Smallest, Lightest SSTO?

[Rune]

On 25/1/2016 at 10:27 AM, Evanitis said:

In my experience, the smaller the plane is the easier it gets to design and fly them. That's the most compact one I ever built:

It's designed to fit in an mk3 cargobay. I was planing to build a big SSTO that carries this to orbit, but the project is on hold until I can think of a just slightly plausable sounding reason to do so that I can tell my investors.

Though I won't even dig for it's detailed numbers, as I know it's nowhere near the smallest this thread will see. If you forget the notion that it should be kerbaled and should be able to dock, the only payload you need is a probe core. Slap on some fuel, a tiny rocket engine and 2-3 of the smallest elevons and it can probably fit in even an Mk 2 cargobay.

I should take the project that spawned this plane even further: A huge SSTO that carries a smaller one to orbit that has an even smaller one inside it. sstoception!

 

(BTW, closing the intakes changes nothing in the current version)

Hehehe...

This was in the glory days of the souposphere, but hey...

 

Rune. One of the many things I never got around to finishing.

[KerikBalm]

well, so I got around to that exploity craft I was thinking of (using part clip to have two eninges in the same stack).

In the end, I didn't have nearly enough jet thrust for a VToL, and even with the rocket... it wasn't even over/much over 1:1... so I had to do a horizontal launch, and my design isn't strictly SSTO

It jettisons its RATO sled over the runway, and the sled lands on the runway well before leaving the physics bubble. So as far as what actually leaves the end of the runway, it is single stage to orbit.

2.6 tons off the sled:

Here I moved the core and reaction wheel forward, but its otherwise the same.

The intake, with its pansy 1200C heat tolerance, overheated on the way up:

I can solve that by offset clipping the intake back behind the 2000C battery, drag won't change, but the part that gets heated will.

As you can see, I did this with an excess of liquid fuel, so it would technically bring some payload up.

Still needs an Ox Stat to give it some power when the jet stops working, and an antennae for 1.1

I'm not sure if it can survive a water landing or re-entry... or if the addition of a parachute would kill its SSTO capability.

But that part wasn't part of the challenge... there is a slightly exploity (offset clipping, nothing else) SSTO that needs a bit of assistance getting off the runway... 2.6 tons

 

[Triop]

I like small stuff

See if I can go smaller (with a Kerbal).

Edit:

Edited February 28, 2016 by Triop

[Brofessional]

These are both a bit old now.  The first one was before RAPIER's were added to the game.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2016 by Brofessional

[oglommi]

Here's mine

Edited February 28, 2016 by oglommi

[Amianoob]

I recently launched a micro SSTO into orbit in my cargo SSTO, landed, then launched the micro SSTO and returned that too.

[PanzerAce]

5 hours ago, Triop said:

I like small stuff

<snip>

 

See if I can go smaller (with a Kerbal).

Edit:

<snip>

You can actually get better performance I bet. Ditch all but one of those intakes

[Triop]

Just now, PanzerAce said:

You can actually get better performance I bet. Ditch all but one of those intakes

aesthetics...

[YellowApple]

When 0.90 came out, I submitted my "Hummingbird Mk.1" design to the "K Prize" thread here on the forums.  I was going for the lightest, but I don't recall if I actually won the title.

 

Once 1.0.x was out, I then reworked the design and barely managed to take the prize yet again.  Readapting it for KSP 1.1 is on my bucket list.

 

 

[Edax]

I used this little thing, merely to test out the thermal limits of the shielding docking port in the new 1.0.5 atmosphere, so the minimalist design helped it go as fast as it could possibly go with a blunt "nosecone".  The fact that it can SSTO is incidental, and has no real functionality apart from putting a Kerbal into orbit.  I'm sure it could have been made smaller if the RAIPER engine didn't keep complaining about a lack of air intake, that I needed two whole parts to feed it.  (maybe it's a bug?)

[Mastikator]

Spoiler

 

16 parts, 6.2 tons 18.3k funds. Super easy to get into orbit.

It's the big ones that carry a payload that are hard.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Mastikator

[GoSlash27]

My smallest SSTO:

@michal.don madee one 0.84t last Thursday.

Best,
-Slashy

[Frank_G]

Here are my smallest useful SSTOs.

4 Kerbals to LKO:

 

1 Kerbal and SCIENCE stuff to LKO:

[Fearless Son]

18 hours ago, Amianoob said:

I recently launched a micro SSTO into orbit in my cargo SSTO, landed, then launched the micro SSTO and returned that too.

[The Optimist]

On 1/26/2016 at 6:45 PM, pasukaru76 said:

Payload? What is payload? 

