KSP rocket vs real rocket line up

[Temstar]

KVV is the best thing since sliced bread. And since the VAB/SPH now gives you dimensions of your craft I thought I'll spend some time creating a size comparison picture between real life manned spacecraft launch vehicles and a selection of my own launch vehicles in KSP to see the size difference:

 

Interestingly while Nova II is close to the maximum height the VAB supports, the VAB still has plenty of room sideways. So in theory you should be able to fit the NASA space shuttle inside the KSC VAB. Although I doubt you can actually prep the Space Shuttle inside the KSC VAB for launch.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Temstar

[DunaRocketeer]

Compared to my usual rockets, I'd consider your Nova II to be an absolute monster, and yet the N1 and Saturn V dwarf it. It gives a nice sense of perspective, thanks for doing this

[Streetwind]

Ah, good old Saturn V... can't wait until we can finally put the SLS Block II and the BFR next to it

Also, we totally need Whackjob to come by and add some of his own creations to this image

[Frozen_Heart]

From what I've found a rocket in KSP which is half the size of the RL one will life a similar amount of payload. Which I why I think 5m parts will work well for Saturn V replicas and 1.875m will work well for Soyuz, Falcon 9, and Shuttle SRBs.

[pandaman]

Nice work Temstar, that's an interesting comparison, looks good too.  I'll check  KVV out when I get the chance.

And sliced bread is a jolly good idea too, saves me getting wonky sandwiches and cutting the ends off my fingers 

[Wallygator]

But since Kerbin is a fraction of the size of Earth, then should the dimensions of the KSP rockets be upscaled to show parity against the IRL vehicles?  Just a thought, not a requirement.

[Temstar]

It's a bit hard to scale things up since they don't scale up linearly. It's about 3500m/s to reach LKO and 10,000m/s to reach LEO, so LKO is much easier to reach. But on the other hand KSP rocket parts are rubbish compared to real life rocket parts so a Kerbal rocket with 10,000m/s of delta-v will have a tiny payload fraction (eg Eve ascent rocket).

If you had Kerbal rocket parts on earth and you tried to make a rocket to launch a given payload you will need a much bigger rocket than the real life equivalent rocket for that payload.

BTW, is it just me or does Kerbals enjoy huge amount of space per person in their capsules? Their one man and three man capsules are only a little bit smaller than Mercury and Apollo capsules, yet Kerbals are much much smaller than humans so per person space would be greater.

[winged]

1 hour ago, Temstar said:

. So in theory you should be able to fit the NASA space shuttle inside the KSC VAB. Although I doubt you can actually prep the Space Shuttle inside the KSC VAB for launch.

Many people play RSS and RO so not only in theory but also in practice   As to preparations, generally it's better to install hangar extender and build above the VAB.

 

btw my biggest rocket in stock system was about 115m high so comparable to Saturn V.

(sorry for lack of better photo)

[WeirdCulture]

[Gaarst]

Well, speaking of the devil: did that thing just yesterday with my RSS lunar rocket:

[PLAD]

WeirdCulture, I cannot stop laughing at that "Kerbal" class ship. Oh my god. And the precise '362 t' rating. Now that is a Kerbal rocket!

[NecroBones]

10 minutes ago, PLAD said:

WeirdCulture, I cannot stop laughing at that "Kerbal" class ship. Oh my god. And the precise '362 t' rating. Now that is a Kerbal rocket!

Also note that it's called "Untitled Space Craft". I'm not sure who made the image. I've run across it in Google image searches many times.

[theend3r]

10 hours ago, Temstar said:

Interestingly while Nova II is close to the maximum height the VAB supports...

What maximum weight? I have a lifter capable of 1000t to LKO and that should be nothing compared to Whack.

[WeirdCulture]

It is not my work, I found it sometime on the internet  but this is a very good one

[EpsilonSigmaAlpha]

On 30/11/2015 at 1:02 PM, WeirdCulture said:

I know you said it's not your work, but I think this post has been cited by the Daily Mail.

[GluttonyReaper]

40 minutes ago, EpsilonSigmaAlpha said:

I know you said it's not your work, but I think this post has been cited by the Daily Mail.

Either that's totally intentional, or someone wasn't paying enough attention.

[EpsilonSigmaAlpha]

The Daily Fail aren't known for their diligent research