Default go-to rocket sharing thread

[Stogas]

Do you have a rocket that you use as a base to add on modular stuff for all your missions? Or maybe a rocket that you fly to the moon daily? Share it! Share your ideas!

Here is mine:

The Mun lander M6

A 4-to-6 stage (depending on use) medium large sized rocket (at least to me) designed for munar landings, carrying more than enough fuel for any major errors, capable of minmus landings, should be capable of returning as well (not tested though, only landed). Has enough power to lift off with most of the usual addons needed: comms antennas, satelites, rovers, more rcs fuel, etc.

It is the sixth edition of this rocket, first editions inspired by the multifunctional rocket by Adicogames from the KSP Wiki\'s tutorial section, and one of the (also default go-to) rockets of Trydyingtolive\'s channel on Youtube. It\'s name follows my usual vessel naming system: the prefix Mun lander defining the mission objective, followed by the multi-part suffix - The M meaning the rocket base was designed for munar operations, 6 meaning it is the sixth revision of the vessel, and the actual on-duty rockets are followed by an additional suffix: \'-ab\', when a is the number minor revision of the vessel (such as with added antennas, mechjeb, more thrusters, etc.), and b is a letter for identifying the vessel if multiple completely identical active ones exist.

Stages consist of:

1. Atmosphere stage - the outer ring of non-gimballed engines for pushing through the atmosphere8

2. Sub-orbital stage - the inner column of gimballed engines for transphering through stages 1-3

3. Orbital stage - the second inner column of gimballed engines for doing orbital and transfer manouvers, may also probably used for landing

4. Lander stage - the last liquid fuel engine with landing legs for landing

5a. Abort stage - the rcs and sas part of the lander stage, may be used for returning from the mun if too much landing legs break, or on other occasions (rarely used though)

5b. Rover stage - the usual fifth stage, the last few parts of the rocket: the command pod, the mun rover from Tosh\'s cart plugin, the parachute, two gas tanks of rcs fuel, and four rcs rover thrusters.

Image gallery: http://imgur.com/a/Fm7p0#0

My sincere apologies for any errors in this post, I am currently posting from my tablet, so the usual edit buttons doesn\'t work, also because of that I dont have the .craft with me, if anyone want\'s it, i\'ll be more than happy to upload it in a few days, though it shouldn\'t be hard to recreate for anyone. It is also my first post in this forum, and I am also not a native english speaker, so I am completely unjudgeable!

[SBaL]

Might as well show off my two standard rocket families which covers just about all my needs as well.

Have reworked them countless of times, and off all the versions I\'ve had, only these remain. Some saves have been lost, other designs were rendered useless by an update or such. =P

Anyways.

First one is a descendant of my first successful M�nar rocket.

I believe the Atlas I was designed right before we got the M�n. (I also didn\'t know about that upcoming update back then tbh) Though somewhere down the line it broke and became to wobbly.

This is the Atlas II.

Can lift a fairly big load to all the way to Minmus.

So using it just to bring a small lander to either of Kerbin\'s moons leaves a lot of unburnt fuel left in the upper stage.

I\'m not sure what happened to the Atlas III. Save was lost I guess.

And finally theres the Atlas IV.

I made this in an attempt to make a more fuel efficient way to get to the M�n. Basically by halving the amount of fuel in the second stage, which ment that I could also have a bit less fuel in the first stage, and use more efficient/weaker engines to lift the thing.

So it\'s not really capable to lift anything much larger than a reasonable sized lander if you want to shoot for the M�n.

I believe its capable to get to Minmus as well, but theres not much fuel left for lots bigger of adjustments.

Second one is a line of rockets which sprung out of what I initially used to park a vessel (containing a stock fuel tank, rcs tank and guidence) in a stable orbit without having to burn fuel from that final stage/vessel.

Titan I.

The original thing.

Titan II.

With a second stage to help it achieve higher orbits or M�nar orbits.

Titan III (with solid rocket boosters).

My trusted workhorse.

I use this to lift just about anything I\'d need into orbit, both around Kerbin and either of the moons. It could get a lander parked into M�nar orbit, but that needs a perfect liftoff and transition.

The center of the first stage is a solid fueled rocket, as well as the boosters. And therefor, any issues during the first phase of launch usually means things go boom.

Which is why I don\'t use it to get 'manned' vessels into orbit. I tend to play it like it would actually matter if a crew is lost. ;P

So I never stick a bunch of guys on top of SRB\'s.

I would upload .craft files as well, but for that, I\'d have to sort out which add-ons I actually use on them. Apart from the NovaPunch ofc.

I\'ve also kept a few parts from older editions of several add-on packs that were removed and a few 'self made' things which I\'d have to upload somewhere for the .craft files to work.

Let me know if theres actually any interest in these crafts, and I might find some way to get it up.

Edited September 15, 2012 by SBaL

[Stogas]

Nice selection! So I understand you have used NovaPunch almost since the day you began playing KSP?

[Koschei]

I see I\'m not the only one who likes the SAS vernier pods.

Anyway, here\'s my rocket selection:

Eneida

The old backbone of my space program, inspired by a certain Russian heavy lifter. Powerful enough to get a medium-sized payload on both of the moons with fuel to spare (launched this base and these rovers to both of the moons.

Stages:

1st - 4 side mounted SRBs from the NovaPunch pack (activates simultaneously with 2nd stage) (up to gravity turn start)

2nd M-50 LFE from NovaPunch, four SAS vernier pods

3rd SPS-10 LFE from NovaPunch

3.5th Fairing opens

4th and up - payload

Encella

My newer build, current main workhorse. Gets to Minmus with enough fuel to land with the second stage TD-0120X, so hypothetically could land on both of the moons, given a skilled pilot.

Stages:

1st - 4 1.75 meter SRBs (activation simultaneously with 2nd stage) - up to 11000 meters

2nd - TiberDyne TD-0120X engine, four SAS vernier pods.

- up to payload launch

2.5th fairing opens

3rd and up - payload

Both ships require NovaPunch for the rockets and Probodobodyne for preloaded payloads.

The ships are not equipped with MechJeb and I suggest changing the module= CommandPod to module = MuMechJebPod (in part.cfg) for the NP unmanned capsule and the 3 probe cores if you have MechJeb, for true unmanned capsules and MechJeb in those 4 pods.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Koschei

[MrPwner]

I see I\'m not the only one who likes the SAS vernier pods.

Nope, same here

This launcher is perfect for how I use it (standard 100km mechjeb orbit) with almost no fuel left after orbital insertion.

However.. i didn\'t design it to be perfect, i designed it and it turned out to be perfect

The Lightyear Rocket

As its name suggests, it\'s a light rocket.

Original version capable of up to around 6 kerbic tonnes to a 100km (parking) orbit.

Doesn\'t wobble (unless the payload does) and is easy to construct.

Uses KW Rocketry, NovaPunch, Advanced Decoupler, Down Under Aerospace

Original Version:

I usually use the 4 payload fairings from Down Under as in the original version because of their ease of use, but altogether they weigh 1 full tonne and won\'t be ejected until after MECO.

So sometimes, when the payload is close to its max weight or too large to fit in the standard fairings, I use a different fairing system that is lighter and more flexible. (Still, the conversion from 1m parts to the fairingsize takes up over one-third of the weight of the new fairing system. But overall fairing weight is still reduced to up to 30% which can make just the difference )

This version is for payloads a bit larger than the ones the original Lightyear can carry.

It has a modified second stage carrying 40% more fuel and a lighter engine.

The Lightyear Rocket mostly uses the Small Payload Assist Space Tug, designed to be deorbited and reused, to move the payload from the parking orbit to the desired orbit.

(Latest version uses Down Under tanks)

[TerLoki]

Oh man, I think I have more fun designing rockets and testing new equipment than actually flying them. I used to have every rocket I launched named for the design series it followed, but that got a little confusing once everything was up in orbit, so now they\'re all named for the payload instead. Still, I do sort of follow a design series for each rocket, so I can still classify them. I\'d list all the mods required for each, but frankly I\'ve forgotten which parts go where on a lot of these.

The Selene series was really my first attempt at serious rocket building. They were mostly test vehicles so that I could figure out what worked before going to the Mun, and the last few (7, 8, 9) were even capable of carrying a functional lander that could make the return trip all the way to Munar orbit. Of course none of them ever safely landed (thought a few ended up as smears on the ground), but that was due to my own piloting ineptitude rather than any design flaw. Mostly. There\'s also the Vulcan series that was developed simultaneously, but it isn\'t shown because they were basically the same thing, and the only one that really stood out was Vulcan 2, which was just a stack of multiple SRB stages.

Lessons learned on the Selene and Vulcan rockets were finally applied to my first purpose-built Mun rocket: The Proton. At the it was the biggest rocket I had made, and was classified as a 'heavy lifter'. Though I still use it sometimes, recent designs have downgraded it to 'medium'. I currently have about five Proton variations, each with a different payload. The one shown here is the MechJeb equipped Proton MLTV (Multiple Lander Tug Vehicle), which can transport up to three independent landers to the Mun or Minimus and return to Kerbin. The closely related Proton EDV (Extended Duration Vessel) was my first vessel to break Kerbin\'s gravity, and the later Proton KEDO (Kerbol Extended Duration Orbiter) was used for my first (failed) try at the solar flare challenge.

When I was looking through all of these designs I found a couple that I hadn\'t seen in a while and, frankly, couldn\'t quite remember why I\'d made them. Well that\'s not entirely accurate, I know why I made them just by looking at the basic design, I just don\'t remember when I ever used them. The first was the Antares, of which I have only one saved. Honestly, I don\'t even know if it works, but my gut says it\'s a medium lifter meant to go to the Mun, at least that\'s probably what it\'s SUPPOSED to do, I have no idea if it will or not. Then there\'s the Ares series, and by 'series' I mean 'one rocket with different crap stuck on top', it looks like it was supposed to be a simple orbital lifter, possible Mun-capable, but I\'m not sure.

The odd one out in all this is the Neutron, a simple middle-weight rocket modeled on the Soviet N-1. It\'s carried a few of my more recent lander missions but mostly launches small orbiters and satellites. This dude comes in two versions: The standard Neutron with four SRBs and two fuel tanks on the upper stage, and the Neutron heavy that replaces those fuel tanks with a single long 1.75 meter tank and adds two more SRBs. I only remembered to take a picture of the former.

Last, but certainly not least, is my current workhorse: The Slepnir. If I\'m not using a Proton or Neutron, chances are I\'m either testing something new or using one of these bad-boys. The Slepnir series ranges from heavy to super-heavy carries the biggest loads I\'ve yet to launch out of the atmosphere. These guys do everything. They ferry landers and orbiters to the Mun and Minimus, carry ion-drive powered long-duration vessels into orbit, and the largest (the Slepnir 3 or 'Yggdrasil', shown with a Destiny orbiter) can launch every component save the add-on SRBs into Munar orbit and carry payloads to an orbit halfway between Kerbin and Kerbol with fuel to spare.

There are a few others, but they\'re all either confirmed failures like the Rama series, or just variation on older designs like the Charon series (lander prototypes and small spaceplanes mounted on Selene series rockets).

[cardgame]

I have a series of vessels I label \'Minmus Achievement Craft\', mostly built with NovaPunch.

Most are very similar in design and staging, with the variances mainly being the payload (satellites, munbases, what have you).

I\'m up to about eight vessels now, though two are just prototypes that can\'t yet reach Minmus due to lack of power.

The MAC V is a decent representation of my fleet.

[Newt0570]

my main rocket currently is my 'crossfeed' rocket; from v1-v3.

Crossfeed v2:

the crossfeed series has every engine fireing at launch. this includes the 5 small engines in the lander/return stage, the 4 gimballing engines for obital maneuvers (with the tall stacks of fuel above to avoid leaving debris in orbit.) and the 8 large engines for the liftoff stage.

v3 cuts down on the size by getting rid of fuel that is not needed to get to the mun or minmus(from the orbit stage), which leaves less room for recreational orbital maneuvers. It still leaves no debris anywhere, and has enough extra fuel to not cause panic after messing up. It\'s one of my few crafts that is efficient enough to get a good amount of payload to the mun and back without lagging my computer out. but v3 looses it\'s classic crossing fuel lines, which makes the name rather pointless.

Crossfeed v3:

I like the looks a bit better than v2...(it does have a parachute, the graphics are just messed up in the VAB when taking screenshots.)

[Awaras]

first up my my 'crossfeed' rocket; from v1-v3.

Crossfeed v2:

the crossfeed series has every engine fireing at launch. this includes the 5 small engines in the lander/return stage, the 4 gimballing engines for obital maneuvers (with the tall stacks of fuel above to avoid leaving debris in orbit.) and the 8 large engines for the liftoff stage.

v3 cuts down on the size by getting rid of fuel that is not needed to get to the mun or minmus(from the orbit stage), which leaves less room for recreational orbital maneuvers. It still leaves no debris anywhere, and has enough extra fuel to not cause panic after messing up. It\'s one of my few crafts that is efficient enough to get a good amount of payload to the mun and back without lagging my computer out. but v3 looses it\'s classic crossing fuel lines, which makes the name rather pointless.

Crossfeed v3:

I like the looks a bit better than v2...(it does have a parachute, the graphics are just messed up in the VAB when taking screenshots.)

You don\'t have to connect the fuel lines from the bottom of one stack to the top of another. Connecting them bottom to bottom works exactly the same and looks neater.

[Newt0570]

You don\'t have to connect the fuel lines from the bottom of one stack to the top of another. Connecting them bottom to bottom works exactly the same and looks neater.

When I do that, the next stage uses the bottom fuel tank for a split second. then switches to the top, which makes the gui on the left confusing to read, as it will look like fuel is draining strangely.