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Just press the spacebar. No SAS, no gyrodynes, no control, just SRBs. Drink tea, enter orbit. I've done something similar in stock before - it really did manage to launch crew, satellites, and a bunch of other things - and even make all this beauty returnable. FAR brazenly takes away 100 m/s of delta V, complicating the situation. It would seem that this is a simple craft of five boosters, and such attention to it. But everything is in the details. 1. The angle of the small booster and the amount of fuel affect the starting pitch angle, and its location relative to the center - the final pitch angle. The further it is from the center, the faster the craft spins in the thin atmosphere. 2. The wings at the end of the booster, looking like a dart, reduce the tilt and increase stabilization. The further they are from the center, the slower the craft spins in the thin atmosphere. Outside the atmosphere, they have no effect at all - only point 1 works. 3. At first glance, it seems that the optimal formula is to maintain TWR 1.0 after acceleration and not increase the time to the apocenter. Everything is almost true, but reducing TWR reduces the delta V and the height of the apocenter, which requires changing the amount of fuel in the small booster and the distance of the wings to the center (points 1, 2). 4. Intuitively, burning down is like burning the delta V in vain, but this is moving the apocenter closer to the craft and setting the pericenter directly below it on the other side of the planet. At the moment the burn is completed, the apocenter and pericenter change places, and the craft remains in a stable orbit of 73.8/76.2 km, which I consider a good result for SRBs. 5. The Kerbonaut in the chair greatly affects the symmetry of the craft, and therefore it has to be placed very precisely and clearly, because in a vacuum, every kilogram of weight in one direction or another without SAS and gyrodynes gives a turn of several degrees, which completely changes the geometry of the orbit. To summarize: FAR forces us to invent more complex centering schemes, but the hypothesis is confirmed - it is POSSIBLE. Video with proof of concept: Craft download link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3347523570

"Kerbal Aircraft Reactor Experiment" The KARE package is here, meeting the people's need for a suite of high performance atomic jet engines. License: CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 DOWNLOAD :: SPACEDOCK :: GITHUB

Question: If I were to launch an SSTO from the runway at the KSC, would there be a theoretical limit to how much delta-v it could have? I'm talking completely stock, and on the most efficient flight path.

I present to you fine spaceplane enthusiasts... the Kerbal Wind Tunnel mod! We all build spaceplanes to fly faster and higher, but how do you know how fast or how high your current design can go? In the real world of aircraft design, engineers calculate the flight envelope for their aircraft before the first test flight rolls out. This mod runs your spaceplane through a virtual wind tunnel while still in the SPH and predicts its engine and flight performance at every speed and altitude. It also gives you a readout of various performance curves, plotting against angle of attack: ... and velocity: Try it out and start building even better spaceplanes today! You can even output the data to a CSV file to incorporate knowledge of the performance data into a KOS script or the like! Check out this Imgur album for more details on these images and more: https://imgur.com/a/D2i4Fge Download it from GitHub: https://github.com/DBooots/KerbalWindTunnel/releases Or SpaceDock: https://spacedock.info/mod/1927/Kerbal Wind Tunnel Source: https://github.com/DBooots/KerbalWindTunnel Released under the MIT License (with sub-components under their own license). P.S. This mod incorporates a pretty sweet graph-drawing library I made. If anyone's interested in super-simple graphing of data, hit me up.

While I was showcasing my Grimes Flying Laboratory replica, I was still a bit disappointed that it was just a means to show off new aircraft lighting rather than it being an actual laboratory with experiments and everything. I have seen many (and built a few) mobile bases with laboratories on them, and I remember Marcus House making a super trainer that can also double as a passenger transport years ago, but so far the only plane or SSTO I've seen with an onboard laboratory is Matt Lowne's flying Laythe base. So, I decided to build my own and started a thread where everyone else can show theirs off too. Maybe even get a little competitive with them along the way. Here are the rules on how your craft can qualify. First and foremost, it has to have at least one (1) MOBILE PROCESSING LAB. After all, it's not a flying laboratory without a lab. EXCEPTION: If you're using a balloon or dirigible mod that includes a part that can generate science points, that is allowed. Be sure to mention that, though. It has to have the following scientific instruments mounted: REQUIRED: Thermometer Barometer Seismometer Gravioli detector Atmospheric GCMS OPTIONAL (not required, but recommended): Materials Mystery Goo It has to be capable of flight in its final form, as in after all preceding stages (if applicable) are spent. You can use delivery rockets to get the flying lab to its destination (e.g. Laythe, Duna, Eve), but the lab has to fly on its own once it arrives. You are also allowed to make it capable of traveling on land and/or water, but it has to be able to fly. Craft has to be able to land and takeoff in its final form; where specifically doesn't matter. Otherwise, it's just a miniature space station or interplanetary transport vehicle. Crew must be able to get in and out of the craft. It doesn't matter if the final form can only fly on Kerbin, in space, and/or on other planets. The specifics on its performance capabilities will determine division placement and awards. More on those later. ISRU and/or docking capabilities for the end-stage okay, regardless of whether or not it leaves Kerbin's atmosphere. Though I suppose you wouldn't really need docking capabilities if your craft can't even get past a suborbital trajectory over Kerbin. Stock and/or DLC parts only. Autopilot/navigation/gauge mods okay. Generally, no mods outside of DLCs that come with additional parts. EXCEPTION: mods that come with balloon or dirigible-related parts are permitted, but those craft go in a separate division. If you want to allow a specific mod that conforms to the other rules, let me know and I'll take a look at it before deciding if it shall be allowed. Pictures and/or video of the craft in action are required. You can test it in Sandbox mode. If it can perform up to regulations there, it can do just fine in Career. Multiple entries per person allowed. In fact, it is encouraged if you want different awards under your belt. Qualifying entries and their respective awards will be shown in the Wall of Fame. Here are the divisions and division-specific awards for when your craft qualifies. Depending on the entry's capabilities, it might even qualify for more than one division award at once. ALL Divisions - awards that can be awarded to qualifying entries of ANY division. Agena Award - is docking-capable. It may not be practical for a Kerbin-only entry, but it can be for spaceplanes and body-specific landing craft. Alicorn Award - can submerge itself in water as well as fly in the air. The final form cannot detach anything, though. It has to be able to swim underwater and fly in one piece. This award applies for other planets with liquid on the surface (e.g. Eve and Laythe). Daffy Duck Award - can take off and land on water safely as well as land. This award applies for other planets with liquid on the surface (e.g. Eve and Laythe). If it can fully submerge itself underwater, then it qualifies for the Alicorn Award instead. Greenie Award - goes all-electric; no Lf or Ox required (except for balancing only). Huey Award - is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. And yes, helicopters can qualify for this. Landers for Duna and celestial bodies without atmospheres do not count, unfortunately. Jetpacker Award - can serve as a land vehicle as well as an aircraft. E.g. flying cars. Office Award - has a total capacity of 19 or more people. Pilot + 2 scientists + 16 miscellaneous. You don't have to load your craft with that many people to qualify, just prove that it can carry that many. Olde Tyme Award - uses propeller engines that require Lf and air intakes. Jet engines cannot be the primary source of propulsion. More likely to find these on Kerbin, but you could maybe try this on Laythe too. Eve and Duna are not good places to win this award, since their atmospheres are not suitable for air intakes. SEAL Award - final form can do well as a sea and a land vehicle as well as an aircraft. Again, no detaching anything in its final form. Self-Sustainer Award - can refuel itself using ISRU. Electric planes do not qualify for this since a competent engineer would install some means for the plane to recharge itself, whether it be via solar panels, RTGs, or both. Supersonic Award - can cruise faster than 343 m/s. If it can do a suborbital trajectory around Kerbin, then it qualifies for the Kermit Award instead. Homesick Division - vehicles that cannot go past a suborbital trajectory of Kerbin. Kermit Award - can go in a suborbital trajectory (and not a full orbit) over Kerbin. Cannot substitute for the World Traveler Award or the Verne Award. Verne Award - can circumnavigate all of Kerbin without stopping to refuel. Has to stay within the atmosphere at all times. Electric planes that can do this can qualify, but it is recommended that you fly west with the sun at a velocity of approximately 175 m/s. World Traveler Award - has a range of between 1,885 and 3,770 km without stopping to refuel. Has to stay within the atmosphere at all times. If your craft can fly that far, it can go anywhere on Kerbin. If your craft can do a full circumnavigation around Kerbin, then it qualifies for the Verne Award instead. Diamandis Division - for spaceplanes and other SSTOs. Has to do a full orbit around Kerbin to qualify, and plans must be in place to return it to Kerbin. Armstrong Award - can land on the Mun before returning to Kerbin. If it can do that, then it can certainly do the same thing on Minmus. Will add the Apollo Commendation if it can do that without having to refuel itself in the middle. Which will then be substituted for the Double Commendation if it can land on the Mun AND Minmus before returning - AND without refueling before leaving the Mun (which means refueling on or around Minmus okay). Which will then be substituted for the Twin Gods Commendation if it can do all that without refueling at any point. Dirtblood Award - can get itself to Duna before returning to Kerbin. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add the Watney Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point. Jupiter Award - flying lab can do the Jool-5 before returning to Kerbin. Yes, that means that your kerbals have to walk on the surface of Tylo. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add the Totally Insane Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point. Lazybird Award - build a spaceplane to carry your lab-equipped spaceplane. For a concept demonstration, check this out. New Home Award - can get itself to Laythe and back. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will be substituted for the Jool-5 Award if the craft is capable of completing its namesake challenge. Will add the Iceberger Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point in its mission. Snowball Award - can get itself to Eeloo before returning to Kerbin. If it can do that, it can certainly do Dres. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add Halley's Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point in its mission. Labazon Division - for planes, landers, or other landing-capable flying laboratories that are not designed to return to Kerbin. Detachable delivery rockets allowed. Awards listed in order of proximity to Kerbol as opposed to alphabetically. Hermes Award - for craft that will stay at Moho. Aphrodite Award - for craft that will stay on Eve. Will add the Scorcher Commendation if it can circumnavigate Eve on one tank of gas OR one full charge of batteries (day or night). Will add the Icarus Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Eve before landing safely in one piece. With how large Eve is and how thick its atmosphere is, it does not seem possible to do a full orbit and land safely in one piece. You're welcome to prove me wrong, though. Mun Hopper Award - for craft that will stay on the Mun or Minmus. Will add the Aldrin Commendation for craft that are designed to work on both moons, as in they are intended for inter-moon travel. Ares Award - for craft that will stay on Duna. Will add the Braun Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Duna before landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Paperclip Commendation if it can do a full orbit around Duna before re-entering and landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Whole Enchilada Commendation if it can operate in Duna's atmosphere and at least land on Ike before going back. Anaerobic Award - for craft that will stay on one of the following celestial bodies: Dres Pol Bop Vall Eeloo Harland Award - for craft that will stay within Laythe's atmosphere. Will add the Olympic Commendation if it can circumnavigate Laythe on one tank of gas OR one full charge of batteries (day or night). Will add the Frederick Fleet Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Laythe before landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Starline Commendation if it can do a full orbit around Laythe before re-entering and landing safely in one piece. Dead Kerbin Award - for craft that can get on and off Tylo safely. Heisenberg Division - specifically for balloons, blimps, zeppelins, et cetera. Detachable delivery rockets allowed for entries that leave Kerbin's SOI. Cluster Bomb Award - for Eve entries. Graf Zeppelin Award - for Duna entries. Resurgence Award - for entries that do not leave Kerbin. Skytanic Award - for Laythe entries. Man, that was a long list. Now that it's out of the way, I eagerly await what you all come up with. The spoiler below shows my entry, which qualifies for the Homesick Division: Old Tyme Award, the Fliegendlabor. WALL OF FAME @Mars-Bound Hokie (ORIGINAL POST) Homesick Division: Olde Tyme Award with the Fliegendlabor Homesick Division: World Traveler Award with the Surveyor

I made an SSTO that simply can't climb, accelerate, and can't lift off until the end of the runway. It has 6 Rapier engines and 2 nuclear engines. It can't go over 5-6 km and can't accelerate enough to reach the thinner atmosphere level. Additionally, it's not too stable. How can I fix that? Stages: https://imgur.com/a/m4bvy8A Engineer's Report: https://imgur.com/a/kOADqOV From Front: https://imgur.com/a/ryxL0X7 From Back: https://imgur.com/a/nBEfWCA From Top: https://imgur.com/a/88hFa9h From Right: https://imgur.com/a/hXt1Rx0 (Sorry for links it didnt inserted from photos from links) Is this amount of wing enough https://imgur.com/a/q4hZQZK

Hey Everyone and a Happy New Year! Thought I would post a unedited Video on my Happy New Year SSTO made in Kerbal Space Program 2. Just about enough fuel to get to orbit Before flight click the control point on top of the second P. ( control from here) Thanks For Watching! Link to craft below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xJRJjII6FvEsbjEwuI9uA7bsFOiQg4BR/view?usp=sharing

So this is a ''simple SSTO, can handle until 20T, propelled in surface by 2 (maybe 3) R.A.P.I.E.R engines, and in vacuum by 4 nuclear NERV engines. Remember i said it had maybe 3 R.A.P.I.E.R engines?, well thats because in the cargo bays, there is a small portion reserved to a ''secret'' engine, just press ''1'' to deploy it, and press 2 to close it, MAYBE reachs orbit. DONWLOAD: https://download946.mediafire.com/pgyqjno8g3jggqtxfxeRp2dOZNjvEgyHwr06-6-gaQb_m_tX5QozJrufJX-RKjDvuhjhP8X8ruilMNGuvt84Nb-fg4pVivmWhsleJHXHWqavo_aIG_rZc3nUr9HDECWWnfrO6nNtYr0B60W2RPmg9mC7OuHmqb-v1dLHyVtNXo1B1g/6820b7wsdp4tsgu/SunnyKerb+SSTO.craft The bug with the engine secret bay is now fixed, now you can press 1 or 2 freely without having a care LOL. (feel free to comment suggestions.)

