Execute13

Good to see the rockets updated. How much of a difference does the new clustering system make to the part count of Nova?

Hm. How big are your boosters? Mine are two oranges and a pancake. Six struts isn't a lot.

Thanks! I was going for a linear/"realistic" kind of aesthetic. Though the ship is a bit wobbly because it's so tall, you'd be surprised at the power and efficiency of a mainsail cluster like that.

Hello! First time posting a ship up on the forums, so feel free to tell me what to do better. It's a neat design that I thought I'd share. Presenting, the Parallax! As you can see, it's a very tall ship. The bottom engines actually extend past the floor of the VAB. The whole ship has more than 15,000 m/s delta V, which is good for a rocket without nuclear engines. The only mod parts used are the fairings and a mirco ASAS from the KSPX expansion pack. Lift off: Separation of first stage: The first stage uses radial attachment points to create an artificial "stack" that is wider than single parts. Combined with mainsails, this produces a huge amount of thrust and burn time, which is necessary for a linear rocket of this size. The fairing jettison at the same time to avoid the stage damaging the next. The third stage, partly used to circularize, in a 170k orbit; the rocket still has 11 km/s of delta V left: Craft file and part package coming when I sort out which fairings are used. Questions and comments welcome.

Really? I'm not sure that's true. In my experience even heavily strutted boosters do fine with the manifolds.

Thank you! I was having a lot of trouble for a while trying to make these types of clusters. Also, one more thing: I found that you can eliminate the need for sepratrons and save on parts by using the hydraulic detachment manifold and two modular girders turned sideways. For me at least this gives a high enough seperation force to get past a big engine cluster, and lets you save two parts per booster; so 12 parts for the Nova. It also eliminates some of the spin and twist issues that sepratons can bring. Once again, great work. Thanks for the awesome rockets!

Why? I am honestly interested in how utilizing engine clustering to make efficient but heavy rockets is different in this case from standard clipping uses. I remember stating that I used it to attach 32 LV-T engines onto a single 2.5m fuel tank, not at the exact same spot. That was mostly the extreme end of the spectrum. I didn't say it was pretty. Besides, just a cluster like that uses 64 parts by itself, so again, it has the same disadvantages as normal clustering. If I was going to make a large, tight LV-T cluster for a big rocket, it would be more like this. 24 engines (8 gimballing) on one tank; 56 parts, 48 without the good-looking tail connectors.

I see where you're coming from, but I think that, by sharing all the disadvantages of other clustered designs, this type of engine usage is okay. Certain types of clipping are already used in the Zenith designs -- just take a close look at the Nova's core cluster -- and I don't think that this is much more extravagant. Tight clusters still consume a lot of fuel, are both mass-heavy and part-heavy, and have very high gimballing which can make a rocket unstable. Using Skippers (or worse, mainsails) in a tight cluster will produce an amount of thrust that a lot of rockets can't handle. Clipping engines together mainly helps the rocket look good, as is already shown by a lot of popular designs, and I don't think tight clusters go against that. On another note; Temstar, how exactly do you go about attaching those tail-point engines on the core of your rockets? I can never seem to get them to attach the same way you do. Also, why have you attached fuel lines to and strutted together those engines? Amyway, great designs, looking forward to using them more often.

These rockets are awesome. Really good job, Temstar. Just a neat suggestion: You can fit eight Skippers - or any rocket, really - into the space of one by using the Radial Attachment Points. Because the points' model extends backwards into whatever you're attaching it to, the part is allowed to clip. This lets you place a single point under a fuel tank, attach an engine, pick up the port, and increase the symmetry before placing it again. As for aesthetics, if you place them right it looks like a single engine, just with a few more cooling systems. I use this on my rockets a lot to fit, say, 32 LV-T rockets on a singe 2.5m tank.

I would probably say someone who plays the game for fun, builds ships that malfunction but flies them anyway, and doesn't need big fudge factors in their course. It doesn't matter if your ships work perfectly the first time; what matters is whether you can recover from your mistakes.

Oh, too many to think of. The biggest would probably by trying to dock with a station, timewarp up to it... And get stuck inside it. Big explosion as soon as I stopped warp. That same station has exploded on numerous occasions. Damn you, Arbitration Space Station! Could probably also count running out of fuel while trying to get into a free return trajectory past the Mun and Minmus.