How To Land an Orbital Rocket Booster

[Natokerbal]

The SpaceK R&D are trying to figure out how to perfect their reusable rocket program. They asked for your help on how to land a First Stage Booster or FSB. They want the payload margin to be large for their satellites. Happy launching's and landings!

This challenge is simple. land an orbital rocket booster without parachutes.

Requirements: The booster must reach orbit then come back down to Kerbin and land successfully without detaching anything but fairings and the payload.

Payload Minimum:    1.25m-1.5 Tons     1.875m- 2.5 Tons   2.5m- 4.5 Tons   3.75m- 7.5 Tons   5m- 10 Tons (If you have clustered cores then do whatever the cores are closest to in size)

Point Bonuses:  

It's Good to See You Again: land somewhere on Kerbin. 30pts

Aboat Time!: land your booster on a platform in one of Kerbin's oceans. 100pts

Backyard Touchdown! Land in the flat are around KSC. 50pts

Honey I'm Home!: land inside KSC. 60points

Boosterseye! land back on the launch mount. 100pts

Pivotal part: Use stock hinges for landing legs. 25pts

Alien Technology: use part mods. -10pts per part

Lazy: Use autopilot for launch and/or landing. -20pts

Dangerous life: Use a suicide burn for the final landing burn. 50pts

Fashion statement: your booster/ rocket looks cool. 20pts (awarded by me)

Having some fun: have an interesting/creative payload. 20pts (awarded by me)

Weight Lifter: Beat the weight minimum. 25pts

Good luck everyone.

 

Leaderboards:

 

Stock-Orbital	Stock-Suborbital	Modded-Orbital	Modded-Suborbital
1. Kerbolitto 75pts	1. JacobJHC 85pts	1.	1.TheEnderman 90pts
2.	2.	2.	2.
3.	3.	3.	3.
4.	4.	4.	4.
5.	5.	5.	5.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by Natokerbal

[vyznev]

This mission I flew earlier probably doesn't count for this challenge, since the first stage boosters never went orbital. But I couldn't resist linking to it anyway, because it was really, really fun.  Anyway, I suspect the booster design could be pretty easily adapted for this challenge.

Unfortunately I never got around to editing and posting the video. Partly because the recording quality turned out really terrible.

Edited June 26, 2018 by vyznev

[Natokerbal]

23 minutes ago, vyznev said:

This mission I flew earlier probably doesn't count for this challenge, since the first stage boosters never went orbital. But I couldn't resist linking to it anyway, because it was really, really fun.  Anyway, I suspect the booster design could be pretty easily adapted for this challenge.

Unfortunately I never got around to editing and posting the video. Partly because the recording quality turned out really terrible.

That makes me wanna count it but I dont wanna change the rules for one person. great mission though.

[JacobJHC]

Can there be a category for boosters that don't go to orbit? I have a semi-functional Falcon heavy where the center core can get to orbit with the payload but the boosters stay suborbital.

[Kerbolitto]

Here is my entry !

 

I already designed a ton of heavy lifters so I just loaded one on a new sandbox.

This is the S4 80t.

it has 4 Vectors and 1 Mammoth under an S4-512 + some other tinier tanks, with a 5m. fairing on top. This contraption can lift 80t. to LKO + the weight of a big fairing and is really pleasant to fly. When deorbiting, both Mk3 to 3.75m. Adapter creates a ton of drag and are extremly heat tolerant, they can also whistand 50m/s impact but a little retro-burn makes things a bit more stable.

This booster also have big brothers, a 110t. variant, a 150t., 300t., and a 500t. just as efficient

 

Spoiler

Launchpad :

Gravity Turn :

Circularisation :

Payload : This is a 72t. Station with Lab, Com, Habitat, Science experiments and 2670dV on a Skipper

Deorbiting : The Mk3 adapters are creating a heavy drag

Landing just a bit north of the KSC

I forgot to take a pic with chutes deployed, it has 6 mk16XL on an engine plate under the fairing, + 2 on the sides !

 

 

Edited June 27, 2018 by Kerbolitto

[Natokerbal]

2 hours ago, JacobJHC said:

Can there be a category for boosters that don't go to orbit? I have a semi-functional Falcon heavy where the center core can get to orbit with the payload but the boosters stay suborbital.

yes I will make that

[JacobJHC]

20 hours ago, Natokerbal said:

Aboat Time!: land your booster on a platform in one of Kerbin's oceans. 100pts

What if your booster has floaties so it doesn't need a platform?

