Realism Overhaul: Low Cost Orbit.

[NSEP]

With this challenge, you try and build a low cost launch vehicle in Realism Overhaul. How cheap can you make spaceflight? Lets find out what the community can do!

Basic Rules:

• Real Fuels, Real Solar System, RP-0 and Realism Overhaul are required to join the challenge.
• No HyperEdit or Alt-f12 menu allowed.
• All other mods and parts are allowed.
• Rocket engines that have been edited/aren't RO configured aren't allowed in the challenge.
• Your Launch vehicle and payload must have a PE above 140km when in orbit.

 Submission Rules:

• You must have a screenshot of the rocket itself, and the cost of the rocket.
• You also have to make a screenshot of the rocket in orbit, with a dummy payload, and a MechJeb/KER window showing the mass of the rocket.
• If you want to go reusable, you must upload a video/series of screenshot with the GUI opened of the vehicle coming back down. This also counts if you choose to use parachutes.
• Your score comes in Funds per KG. (DO NOT MISTAKE IT FOR FUNDS PER TON) calculate this by doing this Total Funds/Payload to LEO

Extra Challenges

• Low Cost: Try and reach the lowest Funds/KG below the total launch cost of 50,000 funds,
• Low Mass: Try and reach the lowest Funds/KG below the total launch mass of 500,000kg
• Fully Reusable: Try to reuse all the parts on your spacecraft.
• ICBM: Try and reach the lowest Funds/KG by making an expendable rocket, no bigger in diameter than 3 meters and no longer than 50 meters, and uses no Cryogenic Propellants like Liquid Oxygen, Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Methane.
• Behemoth mode: Make a launch vehicle capable of sending over 500,000kg to LEO while keeping the Funds/KG as low as possible,
• Elon Mode: Impress me.

Leaderboard

• ExamplePlayer, Fu/KG=1.059, (Challenges Completed: Low Mass, Elon Mode)

1. @Starman4308, Fu/KG=266.3725, (Challenges Completed: Low Mass, Low Cost, Elon Mode for using only three nodes on the tech tree.

 

 

Have Fun!

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by NSEP
Added Starman4308's Submission. Made the scoring system more clear,

[Human Person]

Nice challenge, I already have some candidates in storage!

Does the payload have to be inert or does the upper stage court as well? (E.g you can read that Saturn 5 had a payload to LEO of 140 t, but that wasn‘t an inert payload).

Can we use Stage Recovery?

 

Also: When can balloon tanks be used or should we stick to default tanks all the way? I know you can perform some cheaty trickery when using balloon tanks everywhere.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Physics Student

[NSEP]

6 minutes ago, Physics Student said:

Nice challenge, I already have some candidates in storage!

One question: does the payload have to be inert or does the upper stage court as well? (E.g you can read that Saturn 5 had a payload to LEO of 140 t, but that wasn‘t an inert payload)

The leftover fuel mass in the upper stage does count as max payload mass.

31 minutes ago, Physics Student said:

Also: When can balloon tanks be used or should we stick to default tanks all the way? I know you can perform some cheaty trickery when using balloon tanks everywhere.

Balloon tanks or any fuel tank are completely ok to use.

[Scorpu]

2 hours ago, NSEP said:

Real Fuels, Real Solar System and Realism Overhaul are required to join the challenge.

What about RP-0? It was created to balance all of the part costs in Realism Overhaul. Without RP-0, the same parts coming from two different mods, both with configs for RO could have different costs. For example I have 2 non-RP0 Star-37 motors in my install, but one costs 99 funds and the other costs 150 (both have the same RO config, same mass, same performance). Just saying that two or more players could use the same engine, but from different mods and end up with different results.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Scorpu

[NSEP]

1 hour ago, Scorpu said:

What about RP-0? It was created to balance all of the part costs in Realism Overhaul. Without RP-0, the same parts coming from two different mods, both with configs for RO could have different costs. For example I have 2 non-RP0 Star-37 motors in my install, but one costs 99 funds and the other costs 150 (both have the same RO config, same mass, same performance). Just saying that two or more players could use the same engine, but from different mods and end up with different results.

Shoot, i though Realism Overhaul xhanged the part costs. Im changing that now!

[macktruck6666]

I would like to mess around with RO but isn't it a paint to get working? Thoughts everything was depricated.

Edited January 23, 2018 by macktruck6666

[zeta function]

On 1/23/2018 at 2:23 AM, macktruck6666 said:

I would like to mess around with RO but isn't it a paint to get working? Thoughts everything was depricated.

To install realism overhaul, ckan is a must have. (RO only works for 1.2.2, or whatever the last 1.2._ is).To install it, atleast for me, it usually takes multiple tries. What I do is install the big mods like real solar system, ven stock revamp, FAR, FASA etc. seperately. Then, once I have those installed, I install RO. By the way, I always delete all the craft files and thumbs before installing FAR (don't delete the folders, delete the contents of the folders.), otherwise, it doesn't work. Then, once I have those installed, I install RO. If it comes up with an error, read it. If it says that a certain mod can't be installed, deselect that mod when you try again. It often fails to install mods off of spacedock.

[macktruck6666]

2 hours ago, zeta function said:

To install realism overhaul, ckan is a must have. (RO only works for 1.2.2, or whatever the last 1.2._ is).To install it, atleast for me, it usually takes multiple tries. What I do is install the big mods like real solar system, ven stock revamp, FAR, FASA etc. seperately. Then, once I have those installed, I install RO. By the way, I always delete all the craft files and thumbs before installing FAR (don't delete the folders, delete the contents of the folders.), otherwise, it doesn't work. Then, once I have those installed, I install RO. If it comes up with an error, read it. If it says that a certain mod can't be installed, deselect that mod when you try again. It often fails to install mods off of spacedock.

