MedwedianPresident

Tomorrow it will be a sad day of all of Kerbalkind because Jeb, Bob and Bill will die again. In fact, it is possible to have a sad day for all of Kerbalkind every 15 minutes.

What i want is MOUSTACHES!

Thanks. Anyways, did you manage to post in that thread?

I mean definitely not SSTLAB. I mean that a large cargo spacecraft brings several medium spaceplanes to Laythe's surface. The medium spaceplanes then can be used to bring stuff into orbit and then land on laythe again.

The hypersonic aircraft is not surviving. The second stage is surviving because it places you onto a suborbital trajectory. While you circularise, it just shouldn't get back into the atmosphere. When you've finished circularising, you can land the booster.

Come on; don't let this thread die.

The CoM could be arranged so that every time a stage is separated it moves to the middle. The CoT problem (especially on Stage 2) could be solved by tilting the engines several degrees downwards - this would also create some vertical thrust. Obviously, the rocket also will include ASAS to help kill any CoT or CoM problems.

The first thing and the second thing would be counted as cheating. The third thing is not allowed because reentry flames can't hit the Kerbal himself.

Yes, there are planned suborbital launch platform concepts. But my idea is to use 3 stages so that the first stage can be one of the hypersonic bombers you created. Anyways, here's a illustration:

The vehicle only must be capable of bringing a Kerbal down from orbit; it can absolutely be placed into orbit using HyperEdit.

Three-Stage-To-Orbit Concept This is my concept on a reusable three-stage-to-orbit system that can bring small and medium payloads into space. FIRST STAGE A high-power hypersonic aircraft (XB-70 style) that can safely reach an altitude of 20+ kilometres and speeds of more than 1000 meters per second. It should be able to carry large payloads. It takes off and accelerates and gains altitude over the ocean. SECOND STAGE The second stage is a winged Jumbo tank with a cluster of 4 high-power rocket engines (that are covered in fairings that are separated prior to engine ignition as an aesthetic element) that is separated from the hypersonic aircraft it is mounted on when it reaches maximum altitude and speed, bearing the third stage and accelerating it to a ballistic trajectory. It should be capable of landing after releasing the payload. THIRD STAGE The third stage is mounted on the second stage and is either a small spaceplane or a rocket stage with a small payload such as a satellite and a kick stage; it only needs a small delta-V because it just circularises the orbit.

The Personal Reentry Vehicle challenge This challenge is all about providing Kerbals with a way to reach the surface of Kerbin from orbit without using hermetic capsules. You must build some sort of device (personal heat shield, MOOSE style capsule, etc...) that allows a kerbal to de-orbit and then enter the atmosphere and land safely. This is to ensure that in case of a Kerbal being stranded in a small spacecraft in space making rescue difficult he instead can initiate landing process by himself. Rules: 1. All mods allowed EXCEPT any and all unrealistic mods (Includes HyperEdit) and CFG edits (ex. 5000 damage resistance). 2. Kerbal must not be exposed to reentry flames or hypersonic air blast. This means that the Kerbal must be protected by the vehicle when he is moving quicker than 900 meters per second and is at an altitude of over 25.000 meters; the Kerbal may also not show any reentry flames on his spacesuit. 3. System must be capable of deorbiting from a circular 120x120k orbit (this means periapsis is under 50 kilometres.). 4. Kerbal must safely return to the surface; either using vanguard personal parachute or parachute attached to the vehicle. 5. Kerbal can only be attached to vehicle using external command chairs or ladders. 6. Several kerbals may share such a vehicle as long as all requirements are fulfilled. 7. Design must be easily attachable to a spacecraft for use in emergencies. Points: 10 points per each Kerbal safely brought back to the surface. 10 points for each 10 kilometres of altitude of the circular orbit above 120 kilometres. This means extra 10 points if orbit is 130x130; extra 20 if 140x140 and so on. 20 points if system is capable of landing Kerbals both on land or on water. 20 points if system can function as a temporary shelter until rescue forces arrive (e.g. heat shield functions as a boat or similar). 40 points if capable of returning Kerbals from orbit bigger than 500x500. 70 points if capable of returning Kerbals from low munar orbit or low minmus orbit (equal because Minmus has less gravity) 150 points if capable of returning Kerbals from outside of Kerbin's SoI. 250 points if capable of returning Kerbals from low orbit of another planet. AND up to 50 bonus points that can be awarded by me; depending on the level of creativity and the craziness of the contraption.

