Difference between revisions of "DeltaGlider-XR1"

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==Summary==
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The '''DeltaGlider-XR1''' is a high-performance Spacecraft created for [[Orbiter]] by the Altea Aerospace team. The XR1's mesh and basic concept are based off of the DG-S included with Orbiter 2016, hover doors and scramjet doors added by Don Gallagher. Coding work to add multiple subsystems and failure modes was done by Douglas Beachy, as with other vessels in the XR series. The initial 1.0 release came on May 14, 2007, and the most recent release is 1.15 on February 20, 2018.
  
The '''DeltaGlider-XR1''' (more commonly known as just "the XR1") is a new high-performance spacecraft for Orbiter that is a sophisticated rewrite of the DG-S mk-IV included with the Orbiter 2006 P1 release.  Highlights include a virtual cockpit, all-new instrument panels, SCRAM engines, and complex damage simulation, and new autopilots just to name a few. 
 
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The XR1 was designed to be a ''pilot's ship'', and with all the realism settings set to maximum the ship is significantly more challenging to fly efficiently (and ''safely'') than the default DeltaGlider; i.e., pilot workload is higher.  However, the XR1 is fully configurable via the <code>Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg</code> file, and with all the realism settings disabled the XR1 is just as easy to fly as the default DeltaGlider.  The configuration file also features a custom ''CHEATCODES'' section that allows the user to directly set certain ship's values such as maximum engine thrust, fuel capacity, ship mass, etc.
 
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The XR1 was developed by Douglas Beachy and includes some custom mesh changes by Don Gallagher; the XR1's homepage is here: [http://www.dougsorbiterpage.com Doug's Orbiter Page] 
 
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[[image:xr1-top-cropped-800.jpg|frame|none|DeltaGlider-XR1 in Low-Earth Orbit over Africa]]
 
[[image:xr1-top-cropped-800.jpg|frame|none|DeltaGlider-XR1 in Low-Earth Orbit over Africa]]
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==Design Concept==
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The XR1 is designed as a single stage to orbit, reusable spaceplane able to carry up to 5 passengers to low Earth orbit and beyond. The exact design parameters for the XR1 are variable, depending on the preferences set by a user in the configuration file, but with realism settings set to their highest levels, the XR1 proves quite challenging to fly succesfully. Scramjet engines are typically used during the bulk of the ascent to orbit, providing orbital velocity in the high atmosphere before conventional rocket engines are used to provide the final orbital insertion.
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==Features==
 
==Features==
  
[[image:xr1-final-approach.jpg|thumb|XR1 on Final Approach to KSC]]
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[[image:xr1-approach-1600.jpg|thumb|XR1 on Final Approach to KSC]]
 
[[image:xr1-vc-final-approach.jpg|thumb|XR1 Virtual Cockpit View]]
 
[[image:xr1-vc-final-approach.jpg|thumb|XR1 Virtual Cockpit View]]
[[image:xr1-composite.jpg|thumb|XR1 2D Cockpit Composite]]
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[[image:xr1-2D-cockpit-composite-1600.jpg|thumb|XR1 2D Cockpit Composite]]
 
[[image:xr1-undocking.jpg|thumb|XR1 Undocked from ISS]]
 
[[image:xr1-undocking.jpg|thumb|XR1 Undocked from ISS]]
  
* All-new instrument panels at native 1280x1024 resolution with 24-bit color. The main panel is low-profile in the center for maximum visibility.
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Current features of the XR1 include:
 
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* A 2D instrument panel with native support for 1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide video modes, set by the 2DPanelWidth parameter in the Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg file.
 +
* All-new instrument panels at native 1280x1024, 1600x1200, or 1920x1200 resolutions with 24-bit color. The main panel is low-profile in the center for maximum visibility.  
 
* Virtual cockpit similar to the standard DG-S VC.
 
* Virtual cockpit similar to the standard DG-S VC.
 
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* Realistic simulation of atmospheric reentry heating, hull breaches typically occuring after 8 seconds of reentry heat over maximums.
* Reentry heating simulation with realistic heat damage; e.g., overheating a hull surface will not cause that surface to fail instantly: the more a surface overheats, the higher the chances of a hull breach.  Typical failure within eight seconds.
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* Realistic simulation of Scramjet engine overheating and related damage.
 
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* [CHEATCODES] support in the DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg file that allowing users to directly set certain values such as the ship's mass, maximum engine thrust, fuel tank capacity, etc.
* SCRAM engine overheating damage simulation.
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* Multi-Display-Area (MDA) touch screen on the main instrument panel with multiple modes for custom autopilots, hull temperatures, ship damage status, and other ships functions. Readouts are switcheable between degrees Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit by clicking an area on the MDA screen.
 