I'm trying to build a large scale cargo SSTO at the moment but my struts keep on getting sent to the cornfield. While I'm waiting for the game to unbreak itself, It'd be cool to see what everyone else has been able to throw together on the large side of things. What's the biggest thing you've managed to get off the runway and in to space? What's the heaviest payload it's carried? Single Stage, or assisted in some way? Have you build anything cool in orbit with it, space shuttle style? I'd love to see what cool designs are out there.

Description After years of service, the Hercules served as the superior fighter of the great Kerbal Defense Force but there were improvements that were needed and speed and power profile was the goal for the new update. The Hercules II was born. Just like its predecessor the craft is capable of traveling from most planetary surfaces in and around the Kerbol System. Unlike the previous Hercules, this seats 1 and can also be flown unmanned with the new Megara A.I. Used to fly support with Dreadnoughts, dropships, and carriers as well as carry out clandestine Missions in times of peace, keeping unseen with its cloaking technology. Craft Notes This craft is fully stocked and needs no mods. This craft does have 1 flag for the cockpit which I will link either in the comments section or at the bottom of the page. Please read below for detailed flight instructions and craft info. Weapons Systems 3 Weapon Hard Points 2 Small dock points, top, and nose equipped with the Minerva Cannon 1 Medium dock point on the belly Kraken Drive Thrust Indicators are located in the cockpit in FPV or on the back of the Craft for easy recognition. Propulsion Systems 1 main Forward Propulsion Kraken Drive 1 Anti-Gravity Kraken Drive 1 Emergency nose down Kraken Drive. Flight Instructions - Based on Kerbin but will work pretty much everywhere ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT The main throttle controls the Forward Propulsion Kraken Drive. This is a very powerful drive recommended to do incremental increase by pressing the shift key. At half throttle, this will be placed in a sustained flight mode. When a tick over half throttle at lower sea level your nominal flight speed will be around. 140 - 145 m/s The higher you go the faster you fly. Full throttle your speed will steadily increase based on your height. For instance, at around 12k you will be at supersonic speeds. Drop to half throttle to maintain whatever speed you want to be at._____________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE if for some reason you stall and cant raise the nose use the anti-gravity drive as well and it will auto-correct you for normal flight again. These are my fail safes for absolute 0 issues flying. SPACE MODE Once you are past the 12k range this is where you will start increasing speed exponentially this will send you flying into orbit in a short time. Make sure to practice normal flight procedures that you would do with any SSTO except you have no fuel so you can play around and not be scared. Once in space make sure to only use RCS when getting ready to either dock or not using anti-gravity drive. Remember you can turn that drive off by pressing ACTION Group 3 RCS is used to docking or high-speed maneuvering in space combat. Press the Trim keys I and K for the anti-gravity drive,. It is recommended that you hit Action Group 2 and then press Radial out and trim slowly. Since trim keys do not have a visible UI I created one with a KALl1000 and lights. This will be visible on the back as well. Anti Gravity lights UI - Cockpit - Left Light- Back - Top Light Forward Propulsion Kraken Drive - Cockpit - Right Light- Back - Bottom Light Blue lights - OFF Yellow light - Half Power Green Light - Full Power ACTION GROUP 1 will set flight controls from the cockpit for normal flight procedures. ACTION GROUP 2 will set flight controls from the AI operator. This is great if you want to radial out to hover better in anti-gravity mode. this is set by default. ACTION GROUP 3 will turn off the Forward Propulsion Kraken Drive ACTION GROUP 4 Will turn off the Anti Gravity Drive ACTION GROUP 5 Will Open Cockpit Canopy ACTION GROUP 6 Emergency nose down Kraken Drive ACTION GROUP 7 Turn on and off Fuel Cell Charger on by default ABORT will turn off all KAL1000s when docked at a station or other craft SPACE BAR will fire the Minerva Cannon In conclusion, this craft can pretty much fly anywhere you want it, save for the sun, and will serve as your main battle force for air and space superiority. A stock aircraft called KDF Hercules II. Built with 837 of the finest parts, its root part is strutCube. Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.12.5. Details Type: SPH Class: spaceplane Part Count: 837 Pure Stock KSP: 1.12.5 CRAFT DOWNLOAD https://kerbalx.com/InterstellarKev/KDF-Hercules-II https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3012435900 FLAG DOWNLOAD https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uABZtM2AFGTBiIr-ql92xhERC49ZZW88/view?usp=drive_link https://www.dropbox.com/s/qcr3ttwgrul5jun/canopy.png?dl=0

This is the best I could do with the available parts but it was a fun build to do. The back engine part isn't the best, I've hidden that new large nuclear engine behind the whiplash engine. Tried adding a large cover but makes the ship look a little off compared to the cartoon version. Had some fuel leftover too so that's a good sign. Video will be released this weekend. Have fun! Download the Futurama Planet Express Ship SSTO here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cvp2hfeph4qxdfo/Futurama+v8.json/file This is how it looks once opened. Somewhat cool looking in my opinion.

