Hejnfelt

The Falcon VTOL SSTO landing at Minmus with happy pilot Jeb

Thanks, me too I hope you will enjoy the voyage descriptions as well.

Falcon first flight - Minmus and the Mun After rendezvous with the Condor and re fueling after its initial ascent I wanted to take the Falcon on a test flight to either Mun or Minmus. I decided for Minmus because it's the one I visit less often on test flights. I undocked from the Condor which still had its ascent stage liquid boosters attached and set course for Minmus. Minmus was easily encountered and I set up a stable orbit at around 30km ASL and descended from there. On most of the way down I used the engine in its normal position and only for the final touchdown did I use the VTOL capacity of the craft. I have rarely seen that big of a smile on Jebediah's face. On Minmus's surface the Falcon's TWR is 55+ so I reached an apoapsis above 30km within seconds and easily circularized. At this point I realized the Falcon still had 3500+ M/s Delta-v left and I decided to stop over at the Mun as well on my return to LKO. I intercepted the Mun in a highly polar fashion and created an elliptical orbit to change my inclination with less Delta-v for more precise equatorial landing, which would make my return to low Kerbin orbit easier. For landing I applied a similar approach as on Minmus. Kill orbital velocity and then most of my surface velocity while in normal engine position and then at the final touchdown stage, drop the engine 90 degrees and land vertically. Ascend was again carried out swiftly due to the enormous TWR and for my return to Kerbin I first set up a highly elliptical orbit and then set up an encounter node at my periapsis which I burned, made another orbit around Kerbin for intercept and rendezvoused with the Condor. I had less than 400 Delta-v left when I docked with the Condor.

After The Titan I figured the main ship needed more Delta-V in order to visit more bodies in one trip. With ambitions of visiting more bodies I started looking into the Delta-V requirements for landing on and ascending from those bodies. Immediately it became apparent to me that an 18.5 ton lander will be hard to land on e.g. Tylo and get back to orbit in one stage. Ergo the lander had to be lighter and have more than 3 Km/s Delta-V. Eventually I built the Condor and Falcon Condor and Falcon build details The building really started with me scaling back The Titan, getting rid of all the parts I never really needed or used such as excess RCS fuel. But through different trials I realized that a detachable front cockpit is a good way to basically increase the weight of your lander due to the high weight of cockpits. The weight increases the fuel it needs for high Delta-V requiring heavier engines for high enough TWR for takeoff from bodies such as Tylo which increases the weight even more. A downwards spiral of evil. Eventually I ditched the front detachable lander idea in favor of a simple and detachable lander which is housed inside a cargo bay in the mother ship. The Falcon was born. Weighing only 5.5 tonnes with a Kerbal in the seat, it has a VTOL rocket engine at its core. The B9 VTOL rocket engine makes the perfect midsize lander engine ensuring high TWR on all bodies including Kerbin and Tylo but not Eve. In order to keep weight down I swapped out landing legs for structural elements which are the lightest stock KSP parts. I also used the modified RCS tank with only 10 RCS fuel. I also decided only to include an external seat as the idea is that this lander can swiftly take a single Kerbal onto any body, carry out its mission and return to orbit safely without need for shelter from the elements. I continued the minimalist design in opting for the lightest solar panels, giving up solar tracking which I found was not really needed on my Titan mission. To store power I opted for the smallest battery holding 100 parts electricity. I tried many ways of including reaction wheels but eventually I decided to add the square nose cone instead and modify the part in the B9 pack to include reaction wheels. I guess we all have our things that must be on a space ship and for me it's antennas. For long range ships, there must be large communotrons and for smaller short distance space ships there must be small communotrons. Hence I added two antennas as well. Lastly I balanced the center of mass so the VTOL works without need of the reaction wheels. The two RCS ports are also aligned perfectly with the center of mass. The final Falcon build is probably my largest lander achievement so far in KSP. It weighs 5.5 tonnes with pilot and fuel and has exactly 4000 M/s ATMO Delta-V and a whopping 5200 M/s Vacuum Delta-V. Enough to land on and orbit any body in the Kerbol system except Jool and Eve. The Massive amount of Delta-V were also the reasons not to include a parachute on this thing. The parachute reduced the Delta-V by 300 M/s and given that the Falcon uses less than 300 M/s to land on Kerbin I decided to drop it. The Falcon is a true VTOL and Kerbin certified SSTO craft. But the Falcon is only half of or rather a tiny part of the craft. The Condor was basically built independently of the Falcon to have copious amounts of Delta-V for interplanetary transfers. In style with the Falcon it is a more minimalist design having mainly less RCS but one big difference. A crew tank. For the Condor I thought it best to consider living space for the crew on long voyages. Therefore even though the Condor can hold 4 crew it is built with 2 crew members in mind. 1 Condor pilot and 1 Falcon pilot and a crew tank for 2 to hold them both. Due to the previous Titan once running out of electricity I decided to up the capacity to 8000 parts electricity. The Condor weighs ca. 215 tons with the Falcon in its cargo bay. Without the fuel in the Falcon it holds 14278 Vacuum Delta-V. Together the Condor and Falcon represent the best team I have right now for exploring the Kerbol system in a re-usable single stage vessel. The Condor launched from the KSC piloted by Bill Kerman with a stock launcher and the Falcon launched to orbit and rendezvous by itself piloted by Jebediah Kerman. Condor and Falcon Maiden Voyage For the Maiden voyage I will try to visit as many bodies as possible. I already tested the Falcon on a trip around the Kerbin SOI. Fully fueled it took Jeb from LKO to Minmus, landed, orbited to the Mun, landed, orbited and back to LKO for rendezvous with the Condor for refueling. 1. Falcon first flight - Minmus and the Mun Key learnings To be updated Voyage pics When voyage is complete I will assemble a summary of pics here. Until then pics can be found in voyage links above.

