Excalibur-series noncompulsory multi-stage space battleships

[ironscythe]

Gentlemen, I present to you what I have found to be my singlemost successful rocket to date:

The Excalibur Mk.1 Noncompulsory 3-stage Space Battleship

Why is she a Space Battleship, you ask? Because ever since I started building her, I can\'t stop humming the Space Battleship Yamato themesong. So shut up.

[Phoxtane]

It looks nice. I would download it, but I\'m waiting for the official release before I get my mod parts back.

[Tim_Barrett]

Cool, but too bad those tanks are OP.

Also, you DO know that the RCS thrusters wont work when connected to a standard fuel tank... right?

[Eat Uranium]

Also, you DO know that the RCS thrusters wont work when connected to a standard fuel tank... right?

Eh? They work no matter where you put them, provided there is a fuel tank for them somewhere.

[C7Studios]

Yea, I should lower the fuel capacity on those things. I forgot that I left them with high capacity back when the atmosphere was soup. I\'ll attest that the rcs tanks work wherever they are placed, provided they have fuel flow to the rcs tank. Nice looking ship though, makes me want to build something like it.

[ironscythe]

Yeah, the RCS quads all work just fine, but for some reason, when I set them up on the ASAS, they start firing like crazy... does anyone know if the ASAS modules work against each other when there\'s more than one?

Honestly, whether a part is overpowered or not has never bothered me. My two main considerations are aesthetics and stability. Realism is waaaay down the list.

[ironscythe]

Time for variants!

Excalibur Mk.1a- replaces the wingload engines with big fins. Less powerful, but it still looks great.

Excalibur Mk.1b- removes the long maneuvering fins to bring back the engines from the base Mk.1, but with more fuel. Retains some improved atmospheric control in the trade.

Excalibur Mk.1b2- takes ASAS completely out of the equation, and replaces 2nd stage with a nifty shuttle! With landing gear! Good luck landing it, though!

[Tiberion]

Yea, I should lower the fuel capacity on those things. I forgot that I left them with high capacity back when the atmosphere was soup. I\'ll attest that the rcs tanks work wherever they are placed, provided they have fuel flow to the rcs tank. Nice looking ship though, makes me want to build something like it.

There\'s no need, they\'re primarily for use in the atmosphere, and its still hard enough to fly. Real planes have a far better fuel ratio anyway, and they should stay as is until aerofoils and airbreathing engines are added.

If someone dares to 'cheat' and bring one into space (the horror!) thats okay too

[Melfice]

When I see the Mk. 1, I\'m immediately reminded of Thunderbird 3. *showing my age here*

Very nicely done!

[ironscythe]

Using what I\'ve learned from the Mk.1 and its variants, I now present the improved Excalibur Mk.2! Thanks to a recent appropriation of MoachCraft Amalgamated Components rejects and stuff that fell off the back of the Silisko Industries Doughnut Research & Spacecraft Development delivery truck, we now have a compact SAS controller, heat shield, escape tower, and compatible parachute!

Oh, and I don\'t think I ever quite explained the 'noncomulsory multi-stage' part-- it refers to the fact that you don\'t need to drop anything to actually get into orbit. Re-entry and landing might be a problem, though.

[Feragorn]

This looks pretty amazing. If someone ever gets working weapons coded I\'d definitely try and mount some rocket pods on there.

[Phoxtane]

Yeah, the RCS quads all work just fine, but for some reason, when I set them up on the ASAS, they start firing like crazy... does anyone know if the ASAS modules work against each other when there\'s more than one?

It\'s because the ASAS is correcting even the slightest deviation from its set heading. You could try turning off the RCS until you\'re exo-atmospheric.

[Tiberion]

That is fairly awesome - imagine once we get persistence, you could actually park that engine section at a station for refueling and maintenance, and use the upper stage as a crew re-entry vehicle - it just gets relaunched on top of a booster for next time.

Also: Built in mun-lander

[MooseontheLoose]

...you could actually park that engine section at a station for refueling and maintenance...

Only if you brought the fuel and parts up first... 8)

Finally a use for extra dV - use it later as extra gas on your deep space adventures!