Cargo SSTO Challenge - Proof of concept + For the fun of it

[Der Anfang]

(Alright, I am sure this has been done before, but still...)

Say whaaaa?

And not just a 2 or 3 ton payload... I am talking about a full on payload, whether it be an entire spacecraft inside the SSTO or the heavy fuel. Actually, I mostly just want to see a fuel SSTO. I know it has been done before, but it doesn't seem to be common, and I can't exactly pull it off myself, not well at least. Only recently have I been able to develop capable Mun Orbiting and back SSTOs, but I need inspiration and innovation. And celebration. Show me an SSTO that you have built that can carry a Rockomax orange tank at the smallest (the 36 tonne one), or if you want, you can go bigger and bring the daddy of all fuel tanks - the large kerbodyne one; yes, the 82 tonne Kerbodyne S3-14400. Now, I am not going to give any real scoring system since this is meant more for fun and proof of concept, and I would like to see all those who are capable with their own designs.

So, what's the catch?

Aaah, but of course. I am sure you were expecting rules, as you would be a fool not to expect rules with a challenge. To make it as simple as possible, there's a few things I want to happen, and a few things I don't:

<Rules>

1) I suppose airhogging to a small extent is okay, but please, don't go too crazy with that. I don't want extremely unreal designs with fifty million air intakes per engine. Okay, that is obviously an over-exaggeration, but you get what I mean. Try to be at least semi-legit and semi-realistic as possible, as far as Kerbal Space Programme goes.

2) This rule isn't quite as strict, but if it is possible for you to abide with, I would love to see this accomplished as well: If it is possible, try to keep your SSTO at or under 425 parts, not counting the fuel tank which your SSTO is delivering. I am going to ask you for your .craft file for testing myself and I would prefer not sacrificing my pc to a laggy KSP.

3) As stated above, if you can, provide your .craft file. If not, that is fine, but if I don't find your craft legit I am going to insist you provide me proof that I myself can try. You should obviously provide pictures as well as the info displayed when you have it finished in the SPH or VAB (I want to see weight and part count especially). You may also provide a video of your craft in action.

4) Keep it within a legit gameplay environment: No cheats, which means no infinite fuel, Infinite RCS, unbreakable invincible craft, etc etc. No exploitation of glitches or bugs of any kind. Yes, this includes infiniglide. If it obviously exploits the infiniglide, I don't want to see it.

5) Keep it stock. No mods. Although, I suppose the exceptions are Mech Jeb and Flight Engineer. FAR is also allowed, but I personally don't play with FAR (Though I do have the mod stored in a separate folder in case I want to mess around with it more). But if your craft design uses FAR, then by all means throw your craft at me. I'll welcome that, too.

6) No clipping whatsoever. Cubic Octagonal Struts are okay, but no clipping. If a wing is ghosting through an air intake, that's fine, since it's not deemed a strategic clipping, but I don't want to see RAM air intakes stacked against one another. It looks ugly.

7) I want to see the SSTO take off from the runway (or launch pad if you prefer) and going into orbit. No hyper edit (no mods as stated above except for the following ones which are allowed), and no save file editing. That totally defeats the purpose of a cargo SSTO and the challenge. If you are doing that then why even bother with the challenge?

8) This should be an SSTO, so obviously no staging. I would refrain from using the Launch clamps, but they aren't particularly restricted, however, but you really shouldn't need them if you design the SSTO well enough. I don't think I need to spell out what single stage to orbit means.

9) You are allowed to use any parts you desire, but I strongly recommend using airbreathing engines combined with closed cycle propulsion, which is obviously what you should be doing. I have seen people launch SSTO rockets before and it's possible in KSP, but I don't want to see those. After all, we all want fuel efficiency, right?

10) This craft must be able to go into orbit, as stated above, and must also be capable of going back into Kerbin and landing safely all in one piece.

11) The fuel tank MUST be dockable to a space station on it's own, so give it a docking port (also a must) and it's own RCS fuel and thrusters and unmanned probe control capabilities. It does not have to be docked to a station in this challenge, but you must provide proof that it can be entirely controlled on it's own and docking capable.

12) You don't have to dock it to a station, as stated already, but you should relieve your SSTO of the payload in orbit. Additionally, if you feel like you can, show me that your craft can return to Kerbin from orbit both with and without the cargo payload (this rule you can do either way). I want to know that it is flyable.

13) Do not use any of the fuel from the tank you are delivering.

14) Have I already mentioned that the craft needs to return back to the surface of Kerbin safely and all in once piece? Make sure of that.

15)Be fair and be creative; don't steal somebody else's design. It's mostly okay if you base your plane off of somebody else's design. There's no point in participating in the challenge if you don't use your own design.

So, what are the next steps to this challenge and what will you be doing?

I want to see your spaceplane/SSTO carry at the minimum as Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel tank, but you can also carry larger fuel tanks, and as many as you feel your craft can carry, but no smaller than the orange tank, and the larger the cargo, the better. If you use FAR, be sure to let me know in your post. The main challenge is to get into LKO or higher, BUT, as an additional bonus to the challenge, while you are not obliged to do these, I recommend giving these a try if they are possible at all:

<Bonus Challenge Challenges>

1) Try to get your delivery to orbit around the Mun and get the SSTO safely.

2) Try it with Minmus, although that's not too much harder than the Mun.

3) This is a bit extreme, but I feel it is possible. Try to deliver the payload in another planet's or moon's orbit.

4) I highly recommend making it a spaceplane, utilizing the SPH and runway.

Do you think you are up to the challenge?

I know it's possible, but I want to see just how capable players are of doing this. It's a proof of concept anyway, but I also want it to be fun, so, show me what you've got. Somehow I feel this kind of challenge has been done before, but I am being a little lazy to do any research on this topic.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Der Anfang