Hm...yeah...maybe you could launch from a suborbital spaceplane like the Lynx? I mean; you quickly circularise the orbit of your main payload without letting the spaceplane touch the atmosphere; then you land the spaceplane.

Well; do you prefer your rockets to look good and aerodynamic or do you prefer using pancake asparagus staging and other unrealistic techniques to get the most out of your spacecraft? Tell here. I personally NEVER use asparagus staging when in atmosphere - everything has to look aerodynamic and has to have nosecones and have a sleek shape. Whatever is unaerodynamic must be covered in fairings.

I mean not the first stage of a rocket or lander containing jets; i mean the rocket being launched FROM an airplane on laythe.

You must create an account. If the problem continues, contact me per PM and describe everything; i might go to the admin panel and have a look at the properties of your account.

So...every schoolboy on Kerbin knows that Laythe has an atmosphere with oxygen that is useable for propelling your spacecraft with jet engines. So why not take this into advantage and use the atmosphere to launch things into Laythe orbit? Basically it involves some sort of air launch aircraft (either White Knight style or hypersonic style) that uses the jet engines to propel itself to 10-12 kilometres and accelerate to 600-700 meters per second. The aircraft carries a payload - either a small spaceplane or a rocket - which is then separated and ascends into space using first a solid rocket booster and then it's own engines. Any thoughts on that? Did you do that before?

I vote for Minmus - basically a minmus base is the same as a long-term munbase. And you DO have long term Mun bases,, don't you? The main pros are the low gravity which makes landing even large chunks of your base easier and also launching it along with making transport easier; and the close proximity to Kerbin which allows a kerbonaut to return home using only his jetpack (and a personal heat shield). Laythe is still a good place regarding the realistic gravity and atmosphere with oxygen - Hypersonic Air Launch could be used to bring stuff into orbit; while there is also water that is useable for oceanic bases.

Control surfaces; those little cute metal boards that help you control your craft. Didn't you wonder how you can use them except for attaching them to wings? Well; i think it's possible! They could be used as winglets for rockets or missiles; they also can be attached to personal heat shields and reentry modules to encache control. In real life, control surfaces often are attached to lifting body vessels or even "blunt end forward" reentry vehicles for additional steering. Your thoughts?

Maybe...that's what i mean; except the propulsion module is separated after deorbit unless it is placed aerodynamically appropriate on the heat shield. Anyways; electricity is not needed anymore as soon as you orient correctly for reentry (unless there are control problems and ASAS is needed). Also, you might attach control surfaces to the edge of the heat shield so that it follows your orders with less resistance.

Thank you! Now i finally can use this as a launch platform for ballistic missiles and other contraptions. It is also good for giant mobile planetary bases or other large vehicles.

So i am having an idea - Personal heat shields! Basically it is a heat shield out of structural plates with a little detachable fuel tank with a little engine for deorbiting; with the kerbonaut restrained using a chair. The kerbonaut would after decelerating to subsonic speeds disembark and open a personal parachute from the Vanguard plugin or have the seat attached to a parachute that is detached later; or for sea landings maybe have the heat shield have parachutes so that it will function as a boat until rescue arrives. No more kerbonauts entering the atmosphere just in their EVA suits! So basically; you deorbit; then you orient for reentry; then you enter the atmosphere and relax while watching the flames; when you are under 300 meters per second the kerbonaut jumps off and lands using a parachute. Any thoughts on this?

Skip reentry is a very interesting concept - it can even be used to multiply the range of the spacecraft as seen in this video about a WWII era german concept.

Post how you land your spacecraft on Kerbin here! I personally do a rather shallow trajectory which allows for maximum range and flexibility. I generally do a 30 kilometre periapsis that is located several hundreds of kilometres in front of the target, i also take care of kerbin's own rotation. I once landed a unpowered spaceplane at KSC using this; i overshot the landing site but i made a space shuttle final approach-esque turn and i finally hit the runway softly. What trajectories do YOU use for bringing stuff down from orbit?

Yeah. It will be very hard...