SSTOs! Post your pictures here~

[Exothermos]

Nice little Shuttle SSTO Rune!  That truncated rear end on the MK-3 fuselage reminded me to share something I've been working on.

 

I like to design Mk-3 SSTOs that have, well, generous TWR.  Traditionally I was using "engine packs" on the back of truncated Mk-3 fuselages, or 2.5 meter parts.  This allows me to control the CoM and allows cleaner looking designs.  Unfortunately the new aero model really punishes those kinds of designs.  It hates truncated parts of any type and slaps a severe drag penalty on blunt rear-ends.  I've been embarking on an X-plane style program to figure out how the new aero model "thinks" and have learned a ton.

 

Here is a quickie test plane as an example.  A shuttle engine mount ends the port side pod, and, for balance purposes, an empty RCS tank on Starboard.  The Engine mount has a very slightly smaller drag penalty, but not really significant.  This is at 200 m/s at 1000m.

 

 

So to combat that we need to taper the rear end more aerodynamically.  These empty adapter parts will fit the bill, but they look silly, and more importantly they push the CoM very far back.  This is especially true once more engines are attached.  That complicates things greatly when building a craft that needs to be stable when full of fuel on ascent and when empty on re-entry.  The solution is to Offset the aerodynamic parts "Nesting Doll" style into each other.  They are empty anyway, so I don't get any pangs of cheater's remorse.

 

Look at that difference!  Again, 200 m/s at 1000m.  Since the added weight of the aero parts is no where near as important as the drag, it is a good compromise, i suppose.   

 

 

Further Engines can then be attached radially directly to nosecone parts, or pre-coolers and fuselages with nosecones.  This will limit their drag penalties as well.

 

 

This may have gotten out of hand...  

 

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by Exothermos

[Kraken1]

I used to have a lot of SSTOs lying around because I found out how an SSTO worked and I uh.. went a bit crazy. Made a LOT of them. For example:

That went to the mun and back (didn't land on it. Just orbited.) but it's now lost in the depths of my computer.

Though, one I DO still have is this which.. did need a bit of fuel:

At least I still have the second one. Called it the "Phoenix Mk2" because it was so much better than the original batch of SSTOs that it just was a version above. I haven't made a new one in a while.. hopefully that's something I can fix. Sort of been messing around with Kerbin exploration planes.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Kraken1

[Rune]

3 hours ago, Exothermos said:

Nice little Shuttle SSTO Rune!  That truncated rear end on the MK-3 fuselage reminded me to share something I've been working on.

[Snip]

This may have gotten out of hand...  

Oh yeah, it could have been a bit less draggy. But I did take care to place the RAPIERs each on a node (the shuttle structural adapter has four), meaning at least the only open nodes on the back are the ones on the engines. And of course I use precoolers sunk on front of the engines so that I only have the Mk3 fuselage as 'cross section'. Long story short, it can go supersonic rather quickly with a <0.6 TWR.

 

Rune. Never apologize for sharing the results of Science™!

[Kryten 2X4B 523P]

Some great stuff here, learning a lot as I go with this.

Been developing a scaled up version of my Slingshot for cargo missions, using Mk2 parts (designated Arrow). This is a testbed design at the moment, weighing in at 29T (wet) including almost 4T of cargo (3 Satellites).

Screenie is from a test flight, as this is only for LKO use and wont dock with anything Ive already removed all the RCS an monoprop, which has reduced the weight a little and upped the TWR a tad.

Still working out the flight profile, but with this load on a test flight managed an 80 x 80 km with almost 400Dv left over.

 

[Castille7]

I am working on Omega 7, it's a huge space station for refueling and I think the coolest way to get to a space station in LKO is with an SSTO. When the Project is complete this craft will be released with it.

"The Matador"

Edited August 19, 2016 by Castille7

[Firemetal]

19 hours ago, Kraken1 said:

 

At least I still have the second one. Called it the "Phoenix Mk2" because it was so much better than the original batch of SSTOs that it just was a version above. I haven't made a new one in a while.. hopefully that's something I can fix. Sort of been messing around with Kerbin exploration planes.