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* Efficient ''Attitude Hold'' autopilot available to hold a given pitch/AOA and bank while minimizing yaw; typically used during reentry or to hold attitude while braking with hover engines in a vacuum.  Autopilot can hold a stable reentry at 10x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space.
* Full configuration of the XR1's settings via the <code>DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg</code> file; e.g., selectively disable/enable each different type of damage, set pop-up HUD colors and transparency, choose easy or realistic thrust levels, choose fuel setting for "ISS-only", "Moon", "Mars", etc., choose O2 and APU fuel levels.
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* Efficient ''Descent Hold'' and ''Auto-Land'' autopilot able to hold a descent or ascent rate. Autopilot can auto-land With a frame rate of around 100 fps, at 80x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space.  This means that users can auto-land the XR1 even with an effective frame rate of only 1.25 frames per second, and you can hold a set ascent/descent rate with an effective frame rate of only one frame per second.
 
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* ''Airspeed Hold'' autopilot able to effectively hold a given airspeed within 0.1 meters-per-second.
* New [CHEATCODES] support in the DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg file that allows you to directly set certain ship values such as the ship's mass, max engine thrust, fuel tank capacity, etc.
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* Reentry Systems Check MDA mode allows users to verify that the ship is properly configured for reentry.
 
 
* New SCRAM and Hover doors using a custom mesh by Don Gallagher.
 
 
 
* New Multi-Display-Area (MDA) touch screen on the main instrument panel with multiple modes showing custom autopilots, hull temperatures, ship damage status, etc. For example, you can switch the readout between degrees Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit by clicking an area on the MDA screen.
 
 
 
* Efficient ''Attitude Hold'' autopilot to hold a given pitch/AOA and bank while neutralizing yaw; typically used during reentry or to hold attitude while braking with the hover engines in a vacuum.  Autopilot can hold a stable reentry even at 10x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space.
 
 
 
* Efficient ''Descent Hold'' and ''Auto-Land'' autopilot to hold a descent or ascent rate; engaging auto-land mode will land the XR1 in a hover efficiently and smoothly every time.  With a good frame rate (~100 fps), autopilot can auto-land even at 80x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space.  This means you can auto-land the XR1 even with an effective frame rate of only 1.25 frames per second, and you can hold a set ascent/descent rate with an effective frame rate of only one frame per second.
 
 
 
* Efficient ''Airspeed Hold'' autopilot to hold a given airspeed within 0.1 meter-per-second. Useful during atmospheric flight and when taxiing.
 
 
 
* Reentry Systems Check MDA mode to verify that the ship is property configured for reentry.
 
 
 
 
* A new pop-up data HUD listing all the new XR1 keyboard shortcut keys.
 
* A new pop-up data HUD listing all the new XR1 keyboard shortcut keys.
 +
* Extensive damage and warning modeling including wing load limits, dynamic pressure and heat limits for different surfaces, and gear collapse on landing.  Crew may be injured or killed by hard landings or crashes.
 +
* Callouts for altitude, speed, damage, warning, system failure, and docking distances.
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* Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with limited fuel that is used to power hydraulic systems such as aerodynamic control surfaces, landing gear, and wheel brakes.
 +
* APU and O2 consumables management with ship's mass being affected by LOX (Liquid Oxygen) and APU fuel masses in addition to other propellants and any crew members.
 +
* Internal system coolant management. The Delta Gliders original radiator is now used to cool internal systems in the XR-1.  Heating internal coolants beyond their limits will cause internal systems failure.
 +
* Two pop-up mini-Heads up displays. Secondary HUDs are fully configurable, able shows flight data such as altitude, airspeed, and orbital elements in Metric and Imperial units.  Tertiary HUD is used to show ship's status, damage, and warnings.
 +
* Extensively tweaked flight model now allows realistic reentry at 40-degree AOA, while also fixing a particular unrealistic "floaty" feel to gliding and landing.
 +
* Eliminated the nose-up push that the stock DG exhibits when accelerating. This allows the XR1 to be much more neutral than the stock DG in its handling.
 +
* Redesigned SCRAM (Supersonic RAMJET) engines capable of operation up to around Mach 18.  An experienced pilot can now reach LEO with most of the main engine fuel remaining or use both the SCRAM and main engines at full power accelerating into orbit at 2.5 G's when in a hurry. XR-1 Scramjet engines operate at peak efficiency at Mach 7-8.
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* 238 sound effects and voice callouts requiring the OrbiterSound 3.5 by DanSteph.
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* Self-starting Mission-Elapsed-Time (MET) timer plus two manual interval timers.
 +
* Refueling and LOX resupply/dump support.
 +
* Capable of fuel cross-feed between main and RCS tanks.
 +
* Scenario editor support.
  
