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Eve SSTO Limbo

KerikBalm
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KerikBalm

KerikBalm

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Inspired by Eve Order Zero's atmospherikdipper craft, and speculation that in 1.04, a SSTO might just be possible from Eve's highest points, I think a Eve SSTO challenge is premature, but we can have another challenge to see how close we can come...

So, I propose, the Eve-Limbo, How low can you go?

The rules are simple:

* The lower the altitude, the better the ranking

* The craft must achieve a stable orbit at the end.

* The craft must carry 1 kerbal in an enclosed pod/cockpit

* All stock parts

* I don't care much how you get to that low altitude, feel free to hyperedit your craft to 10km on Eve... but if you start within the atmosphere, you cannot start with any horizontal/positive vertical velocity through editing your craft's position. Feel free to edit to orbit, and then de-orbit, and make use of horizontal velocity that you haven't lost.

* The craft must be fully reusable SSTO (no staging, or SRBs as if you wanted to use those)

** A second category(partialy reusable) will allow staging provided the stages can be "replaced" ... ie, through the use of docking ports or claws (No KAS, all stock). In this case, the lowest altitude that counts is the lowest altitude after discarding stages.

It is clearly possible... anyone who aerobrakes at Eve could get a score.

"Perapsis dipping" is obviously possible, but I'm wondering if we could go even lower, like 20km... 10?

Descend on chutes (you can get ful deployment at 13km in theory) or airbrakes, then fire rockets and cut chutes/retract airbrakes to get back to orbit?

Lets see if we can get to altitudes close to the highest point on Eve...

Leaderboard:

SSTO

~6.9km -Astrobond.

Surface Takeoff - SSTO from the surface of EVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10.623 km - Nefrums

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/132211-Eve-SSTO-Limbo?p=2152541&viewfull=1#post2152541

Partially reusable

*

Edited by KerikBalm
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KerikBalm

KerikBalm

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For my attempt, I'm thinking of dropping right down above the highest point, with chutes set to open at 5km, then action group the chutes away, and try to SSTO it by pure rocket thrust. That should lead to an attempt to SSTO from basically a 13 km start location...

If Nefrum can get ~3km lower, it looks like we may have a reusable craft that can take "flying low" science.

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KerikBalm

KerikBalm

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Sadly, I was unable to set a new record.

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

I thought I might be able to beat Nefrums if I ditched the wings.

So I just stuck a lot of airbrakes at the top to make it fall engine first, by 20km it was falling straight down. However, it used too much dV just reversing direction.

So, I broke out HE, and the chutes, and made it so that I was falling straight down at 20km over the tallest point on Eve. Thus mu drogues deployed at over 12.5km, and I deployed my main chutes at about 11.5km.

Under chutes I descended to 10,400m, and lit up the engine, dropped the chutes and pulled in the brakes shortly thereafter, and after multiple attempts at optimizing the gravity turn, stillcame up 150m/s short.

So, I added a bit more fuel... TWR was barely above 1 though, this time I came up ~125m/s short of making a stable orbit... *sigh*

I wonder if I can do any better using an aerospikes, or an even bigger craft with a combination of mammoths+ aerospikes (or maybe even nukes too).

What I like about the chute approach is that it gives us something that starts to resemble a lander (because you're not unlikely to land a massive winged craft on the highest point on eve), and if the altitude can be brought down to 7.5 km, we've got our Eve SSTO craft...

But nope... still not looking possible

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astrobond

astrobond

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9397m without airbrakes ^^

OMG that was funny, after a lot of fireworks explosions and F9 keypressed, i tried to put the ship nose totally down to break a maximum, using some fuel of the rear tank to find a good "breaking COG" and the Mammoth to turn the ship...

This way the ship didn't explode, and when speed was enough down (about 1300m/s) i used the mammoth to recover the flight with a nose up AOA, the hard part was done ^^

Unfortunately, i have no pics of this part of the flight, because i was sure the plane will explode....

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Fly safe with Val !

