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After much trial and error, I've finally managed to make my second ever functional SSTO, and the first SSTO I've ever created with a useful payload other then it's pilot! It's built to enter orbit, land on Minmus, spend about 2 and half months processing ore, then lift off to interplanetary space with 6,000 delta V to spare! Kerbal X Download Page Notes/Trivia: The crafts' front-most two fuel tanks are intentionally under-fueled! This was done to help achieve liftoff on the run way; when full, the craft was too unstable for me to fly properly X3 You might want to take this into account if you decide to refuel and take off on Kerbin. Alternatively, you can try to fly it fully fueled if you think your up to the task; I doubt I'm the best at flying :Y There's only one pilot seat and no probe control (making flying with an engineer not very ideal), and the ISRU module and drills are the smaller variants. Refueling takes awhile, even with stock speed up set to max! It does hit 4,000 delta V around halfway through refueling, so you can lift off partially empty if you know where you want to go, or need more TWR. Lift off from Minmus can be kind of tricky, as the craft doesn't have the reaction wheel strength to pitch up at full fuel, and the craft likes to curve after a while and slam one of it's wings into the ice! Simply retracting and rextending the landing gear quickly can help you ascend if you don't have a convenient ramp to use. Feel free to add your thoughts and/or suggest improvements, this is my first serious SSTO, and I'd love to keep building upon what I've learned while constructing it!

Syrvannia SSTO Dear Kerbonauts, This post is meant as a standalone showcase of this craft. This will be updated as this gains experience and revisions. For the K-Prize post; see bottom of this entry. I would like to submit the following for your consideration. Today i present: Syrvania SSTO Main view: The Syrvanna SSTO is named after a faction in my favourite Ravenfield Mod. It can haul 5T of payload into LKO. This vehicle is also capable of mining and processing resources. Self sufficient SSTO. Includes Space Cab. Specifications (without Spacecab): Crew capacity: 4+2 Cargo capacity: 5T Weight fueled: 87.455T Dry weight: 43.765T Part count: 118 Cost: 223.307 Length: 26.3m Width: 23.7 Height: 9.3 Launch: Hold a pitch of 20dgrs until 20km. Switch engine mode and reduce thrust 30% until 70km<Ap<100km and circulize @ Ap. Re-entry: Set Pe=50km (or below 20km), Toggle brakes and maintain pitch of 20 dgrs. Fueling: Fill Mk3 LF tank to 1500. Fill all other tanks. 1:Toggle engines 2:Ladders, ramp and cargo bay 3:Toggle scanners and antenna 4:Deploy drill 5:Mine 0:Decouple Youtube footage: Side view: Front view: Interior: Docked at LKOSS: A stripped-down cargo version, named Syrvania SSTO-C, is also available at the Steam Workshop and KerbalX. That version lacks the self sufficiency but can haul a payload of 10T to LKO. KerbalX entry: https://kerbalx.com/Robdjee/Syrvania-SSTO Cargo Version: https://kerbalx.com/Robdjee/Syrvania-SSTO-C Workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1660186863 Cargo Version: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1871125619 K-Prize post: Kind regards, Robdjee

