Probe to tylo

[AgentOrange84]

What size rocket do I need to send a small lander probe to land on tylo. Can use conventional rocket fuel, or do I need some sort of nuclear or ion arrangement?

I'm a fairly amateur player so please use simple language also I play on Xbox One so have no access to mods.

[Foxster]

It's real hard to give you an answer in terms of "size". You need to be thinking more in terms of "How much dV do I need?" 

If dV is unfamiliar to you then it's kinda the range that your craft is capable of. Making orbit, setting off for another planet, establishing orbit, landing, etc all require dV. 

If you haven't already then install a mod (e.g. MechJeb or KER) that tells you the dV capability of your craft's stages. 

Then have have a look at this dV calculator to see what dV you'll need for each stage of your planned mission:  https://13375.de/KSPDeltaVMap/

Design your craft to meet the mission's dV needs. Don't forget to include a good safety margin. 

Dang...Just spotted your inability to use any mods. I simply don't know how to achieve this without such simple information as dV and TWR. I suggest getting a PC!

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by Foxster

[IncongruousGoat]

Despite what @Foxster might say, calculating dV by hand really isn't that hard. All you need is the Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation: dV=I_sp*9.807*ln(m_w/m_d), where I_sp is the specific impulse of your engine, m_w is the stage wet mass, or the mass of the stage when it's full of fuel, and m_d is the stage dry mass, or the stage mass when it has no fuel left. Just remember that dV has to be computed for each stage individually, with your total dV equal to the sum of the stage dV values.

Edited August 19, 2017 by IncongruousGoat

[Iqilipi]

I've found this website to be very helpful when doing dV calculations: http://www.strout.net/info/science/delta-v/

Just make sure to switch "exhaust velocity" to "specific impulse." 

[invision]

you actually dont need a very big rocket to get there.

 

 

[Spricigo]

7 hours ago, AgentOrange84 said:

I'm a fairly amateur player so please use simple language also I play on Xbox One so have no access to mods.

nice webapp: rocket calculalor and transfer planner.

 

[Snark]

On 8/19/2017 at 6:47 AM, AgentOrange84 said:

What size rocket do I need to send a small lander probe to land on tylo.

Do you need to do a round trip, or is it a one-way ticket to the surface?  The latter's a whole lot easier. 

On 8/19/2017 at 6:47 AM, AgentOrange84 said:

Can use conventional rocket fuel, or do I need some sort of nuclear or ion arrangement?

You'll probably want conventional fuel.  Tylo has by far the highest surface gravity of any vacuum body in the game, so you need a hefty TWR.  Nukes may have a TWR that's too low to be practical, and ions are lower still.

(Of course, having said the above, I expect someone will immediately prove me wrong by saying "here's a photo of my nuke-powered Tylo lander"...)

[Kryxal]

I made a nuke-powered Tylo lander, and it did manage to land ... but it never did it well.  A better TWR and some thrust vectoring will make your life a whole lot easier...

[AeroGav]

How about a nuke running continuously,  and a pair of chemical engines (spark, twitch?) you can burst on and off to give you the thrust for landing?  BTW Tylo is hilly also,  i discovered the hard way, despite the fuel requirement, your lander also needs to be reasonably short and squat..

[Spricigo]

5 hours ago, AeroGav said:

How about a nuke running continuously,  and a pair of chemical engines (spark, twitch?) you can burst on and off to give you the thrust for landing?  BTW Tylo is hilly also,  i discovered the hard way, despite the fuel requirement, your lander also needs to be reasonably short and squat..

Probably you end up worse than with a pure chemical lander. A lot of weight,  cost and complexity for a still low TWR. 

Also, unless you drop parts, chenical  before nuclear will yeld more deltaV. 

[AgentOrange84]

I would like to thank everyone who has provided answers, these have not only helped me but given me info on things I was unaware of (like the transfer planner).

I have managed to land now I used an combo of chemical and nuclear fuel (nuke for transfer, chem for landing).

ThANKS AGAIN

[Foxster]

If you did want a nuke-only lander then this has a decent margin from and back to a 50km orbit...

Edited August 23, 2017 by Foxster

[Palaceviking]

As you're on console, I'd keep the construction simple, make your launcher a real beefcake (mammoth)  that will throw you up fast enough for you to circularise on nukes which will also be your transfer stage(with a return pod and lots of fuel here), then make a light powerful lander attached to your transfer stage with a decoupler. 

Park the transfer vehicle in low tylo orbit, land, do flags etc the return to orbit Eva over to the transfer vehicle,  set a 40k(ish) kerbin periapsis and decouple the pod when you're sure you're captured/will be captured at kerbin. 

Ballpark guess at fuel etc

1st stage - mammoth +4 large tanks +adapter 

2nd stage - 4 nukes radially around a large mk3 liquid fuel tank /mk3 adapter +return pod

Descent stage - lander can +4 flt800+4 terrier 

Anyway,  something like that, takes ages typing on a phone