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KSP Challenge: Build and Fly a Space Shuttle!


Darth Badie

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Spaceshuttles you say?
I have had to dig through my bucket of designs which were an excellent idea at first, and then failed to really be of economical use.

Before proceeding, I'll have to tell you the backstory to these designs: I wanted to build an interplanetary transport, whereby the shuttle and landers would all be SSTO's that would depart from Kerbin, hook onto the main ship and then set sail for distant worlds.

And so the S12 Spearkhead MKIIIB came to be.

f71O1jz.jpg

It's a rocket annex shuttle which is designed for vertical take off and landing. It's a cross-over between a rocket and an SSTO and the train of thought was that I would need less fuel for a 50/50 SSTO/Rocket configuration than either an SSTO (where wings in space are just useless) or a rocket (which without wings just lacks efficiency for, reasons.)

oGjuFa6.jpg

In 1.2, she flies, but only barely. She's highly unstable for some reason and so has been abandoned. But in the glorydays, the sequence would go like this:

ofZSKih.jpg
Launch confirmed

mD4b97D.jpg
Booster seperation

xvcEuo5.jpg
Aerodynamic tail section decoupled.

q93AN00.jpg
Time to do important things like staying alive.

ijpLnpW.jpg
Diving back to Earth, eh, Kerbin

RYRRxmj.jpg
Powered landing (seeking out a good spot, pitching the nose up and then hit the parachute button hoping the aircraft won't tear itself apart from the G-forces

WD43XYj.jpg
And landing! (this bit tended to go a bit oopsie when their was anything bigger than a pebble lying around)

 

There were other ships in the series, a mining platform, and a smaller lander with less dV:
xeFigza.jpg

Of all those designs, only the miners are used on Minmus to fly to an orbital refinery. The obvious problems: Not very efficient, tended to topple on uneven ground, nearly impossible to get a pinpoint landing right, no margin for error and finally; the interplanetary stage costed nearly a million...

Oh well, good times.

 

 

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Woot!  So many posts to run through tomorrow evening, and many many badges to award.  Just hoping I don't click on "see latest post" and wipe all my work again :).   I just had a flick through and every single one looks awesome, and all totally different from each other.  Amazing stuff everyone!

To the people asking if you are allowed to use mods etc - GO NUTS!  Seriously though, free reign to do pretty much anything you like as long as it's a shuttle (in the loooooooosest possible term).

SM

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Looking good! Sadly I won't be able to participate in this one, although it's nice to see my badge designs being put to good use :wink: Good luck to all the participants! Shuttle building can be the most rewarding and the most frustrating thing ever :P

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On 2017-04-30 at 0:07 AM, Tinty Moce Fowt said:

nLKCgvz.jpg

Ready to launch from Baconnaise Cosmodrome:

uwmXpZM.jpg

The Cabbage-Soup Kerbals upgraded the Inland Kerbal Space Centre so they wouldn't have to rely on the Chicken-Soup Kerbals for launch facilites:

01Zq6J3.jpg

When no flights are in progress, Baconnaise doubles as a golf course:

Nb2Nhe0.jpg

Booster separation:

0J15DtB.jpg

Nearing the 100 km parking orbit:

lsNuYRl.jpg

Core separation completed, and on to rendezvous with Kerbin Station Alpha at an altitude of 210 km:

W06XnF5.jpg

Arrival at Salad, aka Kerbin Station Alpha (unfortunately Infernal Robotics isn't working properly and the payload won't deploy :( ):

QhZ79OB.jpg

Guess we'll just have to take the Science module back home and try another day:

xtR5ZUq.jpg

Approaching the Baconnaise runway:

rhtpuqd.jpg

Missed the runway (dammit, Jeb, I'm a rocket scientist not a pilot), but considering so few walk away from my landings, I think we'll let it go:

8lHeXwC.jpg

Imgur album

Second attempt. I made some changes (only to read the big, hard-to-miss warning -- shortly thereafter -- about not attaching docking ports directly to the Infernal Robotics parts):JFi6u1X.jpg

While I was at it, added a docking port to the Burger shuttle so the Kerbals could actually get into the Salad station:

Or89X9F.jpg

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Right - Cup of tea in hand, Australian internet stoked with coal and firing on 1 cylinder.   Let's do this team!

