The K Prize - 100% reusable spaceplane to orbit and back

[Spartwo]

I'm almost tempted to stay on the gatecrashers list just for the caption.

[boolybooly]

I am glad you like it Spartwo, you can have your cake and eat it though, because if you request to stay on the gatecrashers list your entry stays, linking the mission report which earned it. If you complete the K-Prize challenge mission successfully the new report or statement will be given a separate link on the invite list (aka roll of honour) and you will just have to sort it out with the bouncers on the door!

For those who wish it, succeeding at the K-Prize gives them the option to remove their gatecrasher entry and save themselves from infamy but its optional, not compulsory.

[Col_Jessep]

To Tylo? That is very impressive!

Can I participate? The Ivory Hawk I build is designed to be able to gather all the left-over science on Kerbin, the Mun and Minmus. It features 2 Science Bays Jr., 2 Goo canisters, 2 sensor arrays, the 4 smaller science instruments, 12 RTGs and 6 antennas. Docking ports and RCS allow for refueling and crew transfer. I'm guilty of air hogging and part glitching (as much for looks as performance really). The Ivory Hawk probably doesn't break any records but she is my science workhorse for Kerbin and its moons and I took her for a spin to the Mun, Minmus and back (2nd mission in the album):

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited November 5, 2013 by Col_Jessep

[pinolallo]

Gate Crashing is creative. (see cupcake)

My evaporated gate crashing history can explain

I was a K-prize laureate from the 0.17

and then first gate crasher (because I was transporting two satellite on board with rcs not disabled) for this one 0.18, first reaching the k-prize after the AereoSpike nerf....

But a Got the 0.18 k-prize with this beauty , that was a milestone for all SSTO's showing the way how to bring weight in orbit, and how design balanced lifters. Here the "commercial album"

Same Day (8 december 2012) , another 0.18 k-prize milestone: a double run in a row

the 9 december 2012 the spacetruck reached the mimnus soi

the 14 of december another k-prize goal SpaceTruck landed on mimnus

jan 27 0.19 gate crashed with this transport (used a MKII crew that was not a stock fuel tanker beside it was heavier and with less fuel than the stock one ) any case a ssto able to do a double k-prize run.

Feb 10 (my birthday) 0.19 gate crashed with this Cargo because the use of a modified oxidizer tank (same weight of a regular one), also this SSTO was a milestone and a 10.000 downloads ship.

Mar 12 another milestone K-prize the Münliner: first mün landing and back.

and then the forum evaporated.

After the delusion about the waste, first post and a gate crash

May 6 Fast Track (first SSTO with three mission on a row) was a experimental craft, I told that was just conceptual about efficiency and using stock just made easier to build but uglier: a gate crasher.

May 11 I made another milestone in efficiency proof of concept for a full stock SSTO three K-price in a row for a 7 kerman bros.

Gate crasher or not this is one of my favorite threads, because survived across the forum evaporation and version changes. Is (almost) frequented by competent players and deserve a post for a good design ideas, gate crashing or not.

Edited November 6, 2013 by pinolallo

[Mesklin]

OK, bolyboly, there are a second attempt for Dedal:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

And again, about rules, why whole craft should land to another body, nothing in rules about it. IMHO ideal SSTO for atmosphere less bodies should reach Kerbin orbit, undock interplanetary ship (without wings, atmo jets, intakes and so on). Then this interplanetary ship will do his mission, return to Kerbin orbit, dock with winged part and, after docking, land on Kerbin tougher.

Here is first part of mission.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited November 6, 2013 by Mesklin
Additional link was added

[Stochasty]

Very ingenious mesklin, clever design! IMHO you are right in principle the mission plan doesn't break the rules but it didn't land intact so... it could only be a K-Prize Exploratory Kosmokerbal Commendation for the orbit

Sadly, for Tylo, this is probably all that's possible. I've given up on trying to build a true single stage Tylo ship; I keep coming up about 1t short of the necessary payload to make it, and that's using every trick I can think of and assuming a perfect mission.

[Sirine]

Hi boolybooly, I'm interested in the badge, can I wear one?

Craft file here.

Below image heavy (77 pic), I have my "The Albatross" modified a bit and send it to LKO, and back to KSC in 1 piece. Hope this qualify for the badge.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited November 6, 2013 by Sirine

[Col_Jessep]

I really like what you did with the air intakes! I hope you don't mind if I use that on some of my VTOLs in the future.