This is my first craft thread, so advice would be welcome if I am in conflict with any conventions. LKO stats have been adjusted for 1.8 aero changes (improved performance for this craft). Big Plane to Anywhere (figuratively) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1875714661 (Nice try, Bill, but I don't think this is what they meant by "long range ISRU craft"...) Well, it's been a long time coming. I'm mainly a rocket guy, but when I do find myself in the Spaceplane Hangar I very easily get obsessed with fiddling with my designs, more so than with the rockets. Anyway, I think I've finally gotten this to the point where I no longer have to be ashamed to put it in view of the public. Let me know if I'm wrong! If I'm being honest, the series of planes that this is a culmination of probably began life as the concept, "like my first spaceplane, only bigger". But eventually an actual mission materialized: to carry a scientific exploration team to Laythe and (almost) anywhere else with a complete science package and ISRU that wouldn't take months to refuel with. One development I'm a bit proud of was the realization that I could attach radiator panels to the reaction wheel that was adjacent to both of the drills and the refiner, elegantly taking care of all my core heat xfer needs. This development allowed me to finally have a truly streamlined airplane, since I had formerly had medium TCSes attached to the exterior. Two panels and two small TCSes have less than the mass of one of the two medium TCSes, let alone the aerodynamic improvement! The small TCSes (middle of picture) are for actual part cooling, and aren't necessary, but having at least a little active cooling capability is handy from time to time, e.g. cooling off during a multi-orbit aerocapture. (The panels are terrible at non-ISRU cooling in general, and the ones on this vessel in particular are nearly useless at it.) The construction of this spaceplane does not use offsets at all, nor any part clipping aside from the wings tilting into the nacelles. This was a design choice. Table of Contents: Statistics: immediately below the table of contents Atmospheric flight characteristcs: Balance; Lift; Takeoff; Ascent; Reentry; Landing: approach, normal, water, parachute Vacuum flight characteristics: Takeoff; Landing Miscellaneous: Docking; Adjusting balance; Water landing; Water movement; Design choices Edit history Postscript (action groups) Statistics: —Parts: 100 —Mass: 111.35 tons (57.15 dry) —Cost: 401.29 kilocredits —Vacuum Delta-V: 4.6k to 4.7k depending on if you have oxidizer or nothing but liquid fuel. (counting ore tank, since you can refine it into fuel) —Engines: 4xRAPIER, 4xNERV (0.25 TWR on NERVs if the LF/Ox tanks are empty) —Landing gear: 2xLY-60 in rear; LY-60 and LY-35 in front. (35 for better taxiing and runway takeoff; 60 for rougher terrain and lower takeoff speed) —Mining: 2x large drills, large converter, 2x smallest ore tank, M4435 Narrow Band scanner, Surface scanner (Surface scanner can refine M4435's results) —Science: all experiments; 4 places to put science in addition to the lab (Cockpit, probe core, 2x storage unit) —Communications/Control: Communotron 88-88 (normal direct antenna); RA-2 + RC-001S (with one pilot, can control a probe that lacks direct CommNet connection) —Docking: 1.25m only; no RCS. See Miscellaneous for tips. —Airbrakes?: Yes, 4. Retract before landing. —Parachutes?: Yes, 6 plus 2 drogues; positioned to be moderately rear-heavy, but this is adjustable via fuel movement. Enables safe landing in any terrain or water. —RTGs?: Yes, 8; can permanently run lab and SAS at full strength —Fuel cells?: Yes, 3; can permanently run drills and refiner at full capacity —RCS?: Sort of; 6x Vernors under the nose to assist takeoff/landing in airless environments —How much delta-V is left after making LKO?: Even a pilot worse than me should reliably get to LKO with 24-2500m/s remaining before the +203 from refining the ore tanks. My best so far is 2667 (2870) and I seriously doubt this cannot be bested by an actually talented pilot. Test flight landed on Minmus with 1213 dV remaining. Also goes direct to Mun. —Amphibious?: Yes: can land in water on parachutes or aeronautically, and can take off from water (but only below 25% fuel). See Miscellaneous for details. Atmospheric flight characteristics: —Balance: The center of mass is almost exactly on top of the center of lift both full and empty, in the back half of the rear cargo bay. (About 16.3m from the front of the 26.8m craft, or about 61% of the way to the back.) If you want the CoM to move forward after takeoff, you can lock the tank behind the cockpit (this LF should not be needed to make orbit). This also can help counteract the already mild tendency to nose up at high speed (see below). See Miscellaneous for a tip about rebalancing the craft. —Lift: Tendency to nose up or down while SAS is off is not violent at any speed; very slight down at low speed (<200), a bit up at high speed (300-1000), and very slight up up during final speedrun. —Takeoff: Fully loaded, it can be lifted off the runway at 83m/s (lower on rough terrain due to upslopes) on main wheel (100 for smaller wheel). Consider using the small wheel on runways or flats to gain more speed before liftoff (due to lower angle of attack while on the ground). Left to its own devices it lifts off at the end of the runway at about 99m/s (112 for smaller wheel). —Ascent: After the 1.8 update, it no longer has to stop ascending to break the transonic speed hump. My flight plan, which may or may not be optimal, is: Set at 5° above horizon; it will gradually dip a bit to 2-3° but recover by itself. After going supersonic it will tend to slowly climb in attitude; stay at 5-7° until about 15km altitude, then begin dropping to 2-3° in order to extend final speed run in the 18-22km altitude range. (If you're feeling lazy, you can just let SAS do its thing all the way to 1000 m/s or so.) Activate NERVs when RAPIER thrust falls below 200kN. By the time thrust falls below 60kN you should be around 1500m/s +/-50; switch to rocket mode when jet+NERV acceleration is unacceptably low and aim for the top of the prograde circle (or a little higher or lower, to taste). When oxidizer runs out, drop to prograde lock; the NERVs should be able to maintain or increase your time to apoapsis. —Reentry: It's recommended that fuel be moved foward to the tank behind the cockpit for reentry for extra stability. For example, in testing, given a 100kmX15km LKO reentry orbit and only 500 units of fuel remaining, a neutrally balanced craft struggled to maintain a 40-45° pitch without using airbrakes, while a craft that moved that same small amount of fuel forward had no trouble. It should be noted that the balanced craft had no trouble with a 30-35° reentry profile. 1000 units of fuel (~10%) balanced forward is enough for a radial out pitch to stabilize forward instead of flipping out. Use caution if returning from other celestial bodies; it's not recommended to dig deep into the atmosphere on the first pass without decelerating first. —Landing approach: If airbrakes were used, retract prior to landing as the bottom ones may be destroyed otherwise. Perfect balance and generous control surfaces make it relatively maneuverable for a Mk3 spaceplane. Since it takes off near empty at 53-60 m/s (on big/small front wheels) the stall speed on low fuel should be similarly low unless I'm mistaken. —Landing normally: Try not to touch down at more than 5m/s vertical speed. The fairly wide rear footprint means it should be pretty stable and modest testing has borne this out. —Landing in water: This plane is capable of a safe aeronautic landing in water, which was successfully tested at 25% fuel, but parachutes are recommended for landing in water or very rough terrain. —Landing on parachutes: Even heavily loaded with fuel, this vessel can land safely on its complement of parachutes, but use of engines to help soften the landing is encouraged. The Abort action group opens doors for the parachutes and triggers them. Vacuum flight characteristics: —Takeoff: Fully loaded and on a flat surface, the Vernors are not quite strong enough to lift the nose for vertical takeoff in Munlike gravity. Instead, get forward motion and it should be able to lift off shortly with the help of the thrust attitude, especially if the vehicle runs off the top of a hill. Use of RAPIERs is recommended unless terrain is very flat. —Landing in vacuum: dV can best be conserved by a "reverse takeoff" posture, where final approach retains some horizontal motion while vertical motion is very low, but this is not easy. It is probably more practical to descend on the engines rocket-style, and then transition to horizontal when near/on the ground (fall on the wheels). This has been tested on the Mun. Be careful to keep the plane level (don't let it roll on its side or you may lose a wing). The Vernors can slow the fall of the front end, but this should not be necessary in Munlike gravity. Miscellaneous: —Recommended docking procedure with this vessel is as follows: 1. Rendezvous; 2. Make a close approach (50 meters dock-to-dock* or less), then cancel relative motion; 3. Align to the desired docking port, and accelerate a little for final approach. This technique has been highly successful on larger versions of this vessel docking with still larger vessels. *(Bear in mind that when approaching tail-first the engines are almost 27m closer to the target than the docking port, and flipping tail-to-nose will bring the docking port of this craft when normally balanced 32 or 33 meters closer to the target due to where the vessel's pivot point is. A dock-to-dock separation of 50m would mean a real distance facing away of 23m and 17m after flipping). —When altering the balance of the craft (e.g. to put the CoM more ahead of the CoL), keep in mind that adding fuel to the rear and front LF tanks in a 2:1 ratio will be approximately neutrally balanced, i.e. will keep or return the ship to close to its starting balance. —Water landing (via parachute) was tested on Kerbin at 75% fuel. If your splashdown attitude is close to vertical, your docking port may be at risk of destruction as you rotate down, but this can be prevented by using the Vernors to slow your fall. (Presumably similar precautions should be taken if landing on Tylo.) —The top speed in water is 38.7 m/s when full. The top speed on low fuel is uncertain because during testing the plane unintentionally took off. In subsequent testing, the vessel was able to intentionally lift off when top speed in water was about 70 m/s, when fuel fell to between 20 and 25%. (Highest speeds were obtained when fuel was moved forward and SAS set to prograde.) —Why the precoolers? Although the shock cones more than meet the needs of normal flight, I like the idea of having strong static airflow for those, ahem, "off prograde" situations. They are also handsome. —Why the everything? This design was not arrived at minimalistically; I'm sure there is a lot you could cut, starting with the rear parachutes and airbrakes. But I wanted a feature-rich craft, and those are features, and it is Minmus capable, so there. Having said that, I do still welcome criticism if you think anything is too blatantly unnecessary. —Why no offset? I just didn't want to use offset; a little bit to neaten up the often messy intersections of aerodynamic parts is okay but I often see it used in a way I think of as exploitative. So in a way the only minimalistic thing about this design is the offset and part clipping, which was a design choice. —After the 1.8 atmospheric changes, this plane can actually fly on a 3R+3N configuration, but taking away two nacelles worth of LF completely negates the benefit. It's slightly less dV, significantly less TWR, and a more annoying ascent path; why bother? Well, I could probably just yank one jet off the regular design (keeping 4 NERVs) and limp to orbit, but the dV gain (112 I think) is, while noticeable, quite modest and I would be nervous about sending it to Laythe untested with that much less atmospheric performance. So, how do you like the plane? How do you like the post? Comments and questions welcome. Edit history: 1.1—9/28/19: Added vacuum landing notes. Added "Miscellaneous" section. Made major changes to vehicle (reduced RAPIERs from 6 to 4, replacing two Mk3 side pods with four Mk1 side pods). Edited text accordingly. 9/29/19: Added Minmus picture. Edits to vacuum landing notes and other things. 9/30/19: Swapped location of RAPIERs and NERVs (reducing tailstrike risk); minor text edits. 1.2—10/4/19: Minor adjustment to front wing AOI and location; small but critical adjustment to rear wheels to eliminate drift on takeoff. Added location of CoM to "Balance". Added "Takeoff"; edits to "Ascent" and "Landing Characteristics".) Finally changed top picture to reflect new version of craft. 1.3—10/5/19: Added "Communications"; added more detail to CoM location, "Lift", and "Takeoff"; added RA-2 to vehicle and replaced bottom pair of shock cones with NCS tanks. (Reduced cost by 3300, increased wet mass by 0.91, dry mass by 0.11, part count by 3) 1.4—10/10/19: Updated "Landing in vacuum" to reflect finally testing Mun capability; added "Takeoff in vacuum". Removed 1 fuel cell (3 remain) in the belief that this was enough for even maximum ore concentrations, subject to review; please let me know if this is found to be wrong. 10/11/19: Added water landing/movement/takeoff details. 10/13/19: Added postscript. 10/15/19: Added table of contents. Reorganized flight/landing characteristics. Added detail to docking. Updated photos (10/5 changes), minor text changes. 10/16/19: Added "Reentry", minor edit to "Ascent". 10/22/19: Altered commentary on small TCSes. 10/23/19: Removed Z-4K battery after finding a way to mount the drills on the reaction wheel and still fit them through the cargo doors. Added small ore tank for symmetry in new location. (Cost reduced by 4.2k, mass increased by 0.675t wet but reduced by 0.075 dry. Battery capacity reduced from 5710 to 1710.) Updated cargo hold picture. 10/26/19: updated "Ascent" to reflect 1.8 aerodynamic changes. Redid Minmus test—new photo. Postscript: the action groups: 1: RAPIER toggle (on/off) 2: NERV toggle (on/off) 3: RAPIER mode swap & air intake toggle (open/shut) 4: All cargo bay doors toggle (open/shut) & small thermal control system* toggle (deploy/retract) 5: --- (nothing) 6: Drill toggle (deploy/retract) 7: Surface harvester toggle (on/off) 8: Fuel cell toggle (on/off) 9: Obtain all possible science, including crew report 0: AIRBRAKES toggle (deploy/retract) Lights: default (all lights turn on or off) Landing gear: default (all landing gear extends or retracts—note that this is NOT a toggle) Brakes: default Abort: The top cargo doors open and all parachutes deploy. It's possible that some parachutes won't deploy if the doors aren't already open; just press the button again. *(Note: the interior thermal panels are always on by default)

This is poll where i'm wondering if you prefer building rockets, planes, or something else like SSTOs more in Kerbal Space Program.

Hello I decided to build a space station and send it to duna in order to finish my science tree in career mode. I already had a shuttle built, so I wanted to build the station in multiple parts and transfer the whole thing to duna rather sending one giant station. First part was the science module which consisted of only two mobile processing labs. The next part was electrical (batteries and solar panels) as well as the main engine and mono propellant (so no command module). After decoupling from the shuttle, it is being shown as debries and I can no longer track it to dock with it or to at least destroy it! https://i.imgur.com/UCNZXDY.jpg Is there anything I can do to save that or is it a lost cause?

Hello! As you might have known, yesterday i made my first SSTO ever. And i thought i could do better, this is the result. Please tell me suggestions in the comments about how to design a better SSTO.

Hello, i made my first SSTO today! (yes it's an awful desing, but i dont know how to do better) Here's the link to the image collection= https://imgur.com/a/FafC1GB And yes, it has a parachute but i didn't use it. (It's a drogue one) Also note that one of the white tanks is a LFO tank with the white skin, not a only-LF tank. Please send me tips on the comments so i can make a better SSTO next time. See ya soon!

Just built a large SSTO with 6 Turbojets, 4 Rapiers, and 4 Aerospikes weighing in at around 132t fully loaded. It managed to escape Kerbin atmosphere on multiple tests with very few Issues. in atmosphere at around 2km above sea level it could easily cruise at 700+m/s with the turbojets thrust capping out somewhere around 250-300. I saved my game and left my computer for an hour to go run some errands and when I got back the SSTO's engine performance for some reason changed drastically. At 2000m above sea level the engines can't even achieve a thrust above 190 and the SSTO struggles to get past 300m/s. I have made no changes to the craft prior to its successful test flights and the weight in the editor has remained unchanged. Is this some sort of bug?

AFAIK, the X-30 SSTO/TAV was supposed to just use air-breathing engines to reach Mach 25 and orbit, while the similar HOTOL SSTO/TAV would use both air-breathing and rocket engines, which makes sense to me because air-breathing engines are useless in space. so, how was the X-30 supposed to work?

Please rate my GT SSTO Craft file: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1717638434

The KSP is developing a new extremely lightweight SSTO design. They need your help to create one! (I know this is probably a common challenge but it would be nice to revive it) Rules: 1. The SSTO can take off from the runway or the launchpad, but not from anywhere else (this will be noted in your entry) 2. The SSTO can be manned or unmanned (there will be two leaderboards for this) 3. The score is solely based on mass (the size of the craft doesn't matter) 4. No Kraken drives, use of eva packs (this counts as a second stage) or other cheaty methods 5. The apoapsis and periapsis of the orbit must be above the Karman line 6. The SSTO doesn't have to be able to deorbit and land itself 7. If it wasn't already extremely obvious, it is a Kerbin SSTO 8. As evidence, you must have a video or screenshots of key events in the mission with fuel gauges left visible (leave the UI on) 9. If there's anything you think I should add to the rules tell me (criticism and feedback will be greatly appreciated) Smallest Manned SSTO Smallest Unmanned SSTO 1. TheFlyingKerman (3.687t) 1. TheFlyingKerman (0.985t) 2. Vyznev (3.984t) 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. I will start to design a craft of my own soon!

using only rover wheels get into orbit around any body, secondary thrusters can be used to keep the craft on the ground longer but not to increase the craft's acceleration directly. the tiers are: easy: use rover wheels on a moon to get into orbit around a planet medium: use rover wheels on a planet or moon with atmosphere to get into orbit hard: use rover wheels to generate enough speed to get into orbit around the sun good luck to all, this challenge may be impossible.

MODS: KSPIE, KJR, Space Y, B9+legacy packs, SVE, scatterer, navhud, kerbal engineer, procedural parts, procedural wing, nebula decals, kerbal foundries continued, simple construction, TAC fuel ballancer, TAC life support, hangar extender, distant object enhancer, DiRT (for changing the skybox get it!)

Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and anyone else who happened to stumble upon this forum topic, to... Here, you will find a blooming aerospace program, just starting to get a foothold in the market that consists of vehicles able to transport you to space! Shop now, and a round-trip ticket to Kerbin Orbit and beyond is just around the corner! Come take a look at our inventory... NOTE: Some craft flags and names might be inaccurate if the screenshots were taken before the mass class reorganization. SEE THE GALLERY HERE SPACEPLANES Note: Only spaceplane classes Angel through Power are available at this time. Higher-class spaceplanes will be added as they're created.) DOWNLOADS AND ACTION GROUPS Third Triad (Eleven spaceplanes) (Class 9: Angel) FS-A Gardia The result of when an team of engineers decided to strap RAPIERs onto a fighter jet and partially fill it with rocket fuel. Gardia is surprisingly orbit-capable, fit to be a trainer vehicle for young spaceplane pilots. Note: Ejector seats were swapped out for normal seats in the name of weight savings; pilots have to bail out manually in case of an spin-out they can't recover from. FS-A Angel The next step up from Gardia, Angel is a Mk2 spaceplane that has roughly the same range as her elder, smaller sister. Additionally, she has a cargo bay with space for a small space probe, so possibilities are prone to increasing exponentially. FS-A Tyrfing When plans to make a sword-shaped SSTO were first revealed, people thought AAAE's engineers were crazy. "Are you nuts? A giant sword could never make it into orbit, let alone in a single stage!" they said. Oh, they were so wrong. Not only that, FS-A Tyrfing, with its aggressive ascent profile and docking capability, quickly became the go to luxury SSTO for most daring of pilots in transit to kerbin space stations. NOTE: Like with Apollo, take special care when reentering Kerbin's atmosphere. (Class 8: Archangel) FS-A Mystletainn An SSTO spaceplane capable of carrying an orbital missile to low orbit and then deorbiting once the missile has hit its target. She has attained her rank due to her stylish looks and rapid response time. FS-AA Archangel The first Mk3 spaceplane, designed straight after FS-A Angel, and later on redesigned following numerous failures with returning subsequent prototype MK3 SSTOs from orbit. Like with all MK3 SSTOs listed after her, land with care. FS-AA Ferrybot Jr The younger sister of Archangel-Class Spaceplane FS-AA Ferrybot. Ferrybot Jr comes equipped with a docking port, RCS, twin nuclear engines, and capacity for 8 kerbals. She requires speeding up to 440+m/s at sea level due to heavy weight at takeoff, but is incredibly maneuverable, capable of even recovering from a spinout when almost dry. FS-AA Ferrybot Ferrybot Jr's aforementioned elder sister. She is capable of sending 32 kerbals to space stations in Low Kerbin Orbit. Check regularly for signs of sentience. (Class 7: Principality) The first class of spaceplanes to presently lack a spaceplane named after the class itself, instead having a reusable rocket having the class and name. (listed after spaceplanes). FS-PR Spectre When Spectre was first built, she was not granted a classification or a name because the head engineer thought he was building a Minmus Trainer. Luckily, this error was corrected when a plucky intern informed him of its landing legs, rover cargo bay, and "twin tail fins". The intern would later correct a head scientist when he first discovered Laythe, but mistook it for Kerbin. FS-PR Journeystar An ambitious SSTO built with a mining and ISRU rig pre-installed. She is capable of munar landings, but consumers may want to have engineers install extra batteries depending on their electricity needs. After first successful test runs, she received additional tuning from an SSTO manufacturer called Arctic Aerospace (headed by Arctica Frostbite, forum account link unknown.) FS-PR Wyvern A magnificent beast with an interesting wing design, Wyvern is tested and confirmed for the ability to send a small rover to the Mun and return safely to Kerbin. Wyvern might also potentially be capable of Minmus returns, though she wasn't designed and built with Minmus in mind. FS-PR Apollo Returning to the MK1 cross-section, Apollo is the first of AAAE's spaceplanes able to take a round trip to the mun. Dissatisfied consumers suggested renaming her "Icarus", but our engineers insist on not being afraid to use Apollo's on-board RCS and/or focus intensely on not letting her blow up on final reentry. Second Triad (Seven Spaceplanes) (Class 6: Power) FS-PO Ancile Vaguely shield-shaped (but not really), Ancile has sufficient delta-v for Minmus landings and interplanetary flybys and returns. With an additional front docking port, she also is capable of docking to Tyrfing, the sword-shaped SSTO, because why not? FS-PO Phoenix Following the revamp of a previous iteration of this craft by AA, AAAE was still determined to make a version not heavily modified by AA. And thus a couple iterations later, under the codename of Mystletainn, Phoenix finally rose from the ashes of AAAE's failed attempts. Their engineers insist it should be able to get to Duna and back if flown correctly. PS-PO Perseus A cargo SSTO designed to carry ten tons of cargo to either the Mun or Minmus, drop the off, and return safely to Kerbin. With her surplus fuel, her range can potentially extend to other bodies, given that she's refueled somewhere along the way. FS-PO Heracles The prototypes of Heracles, first of the three successful Power-Class SSTOs, were met with crash after crash when test pilots found themselves unable to regain flight control. With contractors and investors furious, AAAE turned to Arctic Aerospace - who would later offer slight tweaks to the Journeystar - for help, and so with major redesigning and tuning, the first successful version of Heracles was engineered, tested, and ultimately landed successfully by even AAAE's remaining pilots following the previous disasters. Heracles is capable of sending a full orange tank to Low Kerbin Orbit, and comes equipped with a single NERV for extended range. FS-PO Aegis Weeks after the failed landing of the yet-unreleased FS-PO Phoenix's first prototype, and during extensive testing and reiterating of further prototypes thereof, AAAE's backup engineers thought it would be a good idea to create a heavier cargo SSTO so FS-PO Heracles wouldn't be so alone in the Power SSTO class. After one prototype failed to get off the ground and another's wings fell off on the runway, the Aegis was born. Currently the heaviest cargo SSTO, and bearing a similar nose design to her little sister, Aegis is able to carry 78.8 tons' worth of payload into LKO and return to Kerbin safely following the release of said payload into space. She even has a built-in docking port in her cargo bay so she can rendezvous and dock with space stations. You know, so she doesn't drift off while her cargo is being re-positioned and docked. (Class 7: Virtue) FS-V Phoenix Anger The Phoenix Anger is the superior successor craft to Phoenix. With over 5,200 m/s of Delta V in Low Kerbin Orbit, our engineers have projected round trips to Laythe to easily be within reach of skilled pilots! Comes complete with capacity for 6 kerbals and the .95 ton "Virtue" rover. FS-V Iris After the success of Ferrybots Sr. and Jr. and the failures of various Duna SSTOs, AAAE felt like they needed more practice, and, furthermore, an additional means of staying afloat. And so Iris, codename Minmus Rex, was built with one mission in mind: Ferry a substantial amount of kerbals to Minmus and back. Luckily, she can easily do just that, though a round trip to the Mun might require slight refueling, if not only excessive aerobraking on the trip home. REUSABLE ROCKET "Rocket" instead of "rockets" because we only have one vehicle at the moment. DOWNLOADS FSR-PR Principality Principality is the sole reusable rocket sold by AAAE. Capable of reaching and returning from LKO like all of AAAE's current spaceplanes, she has been projected to be able to lift up to 30 tons worth of payload to low orbit, and potentially serve as an ascent stage for heavier payloads with their own propulsion. Note: Factor the payload's fairing into the payload's total weight. FLAGS: The classification flags currently in use, along with two versions of AAAE's company flag, can be found HERE. UPCOMING SPACECRAFT: Short-Range VTOL SSTO (LKO) Long-Range VTOL SSTO (Mun/Gilly(?)) ...Duna Cargo SSTO? REQUESTS: CLOSED, BUT SUGGESTIONS ARE OPEN  Mystic Labs A new subdivision of AAAE that focuses on less conventional forms of transport in general, from Jet Rovers to Weird Shuttles, and to more conventional forms of space transport such as tried and true rockets! While SSTO Spaceplanes are still mostly found in AAAE, Mystic Labs will cover anything else... just as long as you don't mind the inherent flaws in wackier craft. GALLERY CRAFT FOLDER Ursa Major - An SSTO spaceplane with an experimental two-stage design - the first stage is designed to carry you into orbit, while the second stage undocks from the main ship and is able to go anywhere in Kerbin's satellite system and return to the main ship afterwards. It tends to torque upwards in RAPIER mode in a vacuum, and in both modes in high time warp, so, watch for that. Be sure to shift all remaining fuel to the front of the spaceplane when returning to Kerbin! SSTO-11 Twintails - A private SSTO with capacity for 3 crew, but with two rather pointless plane tails in the back, hence the name. She was designed when two drunken engineers moved to Mystic Labs decided to poke fun at Fox Kerman's seeming obsession with vulpines. Launch Vehicles Colt and Pony - An super-ultralight reusable and a light semi-reusable launch vehicle, respectively. While Colt is only really useful for sending small probes into orbit, Pony can send payloads of up to around four-and-a-half to eight tons to low orbit and still be able to land its center stage. Mustang - A medium reusable launch vehicle that was built with sending orange tanks to orbit in mind. SSTO and landing capable like the Colt! Note: Fire up the engines to point retrograde during late re-descent due to on-board vernors and airbrakes giving insufficient control. Integrity - A Minmus rover previously only available by purchasing/downloading FS-PR Spectre. Virtue - A prototype Laythe rover previously only available by purchasing/downloading FS-V Phoenix Anger. Expeditioner Duna - Not just a titan of a rover, but a fully-functional base on wheels at 98 parts. Launch and transfer vehicles sold separately. As always, thank you for browsing through and potentially even ordering some of our craft for replication and delivery. We hope to see you again soon, as the number of available craft is bound to increase further overtime.

The Mindri is a cute little SSTO I made a few months ago that can haul 30t to LKO in a Mk 3 form factor. Due to an optimized design, it uses only four Rapier engines, which helps keep the cost down. The Mindri had no crew accommodations, relying instead on a probe core for control. It handles well in flight and is quite controllable during reentry and landing. Attitude control on orbit requires planning, since the onboard reaction wheel is quite small and the RCS system is intentionally under-powered in order to keep propellant requirements down. The Mindri has no provisions for docking to a space station or fuel depot, but it can be used to recover hardware with either a Clamp-o-tron or Clamp-o-tron Sr., as long as it fits in the cargo bay and isn't too heavy. The max downmass for this design has not been tested, although it should do fine with anything less than 15t. KerbalX link

I was thinking that it would be good if there were more stock engines like the R.A.P.I.E.R or even and engine that could use Liquid Fuel and Air Intake or just Liquid Fuel or maybe an Atmospheric Nuclear Engine, Oxidizer only Engine for using up excess Oxidizer. If you have more engine ideas please put them below and maybe a Modder will reach out to us.

Hearts Chevron 96 [EHEV] *STOCK* Extra Heavy Extra Volumetric Cargo Lifter. [Carries ~12.5m wide and 60meter length cargo. Can lift ~1495 Ton into LKO/~1.5Kiloton @ 28.5Ton per rapier.] For only 368 Parts which includes stock cargo! Includes flight instructions below and on KerbalX https://kerbalx.com/Aeroboi/Hearts-Chevron-96-Cargo-Lifter-25MCP https://kerbalx.com/Aeroboi/Hearts-Chevron-96-Cargo-Lifter-2375MC https://kerbalx.com/Aeroboi/Hearts-Chevron-96-Cargo-Lifter-75MC 1. Front side. 2. Belly with 2x3.75m fuel tank cargo setup. 3. From above. 4. Using the 2x5m wide fairing setup. 5. Takeoff. 6. On it's way to orbit. 7. From below 8. Nearing Orbit Introduction The name "Hearts Chevron" relates to the exotic rapier engine blocks. "The" Engine block on one of either sides is a 3x5meter engine mount each holding 16 rapier engines (48 total) on either side (makes 96) In view of them they look either like a "heart" or a "chevron" (depending on ones viewpoint) In flight they distribute that unique engine exhaust effect in it's contrails. The 2375MC version for reference comes with only 368 parts, but mind you, that includes the 1450 Ton payload itself. Explanation I have been trying to build the largest, most part and aerodynamic efficient Rapier based cargo SSTO that can haul very heavy and very large payloads into LKO. Most SSTO's are limited to cargo size either due to the space planes setup or being limited by cargo bays due to CoM, CoT and cargo width/length limits. Usually people like myself build specific space planes for different cargo types for destined destinations. Typically a space plane can never carry more then a specific type of cargo weight or by volume based on the layout of the space plane or the cargo hold parts available in the game. While this space plane can have unique restrictions it should be able to haul anything into orbit that you could desire. Even if the payload should consisted of drag inducing outer parts that couldn't be faired the native engine thrust should be able to accelerate past 400m/s. I require 96 Rapier engines to accelerate to Takeoff speed using the length of the level 3 runway at MTOW. But that amount of Rapiers is more then the required thrust required to break past 400m/s. In theory/practice the space plane can always achieve past 400m/s even if it were to climb at 10° at MTOW so some minor drag shouldn't be an issue. To meet it's specifications I tried to make a layout that can carry universal payloads both in weight and volume/dimension. I reiterated this design many times. Each wing segment is placed locally so it can absorb the greatest aerodynamic stress. All elements of flight on all 3 versions are tested and the space plane can perform all the requested takeoff and landing procedures you'd expect from a decent SSTO. Directly under it's belly it can fit a 12.5m width rocket or space plane, even wider if it can stick out down below the outer mk3 fuel tanks until as wide as the closest engine block while being 60m long. This space plane can be used with reasonable frame rates depending on amount of parts added as cargo assuming you use a modern computer. Parts in fairings will not be succumb to drag and will ignore many aerodynamic physics calculations. You should be able to carry a several hundred part payload along with it on most modern computers when it's shielded inside a fairing. I made this space plane so I can effectively haul very massive and heavy cargo for a very high fuel and cost efficiency to haul mother ship parts or fuel depot parts into orbit.When payload is properly faired it can carry 1495 Ton into orbit. For reference, in total it can carry 17 x Kerbodyne S3-14400 fuel tanks on the 2375MC version. I have already created this space plane some time ago and have further optimized it's design characteristics and made 3 versions with several cargo attachment points. I consider these cargo attachment setups reasonable for most cargo weights and sizes.Tell me if you got any cargo you are unable to haul and I'll see if I can optimize the space plane further. Why would I need such a space plane you'd ask? You'd say lesser efficient or less heavier space planes can haul the required cargo to orbit also! However, if you want to build fuel stations, send space stations into orbit or haul ssto's into orbit using another ssto then this vessel should be able to do that. Physical Time Warp You cannot only use but are advised to use Physical timewarp. I'd suggest to use 3x physical timewarp during takeoff roll (change back to 1x during takeoff itself) Use 2 to 3x physical timewarp until reaching orbit (depending on computer hardware) If your computer is faster 3x should be the choice. Instructions Important *If you use no mechjeb or any other autopilot you want to use pitch trim so the space plane wants to stay level. As speed increases the nose wants to pitch up in the thicker parts of the atmosphere so you want to adjust trim for this. *In the upper atmosphere the CoT can be unbalanced with payloads that shift the CoM down. You can toggle on/off engines on the engine blocks with the action groups 2 through 6. This can be necessary if the weight of the cargo is further down when using a lower attached and/or wider shaped cargo. The combinations of action group 2 through 6 offers several dozen variations of engine setups. It's at your own leisure to find out the variety of engine combinations using a combination of action group 2 through 6 to be able to find the right balance. For most payloads the natural setup of all 96 engines should be centered so that you can maintain orientation up until the upper atmosphere in most cases. If your cargo's mass is hanging low though it is often better to find a better engine setup by toggling one, two or more sections on/off using the action group keys. *Use mechjeb *Stock SAS can be a bit wonky in the lower atmosphere due to natural pitching moment at higher speeds, the pitching moment can be to great under SAS input or very draggy cargo may succumb the pitching moment. If this happens there are 2 options. Firstly try to figure out which engine group to shut down using the action groups to re-balance the center of thrust at higher speeds to negate this effect in the upper atmosphere. If this happens in the lower atmosphere use action group 7 to toggle front spoilers for aerodynamic re-balance. If you do not remedy this when this occurrence occurs it can cause a RUD when pitching to great at higher speeds while carrying the heavier payloads at speeds above 500m/s. This shouldn't be troublesome as above 500m/s the rapiers have gained enough speed so that you do not need to have them running all at once. Above 10km you can turn all engines back on as the atmospheric stress is much less at this altitude and this problem shouldn't appear mostly. *Know that it is important that you know how to attach your cargo properly. Action groups. 1. Switches modes on all engines. 2 through 6. toggles different engines on either side for CoT rebalance. RCS toggles the fuel cells to generate electric charge (if you need it) 7 Toggles front spoilers for aerodynamic rebalance past 400m/s (isn't necessarily required but depend on cargo drag and weight) Facts: Make sure payload is centered so that the Com is centered at the CoL. Version 1 carrying a 7.5m wide center fairing. Version 2 carrying 16 x S3-14400 3.75m tanks in parallel formation with a 50.5% payload fraction. Version 3 carrying 2 x 5.5m(11m total) fairings next to one another. Make sure the payload across both sides is evenly matched. If your payload can't be distributed such way you should add dummy weight on one of either sides. NOTE: I would be happy if people could point out complaints or ways to improve the vessel. Happy flying

