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[Uriah]

If you read the beginning of the thread you'll know I plan on procedural components and assembly of launch systems. One direction I am considering is to make the user interface and experience for design/assembly that feels more like a CAD program, where you can look at the rocket in multiple views, and precisely place components and define their dimensions. During assembly there will be rocket specific design tools, and calculators to help you design a rocket to meet pre-defined requirements for its mission. This way you could define a rocket based on functional requirements, such as what type of orbit and payload mass, and the program calculates the delta V required, and helps with various design related processes involved in complex multistage launch vehicles. You'll be able to run a "simulation" without leaving the assembly building, that produces a report of the general flight characteristics, delta V, orbit, masses, etc... and displays graphs of the sim data. Those are some of the features I have planned.

Best regards,
Uriah

[Voyager55]

Sounds great, the  hype is real! Another quick question, do you plan on implementing any sort of EVA component?         

[Uriah]

Probably, but it isn't on the proverbial Outerra horizon yet. There is some API support the engine does not have currently. I am more concerned with flight systems, guidance, cockpit display and such things at the moment. It won't so much be a "game", as a simulator, although I may develop game-play, or someone may come along and make a mod which does so.

Regards,
Uriah

[meatsauce]

Legendary thread. Thanks for the mod Uriah.

[The-Bean]

Are you still working on this mod? I've been checking back occasionally hoping for some updates and it's been a couple of months since you've posted.

Cheers.

[Uriah]

Hi,

I have been working on rockets for Outerra. Temporarily I've suspended work, just in the last month, because I'm busy working on something else related to Outerra, but plan to resume work on rockets in two weeks once I have some free time.

Outerra fixed some issues that were released in the most recent update allowing rockets to spawn in the vertical position (initial pitch angle) and desired heading (roll angle). I will release a demo of the J246 in the next few days with some improvements. In the upcoming release of extended controls and 3d click-able cockpit controls, as well as numerous other capabilities, I will be able to finaly realize the full scale and complexity of what I want to do with rockets. There have been some doubts as to Outerra's capability to support spaceflight simulation, but I would like to cast those doubts aside as both the Outerra engine and JSBSim are more than adequate.

As Outerra states:

[Outerra] uses the JSBSim Flight Dynamics Model library for high fidelity simulation of aircraft, and Bullet physics engine for simulation of vehicle physics. Terrain and fractal algorithms maximally utilize the GPU, leaving the CPU resources for simulation.

Essentially, just about anything is possible with Outerra, as there are no limits to scale or fidelity of the physics engine. With the CPU free for the physics engine, complex simulations involving many objects extreme distances apart is possible. JSBSim flight models for rocket and spacecraft need to be improved (in the front-end that I am working on), however the back-end is completely extensible to support anything you desire to build in the front-end. JSB simply calculates forces and integrates them, so splash-down, planetary transfer orbits, Mars aero-capture, lunar decent, multi-body (N-body) physics, it is all possible... and more!

So what have I been working on specifically? I teamed up with a few people, namely Acetone and M7, to build the vast Cape Canaveral Florida scenery, including Space Launch Complex 37 with the Delta IV Heavy, Orion Launch Vehicle Configuration, SLC-41 with the Atlas V 501 X-37B Launch Vehicle Config, and SLC-40 with the SpaceX Falcon9 Heavy Dragon 2 Launch Vehicle Config, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center (possibly SLC-39A and 39B) as well as the industrial and residential/urban scenery in the surrounding area.

I have been developing a better flight model architecture for rockets in general, including better definition of the aerodynamics, rocket engine and structural failure mode, accurate thrust curve tables, stage separation/jettison, advanced engine control, RCS thrusters,  supersonic reentry control systems, dynamic pressure (qdot-maxq) surface heat generation and material failure modes, deployment of drogue and main parachutes, and much more. As well, the countdown and control of the flight sequence can be fully automated or manual, and during launch there will be a mission control launch audio commentary played, which changes due to mission events. The Orion MPCV will also include a detailed and fully functional virtual cockpit, with interactive MFDs, buttons and switches based on the real NASA cockpit design and glass-cockpit interface of the Orion medium fidelity mock-up.

Below are a few screenshots I have decided to release as a "sneak-peak, but this is just a mere sample of what we are actually working on. I've hesitated on releasing these screenshots, but I have been getting a steady stream of inquiring messages and e-mails, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to post a few. I don't know when, or how, this will be released, but it will eventually be available in some form or another at the appropriate time when it is complete. Enjoy the screenshots!

We would really like to hear your suggestions! What features, spacecraft, launch vehicles, etc, do you want to see in a space flight sim built on Outerra?!?

Thanks for the support!

A special thanks to the Outerra team and specifically Cameni, who has been extremely helpful and inspires me every day! A sincere thank you to both Acetone and M7, you guys have been awesome and I'm honored to work with you! Also, thanks to necro for providing the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building and Liquid Hydrogen storage tanks!

Best regards,
Uriah

SLC-41, Atlas V 501 X-37B Launch Vehicle Configuration. Acetone's scenery skills are second to none!




SLC-37, Delta V Heavy Orion Launch Vehicle Configuration, with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Skid Strip in the distance






View facing South along Cape Canaveral.


View of Kennedy Space Center in distance (top right) from the CCAFS Skid Strip (bottom left). Note the runway lighting system.


Residential/Urban City Building System, extraordinary houses textured by M7!




Isn't Outerra just incredible!?!?! Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

[Acetone]

Well, I think anybody can thank you for your hard work Uriah

An outdated screenshot of the whole Cap peninsula :

[HiFlyer]

Very interesting!

[The-Bean]

Well that was a lot more than I was expecting as a reply. It looks (and sounds) amazing.

[KW71]

Holy sh..!!!  This looks great!!!

[Acetone]

BTW, if you are using the Alaska scenery (latest version), you can visit the small launch pad I reproduced here. It's located at the south of the Kodiak airport (in a small peninsula) :



You will have missing buildings warnings. The real location is now closed since a test military rocket blew-up on the pad 



There is also an other super-secret location, but it's not ready to be revealed 

[PytonPago]

Silly military rockets ... they allways confuse the count-downs.  Also, after all those booms till now, im sure they have some speedy-construction people at a calls distance. 

P.S.: Whats that tower building ? ... is it some service-structure for rockets, as it seems to be able to rotate around the center ? Wold be interesting to have it animated ...

[Acetone]

Silly military rockets ... they allways confuse the count-downs.  Also, after all those booms till now, im sure they have some speedy-construction people at a calls distance. 

In fact, I think this launchpad will not be open anymore. Local inhabitants (the town is really close, at the other side of the hill) where ok when the site was build because it was supposed to be used by the Nasa. But at the end, majority of the launch were carried by the military, and there were protest about it. At the end, this accident (the rocket blew up just above the launch pad) may probably end this site launches.

P.S.: Whats that tower building ? ... is it some service-structure for rockets, as it seems to be able to rotate around the center ? Wold be interesting to have it animated ...

It's the launch service structure, where the rocket is stored vertically and prepared for the launch. The design is interesting, the rocket is static bur the structure move around it:

[PytonPago]

How can they have a town near that thing ? What safety regulus ?

[Uriah]

Nice! I have a rough model of that Mobile Service Tower for KLC, just need to texture it, and animating is possible. The SLC-37 MST and Fixed Umbilical Tower are both animated.

Regards.
Uriah