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

[LvL]

In picture 5, Kerbin looks is smaller than it would be if it was in the atmosphere. Also, you can see the direction I landed on the runway, proving that I Completed an orbit. I had a circular orbit of 120,000 km. the spaceplane's name is the Double Bi-Plane (I know, creativity for the win!).

[Sean Mirrsen]

Sean Mirrsen thanks for your mission report. Since the RCS blocks are non stock thrusters and were used in the flight that has to be a gatecrasher, looks good though

*grumblegrumbleunclearrules*

Alright then, entering re-mission!

Now with stock RCS blocks, that I didn't even need to use except for maneuvering this time!

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Even landed back at KSC. Well actually almost landed, then decided to buzz the tower and do a lap around KSC to burn off remaining fuel, and then landed.

[boolybooly]

*claps* well played SeanMirrsen, thankyou for your re-mission report and congratulations on completeing the K-Prize challenge successfully in style and elegance with Pretty Fly 2.1 and earning an Advanced Pilot Precision Award for buzzing the tower and landing at KSC runway. She does look quite the hot rod with a pair of muscular looking rapier power plants with nacelles and evidently has good lift and maneuverability. Welcome back to the list of persona grata for the K-Prize party.

[LvL]

Why am I not on the list?

[g00bd0g]

Stupid question, sorry if it's answered elsewhere (I looked). Does delivering crew, fuel, or other consumables count as payload? Oh, and what about stuff in containers?

Edited April 22, 2014 by g00bd0g

[boolybooly]

Why am I not on the list?

Oarum your word is good here but you need to say that you completed the mission according to the rules in the first post or show that you did with unequivocal screenshot evidence (none of the screenies you are showing provided proof that the craft left Kerbin SOI or reached orbit with PE > 70km). I did ask you the relevant questions in my previous post, which you must have missed since you did not answer. Here it is again...

oarum ..... Did it make orbit with pe > 70km and land safely ? What is its name?

g00bd0g, crew and fuels dont count as a payload delivery for the Utilitarial awards, fuel usually gets an advanced pilot precision award by docking. If hardware with mass is dropped in orbit then that gets a Utilitarial award so containers OK if they have mass and they meet the rules in the first post.

[LvL]

Yes, I got into orbit above 70,000m, I got a 120,000m circular orbit. I deorbited, and landed on the runway. It's name is the double bi-plane

[boolybooly]

Thanks for your mission report and clarification oarum, congratulations on completing the K-Prize mission successfully and landing the quad winged (dragonfly like) twin aerojet with single T30 powered double bi-plane precisely on the KSC runway for which you have earned the illustrious Advanced pilot Precision Award and a place on the guest list for the K-Prize party (aka roll of honour).

[sdj64]

Is it legal to have wings in your payload? I didn't see anything specifically disallowing it in the main post. I am saying this because I have a large SSTO that I am planning to take to Duna and I would like to carry an ion glider on top so I can explore around once I get there. If it's not allowed I'll just take a rover.

[boolybooly]

Sorry not to get back to you earlier sdj64, it is a tricky question and I wanted to think about it.

K-Prize is primarily about testing reusable spaceplanes, the problem with wings is they help with lift and just as payload engines cannot be used so payload wings cannot be used within the K-Prize rules, so it would be a gatecrasher unless... the ion glider returned to the vehicle and redocked for return to Kerbin, when it would count as a K-Prize mission, because the ion glider would count as a detachable part of the craft, not a payload. There are a few precedents for that. But the achievements of the glider or main body on their own would then not count for the K-Prize, only the achievements of the complete craft, both ion glider and main body together.

If the glider detached before dropping a payload for example then the payload would only be counted as delivered to the point at which the craft split.

I hope that makes sense !

[sdj64]

Alright, thanks. All of the solar panels on the ion glider kill my part count anyway, so I'll just go without it. You might want to make a note in the main post about wings on the payload.

[Kokanee]

My entry;

The "Spirit of Collective Socialism" is a personnel transport able to carry four kerbalnauts plus a crew of three to orbit and back.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Would like to submit for the following awards;

Advanced pilot precision award (landed on runway, docked in orbit); and

Utilitarial Commendation (payload to orbit, transferred kerbal to OTV).

Edited April 28, 2014 by Kokanee

[boolybooly]

Kokanee, congratulations on completing the K-Prize mission successfully with the Spirit of Collective Socialism. Your highly cooperative Kerbals did slightly better than expected in one sense, earning an Advanced Pilot Precision Award 1st class for both docking in orbit and landing at KSC runway in the same mission. However I am sorry to say that a Kerbal does not count as payload for purposes of the K-Prize as they have negligible (i.e. no) mass even though the components used to carry them do. In order to qualify for a Utilitarial Commendation you need to take hardware up and leave it in orbit. As long as it weighs more than zero it will qualify. However your heavy duty design was a complete success otherwise so welcome to the K-Prize party guest list aka the roll of honour.

