Superheavy rover to the mun

[Foxdemon]

Can anybody help me get a huge rover to the mun? Its mk3 sized, is about 3/4 middle kerbodynetank long, looks like a straight banana and uses 4 of the biggest rover wheels.

http://imgur.com/L63p5nw,gFAaOgY#0

I havent launched a rocket yet, but i bet itll be a behemoth. It is capable of landing tho, so that is one problem less. The major problem will probably be the immense drag the fairing will create when it needs to reach around the wheels.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Foxdemon

[Endersmens]

Without pictures I can't give an exact answer, but I can give a rough guess type of answer. But first, a question.

Are you wanting the rocket to look like a rocket, or are crazy contraptions an option?

[Foxdemon]

As long as it isnt like a million parts or funds, i dont care how it gets there. Be it a rocketengine or a gigantic duck

[Snark]

Yeah, definitely need pictures and/or stats.

Another option, for very irregularly-shaped things that would need humongous fairings: it's also an option to just do without the fairings. Give them some hefty aero SAS authority (e.g. lots of AV-R8 winglets stuck near the back of the craft), and keep your velocity down lower than usual until you get up above, say, 15 km altitude or so (and start your gravity turn late).

It'll need a brute of a rocket, but sometimes launching very non-aerodynamic things works... you just need to adapt, and don't try to fly them the same way you would a nicely streamlined ship.

[Xannari Ferrows]

Send the rover into orbit, then use a series of specially designed tugs to transport it. No need to use the same craft for everything.

[n0xiety]

Can anybody help me get a huge rover to the mun? Its mk3 sized, is about 3/4 middle kerbodynetank long, looks like a straight banana and uses 4 of the biggest rover wheels. (pictures later today/tomorrow)

Banana shaped you say? Mk3 sized you say? Great minds think alike i guess eh

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If you are carrying something unaerodynamic instead of pushing it try pulling it up from the point of mass of rover.

Edited June 2, 2015 by n0xiety

[Wanderfound]

Or this:

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Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/1m53ww9y81bh5qm/Krokoduck%20SP.craft?dl=0

[MarvinKitFox]

There is no real limit to what you can put on top of a rocket.

When launching this "rover", i don't bother that that aerodramatics-stuff at all.

Just balance the thing, and slowly power your way to victory.

[Thomassino]

Or use Infernal Robotics to stowe the wheels into fairing

[Foxdemon]

I added pictures in the description. I you need stats, i can give em.

[Snark]

When launching this "rover", i don't bother that that aerodramatics-stuff at all.

Just balance the thing, and slowly power your way to victory.

+1 to this. Looking at OP's rover, it would be prohibitively big/heavy to try to put a fairing around that thing. Just give it a big rocket and brute-force your way to space. Just be sure to keep the speed down low until you're up above at least 15 km, and start your gravity turn late. Make sure to put some tail fins or something on the back to keep the draggy payload from flipping you.

One way to mitigate the mass of rocket needed: use the rover's own fuel storage to help get to orbit (e.g. during launch, you can transfer fuel from the rover to the ascent stages), so that you end up with an empty rover in LKO. Then you can refuel it with tankers that have a more sane aerodynamic profile, before heading out to the Mun.

[ArchGaden]

+1 for no fairing launch

Make sure the center of mass for the rover roughly sits above the center of thrust for the launch vehicle. This may require a new attachment point on the rover. Add a ton of struts. You can strut between the rover and the launch vehicle as struts will break away when the stage separates without issue. Due to the rover likely having uneven drag, you may need more control in the launch vehicle. This can be acquired by adding wings to the lowest stage. The extra drag will eat a bit more fuel, but its a drop in the bucket at this point.

For the launch, the safest option is to go up slower and start turning at 30km. Bring 5-6000 d/v worth of fuel for total of the launch stages and you should be fine. You can get away with earlier turns depending on how much control the launch vehicle has. An earlier turn and greater speed (to an extent) will let you get away with less fuel.

I've launched a few big mining rigs with the huge wheels before... even the largest fairing wouldn't fit some of them. Generally a combination of going up slow, turning late, adding control surfaces, and bringing extra fuel will let you put anything into orbit. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, using fairings and properly designing a launch vehicle will likely be the better way to go (if fairings even fit)... but you're really going to have to put some effort into that. Although, a late turn after using some hefty solid-state boosters can cut cost a bit as well.

[Foxdemon]

This is my new lifter, havent tried it out in full, but its reasonably hard to control.

http://imgur.com/YN9r07I

Ill probably add SRB's if i dont have enough Dv.

I am familiar with KSP(centre of mass on the top and drag on the bottom), i like to have some room for error and a not too hard to control rocket. You guys think this rocket can take it to mun/minmus or shall i put the lifter on the sides of the rover?

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There is no real limit to what you can put on top of a rocket.

When launching this "rover", i don't bother that that aerodramatics-stuff at all.

Just balance the thing, and slowly power your way to victory.

http://i.imgur.com/D0qOn8h.png

Y no nosecones? I thought flat surfaces increase the drag really dramatic? Or is this made pre-1.0

- - - Updated - - -

+1 for no fairing launch

Make sure the center of mass for the rover roughly sits above the center of thrust for the launch vehicle. This may require a new attachment point on the rover. Add a ton of struts. You can strut between the rover and the launch vehicle as struts will break away when the stage separates without issue. Due to the rover likely having uneven drag, you may need more control in the launch vehicle. This can be acquired by adding wings to the lowest stage. The extra drag will eat a bit more fuel, but its a drop in the bucket at this point.

