Star Shooter - A rocket that converts Meteorites into Asteroids

[Krog34]

Star Shooter

KerbalX craft File here!

 

So I made this rocket because I thought it would be a fun challenge and I've not really seen anyone do such a thing before. The first challenge came when I realized the "payload" would need to be placed near the bottom of the whole setup for purposes of easy attachment (I didn't want loading the Asteroid to be a complicated task). The 2nd hurdle was that the forward tank and engine nacelle would need to eject FORWARDS during flight and would need to ACCELERATE faster than the ships current speed to get out of the way (trust me it took way more tests to figure that out than probably should have!). The solution to this is to release the Front Tank/Engines when fuel is about to run out. The tank naturally accelerates forward and downwards safely clearing the path for the Star Shooter. During Stage 2 (tri-rocket configuration) you can fly to a stable orbit, or ditch the outer rockets so they can burn up in the atmosphere and continue your circulation burn on the Stage 3 dual Thud motors.

I like to fly this rocket at half throttle until stage 2. After which full throttle is just fine. So far I've only tested it with a Class B Asteroid (technically meteorite) that weighed a mere 6.5 tons. I would be confident in payloads up to about 15 tons and of Class B asteroid size or smaller. Try it out and check out the video if you aren't convinced! Let me know what you think of her! 

 

Edited May 10, 2017 by Krog34

[SchweinAero]

Awesome! I'd take it for a spin myself, if I had a meteorite... >.>

That recovery boat looked great too.

[cubinator]

Very cool concept!