Javelin. Infini-range spaceplane!

[Rune]

Hey! Long time no post! I think it's time to release this, it already has enough miles under its belt, and I think the design is more or less frozen. Presenting the longest-ranged SSTO in the R-SUV arsenal, this one should be capable of grand-touring the whole kerbol system, landing everywhere landable, except the usual suspects, Eve and Tylo. And it looks pretty nice if I say so myself!

Yup, it's the usual trick of carrying a full-fledged miner kit with you around. And it even has a tiny scout satellite! You totally don't need it, of course, since the narrow band scanner is what you actually use to select the landing site, but you can't deny it looks cool. Plus, it has the only RTG in the build. But, hey, feel free to rip it out and put something else in its place. Like the ore tank so its centroid is inside the bay and it stops creating drag. Or Science and/or snacks.

The plan is simple: lift like a normal SSTO... well, almost. See, the Oxidizer is pretty limited so you will just use for a short burst, and you have nukes that you should light to push you through the transonic barrier, and that should also stay lit from 20kms onwards. But nothing too difficult, as long as you make a good speed run from 15 to 20kms in altitude, to a final speed on airbreathers of around 1,300m/s or so before you kick in the RAPIERs in closed cycle mode. Also, build vertical speed before the oxidizer runs out! Vacuum TWR on the nukes is nothing to write home about.

Ok, that is the launch. To go anywhere afterwards, head to Minmus and start the mining. Simple! Well, mostly simple, mining has a few quirks and considerations. First, I heartily recommend to fly this with an engineer on board at all times, at least a lvl1. You basically need the bonus to ore production in order to produce more ore than is consumed by running the fuel cells to keep the drill running... That, or trust the solar panel, only mine by day, and take a gazillion times longer to fill up the tanks.

Also, take care to balance your fuel mixes depending on your next leg of the trip. Usually, you just want to forbid all oxidizer tanks but one so they don't fill (you need one to keep the fuel cells going), that way you bring the highest delta-v to bear on the next leg of your trip. But if you are on, say, Duna or Laythe's surface, you want to fill at least some of the oxidizer tanks in order to use the RAPIER's closed cycle power. In particular, you need all the LFO mix you can get for Duna, and only some for Laythe (I'm dubious how much, I advise to copy the kerbin launch configuration in the file to play it safe).

As a last note, you will see on the album that there was a version that exchanged the refinery with a laboratory, for science gathering and such, but really, you pretty much need the whole tree unlocked to build this, and if you are just interested in gathering the science for completionism sake, you can always chuck some scientific instruments in the bay instead of the surveyor sat, and take a scientist dude with you as passenger to recycle them as you move along. That's pretty much it, the rest I think you can find out for yourself, like learning the action groups, or finding out that the drill works both on vertical and horizontal landings. Or finding out I was capable of fitting all this in an even 100 parts... Enjoy!

IMGUR ALBUM:

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DOWNLOAD:

http://www./download/ti3qwe1kli8v31e/SSTO+MK+LXI++-+Javelin.craft

Rune. This has been spoiled so much, I doubt it surprises anyone.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Rune

[Yukon0009]

Looks sweet

[Rune]

Looks sweet

Hahah, thanks for the nudge! I was afraid this would sink into the second page unnoticed... I am rather proud of it, I spent a good time finagling with this design to get it to work as well as it does, looking like it does. Still, only natural, with so many talented builders these days here! I guess it's the price of the game being more and more popular, and hey, I'll gladly pay it.

Rune. It's a shame, we should make a point to comment more often on the good ones.

[TurtleX]

I tried using it but ended up stalling low. Could you specify the exact flight profile? Thanks

[selfish_meme]

Nice craft, will probably unconsciously replicate it one day

[drewscriver]

Sleek as always - your builds are art in motion.

[Rune]

I tried using it but ended up stalling low. Could you specify the exact flight profile? Thanks

I've got you covered already, from R-SUV:

Do you use some information-providing mod? If not, it'll be harder to control vertical speed with the crappy stock indicator (it's on the top, to the right of the altimeter). Basically, you climb at 15º until 10kms (make sure to use the runway to get the RAPIERs some initial bite in the air, or spend some time at 10º to build speed up to 200m/s, you'll climb faster). If you feel comfortable you can go higher, but all you spend by climbing shallower is a tiny bit more liquid fuel that won't drag you down when it's time to really speed up. Then you go supersonic either manually dropping the nose slowly, or by putting the autopilot on prograde and back to standard stability assist a few times to drop the nose gradually, to zero out your vertical velocity. It's tricky to go over the Mach barrier, I usually achieve it at about 5-10º AoA over the horizon, and going slightly down. From then on it's much easier, you start building speed quickly and the wings bite more air, so watch your vertical velocity like a hawk and every time it goes above 50-100m/s or so, you drop the nose a bit (again, on and off the prograde autopilot is a handy trick). Give yourself time to accelerate. At about 15kms, drop all vertical speed (climb rate about zero), and lock stability assist in that heading: you will speed up mucho mucho mucho, and as the planet curves below you, your AoA will slowly creep up, building vertical speed for the climb to orbit. When you notice your speed stops increasing as fast, and the RAPIERs go under 50kN thrust you can switch them to closed cycle and just ride that heading until you time to apoapsis goes over one minute or so, at which time you should lock prograde autopilot to minimize drag during the coast to circularization.

The only special thing is that you can light the nukes briefly when going transonic at about 10,000m and 10º AoA, to go over the mach barrier quickly.

Nice craft, will probably unconsciously replicate it one day

Thanks! You are welcome to use whatever design tips you can glean from it. It's the way I learnt to built them, after all.

Sleek as always - your builds are art in motion.

One does one's best, so thanks!

Rune. Boy do I like that pic with kerbin' crescent and Mun over the Minmus base as I was coming in for landing... I don't get tired of looking at it.

[trash0551]

Glad to see this finally posted. I've liked the looks of this thing for months now.

So much so that I built my own. I wanted to carry more Kerbals for science and mining (and well, really have room to bring a few rescues home). And I have mining probes in my planetary systems so I packed a little MMU with 2k dV inside instead, complete with RCS for re-docking it. And Science.

I could get it to orbit with the same power-plant as yours, but then it required orbital refueling (and its slow). I don't mind it, but its not as fun. So I gave it TurboRAPIERs and now it cruises to orbit with enough to land on Minmus. And a respectable 4.1k or so dV refueled on the nukes. I bet you could do me better but I aren't good.

Here's a couple of screenshots of my start to visit every planet and moon. I'll have separate landers for Tylo and Eve, though.

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trash0551. Almost forgot. Your's has inspired me for so long now I actually call mine Prospector

Edited August 19, 2015 by trash0551

[Rune]

Glad to see this finally posted. I've liked the looks of this thing for months now.

So much so that I built my own. I wanted to carry more Kerbals for science and mining (and well, really have room to bring a few rescues home). And I have mining probes in my planetary systems so I packed a little MMU with 2k dV inside instead, complete with RCS for re-docking it. And Science.

I could get it to orbit with the same power-plant as yours, but then it required orbital refueling (and its slow). I don't mind it, but its not as fun. So I gave it TurboRAPIERs and now it cruises to orbit with enough to land on Minmus. And a respectable 4.1k or so dV refueled on the nukes. I bet you could do me better but I aren't good.

Here's a couple of screenshots of my start to visit every planet and moon. I'll have separate landers for Tylo and Eve, though.

http://imgur.com/a/GnDF0

trash0551. Almost forgot. Your's has inspired me for so long now I actually call mine Prospector

Thanks! I guess your slightly worse performance is on account of the extra payload weight of that crew cabin, mine is already on the ragged edge of TWR... anyhow, now you can actually take a look at mine and compare designs, and maybe improve yours a bit with luck.

Rune. Developing the birds is (sometimes) half the fun!

[trash0551]

Thanks! I guess your slightly worse performance is on account of the extra payload weight of that crew cabin, mine is already on the ragged edge of TWR... anyhow, now you can actually take a look at mine and compare designs, and maybe improve yours a bit with luck.

Rune. Developing the birds is (sometimes) half the fun!

