SSTOs! Post your pictures here~

[Deadweasel]

"What? Front and center, come into the church."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu6mrku-jRw

AACT-108 "Starseed"

Easily carries one of the Kurb Burner rovers to just about anywhere (except maybe Eve, haven't actually tried that particular can of worms yet).

Edited December 3, 2013 by Deadweasel

[KissSh0t]

It would be so cool if there were stock blinking lights~

[O-Doc]

I think Lamnand is about to throw up! He's turning green.

O-Dock Industries catalog coming soon.

[Sermor]

Dear colleagues kerbonauts, I was able to finally bring in a stable orbit of Kerbin my mega SSTO (the name of the SSTO is Jedi Mammuth) from about 150 tons in weight. Quite a feat!

Here are some screens:

Obviously, only with stock parts, and without using tricks like the clipping of ram intakes or fuel infinity etc.. Mistakes, nevertheless with the help of the mod as mechjeb (which has an autopilot for ascension)

Built on a ksp 0.22 "vanilla version" (without mod).

We get it without cheating tricks, as opposed to the magic of the illusionists.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Sermor

[Material Defender]

*snip*

woah. gorgeous. and a little bit scary

[Fellow314]

The simply named 'Fuel' on it's maiden flight.

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[KissSh0t]

@Fellow314 Awesome!!!!!

This is what I have been trying to do.. but with a big red fuel tank..

[Fellow314]

I tried with a big red one and failed dismally, so I elected to make twice as many flights.

It has a phenomenal number of parts though (a large number of which are air intakes), but lands with about 3Km/s, so I might have overdone things a little.

Here's the craft file, if that'll help you in your endeavors.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qpy3p5pjh75h5nd/Fuel.craft

Oh, and thanks!

[Fellow314]

'Fuel' has been renamed 'Transport'.

The horizontal (as seen in the pic : )spine of the station was put up by rocket, one launch. Everything else is going up by SSTO

I'm now having to build modules that fit into 'Transport' cargo bay.

Oh, and there was the emergency landing after some fairly important structural stuff got knocked off. I'm amazed it landed.

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Edited December 8, 2013 by Fellow314

[Danish_Savage]

Well, I do have a SSTO without turbojets and with only a couple of radial intakes (which I already posted here, I think)... hard enough for you?

I did my first career docking with it, loads of fun but not very practical (it's basically a pure rocket SSTO that can fly up to 10km on jets).

And once I proved I can do it, I immediately went back to lots of clipped ram intakes, because you can do much more beautiful, much more practical SSTO's with awesome payload fractions.

Oh, and BTW, Exo, how's that cargo VTOL SSTO you were working on going? 'Cause I saw that and got a bit inspired, and now I'm mucking around with how to get half an orange tank to obit myself. So far the conventional landing version is in the testing phase, and I have some ideas on how to build the VTOL version. I freely admit the Aeon is a source of inspiration, though I'm limiting myself to short-range and delivery to LKO only.

Rune. But hey, respect, SSTOing is not as easy as it sounds at first.

Now she's a beauty. I really love these small (realistic) ones.

Care for some pictures from different angles?

[Rune]

Now she's a beauty. I really love these small (realistic) ones.

Care for some pictures from different angles?

If you head to my rocket builders thread in my sig (Rune's slightly used vehicles), it's actually the first one in the thread (meaning newest), complete with a download link and a mission album. Enjoy!

Rune. Comments and such are also welcome!

[Exothermos]

I finally got off my butt and finished these! They're available on my build thread.

Rune: I agree with the others, that little SSTO is sweet. I love the T-tail, It's like a Learjet with a rocket pack

Fellow314: Now THAT's a payload fraction! Did you have to use any of the payload's fuel? EDIT: Never mind, I can see you have delivered different payloads too... seriously impressive. It doesn't look like it should work. You should drop the .craft file for us so that we may all learn!

Edited December 9, 2013 by Exothermos

[Fellow314]

Fellow314: Now THAT's a payload fraction! Did you have to use any of the payload's fuel? EDIT: Never mind, I can see you have delivered different payloads too... seriously impressive. It doesn't look like it should work. You should drop the .craft file for us so that we may all learn!

Thank. https://www.dropbox.com/s/qpy3p5pjh75h5nd/Fuel.craft It really needs refining though as it has too many parts, I think.

I suspect the reason it works despite looking slightly shonky is that there are a truly staggering number of air intakes and a fair whack of jet fuel so it uses barely any of the rocket fuel to get into orbit (If I pay attention and fly it right).

(Oh, and it's dodgy on take off, especially with a light payload.)