[Kokanee]

Thank you, I will work on a cargo lifter then and see if I came grab that utilitarian commendation then. Good challenge!

[kahlzun]

Hi guys!

Me *again* with a new design which I called "Flood" for reasons that I can't remember. My first design with a Mk1 Pod.

Picture evidence:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I probably could have taken this further, 3000 dV *may* have been enough for a Dunshot, but I was conservative with this test flight.

[Kokanee]

Okay I'm gunning for that utilitarian prize this time!

My second entry, I present for your consideration the "General Kuznetsov Class Cargo Drone";

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Would like to apply for the following;

Advanced pilot precision award (landed on runway, docked in orbit);

Utilitarial Commendation (payload to orbit, kethane satellite); and

Utilitarian Distinction (payload to kerbin, comms sat).

[TeeGee]

1 turbojet and 1 LV-N. 5 Kerbal SSTO.

[kahlzun]

-snip-

1 turbojet and 1 LV-N. 5 Kerbal SSTO.

That's... pretty impressive..

[sdj64]

My entry, the Nidhogg. Capable of bringing 24 tons to Duna and returning home!

And, it's under 400 parts. I had to go through 8 redesigns to get to this point. Nidhogg 5 is crashed on Duna, and all the others didn't even make it that far.

I did bring along some ion gliders, but they were launched separately on (gasp!) a rocket, and joined the crew on the surface.

I get an Expeditionary Utilitarial Distinction and an Advanced Pilot Precision Award, if I didn't do anything wrong?

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[boolybooly]

Kahlzun thanks for your mission report on the flight of the innovative and effective Flood, with clear evidence of orbit and welcome back to the guest list for the K-Prize party with a successful orbit and precise landing at the KSC runway.

Kokanee, congratulations on achieving your goal of an Utilitarial Commendation with an efficient satellite drop and pick up mission which also earned an Advanced Pilot Precision Award 1st class for the precisely piloted General Kuznetsov Class Cargo Drone, for docking in orbit as well as landing on KSC runway.

TeeGee thankyou for your liftoff report which is quite a cliff-hanger as we eagerly await the orbit and landing report! Your word is good enough, you just have to say what you did, but currently without further screenies or commentary the mission is not complete, though it can be linked as a gate crasher if you would like.

sdj64 thankyou very much for your mission report on the extraordinary flight of Nidhogg. In addition to a well earned Expeditionary Utilitarial Distinction (Duna 24.15t) and an Advanced Pilot Precision Award, the landing on Duna deserves an Expeditionary Astrokerbal Distinction and the larger than average lift off weight of the craft also garnered the distinction of becoming the current maximalist record holder at 137.05t if I have kept track correctly of all other missions. The ion gliders were a great idea for exploration and an entertaining innovation and I appreciate the lengths you went to to keep the mission within the K-Prize rules, so thankyou once again, congratulations on achieving your goals and welcome to the K-Prize party guest list.

[Kokanee]

@sdj64: Amazing entry!

What does one have to do to get a Utilitarial Distinction?

[boolybooly]

Kokanee, Utilitarial Distinctions are awarded to missions which deliver a payload to a planetoid or planetary surface. If they are outside Kerbins SOI then they are given the Exploratory or Expeditionary prefix which distinguishes between moons and planets respectively. For the purposes of the K-Prize, asteroids would count as planetoids ie same as moons FYI.

[cheeseit]

A bit late to the part but here's my entry

I was going for a personal small light craft that could be used as a daily commuter to a space job. Space gas stations and other space jobs . Park her up there at your station with the belly docking port and then fly home when your shift is done. The only non stock parts are the landing gear which I believe are okay according to the rules but could easily be tweaked to stock if it's against the rules. I also clipped the radial air intakes into the body for aesthetics but they would easily fit the other way around.

It weighs 6.21T with 29 parts total. The margin for error is pretty small with this craft. Taking off seems to have wonky stuff going on where the craft starts to wiggle like crazy once it reaches a certain speed. Actually reaching orbit is a bit tricky because you need a very good ascent profile or you run out of fuel. I wish I could bring a small jerry can from the fire spitter mod because there is usually about 55 oxidizer left over once the liquid fuel runs out.

The nice thing is that the craft has a very high TWR so it quicky reaches the cruising altitude at 30,000 meters and quickly reaches the speed needed for orbit. It's also pretty manoeuvrable so it's fun to rip around KSC between the buildings .

http://imgur.com/a/CadHU

The pictures got slightly jumbled a bit and I'm too lazy to fix them

Edited May 9, 2014 by cheeseit

[Landge]

Ok I'm back once more for another K-Prize v0.23.5 this time. Aldlorf Kerman will be the pilot and mission commander, flying the new and improved SSTO VindiGator Mk 0.23.5 to Minmus. Once in orbit around Minmus he deploys a satellite then returns safely back to the runway at KSC. Here is his flight log...

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Dr.Moo]

Here I am again, with another, different submission. This is the Condor EX-VIII Experimental SSTO cargo plane. I hope you enjoy the video I put together about it.