recursive_mouse

Now it's officially stock Eve SSTO Max takeoff weight 618t, fitted back with junior mining set, agile and pleasant to fly. Could hit Eve orbit with 1,687m/s dV reserve( more than 200 from Nerv ). craft.7z revised (KerbalX)

Yeah, one thing I'm missing with principia is the majesty of stock maneuver nodes With mouse wheel could literally alter interplanetery orbit within 100m accuracy and darn stable. Same here only problem with stocko nodes is drag to timing.

+1 exactly. green ones are stock game autostruts, others are built by KJR to strengthen vessel more

Found my old HDD, and instant nostalgia! This was my way to go Mun lander then Lots and lots of vertical launched aircraft

Recent the manual friction control give my franken-SSTEO serious bounce and wobble. Without mfc it won't stop slides off slope, with mfc it bounces like crazy then Kraken ates the ship. Because I put 4 large and 1 medium on that 520 ton(868 on Eve) craft, I set 3 to max mfc and 2 for none, problem solved. Although it doesn't seems the culprit of this extreme high CoM stubby cutie, you could set custom action group and try If any improvement.

Did you set friction control override? That thing also bounces and wobble. For me, optimal position for landing gears is main gear very close to CoM, and steering gear VERY far away just barely loaded.

Thanks for everyone. Somehow pushed dv-budget to 1606-1626 (167 from LV-N). While trippled Ion output. Did a pure speculation run via F12 infinite propellent, after stable 25 inclination 90-136 LEO obtained in one go. 1. spent 1318 to edge of SOI (simulated by a single 5 minutes rocket burn) Also boosted PE to 136. This is a mistake but it could actually help stock warp and save liquid fuel. ~ 300 remaining 2. spent 123 for ejection at next optimal Eve position. put AP just beyond Kerbin orbit, and AN dead on. ~ 177 remaining 3. waited 9 yrs plus 147 days the first reasonably close approach to appear. 4. plotted 152m/s single burn on collision course (Kerbin PE 19km). Should take 9-10 hours. Simulated by rocket burn 5 hours prior and after. Actually saved 0.1 dv this way. ~ 25 remaining. 5. T+10yrs 32d. Somehow startled by SSTO arrived for exact 19km PE Used last potion to boost radial 40km. 0 remaing, orbital speed 3500m/s at 40km altitude. 6. After 10yrs of Eve take off, survive Kerbin reentry. Max temperature 2398K, max load 10.51g. Tumbly-wobbly and safe inverted landing. Actually after quite easy reentry, smashed many times at touch down. Found out nose gear is overloading main gear. Retract nose gear then safe landed. Now the only question is, to raise the orbit, will 200 of 2-min Ion burn as dv-effecient as single 5-min rocket burn? And exactly how long it takes?

Currently occupied rebuilding my car engine, when finished I'll start a true full-length Single Stage Eve to Kerbin mission with last craft.

For stock 1.43. However, KER / TimeControl / SCANSat is recommended to explore full potential. warning *Extreme* offsetting is used. .craft zip F02 "Evean Infiltrator" (Twin-Cycle Rocket / Nuclear SSTO) Based on successful F02 prototype, the "Infiltrator" is specially made for Kerbin Spek-Ops operative. Took advantage from zipfuel technology, also fully equipped for a complete self-sufficient / extended long term mission. F02 Modified "Evean Extraction" (Adaptive Rocket / Nuclear / Ion SSTO) It is feared in the KSO, in case the rumored burrowing Evean purplemen attack Eve branch, and wipe out communication; agents at Eve branch might be left all on their own. F02 Modified "Evean Extractor 2" (Adaptive Rocket / Nuclear / Ion SSTO) A stock Single Stage Eve to Kerbin shuttle You could tell by first glance, this plane is designed to fly either foward or backwards.

The craft taken off from Eve, suppose return to Kerbin 100%. 52 tons from just empty fuel tank Now modified to 1,559 m/s delta-vs total... split to: 1285 dv for edge SOI, 180 dv for 3 minutes ejection kick, 70 dv ion correction. Battery bank 3050, Ion x 2, outputting 2.5 dv per minute. Dunno if doable from 26 inclination low Eve orbit fingers crossed

Something learned for daily KSP, wonder someone already noticed, a foward facing buttspike design is far more superior at dissipating heat, than nosecone use exact same parts. And in many configuration this can be done with minimal offsetting, in aesthetically pleasing way.

As your suggestion, by burn low-thrust engines early (and sadly ditched ISRU) now get ~47 Nerv and ~1475 Ion delta-vs after Eve orbit. Quite a improvement and still lot of potential . You could tell by AP @ 150km+ that I messed up quite a bit. Should be capable picking up 150 LV-N, 1500 Ion total at 90-110 LEO, capable of transfer one patient Kerbal for Kerbin aerocapture. A minimal KJR setting still somehow reinforce joints, and is of utmost importance during take off (L/D/Weight now focusing on high-speed / stability). But that could be easily remedied for stock game. Without ISRU, that's technically a SSE->K or SSK->E only (possible but not very practical though). Straight roundtrip is still out of question.

Thanks for answers, notes taken! Will try a Mammoth design( save 0.3% dry weight ) to gain more room for dv and thrust.

Well the formula is simple, for similar L/D/Weight ratio, rocket part have to be at least 94.6% for KS-25 or 94.3% for Mamoth( potential improvement! ), to left enough orbit window for more efficient low thrust engines. If low thrust engines onboard, then don't need full tanks except Eve takeoff, with potential huge dv/payload cap for daily. Fuselage weight and L/D ratio is variable here. And practical single-piece SSEK should keep a minimal potion of Nerv-level thrust for Eve ejection. It will not be as useful as SS left orbiter / drop lander, but fly strange wacky planes to a seemingly impossible mission is fun and thrilling Edit: and because Mk3 is ~20 times stronger, 6~8 times heavier, and quite big drag cube and payload space, the optimal weight for Mk3 SSTEO would be huge, aim for more than 5000t / at least 15 Mammoths

Thanks! In fact, several autostruts and rigid configuration have been experimented... like the rear landing gears, set inner pair to rigid and oouter pair to non-rigid, somehow cancelled overstress wobbling. And is the only way in stock game I could reliably parking, takeoff, move the craft to 7482m launch point (after final 7500m ISRU operation), and do a pendulum brake to brief hold. Right now, cockpit optimized to consist only sky-facing kerbal( inside nose faring ), a minimal jr. port to set direction, a wheel to enhance control and absorb heat. In theory it could set Eve orbit and left with 1425dv(1dv per minute), but is so difficult to achieve. Overall chance will be sub zero. I guess it shows: even exploited all 'legitimate' extreme, build a SS Eve-Kerbin is still impossible. Infact it's easier to build a legitimate perpetual motor than convetional SSEK, as there are plenty with Kerbals.