They're actually quite similar in design. I might have my attachment nodes slightly different, but I think you'd be surprised I'd post a download but I don't want to derail or hijack the thread.

But yes, you're right. I think that cabin weighs something like 2mT. I never drop below 0.5TWR without the TurboRAPIERs, but its a 20-25 minute flight to orbit, with a refueling orbital dance before you can depart LKO. The extra RAPIERs won't be much help outside Kerbin so I don't like carrying the weight, but I guess closed-cycle won't hurt if I don't want to wait on the nukes.

And even though I mimicked your design, it was still a blast (I'm learning to build planes yet). My first test flight without wings flying off or no control because CoL was too far forward was thrilling and rewarding.

trash0551. Plus this awesome plane needs more bumps.

[Rune]

They're actually quite similar in design. I might have my attachment nodes slightly different, but I think you'd be surprised I'd post a download but I don't want to derail or hijack the thread.

But yes, you're right. I think that cabin weighs something like 2mT. I never drop below 0.5TWR without the TurboRAPIERs, but its a 20-25 minute flight to orbit, with a refueling orbital dance before you can depart LKO. The extra RAPIERs won't be much help outside Kerbin so I don't like carrying the weight, but I guess closed-cycle won't hurt if I don't want to wait on the nukes.

And even though I mimicked your design, it was still a blast (I'm learning to build planes yet). My first test flight without wings flying off or no control because CoL was too far forward was thrilling and rewarding.

trash0551. Plus this awesome plane needs more bumps.

Some of my best learning experiences in KSP came from trying to copy ships going only by a few pictures, so I am really glad to have inspired you in such a way. You learn tons that way!. And before you know it, you will be in MY shoes, taking gratitude for giving back what you learned.

Rune It's really nice, I tell you!

[ryan234abc]

This one should be capable of grand-touring the whole Kerbol system

*Grins*

*Insert epic montage with overwhelming situations and unforgettable experiences, featuring brave Kerbal's giving their lives for the good of their species, sacrificing their existence for the goo-

I do believe a grand tour is in order. It's been a while since I did anything major, the last thing being that Gilly Circumnavigation. I'll do some number crunching, and even if it doesn't work out, I now have a great way to finish work on my Eve station. Thing is, I've only got several mini modules to add. They should fit into that bay, I hope. By the way, VERY cool probe!

Edited November 7, 2015 by ryan234abc

[Warzouz]

Nice plane. How much dV do you have in "interplanetary mode" ?

[Rune]

Nice plane. How much dV do you have in "interplanetary mode" ?

Well, with full liquid fuel tanks and a bit extra on the ore tank to be converted en route (nothing to be sneered at, 3mT of reaction mass), about 4.7km/s. Which is enough for a Moho transfer from Minmus! That wouldn't be enough to land, though (I think), plus calculating the perfect ejection is going to be difficult, so better to go for it from Gilly.

Rune. And if it can make Moho, it can make it anywhere!

[Warzouz]

4700m/s, very nice ! My space station has only 4.3km/s (including the lander fuel) - but I've better crew accommodations and exploration/Science efficiency. I need a interplanetary stage to go on far bodies though.

True for Moho. It's a pain. I recently send a other space station there, it was massive. I had to add a new SSTO launch stage to my Cygnus Rocket family...

[Majorjim!]

Well, with full liquid fuel tanks and a bit extra on the ore tank to be converted en route (nothing to be sneered at, 3mT of reaction mass), about 4.7km/s. Which is enough for a Moho transfer from Minmus! That wouldn't be enough to land, though (I think), plus calculating the perfect ejection is going to be difficult, so better to go for it from Gilly.

Rune. And if it can make Moho, it can make it anywhere!

I know, I know, you are a career player, but maybe one day, plan and fly a grand tour in it and record said tour. That would be epic dude.

[V8jester]

Very neat build! I'm really a novice when it comes to planning long trips with small sleek crafts like that. Usually end up building something that looks totally unrealistic.

[Nich]

Very impressive stats and it looks a hell of a lot better then my variant

[VR_Dev]

Like a giant F-22. Your spacecraft blow my mind with their capabilities. Maybe one day I'll leave the atmosphere.

