How do you construct interplanetary ships?

[egnio98]

As title states, how do you go about it? Launch it all in one piece, or build it in space?

I prefer to send up a core, then add all sorts of stuff and then overburden the entire thing but end up sending it to wherever I want anyway.

In my latest endeavour, the HMS Frontier, I sent (only a) rover and a lab over to Duna, to open up future possibilities. In the process, I learnt of external propulsion systems, which make my ship look like a Strike Suit. (ya know, in pursuit mode of course)

[Jouni]

Back in 0.23, I built big interplanetary ships around this core:

The front docking port is for the payload, while the side ports are for fuel tankers. I had a quite successful scout ship and not so successful cargo ship using the core. I had also begun assembling a passenger ship based on a similar design (it still has lifter cores instead of interplanetary engines in that picture), but then 0.23.5 came and MechJeb broke down.

I also had another idea back then:

A single ship can function as a kethane miner, a kethane refinery, a fuel tanker, and a transfer stage. With that design, there was no need for interplanetary ships, as everything else was just payload.

Now I'm building simple ships that can be launched by a single rocket:

This design is my main workhorse after some updates. The front module is a decorative element, also known as the command module. The middle module is the lander, capable of landing on Tylo and returning back to orbit without dropping anything. Its engines are also used for interplanetary transfers. The rear module is just an additional fuel tank with some orbital engines to move the command module around.

[Brotoro]

I almost always send up the interplanetary payloads and dock them to standard nuclear tugs. Usually my lifter has enough capacity that the interplanetary payload can be sent up with an extra fuel tank for topping off the tug, and then the fuel tank is separated and returned to Kerbin.

I have gotten lazy about having to wrangle multiple ships going to a planet at once, so I often now arrange multiple tugs in parallel or as a train to move multiple payloads as one ship.

You can see the Long-term Laythe mission link bellow to get lots of details.

[Overfloater]

I used my ~42 ton lifter, to put a bunch of 42 ton modules in orbit and then assemble them into a ship.

(This is a bit old, my new rockets are much better-engineered)

Now I can also do this using my 54 ton payload LKO plane:

Unfortunately the Jool-5 challenge disqualifies it... so I'm gonna have to stick to the old-fashioned medieval way xD

[wooaa]

I have not found a reason to do in orbit assembly. So far my Interplanetary space program consists of one half orange and 2 nuclear engines, pluss what micro probes I slap on it. Bare in mind that right now a I am just now starting to go beyond Kerban's SOI.

[egnio98]

I used my ~42 ton lifter, to put a bunch of 42 ton modules in orbit and then assemble them into a ship.

http://i.imgur.com/g5v6BLS.jpg

-snip-

Interesting designs there! May I ask, in the top-middle picture, the side booster engines; are they stock? I've never seen them before.

[egnio98]

I have not found a reason to do in orbit assembly. So far my Interplanetary space program consists of one half orange and 2 nuclear engines, pluss what micro probes I slap on it. Bare in mind that right now a I am just now starting to go beyond Kerban's SOI.

I totally understand, the first time I went out of Kerbin SOI was a 100 ton lifter carrying a 5 ton probe. All the excess fuel propelled me into outer space, where I actually collided with an asteroid.

[Sirrobert]

I totally understand, the first time I went out of Kerbin SOI was a 100 ton lifter carrying a 5 ton probe. All the excess fuel propelled me into outer space, where I actually collided with an asteroid.

That is actually very impressive XD

[Zeroignite]

So how do people do super-heavy ships with FAR active? At some point you gotta start building horizontal...

[Jas1126]

I generally put as many boosters as is possible. This is, in part, due to my dislike of the lag that docking causes in some cases. I'm hoping that the new update (income) forces me to think small. I just cannot think of a good reason to think small right now. I'm all about efficiency during this phase of the game. That includes hassle free ships that have enough probes to multi-task. I have gotten Career mode down to three trips. Man, oh man, do I hope this new update offers increased challenge.

[SpaceGremlin]

So how do people do super-heavy ships with FAR active? At some point you gotta start building horizontal...

Do not be afraid of the fat lower stage in FAR. Brute forcing a pancake to orbit is very doable.

130t payload to LKO, built with tier 5 tech in career. Not pretty, but it worked.

[Overfloater]

Interesting designs there! May I ask, in the top-middle picture, the side booster engines; are they stock? I've never seen them before.

Those are Skipper motors. Absolutely 100% stock ;^)

That was my super-pathetic attempt at imitating Brotoro's reusable lifters.

(Mine were meant to land on their side...)

Edited April 27, 2014 by Overfloater

[Ravenchant]

For smaller ships around 100 tons or thereabouts, I've recently been sending them up in two pieces with a ~58 ton lifter- one launch for the payload, the second for a standard transfer stage. For motherships, it's amazing how big a "single piece" can be when you launch it dry. Of course refueling is annoying, but it's faster than designing a new launcher from the ground up.

[Kasuha]

I used to build my ships in orbit from individual parts of approximately one Jumbo tank size.

This thing could go almost anywhere in the system, land, and return. The only three it couldn't handle were Laythe, Tylo, and Eve.

Later I found that it takes way less time to spend a little bit more time designing heavy lifter and sending the whole contraption up in one piece.

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Now with introduction of SLS parts everything is a lot easier so I did not need to construct anything in orbit for a while.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Kasuha

[pauix]

I've never sent massive stuff into interplanetary space (mainly small probes which are suposed to land on their destination), so I use a single launch for my missions. When I unlock the Senior Docking ports, however, I'll try to assemble my ships in LKO.

