Minerva Hypersonic transport - Mach 6+ Edge of space Supercruise!

[Logan.Darklighter]

Minerva HST

The Minerva is a Hypersonic transport capable of top speeds in excess of Mach 6 (!!!) and able to supercruise at the edge of space at 38,000 meters (the HUD indicator actually will start to show Orbital rather than surface speed calculations. (Note the picture below showing the top speed and altitude recordings of the prototype during its test flight.)

At those altitudes and speeds, it is unbelievably fuel efficient. The prototype craft circumnavigated Kerbin 3 times while only sipping fuel down to 70% of capacity. I only brought it down because the RTGs exploded from overheating and the APUs were having trouble maintaining the power levels (both issues since corrected).

I want to stress that again for emphasis - it had already circumnavigated Kerbin THREE TIMES and could have kept going for another 4-5 trips around the planet maintaining altitude, speed and fuel efficiency at those levels (if I hadn't had the RTGs explode).

All this and it can carry a large payload in the cargo bay while doing so(standard Rockomax Orange Tank tested).

The bay is wide enough to carry large Rovers with wide wheel-bases. In fact it will neatly accommodate my Beagle 2 Rover based around LLL Parts and KW Foundries wheels.

I’ve left the bay clear of cargo securing equipment in favor of a user designing their own. Though I have developed an IR Robotics arm and docking port that will secure rovers that roll up the back ramp. I also recommend KAS/KIS system of course.

With 12 Reaction Wheels in addition to the one in the nose for a total of 13, the Minerva also has the control authority to give you confidence in maneuvers close to the ground - even crazy close ones! (Negative Ghost Rider - the pattern is full… WHOOOSH *Spills coffee* DAMN IT JEB!!! )

In fact with caution it can even pull high G maneuvers at trans-sonic speeds and altitudes.

Note the ramp can be opened in flight with no detriment to aerodynamics at sub-sonic speeds. Put a Rover or armored vehicle in the back with some separatrons and some parachutes to kick it out the back for a speed-drop onto a targeted location.

With the kind of performance numbers the Minerva is capable of achieving, it would not take much work at all to develop a spaceplane SSTO variant.

In fact look for one soon…

Downloadable at Kerbal X

Full album of pics below:

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Edited September 9, 2015 by Logan.Darklighter

[BlueCanary]

Awesome, what engines does it use?

[Alphasus]

It uses the OPT technologies advanced turboramjet engines.

[Sharkman Briton]

What mods? Looks amazing.

[The Error]

OPT Spaceplane Parts mod, by the looks of it.

Very nice! Looks quite sleek for a cargo craft. Maybe an SSTO version is possible, too?

[Sharkman Briton]

Thanks, Error, inspired to make a fast as heck thing with MK3 fuselages.

[Logan.Darklighter]

Just so you guys know - the full mod list is as follows:

Bahamuto's Adjustable Landing Gear (Which NEEDS to be STOCK, darnit!)

B9 Aerospace Pack (struts and lights - NOTE - check out the Dev thread on the forums for an up-to-date WIP version that's mostly up-to-date for version KSP 1.04)

Kerbal Foundries Wheels and Repulsors ALPHA (The Auxiliary Power Units (APU))

Mk 2 Essentials (Batteries and reaction wheels - look closely at the "Black/Yellow/Black" stripes on the plane - that's a typical design cue from me - a Mk 2 Form Battery sandwiched between two Mk 2 Form reaction wheels)

OPT Space Plane Parts (the body and most of the wing elements)

TweakScale - Rescale Everything! (I re-sized a couple of lights inside the bay)

EVA Parachutes (I have a Vanguard Tech Ejection system on the plane. The Abort key will pop the Kerbals out of the plane in an emergency and they have their own integral parachutes.)

[Logan.Darklighter]

Development of the SSTO version of the Minerva went about as quickly as I imagined it would. And the results are quite promising.

Even with the weight of the extra equipment and oxidizer fuel, the original OPT jets are still capable of lifting the airframe handily with no help from the ARIE engines. It does climb a little more sluggishly, but that's to be expected. With patience I'm sure it can still reach supercruise altitude and speeds on the jets alone.

Well - I didn't have enough patience - I wanted to see what this baby could really do - so lets KICK OUT THE JAMS!!!

Admittedly it wasn't the most fuel efficient flight profile, but... oh yeah - that's some GOOD Delta-V there!

And there's the camera flip I wanted to see!

Beauty shots.

It still needs a few finishing touches - a standard docking port for one thing - but I think it'll be ready for production soon. I even have a name to distinguish her from her sister. Athena.

And speaking of which - to make the distinction more apparent, I'm considering using this other OPT cockpit nose, even though there's no real working IVA in it (the Kerbals can see inside and out the windows, but there's no cockpit controls/panels).

But for anyone interested - do you think the Athena SSTO should look like the following, or stick with the original cockpit?

[ExplorerKlatt]

I think you should keep the same cockpit on both. I love the way these look just wish I could fly them.

[Logan.Darklighter]

Okay - design for the new SSTO version - the Athena - is posted here!

[The Error]

[crazy] Hrm... would it exceed the weight limits to try an SSTMO (Single Stage To Munar Orbit) with a variant? Maybe lose the cargo bay for some more fuel and maybe more jet power, or somesuch? [/crazy]

Perhaps the Artemis?