Not because it's easy (SSTO to Eve and back)

[lump]

Hello everyone,

About 2 months ago i started to build SSTOs, at first i started with space planes but then i realized i don't much like them, so next i moved to rockets, at first i was using jet engines alongside them and getting good results, landing on the moon and the like, but i felt jets made the rocket, well, limited. So i started to build rocket only SSTOs and they were fun, i could reach other planets like Duna, but then i reached a upper limit, it's incredibly hard to build an SSTO rocket that can get more than 2500m/s delta-V once in orbit, my rockets just became bigger and bigger for less and less gain, my computer now began to lag more and more with each new version of my rockets. This is where I realized i needed to start fresh, i began planing a rocket that was not too harsh on the part count but still had plenty of delta-V once in space, at first i begun building them with only conventional rockets, just to see if i could get into orbit, if it worked well enough i would then out nuclear rockets on it. After several launches were i was getting 1000+ m/s delta-V with only chemical rockets, i decided to add nuclear rockets to the Lost (the rockets name). The first mission i did with the nuclear rockets was meant to be an orbit test, but i got into orbit with 1700 liters of fuel left so i though what the hell, lets do a full distance test, so i began a burn that just kept on getting better and better. i passed Duna's orbit, then Dres's, then Jool's by this point i was wondering if it would breach the 2600m\s delta-V mark, but no it had 2800m\s delta-V once in orbit, leaving the Kerbol system all together. I have since gotten it into orbit with 200 liters of extra fuel, giving it well over 3000m\s delta-V once in orbit. I once even flew to Duna, landed and then took of and flew back to kerbin again, at that moment i decided to crown this rocket my most powerful and godly ship of all time.

Since then i've done a trip to eve where i dropped two probes and landed on Gilly, shortly after returning to Kerbin and landing not far off KSC. This mission took 2 and a half real time hours, being just under 600 KSP days.

I now strive for higher goals (4000m/s will be a hard one indeed) in the SSTO field and have written this post to allow people, like me to learn from my mistakes and findings.

Craft file of the craft i took to Eve:

https://hotfile.com/dl/203782401/0aed495/TCSITL.craft.html

Full imgur album:

http://imgur.com/a/lA9Q2#4