* A new high-resolution exterior skin (1024x1024).
 
  
* Extensive damage and warning modeling including wing load limits, dynamic pressure and heat limits for different surfaces, and gear collapse on landing.  Crew may be injured or killed by a hard landing or crash.
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==Reception==
  
* Altitude, speed, damage, warning, failure, and docking distance callouts.
+
The initial release of the XR1 met with some criticism, but provided the code base from which all other XR vessels are be based. In spite of its high quality, the XR1 appears to not have attracted the same recognition as the XR-5, XR-2, and the DGIV, but is still considered a very solid addition to the Orbiter addon community.
  
* Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with (optionally) limited fuel that powers hydraulic systems such as flight control surfaces, landing gear, wheel brakes, etc.
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The XR1's homepage is here: [http://www.alteaaerospace.com/ Doug's Orbiter Page] 
  
* APU and O2 consumables management.  Ship's mass is affected by LOX (Liquid Oxygen) and APU fuel loadouts in addition to main, RCS, and SCRAM fuel, and crew members.
 
  
* Internal systems coolant management; use the ship's radiator to cool internal systems.  Overheating the system by waiting too long to deploy the radiator will cause internal systems to fail.
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For additional details refer to the [http://www.dougsorbiterpage.com/downloads/download.php?file=9 XR1 Flight Operations Manual]
 
 
* Two pop-up mini-HUDs: secondary HUD is fully configurable and shows flight data such as altitude, airspeed, etc. in Metric and/or Imperial units.  Tertiary HUD shows ship's status and warnings.
 
 
 
* Extensively tweaked flight model to allow realistic reentry at 40-degree AOA.  Also fixed the unrealistic "floaty" feel to gliding and landing.
 
 
 
* Fixed the nose-up push that the stock DG exhibits when accelerating. The XR1 is much more neutral than the stock DG.
 
 
 
* Redesigned SCRAM (Supersonic RAMJET) engines that operate up to ~Mach 18.  A good pilot can reach LEO with most of the main engine fuel remaining.  Or if you're in a hurry, push both the SCRAM and main engines to full power and accelerate into orbit at 2.5 G's.  The SCRAM engines are also useful after reentry if you are short of your landing site and don't have enough main engine fuel remaining (assuming you kept some SCRAM fuel in reserve!)  New SCRAM engines operate at peak efficiency at Mach 7-8.
 
 
 
* '''238''' new sound effects and voice callouts; Requires the new OrbiterSound 3.5 release from DanSteph.
 
 
 
* New auto-starting Mission-Elapsed-Time (MET) timer plus two manual interval timers.
 
 
 
* Refueling and LOX resupply/dump support.  Configurable settings for main fuel, APU fuel, SCRAM fuel, and LOX levels.
 
 
 
* Fuel cross-feed available between main and RCS tanks.
 
 
 
* 49-page XR1 Flight Operations Manual in PDF format along with screenshots.
 
 
 
* Support for the scenario editor.
 
 
 
* EVA and crew support via UMmu from DanSteph.
 
 
 
* High-polygon astronaut meshes developed by Greg Burch; used with permission.
 
 
 
* Astronaut mesh is easily configurable; users can use Greg Burch's high-polygon astronaut meshes, the standard bulky astronaut mesh included with UMmu, or any other custom astronaut mesh.
 
 
 
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For additional details you may refer to the [http://www.dougsorbiterpage.com/downloads/download.php?file=9 XR1 Flight Operations Manual]
 
  
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[[Category: Articles]]
 
[[Category:Add-ons]]
 
[[Category:Add-ons]]
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[[Category:Vessel add-ons]]
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[[Category:Spacecraft add-ons]]
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[[Category:Orbiter 2016 add-ons]]
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[[Category:Spaceplanes]]
 
[[Category:Add-ons by DougBeachy]]
 
[[Category:Add-ons by DougBeachy]]
[[Category:Vessel add-ons]]
 
[[Category:Add-ons with UMMU support]]
 

Latest revision as of 12:55, 8 November 2022

The DeltaGlider-XR1 is a high-performance Spacecraft created for Orbiter by the Altea Aerospace team. The XR1's mesh and basic concept are based off of the DG-S included with Orbiter 2016, hover doors and scramjet doors added by Don Gallagher. Coding work to add multiple subsystems and failure modes was done by Douglas Beachy, as with other vessels in the XR series. The initial 1.0 release came on May 14, 2007, and the most recent release is 1.15 on February 20, 2018.

