Eve ascent Idea

[AlexanderB]

Wings currently generate only drag and angular momentum, no lift at all. A rocket without wings uses less fuel.

[tavert]

It wasn't mine, so I don't have the craft file, and the screenshots someone else posted were of course lost in the Great Wipe. The plane in question wasn't stock, as it used Kethane drills to refuel on the ground, but that's not actually relevant to this discussion; descending to Eve's surface can be done completely unpowered (I've done that), so there's no problem having full tanks on the surface if you refueled in low orbit. The key was, the plane was HUGE, one of those big "sandwich everything between two large wing sections" sorts of things, with a couple dozen 1.25m engines. The sheer amount of lift you get from that sort of design, in the current aerodynamic model, makes initial ascents easy, and once you're out of the thick part of the atmosphere you just go vertical like any other rocket.

I'm sure someone has either the craft file or some screenshots. Me, I prefer smaller designs for the most part, so I had no interest in reproducing the exact design.

Hm, thanks for the description. Do you remember what kinds of engines it was using? All aerospikes, or were there some T30's or nervas too? I have a hard time seeing how it's possible (with stock engines) to have both high enough TWR to fly and the 8500+ m/s delta-V you need for Eve ascent, together in a single stage. Pictures would help if someone remembers the design you're describing.

Edited May 27, 2013 by tavert