Landing Airbags concept art, more will come! (Earlmilly's request)

[8BitCosmonaut]

Finished the first concept art for landing airbags. This is the smallest one, a ball shaped variant, just enough to hold stationary experiments. Good n' cheap for early missions.

[Specifications]
Mass: 0.6 tons
Size: 8x8
Velocity Threshold (Deflated): 4.5 m/s
Velocity Threshold (Inflated): 12 m/s
Orientation: Reaction Wheel

How it works: The airbag will automatically inflate once a decoupler/docking port closest to the attachment point below the ball detaches. It will only deflate when landed on a surface and it's velocity is 0 m/s.

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

@Earlmilly1 Here you go

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

By realism standards, this thing is still pretty huge. The ball airbag used on the Luna 9 mission is only around a meter tall.

 

[Danny Batten]

Finished the first concept art for landing airbags. This is the smallest one, a ball shaped variant, just enough to hold stationary experiments. Good n' cheap for early missions.

View attachment 4514
View attachment 4515
View attachment 4516

[Specifications]
Mass: 0.6 tons
Size: 8x8
Velocity Threshold (Deflated): 4.5 m/s
Velocity Threshold (Inflated): 12 m/s
Orientation: Reaction Wheel

How it works: The airbag will automatically inflate once a decoupler/docking port closest to the attachment point below the ball detaches. It will only deflate when landed on a surface and it's velocity is 0 m/s.

Damn that looks good!

 

[sunshine and rainbows]

So this air bag is going to protect whatever's inside, but there is only 4x4 space inside, so what is it good for exactly, a probe alone takes up 2x4

 

[sunshine and rainbows]

Anyway cool design

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

So this air bag is going to protect whatever's inside, but there is only 4x4 space inside, so what is it good for exactly, a probe alone takes up 2x4

You need to read it properly, it will be useful when the career mode update comes out. The advantages is, you don't need to design your lander to be capable of a soft landing, those are heavy and expensive. With airbag landers, you can land hard without an overly sophisticated, heavy and expensive system.

Finished the first concept art for landing airbags. This is the smallest one, a ball shaped variant, just enough to hold stationary experiments. Good n' cheap for early missions.

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

So this air bag is going to protect whatever's inside, but there is only 4x4 space inside, so what is it good for exactly, a probe alone takes up 2x4

It only has space to hold tiny measuring equipment like thermometers...barometers....magnetometers....antenna, some batteries, a probe core and maybe a solar panel. But if you are creative, you could cram a rover into it, I've done it before

 

[sunshine and rainbows]

It only has space to hold tiny measuring equipment like thermometers...barometers....magnetometers....antenna, some batteries, a probe core and maybe a solar panel. But if you are creative, you could cram a rover into it, I've done it before

Thanks, I do see how they can be useful now

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

Finished the second concept art for an OSAC (One-Sided Airbag Cushion) , this is the smallest variant. Useful if you can't cram in enough parachutes to slow a heavy vehicle below 10m/s. It also has a heat shield attached to it so you don't have to worry about installing one.

[Specifications]
Mass (with heat shield): 1.5 tons
Mass (heat shield jettisoned): 0.9 tons
Maximum shock absorption threshold: 195 kN
Maximum velocity threshold (with heat shield): 3.6 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (heat shield jettisoned): 5.5 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (bags inflated): 12-15 m/s
Compensation system: Burst Disc

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

@Earlmilly1 Here's a second one

 

[Earlmilly1]

Wow! They look very good! Thank you for posting. I really hope it gets added. One of my favorite concepts so far because it would make life alot easier.

 

[Danny Batten]

Finished the second concept art for an OSAC (One-Sided Airbag Cushion) , this is the smallest variant. Useful if you can't cram in enough parachutes to slow a heavy vehicle below 10m/s. It also has a heat shield attached to it so you don't have to worry about installing one.
View attachment 4548
View attachment 4549

[Specifications]
Mass (with heat shield): 1.5 tons
Mass (heat shield jettisoned): 0.9 tons
Maximum shock absorption threshold: 195 kN
Maximum velocity threshold (with heat shield): 3.6 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (heat shield jettisoned): 5.5 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (bags inflated): 12-15 m/s
Compensation system: Burst Disc

Damn! Sometimes I wish you worked with Stef. All of your art is epic!

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

Finished the third concept art for an OSAC (One-Sided Airbag Cushion) , this is the larger variant.

[Specifications]
Mass (with heat shield): 3.6 tons
Mass (heat shield jettisoned): 1.8 tons
Maximum shock absorption threshold: 295 kN
Maximum velocity threshold (with heat shield): 4 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (heat shield jettisoned): 6.5 m/s
Maximum velocity threshold (bags inflated): 13-17 m/s
Compensation system: Burst Disc

 

[Earlmilly1]

Nice! Looks great. Just wish stef would add it.

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

I hate old me.

 

[Earl]

I hate old me.

pre-noir version of you?

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

pre-noir version of you?

yes

 

[Admiral]

damn these look epic

 

[Earl]

Wow! They look very good! Thank you for posting. I really hope it gets added. One of my favorite concepts so far because it would make life alot easier.

dear past me,
please stfu
sincerely, future me

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

dear past me,
please stfu
sincerely, future me

Everybody gangsta until they see their past self.

 

[Earl]

Everybody gangsta until they see their past self.

then everybody wanna delete their account

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

yes

 

[Lt. Snakestrike]

then everybody wanna delete their account

I can proudly say I'm not ashamed of my past self. Although some of the things I did still make me cringe...

 

[8BitCosmonaut]

This brings back so many memories, and so many broken promises