 

On 4/30/2017 at 9:52 AM, Kertech said:

My 10 times scale shuttle, very much not stock! (atmosphere is only 100,000m though trying to do ksp real world scale)

I seem to think I've done this one before.  Oh wait I have, and I commented something to the tune of "10 times scale?!  Rather you than me!".  Looks like you lofted a scaled up fuel pod too, so that is impressive!  I'm sure the 27 engines were bursting under the strain.  Badge yourself up here:  sdeeGOl.jpg 7RNmgnC.jpgyV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 4/30/2017 at 10:45 AM, KerrMü said:

Man, I haven´t built a shuttle for a looong time, but STS-3 "can you see me" looked like fun, so I thought I´d give it a try. And I really like that batch. :)

So here is my entry. I tried to get as close to the real thing as I could in one day.

I made a comment about your rep.  Possibly one with jealous overtones.  Joking, I think I said something like - Your rep precedes you, thanks for dropping in on the thread!  Also I waxed lyrical (slurp of tea) about how beautiful your telescope was, before slamming a couple of badges down the modems socket at 1 bit per year:  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8 neSFTQk.jpg

 

On 4/30/2017 at 0:47 PM, million_lights said:

Here is my entry:

Space Shuttly - The cute way to Orbit

stock speedbuild ( aprox. 2hours)

This was a light and fluffy comment to go with your seriously cute shuttle that is well deserving of its badge with all it's cargo space there!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 4/30/2017 at 1:28 PM, RocketPCGaming said:

Lots of awesome shuttles in here! Well done! 

Anyone that watches my stream will know I prefer SSTO's, but I made a shuttle just for this! (It's even stock:-P) It'll put 6 Kerbals in a 150km orbit and has ~3500m/s dV once there to go quite a ways and return.

Ah yes, this one I remember well.  I thanked you for not dropping an SSTO into the mix given your comment, and went on to praise the unusual nature of your shuttle, and how well constructed it appeared to be.  Solid effort!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 4/30/2017 at 2:52 PM, Haruspex said:

Okay, I've done it. This entry is compliant with Speeding Mullet's STS-1b mission challenge (40t payload to a circular orbit within 100 m deviation). See the linked imgur album for full details of the flight.

I commented that your shuttle looks like the god Hermes' hat.  Good to see you packed a couple of sneaky jet engines for the long flight home there!  Well lifted, and nice mission!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  et2p8E4.jpg

 

On 4/30/2017 at 4:07 PM, Tinty Moce Fowt said:

nLKCgvz.jpg

Love this one - Really nicely put together classic style shuttle, and the name in particular struck my funny bone.  Nice flight!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  8joD5Di.jpg

 

On 4/30/2017 at 6:08 PM, overkill13 said:

Figured I'd have a go at a nuke powered Mk3 Shuttle.  Also intended to fulfill STS1a&b for the shuttle challenges.

I commented that your initially giant lawn dart looking shuttle with fully recoverable first stage turned out to work beautifully.  Definitely one of the larger dream chaser style launches I've seen!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8 sE1QW9Q.jpg et2p8E4.jpg

 

On 4/30/2017 at 10:58 PM, endomen said:

I thought I'd try, and here's the result:

It's all stock, apart from Kerbalism supplies in the cargo bay.

Great mini version of a full sized shuttle, and clearly very capable, with a landing at the island runway!  Bonus points for running life support etc.  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8 sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 5/1/2017 at 1:53 AM, HamnavoePer said:

Entry:

SpaceCraft: Archer One. 

Mission: Orbit and land back at ksc.

NOTE: Ignore First Three Slides. They Are Duplicates I accidently added without noticing. thx

Nicely done for such a small shuttle! yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 5/1/2017 at 2:32 AM, Alchemist said:

Well, I guess I'll post my Energia-Buran replica here

Thanks for dropping in!  As winner of every single Shuttle challenge going the only thing I can do is ping you this insanely awesome badge!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 5/1/2017 at 2:40 AM, StrandedonEarth said:

Challenge: FAILED!

