next to the airlock. You request 2 XR-0s, one lander with return module, one work pod with arms and a MMU platform.
The rig is docking a heat shield and booster modules to the lander while moving it to the airlock.
The lander is beeing boarded, lifted by the arm of the rig out of the bay and starts descending.
Again the rig is getting a XR-0, this time it docks the arms to it.
You enter this vessel.
After you lock the hatch, you are beeing pulled away from the airlock.
The MMU platform is beeing attached.
The expendable ensign comes out the airlock (in his suit...) and latches himself to the platform.
The arm lifts you out of the bay and you watch your two buddys descent into the thin athmosphere of Mars while you approach the malfunctioned sattelite.

You roll 5 D6

13

It is full of stars.

 

[Coolhand]

Well thats different but not a million miles away from what i was thinking... may as well say it now, it's based off dougs idea about getting one craft in orbit and joining it with another. What if different parts were carried on different craft, so you would need to coordinate a large multi-vehicle mission to assemble something in orbit that might, say, take you to mars. Xr5 brings up a large propulsion system, 2s could bring landers or maybe some other parts, and / or be taken along with the modular ship to act as landers. Might be something totally different to an XR0 or whatever that turns out to be could be a part of it. Maybe the propulsion system could be the XR3. It's probably a crazy idea, but it would be nice to have a scenario that puts different types of XR's into the same part of space and the same time makes you use them to do something that they could not do alone.

 

[yagni01]

I've always wondered about a non-aero variant myself. What would it look like? Structural members, fixed gear, no TPS, no nose cone. A way to carry more bulky cargo. Purpose built for the moon run or a way to retire overstressed airframes?

Or how about multiple engine sections, a cockpit, and a longer structural section to strap lots of cargo to, or a bigger hab for the Mars run.

 

[Coolhand]

yeah, a space/moon only version of the xr2 would be neat, thats something i'd like to do, no wings locked landing gear with pads not wheels and everything open to space (apart from the cabin, lol). like an old XR thats not airworthy has been left on the moon and eventually converted in a lunar scrapyard or something. It would be lighter and could out perform a standard aero XR in space.

 

[James.Denholm]

It wouldn't look as... sleek. Sexy, even. Although, it would still look good, I suppose.

 

[Coolhand]

Well, it would look like crap, essentially since it would be a scrapheap challenge... Even the scrams would come out. So there would be a big hole in the middle under the payload bay so it could land on top of a payload and pick it up from the lunar surface.

 

[Urwumpe]

Also, a work bee class spacecraft could drop many large tanks and propellant resources for being only equipped for short range missions around a spacecraft. Landing on the moon is very expensive... but you could always get transported by another craft which can do that. If two should fit into a standard container, they can weight up to 9 tons each, and be 3m long, 2.25m high and 2.1m wide. About the size of a Soyuz reentry capsule - but almost 4 times heavier.

 

[Coolhand]

Something like the 2001 pod would be cool - which actually fits into the bay of the xr2, in fact it could carry 2 of those if my dimensions are correct... i think those pods were 7ft in diameter. so a new workpod design could be wider and slightly longer than those and still fit in an xr2. I think i'll definately put that on the list of probably xr2 payloads. course you could stuff tons of em into an xr5.

My god, it's full of pods...!

 

[Urwumpe]

LOL. Just imagine you have many of those berthed to a space station module, which assist you in transporting cargo modules to cargo locks for unloading.

Now, thats where multi-player again could be cool. working in a swarm of 10 work bees swapping the cargo of a XR5...

 

[yagni01]

Well, it would look like crap, essentially since it would be a scrapheap challenge... Even the scrams would come out. So there would be a big hole in the middle under the payload bay so it could land on top of a payload and pick it up from the lunar surface.

Crap? From what I've seen, you could make a scrapheap challenge look sweet!

 

[Arrowstar]

I have a silly question which I can't seem to answer by visiting the various XR webpages, this thread, or Orbit Hanger... has the Ravenstar been released yet, and if not, is there an update on its status? I apologize, all this talk of the XR0 has sort of thrown me off.

Thanks!

 

[dutchpirate]

XR2/Ravenstar is still being developed. Thankfully the designers are not so easily distracted as the rest of us. XR0 is just another cool idea.