The Titan is my first successful reusable single stage interplanetary space ship capable of landing on and re-orbiting multiple bodies. Titan build details The Titan was my first successful SS concept build. I didn't think too much about the capacity to make it all the way around the Kerbol system in one go, the idea was more to explore the possibility of building a space ship with 10Km/s Delta-V capable of visiting multiple bodies and returning to Kerbin. While building The Titan I decided to try detaching the cockpit and re-attaching it with clam-o-tron Sr. docking ports which worked well and didn't look horrible. I then started modifying the cockpit as a lander using the parts available. I didn't care much about weight but just kept in mind that a good rule of thumb for the Mun was 1500 M/s landing Delta-V and 1500 M/s ascent Delta-V. So 3 Km/s seemed a good round figure. Eventually the lander had everything a lander needs including: Legs Solar panels Batteries Docking ports Antennas Ladders Lights Reaction wheels RCS ports and fuel Engines and fuel Parachutes All in all it was a well built lander weighing in around 18.5 tonnes with 3 Km/s Delta-V fully fueled. The main engine part of the Titan had one purpose. High amounts of Delta-V. But it also needed to be capable of moving around on its own when the cockpit was detached. This meant it needed a probe core, reaction wheels, RCS and fuel plus solar power and batteries. Eventually the Titan held 10 Km/s Delta-v with the cockpit attached and independently the cockpit lander held 3 Km/s Delta-v fully fueled. The Titan was launched in one piece from the KSC. Titan Maiden Voyage On its maiden voyage Bob, Kelrey and I went to the Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Dres and back to Kerbin. Dres was by far the most difficult planet to get to. After Ike we still had 5000+ Delta-v left but after encountering and circularizing Dres we were down to 2000. Barely enough to return to Kerbin after landing on Dres. On the return trajectory with only a few hundred Delta-v left in the tanks we aerobraked around Kerbin and achieved a ca. 100 km parking orbit for the re-usable engine part of the Titan. Barely I might add, as we were aiming for 200 km orbit... The last remaining fuel was transferred to the lander which burned it all for de-orbit, landing safely using parachutes. Key learnings Building and testing The Titan I learned that I really don't need 100s of RCS fuel. This prompted me to create a new part based on the B9 RCS fuel tank that holds 40 parts fuel. The new tank holds only 10 parts RCS fuel. This is more than enough for a lander as I find myself only using RCS to dock and when I accidentally run out of solar power with my solar panels facing away from the sun. Also I found that using a docking port in the middle of your ship is a good way to decrease stability. The Titan had constant small wobble troubles during long interplanetary transfer burns. Voyage pics

