Quick Challenge: Lightest Craft to Orbit [Stock only] New Challenge #5!

[Foxster]

Here's my entry at 0.16t...

Could probably be lighter but it was the best I could do in five minutes. 

MJ installed but not used for flight. 

 

Edited July 12, 2016 by Foxster

[cantab]

Har har very clever

[Bloojay]

@Foxster Disqualified, you cheated with hyper edit, the entry isn't comprehensive due to cropped screenshots, you could have use Mechjeb as you have it installed and didn't show proof that it wasn't mechjeb piloting, Also the mods weren't declared.

[Foxster]

7 hours ago, Bloojay said:

@Foxster Disqualified, you cheated with hyper edit, the entry isn't comprehensive due to cropped screenshots, you could have use Mechjeb as you have it installed and didn't show proof that it wasn't mechjeb piloting, Also the mods weren't declared.

Ah, I'd hoped you might have realised that it was a tongue-in-cheek entry because the rules didn't mention what body the launch was to be from. 

[Bloojay]

@Foxster Yeah I got that  I was commenting on the quality of the execution 

[herbal space program]

Well it looks like the "unmanned" category is pretty well plastered, so I'll stick my toe into the "manned and recoverable" category with this, the Mini Kerman Personal Orbiter:

 

 

It weighs 6.261t uncrewed and  6.354t with Kerbal aboard. As you can see from the album, it can de-orbit without roasting its pilot and land on the ground on its itty bitty feet..

Edited July 16, 2016 by herbal space program

[Bloojay]

@herbal space program Nice! I will count the weight without the pod and clamp as I am only interested in the weight of the craft itself. Your craft, which I am Naming the "U-Light MKPO mk1" because "MKPO" lacks personality, has snagged 1st place on the Manned Recoverable leader-boards

[Crocket]

Here's my entry, the Beanstalk: 6.215 tons at the launchpad, Lellian in the command pod. She's the leader of the Itty Bitty Rocket Committee and after the Tiny Rocket Challenge Fiasco, she needed a chance to prove herself. When this cropped up, the Committee went hard to work to create an entry.

This is the result of their experimenting.

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Crocket
The name!

[swjr-swis]

An entry for the Manned and Manned & Recoverable categories (4840kg, 1 Kerbal, makes orbit and returns safely):

 

craft file: https://kerbalx.com/swjr-swis/MiniOrb1d

Pure stock, no mods.

Edited July 17, 2016 by swjr-swis
mistyped the craft name

[Crocket]

7 minutes ago, swjr-swis said:

 

An entry for the Manned and Manned & Recoverable categories (4840kg, 1 Kerbal, makes orbit and returns safely):

 

4.84 tons?! I- I- *cough*

Well kerbal'd. Very well kerbal'd. Have some rep.

[Bloojay]

@Crocket nice work, you where 1st on the leaderboards for like 30 seconds  then got bumped down to 2nd where your craft now stands

 

@swjr-swis way to raise the bar, 4.5t will be a tough wieght to beat! you stand in 1st place, for now

 

*cracks knuckles* time to Turbopump this up a notch.

[herbal space program]

2 hours ago, swjr-swis said:

An entry for the Manned and Manned & Recoverable categories (4840kg, 1 Kerbal, makes orbit and returns safely):

Pure stock, no mods.

D'ohh! I knew I should have revisited the jet engines once I got above 4 tons. Two can play at that game....

[Crocket]

1 minute ago, herbal space program said:

Two can play at that game....

All I request is that I remain somewhere on the leaderboard, sir.

[Aetharan]

Well, I decided to take a shot at this one.  I have MechJeb installed, and there is an AR202 case on the vessel, but the screenshots will show SAS being on through the whole flight as proof that Smart ASS was disengaged, and thus the flight performed manually. (At least, SAS is on until it couldn't possibly make a difference.)  I used it as an information-display mod only for this flight.

The Up-Chucker (Mk.4) weighs in at 4.271t unmanned, 4.364t on the pad with Hillin Kerman in it.  It ultimately achieves an orbit with AP 74.841 and PE 70.913 before burning retro to de-orbit and safely depositing the command pod, weighing only 0.619t without fuel, into the ocean for recovery.