For the launch, the safest option is to go up slower and start turning at 30km. Bring 5-6000 d/v worth of fuel for total of the launch stages and you should be fine. You can get away with earlier turns depending on how much control the launch vehicle has. An earlier turn and greater speed (to an extent) will let you get away with less fuel.

I've launched a few big mining rigs with the huge wheels before... even the largest fairing wouldn't fit some of them. Generally a combination of going up slow, turning late, adding control surfaces, and bringing extra fuel will let you put anything into orbit. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, using fairings and properly designing a launch vehicle will likely be the better way to go (if fairings even fit)... but you're really going to have to put some effort into that. Although, a late turn after using some hefty solid-state boosters can cut cost a bit as well.

I already thought of the late turn and im not really on a tight budget, but i want to keep the cost for the lifter as low a possible, because the rover was pretty expensive.

[n0xiety]

Really man i posted a similar rover before and you saw how i used the boosters? Connect the boosters to the point of mass of your rover to sides... If you use a long rocket which is not aerodynamicaly symetrycal it is just going to be really hard to do a gravity turn since its going to start bending and you know what comes next..

[MarvinKitFox]

Y no nosecones? I thought flat surfaces increase the drag really dramatic? Or is this made pre-1.0

The only thing nosecones would do, is reduce the drag on the REAR of the stack.

I would (and do) gladly take the drag hit during ascent, as the only loss is a bit of fuel, if it allows a more stabile rocket.

Besides, in order to get that "rover" up, i have to keep the atmospheric speed WAY down. Mere fueltank-top drag is *piffle* compared to the drag induced by skyscraper-sized wheels mounted on tens of meters of scaffolding.

As for cost.. no concern at all.

Sure that whole launch cost a pretty penny.

But the contracts rewards pay out: 1.9mil (base on gilly)

2.3 mil(ore from gilly to Eve)

1.7 mil(tourists)

[Foxdemon]

Really man i posted a similar rover before and you saw how i used the boosters? Connect the boosters to the point of mass of your rover to sides... If you use a long rocket which is not aerodynamicaly symetrycal it is just going to be really hard to do a gravity turn since its going to start bending and you know what comes next..

It isnt really bending, the most trouble i have is with the drag from the wheels. I think i fixed a lot of my problems with the extra control surfaces as i showed on my lifter. If this lifter doesnt work (getting past +-15000, after that its easypeasy) then ill use the "boosters on the side of the rover"-design. I think ill work it out from here.

PS does anyone know of a way to reduce partcount lag, because i started to encounter it for a tiny tad now.

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@Marvin im not doing it for a contract, more for a mobile mining rig that can produce fuel and science to transfer to my refueling station.

Even if i wanted i have no contracts that pay me that much (dunno how you got the rewards so high?)

[Trentendegreth]

This is .90 but the concept is the same. still proud of this moment.

[StrandedonEarth]

There are good ideas here, fairings are certainly not necessary. For more ideas check this thread

Edited June 2, 2015 by StrandedonEarth

[n0xiety]

does anyone know of a way to reduce partcount lag, because i started to encounter it for a tiny tad now.

Use Kerbal Joint Reinforcement http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/55657-1-0-2-Kerbal-Joint-Reinforcement-v3-1-3-4-27-15 which will save you from using unneeded struts and kraken attacks + Tweakscale http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112693 so you don't have to use lets say like 10 engines where you can scale an engine and have only 1 or same thing for fuel tanks. If you don't want Tweakscale you can use the devpost version of the ubizur welding mod. Ubizur is not yet fully released for 1.02 but i tried the devpost and its mostly working. It allows you to weld parts together. I built stations that normally contain more than 2000 parts but in reality they are only 50 parts since i welded most of them together to create single part. Still i would recommend you to use this mod only for big projects since it is not fully functional yet. Nontheless here is the link to devpost version for 1.02 https://github.com/UbioWeldingLtd/UbioWeldContinued/blob/dev-1.0/UbioWeldContinued-2.1.3.zip Click veiw raw to download.

[Foxdemon]

Use Kerbal Joint Reinforcement http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/55657-1-0-2-Kerbal-Joint-Reinforcement-v3-1-3-4-27-15 which will save you from using unneeded struts and kraken attacks + Tweakscale http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112693 so you don't have to use lets say like 10 engines where you can scale an engine and have only 1 or same thing for fuel tanks. If you don't want Tweakscale you can use the devpost version of the ubizur welding mod. Ubizur is not yet fully released for 1.02 but i tried the devpost and its mostly working. It allows you to weld parts together. I built stations that normally contain more than 2000 parts but in reality they are only 50 parts since i welded most of them together to create single part. Still i would recommend you to use this mod only for big projects since it is not fully functional yet. Nontheless here is the link to devpost version for 1.02 https://github.com/UbioWeldingLtd/UbioWeldContinued/blob/dev-1.0/UbioWeldContinued-2.1.3.zip Click veiw raw to download.

Im not going to add any more mods, because i wanted to keep it as much vanilla as possible, if run into 2 much lag ill consider the reinforced joint, but for now im good. I consider my question answered ^^