Inspiration of the Windward Spirit
Inspiration of the Windward Spirit
| ||
 | ||
| Vessel type | Lander | |
| Parts | 213 | |
| Stages | 1 | |
| Mass | 129 t | |
| Height | 33 m | |
| Width | 10 m | |
| Length | 14 m | |
| Crew | 3  | |
| Main engines thrust | 120 kN | |
| Delta-v (ΔV) | 4 829 m/s | |
| Liquid fuel | 11 880 
| |
| Monopropellant | 2 185 | |
| Electric capacity | 8965 ⚡ | |
| Cost | 146 960 
| |
| Since version | 1.10 | |
| From | Scenarios | |
Inspiration of the Windward Spirit is an interplanetary craft from the scenario "Jool Aerobrake," designed in the classic style of a near-future interplanetary ship: an elongated structure based on lattice trusses that connect the ship's modules or compartments, including command modules, engines, power generation, fuel tanks, and more.
The concept of an interplanetary ship consisting of lattice openwork trusses seems to be more realistic than the concept of a spacecraft with a solid outer shell, as it allows significant savings on the weight of the ship through the use of lattice trusses while maintaining the required structural rigidity.
This ship cannot be loaded into the editor using the Kerbal Space Program interface, so it cannot be accessed from the Sandbox. Use special addons, such as Ship Save Splicer, to load it.
Perhaps the first thing that catches the eye when looking at this spacecraft is the presence of several 3.75m Heat Shields, which are installed along the ship's course. These shields are specifically designed to help the ship perform aerobraking in the dense atmosphere of Jool and avoid burning up.
Description
Power and engines
The craft's propulsion system is formed by two LV-N "Nerv" Atomic Rocket Motors. The maximum possible reserve of liquid fuel is 11,880 tons. The ship's maneuverability is provided by several reaction wheels of different sizes and a variety of RCS engines with a maximum monopropellant reserve of 2,185 tons. In the stern of the ship are four Standard Canards, which provide lift when flying through the atmosphere. The maneuverability of the craft, both with the RCS engines and with the reaction wheels, is quite good. The ship responds sensitively to inputs changing its orientation and is quickly stabilized in space, damping excess rotations. The power consists of a group of eighteen Z-400 Rechargeable Batterys with a total capacity of 8,965[1]⚡, two Fuel Cell Arrays, and two Gigantor XL Solar Arrays. The solar panels are toggled via action group 3.
Command modules
Command modules
The root part of the ship is the Mk2 Lander Can installed near the bow of the ship, making it the active control point from which the navball is oriented. Since the module is designed for a lander rather than a ship, the "Inspired Spirit" itself is displayed in map view with a lander icon, which can cause confusion. The module is two-seater, with a single porthole facing nadir away from the ship.
In the aft part of the ship, a single-seat Mk1 Lander Can is installed on a mount consisting of two Advanced Inline Stabilizers. However, it is installed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ship and appears to serve primarily as an observation cabin, although the ship can be controlled from this module if a pilot is present by switching control via the tweakable menu. If controlling from this module, the control mode should also be switched from "Up" to "Forward" (found in the same menu) so that the reference body direction is correctly displayed on the navball.
Auxiliary systems
Communications are provided by three folding antennas: one Communotron 88-88 and two Communotron 16, mounted on a separate lattice mast in the aft section of the ship, as well as under the Mk1 module. However, by default, the antennas are always folded, and their deployment is not tied to any key.
The ship has a fairly powerful cooling system: it has two large Thermal Control Systems which can be controlled using 4 through action groups, as well as eight large Radiator Panels that are located around the two Nerv engines. However, the ship's developers did not assign the activation of these eight panels to any action group key, so they do not function by default and serve more as a protective cover for the engines. Players can manually assign the activation of these panels.
In the aft part of the ship, between two Mk2 to 1.25m Adapters, there is a Mk2 Cargo Bay CRG-08 with two opening flaps. Unfortunately, opening and closing the doors is not tied to any key. In the cargo bay, a manned rover and probe are docked to separate docking ports.
The ship is equipped with a variety of docking ports of different sizes and can serve as a base for an space station to which many other spacecraft can be docked.
In the best Kerbal tradition, the ship is equipped with external EAS-4 Strut Connectors, although their use is questionable. It is unlikely that the ship will experience loads for which the strength of the internal auto-struts will be insufficient.
For lighting, the ship has a Illuminator Mk1 which is mounted on the mast at the rear of the ship along with the antennas. Each command module has its own lighting. In addition, the Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port Sr. have their own built-in lights.
Rover
The official name is Inspiration of the Windward Spirit Rover. It belongs to the "rover" type. Actually, after the separation, the map view will display the icon of the rover and its official name. The rover is located in the cargo bay of the ship closer to its nose. It consists of an FL-R20 RCS Fuel Tank monofuel tank surrounded by three RV-105 4-nozzle versions arranged symmetrically around it. At the rear, there is a small Cubic Octagonal Strut that supports the EAS-1 External Command Seat, which is the root component of the rover. The rover has a small Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port Jr. at the front. There are no scientific instruments, lighting devices, or antennas on the rover.