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Aetharan

[Bloojay]

@Aetharan Nice! You've acquired 1st place, nice album!

[swjr-swis]

Ok, obviously it's time to update that board again. Two entries.

One manned & recoverable (craft file: MiniOrb1e), 3708kg without a Kerbal, 3801kg with Valentina in it. Then a lighter stripped down version of the above to start off the still empty unmanned & recoverable board - craft file: MiniOrb1e-UnR, down to 16 parts and 3055kg (but we should be able to do much better than this). The album includes screens for both variants:

 

Pure stock, no mods.

[Aetharan]

I've trimmed down the Up-Chucker line to 4.187t unmmanned, 4.280 manned, 0.555 descending for the Mk.5...  but clearly, I need to work even harder, with @swjr-swis having posted something even better while I was working on the album!

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Aetharan

[Bloojay]

@swjr-swis STOP MAKING ME HAVE TO REDESIGN *grumble grumble*, nice work, ya broke 4 tons(tonnes?) before anyone else and stole first place from Aetharan

 

@Aetharan I'll update your entry on the boards

[Aetharan]

So, for command-seat craft, you're counting mass sans Kerbal for leaderboard listings?

[Bloojay]

@Aetharan Correct

 

Edit: I'm also not counting disposable pods used to put kerbals in command seats, or launch clamps

Nother Edit: The launch clamps also can't raise your craft more than a few meters above the ground

Edited July 18, 2016 by Bloojay

[herbal space program]

2 hours ago, swjr-swis said:

Ok, obviously it's time to update that board again. Two entries.

One manned & recoverable (craft file: MiniOrb1e), 3708kg without a Kerbal, 3801kg with Valentina in it. Then a lighter stripped down version of the above to start off the still empty unmanned & recoverable board - craft file: MiniOrb1e-UnR, down to 16 parts and 3055kg (but we should be able to do much better than this). The album includes screens for both variants:

 

Pure stock, no mods.

Dang. Looks like you went to school on my command pod before I could go to school on your launcher.

2 hours ago, Bloojay said:

@Aetharan Correct

 

Edit: I'm also now counting disposable pods used to put kerbals in command seats, or launch clamps

Nother Edit: The launch clamps also can't raise your craft more than a few meters above the ground

OK, So what if we put the disposable pod off to side of the pad and walk the Kerbal up to the ship, using a ladder to climb aboard? If that pod counts too, then you're basically irrevocably making all the existing command seat-based designs non-competitive. I understand it's your challenge, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that possible consequence of this rule.

 

Nevermind, OP said it was a typo.

Edited July 18, 2016 by herbal space program

[Bloojay]

@herbal space program WOOPS TYPO, im NOT counting those  thanks keyboard

[herbal space program]

12 minutes ago, Bloojay said:

@herbal space program WOOPS TYPO, im NOT counting those  thanks keyboard

Thanks! Glad to hear it. I think we can still shave a bitt off of what we have now so long as we have some latitude about how we get the Kerbal aboard. I had gotten down to ~3.9t using a Rapier and my previous upper stage, but it seems that's not quite good enough anymore .....

Edited July 18, 2016 by herbal space program

[Aetharan]

I'm-a taking the first slot back!  At least, for a little while.  The Up-Chucker Mk.6 weighs in at 3.570t unkerballed, 3.664 with a pilot on board, and 0.839 on final descent.  Re-engineering for two-stage launches instead of three worked, and worked well!  The craft doesn't even have an AR202 case, thanks to the presence of a probe core and the beauty of ModuleManager patches.

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Aetharan

[Bloojay]

ALRIGHT TIME FOR MY OWN ENTRY, thankfully I'm not too late to grab 1st place this time

Here it is, the Pram 5

it weighs a mere 2.821t, can reach orbit with 300d/v left over, and requires a very shallow re-entry
the body lift from the Oscar-Bs grant a superizing glide slope and impressive control when re-entering and landing
Uploading the damn screenshots took longer than making and flying the thing 

a larger album can be found Here it just contains the extra screenshots

 

@Aetharan Well you had it for literally the 3 seconds before I pressed Submit but good job non the less

Edited July 18, 2016 by Bloojay