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For the life of me i don't know why this tiny little spaceplane/booster/shuttle wont launch properly. I've tried everything and searched for the answer on how to build a little shuttle properly but most the tutorials are all about a Space Shuttle Replica. I basically know what i'm supposed to do to even it out but when i do it it fixes nothing it just always starts flipping around right off the pad. Please help me. Edit: Let me rephrase that. I THOUGHT i knew how to build it but apparently I don't.

If anyone wants, I will post pictures. So whenever Ibuild a shuttle, I try to make it fly easily and not look nice. I add canards so I don't stall during re-entry. Now I have tried making shuttle replicas that are close to the real thing. But all of those just stall during or after reentry. I don't want to add canards to it because that looks terrible and isn't what the real one had. What I am saying is, are there any other ways to stop reentry without adding canards? Thanks in advance. Fire

I just saw 3Dprintingnut's brilliant design on KerbalX for early career mode games - https://kerbalx.com/3Dprintingnut/Sky-Shot-mk1 I downloaded the thing and yes, it really does work, and flies well. It's got me thinking about the economics of re-usability, in KSP - assuming that's something you want to RP (yes, i know, you can just ignore economics and fly a few more contracts to farm cash, and most of your cost is upgrading buildings not space vehicles) In a standard rocket, you have a lower stage, which you accelerate to about half of orbital velocity, then throw it away. Then you have the upper stage, which is taken all the way in to orbit. It consists of the upper stage engine, upper stage fuel tank, pod, and whatever stuff you need to survive re-entry and landing. Typically, the upper stage engine and tank are decoupled prior to re-entry, because it makes the process easier. However, since you already accelerated these components to orbital velocity, there is no performance reason why you couldn't bring them back, provided you can solve the design issue. To increase re-usability further, we have to start bringing more of the lower stage components up to orbit then home again. At this point it becomes a tradeoff - there is only so much mass you can carry with you before performance declines too much. So it's helpful to start looking at the Dry mass vs Cost of these components to see which are most worth saving - Reliant Engine - Mass 1.25T Cost 1100 Saving per Tonne when re-used = 880 Swivel Engine - Mass 1.5T Cost 1200 Saving per Tonne when re-used = 800 FT400 tank - Dry mass 0.25T Cost 316.4 Saving per Tonne when re-used = 1265.6 Rather surprisingly, it is better to ditch your lower stage rocket engine but drag it's empty fuel tanks to orbit for re-use, assuming you don't have the delta V to bring the whole lot.

Hello, fellows! In my 1.1.2 career I need to rescue somebody with his debris from the orbit of the Mun. I don't want to build sth. with a 10m heatshield, grabbing the debris and then landing on Kerbin. I want to do a shuttle with a cargo bay. I could install some 2.5m cargo bay mods but that is too easy and after 1,5 years KSP playtime I'm still new to the topic SSTO. I came up with this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4uu21mghca24r3k/MK3 Shuttle.craft?dl=0 But every time I launch, if with RCS or only SAS it keeps falling to the side. What do I do wrong? Thanks for the help

Ladies and gents, allow me to present Haven Station! Click for larger image: Damn, I guess it's been a long time since I shared anything here. I used to be a much more active contributor but life happened and reddit seemed to be easier to access in my limited free time. I've been sharing craft and producing videos and imgur galleries very sporadically since then, but I'd like to start posting content a little more frequently if I can. Haven Station is an ongoing project. It's already been built in the VAB, and I've hyperedited it into space run simulations a few times to make sure the design is viable. So far I've only sent up a few pieces, but I'm trying to properly document each launch in a short YouTube video. Let me know what you think and how I could improve:

So, the new fuel flow thingiemabobber is in. Problem is, i have no freaking idea how to build shuttles anymore :C I was used to the old and clunky system, i had everything balanced and all... But not anymore. Does anyone have any idea how to make shuttles as of 1.2? Or, do we switch to SpaceX and praise our Lord and Saviour Elon Musk?

