10 Kilotons to LKO no Autostrut

[Kronus_Aerospace]

-IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ
The first stage seperation destroys some of the Rhinos in the second stage, the rocket still reaches orbit however, so don’t freak out.

-Basic Description
This is a stock ultra heavy lifting two stage launch vehicle which can carry 10000 tons into LKO, all of this is accomplished with absolutely no autostrutting. This rocket was largely inspired by He_162’s own heavy lifting exploits, a prime example of which you can check out here https://kerbalx.com/He_162/He3000-ton-lifter . This rocket is by far the largest and most complex craft I have ever made. Made more so for looks than efficiency. 

 

Download Link: https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/10-Kilotons-to-LKO-no-Autostrut

 

Craft Mass: 51299.88 tonnes
Part Count: 2088

 

-How to Fly

-This craft just barely has enough Delta-V to make orbit, so maximizing the efficiency of the launch profile is key to a successful mission.

-The craft should point prograde throughout most of the early flight, as such a gravity turn must be used, an optimum gravity turn will have the craft reach 45 degrees at 500-550 m/s.

-After the the first stage separation the craft will need to be pointed above prograde to prevent it from falling back to Kerbin.

-the craft should run out of fuel after reaching very low orbit, orbits above 71 kilometers are not recommended.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace

[stubbonjeb]

Nice' gigantic rocket I really enjoy it
 

[Mikki]

I just freaked out!    

[RealKerbal3x]

It's Kerbodyne-ception!!!!

[He_162]

Impressive! I have been working on an efficient 30,000 ton (payload) rocket but the limiting factor is part count. It is currently 4000+ parts.
The 3000 ton lifter was relatively low part count with good reason, I gotta find an architectural design that allows for low part count and high efficiency for these rockets.

Your aesthetic rocket will trump any of mine for a good time to come though, congrats!

[Kronus_Aerospace]

8 hours ago, He_162 said:

Impressive! I have been working on an efficient 30,000 ton (payload) rocket but the limiting factor is part count. It is currently 4000+ parts.
The 3000 ton lifter was relatively low part count with good reason, I gotta find an architectural design that allows for low part count and high efficiency for these rockets.

Your aesthetic rocket will trump any of mine for a good time to come though, congrats!

Hey, I was planning on doing the same thing myself! Though I am a little afraid of the part counts involved (my PC ain't exactly top notch). I do have some ideas for a more efficient design myself, but I guess I'll just have to see how it turns out.

[He_162]

18 hours ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

Hey, I was planning on doing the same thing myself! Though I am a little afraid of the part counts involved (my PC ain't exactly top notch). I do have some ideas for a more efficient design myself, but I guess I'll just have to see how it turns out.

It isn't too hard, but without autostruts it can be a pain. Structural stability is a big issue on its own let alone finding an efficient design.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

9 minutes ago, He_162 said:

It isn't too hard, but without autostruts it can be a pain. Structural stability is a big issue on its own let alone finding an efficient design.

True, but I honestly avoid autostruts whenever possible, because I find configuring autostruts to be extremely tedious and I'd rather just not deal with it. It's almost certainly better to use them no doubt, but I'm lazy.

[He_162]

1 hour ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

True, but I honestly avoid autostruts whenever possible, because I find configuring autostruts to be extremely tedious and I'd rather just not deal with it. It's almost certainly better to use them no doubt, but I'm lazy.

Editor extensions redux allows for autostrutting all parts at once. It is laggy, but works. Then you just fine tune them later if it doesn't work.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

1 hour ago, He_162 said:

Editor extensions redux allows for autostrutting all parts at once. It is laggy, but works. Then you just fine tune them later if it doesn't work.

Well, I'm kind of a stickler when it comes to mods, Kerbal Engineer, RCS Build Aid, and Hanger Extender are the only mods I'm willing to use in that aspect.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

Hey @He_162, I just finished my 30 Kiloton Payload Capacity Rocket! It ended up being 3872 parts, which is a lot more part efficient than my 10 Kiloton rocket. I'm still not entirely happy with it as I could easily get the part count lower, but I'll be damned If I sacrifice muh asthetics! It's mass currently sits at 138 Kilotons, and to be honest I could Probably reduce that too, but first I'm gonna have to launch it and see. That's the part I'm REALLY not looking forward to. And, of course, It has no autostrutting.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace

[qzgy]

59 minutes ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

30 Kiloton Payload Capacity Rocket!

psshht.  ONLY 30 kt? What would you launch with that capacity? Nuclear powered aircraft carriers? Small islands? Nice job though.

How long before this is upped to 3000 kt? *maniacal laughter*

Also wondering if you've seen this?

 

[Kronus_Aerospace]

1 hour ago, qzgy said:

psshht.  ONLY 30 kt? What would you launch with that capacity? Nuclear powered aircraft carriers? Small islands? Nice job though.

How long before this is upped to 3000 kt? *maniacal laughter*

Also wondering if you've seen this?

 

Yes I was waiting for that. That rocket was the bane of my existence, I've wanted to build a ridiculously large launch vehicle for quite some time, but every single time I thought to build one, this rocket came to my head and I thought, "What's the point?" I was never going to build a rocket as big as this one, and even if I did I would have to use the same technique as Stratz. Then, could I even take credit for designing said rocket? My thought on it was, my rocket is either going to be inferior, or unoriginal, then why even make it at all. It's a strange thought to imagine that a video from a KSP youtuber would be discouraging, when it's almost always the opposite. Then I built my 10 Kiloton Rocket, and rather than being proud of it, I began to look at it with disdain, compared to Stratz's rocket it was smaller and less efficient in every way. I eventually decided that enough was enough, this rocket would no longer hold me back. I realised the only way to break this mental roadblock, that stopped me from being proud of my own achievements, was to beat it. It may seem childish, but I needed to one up Stratz. The negative feelings brought on by that rocket built up to the point where I wasn't enjoying playing KSP anymore. Me building MY rocket wasn't just me trying to "beat" Stratz, it was the manifestation of my struggle not to quit KSP. I'm sorry for taking you through that emotional rollercoaster, I've just really needed to vent for way too long. I'm just happy that I can finally move on.

[qzgy]

2 minutes ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

I'm sorry for taking you through that emotional rollercoaster, I've just really needed to vent for way too long. I'm just happy that I can finally move on.

No worries. I don't think you're alone in those feelings of "Why try? Someone's already done it better." I myself have had those feelings to some degree or another. I'm happy that you can move on too. I don't think your achievements are worthless - you have still built something few KSP players would even dare try, less so have the patience to actual see it through to the end, and I applaud you for that, if that means any thing.

[He_162]

4 hours ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

Hey @He_162, I just finished my 30 Kiloton Payload Capacity Rocket! It ended up being 3872 parts, which is a lot more part efficient than my 10 Kiloton rocket. I'm still not entirely happy with it as I could easily get the part count lower, but I'll be damned If I sacrifice muh asthetics! It's mass currently sits at 138 Kilotons, and to be honest I could Probably reduce that too, but first I'm gonna have to launch it and see. That's the part I'm REALLY not looking forward to. And, of course, It has no autostrutting.

What a beast! I'm working on an efficient 30kT lifter, its taking some time.

[Jollyranger]

I was about to download until I saw 2088 parts... lol 

[Kernel Kraken]

10 kilotons? 10*10,000 tons= 100,000 tons. 100,000*2000 (USA Units)= 200,000,000 Pounds of stuff.

I don't think I can do this.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

On 4/6/2018 at 1:26 PM, Jollyranger said:

I was about to download until I saw 2088 parts... lol 

I don't blame ya.

 

23 hours ago, TheMadKraken2297 said:

10 kilotons? 10*10,000 tons= 100,000 tons. 100,000*2000 (USA Units)= 200,000,000 Pounds of stuff.

I don't think I can do this.

Well KSP uses metric so it's actually about 2205 pounds per ton

Edited April 7, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace