TechniCali

I DID IT! I finally managed to get a fully stock craft that also does not require refueling, and got 25 Kerbals to Laythe! See the details in this post in the main forum! My updated score: Results From My Cruise Line: TOTAL SCORE: 1,115 SUCCESSES: The Love Boat (+200) Home Airport (+30) 100% re-usable (+200) Fully Intact (+100) Stock Boy (25): Use only stock parts. Gas Stations Suck (100): No refueling in-flight – luxury cruise line passengers don't want to hang around space stations. The More, The Merrier (20*15 = 300) 100% re-usable refueling (0) We have the schematics! (+10) Are we there yet? (+150) 6 years, 77 days FAILURES: None!

Seeking to top my previous results from my Laythe Cruise Line Challenge, I sought to build a large cruise liner craft that could take the largest possible number of Kerbals to the surface of Laythe and back to KSC in a fully sustainable manner: 100% reusable, Single stage (no landers or transfer vehicles), and without the need to refuel at any point in the journey (luxury cruise line passengers don't like waiting around for refueling). I also wanted it to be fully stock. I found that meeting most of these requirements was a good challenge, but that meeting all of them at once was very difficult. I'm proud to present my greatest acheivement in KSP: the Laythe Cruise Liner Stock XR (Extended Range). It can bring 25 Kerbals from KSC to the surface of Laythe and back in a single craft with zero staging, and no need to refuel. It has great lift and can take off at low speeds close to 60 m/s, and can glide for very long distances. It does not use any cheats or clipping exploits to acheive its performance. See below for details of the journey and information on the craft, and let me know what you think! The Journey to Laythe and Back I'll try to show screenshots or callouts of the fuel level at each milestone in the journey – fuel was tight on the way back, as I spent too much travelling around on Laythe and landed back at KSC with only 10 units of liquid fuel remaining – fortunately I was able to glide in from orbit totally unpowered due to the great amount of lift on this craft, even after having overshot the space center, needing to turn around. Takeoff from KSC- 17,250 liquid fuel Suborbital Kicking off the jets and moving to rockets around 1700 m/s and 33,000. 12,915 liquid fuel remains. Burning for Jool: Laythe Intercept: I got a direct encounter with Laythe without needing to aerobrake at Jool, so I had to make 1 shallow aerobrake pass first before going in for a landing. Going in many km/s too fast could rip the wings off the plane, so I usually like to circularize via aerobraking first, and then go in to land on the second pass. Aerobraking: 3749 fuel left. Landing: Triumph! A group shot with all 25 passengers!: 3413 liquid fuel left Laythe Takeoff: I messed up here by landing on an island very far south and burning a lot of fuel to get there. I wanted an equatorial orbit to return to Kerbin, and didn't want to use rockets to change my inclination in orbit. So instead, I flew north on a sub-orbital trajectory on jets alone first to get to the equator, re-entered, and then turned east and re-orbited – I think using jets only to do this was more efficient, but this was wasteful of fuel. Return burn: I performed a more efficient transfer back to Kerbin directly from Laythe orbit by calculating manually, rather than first going to Jool orbit. Only 282 liquid fuel remained at this point, and the correction burn took me down to around 150. De-orbiting at Kerbin: After another 2 pass aerobraking back at Kerbin, I was forced to stick with my entry periapsis on the dark side of Kerbin due to low fuel. After adjusting my aim for KSC and doing a de-orbit burn, only 13 liquid fuel remained! This meant I would need to glide in. Overshot it! I overshot KSC by quite a way, so I needed to glide past, turn around, and land from the ocean side instead: Landing as a glider: Landing lights on, crawling along at ~40 m/s – gotta love the low stall speed on this craft Landed! 8 fuel remain after taxiing close to the SPH: Craft Details Craft File The Laythe Cruises Fleet includes these are the crafts: Laythe Cruise Liner Stock XR (Extended Range) The flagship 100% re-usable stock Laythe Cruise Liner that can bring 25 Kerbals to Laythe and Back without shedding any parts and without the need to refuel. Laythe Cruise Liner Stock A perfectly balanced version of the cruise liner with less fuel and less thrust. Must refuel in LKO before going to Laythe in order to comfortably make it. Slightly more maneverable than the XR version. Laythe Cruise Liner Prime (you'll also need SpacePlane Plus) A 10 Kerbal ship that is much sleeker and more beautiful. Must refuel in LKO before going to Laythe, but is 100% re-usable. Laythe Cruise Liner Refueler (you'll also need SpacePlane Plus) A handy 100% re-usable refueler spaceplane used to sustainably refuel the second and third craft above. Craft Notes: I've included versions with MechJeb mounted as well – indicated with "MJ" in the title. The XR craft has thrust that is very slightly above the Center of Mass. This wasn't a problem for me, as SAS was able to easily dial out the difference. The top tanks and engines that cause the imbalance are necessary to provide the extra fuel to get to Laythe and back without the need to refuel, and the extra thrust needed to lift it all off of Kerbin. I only used the extra engines on ascent from Kerbin so that otherwise the craft was always perfectly balanced. If you know you'll just refuel anyway, you can ignore the XR version and just take the normal craft (second one above), which is perfectly balanced around the CoM. Operation Instructions: Hotkeys: 1: Rapier engines group 1 toggle on/off 2: Rapier engines group 2 toggle on/off 3: Jet engines group 1 toggle on/off (includes the COM-imbalanced engines on the XR craft) 4: Jet engines group 2 toggle on/off 5: Switch Rapier modes 6: Toggle intakes 7: Toggle rear “tailstrike prevention†gear (raise it before takeoff) 8: Deploy ladders 9: Deploy solar panels 0: Nuclear Engines toggle on/off Press spacebar, then press 6 to close intakes to limit drag. Raise the rear landing gear for takeoff. Ascend at a 50 degree angle to 15,000, and then climb at a 30 degree angle. Start leveling out more and more as you climb towards 30,000, opening intakes when needed to prevent flame outs. Around 1,700 m/s and 31,000, press 3 and 4 to turn off the 8 jet engines to allow more air for the remaining Rapier jets. Later, turn the rapiers on rocket mode with 5, and re-enable group 2 of jet engines. Finally, turn off the jets, kick on the nukes, and turn off the rapiers when their thrust is no longer necessary.

Intake spamming is fine in the sense of using a ridiculous amount of intakes. What's forbidden is using clipping tricks to put intakes on top of each other in such a way that they collide with each other.

Sure, but that reduces the challenge here. You can still do it, but you'll lose out on 100 points.

Laythe Cruise Line Challenge (100% Re-usable SSTLAB with 10 passengers) Following up on my previous Munar Cruise Line Challenge, it's time to step it up a notch. The mission is now to build a sustainable, 100% re-usable luxury “cruise line†that can take a large number of Kerbal tourists from KSC to the surface of Laythe and back without shedding any stages/equipment, and ideally without refueling at all. SSTLAB (Single Stage to Laythe and Back). Remember, the spirit of this challenge is to create a luxury cruise line experience. Once again, I am pretty happy with my results but have room to improve. Below are the rules and scoring system and the results I acheived with my the cruise line. I'll aim to keep the leaderboard updated on the front page of this post. Please score yourself with your own post following my format below. Here's my craft file with MechJeb and non MJ versions (you'll also need SpacePlane Plus) Rules and (Scoring) The Love Boat (+200): This is a cruise line – carry at least 10 passengers to the surface of Laythe and back, to allow for proper socializing along the way. +200 points if you can make it happen. The More, The Merrier (+20 points per additional Kerbal to Laythe surface and back) No Malarkey: Luxury cruise line passengers do not want to spend a ~7 year journey to Laythe in an external command seat – they want to spend it in a luxurious cabin. Kerbals who are forced to hang on outside don't count toward the total number of passengers. Home Airport (+30): Land back at KSC 100% re-usable (+200) : Return with everything you brought with you except fuel, oxidizer and monpropellant. A cruise line can't afford a new ship for each cruise. Fully Intact (+100): No staging, including use of docked craft as landing craft or interplanetary transfer stages (even if you re-dock and land back at KSC with them). This is a luxury Cruise Ship, not a series of municipal buses. Gas Stations Suck (+100): No refueling in-flight – luxury cruise line passengers don't want to hang around space stations. 