![]() KSP YouTuber Scott Manley exploited explosive decoupling for a technique he calls "rocket surgery," describing it as more an art form than a science. The idea is to build up heat through contact and rocket exhaust to cause overheating resulting in an explosion, decoupling the segments below it approximately when desired, like normal staging. However, there is an art of staging by placing solid fuel boosters next to each other, either connected at the side or arranged vertically so the exhaust of the upper booster fires onto the lower (they don't have to be directly joined). It may be helpful to include both decouplers in the same launch stage.Īt the start of Career Mode, no decouplers or separators are available, so normal staging is not possible until enough science has been earned to research these parts. It is possible to create a separator out of 2 properly oriented decouplers (at the small expense of additional weight and cost over a bonafide separator). Synthesized Stack Separator using 2 TR-18A Stack Decouplers. Jettisoning a stacked decoupler shortly to soon is not a large problem as long as the rocket doesn't rotate. Although the engine will ignite, it will provide no thrust because it's blocked by a part. Leaving stacked decouplers attached to an engine renders that engine ineffectual. Both effects cause jettisoned stages which are still running to crash into the rocket in most cases. Almost empty booster stages are also relatively light causing a higher acceleration and overtaking the rocket. If they are stopped they won't induce torque this way. This will also induce torque pointing inwards, but this torque is only induced by running engines. If the engines are shut down, this is usually not a large problem because the rocket can clear it fast enough, but if they are running they will push the stage inward.Īlso, the decoupler normally stays on the spent stage the center of mass is closer to the rocket than the center of thrust. The main reason for that is, that the decouplers are usually placed below the center of mass of decoupled stages, which means that on separation they induce torque pointing the stage inward. The TT18-A Launch Stability Enhancer also decouples from parts and plays a similar sound effect, but it is categorized as a strut and is fixed to the ground.Ĭare should be taken to ensure that jettisoned engines on radial stages have finished burning before detachment, as there is the risk that they will collide with the rest of the rocket. Separators' mass and cost are slightly more than the similarly sized decouplers. Separators, such as the TS-12 Stack Separator, are a special type of vertical decouplers, which separate from both sides, leaving three craft: both sides of the separator and the separator itself. Radial decouplers and booster or asparagus stages are generally used with symmetry applied in the VAB to ensure the center of mass and center of thrust remain on the rocket's main axis. As the ejection force may not be enough to prevent collision afterwards, the Sepratron I can be used to push detached stages away. Among the uses for these are boosters and asparagus staging. ![]() Radial decouplers, such as the TT-38K Radial Decoupler, attach to the sides of a rocket and eject stages horizontally. Force Percent - bar for tweaking the ejection forceĪll actions in the same stage as the decoupler or separator are executed simultaneously, including those on the detached section, even if that section is isolated from all command modules by the decoupling event itself.ĭecouplers exist in both inline and radial designs.But both crossfeed and and staging properties can be tweaked - and these can be usefull at emergency decoupling options or when additional fuel is necessary, for example upon unplanned disassembly. The momentum it imparts is defined by the name ejection force which is given in multiples of 10 Ns.īy default, neither decouplers nor separators provide automatic crossfeed, and thus isolate fuel consumption within the respective stages. On many models, the attachment affinity of the decoupler can be determined by an arrow decal which points towards the explosive end of the decoupler. ![]() This asymmetric detachment is the distinguishing feature of decouplers when compared to stack separators, which detach from both sections symmetrically. Decouplers remain attached to one section of the vehicle when staged. ![]()
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