Edited August 27, 2015 by clown_baby

[Rune]

I know, I know, you are a career player, but maybe one day, plan and fly a grand tour in it and record said tour. That would be epic dude.

It'll come, I'm running the clock much faster this save around (though the "recording" part is a bit iffier). I predict that if 1.1 doesn't break saves, my first interplanetary landing, for reals, will happen a couple weeks to a month after it's released. So excited for both!

Very impressive stats and it looks a hell of a lot better then my variant

Thanks! And don't worry, I'm sure your has something mine doesn't. For example, I've been known to cut the margins a tad too close every now and then...

Like a giant F-22. Your spacecraft blow my mind with their capabilities. Maybe one day I'll leave the atmosphere.

Thanks! All it takes is a couple of years playing the game, and an obsession with SSTOs I guess. Mostly, the only thing that they require above and beyond airplanes is the addition of a hefty mass ratio for the vacuum dV.

Rune. I guess what I studied also helps "a bit".

[Xonto]

Just for reference, how much delta v do you have with this craft once you've hit a circular orbit somewhere between 80 and 100k?

[VR_Dev]

Thanks! All it takes is a couple of years playing the game, and an obsession with SSTOs I guess. Mostly, the only thing that they require above and beyond airplanes is the addition of a hefty mass ratio for the vacuum dV.

Rune. I guess what I studied also helps "a bit".

Yeah I'm confident I could build one. My problem is I don't know the best procedure to get into orbit.

Also f the star rating system.

[Rune]

Just for reference, how much delta v do you have with this craft once you've hit a circular orbit somewhere between 80 and 100k?

As you can see in the "proof of orbit pic", with the UI out, it makes orbit with about 1.5km/s on the tanks, which means you have quite the margin to go to Minmus.

Yeah I'm confident I could build one. My problem is I don't know the best procedure to get into orbit.

Also f the star rating system.

Oh, that's easy. You just go up until going up is not so easy (you reach 10,000m or in other words, the second bar of atmosphere). Then you go sideways as fast as you can, while going up only a little (less than 100m/s climb rate, better at around 50m/s). Until you start to run out of air, which is when you have to again try to go as "up" as possible, without stopping all the sideways speed you built up from 10 to 20 kms. And then it's rocket time because the air is mostly below you. See? Nothing to it!

Rune. That's as dumb as I can make a SSTO guide, I think. Reminds me of XKCD explaining stuff "using the ten hundred words people use most often".

[ryan234abc]

Hey again.

I was planning for the grand tour I mentioned before and I made this. It uses KW because I couldn't lift the whole thing into space in stock KSP. Most of the dV was lost from the Javelin on the ascent through the atmosphere, so I made this to get it up there. The tank engine requires constant thrust adjustment and you have to ditch it early because it becomes unstable, but in turn you can get the SSTO to go interplanetary without needing to refuel on Minmus. Which I intend to do. Before I post the album, I read my previous post on this thread and saw that the forum had blotted out my word. It looks like I was dissing the probe, but I was saying the equivalent of beautiful and nice. Sorry that looked like I was showing disrespect about it.

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[Rune]

Hey again.

I was planning for the grand tour I mentioned before and I made this. It uses KW because I couldn't lift the whole thing into space in stock KSP. Most of the dV was lost from the Javelin on the ascent through the atmosphere, so I made this to get it up there. The tank engine requires constant thrust adjustment and you have to ditch it early because it becomes unstable, but in turn you can get the SSTO to go interplanetary without needing to refuel on Minmus. Which I intend to do. Before I post the album, I read my previous post on this thread and saw that the forum had blotted out my word. It looks like I was dissing the probe, but I was saying the equivalent of beautiful and nice. Sorry that looked like I was showing disrespect about it.

http://imgur.com/a/o7Vsp

Well that's a way to get you to space pretty quick... XD Good one! And I'm glad you liked the probe, you do need that humongous scanner if you haven't done it before to make the other one work, and I didn't want to put it so it clipped when activating, so I figured, might as well make a probe out of it, that way I can extend it safely far form the not-big-enough bay.

Rune. Must be "check out old Rune's threads" day.