Hexa-4b (Vertical launch, jet-rocket hybrid SSTO)

[RocketSquid]

So, I was tired of trying to make SSTO planes, but jet engines are so much more efficient than rockets. So, I compromised, and came up with the Hexa series of jet powered rockets. Confused? KER sure was. But, after years weeks three days of development, I eventually produced one that worked. Introducing, the Hexa-2b.

Identical to the Hexa-2, except for the fuel structure left on the pad after launch. This gives the rocket/jet/whatever enough fuel to stay on the pad until the engines have finished spooling up.

I'll update this post with an instruction manual when I have time, but for now there's just a few simple guidlines:

1.  After you take off, the jets will start to lose thrust. I don't know why this happens, but the only solution seems to be to fire up the rocket engine, and turn it off when the engines reach 130 kN of thrust.
2. It seems to work best if you do an extreme gravity turn. You can probably push 45 degrees once you get above about 10-12 KM.
3. It will have very little fuel left after making orbit. Or, more specifically, it will have very little oxidizer. To refuel it, you'll need to use a klaw-equipped refueler, since I couldn't fit any docking ports on it.

This ship was primarily meant as a test/proof of concept. If you find a more efficient flight path, or an alternate use for the ascent stage, please tell me!

 

Craft link: https://kerbalx.com/RocketSquid/Hexa-2b

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by RocketSquid