SSTO to the Mun and back in 1.0.4 (without refueling/mining)!

[hazard-ish]

After countless iterations and attempts, using every delta-v saving trick and design application, I present a continuation of my SSTO series where I go to the Mun and back in one stage (with other exploration and shenanigans once there) using only the fuel on the runway at the start. One of the biggest challenges was surviving the heating effects at high speeds in-atmosphere. In the video the temperature gauges were disabled since they cluttered up my screen but I can assure you, if they has been activated as hey were in practice attempts, they were pretty much all just teetering on the edge of maxing out!

I solved this issue by building my own cockpit. Stock cockpits and parts at the front of a craft overheat because there are very few other parts to dissipate the heat to so by constructing my own cockpit, the heating effects can be shared between the many parts, preventing the exposed kerbal from boiling alive. My custom cockpit also looks rather snazzy, if I say so myself! On re-entry, I entered the atmosphere several times, gradually lowering me speed an apoapsis to prevent any major G-forces and heating effects. Once I entered for the final time, I used an extremely shallow trajectory to gradually bleed of speed very high up in the atmosphere (before heating kicks in) which was assisted by deploying large flaps at the rear of my craft, using a pair of air-brakes and making used of an extreme (45°) angle of attack.

TO maximise my delta-v during the assent out of Kerbin's atmosphere, I made use of what I like to call the 'RAPIERspike' engine. Consisting of a standard RAPIER engine with an inverted small nose cone on the back, although mass is increased, the drag experienced at high speeds is dramatically reduced - helping to assist the nukes into pushing into orbit with much less fuel that normal. Even still, however, I finished the mission with only 0.8% of my fuel remaining!!

Hope you enjoyed

[RAINCRAFTER]

Hey, you have a forum account! Yay! Nice Vid, I like the SSTO as well.

[ryan234abc]

Wow. Watched the video and loved it, as always. Do you have a craft file for it? Just I really like the plane, and I love the little monoprop scout even more. Great video anyhow, I love it when people land planes on non-atmospheric worlds.