100% re-usable refueling (+50): Failing the above goal, refuel using only 100% reusable craft so that you don't discard refueler ship parts to refuel your SSTLAB. Stock Boy (+25): Use only stock parts. Mods: You may use mods, but none that give an advantage in achieving the mission vs. stock parts. For reference, I used PorkJet's excellent SpacePlane Plus to get access to a nice looking passenger compartment and make the craft look like a beautiful luxury liner, but don't think it gives a significant advantage vs. Hitchhiker containers in terms of performance. Points will be deducted at my discretion as informed by the opinion of the forum if it appears you got a significant non-stock advantage. We have the schematics! (+10) Post your .craft file. Are we there yet? (+50 per year under 10) Post a total MET (Mission Elapsed Time) of less than 10 years. + 50 points for each full year below 10. No cheating: Obviously this means no hacks, physics exploits, etc. However, it also means no clipping exploits that allow multiple air intakes to be stacked on top of one another. Violation of this rule is the only one that means zero points. Saving and loading are fine, though. Living in Luxury: As this is a luxury cruise liner, you should make it as elegant and beautiful as possible. No points since this is subjective, but the forum will judge you! Leaderboard: TechniCali (Second attempt): 1,115 points TechniCali (first attempt): 740 points Results From My Cruise Line: TOTAL SCORE: 740 SUCCESSES: The Love Boat (+200) Home Airport (+30) 100% re-usable (+200) Fully Intact (+100) 100% re-usable refueling (+50) We have the schematics! (+10) Are we there yet? (+150) 6 years, 70 days FAILURES: Stock Boy (0): Use only stock parts. Gas Stations Suck (0): No refueling in-flight – luxury cruise line passengers don't want to hang around space stations. The More, The Merrier (0) I am super close to no refueling – I had 2208 deltav left when re-entering Kerbin, and my in-Kerbin orbit refuel on the way out only filled me up with 2339 deltav. So, that's the next acheivement I'm going to aim for. Craft File: Here's my craft file with MechJeb and non MJ versions (you'll also need SpacePlane Plus) Now for the fun part: Here's how my adventure went. The scariest part was re-entering Kerbin's atmosphere at Mach 34. Takeoff from KSC: Docking: Once in LKO, I launched a sister 100% re-usable cruise liner (identical except for a docking port in the nose) to dock and transfer fuel On to Jool The burn for Jool was about 2,000 m/s of delta v, and I was lucky enough to get a Jool-less direct encounter with Laythe, saving a lot of maneuvering fuel. Laythe Aerobraking: Landing at Laythe: Group photo of the 10 passengers! Laythe Takeoff: HOLY CRAP: My encounter with Kerbin on return only required a very small amount of deltav - about 1,100 to burn and 200 to correct. However, I was travelling at well in excess of 11,000 m/s when I got to Kerbin and had a very tough time holding the ship together at Mach 34 in the aerobraking The crew had a dream that the wings fell off during poor piloting on return at 20,000. Good thing it was just a dream, and they could learn from the experience and pilot it correctly on the real run: KSC final approach: All 10 of my boys after a 6 year, 70 day mission: Operation Instructions: Hotkeys: 1: Rapier engines group 1 toggle on/off 2: Rapier engines group 2 toggle on/off 3: Jet engines group 1 toggle on/off 4: Jet engines group 1 toggle on/off 5: Switch Rapier modes 6: Toggle main on-wing circular intakes (structural intakes are always open) 7: Toggle rear “tailstrike prevention†gear (raise it before takeoff) 8: Turn on main cabin lights 9: Deploy solar panels 0: Nuclear Engines toggle on/off Press spacebar, then press 6 to close intakes to limit drag. Raise the rear landing gear for takeoff. Ascend at a 50 degree angle to 15,000, and then climb at a 30 degree angle. Start leveling out more and more as you climb towards 30,000, opening intakes when needed to prevent flame outs. Around 1,900 m/s and 31,000, press 3 and 4 to turn off the 8 jet engines to allow more air for the remaining Rapier jets. Later, turn the rapiers on rocket mode with 5, and re-enable 1 group of jet engines. Finally, turn off the jets, kick on the nukes, and turn off the rapiers when their thrust is no longer necessary.