DeltaGlider-XR1 in Low-Earth Orbit over Africa

Design Concept[edit]

The XR1 is designed as a single stage to orbit, reusable spaceplane able to carry up to 5 passengers to low Earth orbit and beyond. The exact design parameters for the XR1 are variable, depending on the preferences set by a user in the configuration file, but with realism settings set to their highest levels, the XR1 proves quite challenging to fly succesfully. Scramjet engines are typically used during the bulk of the ascent to orbit, providing orbital velocity in the high atmosphere before conventional rocket engines are used to provide the final orbital insertion.


Features[edit]

XR1 on Final Approach to KSC
XR1 Virtual Cockpit View
XR1 2D Cockpit Composite
XR1 Undocked from ISS

Current features of the XR1 include:

  • A 2D instrument panel with native support for 1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide video modes, set by the 2DPanelWidth parameter in the Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg file.
  • All-new instrument panels at native 1280x1024, 1600x1200, or 1920x1200 resolutions with 24-bit color. The main panel is low-profile in the center for maximum visibility.
  • Virtual cockpit similar to the standard DG-S VC.
  • Realistic simulation of atmospheric reentry heating, hull breaches typically occuring after 8 seconds of reentry heat over maximums.
  • Realistic simulation of Scramjet engine overheating and related damage.
  • [CHEATCODES] support in the DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg file that allowing users to directly set certain values such as the ship's mass, maximum engine thrust, fuel tank capacity, etc.
  • Multi-Display-Area (MDA) touch screen on the main instrument panel with multiple modes for custom autopilots, hull temperatures, ship damage status, and other ships functions. Readouts are switcheable between degrees Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit by clicking an area on the MDA screen.
  • Efficient Attitude Hold autopilot available to hold a given pitch/AOA and bank while minimizing yaw; typically used during reentry or to hold attitude while braking with hover engines in a vacuum. Autopilot can hold a stable reentry at 10x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space.
  • Efficient Descent Hold and Auto-Land autopilot able to hold a descent or ascent rate. Autopilot can auto-land With a frame rate of around 100 fps, at 80x time acceleration and can operate at 100x in space. This means that users can auto-land the XR1 even with an effective frame rate of only 1.25 frames per second, and you can hold a set ascent/descent rate with an effective frame rate of only one frame per second.
  • Airspeed Hold autopilot able to effectively hold a given airspeed within 0.1 meters-per-second.
  • Reentry Systems Check MDA mode allows users to verify that the ship is properly configured for reentry.
  • A new pop-up data HUD listing all the new XR1 keyboard shortcut keys.
  • Extensive damage and warning modeling including wing load limits, dynamic pressure and heat limits for different surfaces, and gear collapse on landing. Crew may be injured or killed by hard landings or crashes.
  • Callouts for altitude, speed, damage, warning, system failure, and docking distances.
  • Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with limited fuel that is used to power hydraulic systems such as aerodynamic control surfaces, landing gear, and wheel brakes.
  • APU and O2 consumables management with ship's mass being affected by LOX (Liquid Oxygen) and APU fuel masses in addition to other propellants and any crew members.
  • Internal system coolant management. The Delta Gliders original radiator is now used to cool internal systems in the XR-1. Heating internal coolants beyond their limits will cause internal systems failure.
  • Two pop-up mini-Heads up displays. Secondary HUDs are fully configurable, able shows flight data such as altitude, airspeed, and orbital elements in Metric and Imperial units. Tertiary HUD is used to show ship's status, damage, and warnings.
  • Extensively tweaked flight model now allows realistic reentry at 40-degree AOA, while also fixing a particular unrealistic "floaty" feel to gliding and landing.
  • Eliminated the nose-up push that the stock DG exhibits when accelerating. This allows the XR1 to be much more neutral than the stock DG in its handling.
  • Redesigned SCRAM (Supersonic RAMJET) engines capable of operation up to around Mach 18. An experienced pilot can now reach LEO with most of the main engine fuel remaining or use both the SCRAM and main engines at full power accelerating into orbit at 2.5 G's when in a hurry. XR-1 Scramjet engines operate at peak efficiency at Mach 7-8.
  • 238 sound effects and voice callouts requiring the OrbiterSound 3.5 by DanSteph.
  • Self-starting Mission-Elapsed-Time (MET) timer plus two manual interval timers.
  • Refueling and LOX resupply/dump support.
  • Capable of fuel cross-feed between main and RCS tanks.
  • Scenario editor support.


Reception[edit]

The initial release of the XR1 met with some criticism, but provided the code base from which all other XR vessels are be based. In spite of its high quality, the XR1 appears to not have attracted the same recognition as the XR-5, XR-2, and the DGIV, but is still considered a very solid addition to the Orbiter addon community.

The XR1's homepage is here: Doug's Orbiter Page


For additional details refer to the XR1 Flight Operations Manual