Advanced Avionics: Single Jet and single Rocket Engine Spaceplane

[StanK]

To follow up on the famous K Prize, this challenge asks you to show off your master spaceplane design and flying skills. Build a spaceplane capable of reaching orbit, and returning safely using a single jet, and a single rocket engine. I have found this an interesting limitation that makes spaceplane design a lot harder. Mostly because the trust vectors are no longer trivially aligned with the CoM. Enjoy!

Rules:

1. The spaceplane must follow the rules as defined by the K Prize. In short: a horizontal take-off stock SSTO that can reach orbit(pe>70km) and land again in one piece.
   • The provisions of the K Prize do apply to this challenge too.
2. Use exactly 1 jet engine - defined as an engine that requires intake air and liquid fuel to run.
3. Use exactly 1 rocket engine - defined as an engine that runs entirely on on-board fuel. An ion engine is also allowed.
4. Rapier engines are allowed, but cannot switch mode during the flight and as such operate entirely as a jet, or entirely as a rocket engine.
   • Merging/clipping/offsetting the two engines together into one is also not allowed (this is not much different from a mode switching rapier).

Please remember to take pictures or a video as proof and for our enjoyment.

 

Advanced Aviators:

• @Scarecrow - Rotate the engines, why not?
• @Martian Emigrant - The perfect case for a Thud
• @goduranus - Reverse trust in reverse
• @StanK - Me
• @Wanderfound - With spare seats
• @foobar - You can see through it
• @tsgaerospace - Pushed up into space
• @Rosvall - Rolling into space
• @michal.don - Pancake to accelerate!

...can proudly wear their badge:

I have done a few times in past versions. To show it is still possible in 1.3 below is my own new entry:

Album: http://imgur.com/a/dDIOT

 

Edited July 12, 2017 by StanK
Added another Advanced Aviator

[Human Person]

You can simply put the rocket engine (e.g. A terrier) on the front of your plane and flip it to circularize.

Edited June 9, 2017 by Physics Student

[StanK]

4 hours ago, Physics Student said:

You can simply put the rocket engine (e.g. A terrier) on the front of your plane and flip it to circularize.

That's a valid way to engage in this challenge. Although from my experience, "simply" is not.

I'll have a dig in my archives and see if I can find the images for it.

[Sivonen]

If the engines are to be on top of each other, you must can rotate the engines to point to CoM. Then your plane doesn't rotate when accelerating.

First the jet, tanks full, set rocket engines thrust limit to 0, rotate the jet so thrust vector points exactly away from CoM.

Then set jet thrust to 0, rocket to 100, empty LF tanks used by jet and align the rocket engine.

Empty all tanks, adjust wing position so that CoL is behind CoM and go to space and back.

[StanK]

Flipping at high velocity, from my archives:

Album: http://imgur.com/a/PzIyi

On 6/9/2017 at 9:07 PM, Sivonen said:

If the engines are to be on top of each other, you must can rotate the engines to point to CoM.

This could definitely work, but it will mess with the aerodynamics too. So I'll believe it when I see it.

Edited July 8, 2017 by StanK
imgur troubles

[Sivonen]

Just a quick build to prove the concept. 40x180km orbit.

 

Edited June 10, 2017 by Sivonen

[StanK]

Nice proof of concept @Sivonen, too bad fuel ran out just before orbit. I love the unusual shape, I have not seen an outline like that before.

Edited June 11, 2017 by StanK
missed a word

[goduranus]

You can put the turbofan on the nose in reverse, and use reverse thrust to move forward.

Also the jet can be attached to the back node of a rocket, and moved to clip into the rocket, and both engines can work.

Edited June 11, 2017 by goduranus

[Scarecrow]

I just stacked the rocket and jet engine in line.  Job done. 72k x 90k orbit with fuel to spare.  Engines used are LV-T45 rocket and JX-4 Ramjet jet.

[StanK]

Congratulations @Scarecrow! You are the first to successfully finish the challenge. Coincidentally, I also grant you the honour to be the last do do so with a merged-rocket-and-jet or DIY-rapier solution. I will update the rules, and no longer allow this in the future - my apologies for this (also feel free to suggest how to clearly put this in a rule if my rule isn't).

 

3 hours ago, goduranus said:

You can put the turbofan on the nose in reverse, and use reverse thrust to move forward.

That's a great idea @goduranus, I did not think of that. Will you have enough trust and high altitude/velocity to create a viable SSTO though? Would be nice to see.

 

3 hours ago, goduranus said:

Also the jet can be attached to the back node of a rocket, and moved to clip into the rocket, and both engines can work.

As above, I'll update the rules for this as it is too similar to using a switching rapier.

[Martian Emigrant]

Hey all Kerbalites.

Here is my entry:

Imgur: http://imgur.com/a/VtyXu

A basic jet. The wings and jet fuel are positioned high to raise the COG.

That is in the hope of lessening the angle on the rocket motor.

The atmospheric engine is more forgiving as the aircraft uses control surfaces.

 

The prototype did ¾ of an orbit before burning retrograde.

Lining up with the KSC.

 

Jeb re-lighted the engines as he was a bit short.

 

He landed about 1 km from the runway but never tapped the brakes and coasted all the way to the hangar.

 

ME

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Martian Emigrant

[Scarecrow]

New submission to meet the spirit of the challenge.  Basically the same airframe as before, but with the engines now definitely mounted separately.

78k x 150k orbit.

[goduranus]

Frontal reverse thrust turbofan plane, 71x70 km orbit with 21 liquid fuel remaining. 

[sevenperforce]

4 minutes ago, goduranus said:

Frontal reverse thrust turbofan plane, 71x70 km orbit with 21 liquid fuel remaining. 

Reverse thrust! Very, very nice.

[goduranus]

I learned that trick from YouTuber Jolly Rogers Aerospace's most recent stream.

[StanK]

Nice one @Martian Emigrant, it's always good to see a practical use of the "thud" engine. And it can drive along too, you say? Mission complete!

Thanks for the second entry @Scarecrow, that is exactly showing off the spaceplane design skills to keep that working that we are looking for. I didn't check before, but did you manage to land it safely in one piece as  well?

Frontal reverse turbofan. I did not believe it until I saw it @goduranus. Getting anything into space using a turbofans and atomic engines shows craftsmanship on it's own right. Did it also manage to come back to Kerbin's surface?

 

[goduranus]

Had a pilot error so it broke on landing, but design itself works. The frontal engine held up to the re-entry heat, and had 10 units of fuel after slowing down to flight speeds. I could do a proper landing when I get around to it..

[StanK]

Good to hear the turbofan can survive re-entry, that would be the hard one to fix. My own attempt required some quick saving/loading as well to get the landing in-one-piece.

[Scarecrow]

All returned safely, only thing missing is the fuel used to get there and back.

[goduranus]

I launched the reverse thrust craft again because I kept on missing the KSC and needed more fuel to cross range, this time makes it into orbit with ~130 fuel. The great thing about the reverse turbofan is that it can be reversed again to slow down quickly.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Wanderfound]

Another vertical-stack build:

http://imgur.com/a/ZSqot

 

 

Edited July 10, 2017 by Wanderfound

[StanK]

That is a good looking one @Wanderfound. Well done! And good to see there's room for passengers to enjoy the ride as well.

Thanks @goduranus for showing it can land. And having reversed normal trust to break is a bonus.

To show you my gratitude, you and previous Advanced Aviators can now wear a badge:

[foobar]

Working on a proof-of-concept ... TIL planes with giant holes in them can get to space no problem. Honestly didn't think this would work. I'll follow up with a real mission.

[foobar]

4 hours ago, foobar said:

I'll follow up with a real mission.

 

[StanK]

That is an awesome entry @foobar. Congratulations on completing the challenge, and adding a new style for single jet+rocket development.