Most Useful Spacecraft You Have

[CalculusWarrior]

This is probably my most useful ship, the HK-XL Heavy Lifter:

Okay, this isn't really a spacecraft, is it?

While I may use this for every ship that's too heavy to be lifted by my normal slapdash method of building boosters, the ship that I've found to be the most useful at the moment is the FL-OHX Refueling Transport:

Currently I'm also tinkering with a SSTO crew carrier, the Trefoil-class SpaceVan:

I'm hoping that it will prove useful for transferring crew to and from space stations in orbit around Kerbal and possibly Laythe.

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

This is the aptly-named "Mr Fuelie," which almost had the misfortune of being called "Dubbatank."

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6828vVl_-ZoSUVFVWR3NERVaFU/edit?usp=sharing

It is the largest refueling vessel that I dare to launch (294 parts), and is used as either an heavy interplanetary tug or a standard refueling tanker. Multiple Mr Fuelies may be easily chained together, thanks to the small orbital part count (36) and the axial docking ports.

[AngelLestat]

In my case it will be my Atmospheric Launcher, it cuts me by a lot the fuel needed to raice any heavy payload unto 20 km at 400 m/s aprox.

You can test it if you want. Is all stock.

als-spider.zip

[zekes]

Well i have to say It's a tie between my Duna Tripper 6 and Cruiser Mk VII. Both date back to 17.0 and are super reliable.

Tripper 6 is a Duna capable resupply ship. Carries Three men. There have been 15 flights to Duna, all have returned safely. Can carry a 5-10 ton payload above the cockpit.

The Cruisers Mk VII, the latest in a long line of Cruisers, is a long range orbiter capable of some of the farthest reaches of the Kerbal System. It can carry a 4-10 ton payload up with it and still reach Laythe. 30+ flights have been made in it, including the first (17.0) landing and return to Duna soil. 19.1 flights include the "Dragon," to Duna and Ike, the "Claudia," to Laythe, the "Riley," to Eve and Gilly, and (pending launch) the "Guyra," to Dres.

Edited May 19, 2013 by zekes

[Sabor]

Mine is my Orbiter (Not an SSTO, it uses two rockets on either side). Works much the same way as NASA's Space Shuttle. Glides back and lands at KSC without engines even though it has its own, and usually a little bit of fuel left, but it's strictly an OMS.

Since finishing it, it's flown 6 missions to orbit, and returned to KSC every time successfully. It flies so well It's now my own version of NASA's STS. It's reliable, it leaves no debris, it can bring large and heavy payloads into LKO. It's the Shuttle I've always wanted in Kerbal. Yeah it uses non-stock parts, but so what. I still had to build it didn't I? And do you have any idea how many Kerbals died in the process?!

Edited May 19, 2013 by Sabor

[zekes]

Mine is my Orbiter (Not an SSTO, it uses two rockets on either side). Works much the same way as NASA's Space Shuttle. Glides back and lands at KSC without engines even though it has its own, and usually a little bit of fuel left, but it's strictly an OMS.

Since finishing it, it's flown 6 missions to orbit, and returned to KSC every time successfully

Howd you do that collage?

[Sabor]

Multiple screenshots, 45 seconds and Photoshop

[zekes]

ah i see, well beautiful ship!

[AngelLestat]

how do you launch that? you can share the file? Is only b9 mod or you use something else?

[ouion]

The CTV-2B served as a transport vehicle for space stations and Munar journeys.(It have my custom made service Module) A Orion MPCV Analog

Edited May 19, 2013 by ouion

[Select Few]

I'll admit to the use of mods for this one, but dang if it ain't useful:

The VIP Transport ship.

[Sabor]

how do you launch that? you can share the file? Is only b9 mod or you use something else?

B9, Mechjeb, TTModularWheels for the landing gear, KW Rocketry for the engines, and the Sovietpack for the Arm. It's launched with two rockets on either side of it from the VAB Launchpad, and ditches them while coasting to the Apoapsis and uses its limited onboard fuel and 500kn engine to put it into LKO.

I uploaded the file to KerbalSpacePort but it hasn't been put up yet

[Fiddlestyx]

Orbur, the orbital tug. He is normally docked at the bottom of my space station, waiting for work.

[ouion]

why is everyone obsess with orbital tugs ?

[erkha343]

The DTV, a space transport system that ferries payloads and smaller craft to Mun, Minmus, Duna and Eve Orbits. I'm making a version that will go to Dres, Jool and Eeloo.

[Mild Peril]

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I finally managed to make a working SSTO cargo shuttle this afternoon. I call it the C-102 (I'm not very good at names).

It's a bit primative, lacking ASAS or RCS or docking systems, but it just barely carry a 16t payload to 80km and still have enough fuel for reenty. In this case it deployed a small spaceship (~12t) which Jeb took an a free return trajectory around the Mun. The C-102 still had around 100 units of liquid fuel for the jets after reentry.

Not really done too much with it yet, but I hope to get good usage out of it yet.

[White Owl]

Mine is my Orbiter (Not an SSTO, it uses two rockets on either side). Works much the same way as NASA's Space Shuttle. Glides back and lands at KSC without engines even though it has its own, and usually a little bit of fuel left, but it's strictly an OMS.

Since finishing it, it's flown 6 missions to orbit, and returned to KSC every time successfully. It flies so well It's now my own version of NASA's STS. It's reliable, it leaves no debris, it can bring large and heavy payloads into LKO. It's the Shuttle I've always wanted in Kerbal. Yeah it uses non-stock parts, but so what. I still had to build it didn't I? And do you have any idea how many Kerbals died in the process?!

Beautiful. I knew I couldn't be the only one to get this kind of system working.

[White Owl]

I like Saborian's shuttle so much, I had to take a few screenshots of my similar design, the Great Eagle. I use this shuttle to launch everything nowadays. Development was pretty rough on Kerbals, true, but this final operational model has completed several launches and landings in a row without losing any crew. Launch is powered by seven main engines mounted on Damned Robotics hinges for precise gimbal control, a NASA-style external fuel tank, and two large liquid fueled boosters. It uses two SABRE engines as OMS and also atmospheric flight after reentry. I love it.

Pictured here with a mapping satellite in the cargo bay.

And here's the launch configuration with external fuel tank and two boosters.

[astocky]

... but this final operational model has completed several launches and landings in a row without losing any crew ...

I loved watching this develop. You went from laughing like a maniac when kerbals died to sounding truly remorseful when you had almost finished a mission and stalled it out at the last second on landing.

[Sabor]

That is quite nice. I might adopt the tail design

[AngelLestat]

you can land with that think using deadly re-entry mod?

Is hard to raise the nose up when you are close to the landing strip?

[Zatie12]

Here's my rover that's capable of landing on most planets, if there's an atmosphere the skycrane has parachutes to assist too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5KwUra6y04

[ChrisDaBox]

I call it the Jebuy(Heh-Boy) First of all, I named it like that because I wanted a kind of mysterious name. I also wanted the name to feel like something original. Anyway moving on,

As seen in the picture below, it is un-docking from my KSS. This craft is the flagship of my game. It is what got the whole of my KSS into LKO. Piece by piece. It took about 15 launches to launch the whole of the station. Anyway this craft, in my "Career mode" has a guarantee of about 4 weeks in-game. So it has to return to Kerbin before it has been in space for four weeks.