No fails here my friend, unless you bring an SSTO to a Shuttle party.  Have a badge!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 5/1/2017 at 4:24 AM, 53miner53 said:

I have one more Shuttle: a modified jet to have a LV-N, launched like Dream Chaser. I've flown it to Laythe for project Babylon reboot. This one just went to LKO and back though

What a surprise!  Good to see you check in 53miner53 :) yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 5/1/2017 at 4:55 AM, DV-13 said:

My Mk2 shuttle, which I build in career.

Not really impressive, but i like in nevertheless.

Building a shuttle full stop in KSP is impressive, don't sell yourself short.  Got to love the re-entry effects mod by the way.  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  8joD5Di.jpg

 

On 5/1/2017 at 0:16 PM, Red Shirt said:

Reworked my previous and first ever shuttle. I removed the half dome non-stock tanks and replaced them with the small Rockomax tanks and a nose cone. I then added some Oscar B's and Vernor engines. The craft is now 100% stock. Uses about 400 dv more getting to orbit than it should but best I know how to do. On reentry the Panther jet possibly isn't even required.  I only lit it up halfway between the mountains and KSC.

An unusual booster arrangement on this one!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 5/1/2017 at 4:52 PM, JYNg said:

While I was working my way towards a true SSTO, I made an in-between spaceplane that resembles Dyna-Soar: A spaceplane strapped on top of a reusable rocket booster. Aside from the SRBs almost the whole craft is reusable, with the launch costing only 15,000 funds if landed close enough to KSC.

The profile of the shuttle reminds me of a flying fish!  Thanks for stopping in on your way to SSTO greatness!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On to page 4!  I left my tea and it went cold so I'm also going to change that and brew a fresh cup!

SM

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I thougt to myself Wings just make truble so i foldet them up

 ZA5Bo6y.png

Skip Reentry

Mission succes! I am working on a version with a cargobay

So here it is

 

Edited by Xephosas
Add Mk3
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Fresh cup of tea in hand - I won't let this one go to waste.  On with the judging mega marathon!

 

On 2017/5/1 at 4:31 PM, qzgy said:

Kinda did it for fun. Really scrapes the delta-v barrel. (It wasn't by design.)

EDIT: To SpeedingMullet - This entry was more for that thread than this one. It may be more appropriate for the acknowledgement of completion to be there.

Cool, I'll review it in the main challenge for you, but in the mean time let me review it here also!  Oh - unable to process the video, so perhaps I will check in on the main thread later.  Here's the badge for you though yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/1 at 9:15 PM, Space_taco said:

Here's my shuttle my mission went well

i landed horizontally as you said , but i forgot to shoot the flight report , anyways here are the images

Looks like you had some landing issues there, but the crew survived!  Nice skybox by the way!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/2 at 2:38 AM, NISSKEPCSIM said:

I built this fully re-usable space shuttle using FMRS, Rocket Factory, and SXT! It can carry 6 crew to LKO, with 100m/s of DeltaV for orbital maneuvering, and just enough for landing. It uses the Piggyback Shuttle concept, where the shuttle is mounted to the side of a manned rocket plane, and is launched vertically. The carrier rocket plane separates during launch and lands back on the runway, and the shuttle continues to orbit. Fully reusable!

That is truly a monster!  Well done on achieving something very difficult in the fully reusable orbiter and launcher package!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  8joD5Di.jpg

 

On 2017/5/2 at 3:21 PM, *MajorTom* said:

Hi, i build this "Kama" (named as river in Russia) PSTO shuttle (parallel stage to orbit = all engines ignites and used all time) for anoter challenge in this forum, but now... (...why not get also official badge here :) ? ) . Plus this is not are common shuttle disign... so why not post it here? And it fly good in RSS+realism overhaul and not common solve of overheating problem and hypersonic flight stability and maneuverability...

For stock KSP:

Ah yes, tea and video time!  Definitely a flair for design you have there.  Really enjoyed the first design especially!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/2 at 6:06 PM, anarog_1 said:

I made Shuttle Fighter.

Very cool orbiter design, it looks hyper maneuverable judging by the screen shots!  sE1QW9Q.jpg  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/2 at 6:45 PM, EBOSHI said:

Tri liquid fuel booster shuttle delivery the module to the space station.