Hey! I copyrighted that name! (Just kidding )

[Kraken1]

5 hours ago, Firemetal said:

Hey! I copyrighted that name! (Just kidding )

Phoenix seems to be a popular SSTO designation eh? Wonder about Griffon Vulture (One of the highest flying birds.. thought it was rather fitting) being a common name. Though, you don't hear much about Vultures being named after planes.

[EliteGuy3]

I'm currently tweaking my hummingbird design to go to Minmus. I have demonstrated it before, but then Kerbal Engineer failed on me and now everything with a computer on it is no longer existing in cyberspace. So basically I need to recreate it.

The pictures are coming!

[NSEP]

I made a vertical launch SSTO 

Im currently working on the Mammoth 4, its going to be real big and it could send alot more cargo.

[Firemetal]

15 hours ago, NSEP said:

I made a vertical launch SSTO 

Im currently working on the Mammoth 4, its going to be real big and it could send alot more cargo.

I don't like VSSTOs very much, but this one is awesome.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Firemetal

[NSEP]

1 hour ago, Firemetal said:

I don't like VSSTOs very much, but this one is awesome.

I dont have a download link yet, sadly. But im working on it.

[Firemetal]

Just now, NSEP said:

I dont have a download link yet, sadly. But im working on it.

Ok.

[Van Disaster]

On 19/07/2016 at 6:36 AM, Kraken1 said:

Phoenix seems to be a popular SSTO designation eh? Wonder about Griffon Vulture (One of the highest flying birds.. thought it was rather fitting) being a common name. Though, you don't hear much about Vultures being named after planes.

Those are both Rolls-Royce engines, though ( the Vulture was a disaster, the Griffon very much not a disaster ).

[Hodo]

On ‎7‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 4:12 PM, NSEP said:

I made a vertical launch SSTO 

Im currently working on the Mammoth 4, its going to be real big and it could send alot more cargo.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Vertical launch SSTOs.   I haven't had much luck building them as landing is always a trick.   I may get back to designing a few that I had in the planning stage, but never much luck with them.

[NSEP]

1 hour ago, Hodo said:

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Vertical launch SSTOs.   I haven't had much luck building them as landing is always a trick.   I may get back to designing a few that I had in the planning stage, but never much luck with them.

As the name suggests, this is my 3rd try. It is a pretty hard thing to do, but it was deffinitly worth it. Even the Mammoth 4 is a flop. I wanted to give up, but then i realized a fairing is better than a cargo bay. So im moving to a new project. Called the Eagle Project. Its an SSTO that is pretty simulair to the Falcon 9. But if you want to build such a thing too, you will need some practice on landing spacecraft. Tip for landing: always point your gimbal retrograde, this prevents your spacecraft from falling over. You could also copy my design a bit to get an idea on how it all works. I have enough info in my video. Be inspired and be creative (; !

[GarrisonChisholm]

On 7/20/2016 at 3:12 PM, NSEP said:

I made a vertical launch SSTO 

Im currently working on the Mammoth 4, its going to be real big and it could send alot more cargo.

How did that not tip over?...  O.O

[NSEP]

9 minutes ago, GarrisonChisholm said:

How did that not tip over?...  O.O

The parachutes were still working when it landed. So it pulled it back. Or it could be just luck. we may never know my friend.

Plus:

I like the fact that everybody is impressed with my VSSTO. It took quite some time to build it and im proud of it, but i still feel like a beginner in the game, even though i litterly started playing when it came out.

Edited July 22, 2016 by NSEP

[mk1980]

didn't play much in the last few weeks, but i made a few fairly simple SSTOs just for fun. mostly experimenting with different styles/visuals. 

 

[Kryten 2X4B 523P]

Been working on my Arrow series spaceplane - this is the passenger variant, and now Im getting a little better at piloting Im getting a better orbital Dv remainder. In this case, made 80x80km orbit with almost 600 m/s left over after circularisation, despite this being slightly heavier than the loaded cargo variant. So plenty to take a crew transfer of 8 up to my station at 150km.

