Very efficient rocket + lander! no mods used!

[mivanit]

I conducted quite a bit of testing to find an optimum lander + ship.

using the rocket, it is possible to get to any moon with fual to spare, and the lander can get back to kerbin from and moon with just 1/2 a tank left.

The biggest, and so far, only disadvantage of this rocket is lack of any SAS system except the pod\'s, but all the SAS does is keep the rocket pointing in the same direction, which although hard, is possible to do without SAS

also, it is possible to remove 1 fuel tank from the core stages so that only 3 tanks feed the central gimbaling engine, but this cuts it close on fuel

Building instructions:

mk1 pod with parachute on top, decoupler below

below decoupler a small tank, and smallest engine

3 or 4 landing legs on the fuel tank, placed as low as possible

decoupler, 4 tanks, thrust gimbaling engine

6 radial decouplers on the top tank

4 fuel tanks on each of the decouplers with a LVT-30 (biggest no-mods engine) at the bottom of the 4 tanks

strengthen the outer stages with struts

pic:

pplease post feedback!

thanks!

-mivanit

[Millst0ne MK II]

You should attach the .craft file in your ships folder for ease of access for people who wanna try it out. Nice ship!

Smallest rocket on the Mun.

(not mine btw)

[Vanamonde]

You don\'t have SAS, RCS, or gimballed engines? How in the heck do you steer the thing?

[mivanit]

SAS is not used for steering, it keeps your ship steady. RCS assists with steering, as do gimballing engines. Any ship can be steered by just the pond\'s gyros. This ship also does have gimballing engines.

[ToadDude]

Why didn\'t you just upload a .craft?

[Sbowyer28]

Lol the murs II design, you know with an extra Stage it can make it to minmus

[Atimed]

Here is the 5th generation of my 3 Stage Mun/Minimus Landers..

Its weights around 22 T uses only 8 tanks..

Only downside is that it needs condoled powered landing to Kerbin..

(If u want it in one piece) however the pod will survive unpowered landing..

Feedback is Welcome..

[Duban]

I try not to badmouth other people\'s ships, but 29 fuel tanks isn\'t very efficient at all. My best unmodded ship made the journy on 7 tanks of fuel. See attached .craft.

[ToadDude]

Here is the 5th generation of my 3 Stage Mun/Minimus Landers..

Its weights around 22 T uses only 8 tanks..

Only downside is that it needs condoled powered landing to Kerbin..

(If u want it in one piece) however the pod will survive unpowered landing..

Feedback is Welcome..

Don\'t try to steal off of someone else\'s thread. That\'s my Feedback.

[Tarmenius]

mivanit: If I may, allow me to give some constructive feedback. The LV-T30 Engine is able to get four and even five fuel tanks off the launchpad by itself, but only very slowly. And that\'s with only a Pod as 'payload.' The longer it takes to get into orbit, the more fuel is wasted fighting gravity. It\'s been found that 3 fuel tanks per LV-T30 is 'the sweet spot'. However, with proper use of fuel lines and staging, you can go as low as 2 in your multiple-stack designs without sacrificing much payload.

For example, I tend to use six stacks of 2 tanks + engine for just about every lifting stage I have. Sometimes, I\'ll use the gimballed engine in the center stack (as you\'ve done here) for greater attitude control when lifting a heavier payload. With an 'asparagus stalk' setup of stages and fuel lines, I will almost always have to ditch the final two radial stacks with fuel still in them to avoid clutter, leaving me in orbit with enough fuel in the center stack to perform a Trans-Munar Injection burn.

Here is an example of the kind of payload I can get into orbit comfortably with such a lifing stage:

Having said all that, your core design principle is a good one, with a ton of potential. I hope to see more of it soon.

[Atimed]

Don\'t try to steal off of someone else\'s thread. That\'s my Feedback.

Ow... >>What do u suggest.. removing it from here? :-(

[Sleepybean2]

http://youtu.be/QWDcgHPB_oo

[Apotheosist]

The smallest rocket I\'m aware of that can get to either the Mun or Minmus and come back is my three-tank ship, 'The Bare Minimun II'. It requires extremely efficient piloting, but once used to flying it regular trips are possible, and it\'s great fun

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=13953.0

[DomAzaris1996]

I hate to be pedantic, but over 20 fuel tanks in the first stage alone isnt exactly \'efficient\' Dont worry though! I can never come up with small ships that can get me there cos I am a sucker for ASAS and RCS It makes things so much easier!!

It looks like a great design, nonetheless, and I will definitely try this out when I get a chance next

[purple100]

One rule I follow is to never have more than 3 full fuel tanks on top of one standard engine. I find that it accelerates slowly and wastes fuel.