Or you can follow these instructions.

There are a few updated versions of the mods he lists, but it's easy to find using the table on the RSSVE page.

Not really sure how to make something unique though. Keep coming back to the SLS or Proton rocket disghn.

[MaxFenig]

I think the challenge lacks an important aspect - we can make inefficient design with cheap part with very very little payload or no payload at all since only the total weight is taken into account - that does not make it a usable launch vehicle tho.

You can game it and add tons of weight with cheap parts/lead ballast that increases the weight more than the cost, to fill leftover thrust from your over-sized engines.

I think it should be, or add it as a extra challenge: Funds / LEO Payload In KG (periapsis >= 140km)

Otherwise it's just the heaviest rocket that can reach leo with the lowest cost possible.

[Starman4308]

So, I think I'll snipe the leaderboard whilst I can. I fully expect to be displaced.

The Sputnik-4 costed 3,196.47 funds. The payload placed into orbit masses 78 kilograms of which 12 kg (antenna, extra battery, thermometer, barometer) was not needed for ascent.

The first stage is a pair of RD-100 engines, plus 767kg of procedural avionics. The second stage is 6x early AJ-10s, of which one suffered a Test Flight-induced malfunction. Third stage is 3x early AJ-10s. The fourth stage is the last controlled stage, with a single AJ-10, an A-4 guidance unit (600 kg, no SAS, which made the second stage failure really interesting to fly with), and 12 44.8N nitrous oxide thrusters with 26.48 kg of nitrous oxide to play with.

Shamelessly stealing a good idea from the Juno 1 launcher, after 4'th stage burnout, during coast to apoapsis, I lined up with the horizon, span up on the nitrous oxide thrusters, and fired 3 Baby Sergeant stages, also shamelessly stolen from the Juno 1.

While my score will likely turn out to be atrocious, I'm still proud of this rocket: my first* orbital launch in RP-0, with a 40-ton mass limit, and only three** tech tree nodes used: Start, Early Orbital Rocketry, and Early Construction.

*There was a prior, similar launch before I had Test Flight installed, that was in an unstable 132x1100 km orbit. That one had one fewer AJ-10 stage, but burned many stages longer than rated burn time.

**I also had Supersonic Flight researched at the time of design, but I didn't use any parts from it. I think the preliminary design didn't even use the default-type fuel tanks from Early Construction.

Score: Either 40.980 funds/kilogram (full orbital payload) or 266.3725 funds/kilogram (only parts unnecessary for ascent)

Edited January 26, 2018 by Starman4308

[NSEP]

20 hours ago, MaxFenig said:

I think it should be, or add it as a extra challenge: Funds / LEO Payload In KG (periapsis >= 140km)

It already is. Maybe i wasn't clear enough.

 

9 hours ago, Starman4308 said:

So, I think I'll snipe the leaderboard whilst I can. I fully expect to be displaced.

The Sputnik-4 costed 3,196.47 funds. The payload placed into orbit masses 78 kilograms of which 12 kg (antenna, extra battery, thermometer, barometer) was not needed for ascent.

The first stage is a pair of RD-100 engines, plus 767kg of procedural avionics. The second stage is 6x early AJ-10s, of which one suffered a Test Flight-induced malfunction. Third stage is 3x early AJ-10s. The fourth stage is the last controlled stage, with a single AJ-10, an A-4 guidance unit (600 kg, no SAS, which made the second stage failure really interesting to fly with), and 12 44.8N nitrous oxide thrusters with 26.48 kg of nitrous oxide to play with.

Shamelessly stealing a good idea from the Juno 1 launcher, after 4'th stage burnout, during coast to apoapsis, I lined up with the horizon, span up on the nitrous oxide thrusters, and fired 3 Baby Sergeant stages, also shamelessly stolen from the Juno 1.

While my score will likely turn out to be atrocious, I'm still proud of this rocket: my first* orbital launch in RP-0, with a 40-ton mass limit, and only three** tech tree nodes used: Start, Early Orbital Rocketry, and Early Construction.

*There was a prior, similar launch before I had Test Flight installed, that was in an unstable 132x1100 km orbit. That one had one fewer AJ-10 stage, but burned many stages longer than rated burn time.

**I also had Supersonic Flight researched at the time of design, but I didn't use any parts from it. I think the preliminary design didn't even use the default-type fuel tanks from Early Construction.

Score: Either 40.980 funds/kilogram (full orbital payload) or 266.3725 funds/kilogram (only parts unnecessary for ascent)

I think i will have to use the parts unnecessary for ascent for on the leaderboard. Although its not the best score compared to what i have in my arsenal, you still completed the the Low Cost and Low Mass challenge!

[macktruck6666]

I can't seem to get fairings to work. I don't get the option to stage them. Am I missing something?https://imgur.com/cvV0T76

NVM, using interstage fairing instead of payload.

Edited January 26, 2018 by macktruck6666

[winged]

On 22.01.2018 at 11:14 AM, NSEP said:

ExamplePlayer, Fu/KG=1.059, (Challenges Completed: Low Mass, Elon Mode

1.0 Fu/KG is the equivalent of 7780 USD/KG.

[NSEP]

13 minutes ago, winged said:

1.0 Fu/KG is the equivalent of 7780 USD/KG.

Thanks! Did not know that. That's definitely usefull.

Should i put that in the thread?

[Firemetal]

Sorry wrong thread. (Delete this please mods)

Edited February 27, 2018 by Firemetal