Kerbal SpaceK (X) - Stage Reusability Challenge

[driconmax]

This challenge was inspired by the SpaceX Falcon 9 ship, and was made to realize how hard can it be to land a rocket in a platform.

The Challenge:

Make a ship capable of launch, put a payload in orbit and land in:

- Sea (Score = Score)

- Ground (Score x2)

- Ground Platform (Score x4)

- Sea platform (Score x10)

The Rules

- Stock parts only. KSP version 1.0.3 or 1.0.4 only, entries from earlier versions will not be considered.

- No cfg editing, save editing, debug menu, or any other shenanigans.

- No physics exploits, the vessel must be lifted by thrust and aerodynamic lift alone.

- Images or video of your design is required for entry, showing launch mass and cost, recovery part mass and cost recovery, and enough in between to show how your vessel works. Craft files are encouraged so we can learn from each other's techniques.

Permitted mods: Visual/immersion mods, informational mods, autopilot. KOS (But it will put you in a different category)

Forbidden mods: Anything that modifies stock parts, adds new parts, or changes the game's physics in any way.

The Scoring:

Score = Recovery part cost / (Launch Cost - Payload Cost) * 10 * multiplier

The Leaderboard:

• Manual landing:
  

#1

-

18.72

-

t3hJimmer

- Dragoon -

2X

-

#2 - 15.40

-

norup

- FalKon 9 -

2X

#3

#4

#5

• KOS Automated landing:​
  

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Badges:

(Challenge base template by Red Iron Crown - Stock Payload Fraction Challenge: 1.0.4 Edition)

Edited July 20, 2015 by driconmax
Updated Leaderboard and Badges!

[Vegetal]

What kind of payload? Can you be more specific?

[driconmax]

What kind of payload? Can you be more specific?

Anything, from a little satellite to a manned pod. The score is based on the launch vehicle, excluding the payload.

Edited July 19, 2015 by driconmax

[t3hJimmer]

Landing on the launch pad is really hard, I give up. Here's my score from a landing at KSC.

Challenge Specs:

Launch Cost: 129,407

Payload Cost:15,050

Recovered Value:107,046

Land on land: 2X multiplier

Score: 18.72

Payload Value:

[driconmax]

Landing on the launch pad is really hard, I give up. Here's my score from a landing at KSC.

Challenge Specs:

Launch Cost: 129,407

Payload Cost:15,050

Recovered Value:107,046

Land on land: 2X multiplier

Score: 18.72

Payload Value:

http://i.imgur.com/KEgPGU8.jpg

Nice landing! And good score!

Take this:

Edited July 19, 2015 by driconmax

[FireFaced]

Working on my entry. Is TACLS allowed?

[driconmax]

Working on my entry. Is TACLS allowed?

You can have it but you can't use any part.

Edited July 19, 2015 by driconmax

[Bev7787]

Like this challenge. Already at work on a completely reuseable (1st and 2nd stage) rocket.

[iamchairs]

I feel like the hardest part is going to be getting a platform in the ocean

EDIT

Landed a test vessel on its side. Then when I went to take a ss i hit shift. That's probably what happened with spacex.

EDIT

The challenge should be: Can you get a platform into the ocean and 5km from shore.

Runway broke. Platform was fine.

Edited July 14, 2015 by iamchairs

[t3hJimmer]

Just landing on that platform is pretty impressive. Nice flying iamchairs

[driconmax]

I feel like the hardest part is going to be getting a platform in the ocean

http://s10.postimg.org/ekqas1461/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_04_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/ixouagcwp/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_20_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/d88lq56qh/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_40_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/xec3p12e1/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_25_32_PM.png

EDIT

Landed a test vessel on its side. Then when I went to take a ss i hit shift. That's probably what happened with spacex.

http://s13.postimg.org/6gzjmoug7/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_47_14_PM.png

EDIT

The challenge should be: Can you get a platform into the ocean and 5km from shore.

http://s10.postimg.org/4ih2ngsex/Screen_Shot_2015_07_14_at_12_47_49_PM.png

Runway broke. Platform was fine.

http://s10.postimg.org/dc7z4kfdl/Screen_Shot_2015_07_14_at_12_53_57_PM.png

I'll post pictures of my platform so you have an idea

Edited July 19, 2015 by driconmax

[driconmax]

I'll post pictures of my platform so you have an idea

I feel like the hardest part is going to be getting a platform in the ocean

http://s10.postimg.org/ekqas1461/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_04_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/ixouagcwp/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_20_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/d88lq56qh/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_24_40_PM.png

http://s10.postimg.org/xec3p12e1/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_25_32_PM.png

EDIT

Landed a test vessel on its side. Then when I went to take a ss i hit shift. That's probably what happened with spacex.

http://s13.postimg.org/6gzjmoug7/Screen_Shot_2015_07_13_at_10_47_14_PM.png

EDIT

The challenge should be: Can you get a platform into the ocean and 5km from shore.

http://s10.postimg.org/4ih2ngsex/Screen_Shot_2015_07_14_at_12_47_49_PM.png

Runway broke. Platform was fine.

http://s10.postimg.org/dc7z4kfdl/Screen_Shot_2015_07_14_at_12_53_57_PM.png

Here they are!

Edited July 19, 2015 by driconmax

[macktruck6666]

This is currently what I'm working on. It's as close as I can get to the real falcon 9 while in KSP.

Although I could have better twr, I chose to limit some of the engines to have the same thrust as the real life counter part.

Current costs of both stages and the fuel payload is 175,360.

Cost of rocket without fuel (hopefully close to the recover cost) is 139,686.

Payload is 13 tons of fuel and costs 1102.

What I hope to do is use KOS to launch, separate and land the first stage, get into orbit and dock with a station.

Two questions though:

One: Since I may be taking an arched trajectory that may result in my first stage landing far from KSP. Isn't this going to affect the score?

Two: Can I use a stage recovery mod to save states of my vessel while piloting the separate stages.

Edited July 19, 2015 by macktruck6666

[norup]

This entry is not optimised for a good score in this challenge, but rather to resemble the part of the Falcon9 recovery I found the most incredible when first reading about it: Returning the first stage to the launchpad.

The first stage is shut down at 29km, a velocity vector of about 45 inclination and an orbital speed of approx 1.0km/s.

A quicksave is made here, and the 2nd stage is ignited and lifted to a circular orbit of 73x73km, with 437m/s dV left.

The quicksave is loaded and the first stage performs a horizontal retro-burn (900m/s dV), sending it back towards the launch site.

With airbrakes at the top, the 1st stage is stable and easy to land without toppling over, from a ballistic orbit. A suicide burn can be made from about 800-1000m.

Maneuvering for a precision landing is much harder - I have not managed that.

Launch cost: 100.243

Payload cost: 2.979 ( Large Holding Tank w. 450 Ore : 6.5 tonnes )

Recovered part cost: 74.900 (excl fuel)

Land on land: 2X multiplier

Score: 15.40

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[Interplanetary Engineer]

Interesting. I might try competing with my

Kerbalized Multi-Purpose Reuaseble Carrier System (abbreviation was actually much more bulky than the full name)

[Spartwo]

This should be simple enough. To the VAB!