Quasarr Advanced Progress Division: Supersized

[quasarrgames]

Hello!

These are some crafts i used to complete early career mode. I hope to go further, maybe even to make a colony on the red planet.

But here's the catch:

IT'S ALL IN REAL SOLAR SYSTEM. 

Mission 3: Suborbital

The first two missions were just boring and science farming. This one was the first one to actually get suborbital. Normally a mission like this would have enough delta v for a mun flyby, but in RSS it doesn't even get to orbit. (Sorry for small picture, i had the camera pre-zoomed out so later rockets (like the one that actually did a mun flyby) would look to scale)

Mission 4: Orbital

This was what it finally took to get to orbit. Almost 140 tons of boom only got a capsule and a heat shield to orbit and back, for a payload fraction of 0.95%.

Mission 5: Mun Flyby

It took ALL THIS...

...To get THIS to orbit...

...Which was just barely enough for a mun flyby. With a payload fraction of 1.11%, i was getting better, but i was still flabbergasted by the massive rockets i needed to do such small tasks. It seems to me like the weight-to-delta-v ratio goes up exponentially as a craft gets bigger, and the last 2km/s of your mission require 80% of your rocket's fuel.

 

My next mission is perhaps a tad too challenging for me: A three-kerbal landing and return from the Mun, Without Nervs or ion engines, and preferably with a rocket smaller than the Saturn V. I don't know why i challenged myself to do this. I think i'm insane. I don't think it's impossible, but i need professional help to do it. This is what i've made so far:

This massive thing is almost the size of the Saturn V, but it's still short by about 1.3km/s of delta v. It's got a payload fraction of 1.39%, compared to the Saturn V's 3.5%. I think i can bump my rocket's fraction up to a whole 1.5%, but i don't know how.

Does anyone know how i could accomplish this goal?

 

 

[Jakalth]

Well, for one, do you have the Vector engines unlocked?  They have a higher efficiency then the twin bore engines and can be doubled up on the bottom of the tanks to match the twin bores thrust, since they are surface attachable.  At this point it just seems to be looking for ways to increase how far you can go on a given amount of fuel.  That and srb's can help, even if it's only to lighten your main engines load for the first few 1000m or so.  Even that helps increase efficiency.

[quasarrgames]

On 04/07/2016 at 0:17 PM, Jakalth said:

Well, for one, do you have the Vector engines unlocked?  They have a higher efficiency then the twin bore engines and can be doubled up on the bottom of the tanks to match the twin bores thrust, since they are surface attachable.  At this point it just seems to be looking for ways to increase how far you can go on a given amount of fuel.  That and srb's can help, even if it's only to lighten your main engines load for the first few 1000m or so.  Even that helps increase efficiency.

So true. I've found adding fuel tanks onto them which feed into the main engines helps a lot too.

 

Anyways, i finally did it! I landed on the Mun!

Mission 9: Mun landing

Spoiler

This was the transfer stage. It was propelled upward by a rocket with approximately the same size and weight as the Saturn V.

This was the small fraction that actually got to the mun.

I did the best suicide burn of my life to get it down here. Those side tanks are almost empty in this picture

Burning all day long! Didn't even have a heatshield, but radiators are incredibly good for aerobraking nonetheless. Got down safely, having paid for iteslf and netting 2000 extra science

 

What else... Oh, i also made a space station

 

Also, i'm playing with science and funds multipliers up to 500%. It provides a career progression similar to stock