Space express airlines orbital tourism challenge closed

[Flying dutchman]

 

Challenge is closed.

 

Dear potential business partners

 

Our company is looking to expand our efforts and the sky is not the limit. We want you to create a safe reusable spacecraft that can deliver our customers in style to orbit and beyond.

 

Requirements:  

*= for side mounted spacecraft

1. Complete safety and redundancy: This means a proper abort system with no dead zones during the acent. A backup parachute system. At least 200 m/s left in orbit. Plenty of battery power and if used plenty of rcs fuel. Must also be aerodynamicly stable on reentry in case the power does go out. *on side mounted spacecraft the abort system is allowed to turn off the engine on the booster.

 

2. Craft must be piloted.

 

3. The spacecraft itself must me completely reusable. The booster may be expendable but points are gained for recovery.

 

4. The craft must carry AT LEAST 10 kerbals (excluding the pilot(s) ) in relative comfort. So no command seats.

 

5. Make it an aestetically pleasing spacecraft. You will be awarded style points.

 

RULES:

 

1. A stock game. Although kerbal engineer is allowed.

2. No excessive part clipping.

3. It must be a two (or more) stage design. We already have a thread for ssto's.

 

4. Must take of from the launchpad. Horizontal landing, however is allowed. But don't forget the two parachute systems in case something does go wrong.

 

5. MH is allowed but it has to be noted in your entry.

 

SCORING: 

 

+1000 points for every kerbal ex pilots

-1 point for every unit of propellant used.

If the booster and spacecraft are both reusable -1% (credits=points) of the cost of the craft

If the booster is not reusable the cost of the entire booster in points will be subtracted from your total score.

 

Up to 10,000 points for a stable and easy to handle spacecraft. I will test this myself.

 

Up to 5000 points for style. Our paying frogs customers want a ride to space in style.

 

Capability:

150x150 lko 500 points

Mun orbit 2000 points

Minmus orbit 2200 points

 

We will be glad to hear from you!

 

Please post some pictures and a craft file and we will judge your craft and give you a score!

 

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Flying dutchman

[Flying dutchman]

Nobody?

 

this is my first serious attempt at creating a fun challenge. 

if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them.

[Thorn_Ike]

Accepted.
Will begin developing. Nice challenge!

[neistridlar]

54 minutes ago, Flying dutchman said:

Nobody?

 

this is my first serious attempt at creating a fun challenge. 

if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them.

I have started working on an entry. I found some of the rules somewhat unclear.

 

10 hours ago, Flying dutchman said:

3. The spacecraft itself must me completely reusable.

Would it be sufficient if only the crew carrying bits can be reused?

10 hours ago, Flying dutchman said:

This means a proper abort system with no dead zones during the acent.

What exactly do you mean with a proper abort system? Specifically what kind of scenarios would you have to be able to escape from? Say for instance your craft has a booster stage, and a second stage which has both crew and engines, would the escape system be required to be able "escape" from the second stages engines engines?

[RealKerbal3x]

This sounds fun!

I'll have a go tomorrow.

Edited December 7, 2018 by RealKerbal3x
resized image

[Flying dutchman]

@neistridlar

 

no, everything that goes into orbit must come back in one piece.

 

the abort system must be able to pull the entire spacecraft away from the first stage booster at any time during the part of the ascent when the first stage is firing. So for example when the booster twr at any part of the flight exceeds the twr of the upper stage the upper stage has to have extra abort boosters to compensate for this.

you may only abort the parts that have crew in them if you want but once you're in orbit the entire upper stage must come down as one unit again.

so an abort system on the second stage  is not necessary.

 

i hope i answered your question properly

 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Flying dutchman

[neistridlar]

Here is my submission. Every bit of the craft is recovered under parachutes. The booster stage can potentially do a spaceX like flyback burn, as the craft has some spare delta-V, though I have yet to test that. The craft holds1 Pilot + 10 kerbals. Action group 1 triggers the LES, and pulls the crew-compartment away from the rest of the rocket. Action group 2 triggers drogue chutes, Action group 3 triggers main chutes, and Action group 4 triggers backup chutes. The craft has a slight tendency to veer to one side because of asymmetries in the LES, rolling the craft can help mitigate this.

https://kerbalx.com/neistridlar/TTC

 

 

[Flying dutchman]

Thanks for your entry! I will be reviewing this shortly!

[Flying dutchman]

@neistridlar

 

Kerbals: 10x1000 = 10,000 points

fuel used: i used 10,088 units of fuel so that's -10,088 points

spacecraft and booster are both reusable so that's -614 points

stability: While the stability on ascent was pretty good the stability on descend needs a little more work so i'll give you 5500 points

style points: 2000

capability: 150x150 kerbin orbit so 500 points

 

that brings your total score to:  7298 points!

 

For now we won't be ordering this spacecraft due to the marginal looks and not so great stability on descent. However: if the last will be improved we will reconsider!

 

greetings

 

space express airlines

 

P.s. You do get a 10 out of 10 for safety!

 

Edited December 8, 2018 by Flying dutchman

[Ultimate Steve]

Alright, here is my submission. It was designed for safety, reusability, and looks. As a result, I suffered in the initial cost department, as well as the fuel usage department. I may make another submission that is better points optimized, and not a shuttle.

So, long story short I was in a shuttle mood. Now I know what your thinking, "A safe shuttle?" Well, I did my best to make it safe. For one thing, it has a working abort system with three different modes.

Spoiler

I present the Stingray Shuttle.

Craft Information:

Cost: 99066 (It's 98036 in the picture but I added service bays and sepratrons since the picture was taken)

Crew capacity: 14 Kerbals. Usually it will be 13 passengers and 1 pilot, but if you wanted to you could do 2 pilots.

Total fuel: 18912 units, not counting the solid fuel abort motors which are not usually used. 8560 Liquid Fuel, 10340 Oxidizer, and 12 MonoPropellant (for side booster separation).

Part clipping: The RCS tanks and engines for the side boosters are inside the parachutes. This is fixed in the most recent version, I added service bays, but I didn't feel like doing another reflight. Otherwise it's minor clipping of structural parts, like sepratrons poking through the hull or the tail intersecting the air intake.

CRAFT FILE: https://kerbalx.com/UltimateSteve/Stingray-Tourism-Shuttle

Action groups:

1. Drogue chutes for landing.

2. Toggle jet engines.

3. Deploy emergency parachutes.

4. Deploy emergency emergency parachutes.

5. Deploy nose parachute for balance if the rear of the craft is destroyed.

6. Abort mode 1.

7. Abort mode 3.

ABORT - Abort mode 2.

 

 

Detailed explanation of abort and landing modes:

 

The craft can land on four chutes (there are 4 in each emergency group) but if you don't deploy the gear it will sustain some damage, nowhere near enough to be life threatening. If you use all 11 parachutes onboard (4 emergency, 4 backup, 1 nose, 2 drogue) then you shouldn't have any problems landing. Generally you should deploy 4 and wait until you're low and deploy 4 more, only deploying more if you need to.

Abort mode 1 (AG 6) should be used before booster separation, or shortly afterward. It can be used for a pad abort as well. It works by turning off the core and booster engines if possible, firing the orbiter engine, the two jets, 16 forward sepratrons, and 6 sideways sepratrons in order to boost the orbiter away from the booster and off of the ground. Make sure throttle is at full and SAS is on, though. Otherwise you'll probably crash into the ground. This abort mode will have you facing away from the booster stack and flying away in just a second or three. If wings are intact you can fly to the runway and land. If not, then chutes will work. This escape method *will* work if the main engine and the jets are destroyed, but it will most likely result in a (survivable) crash a hundred or two meters from the launch pad. It is possible to land with no damage following a no main engine no jet mode 1 abort if you have good reflexes and can toggle the gear, roll over, and deploy the chutes fast enough, though. For this reason it's advisable that you try to keep the main engine intact.

NOTE: When I flew the craft for the test mission, it had 8 vertical sepratrons instead of 16, which was less safe. I have confirmed that the orbiter still has enough margin to reach orbit with the added mass, but I didn't want to retake all the pictures.

Abort mode 2 (AG ABORT) should be used after booster separation and at high altitudes, but not in orbit. This is generally the safest abort mode as it does not use any liquid fueled engines and relies on aerodynamics and sepratrons (9 of them, all horizontal). This mode works by shutting down the core engine, decoupling the orbiter and shoving it away from the stack. The orbiter has a built-in tendency to pitch upwards so the air will also yank the orbiter away from the exploding booster stack. You also don't need to have SAS on for this mode, although you should. Landing can be done through flight or parachutes.

Abort mode 3 (AG 7) should be used above 1900-2000m/s when you are too high for aerodynamics to matter. Basically it just cuts the booster thrust and activates a few separation sepratrons in order to get you away from the exploding stack without changing your trajectory too much.

Abort mode 3A - Abort to orbit. If you're going fast enough, use the orbiters engine to get to a lower than normal orbit. De-orbit a pass or two later and land at KSC.

Abort mode 3B - Not enough fuel to reach orbit, just re-enter and glide to the nearest runway, or splash down. If the orbiter is too damaged to glide, use the chutes.

 

Test Flight

Note - Two changes have been made since this flight and the craft has been confirmed to work with them, but I didn't want to retake the pictures. Service bays have been added for the side booster separation equipment and eight more abort sepratrons have been added.

Liftoff.

LV-T45 booster separation, still going mostly straight up, only a few kilometers off the ground. Small RCS engines are used in place of sepratrons as they are refillable and more easily reusable.

The drogue side touches down first before the two chutes gently set the engine side down. At least, this is how it usually works. The boosters are dropped so soon as to be more easily recovered. Seem in the background is the other booster and a booster from an earlier test, suspended at an angle because it's out of the 300m ground physics bubble.

After booster separation the stack rolls 180 degrees, as its easier to control at this orientation in this phase, although it was easier to control the other way in the first phase of flight.

As the ascent progresses the stack takes a flatter angle to maximize efficiency. Sometimes flames appear.

The ideal profile is one that is going horizontal at about 60 kilometers to get an apoapsis of 150 kilometers, the required altitude. But that didn't happen on this flight, so some fuel was burned at apoapsis to raise the periapsis.

The core stage is detached when:

1. Periapsis exceeds 30km

or

2. Core stage Delta-V drops below 100m/s.

A short burn later, the orbiter enters orbit.

Here we can see some of the features of the orbiter. It has two reaction wheels, two solar panels (although one is blocked by the intake as I had changed the intakes relatively late in the design) and over units of electric charge in case the solar panels break. It also features a very high end probe core in case the shuttle needs to be remotely operated. In case it is stranded in orbit for some reason, it features a docking port for rescue operations!

As yo can see from the picture, it has plenty of Delta-V left and has a periapsis of greater than 150 kilometers.

The core stage experiences a pretty hot re-entry, but not hot enough to melt anything.

The core stage uses two drogue chutes and its engine to semi-propulsively land. However, it had the misfortune of landing in water. With some finger crossing, it can survive tipping, but for best results, use flat-ish land. The booster has plenty of crossrange capability thanks to the control surfaces in case its landing location is subpar... But not enough to cross a whole ocean!

Usually, it must be flown by plane back to the launch site. However, with some timing that I'm too impatient for, and enough margin, you could take it nearly to orbit and land it near the KSC.

This thing is pretty easy to re-enter, it is balanced so that it will pull up pretty easily when its fuel tanks are mostly empty. Flying full is doable but not recommended. It is strongly recommended to burn all of the rocket fuel before entering the atmosphere.

The only time you will be flying on full tanks is after a mode 1 abort, which will have burned the solid fuel, which will make your craft almost stable. Burning a second or two worth of main engine fuel or blowing up your main engine (the most probable abort outcomes) will also stabilize the craft.

There was an earlier version of this craft with larger wings that could fly better in the lower atmosphere but couldn't satisfy the no-control re-entry requirement. Some sacrifices had to be made, and if you ask me, this version looks cooler.

The plane also lands at a pretty low speed and features drogue chutes to slow down.

And that's a successful mission!

 

Abort and Landing Testing

FOUR CHUTE - WATER LANDING

Landing in the water with 4 chutes, craft is intact, although I accidentally triggered the remaining abort motors so that cushioned the fall a bit. I was going 9-10m/s so nothing important would have broken even if I hadn't fired the motors.

 

BALLISTIC ENTRY

So the whole "Stable on Entry in case of loss of power" requirement? Done.

It will roll to one side or the other usually, but slowly, which is annoying, but in every single test it faced prograde and pitched up a bit and always slowed down enough to deploy the chutes before impact. We even tested it spinning very quickly and it stabilized with no control input.

The chutes deployed and it landed safely.

 

PAD ABORT - MAIN ENGINE INTACT

Not much more left to say on this one, the test worked.

 

EARLY FLIGHT ABORT - SPINNING RAPIDLY

Also succeeded, flew away and landed safely.

 

MODE 2 ABORT

Aerodynamic forces and engine thrust pulled the craft away from the core. Note that this and the previous test were of an earlier version which didn't cut core thrust. It was also discovered that this abort is more effective at higher speeds than this, but it will still work here.

 

MODE 3 ABORT

This test was successful, and tested engine cutoff as well as the separation mechanism.

 

PAD ABORT - NO MAIN ENGINE

Several attempts were done, all resulting in survival, but this one was the first one to land without any damage. Except for the dead main engine, of course, which necessitated a no-main-engine abort in the first place...

 

THE NEW BOOSTERS

Just a picture of the new, improved side boosters with the added service bays.

 

TEST OF THE JET ENGINES

The design also features two jets in case you accidentally landed far from the runway, or overshot it, or are falling a little short, or just want to fly around a little bit. They can extend the range of the plane significantly. It also means that if you fill the fuel tanks but not the oxidizer plane, you can fly it around pretty far, meaning you don't need a carrier plane to transport the orbiter like the real shuttle needed.

 

 

And I think that's it. I did my best to take the shuttle design and make it safe while still looking cool. It is a tad difficult to fly, but that's to be expected from any shuttle design. Enjoy!

 

 

EDIT: My bad, cost is 99636, not 99036.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[SiriusRocketry]

I'll build one! It'll be a while tho..

[neistridlar]

@Flying dutchman In light of @Ultimate Steve's submission, is it allowed to have booster engine cutoff as part of the Abort sequence? If so, the LES part of this just became a whole lot easier (and gives me some Ideas.) I like your submission b.t.w. Steve.

[Flying dutchman]

@neistridlar

It is allowed. But only when you have a side mounted spacecraft (which i don't encourage). the abort system still has to be able to function without on a conventional rocket in the case the booster detaches due to stress  but the spacecraft is still pinned on top of it. I've lost a lot of crews this way and that's why i implemented this rule.

 

I also don't encourage you to build a shuttle style launcher because it wasn't what i had in mind for this challenge But maybe i should put in a separate categorie for them.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Flying dutchman

[V7 Aerospace]

38 minutes ago, Flying dutchman said:

I also don't encourage you to build a shuttle style launcher because it wasn't what i had in mind for this challenge But maybe i should put in a separate categorie for them.

I think so, Shuttles make up a fairly large portion of the reusable spacecraft market

[neistridlar]

39 minutes ago, Flying dutchman said:

@neistridlar

It is allowed. But only when you have a side mounted spacecraft (which i don't encourage). the abort system still has to be able to function without on a conventional rocket in the case the booster detaches due to stress  but the spacecraft is still pinned on top of it. I've lost a lot of crews this way and that's why i implemented this rule.

 

I also don't encourage you to build a shuttle style launcher because it wasn't what i had in mind for this challenge But maybe i should put in a separate categorie for them.

Agreed on stacked designs requiring LES to escape a prematurely detached booster. A separate category for side mount boosters is a good Idea I think. It is after all a completely different set of challenges making that work.

[Ultimate Steve]

The idea behind the engine cutoff thing was as an "if-possible" thing. The abort system was designed to function even with all engines running. If I remember correctly, the Falcon 9 (in light of the upcoming Dragon 2) will shut down engines in case of an abort if still possible (if the booster hasn't already disintegrated).

[Flying dutchman]

21 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

The idea behind the engine cutoff thing was as an "if-possible" thing. The abort system was designed to function even with all engines running. If I remember correctly, the Falcon 9 (in light of the upcoming Dragon 2) will shut down engines in case of an abort if still possible (if the booster hasn't already disintegrated).

That's fine

[V7 Aerospace]

Working on an entry right now 

[V7 Aerospace]

Here's my try at the challenge.

The Kerbal Space Program noted Space Express Airline's contract and decided to put forward it's current orbiter vehicle, the Learstar A1. As part of the Learstar Applications Programme, the A1 orbiters are being modified to undertake flights for third-party contractors. Space Express Airline's contract has been accepted as part of this programme, and so we proudly present the newly completed Learstar A1 S.E.A!

Spoiler

The spacecraft: Learstar A1 SEA "Constellation"

(USES MH FOR THE INFLATABLE AIRLOCK, NOT REQUIRED FOR VEHICLE FUNCTIONALITY)

Craft Information:

Cost: 129,615

Crew capacity: 12 (10 passengers and 2 pilots)

Monoprop: 435 units, LF: 16384 units, Oxidiser: 19910 units, Solid fuel: 10056 units, Total: 46,785 units

Total EC: 1150

Part clipping: Mild clipping for the inflatable airlock

CRAFT FILE: https://kerbalx.com/V7Aerospace/Learstar-A1-SEA

 

Action groups:

1. Retract elevons

2. Half elevon deploy

3. Full elevon deploy

4. AV-R8 winglet deploy

5. Toggle solar panels

6. Allow use of orbiter monoprop RCS (default is off)

10. Deploy all orbiter emergency chutes

ABORT - Detach orbiter from booster, fire all orbiter engines (excluding LF+OX launch engines, unless reserve fuel tank is unlocked) and deploy gear.

 

Detailed explanation of abort and landing modes:

Engine failure on pad: Engine fire up and launch clamp separation are in different stages, meaning launch can be aborted before launch clamps are released.

Failure in early flight: ABORT sequence is activated to separate orbiter from booster, at the best moment, action group 10 is activated to deploy all parachutes.

Failure in mid flight: ABORT is fired, and the orbiter can fly down to safety. If the orbiter is damaged and cannot fly, action group 10 is activated to deploy all parachutes.

Failure on sub-orbital trajectory: Abort to orbit can be attempted, but this is heavily dependant on remaining Delta V. Otherwise, ABORT (or standard) separation to detach from booster, and fly a ballistic re-entry to a landing point, or deploy parachutes for a damaged vehicle (or is otherwise unable to land safely).

Standard landing procedure: Re-enter and fly back to KSC runway.

 

Test Flight

Spoiler

After launching, the orbiter coasts up to it's apoapsis, where it uses it's main engines to circularise. Booster is dropped to re-enter, burn is finished with monoprop OMS. A fair amount Delta V is still left on the booster, higher orbits could be acheived if needed.

Various correction burns are done to reach a circular orbit above 150km

In orbit, showing fuel levels

Cargo bay open, showing crew compartments, inflatable airlock for docking and EVAs, and at the bottom are the two reserve fuel tanks in case of emergency.

Re-entry trajectory

Re-entry, monoprop is spent, but is not required as the orbiter is stable

Final approach, jet engine is used to maintain flight speed

Touchdown! Safe landing after nearly a day in flight, and a photo of the full 12 Kerbal crew

Total units of fuel spent in flight: 46,512

 

Abort testing:

Spoiler

Early flight failure:

 

Mid flight failure:

And that's it! The Learstar A1 S.E.A is ready for full commercial flights.

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by V7 Aerospace

[neistridlar]

An other submission, the 20TC. It has 20 seats in total, so 19 tourists and a pilot. At only 50% more cost and fuel it will take 90% more passengers to the same orbit. Now also with better reentry stability and sleeker design! Get yours today!

Capabilities:

• 19 passengers
• 150x150km orbit
• Fully reusable

Action groups:

• [1]: toggle reentry configuration
• [2]: deploy drouge chutes
• [3]: deploy main chutes
• [4]: deploy backup chutes
• [abort]: trigger LES

Abort procedures:

• Trigger LES
  • If Second stage engine Lit: 
    • Fly to a safe location and altitude (preferably above 300m, minimum 120m)
    • Cut engines and deploy chutes and legs
    • At 50m above ground level set throttle to ~30-50% to cushion the impact.
  • If Second stage engine failed:
    • Deploy all chutes

KerbalX: https://kerbalx.com/neistridlar/20TC

 

[Flying dutchman]

I'll be reviewing your entries this evening.

[Flying dutchman]

6 hours ago, Flying dutchman said:

I'll be reviewing your entries this evening.

 

actually i won't be. because i'm very tired from work and i don't want to give a less than adequate review due to being tired.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Here's a stylish Munbus; 18 tourists+ pilot, aesthetically pleasing design sure to woo shareholders and clients alike, three-stage fully reusable design:
IA-18S Argus Mun shuttle

Actual product differs slightly from promotional material; rereading of the rules seems to imply discarding the LES tower after launch is illegal; it has been removed and replaced by additional Sepratrons.
Cost: 66,898
SRB assemblies and booster core both fully recoverable.
Capable of Munar orbit and back with decent fuel margin; careful piloting and/or disregard for fuel safety margins should make it to Minmus.
AG: Abort - trigger emergency eject when speed is under 350m/s, deploy landing gear prior to landing.
AG 10: Same as standard abort, but doesn't activate parachutes. Use when above 350m/s. Deploy airbrakes, then stage chutes when safe. If standard abort is used and chutes are lost, stage backup chutes when safe.
AG Brakes:- toggle airbrakes.
AG Gears: toggle capsule landing legs.
AG 1: Toggle capsule solar panel.

Flight tips: Tilt rocket 5 deg or so after reaching 60m/s, rocket should more or less fly into orbit.
Launch when the Mun is at 1 o'clock from the KSC (6 o'clock) for optimum transit.
Keep initial aerobrake on Munar return above 45000 km, deploy airbrakes and keep nose prograde.
Capsule is buoyant, ocean landings viable.

Edited December 11, 2018 by SuicidalInsanity

[Kuznetsov Space program]

ST-1 shuttle. Capacity - 13. Cost 395,643 Ker$. Minmus trip:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Flying dutchman]

@Ultimate Steve

first of all i'd like to say this is just a wonderfull craft to fly and i myself had a lot of fun reviewing your craft!

all the abort modes work except for abort mode three but this was an action group issue since it did not fire the sepratrons so we'll let that one slip.

 

number of kerbals: 12x1000=12000 points

stability: 5000 points for descent. 4000 points for ascent  providing you spin it 180 after side booster sep= 9000 points

Style points: 4000 

 

fuel use: -19120 points

everything was recoverable

cost: -996 points

 

Total score: 4884 points

 

FINAL VERDICT:

 

we will be very happy to purchase this craft from you and make this the very first orbital class spaceship in our fleet.

the excellent safety and ease of use more than makes up for the high fuel use per kerbal.

 

we are impressed. keep up the good work!

 

 

 

 

on another note: i think i can only manage to review one craft per day. so i may need some extra judges..

if you want to help me send me an pm

Edited December 11, 2018 by Flying dutchman