$100 000 Space Program

[Accelerando]

How do you people make these rockets so cheap, the cheapest thing I could get in to orbit cost 5370?

When it comes to building small, cheap rockets, the key I use and that people in this thread are using usually involves following a pretty standard design: 1 FL-T200, 1 OKTO2 or half OKTO or whatever it's called, 1 small battery, 1 small solar panel, and 1 Rockomax 24-77 engine gives you around 4500m/s of ∆V and a thrust-weight ratio great enough to lift off from Kerbin surface, which gives you a merely 5-part probe that's capable of making Kerbin orbit without any boosters whatsoever. There might be other viable designs using the tiny tanks etc, but I haven't tried it yet.

[koshelenkovv]

I've tested my rover. Works pretty well in low and high gravity. Also I've tested a rocket, capable to deliver it in LKO with 6500-7000 dV left.

And yes, full cost is less than $10000.

[Kappa73]

I've tested my rover. Works pretty well in low and high gravity. Also I've tested a rocket, capable to deliver it in LKO with 6500-7000 dV left.

And yes, full cost is less than $10000.

can't wait to see this one! this has been most educational and entertaining challenge, thanks.

[koshelenkovv]

Here a rocket. Looks pretty, isn't it? It flexes at the launchpad like a spring.

If you know how to fly rubber rockets then you will not have a problem delivering it to orbit.

Liftoff!

I started LV-N, because without it rocket is uncontrollable. Anyway, at altitude of about 2km LV-N will have Isp higher than aerospikes.

It requires constant manual control and very gradual gravity turn or it will flip over. But this inconvenience will last only for two minutes before staging occurs

Staging is slightly tricky. Upper part must be released when a tiny bit of fuel still left, and then it will fly away on aerospikes.

(it's hard to simultaneously control rocket, watch for fuel, stage in right moment and make good screenshot of this)

Continuing ascent on nuke alone.

On LKO with over 7000 m/s dV left.

From this moment mission went awfully wrong.

First, plane correction ate 1200 m/s dV. When I've flied for first time it was 1100 m/s, for second time it was a modest 300 m/s. I've lost 100 m/s on this.

Second, it seems that I will arrive too late.

After tweaking and fiddling with maneuver nodes I've managed to make correction at a price of extra 250 m/s.

And new surprise! Getting into orbit now costs enormous 2400 m/s dV.

First time I flew at Eeloo it was 1600, second time it was 1900 m/s. WHY so much now?!

Looooong buuuuuurn is soooooo loooooong...

And finally! I'm in orbit with feeble engine and poor TWR and have only 1072 m/s of dV left.

Then SUDDENLY I've realised that I orbiting Eeloo opposite to its rotation. Bye-bye another 140 m/s dV.

The task: to land with 930 m/s dV with TWR slightly over 2.

For example, killing miserable 50 m/s of velocity will take only 22 seconds. Only.

I've killed all orbital velocity then all horisontal velocity and paused. Now I falling from 15 kilometers at 200 m/s and have only 500 m/s dV or 130 seconds of burn time left.

But it's enough for landing if I'll do it properly. VERY properly.

I've decided to make a suicide burn. Table shows altitude my ship must have to cancel any given velocity right before touchdown and how much burn time it consume.

It went as planned. I have 200 m altitude margin.

Landed!

The I've switched to control center and when I've switched back something very nasty occurred: lander have fallen through the planet surface and falling to its center.

I hate this game with all my heart now!

So, I was forced to repeat this nerve-whacking procedure.

It went not as smooth as first time. I ran short of 200 meters. Lander met the surface at 30 m/s and exploded, sending rover in flight. I quickly retracted solar panel in hope that it would not break and leveled rover in such a way that it would land on wheels, which have at least some suspension. Rover landed and decoupler underneath of it exploded, sending him in second, shorter, flight.

Luckily, nothing else got broken.

Sorry, no screenshots of all this madness, I was too busy saving poor little thing

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... AND NOW ...

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Meet Equilibrium, the Eeloo Exploration Rover!

Here he is, rolling downhills

Jumping happily

Contemplating the sunset

[koshelenkovv]

Craft file - http://pastebin.com/ruTFKgce