Korsakovski

Yet another random SSTO. 6 kerbals to orbit with science package. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2S1 And 10-man version without science package https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2A1 EDIT: Cargo Variant too, 4,8 tons to orbit https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2C1

Did a remake of my earlier Beowulf cargo SSTO since I wasn't too happy with the remaining dV when in orbit. And once again forgot to check CoM/CoL while empty, so fly at your own peril. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Beowulf-1A3

Tweaked together a crew transport version of the Arrow. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Crew-Arrow-Mk3

Dunno about panthers, but I do have a singlerapieric cargo drone that has been tested with a 12,6 ton launch mass and 2,4 ton payload to 80km https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Cargo-Arrow EDIT:Forgot to publish it at kerbalx

Sorry you had to suffer from my megalomania. The Kraken/Fafnir is basically the biggest SSTO spaceplane I have built so far and it shows. The com/col woes seem almost constant, I can't seem to adjust the dry/wet mass distribution properly no matter how many revisions I pull. The VTOL thrust is also aligned to god knows where, I know. Again, this is the first functional(?) VTOL SSTO spaceplane I have made, so results may vary. The mining setup can and should probably be downgraded. Originally the design was extrapolated from the Asgard https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Asgard-AX, which has something like 40 tons of cargo capacity and 3,3km/s dV in orbit while weighing 414 tons. The prototype was even lighter. I'll probably have to make a whole new design without my usual megalomania and assume the same minimalistic design philosophy as I have with my normal rockets. I think I will stick to Mk3 though, the heat resistance on those parts is just too good.

New version with 2+4 vector layout. My ascent this time sucked eggs so only got like 3,35km/s dV when in orbit. Well, part of it was probably from the additional large reaction wheels, more pitch RCS and the few odd struts I added to the rear. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Fafnir-D16 http://imgur.com/a/pXH4c

The non-tylo version with the 5k dv was Bahamut and yes, it was just another prototype to see how much pure dV the design could offer. No consideration was given to the ability to land on Tylo. (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Bahamut picked the name from Final Fantasy, so it's japanese, not nordic, although the name originated from arabic mythology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamut)

The original reason for the VTOL was because my craft were getting too heavy even for Minmus landings. So I can see how heavier gravity might be a pain. Or rather, well done to have landed that 600+ ton monstrosity on the Mun. The design is somewhat light in reaction wheels and rcs nozzles though, again it was just an intermediate prototype. Next version already has heavier rcs and a redesigned vtol layout (2 vector in the front bay, 4 in the rear.) Considering how I had to run the frontmost engine at 19% to prevent tipping when in orbit, I probably have to move the thrust backwards even more. Maybe a major redesign is in order. Probably have to move the side tanks foward to move the center of mass. Maybe add more fuel to the front too. I'll try to post something on KerbalX before the end of the day. Still need to tweak a few things.

Again, VTOL mode of the current iteration has not been tested. Other than to verify that it is too strong in the front. Two vectors in the front bay and four in the rear bay is probably the way to go.

I only have screenshots of E15 though, none of the Fafnir. Rapier mode dV Nuclear dV EDIT:Reading provided by Kerbal Engineer doesn't seem to update without burning the engines, so I used mechjeb this time.

That's odd. Was the dV number from KER or mechjeb? Kerbal Engineer seems somewhat bugged with the Kraken and Fafnir, dunno about mechjeb. As for the number of nukes, I have 12, so that is roughly one nuke per 50 tons, which should be rather generous. What kind of fuel amounts are giving you those numbers? What kind of ascent profiles are you using exactly?

Non-VTOL version got me thinking and this is what I ended up with https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Bahamut-DD1 https://imgur.com/a/JKMVt

Well, the way I usually fly it to orbit is starting as shallow as I can, then not touching the controls until at 20km (you should be going at 1300m/s or over at this point) when you activate the nukes and level off to around 10 degrees nose up until your speed starts to drop at 25km-ish. Then toggle the rapiers and pitch up to 20 degrees, then keep burning until you have your apoapsis. There's probably a more efficient way to fly these things, but that seems to be the best way I have found. Plus, I am extremely lazy, this way the ascent only needs a few control inputs. Other than the nukes/rapiers at 20-25km and circularization at your apoapsis of choice, you can basically go AFK for the rest of the ascent. As for the VTOL, controlling from an upward oriented drone core during VTOL flight seems pretty much an absolute must have to prevent horrible things from happening. We are effectively trying to land a 600-something ton rocket sideways, while it is effectively balanced on the tip of a knife. And let's not forget how ridiculously overeager vectors are to swing your craft around. As for balancing, there are two ways. 1.Adjust thrust of front-/rearmost vector engine. If your nose is raising, decrease front vector thrust. If it is dropping, increase thrust. And considering how far back my center of mass ended, probably no need to touch the rear vector. I might actually have to rethink the vector arrangement because of this. The kraken was already bad enough having to run the front vector at something like 35%, I wonder how little this will have to be. Again, unfinished prototype warning. VTOL thrust definitely needs to be arranged better so that I am not hauling around a mostly unused vector. 2.Pump fuel around to shift center of mass. Nuff said. Again, I am no expert on VTOL, The Kraken/Fafnir is actually the first functional VTOL SSTO I made. I did make some prototypes ages ago that managed to pull off stable VTOL maneuvers like landing and takeoff, but I never built those to go to orbit and none of them were over 60 tons or so.