Very nicely done!  Interesting choice of engine placement on the orbiter, don't think I've seen that before!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 0:02 AM, michal.don said:

So I finally managed to fly my first succesful shuttle mission ever in RO/RSS. I have to say, designing something that behaves through the whole reentry, and is able to land in the end, was much more complicated than I expected. It's not good for much, but I'll try to design something a bit more useful next.

Knew you'd post something ludicrous here, and you didn't disappoint!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/3 at 0:51 AM, byakko said:

I made Shuttle .  All stock parts and no use MOD.


However, it is not good to launch a heavy payload.

It looks like a giant vertically launched boat plane with those banana boosters underneath it.  That's one way to get around COM issues!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 3:06 AM, I2ocketGuy said:

First off, love all the shuttle concepts and a great idea for a challenge! Few people said I should post my shuttle here so here we go.

that's ingenious!  I've seen this concept before but shied away from producing it, so congratulations on producing this one, and a working one at that!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/3 at 3:07 AM, ShadowZone said:

Can I participate with this thingy here?

Can I?  I thought I was all clever doing one for just over 4t, so you nailed the micro shuttle and it firmly belongs in this challenge!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  Rvs3vgQ.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 3:28 AM, Meila said:

Advance wing space plane with booster

I was so ready to say nop - SSTO then I saw the huge tube of solid fuel on board!  Congratulations on producing an out there design!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 5:20 AM, MiffedStarfish said:

Ok, I finally finished my shuttle. Only possible problem is, it uses VTOL engines for assisting landing. Is that a problem? Anyway, onto the shuttle!

A VTOL Shuttle - Nice work!!!  You certainly get your shiny badge now!  Rvs3vgQ.jpg yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

On 2017/5/3 at 7:00 AM, TheRedTom said:

Presenting the STS Death to SRBs

Nice Saturn style shuttle you have there!  Death to SRB's indeed!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  Rvs3vgQ.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 9:44 AM, jackstech said:

my stock shuttle:

And a nice chunky "classic style" stock shuttle it is!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 10:45 AM, StrandedonEarth said:

I found some time to take another crack at, and this time I just went easy. I took a previously built BarnBurner fast Kerbin exploration airplane, and replaced the center two jets with a small payload bay with a tiny satellite. I slapped it on top of a basic Mammoth-powered booster with BigS fins that I slapped together for the job, and launched it. The mission was a complete success, with no reverts or reloads. The small sat was deployed, re-entry was cool and uneventful, and the remaining outboard engines powered it over the desert and back to KSC for a runway landing. I forgot to take a screen of the sat deploy, but have video available of the whole mission, minus some boring 850m/s powered flight back to KSC.

That really is taking Dream Chaser to the extremes of size!  Have a badge, although I fear it's not big enough:  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8   sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 10:56 AM, tanisi said:

Space Shuttle

the visual mods really do make KSP look stunning!  This Shuttle is clearly massive, and I am massively awarding you the badge:  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8  sE1QW9Q.jpg

 

On 2017/5/3 at 5:43 PM, Space_taco said:

I upgraded my Eclipse Shuttle and made a new one the Polaroid , i landed successfully and i shot the flight results and some images

used some mods

Solid classic shuttle design!  The pictures were relatively dark but you clearly did a good job with the shuttle so here you go:  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

Well well, that's page 4 done with, and another cold cup of tea.  This really is very enjoyable!  On to the last page :)

SM

 

Final page, deep breath, here we go!  

 

21 hours ago, Adelaar said:

Spaceshuttles you say?
I have had to dig through my bucket of designs which were an excellent idea at first, and then failed to really be of economical use.

Before proceeding, I'll have to tell you the backstory to these designs: I wanted to build an interplanetary transport, whereby the shuttle and landers would all be SSTO's that would depart from Kerbin, hook onto the main ship and then set sail for distant worlds.

And so the S12 Spearkhead MKIIIB came to be.

Even if they turned out to be impractical, your designs (and screenshots) are of utmost epicness!  Love the theory behind it and may or may not take some inspiration directly from them in the future :)  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

11 hours ago, rhoark said:

This is a shot from years ago, but it felt like a big accomplishment to balance the off-axis thrust like a real shuttle.