Asclepius v5.0 A new Kopernicus planet (and moon) for KSP! Video by Jacob Plays Some Games If you've been to 1 Island on Laythe, you've been to them all... Do you need a new, fun, and exciting destination for your fleet of SSTO spaceplanes? Look no further my friend. Asclepius is a small, sandy, and fissured world, possessing a very thin oxygen atmosphere that only gets thick enough for planes to fly (or chutes to work ) deep in the canyons. Asclepius is meant to be a "low memory footprint" planet pack that even a potato computer can run. Features: 1 planet (Asclepius) & 1 moon (Kruel) Science definitions included Full career game support 11 unique biomes Stock ore generation supported Asclepius WIKI Check out the Asclepius Wiki for detailed information! Requires Kopernicus Download Options: Download via CKAN ____________________________________________ Github: Asclepius Release Page AsclepiusV5-0.zip AsclepiusV4-0.zip AsclepiusV3-0.zip JUST Asclepius! NO DEPENDENCIES! * Source ____________________________________________ PLEASE BE ADVISED: ASCclouds.cfg requires the original EVE configs to work! IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING THE PLANET TO LOAD WITH OTHER CONFIGURATIONS, REMOVE ASCclouds.cfg Asclepius includes CUSTOM compatibility patches for the following mods:(see links for D/L) Galactic Neighborhood - Puts Asclepius in orbit of a nearby star called Tyfon! E.V.E - Add clouds! Distant Object Enhancement bis- See planets and orbiting ships! Like real life! FarOut Contract Pack - Adds custom contracts like the Kessler run. (Requires Contract Configurator) Also adds bases to launch stuff from. (requires Kerbal Konstructs, and Kerbin-Side) Contract Configurator - Adds custom contracts, Including Kessler canyon run, and Rescue entire WORKING crafts!, and more! Dmagic Orbital Science - For even MORE custom science! New Horizons - Puts Asclepius on a co-orbital configuration with Laythe. Final Frontier - Ribbons included! Research Bodies - Spend science points to "discover" planets! Planetshine - Adds customized ambient lighting! Give it a try, and let me know your suggestions on how to make it better, and other opinions. Report any bugs here, and I'll do my best to squash them. Enjoy uh-sklee-pee-uh s < Click to hear!

KSP2's procedural wings allow for some pretty cool stuff. And one plane design that's really been opened up to us as easy to make look good now, is the almost always impractical Flying Wing. Your mission is simple: Design the biggest flying wing you can that can pull itself into orbit. You can have only one wing (can be made up of multiple wing parts but they all have to be part of the same wing), and the flying wing must be able to take off from the runway, make it to orbit, and then return to land on the runway again. No canards, No tailplane, No clipping a bunch of rudders inside the wing, though any other part clipping is allowed.

UFO SSTO This beast is 255 tonnes and 268 parts. Aliens don't make these light, prepare to be prodded. Download link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/wka83g9swf4j6sn/UFO+v19.json/file It's beautiful

So ive been slaving away for the last 4 days, trying to crack ssto's. Progress has been pretty slow and im kinda limited in how many engines and parts i can use due to lag, but today i did manage to crack the 3k lko delta v mark, so thats deffo something. This particular ssto is ready to be reconfigured to accept a poodle engine for increased delta v in vacume, but the rapier thrust bug and incorrect delta v. indication with multiple engines in orbit prevent me from going for it right off the bat. Craft file: https://we.tl/t-cEXCRnC622 craft has 4 rapiers so expect rough fps. How to orbit: 1.takeoff is really rough so make sure to not stall or strike the wing. If having trouble can enable pitch control on ailerons for takeoff. 2.once off the ground, accelerate on the deck to about 850m/s and pitch up 10o (make sure to turn down the elevator authority once at speed, craft can rip it self apart when you pitch up at speed. 17o of authority works well) 3.Once at 1.1k m/s or 10k km, pitch up to 20o for the rest of the ascend. side note: Ive increased joint rigidity in my config files, so unsure of how that affects the plane. May need to add a few struts if youre running stock noodle mode.

