Drag efficciency Overcovered with solar panels

[juvilado]

Hi, im wondering wether i should put all the solar panels for the Magnetoplasmadynamic's needs.

Im considering overcovering the spaceplane with flat solar panels or just the typical Gigantors XL

Would the plane oversuffer from drag if i overcover it with the flat solar panels?

[FancyMouse]

Flat solar panels do create non trivial amount of drag (you could alt-F12, enable drag in action menu, then see the exact number of the drag force of the part). Overcovering the whole plane - my guessimate is that the total drag of the plane may increase by about 30%-50%, but don't trust my number - you should test out both plans and conclude from your own observation.

Edited May 12, 2017 by FancyMouse

[Streetwind]

Also, even if you covered the entire plane with panels, you wouldn't get the two thousand Ec/s required to run two Pyrios MPDTs at once. That engine class is not really suited for pairing with solar.

I would recommend two VW-200 VASIMRs, paired with two Garnet reactors which conveniently fit into the 1.25m stack. If you crank them down to their 2500s minimum Isp with xenon, you can still get over 113 kN of thrust. Of course, if that's not within the scope of your tech level or installed mods, or if you don't strictly need a specific TWR, you have various options with less thrust and more Isp.