Sci-Fi Ship Design Contest

I have done over forty posts about the ships  I have made.  I like sharing my ships, but I also like seeing the ships others make.  I like being inspired by their creativity and designs.  So I decided to try something a little different.  I want to issue a challenge to all the space agencies out there.  A chance to show off your creativity.

The Challenge: Design a ship or station in Space Agency that is inspired by a fictional ship or station.

And to sweeten the deal, the best ship gets a big trophy.  You can post it on your profile or social media. You can even frame it and hang it up.

To enter, email the following information to centaurispaceworks@gmail.com :

1. Screenshot(s) or sandbox of your ship
2. Sci-fi ship it is based on
3. Your name, your agency's name, or however you want to be credited
4. (Optional) A link to your social media, wiki profile, or website.

The entries due by January 19th, at midnight.  One entry per person.  I'll post all the entries to my blog and announce a winner after the contest closes.

Thanks to zombie8259 for giving me the idea for the theme of this contest.  I'm looking forward to seeing lots of great ships.

Update:  The contest has finished and you can see the results.

Construction Update

The new, yet un-named, station is getting closer to commissioning.  All three docking bays have been completed.  The majority of the interior modules have been placed.

The power section is the only major section of the station still under construction.  After several different designs incorporating the CSgt Nuclear Generator were explored, one has been identified that should be able to fully power the station.  The station is currently using two ATVs with batteries in the docking bays to keep it powered while under construction.

In the image below you can see a fresh shift of astronauts in a new Draco Crew Capsule passing through the docking bay doors of a recently completed docking bay.  Docking in the high security docking bay requires a steady hand due to the close clearances.

In the past week the stations become the largest object constructed by Centauri Spaceworks at 108 modules.  The total module count at completion is expected to be closer to 120.

1.8 Update Review

The 1.8 update just came out and it is a strong update.  It has new missions and a lot of new parts.

The update adds missions 33 and 34.  Mission 33 has you installing a new CSgt Nuclear Reactor on the MSS.  Mission 34 is sending an ISAAC module and an Orion capsule to the ADS.  It was nice to have Mission 34 work in the chance to use the LP1 from the last update.

The CSgt Nuclear Reactor is a great addition that brings new functionality of permanent power source that isn't a solar panel. No longer do you need to keep stacking up solar panels to power your station (or using to the ATV battery hack).  The reactor generates 200 power, and consumes 6 for a net production of 196.  That is almost double what you could get from a large solar panel and in less space.  It still isn't a small part. It requires an extra long fairing to launch because of the long truss that the reactor is attached to.    It would have been more flexible if it could be split into the tiny reactor and an extra long truss, but it is still a great new part for adding on to stations.

The ISAAC module is basically a round habitation module.  It has one docking port and holds 4 cargo.  The round shape is a nice variation compared to the other mostly rectangular parts.

Both the ISAAC module and CSgt Nuclear Reactor were named after active members of the Space Agency Wiki. It is really great to see them honored like this for their contributions to the community.

The update also includes a plethora of new add on parts with the Nooleus X add-on.  It costs $5.49 USD.  It gets all the Draco and Eagle 8 parts needed to rival SpaceX.

• Draco Crew Capsule
• Draco Cargo Capsule
• Draco Trunk Module
• Draco Fairing
• Eagle 8 Second Stage
• Eagle 8 Connector
• Eagle 8 Reusable First Stage

I love seeing the new parts.  This is a must get add-on for any SpaceX fans. 

The Eagle 8 is a more powerful version of the reusable LP1 rocket introduced in the last update.  It has the same mechanics.  If you successfully land the 1st stage after a launch you are awarded one quick launch.  Just like the LP1, the Eagle 8 feels a bit more like a balloon instead of rocket when landing.  If you keep the engine on for too long it starts gaining altitude.  You end up tapping the the thruster in short burst to bounce the rocket up and down and get it centered over the landing pad.

The Draco capsules are a nice alternative to the Orion capsule, but leave the Draco Trunk at home and use an Orion Service Module.  The Draco Trunk  has some bugs that limit is usefulness.  Even though it has main engine fuel, it doesn't let you fire main engines.  And if you do get to your destination on the thruster propellant, there is no way to get the cargo out of the trunk.  If those bugs get fixed it will be a great cargo hauler: eleven cargo in one launch!

This is a great update and I am hoping that Nooleus can continue putting out updates like this on a regular basis.

Draco Cargo Capsule + Draco Trunk.  The cargo is trapped in the trunk 

Update Dec 27, 2017 : Nooleus release the 1.8.1 update which included a fix to allow the Draco Crew Capsules' main engines to fire while it was attached to the Draco Trunk.  Unfortunately, it still is limited in its functionality without a way to get to the cargo stored in the trunk.

New Station Under Construction

Centauri Spaceworks has started construction on a new station.  At 78 modules, it currently rivals the 79 module Xerces station.  Once completed it will be the largest station constructed by Centauri Spaceworks.

This new station takes advantage of the newer cargo bay, corridor, and airlock modules.  It is on track to consume 800+ power.

One of the core features are the three high security docking bays.  They are protected by retractable docking bay doors.  Inside the high security docking bay, the ship to station connection is bridged by an airlock that can be used to isolate the docked ship from the station air supply.

Xerces Station Upgrade

The original Xerces Station

Xerces Station upgraded with corridors and an air lock.

The original Xerces Station gotten several upgrades in the past two months.

The biggest change is the replacement of the arms leading to the solar panel arrays.  Previously these arms were formed by two modules and a hub.  These three modules were replaced with a single corridor.  This helps conserve power, as the corridor only requires 5 power, in place of the 45 power used by three previous modules.

