donlokiman

I will try and have something for everyone tonight. May create a spacestation/starbase for supporting these.. Or I will start on the XF's Experimental Frigate. Or.. getting the XC's to 7000+ Dv if possible

20 parts make up the 4 xenon fuel packs. Those are attached via docking ports, so they can be removed and added. I may have also added more than enough batteries and RTG's. It comes in at 180 tons full so I have a ways to go before I can launch this from the ground .. lol also I need you to test a possible fatal design flaw in the XC-305. Get her into orbit and turn off SAS and let it sit for 10 minutes. Ive been experiencing an odd spin that increases speed until the ship loses structural integrity. I tested the 700 last night and it suffers no such flaw. Ive lost 2 305's and their crews to this.

It's a heavy beast.. 344ish parts last count I believe. I'm considering replacing he plate armor with wing parts.. A the moment I have a feeling that if I go to low during an aerobrake the nose will want to lift uncontrollably. Adding wing parts in the back will help it maintain attitude. The metal plats also extend all the way down the middle on the underside of the ship whereas on top the center truss is exposed between the two top docking ports, may change that.. I may also put a fueltank between those 2 docking ports to balance out its side profile a little. Needless to say the XC-701 will be refined.

I can refit the ship for special orders. The configuration above was for space trials. The auxiliary solar panels will be removed, some heat shielding will be added near the engine mount points. Docking ports can be added or removed. What I did not realize until I sat and really looked at this ship.. it is just a bit under twice as long as the 305 and twice as wide.. lol And she doesn't snap her back under her own weight.

Continuing the XC research line our engineers have felt there was a need to expand the XC-305's ability to provide logistical support to other members of the fleet. Specifically the ability to ferry and refuel fighter escorts. As such they have taken the best of the XC-305 and placed in on an extended spaceframe with a 5 by 5 engine configuration allowing for greater fuel capacity and the ability to ferry larger fighters into combat. While endurance and acceleration do not differ greatly from the 305, we consider the larger ship to be superior in fleet maneuvers than the 305 and the extreme precision that went into designing the propulsion system allows for maneuvering without the need for RCS even while at 100% throttle. The ship carries 11440 units of LOX, 9960 units of H2, 4 emergency fuel tanks, 8400 units of Xenon Gas arranged in 4 removable, reloadable xenon packs. The ship also carries enough jet fuel to provide refueling capabilities to air breathing Laythe based SSTO's. In another shift in cruiser design this ship is the first to rely solely on nuclear power for all major ships systems. All that said I present to you the XC-700, the next evolution of the XC class ships.

Do you have a ground interceptor by any chance?

I fail at putting the metal parts on.. you are way way more skilled.. If you cant get them on then it isnt hapening.

So now we know when running away from a squadron of your ships the maneuver that will save your life is dipping into atmos.. hehe May not stop the missile on your tail though lol

I would still use wing panels on the ship, the main reason being when and if reentry heat is added, Ive found that when aerobraking the ships with no wing panels are purely ballistic and the entry is too much and they burn up. Wing panels however provide a small amount of lift and allow the ships follow a more shallow trajectory without using RCS. Some of my ships have detachable bridges as well, and detaching the bridge on reentry is much easier from a ship that isn't nosediving or tumbling. The XC-306 was designed especially with controlled reentry in mind for deep aerobraking.

I've gotten the XC-Class ships in a zip for you guys. The ones that did not include mods. XC-305 XC-306 XC-402 XC-500 ?? Surprise.. was a prototype, has not been tested. Not even sure she will hold her own weight in a gravity field. [iMAGES CLASSIFIED] As soon as Kerbal Space Port shows me the upload I will post the link. Bah I am impatient.. use this link for now. http://www.higgsdyson.com/XC-CLASS.zip

If you get the launch perfect about 5200 dv.. if you cheat it into orbit 6000+. ATM you use the cruiser engines to circularize on launch which uses a ton of fuel.

Shakedown cruise around the solar system. Aerobraking at Duna This was done with deadly reentry heat mod so could not dip to low. I am surprised it made it through unharmed actually.