Propulsion Segment

[Rockhem]

I am trying to develop a propulsion segment to get a 20 ton cargo to dres, any tips?

[thes50]

Rockets, lots of rockets.

[Rockhem]

0.o when i tried i ended up with a 47 ton contraption with 3 NERVA's. could i make it more compact than that?

[TheDarkStar]

In space (especially interplanetary space), it does not matter that much how fast you can do the required burns to change your orbit. Also, this equation might be useful to find out how fast you can go.

[Wait- Was That Important?]

20 tons cargo? You're probably looking at least 60 tons of fuel for that. Dres doesn't have an atmosphere to support aerobraking, which is why I hate it. Two orange tanks and 5 NERVA's worth of fuel should get you there in a reasonable time with a sizeable safety margin.

[ComradeGoat]

I got there from Kerbin orbit with much less fuel than that, but I messed up the intercept and only have enough fuel to get back to Duna. No biggie, since I have a station there.

[CalculusWarrior]

So you want to make a heavy lifter, huh?

Start with your payload. (I stacked a large fuel tank and the big RCS canister to create a mass that was approximately 20 tons)

Then, build the interplanetary stage: I prefer using four NERVAs and the big grey fuel tank, it produces an interplanetary stage that can get just about anywhere in the Kerbol system. Note how it has about 4 km/s of delta-v, even with the payload on top?

Then, put your heavy lifter rocket design underneath. (This is my go-to design for all large payloads: it ain't pretty, but it gets the job done)

Finally, launch your rocket!

After making it to orbit, you should find that you have around 4000 m/s of delta-v inside your rocket, with allows for transfer to any planet, as according to this guide.

I hope that this helps!

Edit:Uhhh, how do I do spoiler tags? Or are they broken still?

Edited April 26, 2013 by CalculusWarrior