I went a bit further -to the Mun! http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/85240-Munar-Cruise-Line-Challenge%21-100-Re-usable-SSTO-from-KSC-to-Munar-surface-in-style%21

Munar Cruise Line Challenge! As a challenge for myself, I wanted to see if it was possible to make a sustainable, 100% re-usable “cruise line†that could take a large number of Kerbal tourists from KSC to the Munar surface and back without the need to refuel or shed any stages/equipment. I'm pretty happy with the result, but would love to see what else the community can invent. Below are the rules, and my “brochure†for the cruise line, containing the details of my craft. Also - I would love to attach .craft files, but the forum says that I may not post attachments - any ideas why? Rules/Acheivements (10 points for each rule you successfully follow): The Love Boat: This is a cruise line – at least 10 passengers to allow proper socializing. Home Airport: Take off from KSC and land at KSC with the same passengers you left with. Fully Intact: 100% re-usable craft: no staging (except to isolate engines you don't want to turn on at first, etc) – return with everything brought with you. A cruise line can't afford a new ship for each cruise. Gas Stations Suck: No refueling in-flight – luxury cruise line passengers don't want to hang around space stations. Besides, using non-reusable rockets to fuel a space station to refuel your SSTO violates the Fully Intact rule. Everybody gets to see the Mun: Allow at least 1/3 of your passengers to land on the Mun. Off road spaceplane: Make a craft capable of landing on rough surfaces and hills. After all, we're thinking of expanding to Laythe one day, and you never know when running low on fuel means you'll miss the KSC runway. STOL: Build a Short Takeoff and Landing craft with enough lift to take off and land under 75 m/s, allowing easier access to hilly areas. What's a tailstrike?: Build a tailstrike-proof spaceplane that cannot possibly destroy an engine on takeoff or landing despite high angle of attack. Out There: Build a craft capable of tourism to celestial bodies beyond Kerbin's SOI Marketing Whiz: Your entry should ideally be submitted as a brochure with pictures or video showing your craft in action, advertising the features and luxury of your craft, with a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) at the end. Harmless Mods: You may use mods, but none that give an advantage in achieving the mission vs. stock parts. For reference, I used PorkJet's excellent SpacePlane Plus to get access to a cargo bay and make the craft look beautiful, but since the air intakes on the mod are slightly more efficient than stock, I also built a fully stock craft to prove that I could achieve the same result without the mod. She's a Beaut!: Make a craft the forum considers attractive Fine Tuned: If you build a spaceplane, it should be able to climb or maintain altitude with the nose no more than 10 degrees above prograde. No cheating: Obviously this means no hacks, physics exploits, etc. However, it also means no clipping exploits that allow multiple air intakes to be stacked on top of one another. Violation of this rule is the only one that means zero points. My Brochure for Munar Cruise Lines: Has the daily grind of life on Kerbin got you down? Need to get away this summer? It's time to get away from it all - really far away - with a fabulous Cruise on Munar Cruise Lines! You and 10 of your closest friends will spirited away on an all-inclusive cruise to the Mun, where you each will get the experience of a lifetime - landing on the Mun! Best of all - you can take off from the comfort of Kerbal Spaceport in an eco-friendly, 100% re-usable spaceplane with all the modern amenities, with no pesky "layovers" at space stations for