Wow, looks like you checked in from the past with this one, and you were doing shuttles then!?  Kudos my friend!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

12 hours ago, Tinty Moce Fowt said:

Second attempt. I made some changes (only to read the big, hard-to-miss warning -- shortly thereafter -- about not attaching docking ports directly to the Infernal Robotics parts):

Salad Station - You kill me haha!  Have another badge, just because Salad Station!  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

Wow I'm actually done!  Let me just get all these replies merged, then I can finish off with one final post!

SM

 

EDIT - EEP!  Last minute entry!  @Xephosas  yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8
 

 

 

Well then, I'm all done.  Firstly it's been an absolute blast!  @Badie, thanks so much for inviting me to run this challenge for a week, I hope I did you all proud!  Secondly, to everyone that entered, thanks for making it so much fun.  While it took me totally forever to review everything, you were only taking me away from (dare I say it) Farming Simulator 2017 so that's probably a good thing.  As a "Shuttle Program Director" and administrator of the Main Challenge threads Shuttle Challenge, the third thing I want to say is that it always astounds me when you ask this community to do something, and they respond with such diversity in design.  I know KSP is sandbox, but the plethora of designs produced was Jaw>Floor for sure!  Thanks again everyone for making it a great week!

Without further ado, let's award the winners (and let's face it you are all winners) across a few different categories:

 

SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM CHALLENGE WINNERS:

 

yV_RrghwwENxYdv-jCCzrknh9HcYZYfROi8XAaH8

 

Micro Shuttle

Totally can't go past your 2t Micro Shuttle @ShadowZone!


Classic Shuttle (STS replica)

Anyone that puts this much effort into building a lifting body out of structural parts deserves the Classic Shuttle award @luizopiloto!


No one ever imagined such a thing

This was a really hard one to award, as pretty much every shuttle out there was beyond comprehension.  In a huge plot twist I'm actually going to award it to a design that has actually been imagined, if not produced.  Well done @I2ocketGuy.  Hell of a first post by the way!



That's it from me folks!  Thanks so much once again, and if you want to continue the shuttle madness, please feel free to check into the Shuttle Challenge in the challenge section of the forum!

SM

 

 

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34 minutes ago, Speeding Mullet said:

I seem to think I've done this one before.  Oh wait I have, and I commented something to the tune of "10 times scale?!  Rather you than me!".  Looks like you lofted a scaled up fuel pod too, so that is impressive!  I'm sure the 27 engines were bursting under the strain.  Badge

yeah this time it's BIGGER!! (and documented properly, whooo certifiction)

Think you deserve something a bit stronger than a cuppa after this marathon mate!

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"Looks like you had some landing issues there, but the crew survived!  Nice skybox by the way!"

@Speeding Mullet The Skybox is from Gameslinx Planet Pack i downloaded the pack but i had huge lag with the mods and so i removed the pack but i kept the skybox in the files since it looked awesome to me.

Edited by Space_taco
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Well done everyone who participated and well done Speeding Mullet for jurying!

Though, I'm sad I wasn't able to participate with my shuttle in time. :(
I read about the challenge too late and it took too long to refine my design.

But, I'll be sure to enter the main Shuttle Challenge!

Edited by T-Bouw
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6 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

The profile of the shuttle reminds me of a flying fish!  Thanks for stopping in on your way to SSTO greatness! 

SM

@Speeding Mullet Thanks for the badge! And on hindsight it does looks like a flying fish! :D

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Although the challenge is over I suddenly had an idea a few hours ago. Something that has never been done before. You might like this @Badie.

As some of you might know, I've invented the stock turboshaft engine and am the leader in stock helicopter/turboprop airplane design. There's something that I haven't done yet until today: bring a helicopter into orbit and after that, land on the KSC. The helicopter is the 77 Industries Azi23 Helios, slightly modified with two rocket engines.

Here's the album.

Next step: land on Laythe.

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14 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

That really is taking Dream Chaser to the extremes of size!  Have a badge, although I fear it's not big enough:

Thanks for the badge(s), and for having the patience to go through and judge all this stuff, and finding nice stuff to say about everything! 

5 hours ago, Tinty Moce Fowt said:

Thanks for the badges (and appreciating my sense of humor),

I gotta admit, your naming scheme was pretty good throughout!