So, I just created a new SSTO that has about 5,000 meters per seconds of deltaV, but I can't get it into orbit. It goes well until I hit the higher atmosphere, and then it screws up. Can someone please help? Craft Image

Hey there forum goers! My name is of course, SpaceplaneAddict and welcome to Addiction Aerospace, my SSTO repository. If the name and stuff is to RP-ey, then I'll change it, no biggie. Anyway, I'll be posting SSTO's and occaisonaly other junk (A.K.A Failed stuff maybe, plus rockets). Enough talk! The BadS SSTO, featuring everything you need in an LKO SSTO! Anyway, as I said, this is a basics SSTO, has everything needed for LKO, such as RCS, Docking, and a good Delta-V margin along with unmanned capacity. To fly, well, I'll just say it's a mid TWR vessel. I'll have details for flight below somewhere. I forgot, have a download link The Blade, SSTDuna and maybe back! This SSTO here is my first ever interplanetary capable SSTO! Anyway, acsent profile is sort of tricky, but doable if I can orbit it! 10 degree acsent all the way. At 8km pitch up to 15 degrees. At 15km, pitch down to 5 degrees. Slowly rise to 10degrees and hold it there. Light nuke when combined RAPIER thrust is below 180. Switch mode to rocket when total thrust is below 100. Fly to Space! Action groups: 1 - Toggle RAPIERS 2 - Toggle RAPIER modes 3 - Toggle Nukes And I'll take that, to go. The Mercenary, a 1 Kerb Dune Buggy! Well, rovers are self explanatory. Originally designed for the Elcano, beware of high speed turning. Though it has 2 small reaction wheels, turning speed is around 15 m/s. And, you can't argue those looks! Get yours today for only Free thousand Funds! Persistance, two stage to Minmus Spaceplane! As the picture shows, the spaceplane end looks like a normal longb range Nuke-RAPIER combo, but on the nuke, is a decoupler, and a "Thumper" SRB! The SRB is for an orbital kick, shooting you (if shallow acsent if used) to a 50km or so Ap, and pushing T-Apoapsis to a near 1 minute 45 seconds away! No instructions for this one, hehe, just pitch 10 degrees near the lower altitudes. Get yours today, for almost 45 THOUSAND Funds! Pickaxe, a Mk3 Infinirange Mining Spaceplane (SSTO)! Well, as stated, it's a simple trick of carrying a mining kit everywhere you go. Can handle EverythingTM except Eve and Tylo. Flight instructions: None. Pitch according to thrust output. If thrust is increasing, pitch to the point it is barely increasing. Pitch level at "speed run" altitude. Action Groups: 1 Toggle RAPIERS 2 Switch RAPIER mode 3 Toggle Nuclear rocket Buy ten, get 1, COMPLETELY FREE! The Alouette, my competitor to @Rune's White Dart! Space station not included Designed to have the same functionality of the White Dart, it is just as modular, and (probably) as dragless. Power comes from the Whiplash jet, and the dual Thuds, radially mounted, then offset. Flight Instructions: Pitch acording to thrust. Get yours today for about 2 WHOLE FUNDS! WHOOOO! Anyway, that's all for now, hoping to get some newer, an different ones out later. -SPAddict

Can anyone give me some tips on how to build a successful ssto? I have tryed in the past but i run into certain fuel problems, (rip jeb) sometimes its oxidizer, other times its fuel in general. All tips are appreciated!

Hi folks, it's been a while since I've been on. For a little background, I'm a senior in high school. I've been in a program for three years now called Science Research, where students are given the opportunity to conduct original research, culminating in the writing of a research paper, as well as a variety of science fairs. For my project, I've been working on a design study for a single stage to orbit spaceplane (big surprise) that uses three modes of propulsion to get into orbit and back onto the ground. Here's an excerpt of my paper, to give a description of the craft itself: "The concept of this spaceplane is a hybrid three mode aircraft based on the design of the SR-71 aircraft. The aircraft is already optimized aerodynamically and structurally for high mach flights, and are proven designs. While it’s the basis for the design, the only visual commonality between the spy plane and spaceplane will be the bird’s-eye profile. From the side view of the SR-71, the design of the spaceplane will be different both above and below the chine of the fuselage. Below the chine, the fuselage will be squared, and covered with heat protective tiles. This has three purposes: one, to simplify the process of applying the tiles; two, to create a lifting body effect on the fuselage; and three, to increase the area inside of the fuselage for fuel. The wings will be lowered and thickened slightly, in order to meet the bottom of the fuselage, and provide more area for fuel. Additionally, the lift from the body will allow the wings to be shortened width-wise, creating a slimmer profile for more efficient high-mach flight. On the wings, housed in the nacelles of the Pratt & Whitney J28 engines used on the SR-71 will be pre-cooled turbojet engines, build to take the spacecraft from the ground to mach 6 and 20,000 meters. Halfway down the bottom of the spacecraft will be the intake for the scramjet, which will take the spacecraft from mach 6 to mach 17, and 70,000 meters. The scramjet will exhaust from the bottom rear of the spacecraft, with the engine also covered in protective tiles. Above the chine, the body of the spacecraft will be radically changed. The cockpit will be removed, along with the rest of the upper body of the Blackbird. In its place will be a large conformal tank, with a fuel and an oxidizer tank within. Between these two tanks will be a small cargo bay, with a 5,000 kg capacity. At the end of the conformal tank will be two Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ10 engines, proven as reliable vacuum engines over the past 60 years. (May be switched to one Merlin 1D vacuum engine)" I have the technology and math covered- what I need to do now is create a printable 3d model of it, both solid and cutaway. The images of the craft in KSP included are what amount to a rough sketch for me, as I have no skills in actual sketching on paper. https://imgur.com/a/4e7uexY (I don't remember how to embed albums, oh well). I'd really appreciate it if y'all could help me create models of this craft, as it would both aid my presentations at fairs, and provide a really nice final product for all the work I put into my research over the past three years. Thanks!