Project SS - Re-usable Single Stage space ships for Kerbol Exploration This thread is about my mission to built a single stage re-usable space ship which carries a single stage re-usable lander capable of landing on and return to orbit from all bodies of the Kerbol system excluding Jool. This challenge poses immediate problems such as what sequence to visit bodies in and what specific requirements exist for different bodies. Obviously the craft perfect for landing on and escaping the Mun is different than one built specifically to land on and escape Laythe. The building challenge therefore requires understanding and minding of several aspects such as: Delta-V required for landing / orbit / interplanetary transfer Atmospheric capabilities Crew size Size and weight Type of craft - plane or rocket Many more detailed questions surfaced during my exploration of different builds and this thread will highlight the successful ones. Successful meaning the particular ship was re-usable, single stage, capable of multiple interplanetary transfers and landing on multiple bodies before returning to Kerbin LKO and landing the crew on Kerbin. It does not necessarily mean it was capable of a single stage grand tour. Also, a ship prototype may find its way to this thread if I learned something new building and testing it. Space Ships The Titan - (lander and tug) The Condor + Falcon - (Mother ship with lander) Prologue: After playing around with KSP for a few months I got into the idea of building single stage re-usable space ships with high enough Delta-V to explore the Kerbol system. It became quickly evident that stock parts are not built for a single stage re-usable setup, so I turned to different parts mods for testing. Notably I tried KW, HOME, NovaPunch and B9 Aerospace and a few others. After building and flying several missions with parts from these mods I decided to restrict my usage to the B9 Aerospace pack as it aesthetically appeals to me but also it seems to be stable. These parts which were mainly made for space plane designs look amazing when applied to space ships. I should mention that I have made a few changes to some of the parts in the B9 Aerospace pack. The modifications will be listed here and comments on them are encouraged: Included SAS module and reaction wheels in square nose cone that drains electricity. Created new RCS part that holds only 10 RCS fuel and has a dry weight of 20Kg (stock 50 fuel RCS tank is dry weight 50kg) included LFO fuel into all B9 structural parts with roughly same amount and exact fuel to dry weight ratio as stock orange tanks I hope you enjoy this thread as much as I have enjoyed building these ships. As a last note I should mention that all ships are launched from the KSC using stock part heavy launchers capable of putting upwards of 300 tons into LKO.

After my previous trip to Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike and back to Kerbin with the Titan, I decided I needed something better. Something bigger with more Delta-v. I present the Condor. With 14263 vacuum Delta-V, the Condor can go anywhere in the Kerbol system and return to Kerbin. It is one complete stage and reusable. But for landing I needed something smaller. So inside the Condor lives the Falcon. A VTOL SSTO lander with exactly 4000 atmo Delta-v and 5200 vacuum Delta-v it is by far my best creation in KSP. It lands on and takes off from water as well as land. It can land and return to orbit on any body except Jool of course and Eve. I have yet to test it on Tylo but according to the numbers it should be capable of it. I plan to take these two on a grand tour of the Kerbol system. I already made a small trip with the Falcon alone from the Condor in LKO to Minmus landing to Mun landing to LKO docked with the Condor for refueling.