Characteristics of rover
Number of parts - 8
Weight - 525 kg
Length - 1,0 m
Height - 1,1 m
Width - 1,1 m
Crew - 1 kerbonaut
Cost - 1351 [2]
Probe
The official name is the Inspiration of the Windward Spirit Probe. It belongs to the "probe" type. Actually, after the separation, the probe icon and the official name will be displayed in map view. The probe is located in the cargo bay of the ship closer to its stern. The root part of the probe is the RC-001S Remote Guidance Unit. This unit can be controlled remotely. Energy for the probe's operation is stored in a Z-1k Rechargeable Battery Bank of 1000⚡ and a internal battery in the RC-001S unit of 15⚡. The probe's engines are four RV-105 4-nozzle engines mounted symmetrically around the circumference of the FL-R120 fuel tank. The probe has Clamp-O-Tron Docking Ports at the front and back. Ahead of the probe there is a course Illuminator Mk2. For communication, a folding Communotron 16 antenna is provided. The antenna opening is not tied to any key. There are no scientific or other instruments on the probe. The probe itself is quite maneuverable and fast. The lack of solar panels limits its autonomy. The lack of standard scientific instruments causes confusion about the purpose of the probe. Why would it need a remote-controlled unit if there are no other probes on the ship? Perhaps, like the rover, it is used to transport additional ship modules and ensure their docking. The developers may have assumed that the player would install scientific instruments on the probe using the kerbonaut engineer in EVA Construction Mode in open space.
Characteristics of probe
Number of parts - 11
Weight - 1,501 t
Length - 1,6 m
Height - 1,8 m
Width - 1,8 m
Cost - 4600 [2]
Fragments of the first stages
If you turn on the display of space debris (or debris) in the Tracking Station in the "Jool Aerobrake" scenario, you can see an interesting phenomenon: it turns out that fragments of the "Inspiration of the Windward Spirit" are rotating in space in different orbits, which are very similar to the remains of the first stages that raised the "Spirit" to the orbit of Kerbin, so what at the very least, they sent him to Jool. This fact gives rise to a very interesting idea that the developers must have really bothered with the real flight of the device from Kerbin to Jool, and not stupidly placed it using chits on the approach to planet. In total, there are 10 wreckage. The lightest of them has a mass of 250 kg and consists of four parts, the heaviest - 299.28 t and seventy-one parts. One fragment orbits Kerbin, while the others orbit Kerbol in a nearly circular orbit that is almost identical to Kerbin's orbit.
Of particular interest is the heaviest of the seventy-one pieces. The piece is a bundle of six identical blocks of three Kerbodyne S3-14400 Tanks, one Kerbodyne ADTP-2-3, one Mk7 fairing, and one quadruple Mammoth rocket motor. These six blocks are arranged symmetrically in a circle around a central block of three Kerbodine 14400 tanks, quadruple "Mammoth" rocket engines, and a Protective Rocket Nose Cone Mk7 with struts in the centre. Each of the six blocks also has a keel on its S3 KS-25x4 "Mammoth" Liquid Fuel Engine. All of this suggests that this stage was probably, if not the first, then one of the first stages designed to lift the spacecraft off the surface of Kerbin and into the atmosphere (as evidenced by the presence of fins and a fairing). It is currently unclear whether there were any additional stages in the spacecraft. However, it is likely that there were. This is supported by the presence of a longitudinal separation mechanism in the remaining fragments of the "Inspired Spirit." But even without having information about these stages, we can conclude that the above-mentioned heaviest fragment of the "Inspired Spirit" could well have put the entire structure of the device into the Kerbin orbit, since if you combine it in the Designer with the "Inspired Spirit" as the first stage, then the TWR of this stage will be 1.38, and ΔV - about 4000 m/s.
Crew
Inspired Spirit's permanent crew consists of the following three kerbonauts, who have flown farther away from Kerbin than any other kerbals in the official history of the Kerbal Space Program, reaching Jewel in the "Jool Aerobrake" scenario:
Trivia
- In the "Jool Aerobrake" scenario, the ship is not fully fueled with liquid fuel, with just under half of the total capacity. However, both Mk2 to 1.25m Adapters in the rear of the ship are fully fueled with an unnecessary oxidizer. This may have been a hasty oversight by the developers.
- Due to the overlapping textures, the automatic probe in the cargo bay cannot exit the hold on its own, as one of its RCS engines is initially stuck in the texture of the upper wall of the cargo bay. The author of the article was able to remove the probe only with the help of an engineer, who, in the open space construction mode, removed the stuck RCS engine from the probe, pushed the probe out of the hold, and then installed the engine back on the probe.
- The probe and the rover have different types of docking ports. Therefore, it is not possible to use the rover to transport the probe.
- The ship's pilot is located in a separate Mk1 module, which is not a root part of the ship and is not used for ship control by default. However, two other crew members who are not in charge of ship control, the engineer and the scientist, are located in the Mk2 module, which is where ship control should be performed.
- The strangest thing is that there are no scientific instruments on the ship. Only they and the developers know what they're doing in the Jool system.
- All crew members have parachutes in their personal inventory, in addition to EVA Jetpacks, and when the kerbonauts enter space in the vicinity of Jool, the presence of these parachutes is clearly annoying due to their inappropriateness. Therefore, it is advisable to remove them beforehand and place them in the inventory slots of the command modules.
Gallery
-
View of the right side of the ship. Solar panels are deployed, and the thermal control system is folded. All antennas are folded. -
View of the top of the ship. The solar panels are deployed, and the thermal control system is deployed. The parabolic dish of the deployed Communotron 88-88 antenna on the mast is clearly visible, and the deployable Communotron 16 antenna pole is visible on the opposite side of the mast. -
Engineer Billy-Bobmon Kerman removes the "Inspired Spirit" probe from the ship's cargo bay. -
Billy-Bobmon bends the Inspired Spirit rover somewhere in Jool's orbit to the deafening sound of heavy metal. -
The cargo boy of the "Inspired Spirit" with the doors open. The rover and the probe are clearly visible, docked to their own docking ports
.jpg)
.jpg)