What do you think? The download like is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P6P7ss7EoYQ3mWh2cg4notiykiVODl20/view?usp=sharing

Ill be updating the roster as i make more note worthy stuff Decided to compile a little pack of my slightly more note worthy builds. Its got both commercial and military craft. Sadly i cant fully realize some of them yet due to bugs, but there at least visually where i want them to be, more or less :p Commercial 1. Draken falcon 1x LKO delta.v: 1000m/s Parts: 21 Weight: 9.5 / 4.3t Dimensions: 1.6 / 9.4 / 7.1m Rapier count: 1 Objective: Small single seater private plane with ample delta.v reserves Notes: Takeoff is a bit hairy since i didnt want it to have a horizontal stabilizer for reasons. 2. Draken skipper 4x LKO Delta.v: 500m/s Parts: 28 Weight: 12 / 6.5t Dimensions: 2.4 / 11.7 / 11.3m Rapier count: 1 Objective: Compact commercial ssto capable of ferrying 4 passengers in to lko or a mother ship/station Notes: Re-entry is kinda sketch as you got very little elevator authority, probably want to enable ailerons to work as elevators. 3.Draken minotaur 35 LKO Delta.v: 1000-200 (depending on payload) Parts: 44 Weight: 48.5 / 18.8t Dimensions: 3.9 / 20.1 / 18.15m Engines: Rapiers-4 / Poodle - 1 maximum payload - 35t Objective: ability to lift medium mass payloads in to lko. In theory it should be able to lift the classic orange tank, but the cargo bay is literally the exact same size as the tank so it cant realistically fit it. Notes: If you want to lift anything in to orbit, you have to make sure both ends of the cargo bay, and your payload are capped off with aerodynamic cones, the cargobay is bugged. Once lifted off the ground, reduce elevator authority to 5o or the ship will rip it self apart if you try to pitch up at speed. This craft 100% requires either strutting or increased joint rigidity in config files. Ship could probably use some rcs which i was to lazy to add, as it barely has any authority in a vacume. 4. Ark royal LKO Delta.v: 1200m/s Parts: 43 Weight: 26.4 / 11.2t Dimensions: 2.25 / 12.6 / 15.2m Rapier count: 2 Objective: Luxury private jet capable of lifting up to 4 fancy kerbals and 2 pilots in to lko with ample delta.v for small tours. Military 1.HMS Daring LKO delta.v: 500m/s Parts: 71 Weight: 29 / 12.5t Dimensions: 3.25 / 14.7 / 14m Engines: rapiers - 2 / whiplash - 2 armament: 2 nrb30s medium range hybrid atmospheric / interplanetary missiles. Objective: Heavy fighter/interceptor/ssto. This ship is meant to be a single craft solution for any first response mission. In the atmosphere, this ship posessis high speed and good maneuverability with high twr (1.65 fully loaded) which allows it to intercept targets quickly as well as engage them in a dogfight. It can also achieve lko to fire off its interplanetary armament. Notes: Due to its ability to pull high aoa (or have good maneuverability at low speeds) , frontal canards should be disabled, and aileron authority should be reduced when attempting to reach lko. Nrb30s firing sequence: 1.Disable main engines 2.Open the bomb bays 3.throttle up and engage rocket engines 4.decouple the missiles. 2.HMS Vulture LKO delta.v: 2000m/s Parts: 51 Weight: 37 / 11.4t Dimensions: 2.8 / 11.3 / 13.35m Rapier count: 2 Objective: Medium torpedo destroyer, capable of lifting 2 medium torpedoes in to lko and intercept capital ships. Notes: Due to cargo bay bug, i wasnt able to add torpedo bays or torpedoes them selves. Just imagine that the side board fuel tanks are torpedo tubes xD 3.HMS Lightning LKO Delta.v: 3000m/s Parts: 40 Weight: 74 / 18.4t Dimensions: 4.1 / 17.8 / 19.6m Rapier count: 4 Objective: Patrol frigate capable of intercepting crafts within the near solar system. Notes: Very low thrust-to weight makes it difficult to get off the runway. Once at speed, reduce elevator authority. Additional notes for all ships: 1. Ive modified my game files to reduce the noodle effect by increasing joint rigidity. If you run stock noodle mode, you may need to add struts (or just change the config, stock rigidity is not right). 2. Since there is no re-entry heating, i didnt really feel like testing re-entry or dry performance of these ships, so some of them may be a bit jank on re-entry. Since half of these are basically not finished due to bugs, ill likely revisit them at a later date and finish up additional features along with re-entry balancing. Download link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/96629klfuix2s55/ssto_pack.7z/file Hope you guys enjoy

THE SSTO BASE There's a pretty hard mission for whoever likes sstos and bases, that could look very simple, but surely it isn't: make a spaceplane that also functions as a base, it has to be pretty big and totally retractible, to complete it I simply advice you to use all of your creativity. Enjoy the mission and if you want share your footage.