It's not that heavy actually, "only" 125 tonnes. So I used a slightly modified heavy lifter I have, which can lift 160 tons into Kerbin orbit. I was thinking of lifting the lander and fuel/engines separately but it was stable enough with some struts to survive the ascent in one piece. If you're looking for help building heavy lifters, check out the Space Port http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/?s=stock+lifter&x=-1360&y=-71

Thanks, it was a ton of fun too

I present the Titan. An exploration ship with 10.000+ Delta-v and a very capable lander with independent 3096 Delta-v fully fueled. On its maiden voyage we went to Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Dres and back to Kerbin. Dres was by far the most difficult planet to get to. After Ike I still had 5000+ Delta-v left but after encountering and circularizing around Dres I was down to 2000. Barely enough to return to Kerbin. I had to break out the Google-Fu and learned about aerobrake nodes around Kerbin. On the return trajectory with only a few hundred Delta-v left in the tanks I aerobraked around Kerbin and achieved a ca. 100km parking orbit for the main engines. Barely I might add, as I was aiming for 200km... The last remaining fuel was transferred to the lander which burned it all for de-orbit, landing safely using parachutes.

Consider your center of mass and your lift. Make sure your lift goes straight through your center of mass. Make sure you have a control torque part like the inline reaction wheels for improved SAS. At high speeds this is crucial. I like to place it right behind the cockpit so it comes far in front of the center of mass. Make sure you have at least 2 action groups. One for your jet engines and one for your rocket engine and turn your engines on and off before you hit the "stage" button (spacebar) at launch. Then use the jet engine action group to turn on your jet engines. When it's time to shift, use your action groups to turn engines on/off without touching your throttle. I suggest using the LV-T30 Rocket engine as it is light, powerful and has good isp in vacuum. Use 2 jet engines, 1 LV-T30 and make sure to use fuel lines to funnel fuel between tanks. Yes, oxidizer can run through liquid fuel tanks as long as parts are connected with fuel lines. Hope it helps.

90pts proved, potential for circumnavigation With the clarified minimum altitude of 25000 meters I built a high altitude spy plane with no part clipping. She cruises at almost exactly 2400 m/s between 32000 and 40000 meters. She eventually flamed out at 56000 meters as the engines didn't produce enough electricity to keep the cockpit running. If I had turned off the engines early and just cruised without SAS, I would have circumnavigated Kerbin and landed at the KSC as I was already in an elliptical orbit with periapsis >30000 meters.

I like this entry a lot, especially your use of structural panels

I apologize, I guess my eyes are so used to seeing MAY NOT USE INFINIGLIDE that that's what I read. Edited entry.

Ok, I actually read it as a guideline maximum because the higher you go the easier it gets. Also if you get too high, the speed converts to orbital speed which is automatically a few hundred m/s faster than surface speed.

Updated entry with infiniglider entry. 226 m/s on runway.

Updated entry with the MiniBlack, 70pts? Or is the altitude too high?

60pts +2100 m/s. Also I'm pretty sure those Kermunists won't notice the giant fireball in the sky

Is that too fast?

Now that parachute idea is absolutely brilliant!

I present, The Batman! At 17 parts it is a lightweighter. Fast, agile and very forgiving. The Batman takes off very easily and literally cannot crash on the runway. It can fly medium distances at medium speeds but also reach high altitudes above 20Km for scenic views. The wide stance allows it to land pretty much anywhere and the featured ladder - operated by action group 1 - is perfectly placed for easy exit and entry when out exploring. Building has been kept minimalist for the sake of simply showcasing the fundamental principles of center of gravity vs lift and thrust. Craft file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iqmxswv110hmnx9/The%20Batman.craft

Built my very first SSTO and heard the largest issue as air intakes vs engines... Behold AirWalker. She flies rock steady up to 27000 meters and handles like a knife through butter in atmo.