7 parts including the launch clamp, 6.2 tons.

use one or two of the 0.625 meter reaction wheels instead.

[Nightshift83]

On 25.1.2016 at 10:27 AM, Evanitis said:

In my experience, the smaller the plane is the easier it gets to design and fly them. That's the most compact one I ever built:

It's designed to fit in an mk3 cargobay. I was planing to build a big SSTO that carries this to orbit, but the project is on hold until I can think of a just slightly plausable sounding reason to do so that I can tell my investors.

Though I won't even dig for it's detailed numbers, as I know it's nowhere near the smallest this thread will see. If you forget the notion that it should be kerbaled and should be able to dock, the only payload you need is a probe core. Slap on some fuel, a tiny rocket engine and 2-3 of the smallest elevons and it can probably fit in even an Mk 2 cargobay.

I should take the project that spawned this plane even further: A huge SSTO that carries a smaller one to orbit that has an even smaller one inside it. sstoception!

 

(BTW, closing the intakes changes nothing in the current version)

[KerikBalm]

Well, I can only think of 1 reason for a SSTO to carry another SSTO (assuming we're talking about the same Orbit here.. ie Kerbin orbit... most of my landers for bodies with no atmosphere are SSTO for their intended destinations).

That is if you want to get a SSTO to laythe, and don't want to refuel it or use a tug, and it needs all the fuel it can carry.

[Edax]

25 minutes ago, KerikBalm said:

Well, I can only think of 1 reason for a SSTO to carry another SSTO (assuming we're talking about the same Orbit here.. ie Kerbin orbit... most of my landers for bodies with no atmosphere are SSTO for their intended destinations).

That is if you want to get a SSTO to laythe, and don't want to refuel it or use a tug, and it needs all the fuel it can carry.

The smart thing to do would be for a SSTO to carry a small non-SSTO spaceplane.  A spaceplane stripped of all SSTO components means shedding all that excess weight that's useless in space and will give you excellent fuel efficiency, and you still retain the option of reentering and landing at KSC with just basic aircraft components.

[KerikBalm]

1 hour ago, Edax said:

The smart thing to do would be for a SSTO to carry a small non-SSTO spaceplane.  A spaceplane stripped of all SSTO components means shedding all that excess weight that's useless in space and will give you excellent fuel efficiency, and you still retain the option of reentering and landing at KSC with just basic aircraft components.

I don't see how that accomplishes what I'm talking about.

If I want a reusable spaceplane to ferry crew to and from laythe orbit, it needs to have intakes, engines, wings, etc.

If I build it so that its capable of achieving orbit from the surface of kerbin (ie, a SSTkO), then it will achieve orbit on laythe and have fuel left over for some orbital maneuvers.

Maybe I built it in such a way that it can get itself to laythe on internal fuel if it is fully fueled in LKO. In such a case, you could launch it to LKO under its own power, and then send up a refueling craft, or you could launch it as the payload of a bigger launch vehicle.

The bigger launch vehicle could be a SSTO to save funds. Now... a very efficient design could make use of the engines already on the SSTO intended for use on laythe... to the point that it may not be able to achieve kerbin orbit by itself... as its just basically extra wings and fuel tanks, and an insufficient amount of engines... but... I wouldn't bother with such a specialized design normally, and I'd just make a mk3 cargobay SSTO for general use, and then a small SSTO that fits in a cargobay.

That said... at the moment I'm tweaking a mk3 based plane for use on laythe. I want to be able to move equipment around laythe from island to island... the first payloads I sent in my career are:

* a stationary hab module(including a lab , with 2x amphibious rovers, and 2x 0.625m single seat juno powered aircraft (water landings only)

* A tailsitting VTOL SSTO ISRU craft.

My new project is a mk3 craft that can carry 9 different rover types from island to island to set up mobile bases.

the rovers come in 2 sizes, 1.25m and 2.5m (they are really packed in tight, and need to be carefully reloaded)

Of these, there are 4 varieties (hab/crew compartment... basicallt a mobile hab... ISRU for mining, science gathering, and just a fuel truck/mobile fuel depot)... the 9th variety is the one giving me the most trouble.

The mk3 plane is panther powered (with 2x 1.25m turbofans for the thrust reverse function) because they have the best TWR especially on laythe for STOL capabilities, and they have good efficiency for cruising flight.

It carries no oxidizer... its not a SSTO at all. My 9th rover variety is a "SSTO module". I drive it up the ramp at the back, close the ramp, and take the plane as high and fast as the panthers will get me.... then when that's maxed out, I open the back and fire the engines of the SSTO module. I initially tried with 3/4 of an orange tank and a vector... it wasn't good enough, my new variant has 4x rapiers... I'll upload some pictures later...