Hello everyone, It's Trekkie148 here, I'm just wondering on how to make my space shuttle stable, get to orbit, rendezvous, docking with an object, maybe mun orbit, and mostly mk2 and mainly mk3. I am using the mod Kerbal Engineer Redux and for visual Planet Shine to see the ship from the dark side of a celestial body. When ever I make a orbiter that looks like and supposed to act like the NASA space shuttle and I also empty out the tanks of the orbiter and put on the CoM and CoL indicators and sometimes CoT all standing for Center of Mass, Center of Lift, Center of Thrust, and I try to make the CoL closer to the CoM, I seriously do not know about what is happening what is happening with my design because it keeps on flipping my spacecraft either while landing or Reentry. This thread will be updated tomorrow on Thursday November 22 2018. Stay tuned, But do tend to give me help and reply. This helps out a lot. Thank you everyone. Also Happy Thanks Giving!

As the title suggests, I'm building a space station that I can use as an interplanetary travel spacecraft - named the U.S.S. Enterprise after the famous ship from Star Trek. There's no way I can launch it all in one stage, which is why I'm assembling it in Kerbin's orbit before sending it to Eve (and who-knows-where-else). So far, my plans for it involve: MAIN COMPONENT: 5 crew capacity (1 cupola and 2 mobile processing labs), 4 RA-100 Relay antennae, 8,835 power units, well over 15,000 units worth of fuel, 4 docking ports between the two labs for other parts, MechJeb and a probe core, 1 Rhino engine and 16 Swivel engines (the swivels were mainly to help with ascent into orbit), 20 docking ports to hold escape pods/landers/other craft, 8 gigantor solar panels, 8835-V of power ULTIMATE SCIENCE: 6 crew capacity (1 Hitchhiker and 1 mobile processing lab), 2 Communotron-88 antennae, 1,085 units worth of monopropellant (to help with attachment, 4,000-V battery, 1 survey scanner, 1 narrow-band scanner, and a 2.5-m service bay with: 1 science Jr, 1 barometer, 1 thermometer, 1 gravioli detector, 1 mystery goo container, 1 atmospheric scanner, 1 seismic accelerometer, 2 experimental storage units. ORE STORAGE: 3,000 units worth of ore storage space (tanks will start empty), 72 fuel units (to save weight, can refill tank later), convert-o-tron 250, 4 medium extendable radiators, 20 monopropellant (to start - can be refilled later), 4000-V battery, extra 6-sides docking module at the other end. EMPTY CARGO BAY: 1700 monopropellant for the assembly stage, 1 empty Mk3 Cargo Bay CRG-100, 4 Gigantor solar panels, 4000-V battery, 1 Infrared telescope. SSTO DOCK: 4 crew capacity (1 Hitchhiker), 4,000-V battery, 750 monopropellant for assembly, 1 docking port for an SSTO I found on the Internet, (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c1vkqUQ3RVFw2Pgqdo-vFpC2jDwMEsYN/view), SSTO ITSELF: (Check the link above). It's purpose is to dock on and off the Enterprise and get crews on and off planets as well as bring ore back. I plan to modfiy it so that it can easily dock with the Enterprise MOON LANDER: 3 crew capacity (Mk1-3 command pod), 914 Fuel Units, 750 monopropellant, 4 Mk2-R Radial-mount Parachutes, 4,000-V battery, 4 1x6 Solar Panels, 4 LT-2 landing struts, MechJeb and probe core. Also came with a decoupler. Should I remove it or not, since I obviously plan to send the moon crew back up. Pros of keeping decoupler: can also be used as a one-way escape pod Cons of keeping decoupler: it goes off, the crew is going to be stuck there. 3 ESCAPE PODS: EACH HAS (from top to bottom): 7 crew capacity (that's 21 in total), 2 docking ports (1 on top, 1 on side), 9 Mk2-R Radial-mount Parachutes, 4 1x6 Solar Panels, MechJeb and probe core, 10-m inflatable heat shield, 1 25-m decoupler, 2188 units of fuel, 750 monopropellant, Skipper Engine Basically, if you're going to a planet/moon, this is a one-way trip. If you're transferring crews to/from Kerbin or other stations, use only one pod at a time. Keep the pods locked at all times. Do not use all of them (or any of them, for that matter) unless it's a life-threatening emergency that warrants immediate evacuation. I haven't sent any of this up yet, since I wanted to hear your input on what the Enterprise could use. Any ideas, I'm open.

I want to be able to put an orange tank (36t) into a 100-200km orbit, but so far all my designs fall short in some regard. My smaller planes have good balance fueled/dry, but as I go bigger and add more engines, it becomes harder to keep them stable during re-entry. Additionally, for the bigger planes I'm having trouble getting enough TWR to do my insertion burn when laden (I typically run out of LOX for the rapiers before I have a circular orbit but after my apoapsis is in space). My most successful designs so far (last one is my best small lifter/personnel shuttle): https://imgur.com/a/vY4sDgk I've probably done a dozen or more iterations but none have worked to a satisfactory level, and I don't know what I'm missing. If there's an obvious flaw with my designs, I'd appreciate being appraised of it. Some extra miscellaneous questions: Are the "Tail Connector A/B" pieces appreciably more aerodynamic than the "Advanced Nose Cone A/B" and the Shock Cone? They're very pointy, but also kinda heavy so if anyone knows that'd be great. What do you guys reckon is the optimal mass/rapier? What is the optimal wing shape, and how much lifting area/t is recommended? Please rip my designs to shreds. I desperately need the more efficient price/t of a good heavy lifter SSTO so I can build my Duna mission in orbit.