efficiency chalenge

[kavjik]

I want to make this challenge mostly to find out the most efficient way to get to orbit.

The challenge is to build a spaceship that goes to orbit with as small a delta-v as possible.

This is done by using mech-jeb to get into a 100km orbit, in the stats panel in the accent autopilot you can see how speed has been wasted on drag and gravity and steering, the objective is to minimize the sum of those.

Please describe the thoughts behind your creation, and if you want to, post a .craft.

[PakledHostage]

As a benchmark for your challenge, several members of the community have managed to hand-fly a Pod-2LFT-LFE stack into orbit. By my figures, that stack has a Delta-V of 4537 m/s. I don\'t know of anyone who\'s managed to reach orbit with this stack after adding a parachute. Adding the chute lowers the Delta-V of the stack to 4291 m/s. Presumably this is an indication that the limits of what is possible is somewhere between 4291 m/s and 4537 m/s? I\'d be interested to be proven wrong on this one.

Also, DayBlur posted in the Mini-challenge: max altitude with this supplied spacecraft that he was working on calculating the optimal profile for an orbital launch. I\'m sure many of us are looking forward to reading his results.