However... noticed something really interesting with this one - it veers on the runway, where the cargo one doesn't. The only differences between the two are the rcs / monoprop and the passenger modules / clampotron. And on loading to the runway, this one body flexes a little, and the cargo one doesnt - at all (effectively, the bit behind the passengers is one sub assembly, including the wings, as is the bit in front of the probecore).

So I did some experimenting. Pulled the passenger modules and clampotron, replaced with a couple of fuel tanks and drained fuel so the weight and com was the same. A tiny amount of flex on loading, and it still veered, but nowhere near as much as previously. Changed the fuel tanks to cargo bays, added a load to bring the weight the same- no flex or veering.Replaced the passenger stuff and added a couple of struts for testing purposes, and again, very slight flex and veering, but not as bad as before.

And while the rear wheels look like theyre wing mounted, theyre not - theyre fuselage mounted and moved / rotated out to the wing positions - so its not wing flex.

So, Im suspecting that body flexibility is also a contributing factor to people experiencing planes "fishtailing" and "veering" down the runway.

Anyway, heres a quick screenie.

[PointySideUp]

Ore Can 3 is a VSSTO that can lift ~50 tons with 3 ore cans as a payload. Fully recoverable booster!

https://kerbalx.com/PointySideUp/Ore-Can-3

[fourfa]

Here's a simple overpowered spaceplane.  6 crew, probe core, retracting docking port, double length cargo bay, 4X Rapier-spikes, RCS internally in the bay.  Ascent couldn't be less complicated - light the jets, point up 12-15 degrees, circularize.  12 tons to 80x80 orbit.  Not great for orbital maneuvers until you spend some of that 12T on fuel and a reaction wheel. (Or just fill the cargo bay with an efficient little orbital runabout.)  Flies very well on re-entry, excellent glide ratio, easy to land.  A couple of tricks used - the OP nose antenna for heat protection, and clipped shock cones (perhaps 11T to orbit without these?)

I'm sure the payload fraction is nothing special, but this has become my go-to ship for routine career runs to orbit because of the simple flight characteristics, reliable recovery, and good playtime/payload ratio for a spaceplane.  And to be honest I just love the way it looks, and it's fun!

https://kerbalx.com/fourfa/RAPTOR-SSTO

Edited September 2, 2016 by fourfa
edited to add KerbalX link

[ScriptKitt3h]

Thanks somewhat to @Exothermos' helpful write-up regarding the current aero model in KSP a few posts back, I finally made myself a working MK3 fuselage passenger SSTO, the AST-1 Yeager.

The main drive system is a 6-RAPIER propulsion module in the rear, with 2 Turbo-Ramjet engines on the wingtips helping the aircraft push through the lower atmosphere and build up speed after reaching the 5,000-to-10,000 meter range in altitude. Carries 20 (not including the optional pilot in the front cockpit, as there is a probe core inside the fuselage), and has a fully functional docking adapter in the MK3 bay for docking to such things as space stations...

Now I just need to improve my fairly shabby SSTO piloting skills and refine the ascent profile of the darn thing.

[Signo]

Hi all, a flying saucer in the Grendizer style. 

Being a dish it flies surprisingly well.

If anybody wants to give it a try >>>HERE<<< it is the link. (and here the imgur album)

1) toggle rapiers

2) switch mode

It takes off by itself, no input needed apart from full throttle. Climb above 10000m as soon as you can (not too much AoA), at 10000m level to gain speed.

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Signo

[Matuchkin]

On 02/06/2013 at 8:15 AM, Rune said:

I've recently started experimenting with extreme clipping technology:

*Looks at future Rune*

"Nevermind, this isn't even that much clipping."

[Hydrothermalventclam]

I just started doing SSTO's recently, so I have only built two good ones.  Here is my first ever:

It is docked to a small station I made.

And here is my current good SSTO.  It can do crew and cargo transport.  In this picture it is deploying a scansat in a 250x250 km polar orbit.

And here is a better shot of it landed:

I am thinking of making an only crew version of it soon.

Edited August 5, 2016 by NathanMcGuire30
Capitalisation