Mk2 Turbojet Shuttle Design?

[rofltehcat]

Does anyone have a mk2 tech level space plane with cargo space? Or some pointers to build one? Most other space planes shared by people seem to heavily rely on Rapier engines which I do not have unlocked yet. I try to work with what I currently have available.

Either unmodded stock or FAR would be fine (I had it installed but couldn't figure out how to stop everything from breaking apart).

Here are examples of what kinda works for me:

Shuttle v2: http://imgur.com/0DSubpd

46.7 t at start, 4.9t of which is the payload. 4 Turbo Ramjets and a Skipper. The image shows roughly how high and fast I can get with it, although I kinda messed up the ascent profile a little (stayed in apo climb a little too long).

The payload has enough fuel and TWR by itself to get into a stable orbit from there by itself but I have to finish it in time to switch back to the descending plane.

Shuttle v4: http://imgur.com/zsKjvMA

Just add more engines and fuel!

Kinda works as well, has comparable results but is a lot heavier at 76.1 t, same 4.9t payload. A bit harder to maneuvre than the first version but it works (though not as well). Overall I don't like it as much but it was one of the iterations I went through in trying to get higher and faster.

I'm aiming to get the shuttle itself into a low orbit but I seem to not have enough deltaV left once I reach 70k.

Edited May 30, 2015 by rofltehcat
Image links didn't work

[eddiew]

This isn't a good design overall (it was made very early in 1.0.2) but it does work:

Basically go heavy on the turbojets, and try to get yourself into a ballistic trajectory off the back of their strong low-atmosphere performance. With a good kick of TWR you can push the edge of the atmosphere with them, but you'll need a good chunk of rocket delta-v to circularise. At this size of plane, T45s work out just as well as nervas.

[rofltehcat]

Thanks, looks nice. Looks lighter than my design but with 4 turbojets and 2 NRVs. I'll try going a bit lighter as well but I don't have NRVs and thus need to use normal rockets. How much payload can you bring up with it?

[KerikBalm]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zquvpzerovsvsao/New%20Cargo%20SSTO%20mk2.craft?dl=0

I have a version that carries more LF if you want.

and earlier version in flight, lacking the 3rd lv-t45, and some turbojets:

Note, undock the lv-t 45 after detaching the payload, and then redock it to where the payload was -> full recovery

I couldn't get the fairing to close, in the end I took of the lv-t45 unit, closed the fairing, and stuck it back on.

In a slightly modified design, I was able to close the fairing, but then it flew worse due to jittering at the back of the fairing, and it wouldn't hold a SAS heading, it was a pain to fly.

I used that in my career mode before moving on to the bigger:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/er41h2kbakb7l8e/Super%20Lifter%20mk1.craft?dl=0

Which is at the size limits of lvl 2 facilities.

Then I upgraded the runway to lvl 3 and could actually fully fuel that thing with a payload, but I moved on to even bigger (and Rapier using) designs

(note I didn't start with full tanks, so keep that in mind for the next picture, showing remaining fuel)

Note that this payload was fairly aerodynamic already, and I think I'd have done better without the aeroshell