I was messing around with some fighter style planes and having a blast until I thought of an idea... a nuclear powered plane! Safe for everyone, and Bob gets the capsule door bolted tight, because he'll never need to leave! The first few tests went well. Mostly well. It took flight. It stayed flying. It didn't even burn through it's fuel as fast as I thought it would! So I set myself a challenge: Land on the island airfield. A few attemps later, it was done! But I was beginning to realize how incredibly fast the ISP (and thus the delta-V) rose with altitude, at least early on. In fact, during my cruise to the island airfield, i'd gained nearly 200s of ISP in just a kilometer of altitude! So a new challenge presented itself: SSTO. Shockingly, I didn't even need to make any major modifications! A reaction wheel here, a shorter wingspan there, moar struts... and I'd made it to space! Further optimisation can definitely be made. I threw this together in around an hour and a half. If you run any similar missions, please include them here!

So this challenge has been floating around in my head for a while, and I know it's possible because other people tried it. But I never tried it myself. Well, I designed a craft specifically for that purpose, but it was difficult getting it to Orbit, and it contained the cheaty Nuclear Lightbulb from the Atomic Age. Rules: 1: Must reach Sarnus without staging. 2: Don't really care how you insert into Sarnus. 3: The Cheaper, the better. But it's also better if it's shorter as well. 4: Refueling in Orbit and/or ISRU are okay. 5: Must do something (like deploying an atmospheric probe to "land" on the gas giant or landing on one of its moons) 6: Return to Kerbin once you're done. 7: No Kraken Drives or other glitches (Makes challenge too easy. Use one and your ranking is in the Casual ranking) Mods are allowed but no engines over 2000 isp except Ion engines and no fuel less engines (Intake air and atmospheres count as fuel) (The atomic lightbulb is fine because it has 1500. Ion engines are okay because of their awful TWR) All mods except for OP mods are allowed with the exception of Atomic Age. You may use Alt-F12 while testing but not while doing the final mission. Rankings: Casual (Kraken drives and glitches allowed, any Mass or Cost) 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Easy: Same as Casual except no Kraken Drives, must either land on Hale and/or Ovok or deploy an atmospheric probe 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Medium: Any mass, must cost less than $1,000,000 and land on Tekto and/or Eeloo 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Moderate: Same as above but no refueling. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Hard: Must weigh less than 500 tons, cost less than or equal to $500,000 and/or Direct Ascent to Slate, may or may not land on the other moons. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Impossible: Must reach an altitude of Zero KM on Sarnus and return to Kerbin. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Challenges may need some refining later on.