Also what if I launch from the desert site and aim for KSC? Would that be different if there wasn't a boostback needed to get to KSC?

Also Also what if I have a reusable second stage?

Edited June 27, 2018 by JacobJHC

[Natokerbal]

22 minutes ago, JacobJHC said:

What if your booster has floaties so it doesn't need a platform?

Also what if I launch from the desert site and aim for KSC? Would that be different if there wasn't a boostback needed to get to KSC?

Also Also what if I have a reusable second stage?

It has to be a platform

that would be ok to do that

the point of the challenge is for first stages

[JacobJHC]

Ok here we go. Here's one for the suborbital category:

 

[TheEnderman]

starting work on a booster, i think it'll look quite cool 

 

Hopefully all goes well, im basing it off of a design ive had in mind for a while now

[TheEnderman]

Mission complete and it was a success! Ive had this design in the back of my head since like december. I saw this post and thought: "Welp, here we go..". Now: Onto the ship. The main mods i used were the "procedural parts" mod and the "TweakScale" mod. The ship is named the 'Megathron', as the Megathron is my favorite ship in Eve Online. Yes, that payload is a rocket, made completely from parts from the "Sounding Rockets!" mod. Also JacobJHC notice me senpai you are senpai. (im the one that comments the dumb memes on your videos)

Video Link: 

yes its mine my forum user and yt user dont match.

Quick note about the video: first 2 launches are fails, 3rd is the gudness.

 

hope you like it, that is all my dudes, goodbye.

Edited June 28, 2018 by TheEnderman
didnt mention payload

[TheEnderman]

quick note, my rocket first stage is 3 3.75 m cores, s2 is 3.75m. Reusable i should be able to do 65t, expendable 81t. I would have to test just to be sure though.

on my yt i am uploading a ton of videos with this rocket if that will help.

[TheEnderman]

Sorry, but you put me in Modded - Orbital. Shouldnt i be in Modded - Suborbital?

[JacobJHC]

1 hour ago, TheEnderman said:

quick note, my rocket first stage is 3 3.75 m cores, s2 is 3.75m. Reusable i should be able to do 65t, expendable 81t. I would have to test just to be sure though.

on my yt i am uploading a ton of videos with this rocket if that will help.

YES. YES.

 

[TheEnderman]

40 minutes ago, JacobJHC said:

YES. YES.

 

Two of them are uploaded. Tomorrow i will upload the last one (a crewed mun mission, with a refined first stage for a hopefully better landing), and then something special

[Natokerbal]

12 hours ago, TheEnderman said:

Sorry, but you put me in Modded - Orbital. Shouldnt i be in Modded - Suborbital?

sorry my mistake, I fixed it now

[TheEnderman]

3 hours ago, Natokerbal said:

sorry my mistake, I fixed it now

thank you my dude

[Natokerbal]

Everyone your designs are great so far! I can't wait to see what you and other people make

 

Edited June 30, 2018 by Natokerbal

[TheEnderman]

On 6/30/2018 at 4:45 PM, Natokerbal said:

Everyone your designs are great so far! I can't wait to see what you and other people make

 

Reusable stuff in KSP is always fun to watch.

 

 

not to design though. I wish I still had a picture of my first reusable booster, sadly lost it after I spilled water on my old laptop.

[KingDominoIII]

Entering soon. Just gotta take some screenshots.

Edited July 7, 2018 by KingDominoIII

[Natokerbal]

1 hour ago, TheEnderman said:

Reusable stuff in KSP is always fun to watch.

 

 

not to design though

Oh Trust me I know that. I can barley do it

[qzgy]

Made a neat rocket with hinges and stuff. Doesn't quite work though... needs more dV....

[Kerbolitto]

The way I did it, was to stuff tons and tons of fuel over an engine until it'd get down to ~1.2TWR and see how much I'd got left once in orbit. Then I removed this fuel weight, replaced it by payload capacity and modified the rocket to accomodate a fairing + some chutes.

I'm using the same sheet from my 80 tons to the 500t., which are upgrades of Twinboars design.

All those variants got something like 15-16% payload capacity to LKO.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Kerbolitto

[sevenperforce]

**cracks knuckles**

[greenbird2026]

*Rages after 7th attempt*