SSTOs! Post your pictures here~

[Joseph Kerman]

3 hours ago, Arugela said:

I'm assuming those are the 2 engine node with rapiers with 2-8x attached radially and sunk in?! How many nukes does it have? That looks really good.

NVM, saw the youtube video description.

I like the engine output when they are sunk in together too. I never tried that.

If you want it to be even more fun below 20k. Add a whiplash at the end of each Rapier. Sink it so the ends are on top of each other or one or one half notch sunk in to avoid damage. It'll go really fast! 8) Assuming it doesn't overweight it. That or something like going down to three Rapiers with 3 whiplash or similar. Might get more out of RF and LF from using less rapiers overall. Unless it's designed on the margins of what is needed.

And the pelican reminds me of the 500ton lifter design I did. But smaller and sleeker. I've always enjoyed that wing configuration.

I need to get in game again. 8)

Yes, I did stack them for more power. I also like the plume when arranged like that. And no, adding Whiplashes will make it heavier and have less delta-V.

[Reusables]

Wanted to create a "small" mk3 spaceplane with decent crew capacity, without any oxidizer.

A few adjustments would make this plane great for passenger delivery to LKO in career.

[JadeOfMaar]

I made a VentureStar (the NASA one), after mentioning the VentureStar (scifi, ISV) in a stream chat. I made it with the OPT main pack parts first but the nerfed Linear Aerospike killed it, and mixing main and legacy hull parts is ugly. So I made it entirely in OPT Legacy, including a legacy version of that aerospike. It made 84km orbit with a 3 ton payload then landed like a dream. I don't like clipping tanks but I had to. It's really tight on fuel and can't make orbit otherwise.

*Launched vertically.

Edited June 16, 2017 by JadeOfMaar

[TAL]

Как то так

 

[Thor Wotansen]

Pretty but slightly cheaty.  There's four engines in the space of two and some air intakes clipped inside, but dayum, it flies nice and looks good doing it.

[Aerospacer]

Another interesting SSTO challenge - how much payload you can deliver to LKO in cargo bay of your singlepanteric workhorse?

Reasonable tech level limit - science160.

Example: Stock career SSTO CarPanTer-1.
Description: Light single-pantheric stock career SSTO for satellite missions.

Career tech level - Science160  (2 technologies required)
Payload - 1.5-1.6 t  (maybe up to 1.8) + decoupler
Crew - 1
Engines formula - 1P + 2Ter
Parts (for empty cargobay) - 25
Launch mass - 15.95 t  (with 1.5 t payload and decoupler)
Empty mass - 5599 kg
Cost - 13 943 kerbucks  (filled, w/o cargo)

360 m/s dV and some excess LF on LKO after dummy cargo drop (circular 72km orbit).

Experimental science satellite, initial mass 1615 kg, dV=3030 m/s.

Flight album:

 

[Korsakovski]

9 hours ago, Aerospacer said:

Another interesting SSTO challenge - how much payload you can deliver to LKO in cargo bay of your singlepanteric workhorse?

Dunno about panthers, but I do have a singlerapieric cargo drone that has been tested with a 12,6 ton launch mass and 2,4 ton payload to 80km

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Cargo-Arrow

EDIT:Forgot to publish it at kerbalx

Edited June 21, 2017 by Korsakovski
Forgot

[Thor Wotansen]

Anyone got a name for this one?

[septemberWaves]

44 minutes ago, Thor Wotansen said:

Anyone got a name for this one?

The long pointy nose reminds me a little of a Hummingbird.

[Aerospacer]

21 hours ago, Korsakovski said:

Dunno about panthers, but I do have a singlerapieric cargo drone that ...

[Thor Wotansen]

This is the Huginn.  It can put 100t+ into LKO, pretty much whatever you can fit in the cargo bay.

I made a Kerballed variant called the Muninn for those missions where you need an engineer or a scientist along.  It holds eight kerbals and sacrifices some cargo space for crew space.  The only outward difference, with the cargo bay closed, is the shielded docking port at the aft end of the cargo bay.

 

Edited June 22, 2017 by Thor Wotansen
Moar

[hurdurdur]

single panther, this

 

[Ozelui]

Very interesting thread, i'm impressed by a lot of the designs you have here guys. I've been interested lately in spaceplane SSTOs, and these are a few i made as i was progressing in my career game:

https://imgur.com/a/3lzBu

I could use names for a couple of them if anyone is feeling creative.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Ozelui

[Thor Wotansen]

1 hour ago, Ozelui said:

Very interesting thread, i'm impressed by a lot of the designs you have here guys. I've been interested lately in spaceplane SSTOs, and these are a few i made as i was progressing in my career game:

I could use names for a couple of them if anyone is feeling creative.