Running some numbers for the SuperHeavy+Starship launcher, I was surprised to get that an expendable SuperHeavy alone could be SSTO with quite high payload. Wikipedia gives the propellant mass of the SuperHeavy as 3,400 tons, but does not give the dry mass. We can do an estimate of that based on information Elon provided in a tweet: Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @Erdayastronaut and @DiscoverMag Probably no fairing either & just 3 Raptor Vacuum engines. Mass ratio of ~30 (1200 tons full, 40 tons empty) with Isp of 380. Then drop a few dozen modified Starlink satellites from empty engine bays with ~1600 Isp, MR 2. Spread out, see what’s there. Not impossible. 9:14 PM · Mar 29, 2019·Twitter for iPhone 90 Retweets 32 Quote Tweets 1,498 Likes https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1111798912141017089?s=20&t=L-xcKvWnRTmbSDa_YI0OyA This is for a stripped down Starship, no reusability systems, no passenger quarters, and reduced number of engines. But this could not lift-off from ground because of the reduced thrust with only 3 engines plus being vacuum optimized these could not operate at sea level. So up the number of engines to 9 using sea level Raptors. According to wiki the Raptors have a mass of 1,500 kg. So adding 6 more brings the dry mass to 49 tons, call it 50 tons, for a mass ratio of 25 to 1. By the way, there have been many estimates of the capabilities of the Starship for a use other than that with the many passengers, say 50 to 100 , to LEO or as colonists to Mars, for instance, such as the tanker use or only as the lander vehicle transporting a capsule for astronauts for lunar missions. But surprisingly they all use the ca. 100 ton dry mass of the passenger Starship. But without this large passenger compartment it should be a much smaller dry mass used in the calculations. For instance, the Dragon 2 crew capsule dry mass without the trunk is in the range of 7 to 8 tons for up to 7 astronauts. So imagine a scaled up passenger compartment for 50 passengers or more. That passenger compartment itself could well mass over 60 tons. So the dry mass estimate of a stripped down, expendable, reduced engine Starship of 40 tons offered by Elon does make sense. Based on this, an expendable Starship with sufficient engines for ground launch could be SSTO: the ISP of the Raptors for both sea level and vacuum-optimized versions have been given various numbers. I’ll use 358 s as the vacuum ISP of the sea level Raptor. For calculating payload using the rocket equation, the vacuum Isp is commonly used even for the ground stage, since the diminution in Isp at sea level can be regarded as a loss just like air drag and gravity loss for which you compensate by adding additional amount to required delta-v to orbit just like the other losses. Then 3580ln(1 +1200/(50 + 50)) = 9,180 m/s sufficient for LEO. But as of now, SpaceX has no plans of making the Starship a ground-launched vehicle. So we’ll look instead at the SuperHeavy. For an expendable version with no reusability systems, we’ll estimate the dry mass using a mass ratio of 25 to 1, same as for a ground-launched expendable Starship. Actually, likely the Superheavy mass ratio will be even better than this since it is known scaling a rocket up improves the mass ratio. So this gives a dry mass of 136 tons. Then the expendable SuperHeavy could get 150 tons to LEO as an expendable SSTO: 3580ln(1 + 3,400/(136 + 150)) = 9,150 m/s, sufficient for LEO. But what about a reusable version? Reusability systems added to a stage should add less than 10% to the dry mass: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From: [email protected] (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: sci.space.tech Subject: Re: The cost (in weight) for Reusable SSTO Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 22:37:10 GMT In article <[email protected]>, Larry Gales <[email protected]> wrote: >An SSTO with a useful payload using Kero/LOX is easy to do -- provided that >it is *expendable*. All of the difficulty lies in making it reusable... There are people who are sufficiently anti-SSTO that they will dispute the feasibility of even expendable SSTOs (apparently not having read the specs for the Titan II first stage carefully). > (1) De-orbit fuel: I understand that it takes about 100 m/s to de-orbit. That's roughly right. Of course, in favorable circumstances you could play tricks like using a tether to simultaneously boost a payload higher and de-orbit your vehicle. (As NASA's Ivan Bekey pointed out, this is one case where the extra dry mass of a reusable vehicle is an *advantage*, because the heavier the vehicle, the greater the boost given to the payload.) > (2) TPS (heat shield): the figures I hear for this are around 15% of the >orbital mass Could be... but one should be very suspicious of this sort of parametric estimate. It's often possible to beat such numbers, often by quite a large margin, by being clever and exploiting favorable conditions. Any single number for TPS in particular has a *lot* of assumptions in it. > (4) Landing gear: about 3% Gary Hudson pointed out a couple of years ago that, while 3% is common wisdom, the B-58 landing gear was 1.5%... and that was a very tall and mechanically complex gear designed in the 1950s. See comment above about cleverness. I would be very suspicious of any parametric number for landing gear which doesn't at least distinguish between vertical and horizontal landing. > (5) Additional structure to meet loads from differnet directions (e.g., >vertical > takeoff, semi-horizontal re-enttry, horizontal landing). This is >purely > guesswork on my part, but I assume about 8% Of course, here the assumptions are up front: you're assuming a flight profile that many of us would say is simply inferior -- overly complex, difficult to test incrementally, and hard on the structure. >I would appreciate it if anyone could supply more accurate figures. More accurate figures either have to be for a specific vehicle design, or are so hedged about with assumptions that they are nearly meaningless. -- The good old days | Henry Spencer [email protected] weren't. | (aka [email protected]) https://yarchive.net/space/launchers/landing_gear_weight.html The 15% mentioned for thermal protecton(TPS) is for Apollo-era heat shields. But the PICA-X developed by SpaceX is 50% lighter so call it 7.5% for TPS. And for the landing gear ca. 3%, but with carbon composites say half of that at 1.5%. But this would put the reusable payload at ca. 136 tons which is in the range of 100 to 150 tons of the full two stage reusable vehicle! How is that possible? A reusable multistage vehicle has a severe disadvantage. The fuel that needs to be kept on reserve for the first stage to slow down and boost back to the launch site subtracts greatly from the payload possible. But for a reusable SSTO it can remain in orbit until the Earth rotates below until the landing site is once again below the vehicle. Robert Clark

Hello fellow KSP players. I am relatively new to making SSTOs but I noticed that some of the planes have a hard time going into orbit even with enough fuel. I’m curious if it’s my ascent profile or my angle of attack and I was wondering if there is a preferred profile for certain types of space planes. Thanks in advance.

My SSTO reaches 15 - 20 km and 400m/s but then the prograde continuously drops until its below zero and my plane is losing altitude no matter how much I try and pitch it up to correct it. How do i stop it from doing this?

I'm trying to make a rocket-only SSTO spaceplane that can get to orbit and dock to a station. I have managed the first part, but only with like 30 m/s remaining - not enough to get to a station and return home. My current design uses a few aerospikes, and has a vacuum delta v of around 4 KM/s. Why I decided to use a rocket SSTO: 1. easier to fly than a jet SSTO 2. noting to have to balance or otherwise deal with, compared to a shuttle 3. cooler than a rocket How can I increase the delta-V in orbit of my space plane to be able to dock to a station? Of course, if all else fails, I might be able to add a few drop tanks or boosters, but I'd like to try and go fully reusable.

my spaceplane is constantly going retrograde if it is above 60m/s making it impossible to take off the mass center is in front of the lift center solved the mass center should be behind the lift center