Edited by StrandedonEarth
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6 hours ago, Tinty Moce Fowt said:

Thanks for the badges (and appreciating my sense of humor), @Speeding Mullet, and for taking the time to comment on all these creative submissions.

And thanks to @Badie for arranging these challenges and giving me the opportunity to share a bit with the community!

I loved that naming scheme to bits, it made me giggle.

Also, @Speeding Mullet, @I2ocketGuy is another KSP streamer; for some reason, not many of us are avid forum users, but you can check him out at http://twitch.tv/i2ocketguy to see his shuttle. I know @BagelRabbit (http://twitch.tv/bagelrabbit) was working on a derpy shuttle of his own last night as well.
Thanks for having us this week, makes me realize us Twitch members of the media group need to interact with the forum more; SQUAD gave us that little 'who's live' on the homepage, but we don't make any effort to reciprocate and come around. I'll definitely try my hand at more of these challenges, and see if I can't bridge the gap a little.

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Is it too late to submit?

Yesterday I did my first ever major shuttle mission specifically for this challenge. I may or may not have "accidentally" made the lift stage of the Aether-class mini shuttle a bit overpowered. But by the time I got into orbit, I realized that I could easily get somewhere else. So much fuel to waste! But where to go? At first I was thinking the Mun, but I doubted that Aether had enough dV to land and get back. That only left itty bitty Minmus left. So I took the opportunity I had and did a burn to Minmus, using up all of my second stage but still leaving the shuttle's main tanks full. Aether arrived about 16 Kerbin days later, where it was inserted into High Minmus Orbit and later a Low Minmus Orbit. I decided to land on one of the flat (ish), high elevation plateaus. There I was able to safely touch down and get Jeb out to plant a flag. Getting back into orbit was pretty simple, and so was escaping Minmus. However, I had to make sure I wasn't going too fast during reentry, so I did several burns to bring my orbit around Kerbin down slowly and steadily. Aether ran out of fuel during the de-orbit burn, but that didn't really matter - I still was able to land, even though I did have to use the Abort system (engines off+airbrakes deployed+parachutes opened) to land. I need to work on the shuttle's aerodynamics a bit. One way or another, it was a successful mission!

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Full album here (y'know, if you REALLY want to look at all 94 screenshots I took. I really need to stop abusing the F1 button before my laptop runs out of memory :P)

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In this configuration can take 4 Kerbalnauts to LKO with about 500dV to spare.  Crew cabin cab can be swapped out for a 1.25m cargo bay for ummm cargo.

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Edited by Gristle
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A replica of EJ_SA's Collins Transportation System. As close to the real Shuttle as it gets in KSP.

I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THE DESIGN. EJ_SA is the owner of this design, however I constructed it.

I take NO CREDIT

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I just built a Gilly base in orbit with the SkipperShuttle i built inspired by this challenge.

SkipperShuttle for the reason i didn't want to use those overpowered Vector engines :D
The Shuttle turned out to be my best yet. Not so easy to launch and needs a bit of fuel pumping when hauling its max capacity of 24t fuel into orbit. But it just looks gorgeous :cool:

On my anticipated last launch for the Gilly Base i decided for roleplay and safty reasons that another shuttle should launch and bring some more fuel and another pilot to get the first shuttle home.

And these two pilots turned out to be true badSes.

After leaving the station i flew the two shuttles in formation during reentry split them up in the landing approach and landed them both on the runway...
Unfortunatley my approach had a too steep reentry to bleed off all the energy in a smooth way. Both had to fly nearly a Split S to land on runway 27.

Of Course it took a few reloads before i managed it right. My first approach nearly worked but at 1km/s the timing is pretty critical to not exceed the 25 km limit. Also the SAS played tricks on me - best result was to set the pitch trim and let the aero forces stabilize the vessels.
My savegame was about on the west coast of the KSC continent 26.000m rising and 1.4km/s surface vel.

I allready was proud on my shuttle now i am a bit more :blush:

All stock except for Kerbal Alarmclock and the transfer window planner. (I didn't use the installed WarpDrive mod here)
Not all the pics are from one run - but the final seven are...

 

Edited by KroShan
imgur album added
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