The "Spaceship Four"

[Captain Tom]

This is in my opinion, one of the best vessels I have ever made. It is a small One-Kerb rocket which is carried to the edge of space by a disposable jet-stage.

It launches just like any other space-plane, then once the engines begin to flame out, the jet stage is shut off and jettisoned.

MAKE SURE IT IS SHUT OFF FIRST!

The rocket is then engaged and used to increase the apoapsis to orbital altitudes. (I used 70Km for the flight.)

It is very likely capable of getting into a full orbit but I just did a half orbit, because I was unsure if i would need the extra fuel in the atmosphere.

Because it was a shallow sub-orbital flight I did not have to preform a de-orbit burn. It gently re-entered the atmosphere and glowed a brilliant orange as it passed through the upper atmosphere.

Turns out I didn't need the extra fuel and it was perfectly able to glide down to a safe landing.

But be careful as if you are not pointed right down the prograde pointer you might flip over if you land slightly off-center. But it landed safely and Tomley Kerman is happy!

Action Groups:

1: Toggle Rocket Engine

2: Decouple Carrier-Stage

3: Toggle Carrier-Stage Jets

4: Jettison Front Control Surfaces (Un-needed)

Here is the download:

http://www./?i223nm4inud5z6o

Enjoy the AWESOMENESS!

[PolecatEZ]

Just to play with a simple design, I downloaded your concept and went to work.

I plucked the wings off the lower stage and the control winglets from the upper, sat it upright, and fired it straight up. Set mechjeb to do a 15 degree turn with a start of 6 and end of 69km. She ran out of jets at about 28km, but with the full speed, apoapsis was already 38km. 75x75 orbit was achieved with 2400 dV to spare. Landing was a bit trickier without the forward control surfaces, but it can be done. Better balance on the remaining set of wings would help a lot.

Suggest removing those big scoops and using MOAR ramjets. The scoops become useless at about 12km up. In all, a fun ride and a good example of a lower jet stage for a good-sized payload. Cheers.