ObsessedWithKSP

On the forums, Levelord has discovered that struts (specifically, the start of them) induce ridiculous amounts of drag (all credit to him for the pictures and hard work, I'm just posting the findings here as well). Here's some pictures:

Identical rockets:
http://i.imgur.com/mPVQqjk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8jxFpWK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oIxLYGU.jpg
As expected, they perform identically.

With the strut between them (started on the left one, place second end on the right one:
http://i.imgur.com/yWq0FRh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BFZIxpo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/bhU4Asz.jpg

"We've now determined that the strut connectors are causing the differences in the tests, but h

I love it. If only they'd used the gimbal response speed code that already existed to not make the nozzles flutter around so much as well.. still, baby steps. And these are good ones. Hopefully paving the way for Atlas V recreations!

As for how the broken-off bits behave after deployment, they are handled as solar panel pieces or engine fairings. They aren't fully persistent (which is good if you like your framerates to be a two-digit number). That doesn't mean they aren't solid objects, however. Point away from face.

Source

Instead of going on rails, they disappear. Don't worry about bloated part count, Kessler Syndrome or debris fields, the stock fairings won't be causing any problems like that - the fairing as a whole is just one part that is divided up into various sub-parts or panels that dis