Diorite

The Diorite builds on the ground breaking technology tested by the Flint.  While the Diorite uses the same ADS control system and reactive armor concept, There are several upgrades which allow the Diorite to operate for longer duration that the short range Flint.

The Diorite includes an oxygen garden to supply the vehicle with fresh atmosphere.  A standard module is also added that can be used to transport cargo, or replaced with a med bay depending on the mission profile.

The interior wasn't the only thing to get an upgrade.  The propulsion system now has a reverse LK Lander Core engine to aid in deceleration for orbital insertion.   The extra hardware and interior space make the Diorite well suited for medium duration missions.

Flint

The Flint is the prototype vehicle created to trial the reactive armor concept.  It underwent its first test on January 18th, 2017.  Since then it has undergone several more tests.  It is currently in storage while larger armored vehicles are developed.

The ADS core module contains all the hardware to detect and react to incoming objects.  The design can also be used as a short range patrol vessel. It needs to be resupplied with O2 and CO2 scrubbers from a nearby ship or station periodically.

The Flint, and all the other ships in the armored series were initially designed using Commander Oz's SVG Station Planning Kit.  

Armored Vehicle Series

This is the first in a series of posts on a new line of armored vehicles.   The armor on these vehicles provides extra protection from stray meteorites or projectiles in space.

This new innovative technology has many possibilities.  Centauri created a small test prototype ship to validate the concept.  However, they could not explore all the potential alone.   After a successful test Centauri Spaceworks partnered with the Federation Space Command (FSC) to develop additional vehicles using this technology.  The FSC has proven capabilities to design and develop large ships.

The principle behind this armor is the same regardless of the vehicle size.  When an incoming object is detected that would cause damage to the vehicle, the armor plate is detached from the vehicle and pushed away a small distance by the force of un-docking.  The object impacts and destroys the armor plate and itself.  Because the plate is unlocked from the vehicle at the time of impact, the explosion does not transfer to the rest of the vehicle, leaving it undamaged.

The video below shows a test of the reactive armor that was conducted on Jan 18, 2018 with the test vehicle  Flint.

This technology can be applied to may sizes of ships.  Centauri and the FSC are developing vehicles using this concept and will have future posts with more details, including a monster 179 module vehicle developed by the FSC.  Look for more details about these vehicles in future posts by Centauri Spaceworks and the Federation Space Command.

Update:  Several vehicles have been unveiled:  the Flint, Diorite, Granite, and the Mica Schist.

Sprinter Deep Space Probes

Centauri Spaceworks has launched two deep space probes: Sprinter I and Sprinter II.  Both are equipped with telescopes and large antenna observe the universe outside of the solar system and send back their findings.

Sprinter I

Sprinter I headed out past GRN.  In addition to exploring, one goal of its mission was to determine if it was possible to accelerate beyond the speedometer.  To test this, it accelerated up to the maximum speed shown on the speedometer.  The fuel tank was then jettisoned (after all the fuel was transferred to the Voyager X engine).  Sprinter I and the fuel tank were now traveling at the same speed but moving slowly apart.  Sprinter I fired its engine again.  This accelerated it past the discarded fuel tank, confirming that a vehicle can still increase its speed even though it is no longer measurable on the speedometer.

Sprinter II

Sprinter II was nearly identical to Sprinter I, but had a larger fuel tank.  Sprinter II was sent off towards GOL.  Its goal was to accelerate to a high velocity.  It consumed all of the fuel in the large fuel tank during an extended 3 minute burn.

Palm Tree Hotel Rennovations

The Palm Tree Hotel has been upgraded with a unique feature: a space pool.  Normally water in space is a bad idea. It floats around everywhere and is hard to contain.  But that is precisely why the Palm Tree Hotel is unique. No other station has the technology to create a space pool.

The Palm Tree Hotel accomplishes this amazing feat using jets of forced air to keep the ball of water in place.  As you climb out of the pool, the jets of air, like those on high end hand dryers, squeegee the water from your body.  The process leaves you dry, and the pool wet.

To anticipate the surge in guests coming to see this attraction, an additional Orion III has been docked to be used as an escape vehicle in emergencies.  This replaces the staff vehicle that was on standby for emergencies.  It is docked across from the new space pool.  The upper dock is used for staff and deliveries.  The  lower dock is used for for guest arrivals and departures.

Thruster Fuel Harvest

IGSpace's Super Fast Space Transport is a blast to launch.  If you haven't seen it, it is a pod on a first stage.  When it stages the pod takes off at a high speed; higher then other traditional second stages.   It makes it to orbit in about 45 seconds.

It is so fun that employees at Centauri Spaceworks had a competition to see who could reach orbit the fastest.  Of course the pod isn't able to preform re-entry so all the participants needed to be picked up by an Orion afterwards and brought back to HOM.  This left quite a few pods and lunar ascent modules in orbit around HOM.  The initial thought was just to let them burn up, however Jan Gilbert pointed out that they were full of valuable thruster fuel, and the fuel tanks at the Centauri Spaceworks were getting very low on thruster fuel.

Instead of letting all that fuel go to waste, Centauri Spaceworks flew a station builder and fuel silo from the Centauri Spaceworks workshop over to HOM.  The the pods and lunar ascent modules were docked to the silo one by one.  They used their batteries to power the fuel pump on the silo to transfer over any remaining thruster fuel.  All of the main engine fuel had been used up in order to boost the pods to the altitude of the fuel silo.  After each pod and lunar ascent module was emptied of thruster fuel, it was undocked and destructed.