Edited by astrobond
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astrobond

astrobond

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Hi All :)

I GOT IT !!!

SSTO from Eve highest point IS doable xD

Almost the same ship as my other attempts, but as light as possible (light landing gears, no advanced inline stabilizer, no other than pod batterie, and only one tail fin...)

I'm Happy ^^

Here is the Album:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Fly safe with Val !

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quasarrgames

quasarrgames

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Hi All :)

I GOT IT !!!

SSTO from Eve highest point IS doable xD

Almost the same ship as my other attempts, but as light as possible (light landing gears, no advanced inline stabilizer, no other than pod batterie, and only one tail fin...)

I'm Happy ^^

Here is the Album:

http://imgur.com/a/GNXvb

Fly safe with Val !

Holy Ballzing Flapnuggets. :o

I shall take your amazing feat and fail to raise you a 16 kerbal capacity!

Edited by quasarrgames
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KerikBalm

KerikBalm

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I suck at Eve ascents.... I guess I don't have the right profile. I was using your limbo craft (when I was trying to make a launch sled for it), and I tried just getting it to Kerbin orbit.

I got it there, but with <600 m/s left (I think like 560).

Which means there's no way in heck that I'd get it to orbit on Eve.

I guess I'll stick to building large cargo carrying air breathing SSTOs, because I'm apparently not good at other types.

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astrobond

astrobond

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I suck at Eve ascents.... I guess I don't have the right profile. I was using your limbo craft (when I was trying to make a launch sled for it), and I tried just getting it to Kerbin orbit.

I got it there, but with <600 m/s left (I think like 560).

Which means there's no way in heck that I'd get it to orbit on Eve.

I guess I'll stick to building large cargo carrying air breathing SSTOs, because I'm apparently not good at other types.

Hi KerikBalm :)

I'm playing with Kos mod, excellent, i never tried it !

You can see in the picture on the left the exact ascent path i use :)

BTW, thank's to all for your kind words xD

But i never could reach Eve Orbit without the help and tips from Nefrums, Val, Foxster, Nitch, and other i forgot to mention sorry, but big Thank's to all :)

wRc81I0.jpg

Fly safe with Val :)

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Mister Dilsby

Mister Dilsby

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Inspired by Eve Order Zero's atmospherikdipper craft, and speculation that in 1.04, a SSTO might just be possible from Eve's highest points, I think a Eve SSTO challenge is premature, but we can have another challenge to see how close we can come...

Ha! Well, I'm certainly honored--I may have to make a version of the 'Dipper that is actually designed to survive, and enter the challenge :)

- - - Updated - - -

I GOT IT !!! SSTO from Eve highest point IS doable xD

O_o WOW! Next up, the lowest altitude to SSTO challenge?

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ThatGuyWithALongUsername

ThatGuyWithALongUsername

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Hi All :)

I GOT IT !!!

SSTO from Eve highest point IS doable xD

Almost the same ship as my other attempts, but as light as possible (light landing gears, no advanced inline stabilizer, no other than pod batterie, and only one tail fin...)

I'm Happy ^^

Here is the Album:

http://imgur.com/a/GNXvb

Fly safe with Val !

Wow! Who knew? I thought that it was physically impossible to make a stock Eve SSTO, but I guess not...

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astrobond

astrobond

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Hi Again and thank's for the new kind words :)

My son ask me: "why don't you try to takeoff from lower altidude ?"

So i tried... and here is a little video of a....6882m takeoff ! ^^

Same ship, here is the stock craft:

Eve-104-SSTO-6.craft

The Kos script (just install the Kos mod and add a Kos computer part to the ship if you want to test):

E1.ks

If you try manual piloting, aim 35degrees ascent, switch to prograde at 21km and reduce throttle to keep about 2.2twr, unlock rear front locked tank at about 44km, cut throttle when APO is at 91km, unlock last 2 front tanks at 88km, circularise at APO :)

And the video:

Fly safe with Val :)

Edited by astrobond
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