refueling. It's always a party with up to 11 passengers! Soar to over 30km at over 1,750 m/s on jet power alone, leaving over 3,500 deltav to take you to the Mun and Minmus: The lander stored in the cargo bay will dock with the in-line docking port for easy crew transfer, and all of that extra deltav will allow several trips down to the Munar surface for your party, refueling each time the lander returns! Life is great on the Mun: Frequently Asked Questions: Q: Why did our engineers decide to use PorkJet's amazing SpacePlane Plus to construct our cruise liner rather than a stock craft? We needed a Cargo Bay for the Munar Lander, and SpacePlane Plus has a great cargo bay for Spaceplanes We built a stock craft that can achieve this mission (actually exceeding the modded craft with 4,500 delta-v remaining at 90k Kerbin orbit), but it was U.G.L.Y. - it had absolutely no alibi: Q: What other mods did you use? A: Just NavyFish's Docking Port Alignment cam, and MechJeb for telemetry. Modless craft files will be available (aside from SpacePlane Plus, which will be required). Q: What does the lander look like? Was it hard to fit in the cargo bay? A: Yes – it was hard. We had to totally redesign the concept of a munar lander to fit it in a narrow cargo bay, even mounting landing legs on tiny fuel tanks and turning it 90 degrees sideways so the ladder would fit in the cargo bay without clipping. This is what it looks like in our hangar: Q: What if I want to travel to another planet's moon? A: Coming soon, you'll be able to try Munar Cruise Line's XR (Extended Range) ship, which can much more easily dock to refuel from another fully re-usable ship while in Kerbin orbit (docking port aligned to center of mass), providing over 5,400 deltav for travel to many of the planets in the solar system: Q: How do I know I'll be sage traveling Munar Cruise Lines? A: Most spaceplane accidents don't happen in space - they happen close to the ground - often when landing or taking off. Our ships fly like a dream, take off and land quickly on short, rough surfaces, and can take a beating. They have ruggedized landing gear that allow touchdowns at high vertical and forward speeds, exceeding 20 m/s of vertical drop. They also have gear that prevents the possibility of a tail strike if landing at an extreme angle. Finally, by lowering the rear landing gear, our ships can take off within only a few hundred meters at slow speeds under 70 m/s, allowing landing and take off in very hilly areas: Q: Are your ships actually X-wings from Star Wars with their wings closed? A: I don't know what you're talking about... Happy Cruising! Craft File: Coming soon (as soon as the forum lets me upload attachments) Operation Instructions: Hotkeys: 1: Rapier engines toggle on/off 2: Jet engines toggle on/off 3: Switch Rapier modes 4: Toggle main on-wing circular intakes 5: Toggle secondary structural intakes 6: Toggle tertiary structural intakes 7: Toggle rear “tailstrike prevention†gear 8: Open cargo bay doors 9: Deploy solar panels 0: Nuclear Engines toggle on/off Press spacebar, then press 4,5,6, and 7 to close all but the bottom intakes and raise the rear landing gear for takeoff. Ascend at a 50 degree angle to 15,000, and then climb at a 30 degree angle. Start leveling out more and more as you climb towards 30,000, opening intakes as needed to prevent flame outs. Around 1,700 m/s and 29,000, press 2 to turn off the 4 jet engines to allow more air for the remaining Rapier jets. Around 1,750 and 30,000, press 3 and 0 to engage all rockets. Important Lander Note: Enable RCS and SAS just before touchdown if not already on – the RCS is necessary to stabilize the rather tall lander. The lander's height is an engineering limitation forced by the very narrow cargo bay. Thanks for indulging my first KSP post!