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Favourite real world Rocket?


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I like the Titan II. Later generations (with the SRB’s) as well, but there’s something vicious about the slick, straight lined looks of a T2 with that twin-bell engine (all explainable because of its ICBM silo background of course, but still...).

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Just now, Teilnehmer said:

We are talking about real world rokcets now, aren’t we?

You are correct in the fact that it has not flown yet, but I have high confidence in it flying. They have bought the land for the factory and have tested numerous components and the people behind it seem to be properly motivated.

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N1since it was the most kerbal rocket ever created, the manifestation of MOAR BOOSTER

R7 rocket, as the rocket that started the space age and carried the first people and satellite to space

V2 as the progenitor of modern space rockets

Unrelated to spaceflight, but I am fond of SCUD missiles

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H-II : Akin to the Ariane 5, but more stubby and fat. And with 6 SRBs and the smaller upper stage (which widens again for the fairing), looks like something out of KSP, in a respectable way.

 

F9 : Bloody slender stuff ! (and it often gets back to you)

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Falcon 9, because it looks rather basic and can be reused.

My least favourite rocket has to be the Long March rcoket family, for dropping its stages and toxic fuels on Chinese villages.

My favourite ICBM is the KN-08, because it has the capability to nuke my own country (wohooo!)

Edited by NSEP
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Size is beautiful. Saturn V is in its own class until there will be larger rocket.

As someone mentioned N1 was nice too and gets extra points from Kerbal attitude. It is sad that it did not perform as expected and there was no real final spurt and more rounds in space race.

 

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As far as Im concerned, Saturn V is *the* Space Rocket.

But my personal favorite changes everytime you ask, I think I voted for solid-rocket fireworks last time around just because of their simplicity and scalability (scale one up enough and you've got a bona-fide strap-on booster or an ICBM)

Today I'll go for the Soviet "FOBS" system just because they took the ICBM idea and ran with it as far as it logically could go. You gotta love weapons systems cancelled for being too potent.

GR-1-SS-10-Scrag-1SS.jpg

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Saturn V would be my number one, but the Sprint ABM is a close second:

Quote

The Sprint was a two-stage, solid-fuel anti-ballistic missile (ABM), armed with a W66 enhanced radiation thermonuclear warhead. It was designed to intercept incoming reentry vehicles (RV) after they had descended below about 60 kilometres (37 mi) altitude, where the thickening air stripped away any decoys or radar reflectors and exposed the RV to observation by the radar. As the RV would be travelling at about 5 miles (8.0 km) per second, Sprint had to have phenomenal performance to perform an interception in the few seconds before the RV reached its target.

Sprint accelerated at 100 g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 in 5 seconds. Such a high velocity at relatively low altitudes created skin temperatures up to 6200 °F (3400 °C), requiring an ablative shield to dissipate the heat.[1][2] The high temperature caused a plasma to form around the missile, requiring extremely powerful radio signals to reach it for guidance.

 

Edited by SuperFastJellyfish
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It was never built, (N-1 was favored in it's place) :

Chelomei's UR-700 rocket

ur70068.jpg

 

http://www.astronautix.com/u/ur-700.html

Was quite an advanced concept for it's time :), even reusing some hardware from the proton rocket :)

the side boosters were mated by pairs on this thing, one half of the pair carrying an extra oxydizer tank, the other half an extra fuel tank - those where meant to top off the central cores. It was meant to use crossfeed long before KSP :wink:

besides, the 3rd stage (on top of the 3 boosters forming the core stage, was meant to be a modified first stage of the proton rocket !

(The modified proton stage was to only have 3 engines and 3 side tanks, instead of 6) 

that version was planned for 151 tons to LEO :wink:

another version of this rocket would have replaced the 3rd stage with an NTR stage ^^

crazy concept which would feel just so KSP ^^

Edited by sgt_flyer
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9 hours ago, p1t1o said:

Today I'll go for the Soviet "FOBS" system just because they took the ICBM idea and ran with it as far as it logically could go. You gotta love weapons systems cancelled for being too potent.


Not so much for being too potent, as it's window of usefulness had closed.  A surprise from the south made sense when we relied on the DEW line to warn us of missiles in flight coming in from the north....  But the PAVE PAWS radar system was coming online in the 1970's and partially closed that gap.  The MIDAS early warning (launch detection) satellites of the 1960's weren't particularly useful...  But the DSP series that came online in the 1970's provided 24/7 launch detection and track determination capabilities and the game was essentially over.

The Soviets put up little fight when it was proposed to outlaw FOBS under SALT II in 1979.

Trivia:  Testing of the FOBS stage included it re-entering over the Soviet Union.  One of the operating features was that it used a late, high thrust, retro burn to disguise it's identity as long as possible and the resulting steep re-entry reduced it's vulnerability to ABM systems.  During the first tests the burns took place after sunset on the ground but while the RV was still in sunlight (presumably to make optical tracking possible) and the resulting plume was visible over a wide area.  This resulted in a spate of UFO sightings....  Eventually someone in the Soviet Union put two and two together and realized why the CIA was assiduously collecting information on a small number of UFO sightings...  And all subsequent tests occurred when the retrofire plume would not be visible from the ground.

Edited by DerekL1963
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9 hours ago, p1t1o said:

You gotta love weapons systems cancelled for being too potent.

Compared to depressed trajectory ?

After all, that is entirely irrelevant when satellites are factored in. The launch would have been detected, trajectory calculated...

... then comes Titanium Rod.

Edited by YNM
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The Mercury Atlas 9, because it was the first orbital rocket produced by the United States. Great looks too. Also the Titan missile, because I have seen this particular rocket in person and it also doubled as a nuclear missile.

Image result for atlas 9 rocket   Related image 

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33 minutes ago, The Dunatian said:

The Mercury Atlas 9, because it was the first orbital rocket produced by the United States. Great looks too. Also the Titan missile, because I have seen this particular rocket in person and it also doubled as a nuclear missile.

Image result for atlas 9 rocket   Related image 

Redstone could orbit payloads with upper stages (as Juno I). Not much mass though...

You mean first manned orbital rocket?

Atlas is a nice rocket though...

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R7 for starting the Space Race and carrying every Russian manned spacecraft ever.

Saturn V, for putting humans on the Moon.

Energia, for the modularity, being the origin of the most powerful rocket engine ever built (RD-170), and only slightly less thrust than the Saturn V.

Falcon 9/Heavy for what they've done and are going to do soon.

BFR hopefully for what it will someday achieve.

 

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