Where do you guys strike the compromise between making stock shuttle-inspired craft look like the real thing vs be easy to fly? This is my first successful shuttle (gets to orbit with payload, remains controllable). Unfortunately by the time I was done fixing handling issues, it doesn't look so much like STS anymore https://kerbalx.com/AeroGav/Kolumbia First Change - Vector engines too heavy and screw up the empty CG. Replace with Terriers Second change - External tank causing engine thrust to not be inline with CG. Centre of mass moves up as tank empties. Solution - no tank. Third Up - With weaker main engines and no External tank, we need three SRBs to get supersonic/over 10km. Which also solves the problem of the SRBs not being inline with CG. With three clustered with 120 degree spacing around the fuselage, everything is in line ! Fourth Prob - It would now fly to orbit, but only when empty. Most of my LF/O was gone below mach 4, so I installed a pair of Turboramjets and finally it can actually get cargo to space. Fifth Change - The classic shuttle wing layout has elevons too close to CG for any control authority. Had to add canards. Sixth Change - Had to change to a double delta to get enough lift. TWR on Terriers is too low to just blast up there like a rocket. Need to fly like an airplane to orbit. Taking the "glass half full" approach It has an OMS system based on monoprop and three Puff engines. Uses tech appropriate to the shuttle era. SRB, LFO main engines, OMS, Pratt & Whitney J-58 jet engines. No nuclear materials on board. Flies like an honest airplane once the SRBs come off. CG does not move as the fuel burns off, boosters separate or cargo bay emptied The bad You need to be proficient in flying rockets as well as aircraft. The initial stages under SRB require competence in judging gravity turns (which i am not good at). The latter stages require airplane skills of maintaining correct AoA and energy/performance management. Just point the nose somewhere vaguely upward won't do it ! real shuttle had bigger cargo bay! How do stock shuttles fly then? I think I made a lot of changes to try get neutral handling qualities, do other guys just lock one of the autopilot modes and rely on scads of control authority to get it to hold the line?

Hi ! I'm trying to create a space shuttle (for the STS challenge) and I don't have any problem going in orbit, but the problem is the landing. It's very stable until maybe 500m/s speed where the orbiter starts to wobble unmanageably (roll axis) and finish to flip upwards (pitch axis) mostly towards retrograde. However, I can fly the orbiter from the runway and land easily when staying under 100m/s. Do you have any tips to improve or pilot my shuttle ? Thanks Edit : The center of lift is behind the center of mass

You're looking at "engineless orbiter" from ShuttleVariations pdf. It's an extended Shuttle with only OMS engines and no SSME's. Looks pretty dope, doesn't it? Does anyone know how designers thought to get this thing in to space? Some say Area 51 has some spectacular tech in there, so does NASA hyper edit?

I just stumbled on this film of Buran's (only) launch. My question is how does this thing balance itself? How does a rocket fly straight when up to 105 ton tumor is strapped on it's side? Buran-Energia's boosters are bit offset in wrong direction making it lean even more "on it's back". Did they have mad reaction wheels on board?

I was shuffling through the local Half Price Books recently, when I found a three-DVD set titled "Voyage of Discovery," which is coverage of Discovery's STS-114 flight in 2005; this was the "Return to Flight" after the Columbia tragedy a couple of years before. In addition, it was the first mission commanded by a woman (Col. Eileen Collins), and featured construction activity on the ISS. As I've been building my ISS-analogue in KSP, I've been really enjoying watching... when the crew was replacing a control moment gyroscope on the Z-1 truss assembly, I was thinking, "Okay, Bob is out there fixing the reaction wheel!" It's boiled down from real live mission coverage, and about the only bad thing about it is the excerpts from during-orbit press conferences when all the reporters seem to want to know is "Are you frightened (because of Columbia, etc.)?" and the astronauts are saying (with no visible evidence of impatience!) about seventy different variations on "We have a job to do and we're concentrating on that." Bonus material includes a 30-minute documentary on the Apollo-Soyuz mission and the first Hubble servicing mission. Great stuff, especially if you're a fan of the little details of a real space flight.

Hello fellow Kerbalnauts! I've put together some of my humble experience with landing shuttles to make this little guidance graphic to hopefully help those of us having trouble bringing down their precious, carefully designed shuttles (and I guess we all can agree we've been there to some extend ;)) Entry Guide It is of course based on my experiences and approach but has already been "validated" by friends to work very well Please tell me what you think of it!

