KSP - Axburns Inc.

[FizziksGuy]

Team Name: Axburns Inc.

Members: Katelyn Axman, Bobby Burns

 

Starting Funds: $30,000

 

Notes: You are a small start-up business focusing on the creative and artistic vision of space travel.  Funded by international corporate mogul Katelyn Axman and science innovator and constant czar Bobby Burns, the team is focused on not only achieving greatness, but bringing the public along for the ride through Axman’s engaging and dramatic narrative style as mission reports are compiled into dramatic short stories / serial narratives which provide a significant boost to the start-up’s income and funding levels.

 

Further, due to Burns’s pre-existing endorsement deal with Kerbinite Fuel Systems, all liquid fuel is available to Axburns Inc. at half price.

[FizziksGuy]

Axburns employs only the best and brightest of Kerbin Society...

 

[bazinga818]

Team Name: Axburns Inc.

 

Available Funds: $30,000

 

Vehicle Name: Axburn I

 

Vehicle Parts List and Cost: Rockomax BACC Solid Fuel Booster ($800), Mk2 Cockpit ($1600), Tail Fins ($1000), Decoupler ($600), Parachute ($400)

Total Cost: $4400

 

Design Goals: We wanted to design a vehicle that would launch successfully and stay upright in the air. We used the fins to keep the ship on course and the nose to facilitate aerodynamic-ness.   

 

Launch Goal: We wanted to get to the 50,000m milestone, but we were happy with getting over 10,000m. We reached a maximum height of a little over 31,000m.

 

Pilot Plan: Operating the winglets, control pitch

 

Illustrations:

 

[FizziksGuy]

Please make sure to include the post-launch report/debrief.  When that is posted, Axburns Inc. will be awarded $10K as the first team with a documented launch to 10km (higher award as first to this milestone than third to the manned 10km launch).  You're rolling now!

[FizziksGuy]

[FizziksGuy]

[bobbyburns]

Launch Time: 2:00PM EST

Team Members Present: Katelyn, Bobby

Play-by-Play: Launch Start: Straight up, no issues.

About one minute in, at 0m/s, decoupler fired and screenshot taken.

Booster separates from pod and parachute.

Since we set the parachute and decoupler activation on the same stage setting, the parachute fired prematurely and it was, well, a SLOW ride down, but our Kerbal was happy and enjoying the ride.

Photographs: We need to check our screenshots which are on the school computers.

Time-of-Flight: We need to check our screenshots which are on the school computers.

Summary: Our original goal was to reach 50km.  Although our booster only launched us to about 35km, we were content with that, as we broke the 10km requirement.  Our only safety concern was the premature firing of the parachute, which could've been avoided by placing the parachute in a third stage, seperate from the decoupler's.  Our winglets provided enough pitch control to keep the booster at 90 degrees from the ground, which is what we wanted.  

Opportunities / Learnings: 1) Set seperate stages for seperate actions

2) Obtain a larger engine (maybe with vectorable thrust) to control flight better and attain higher altitutes

Strategies / Project Timeline: We are ready to face our next challenge, and go to higher altitudes.  We will probably redesign our rocket for more thrust.

Milestone Awards Presented: Launch to 10km, $10,000 winnings

Available Funds: $25,600+$2200 $27,800

[bobbyburns]

Team Name: Axburns Inc.

Available Funds: $27,800

Vehicle Name: Atlantis I

Vehicle Parts List and Cost: Mk1-2 command Pod ($1800), Advanced S.A.S. Module ($1100), Rockomax Brand Decoupler ($200), Rockomax x200 32 Fuel Tank ($6600), Rockomax Jumbo 64 Fuel Tank ($12500), Rockomax "Mainsail" Liquid Engine ($850), Rockomax "Poodle" Liquid Engine ($600), Mk 16 XL Parachute ($850)

Total Cost: $24,500

Design Goals: We want to incorporate two engines and fuel tanks to practice stages (specifically firing the parachute, decouplers, and engines at the right times)

Launch Goals: Achieve Stable Orbit

Pilot Plan: Thrust vectoring until orbital velocity and altitude are reached, then thrust vectoring to maintain a vertical speed of zero. Calculating stable orbit:

Our orbital speed is determined through the formula V=600000((9.807/(600000+h)))^(1/2), h being the orbital altitude (above the surface of Kerbin)

Once stable orbit is achieved, the pilot will then thrust vector the engines in the opposite direction f flight, to facilitate reentry and then fire the parachute at an altitude within the atmosphere.

[FizziksGuy]

Looking at your pre-flight plan, may I recommend a bit more research on how to achieve, maintain, and dissolve an orbit?  Vertical thrust vectoring is a mighty difficult (and dangerous) method of initiating re-entry.