Soyuz Lifter, No Payload [AKA "The Headless Horseman"]

[GusTurbo]

When it comes to craft designs, I'm a bit obsessed with making Russian Soyuz-style rockets. This obsession began in .19, and it continues on in .20 with the aid of a very useful new feature: the ability to replace command pods on craft.

I present, The Soyuz "Headless Horseman":

Now, you can place any payload on top of the craft, manned or unmanned. The possibilities are endless, so long as they fall within the weight limitations of the craft (which I have yet to thoroughly test).

No payload.

Soyuz replica payload.

Action Groups

1 - Lock Gimbals on boosters. This is vital, otherwise the craft will wobble out of control with ASAS.

Craft File

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6472509/Soyuz%20Lifter.craft

More images here:

http://imgur.com/a/QNanQ

I hope you all like it, and look forward to seeing others' interesting payloads.

Edited May 25, 2013 by GusTurbo

[Ketoth]

interesting,most soviet craft seen here are light launch vehicles,this one seems fairly heavy,looking forward to see how much it can carry up

[GusTurbo]

Without any payload, the third stage has enough dV to get to the Mun's SOI.

[Darth Lazarus]

teh headless soyuzless rocketman !

very nice lifter so far. still working on my minis, but i will give the bigsize a try later

[GusTurbo]

Maybe I'll add a command chair to the top. Budget cuts

[Darth Lazarus]

rofl ... that would be Jeb-aproved !

this damn mini Soyuz - reworkd the engines a third time today still not the "right" thing, everything else is working and looking awesome ... XD

[GusTurbo]

My lifter was able to put this guy into orbit:

The only real issue was that the payload was too heavy, so I ended up having to use more than half its fuel to actually attain orbit. If I could have less fuel, but keep the same form-factor, it would be perfect.

The orbital module (the round part on top) was made but attaching intake scoops around the 1-kerbal lander can. I used a similar approach on my small .19 Soyuz.

[Odo]

Hey I'm working on making my own Soyuz (First rocket Im trying to make to look good purely.) and I was wondering if I could use this ones launcher as a base? I really cant get the slanted rockets right on my own If I were to ever upload it Id definitely give you proper credit.

[GusTurbo]

You can definitely use my lifter, although this version is a little out of date. I'll upload the most recent version, which is more capable.

[AmpsterMan]

Gus, I really like how you made the two side boosters; I too have a soyuz replica and it looks somewhat different. it is nice to see others' design philosophies

[GusTurbo]

Here's the updated version. This one is more accurate because it doesn't have fuel crossfeed. Craft file to follow soon.

One of my goals was to make it more efficient by having the booster engines face perpendicular to the ground instead of being at an angle. This also puts it more in-line with the real thing.

Edited July 9, 2013 by GusTurbo

[Giggleplex777]

Isn't the faring around the engines in the second stage supposed to be jettisoned?

[GusTurbo]

You know, I don't actually know.

[Giggleplex777]

You know, I don't actually know.

They do. From every Soyuz animation I've seen, the fairing splits off shortly after engine ignition.

[GusTurbo]

I will make that change when I get the chance. Thanks for the heads up! I need to study things more carefully.

[sgt_flyer]

hmm ? - there's no fairings around the Block I engines... just the latticework which stays with the core stage. the engines are supposed to lightly protrude under the Block I hull. (they do that so the block I can be ignited before the core stage burnout to prevent the need for ullage) - and the engines are so tightly packed inside the hull it would be hazardous to jettison a part of the hull - you'd risk damaging the engines.

Soyuz is not Saturn it's Saturn which jettison it's ullage ring shortly after the second stage ignition.

here's one of the soyuz Ascent profiles for a real TMA mission

T −:00 Lift-off

T +1:10 Booster velocity is 500 meters/second

T +1:58 Stage 1 (strap-on boosters) separation

T +2:00 Booster velocity is 1500 m/sec

T +2:40 Escape tower & launch shroud jettison

T +4:58 Core booster separates at 170 kilometers, Third stage ignites

T +7:30 Velocity is 6000 m/sec

T +9:00 Third stage cut-off Soyuz separates, Antennas and solar panels deploy, Flight control switches to TsUP (Moscow Mission Control Center), Korolev

Edited July 16, 2013 by sgt_flyer

[Giggleplex777]

I'm pretty sure they do jettison the fairings to help cool the engines. The fairing splits off into three parts instead of sliding off.

Last paragraph: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz_lv_stage3.html

Also this:

At about 2:10

Edited July 16, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[Flixxbeatz]

Now I'm thinking of releasing some easy-to-use lifters using this (payload-less) style for everyone to use

[monkeysee]

Soyuz Lifter, No Payload AKA "The Headless Horseman"

Amazing Soyuz nice use of stock parts. Love it

[GusTurbo]

Now I'm thinking of releasing some easy-to-use lifters using this (payload-less) style for everyone to use

Do it! I was inspired by Temstar, who did this with his Zenith series.

[Giggleplex777]

Working on a Soyuz-1:

The first stage is a little fat right now though.

It also has the Block-I shroud.

[Giggleplex777]

New version:

Full stack

Firing Block-I engines

Shroud jettisoned

Edited July 18, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[GusTurbo]

Wow, that looks pretty awesome. I like the tapered bits in the middle. Nice job on the ejecting shrouds too.

[Captain_Party]

How do I download it, it transports me to a page of text..

[blubbermonkeys]

How do I download it, it transports me to a page of text..

To download it you right-click the background of the block of text and press save as and save it as a craft file.