Thought this warranted a separate thread since FAR players and Stock players are usually completely separate groups. Download here: https://kerbalx.com/crafts/14936 My KSP1-Shuttle (https://kerbalx.com/Naito/KSP1-Shuttle2016) now fully compatible with FAR! Full launch/re-entry/landing. Add the challenge of FAR with your Shuttle launches! Almost the same launch profile/capabilities as my original shuttle, though you now need to be a little more careful with high dynamic loads during launch and landing or else you'll rip your wings off =D Practice your landings with the SCA: https://kerbalx.com/Naito/KSP1-Shuttle2016-FAR-SCA3

I must stop to build shuttles... *starts to build a new shuttle* ಠ_ಠ This shuttle is for sure the closest one to the RL shuttle I have made with stock parts... Download: https://kerbalx.com/luizopiloto/STS---Bravura

Ok my Shuttle keeps Falling apart on the Launchpad with a bunch of launch clamps an struts holding it together. Apart from looking absolutely hilarious, how do I fix this?

Yes it does make it to space and back on its own Yes I spent way too long developing it Yes it is adorable

I was wondering if there are any good shuttle mods

I just developed my first shuttle. After a lot of hard work and calculations, it is done. Unfortunately, it is made from Mk2 parts. I cant pu many things inside that cargo bay. It has 2 CRG-08 bays. I am asking you, Kerbal-killers, to help me get ideas for funny and interesting shuttle missions. I already have interplanetary probes waiting for transfer window, but I think that wont be enough for me to feel like I used the shuttle as much as I can. Shuttle has enough delta-V to lift anything that can fit inside those cargo bays. Thank you in advance!

hello I'm new to the forum. can you guys please help me? I have a shuttle that flies well, except in autopilot mode. it tends to wabble. can I upload my ship so you guys can see what its doing and possibly fix it? Thanks Chriswheelz

I made a model* of the Lockheed Star Clipper. Called it the Star Chipper do to its likeness to a wedge. It definitely didn't spin out and crash upon re-entry... it only spun out but I recovered it * = ish should also point out that it is mostly to scale unlike a few other models i've seen around excrements i forgot the winglets...

Something I've never really accomplished is building a reliable shuttle, so I set out to do just that. I've already done some test flights, but it's far from stable. The issues stem from the orbiter's aerodynamics which I can't figure out. The vehicle is completely stock except for the docking assembly in the forward bay, but here is the craft file with the assembly removed (it brings the CoM just in front of the aft docking port): https://www.dropbox.com/s/xyv532298gm371q/Shuttle%20Orbiter.craft?dl=0. I can't figure out why the centre of mass is so far back and why the centre of lift is upside down. I've double checked to make sure the wings are the right way up. The centre of thrust shown here is with the main engines disabled. In-orbit stability is another issue considering the two OMS engines aren't perfectly aligned unless I tilt them up to an awkward angle. Also, sometimes the CoL will act up and just appear as a dot in the middle of the tail without a vector:

HELLO! I am making a space shuttle. I pretty cool one in my opinion. I've spent a week working out on the stability. But for some reason it just wants to tick me off and flip out chaotically I've used the center of life and center of mass to make it stable. It is stable in normal flight, but when I come in from reentry, it loosed control. I am going to post a craft file so you guys can test if you want. Any advice with space shuttles and reentry will greatly help me. Also, the mods that I have that are with the ship is TAC life, and mech jeb, for the information. Stubborn Shuttle That will not cooperate craft file. Thanks a lot you guys!!

My second attempt at a KSP cinematic. Took some tips from another Kerbalnaut, lemme know what ya think ^ _ ^

Space Shuttle tank ET94 entered the atlantic side of the Panama Canal yesterday and is now passing through the first of the Pacific-side locks, the Pedro Miguel Locks. The following webcam is at the next set of locks, the Miraflores Locks, facing towards Pedro Miguel: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Miraflores There is a bit of a rain storm right now but as soon as it passes, you will be able to see the Pedro Miguel locks in the distance. You can track the tanks progress here, it is being towed by the Shannon Dann: http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:400748/zoom:10 It just entered the first set of locks about 15 minutes ago.

Just wondering why the topic Component Space Shuttle V 5.0.1 (July 14, 2013) is closed when it is still active and being updated? It is linked from http://spacedock.info/mod/268/CSS-%20Component%20Space%20Shuttle Thanks! Link: