Getting some reusability in my craft!

[QvestionAnswerNeeded]

I got inspired to start running a fully reusable space program... Problem is, I can't really do it without either mods or SSTO's.

Here's the thing: I got an aerodynamic or lifting body spaceplane that works great at everything but getting to orbit and back.

The only thing I can do is stick it onto a booster.

But then I have to throw away the booster.

And I don't want to.

So... do you know of any good mods that will automatically guide a booster down to land on parachutes? Or can I already do that stock with the KAL-1000 controller?

[jimmymcgoochie]

Stage Recovery and FMRS would both fit the bill- FMRS allows you to fly the payload up to orbit then rewind time and land the booster manually, whereas Stage Recovery does it all in the background either using parachutes (just stick the chutes on, no need to even arm them in staging) or a simulated powered landing (fuel and control required). I’ve used SR quite a lot and it’s very configurable plus it has a helpful UI in the editor for judging how many parachutes you need.

There’s also KSTS which lets you record a flight taking a given mass of payload to a given altitude, then reuse it to take any payload you make in the editor into space up to that mass and altitude, for the same price and flight time as the recorded flight; it ties in with both FMRS and SR to offset the costs of recovered parts from the total. It also has a ‘transport’ mode which lets you carry resources or crew up to space or back down again, and with a suitably staffed space station can even do in-orbit construction over time by flying repeated launches to carry the equivalent mass then waiting a while for the engineers on the station to “build” it- very handy for large or awkwardly shaped payloads that wouldn’t work on a conventional launcher or for building monstrous ships in orbit that would never get into space otherwise.