[Sirine]

I really like what you did with the air intakes! I hope you don't mind if I use that on some of my VTOLs in the future.

No problem, anyone can use it.

Anyhow is recommended to put it to the sub-assembly too. My configuration are 1 TurboJet for 1 of those (8in1) Ram intake. So, if you got 4 TurboJet, just snap 4 of those to your plane. It fly wonder.

[Col_Jessep]

Thanks bunches for the tip with sub assemblies! I always ran into trouble when I tried to copy multiple air intakes with Alt-click. I had to place them by hand and check if the symmetry didn't reset (which happens quite a lot). With sub assemblies it seems to work just fine.

PS: It still breaks if I use symmetry but with sub assemblies I can place them so fast that it doesn't matter if I switch symmetry off for the air intakes. =3

Edited November 6, 2013 by Col_Jessep

[Sirine]

Thanks bunches for the tip with sub assemblies! I always ran into trouble when I tried to copy multiple air intakes with Alt-click. I had to place them by hand and check if the symmetry didn't reset (which happens quite a lot). With sub assemblies it seems to work just fine.

Another well known tricks (Incase you don't know). Put a redial intake on your plane, and make it 'air-intake close', yes..'close'. and you will get extra juice from your turbojet engines. It push harder.

[pinolallo]

Well, Effectively the name of this challenge is not SSTO challenge, beside the most of planes are SSTO, is "reusable spaceplane to orbit and back".

The best strategy will be this one.

a) bring an interplanetary ship in orbit with a spaceplane lifter.

the interplanetary ship will orbit the target plane and drop a lander

c) the lander redock the interplanetary ship

d) the interplanetary ship redock the spaceplane that will bring the whole thing on KSC.

In this mission plan just the lander will be truly a SSTO. (like the LEM in Apollo missions, the RL only one till now).

Please note that is a very remarkable revolution in this thread: because bring a 40 tons interplanetary space ship in orbit using a space plane is easy and with such a staged ship you can do almost anything.

Indeed with a 4 k-price mission in a row efficiency, with a 5 kb crew 35 tons SSTO that can land on both kerbin moons, with both atmo planets (duna and laythe) reachable with 40tons payloads this revolution (the staged ships) just unlock the remain part of KSP for the K-pricers

[boolybooly]

OK Mesklin, that wins the K Prize and an Advanced Pilot Precision Award and I am assuming that is reloaded from the end of the Tylo mission? Is that right? So it also earns an admirable Kosmokerbal Commendation.

I am sorry if it seems pedantic. To explain, the point about decoupling is that the K-Prize is about comparing spaceplanes.

Rules

1. The craft may not lose any parts in flight, no decoupling allowed.

2. The craft must lift off horizontally, reach orbit (PE > 70,000m) and land intact ready for 'refuelling'.

3. All fuel tanks, wings (lift generators) and engine parts must be stock, for fairness.

Provisos to rule 1.

A. Payloads may decouple from the craft providing all payload tanks are full on decoupling and any thrust generators on the payload were not used prior to decoupling.

B. Docking is permitted providing no fuel is transferred (net per fuel type) into the K-Prize craft (it can be transferred out). Crew transfers are permitted.

Decoupling parts is explicitly not allowed in the challenge rules because it is about comparing reusable ships and decoupling is only recognised under clear provisos for payload delivery and this is also the basis for crew transfers to control seats.

The detachable section which landed on Tylo does not qualify as a payload as it provides thrust for the main ship, but it decoupled and left half the ship behind. There are precedents for this, people have made capsules into rovers which decoupled and roved then rejoined the ship. The best option IMHO (without destroying the K-Prize rules) was to accept the lander as a flying rover and not disqualify the mission. The K-Prize does not have a category for that, I am happy to hear other peoples opinions on that.

Sirine, Albatross is definitely a K-Prize winner and WafflesToo said he preferred if only K-Prize winners use the badge. So you are fully entitled to use the badge. Congratulations on completing the K-Prize and winning an Advanced Pilot Precision Award, thanks very much for your mission report, which works a bit like an animation if you click it fast enough!

Edited November 6, 2013 by boolybooly

[Mesklin]

Yep, bolyboly, I reloaded Tylo mission from the last quicksave (before entering Kerbin atmosphere) and finish Tylo mission by another, more complex way.

And again about Rule 1, I thought in this rule key words is "not lose any parts", that is mind for me: craft should landed after mission with numbers of parts equal to number of parts at the start of mission. Maybe I was wrong.

In any case, this mission was great challenge for my KSP skills.

[Sirine]

Sirine, Albatross is definitely a K-Prize winner and WafflesToo said he preferred if only K-Prize winners use the badge. So you are fully entitled to use the badge. Congratulations on completing the K-Prize and winning an Advanced Pilot Precision Award, thanks very much for your mission report, which works a bit like an animation if you click it fast enough!

Thank you very much!

[drewscriver]

The way I thought of it was that undocking and redocking doesn't disqualify a mission from achieving a K-prize, so long as the entire craft is back together at the end (excepting any payload), however, only portions of the flight where the entire craft is assembled are eligible for K-prize achievements.

So with the Changeling, if I had undocked the fuselage in LKO, I could have gone haring off over the entire Kerbin system, come back and landed, but as far as the entire spaceplane goes, it would only count as a LKO flight. This was why I elected to submit a minimus cargo delivery, rather than a Mun landing with the detached fuselage. Not quite enough delta V with the wings on, not to mention I can only get the cargo out in zero-g

[Col_Jessep]

Boolybooly, is my Ivory Hawk not a valid entry?

[boolybooly]

And again about Rule 1, I thought in this rule key words is "not lose any parts", that is mind for me: craft should landed after mission with numbers of parts equal to number of parts at the start of mission. Maybe I was wrong.

If it lands on Tylo without half the ship I would call that losing parts, wouldnt you? If it gets recoupled then OK, but only the mission events where the ship is complete can be counted for K-Prize because of the no decoupling rule. Its still a valid mission in its own right just technically beyond the scope of the K-Prize rules. I will add a note to the guest list link to mention the lander drop though as it is pretty cool and deserves a mention.

Yep, bolyboly, I reloaded Tylo mission from the last quicksave (before entering Kerbin atmosphere) and finish Tylo mission by another, more complex way.

In any case, this mission was great challenge for my KSP skills.

Glad you enjoyed it and thankyou for participating and btw my name is boolybooly, four o's !

[Mesklin]

Sorry, boolybooly, for wrong writing your name. I checked, what is mind "booly", and I apologize twice, for each pairs of o

[WafflesToo]

Thanks all for some excellent K-Prize winning mission reports.

...

WafflesToo thanks for the badges and your hard rock-et plane video! An effective and workman like probe delivery.

Oh, hey, it was my pleasure. Thank you once again for working with me on it.

Heh, I like workman efficiency. Sadly, both probes turned out to be defective due to a manufacturer oversight. I'll have to launch new ones as soon as the litigation is done so I'll have a chance to show the latest and greatest that I've been playing with.

[boolybooly]

Oops sorry Col_Jessep, somehow I missed your mission report. Yes research vessel Ivory Hawk is a K-Prize winner, congratulations and welcome to the K-Prize party! Your Advanced Pilot Precision Award and Kosmokerbal Commendation for visiting the Mün SOI are in the post. Thanks for the Imgur album. The science pods looked neat btw.

[Col_Jessep]

Thank you very much! I'm currently working on a little something specifically for the K Prize. It still needs a bit of tinkering with the CoM. The latest iteration caused some expensive fireworks on the runway...

[that1guy]

K-prize entry time again. I decided to attempts to Mun shot, I did it, but missed the runway by about half a planet. I give you, the Pices I SSTO

Edited November 8, 2013 by that1guy

[boolybooly]

Welcome back to the K-Prize that1guy thanks for your video report and congratulations on achieving a Kosmokerbal Commendation by entering Mun orbit and returning with Pices 1. A powerful ship with quad aeroengines and triple rockets, are they all nukes?

[Col_Jessep]

Very nice vid, that1guy!

Here is my entry for the minimalist record in 0.22. I checked the older entries and found two lighter planes but they were both drones. The Ladybird can transport up to 4 Kerbals into LKO:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

The Ladybird can in theory dock to a space station but after I docked successfully the whole station started to shake like crazy. So I had to settle for EVA crew transfer...

A fuel transfer before re-entry is advised to keep the CoM in front of the CoL.