Increasing wing surface seems to have done the trick. The Fafnir climbs way smoother than the Kraken. Ofc this is still yet another unfinished prototype, forgot to add an upward pointing drone core for VTOL control and stuff (Using an upward pointing drone core as the control point when in VTOL mode seems to help, especially with retrograde hold.)

Went and tweaked a labless version with a passenger cabin. Upped the number of Big-S wings from 8 to 12 too and that seems to have had a significant effect. CoM/CoL while empty hasn't been checked yet, I just posted this right after finding out what kind of dV readings it will give after reaching 81km orbit. (A pleasant 3,6km/s dV) https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Fafnir-D14 http://imgur.com/a/ThhPT

Before I forget to post this again, 32 kerbal rocket SSTO https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Hawk-H3 https://imgur.com/a/fwEry

I think so too. Having to ditch the passenger cabin torments my soul, but it can't be helped I guess. Having big isru with 4 drills and a lab to boot, there's just no way to squeeze in a passenger cabin into this design. Well, maybe I should make a scienceless version with the passenger cabin. I am making this stuff in sandbox anyway, so the science stuff isn't really necessary.

Passenger-cabinless version with the radiators inside the main cargo bay. 626 tons total fully fueled. Also upgraded the size of the tailplanes to combat the constant CoM/CoL woes of the previous prototypes. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Kraken-E15 http://imgur.com/a/sHoXR

Well, the damn thing is too heavy anyway and I have been thinking of making a 4-man SSTO optimized for Tylo. As for the ascent profile, as shallow and as fast as possible. (Any shallower and you would hit the sea) This design is very fat and very weak.. Also it has almost no wings to hold all that weight. All you can rely on is letting your wall of rapiers build up speed. But when you do get up to speed, the lack of wing surface will be a blessing instead. But should you loose that speed you will also loose that lift, leading to significantly worse dV. The E14 is much worse in this aspect than the E4, being 60 tons heavier but with the same wing configuration.

I hear only the static radiators need to be near what they are cooling, apparently the deployaple ones draw heat from the entire craft. And passengers might mind a bit when captain Jeb retracts the nose wheel to disembark, but I guess it is one way of getting your kerbals back inside. Just seems rather unreal that doing that with something heavier than an Airbus A380 will not result in any damage whatsoever. As for the deltaV, I got 3.5km/s with the E4 and 3,2km/s with the E14. What kind of ascent profile are you doing? Also, when I flew the E14, the deltaV readout from KER was slightly bugged, I had to pump pretty much all the fuel from the central fuselage into the side tanks to get an accurate reading. As for why the E14 has less dV, it's probably the lab. Whips are there to help push you through the lower atmo, they seem just slightly better at it than rapiers. And they look cool. Besides, a wall of rapiers isn't exactly pleasing to look at, especially when there are this many.

Somewhat finished with Kraken E14, although I haven't figured out a ladder configuration that will work with the largest landing gear, since I've never used them before. Therefore, this prototype has no ladders as of yet. Also figured out how to stuff everything science-related into the main cargo bay, I think. Small ore scanner too and ground scanner to compliment the set. No large scanner though, that thing is just too unwieldy to squeeze in. Also was too lazy to check CoM/CoL while empty... again. EDIT:Checked CoM and it was a few millimeters in front of center of lift when empty. So I guess it is on the better side, but I think I'll tweak it anyway. But here it is, all 658 tons of it. https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Kraken-E14 http://imgur.com/a/caTYt

I'll atleast add the drills and the science equipment first, in it's current shape, it feels too unfinished. Look foward to version E14 hopefully before the end of the day.

After some tweaking, I might be on to something. Current craft (E13) was something like 640 tons or something, can't remember. Added 6 rapiers and 2 nukes too. Kept the passenger cabin to keep dry mass at the front so my CoM won't f**k me over. Then a long mk3 cargo bay after that, with reaction wheels big ISRU a mobile lab, with two communotron 88s. Haven't added the science stuff yet, but left a 4,5 ton fuel tank as a dummy weight for testing. Tried removing the solar panels and increased the number of RTGs to 8. Already had 4 big fuel cells, so numberwise that should be enough for big ISRU and 4 large drills. Ground clearance problem was hopefully solved by upgrading into the largest landing gear. http://imgur.com/a/uO4UT Then the blooper reel http://imgur.com/a/70wPA

The problem is the massive amount of rocketfuel in the central fuselage. When full you will be nose-heavy, when empty you will be rear-heavy. (or fat@$$) Still, the passenger cabin defo has to go, large isru is unnecessary, small one would do. Two drills is also unnecessary, all you need is one. I guess I could minmax the design.

The Tylo landing/takeoff has not been tested yet to be honest, so don't go praising me yet on that. In the latest E7 prototype, the rapiers give out only 1252m/s in closed cycle and vectors offer 1293m/s when fully fueled, after that the nukes will give out 4458m/s. As for the VTOL flying instructions... (I am just repeating what I read myself, as this is my first functional SSTO VTOL, so I actually do not have the foggiest clue on what I am doing with it.) Normally you adjust the thrust of the frontmost engine, that has been placed more foward to compensate for changes in the center of mass as the fuel level changes. So you just watch that thrust limiter like a hawk and if you don't mess up, you should be fine. A bigger problem is that the E4 is just a prototype, having problems like CoM slightly behind CoL when empty and whatnot. As for the issue with the monoprop, the current version in the works is the E7, which already has LFO RCS (as did the E6)