Jeb pulled 1.21 Gigawatt!... I mean 121.6 Gs

TL;DR: Final score - 19555 Today I managed to finish my mission to settle Eeloo. Here's a summary: On the surface: - 186 Kerbals - 1 Sky scraper living facility / solar farm / farm - 3 Biological science facilities / farms - 3 Technical science facilities / labs - 3 Rovers All facilities are self sustainable. Every kerbal is fed. All facilities have communication equipment and is fit for long term Eeloo settlement. In orbit: - 1 Space station consisting of 2 independent fully capable vessels housing 4 Kerbals and with room for 10 additional visitors. - 1 empty atomic tug - 1 Atomic tug acting as tanker which has full docking and communication capabilities. - 12 satellites in geosynchronous orbit at 683.69 km arranged in a Walker constellation consisting of 4 orbits of 3 satellites spaced 120 degrees apart. Score: Total: 9300 + 50 + 75 + 100 + 75 + 300 + 9500 + 50 + 105 = 19555 Party in the house - 186 x 50 = 9300 pts Mission control - 50 pts Seeing the sites - 3 x 25 = 75 pts We're here... now what - Solar farming, Special relativity time measurement of Eeloo by Walker E-SAT Network, Space station monitoring (has all KSP science sensors), Farming (food production), Eeloo surface experimentation = 5 x 20 = 100 pts Tab 'A' into slot 'B': - - - - - Prometheus: (Living facility, Tug, Tanker) 3 x 25 = 75 pts - - - - - Athena: Tug, Tanker, 6 Science Facilities, 2 Space Station vessels, 2 x 6 Satellites - 12 x 25 = 300 pts Want fries with that - 190 x 50 = 9500 Convoy - 2 x 25 = 50 pts Can you hear me now? - 4 x 20 + 25 = 105 pts (Any bonus for a true Walker constellation?) The full story: When I originally read the challenge I was very excited. I had never ventured outside Kerbin's SOI and I really wanted to go somewhere - ANYWHERE! I immediately thought I was in over my head and I spent the first evening building and crashing, running out of fuel and completely missing my target (Eeloo). After maybe 10 tries I finally made a vessel with enough Delta-v to make it to Eeloo and back. I was ecstatic While posting my achievement here I reread the challenge and immediately knew I had to challenge myself and create a long term base. The first evenings were spent simply putting together the main vessel Prometheus. When it was done and tested on Kerbin, came the problem of lifting 200 ton Prometheus plus a 400-500 ton tug into space. Out of failure I was forced to lift Prometheus and its engine separately. The engine lifter stage was +4000 tons!!! Eventually though I had the formula right and Prometheus was assembled in Kerbin orbit. While building Prometheus I didn't get to put as many thing on it as I wanted to. No rovers, satellites or space station. The idea for Athena was quickly born. I already had the engine stage design and started by trying to build a Prometheus copy that could slice into 8 different segments. Eventually it proved too difficult to stabilize due to the instability of decouplers in general. And so Athena was born in many segments first assembled in the VAB and the lifted one by one into orbit where she was assembled and refueled. Prometheus and Athena set sail for Eeloo. Below are 6 screenshot albums detailing: - Prometheus launch, orbital assembly, trip to Eeloo and landing - Athena assembly - Athena trip to Eeloo - Walker E-SAT network deployment in geosynchronous orbit around Eeloo - Athena Space station deployment - Athena Science Facilities landing Prometheus: Athena assembly: Athena trip to Eeloo Walker E-SAT network deployment in geosynchronous orbit around Eeloo Athena Space station deployment Athena Science Facilities landing I hope people enjoyed this challenge as much as I did. It was a great learning experience. Alacrity, thank you for taking the time to write up and post this challenge.

Haha I explain in more detail here http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/47354-We-do-it-because-it-is-hard-the-Eeloo-Challenge?p=639207&viewfull=1#post639207 The Kerbin constellation was a test before setting up my Eeloo Walker constellation.