Dude, you got some beefy SSTOs there.  I like the ones with the big cargo bays.  Something I use to keep things balanced is the RCS Build Aid mod.  it shows you the wet and dry COMs as well as some stuff to help you balance RCS ports.  I rarely use it for RCS stuff, but it's invaluabel for aircraft design.

[Ozelui]

22 minutes ago, Thor Wotansen said:

Dude, you got some beefy SSTOs there.  I like the ones with the big cargo bays.  Something I use to keep things balanced is the RCS Build Aid mod.  it shows you the wet and dry COMs as well as some stuff to help you balance RCS ports.  I rarely use it for RCS stuff, but it's invaluabel for aircraft design.

Thank you, i didn't know about that feature of the mod, but it's exactly what i need.  Emptying the tanks one by one to check the CoM changes as i usually do is a huge drawback.

[Jett_Quasar]

I just uploaded my Sith Infiltrator to Kerbal-X

You can now download the craft file HERE

 - Jett

Edited June 24, 2017 by Jett_Quasar

[Korsakovski]

Tweaked together a crew transport version of the Arrow.

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Crew-Arrow-Mk3

[Andetch]

I have developed and tested my new SSTO1 in Career mode, normal difficulty. This SSTO is designed to be used with Lvl 1 Hangar and Runway because, why not? Set myself a challenge. Please note that due to weight restrictions I have had to drain out the LF tank to hold only 160. Currently as I do not use mods I am ditching into the sea on landing, but I feel a KSC landing is possible but going to be very difficult in a glider with no drogue chutes. I think this plane with be modified to meet the LKO Station at 75km.

Full Gallery:

[hurdurdur]

And here is one more for the single panther ssto idea with 2 sparks on the side :

Had to play around with the balance a bit before it got stable enough to make flight. Flying straight at sea level to over 400m/s, then nose up to 35 degrees and aiming for the skies,  at 7-8km into ascent engaging the sparks (in order not to run out of speed too early), continue keeping the apoapsis at 35s or further ahead. If it's nearing you go nose up, if it's moving too far bring the nose down once it's at 72km or so you should be going around 2000m/s already and just need a little push (8 seconds at apoapsis for me) to get the periapsis over 70km as well. Before landing get all the fuel into the back so you could be comfortably unstable in the atmosphere and once you have tumbled yourself around 20km bring the fuel back to the front to restore balance. Without this overheating is quite likely.

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by hurdurdur

[hurdurdur]

And who needs cargobays if you can just attach the payload to your tail. 4x panther, 2x swivel. Taking little probes to orbit no problemo

Attached the whole gallery here:

 

[Korsakovski]

Did a remake of my earlier Beowulf cargo SSTO since I wasn't too happy with the remaining dV when in orbit.

And once again forgot to check CoM/CoL while empty, so fly at your own peril.

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Beowulf-1A3

[Korsakovski]

Yet another random SSTO. 6 kerbals to orbit with science package.

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2S1

And 10-man version without science package

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2A1

EDIT: Cargo Variant too, 4,8 tons to orbit

https://kerbalx.com/Korsakovski/Thunderbolt-T2C1

Edited June 28, 2017 by Korsakovski
New variant of original craft

[Jens Lyn IV]

How the Kraken did this thread end up on page four?!

Allow me to bump this back to the front page with Yet Another Skylon Clone™ (sorry): meet Sturgeon, so named because its canards remind me of a sturgeon's barbels.

Sturgeon is an efficient unmanned design, lifting a full orange tank to 100x100 km and/or deorbiting same cargo.

It generally handles well, but roll control tends to revert during reentry; I'm not sure why as it's fine during ascent and when subsonic.

Aw, look at those cute canards.

My favourite feature: the beautiful shadow Sturgeon casts.

Canards and main wing have 5 degrees AoA.

Approximate service ceiling at full load.

The usual suspect in the payload bay.

[TheWanderer05]

Suraci SSTO - capable of interplanetary refuelling n such. It barely has enough fuel in orbit to go to minmus to refuel, but has proven capable of interplanetary travel once fuelled up.

 

Edited July 31, 2017 by TheWanderer05

[JadeOfMaar]

The Codename Pterodactyl ultrasonic service shuttle. Its cockpit and center engine are nearly the only mod parts on this. With these, though, it can reach Mach 7 and deliver 8 crew or whatever payload can fit a Mk2 long bay/fuselage to up to maybe 600km circular orbit. It doesn't need to use Oxidizer at all while in atmosphere and needs every bit of power from the Rapiers to rev up the scramjet. With its reference payload weight (4 tons; the 2 cabins) it has about 640m/s dV in vacuum. That's more than plenty for meeting a station in at best under 400km altitude....And this is without any docking ports attached...

The Pterodactyl is not meant to cross SOI, not even to get to Mun by itself (unlike the NOX BlueStreak Z). So the Rapiers' fair efficiency in closed cycle is no problem at all.