This upgrade reduced the clearance between the solar panels and the core of the station.  To compensate, modules were added to extend the core of the station past the solar panels and still allow spacecraft to utilize the docking ports at either end of the core.  Two Apollo CSMs are currently docked at one end of the core serving as life saving ships.  These will eventually be used to return crew members to HOM and replaced with newer Orion IIIs.

Other changes include an airlock module added on the HOM facing docking area to support EVAs and docking with ships that required atmospheric isolation.  A new med bay for medical emergencies was installed in place of one of the old control rooms.

Workshop Tour

It has been a while since my last post.  Space Agency and Centauri Spaceworks have taken a back seat to Hade's Star.  Since Centauri Spaceworks hasn't posted any new ships in a while, I thought I would give you a tour of the Centauri Spaceworks workshop.

First the main assembly area.  This is where ships get created.  There are pylons on either side of the area to keep the station builder tugs supplied with fuel and power.  Below the assembly area is storage for parts.  The assembly area is pretty messy right now; there is a half assembled station, along with the two LK Lander Cores that were going to be part of something.  There is also a transport of station modules that came from the renovation of Xerces Station.  That still needs to be properly parked in the spare parts section.  

To the right of the assembly area is the parking lot.  This is where ships are parked after they are assembled, or while not in use. You will probably recognize some of the ships from previous posts, like the poorly parked Dragonfly.  Others are parts of previous creations, and perhaps parts of future ships.

Dragonfly

The Dragonfly is named for its resemblance to the winged insect.  The Dragonfly is specialized for communications.  It has three antennas to receive transmissions and a dedicated control room to decode them.

1.7 Update Review

The 1.7 update of Space Agency adds two new parts.  A reusable first stage rocket, the LP1, and a large comms satellite.  It also adds two new missions which focus on the LP1.

While this update does add two new parts and a new game mechanic, there doesn't seem to be much opportunity to use them to expand on the existing game play.

LP1

The LP1 is a reusable rocket which you can land after stage separation.  A succesful launching allows you to launch it again at a reduced cost ($1,000,000 compared to the original $4,000,000).  This reduces your budget for subsequent launches of LP1 by $3,000,000.

LP1 about to land.

Unfortunately, the only time you can take advantage of the savings from the LP1 is in the  very last mission.  The LP1 doesn't provide any benefit in the sandbox mode (other than the fun of landing the rocket), since you have an unlimited budget in the sandbox.  I would have liked to be able to replay the previous missions, such as ADS Phase 2, using the LP1.  Perhaps adding a platinum status for those able to lower the mission cost even further using the LP1.  Allowing the LP1 to be used on previous missions would have increased the play-ability of this update.

Large Comms Satellite

Large Comms Satellite with 5 directions of thrust.

This is a new medium sized part.  It has non-retractable solar panels which generate 30 power.  The comms satellite consumes 6 power.   It doesn't have any cargo space.

Unlike the smaller comms satellite, it does have thrusters. However, the reverse thruster is missing.  It also has a docking port which allows it to be refueled and attached to other vehicles.

The large comms satellite has some interesting geometry with the docking port off center. and parallel to the large solar panels.  The large solar panel and the orbital laboratory both have the solar panels extend perpendicular to the docking axis.

I would have liked to see this have retractable solar panels, and a slot for a battery.  That would have been an interesting mechanic to allow for it to run on battery for deep space missions, but then also to deploy the solar panels to recharge when near the sun.

Rotator Hub

Alrick Fons, and his team of engineers at Centauri Spaceworks has designed a special hub.  Unlike normal hubs, it can rotate to change the angle between the two docking ports.  It has a full 180 degrees of rotation.   The two docking ports can form an angle as small as 90 degrees, or as large as 180.  Hopefully this part will be manufactured by Nooleus and added into the game.

Due to the rotation mechanism, this hub does not have any cargo storage.

The rotation is controlled on the power panel.  In addition to having an on and off switch, it has a left and a right button that will change the orientation of the docking ports by holding them down.

The hub with the smaller number of modules is the one that rotates. If there are two modules on one side, and four modules on the other side, the side with 3 modules is the one that rotates.  It needs at least one module attached to supply the power to rotate, since it doesn't have any internal storage space for a battery.  It can rotate a maximum of 6 modules before it becomes to heavy for the motor.

Changing the orientation takes power.  Normally the rotator hub uses 10 power.  However, when rotating the power consumption increases.  It uses 30 power if one docking port is open.  If both ports are docked, it uses an additional 50 power per module on the smaller side.  In the example with three modules on one side and four on another, it would use 200 power to rotate.  There are three modules on the smaller side, 3 × 50 = 150.  The module uses 30 power for itself so that brings the total to 30 + 150 = 180 power.  It maxes out at 330 power when the modules have too much mass for it to rotate without burning out the motor.

Dropship One

Centauri Spaceworks has recently begun to maintain two bases on different planets.  These bases remain very modest compared to the stations in orbit.  The limited size is due to the scourge of space gremlins that inhabit all planets with a solid surface.  These nefarious creatures cannot be seen.  The only evidence of their existence appears when trying to dock with a module while it is landed on the surface of a planet or when trying to land two modules that are docked together.  In either of these cases, the space gremlins immediately swarm the modules and cause them to explode on contact.

Until Nooleus exterminates the space gremlins, perhaps with some sort of bug spray, development of a self sustaining base is impossible.  In the mean time the outposts must be resupplied regularly from orbit.

Centauri Spaceworks uses a specially designed drop ship to deliver the cargo bays to the surface.  The drop ship has 3 engines: one for decelerating to below orbital speed, one for hovering above the surface while positioning the drop, and the third for returning to orbital speed once the cargo has been delivered.