[Xacktar]

I used to assemble in orbit, but docking ports were... wobbly... and the ships tended to flop around.

I then moved on to huge, complicated launch systems for heavy, interplanetary ships.

Now, with the NASA parts, I can make cleaner, hugely powerful ships.

[Dispatcher]

My "preference" is to build the entire mission and launch in one go from the KSC; I've never tried space assembly (but if KSP had a stock orbital VAB I'd use it). From the top: my current approach returns only the command pod and science modules (because I do random location landings and gather Kerbin science during reentry and after landing or splash down). Those are part of a combined lander/ return vehicle. After landing on the target object, it releases a crewed rover, which remains on the target. Lander and rover each allow EVAs and science. Destination and lander/ return transfer stages use LV-Ns. I use 3-symetry most of the time. The launch stage is usually a modified subassembly.

Some relatively early designs (this one was in Sandbox):

Early in the tech tree is challenging.

As tech unlocks, its more fun.

Largest payload, Laythe mission (no launcher yet), pre ARM:

Now with ARM, launch stages are much simpler:

Edited April 27, 2014 by Dispatcher

[r4pt0r]

My "preference" is to build the entire mission and launch in one go from the KSC; I've never tried space assembly (but if KSP had a stock orbital VAB I'd use it).

maybe im alone but i think docking is fun. id just say give it a shot sometime(unless you already have, or dont, play how you want, just sayin). apollo style missions are exciting

[Sufficient Anonymity]

The majority of my missions are on a pretty small scale - I'm a big fan of launching lots and lots of probes. Thus, for most of career, the only docking that gets done is for space stations (which tend to be little more than vanity projects). However, as I progress into late career (I use Interstellar), craft start to become vast - as such, they have to be launched in multiple sections. The drive stages tend to be SSTOs in their own right, so it's then a small matter of sending up a refueling craft and then the mission payload.

I'm currently planning on sending a colonisation mission to Laythe that will require the following launches:

Colony ship:

1 - drive stage (warp capable)

2 - colony/science module

3 - heat shield (purely aesthetic)

4 and 5 - fuel tanks

Infrastructure tug:

6 - drive stage (warp capable)

7 - surface habitats

8 - airship

This is the colony module I'll be using (minus the reactor unit on the bottom, which is integrated into the drive stage):

The mission will enable two kerbals to live long-term on the surface of Laythe, and a further six in orbit. I'm still figuring out exactly how to bring them home from the surface, but it'll probably involve using this beast (she's warp capable, albeit a little slower than the vessels assembled in orbit):

Edited April 27, 2014 by SufficientAnonymity
Images

[Felsmak]

I usually build something cool and then cheat it into orbit in one way or another. I just want to get on with it, so I simply pretend that my hardworking Kerbals have built it for me already. It just needs me to send a crew and get exploring!

[Dispatcher]

maybe im alone but i think docking is fun. id just say give it a shot sometime(unless you already have, or dont, play how you want, just sayin). apollo style missions are exciting

I've docked before; I'm not yet good at it. I intend to do more with it in the future. I suspect I'll try orbital assembly once I get good at docking. What makes the game fun for me is using whatever approach suits me at the time ... and seeing how others approach the game. I'm always amazed at the variety and styles used, as conveyed in photos and videos here.

[Xavven]

It depends on the mission. For missions requiring less delta-v, I can get away with an Apollo style mission profile, but with a slight twist. Instead of the CSM docking with the lander and ditching the booster/transfer stages like in the real Apollo missions, it re-docks to the booster/transfer stage so I can use any leftover fuel on the earlier stages. It gives me that much more margin of error, but the downside is that I leave debris in all sorts of crazy orbits. Oh well.

On harder missions that require more delta-v, I place a Kerbin-return vehicle in orbit years ahead of the manned mission. This splits the payload up so I don't have unwieldy behemoths to maneuver.

In the case of manned Eve return, I additionally put the lander (computer controlled) down first to ensure it made it to a high altitude site, then at the next Kerbin-Eve transfer window finally send the Kerbal with a rover to land nearby, drive to the ascent vehicle, rendezvous with the return vehicle, then go home.

[TimePeriod]

I've never gone beyond Kerbins, Mun or Minmus.

[Cmdr. Arn1e]

Like the other replies, if it's a short interplanetary hop (Duna, Dres, Eve) then I can do it in one from the launchpad with an apollo-style mission (In the case of Eve, this is usually to visit Gilly) for the bigger missions (Eeloo, Moho or Jool) I will assemble in orbit due to the high amount of delta-V required, and use a huge great big tug to pull the payload, so it can be re-used for the return leg as well. If I have any fuel left over from the lander, it will get transferred to the tug and the land/lift stage left behind to save a little weight...

Currently working on my space-tugs, as they are leaving a bit to be desired at the moment... I will maybe post some pics if you want

[Random Tank]

maybe im alone but i think docking is fun. id just say give it a shot sometime(unless you already have, or dont, play how you want, just sayin). apollo style missions are exciting

Strangely enough, I quite enjoy it too! I Love building stations...

Here is my my latest model of IPS (Inter-Planetary Ship), The Longsword:

Currently on its way to Gilly! I like my IPS' to look sleek and aerodynamic, you know, for all that air in space

I usually send the main transfer vessel in orbit in 1 or 2 pieces, then dock the landers (if applicable) on afterwards.