The harvest was a big success.  It provided almost a full fuel silo worth of thruster fuel. Jan got a promotion and a complementary tank of petrol for her car as thanks for her great idea.

Sci-Fi Ship Contest Winner

A big thanks to everyone who submitted their sci-fi inspired ship for this contest.  I was impressed with the variety of ships that were entered.  It was hard to judge because they were so good.  Before we get to the results, here are the four entries.

Benoit13 - Discovery 1 - 2001: A Space Odyssey

Benoit13's Discovery 1

Discovery 1 from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Benoit13's design captures the engines in the back, the spine, and the sphere up front pretty well.  This is a pretty tricky build with getting 3 LP1's to orbit, as well as locking in an ATV with un-deployed solar panels.

The three pods in the front mimicking the three pods in the pod bay is a great functional addition.   The Voyager X antenna in the center of the ship is also a nice touch.

CommanderOz - Saucer - Mars Attacks or Independence Day

CommanderOz's saucer

Saucers from Mars Attacks

Wow.  This build is huge!  I'm really impressed by the size.  The saucer shape and the bubble dome are obvious.  Not using all standard modules and hubs on the inside gave it some interesting texture.

Great use of the ADS solar panels and the telescope to form a ray gun in the center.  RED doesn't stand a chance.

ISAAC Organization - Eagle Transporter - Space: 1999

ISAAC's Eagle Transporter

Eagle Transporter from Space 1999

The outline of ISAAC's ship matches up with the prototype really well for using a limited number of parts.  It mixes it up with some parts, like the ADS core, that you don't see used as often.  The trusses down the center do a good job at capturing the feel of the original.

Tesseractcubed - Cargo Ship

This one isn't  based on any specific ship which made it hard to compare. Tesseractcubed explained the different features in a comment on the contest page.  Not really much to add since there isn't an original to compare it to.

Results

As I said earlier, it was really hard to judge.  I enjoyed seeing the great entries and the creativity and skill used to create them.  I'm really impressed by all of them.  But this is a contest and a winner must be named.

The winner is Benoit13 and the Discovery 1!  Congratulations!

Hummingbird

The Hummingbird is a converted Slug Transport.  It features the same narrow nose as the Slug to allow it to dock at the narrow entrance to high security docking bays.  However it has several modifications that make it better suited to long duration missions between resupply stops.

One of the modules has been replaced with an oxygen garden to keep the ship supplied with atmosphere on long voyages.  To compensate for the lost storage space, one of the reverse LK Core engines has been replaced with a cargo bay.

The rear drive section has undergone modifications as well.  An additional hub was added between the rear engines and the cargo section to provide additional attachment points.  To maintain the ease of construction, the engines were push out to the sides to avoid needing to cut away some of the structure of the generator to fit them.   On the starboard side a refuel silo was added to allow the Hummingbird to operate for long periods of time without requiring resupply.  On the port side, a solar panel was added to help with the additional electrical load from the oxygen garden.

Slug Transport

The Slug Transport is a short range transfer ship.  It is designed to move cargo and personnel between two stations.

The Slug lacks an oxygen garden and relies on the O2 and CO2 scrubbers in the 4 LK Core Engine modules to provide the atmosphere.  It also lacks a large fuel reserve and instead relies on the on-board storage in the 4 engines to provide all the fuel it needs to depart, make its delivery, and then return to its home base.

The Slug lacks solar panels and takes its power from a nuclear generator.  This allows the ship to stay powered, but still narrow enough to fit through high security docking bay doors.  This narrow profile means it can dock at stations where larger ships cannot fit.

A big thanks goes to CommanderOz who created the SVG Station Planner Kit for Space Agency.  As well as Benoit13 and ISAAC who contributed to the kit.  The kit made it easy to quickly try out different arrangements of modules to see how they looked without actually having to build it in the game.  If you are designing stations or ships, I highly recommend you try it out.

ICBM History

 Centauri Spaceworks is doing some throwback ICBM launches to break up the routine of regular payload launches.  Yes, missiles.  The first steps into space were based on technology used for intercontinental ballistic missiles.  Since Centauri Spaceworks is dedicated to peacefully exploring space, and not blowing it up, all the payloads launched today will be dummies.

There are three ICBM based rockets on the schedule:  Mercury, Titan II, and Soyuz.  All three of these rockets can put a dummy explosive module payload into orbit with careful fuel management.  Adding a tug module as second stage makes it much easier to achieve orbit.

Mercury

Freedom 7, the craft that carried the first American into space, was launched on a Mercury-Redstone rocket.  This rocket was based on the first American ICBM, the PGM-11 Redstone.  Later missions in the Mercury Program would use a modified Atlas rocket, also developed from an ICBM.

Titan II 

The Gemini Program was also based on ICBM technology with the Titan II.  This technology was used in rockets for forty years with the last launch in 2003.

Soyuz

The modern Soyuz was developed from the R-7 rocket.  The first R-7 was designed to be used as an ICBM.  Derivatives of the R-7 hold a huge place in space history.  It was used to launch the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, and the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin.  Derivatives of it are still in use today.