I suppose the SSTO module with a little tweaking could fly on its own, and be a SSTO by itself... and this would sort of be a case of an SSTO carrying an SSTO... except the craft isnt a SSTO, except when its carrying an SSTO... o.O

[Edax]

43 minutes ago, KerikBalm said:

I don't see how that accomplishes what I'm talking about.

If I want a reusable spaceplane to ferry crew to and from laythe orbit, it needs to have intakes, engines, wings, etc.

If I build it so that its capable of achieving orbit from the surface of kerbin (ie, a SSTkO), then it will achieve orbit on laythe and have fuel left over for some orbital maneuvers.

Maybe I built it in such a way that it can get itself to laythe on internal fuel if it is fully fueled in LKO. In such a case, you could launch it to LKO under its own power, and then send up a refueling craft, or you could launch it as the payload of a bigger launch vehicle.

The bigger launch vehicle could be a SSTO to save funds. Now... a very efficient design could make use of the engines already on the SSTO intended for use on laythe... to the point that it may not be able to achieve kerbin orbit by itself... as its just basically extra wings and fuel tanks, and an insufficient amount of engines... but... I wouldn't bother with such a specialized design normally, and I'd just make a mk3 cargobay SSTO for general use, and then a small SSTO that fits in a cargobay.

That said... at the moment I'm tweaking a mk3 based plane for use on laythe. I want to be able to move equipment around laythe from island to island... the first payloads I sent in my career are:

* a stationary hab module(including a lab , with 2x amphibious rovers, and 2x 0.625m single seat juno powered aircraft (water landings only)

* A tailsitting VTOL SSTO ISRU craft.

My new project is a mk3 craft that can carry 9 different rover types from island to island to set up mobile bases.

the rovers come in 2 sizes, 1.25m and 2.5m (they are really packed in tight, and need to be carefully reloaded)

Of these, there are 4 varieties (hab/crew compartment... basicallt a mobile hab... ISRU for mining, science gathering, and just a fuel truck/mobile fuel depot)... the 9th variety is the one giving me the most trouble.

The mk3 plane is panther powered (with 2x 1.25m turbofans for the thrust reverse function) because they have the best TWR especially on laythe for STOL capabilities, and they have good efficiency for cruising flight.

It carries no oxidizer... its not a SSTO at all. My 9th rover variety is a "SSTO module". I drive it up the ramp at the back, close the ramp, and take the plane as high and fast as the panthers will get me.... then when that's maxed out, I open the back and fire the engines of the SSTO module. I initially tried with 3/4 of an orange tank and a vector... it wasn't good enough, my new variant has 4x rapiers... I'll upload some pictures later...

I suppose the SSTO module with a little tweaking could fly on its own, and be a SSTO by itself... and this would sort of be a case of an SSTO carrying an SSTO... except the craft isnt a SSTO, except when its carrying an SSTO... o.O

I guess I wasn't referring to what you wanted to accomplish.  I was somewhat agreeing that towing an SSTO to LKO was somewhat redundant.

[Thernos]

https://imgur.com/a/iYCji

 

Its very difficult, but i make it to orbit 1/5 times.

[Fearless Son]

On 1/25/2016 at 9:08 AM, Spartwo said:

Needed something to fit in a cargo bay. Doesn't now because of the cockpit replacement,

A design like that looks like it wants to have F-14 styled variable geometry wings that fold back above the fuselage for storage/space, and extend for areal cruising and landing.

[Cunjo Carl]

We've been building Juno SSTO spaceplanes for a while now, but Juno SSTOs became a serious possibility since v1.2 rolled out thanks to less draggy Oscar Bs. The holy grail is to make a nice one that'll lift a Kerbal up to orbit, and it's totally in reach! @Thernos has a big one that'll do the job, and here's an example of a wee-little light one. Somewhere in between will be magic!

Adorable SSTO

Why? 'Cause it's so cute!

[fourfa]

5.5t fully equipped spaceplane.  350m/s dV on orbit, RCS suite, docking port, solar.  Strip out those extras, and it's easily under 5t.  I managed to hit 1727m/s on open cycle.

https://kerbalx.com/fourfa/Nano-SSTO

[Cupcake...]

It's not the smallest or lightest out there but it does have plenty of DV to spare. In LKO you get 2500m/s using the drop-tanks and around 1900m/s without.

The craft can actually fly beyond the Rapiers maximum speed and can hit over 1900m/s at sea level (before exploding).

Good times.

 

Cupcake...

Edited February 17, 2017 by Cupcake...