Should I make a SSTO to have payloads, or rockets?

[budgetrocketcompany]

I am thinking of making a SSTO in kerbalx.

[Vanamonde]

SSTOs are a fun design challenge, but rockets are vastly simpler and generally more efficient, since the payload an SSTO can deliver is a smaller fraction of the original mass/cost. 

[Zeiss Ikon]

32 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

SSTOs are a fun design challenge, but rockets are vastly simpler and generally more efficient, since the payload an SSTO can deliver is a smaller fraction of the original mass/cost. 

^^ This.  It's not all that difficult to fly SSTO (either by rocket or spaceplane) on Kerbin, where the atmosphere is half as high and orbital velocity about a third what they are on Earth -- but you'll get more payload, often with a simpler design and less critical pilotage during launch, with staged rockets.

[Gargamel]

Well..... I assume you mean spaceplane by SSTO.   

SSTO stands for Single Stage To Orbit.    It makes no implications about design or function of the vessel.   I have numerous vertically launched rockets that are SSTO's, and a few space planes that are not SSTO's, as they use drop tanks along the way. 

Just a pet peeve of mine. 

[Remass]

In my opinion, unless you're going to recover the launcher vehicle, rockets are pretty universally superior for cost and capacity compared to vertical launch SSTOs or spaceplanes, as you don't have to drag as much tankage along with you. On the other hand, if you are willing to and can reuse your rockets, it's generally cheaper to do so. Without mods to assist in dropped stage recovery, the only way to safely recover much of your rocket is to use an SSTO, making them more cost-efficient than unrecovered rockets.

[KerikBalm]

A rocket can be an SSTO.

So is the question rockets or a spaceplane?

or

Staged vs single stage?

or

Recoverable vs expendable?

Most recently I've been playing with recoverable staged rockets, and getting about 2x the payload fraction compared to SSTO rockets (playing on a scaled up game where SSTO rockets get like a 2% payload fraction).

If you want a high payload fraction, spaceplanes can't be beat in stock KSP

[A Soviet Tank]

I'd make an SSTO becuase it's cooler. I've only recently started building SSTOs, but they are quite fun and also pretty challenging.

[StarStreak2109]

Well, I have been avoiding SSTOs and spaceplanes in general with a ten foot pole for a long time, because I felt that the frustration was not worth it. In truth, in a 1.0x scale Kerbin system, spaceplanes in general and SSTOs in particular are relatively easy. They become yet more easy, if you go to more efficient / powerful engines.

But it is true that SSTOs have a lousy performance. That has been nerfed more with the rebalance of engines and the new atmosphere that happened sometime after 0.23.5. I recently tried to rebuild an SSTO crew ferry that Scott Manley built in his KSP Interstellar Series, which simply didn't work due to too low dV.

Here are some examples of some (modded) easy SSTOs, which I recently built:

1) Scimitar Class Crew Shuttle

This light crew shuttle reminds of a fighter plane. It can however, in addition to its two flight crew carry personnel to and from orbital installations in its crew can. Its initial ascent is powered by two WarpJet engines, which do not require expendable fuel, but instead heat intake air to plasma, which is then expelled out of the back of the engines. The power required for this comes from a SINR nuclear reactor. Once at near orbital velocity, the plane switches from the WarpJets to a SupraLox aerospike, which augments the traditional aerospike by "injecting electric charge".

2) Daedalus Medium Shuttle

The Daedalus class medium shuttle extends on the proven technology of the Scimitar class. It is powered again by a SINR nuclear reactor. Atmospheric propulsion is provided by WarpJets, orbital propulsion by a pair of SupraLOX aerospikes. Instead of a crew can, this plan has a roomy cargobay, in which a couple of tons can be carried to orbit. I haven't tried to find out it's maximum load, but I expect it to be volume limited rather than weight limited, as its "natural" cargoes will be space station components or resupply missions (ie. TAC-LS containers etc.).

Both craft use OPT spaceplane parts, with the Reconfig mod applied. Propulsion is provided by ThorTech and various assorted parts by B9 and Kerbal Foundries.

[ARS]

Depend on your choice, compared to expendable rocket, SSTOs has advantages and disadvantages

SSTO advantages:

- Cost efficient, since you only need to pay for fuel (assuming you can get it back on KSC in one piece)

- Aesthetically, SSTO looks cooler, since it gives a lot of opportunity for sleek and futuristic design (though rockets can be cool too, especially with more booster)

- More efficient on fuel usage when using jet engine during ascent

- Can be used as aircraft, which means capable of atmospheric and exoatmospheric operation

SSTO disadvantages:

- Rather limited payload, since SSTO cannot be too heavy, unlike expendable rockets. Carrying a heavy payload is usually very fuel inefficient than expendable rocket

- Aside from understanding orbital mechanic, SSTO building also need a solid grasp of aerodynamic, making it much harder (and challenging) than expendable rocket. Piloting one requires mastering of atmospheric and non atmospheric flight

- An SSTO, while reusable and more cost efficient than expendable rocket, is usually more expensive than expendable rocket itself, which means larger financial loss when an SSTO is destroyed

- Bad dry/ wet ratio compared to expendable rocket. Limited fuel also severely limit the interplanetary capability

 

[Freshmeat]

These days I have a stock SSTO spaceplane that carries 36t to LKO. I use it because it is a fun way to launch, and I try to build a space station by modules. It takes longer to launch than an expendable rocket, and is only slightly cheaper, so if playtime is limited it is not a recommendable route. That being said, I spend as much time setting up a rendezvous and docking, and that time is independent of vessel. And it gives me a huge satisfaction to take off against the rising sun in full eye candy: