First attempt at a MK3 spaceplane (TSTO)

[FlyingPete]

So I made my first successful attempt at a Mk3 cargo plane that can reach orbit I went for a two-stage design, with wing-mounted boosters that carry their own airbreathing engines, the air intakes and the fuel required for the jet-powered phase of the ascent.

Liftoff from the runway at KSC. The main orbiter is basically a cargo bay with two short rocket fuel tanks fore and aft. The drop pods are drained of oxidiser in the hangar, and feed both their own Whiplash jet engines and the RAPIER hybrid engines on the orbiter.

At about 20km, the engines engines start to die, and ideally this is where the drop pods' fuel supplies are exhausted. They are jettisoned, taking with them the two jet engines, ram air intakes and the empty tanks. Now running in closed-cycle mode, the RAPIER engines continue the ascent to orbit. The pods are equipped with parachutes, which theoretically should allow them to be recovered.

The plane is by no means optimised, but it does nonetheless work. I think it could be rebuilt into a crew bus with relative ease.

[Columbia]

Nicely done! I think that's a really creative design, although you may want to move the wing strakes a bit more back.

[Red Dwarf]

This is a really great concept! One way to optimize it, though, would be to reduce the drag on the wings and tail section. I would recommend the larger strakes and control surfaces, to get rid of the hard edges and corners. It would probably also give you a boost in handling as well. Then again, those larger parts would add to the weight, so maybe more engines on the drop pods? Definitely do some more testing and stuff.

[FlyingPete]

I was actually quite surprised it worked at all to be honest. I completely guessed how much fuel to put in the boosters' tanks, and it worked out about right. Likewise there's enough fuel on the orbiter for completing the ascent, a bit of maneuvering to rendezvous in LKO and for a deorbit burn. For the wings I just went with what looked about right- just a large delta wing with a 'structural wing type A' in front of it, plus canards at the cockpit.

The landing was 'interesting' as I ended up coming down in some mountains. I managed to glide clear of the peak and come down in the rolling hills on the other side. The cargo bay, cockpit and a few other parts landed in a separate but non-explosive manner...

If I can get the landing right, and pretending that the boosters land safely and are recovered, it's 100% reusable