ETA: I Love the Aeon! - that thing's epic.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Fellow314

[KissSh0t]

I downloaded your craft too xD

Maybe I will learn something. mmmmm..

Haven't been building much lately.. Tried to make a Dropship SSTO like Cupcake but failed miserably.. and made another SSTO that tumbles on re-entry.. Sigh.. My brain is empty..

[Exothermos]

Take a break or try just goofing around. Make something out of the parts you never use. Try to get something ridiculous to work, or visit another planet. Don't make SSTOs for a while. Eventually something will spark your imagination and you'll be back at it with a vengeance.

[Hodo]

I downloaded your craft too xD

Maybe I will learn something. mmmmm..

Haven't been building much lately.. Tried to make a Dropship SSTO like Cupcake but failed miserably.. and made another SSTO that tumbles on re-entry.. Sigh.. My brain is empty..

The most simple SSTO I have ever made was based on a rocket. It wasn't good but it worked. I think it was all of 30 parts.

[speedboiae86]

Here's a few I've been working on as of lately...

This first one I have dubbed the "Isprit Mk. VIII-T" It was designed as an orbital taxi, to get one VIP to orbit and on board a space station. Slightly air-hoggy with all those intakes, but then again, who here hasn't made "air-hoggy" SSTO's...? I've also armed it with 4 high velocity ballistic missiles.

This next one was my first SSTO done in KSP 0.22's career mode, uncreatively named the "Science SSTO". Not quite so air-hoggy as my usually designs, but it does it's job nicely.

These next two are SSI inspired, as I was trying to go smaller with my designs. The "Midge" Mk. V and the "Flying Flea" respectively. I love having Ion engines on my shuttlecraft SSTO's.

"Midge"

"Flying Flea"

This next one has been my new "Pride and Joy", as I have been working on it quite extensively. My new "Strike Class Attack SSTO - Gradius"

My first successful prototype was the Mk. IV edition, which was the first successful design to get into orbit. I wasn't 100% happy with the design yet though.

Before it's first weapons test.

Re-entry test.

With the success of the Mk. IV, I decided that I wanted more intakes on the design, so the Mk. V came about. The Mk. V also featured more onboard RCS monopropellant and a bottom mounted spotlight for lighting up it's targets.

I love this beauty shot with the solar panels deployed.

Even with this design, I still wasn't 100% happy. I started thinking to myself, "How can I make this better?"

The answer was, of course, add some docking hardpoints and spy satellites!! Make it look more badass!! So, along came the Gradius Mk. VI.

The Gradius's custom controls are set out like this:

1 - Toggle Turbojets

2 - Toggle Intakes and Aerospike

3 - Toggle Solar Panels

4 - Toggle Ion Engines

5 - Arm first pair of missiles

6 - Fire first pair of missiles

7 - Arm second pair of missiles

8 - Fire second pair of missiles

9 - Arm third pair of missiles

0 - Fire third pair of missiles.

How to fire the missiles: First, deactivate the rocket engine and (if you have them on) the ion engines. After that, arm your missiles with 5, 7, and 9. Throttle up to 100%, and then press 6, 8, and 0 to fire them. They are extremely long range, you could probably bombard Duna's surface with them if you can get the launch trajectory right. I've set the engines so that the missiles will rotate when they are fired, making them more accurate.

Well, that's what I've been up too as of these days.

::Edit:: New pictures, I changed the satellites a bit, redesigned them. I'm much happier with how they look now.

Download link: Click here!! Requires Mechjeb.

Edited December 11, 2013 by speedboiae86
New pictures to add, download link added.

[KissSh0t]

@speedboiae86

Some nice looking craft~

[Sanpo]

No mods SSTO

[speedboiae86]

@KissShot

Why thank you good sir. I do take much pride in my SSTO's. I've even given the Gradius Mk. VI it's own thread here in the Spacecraft Exchange forum. I've even developed a launch platform and interplanetary stage for it.

[Cinocal]

Recent creations.

Gladius 2 man SSTO stock parts

VTOL Variant B9 parts

Experimental variants

Made another Rutan Long EZ SSTO but with all stock parts.

Forgot I even made this, while going through my screenshots. True VTOL SSTO. some B9 parts

As usual, all designed and tested with FAR.

[Bekiekutmoar]

I've fabricated a small and ugly SSTO, the Harpy. Made of 25 parts and weighs nearly 6 tons, features two air intakes, one turbojet and 4 small lateral engines. It can reach a stable LKO in 5-6 minutes and is able to fly in the thin Dunian atmosphere. Transfer to and from Duna was with help of a nuclear propulsion module however.

[Fellow314]

Shuttle 3.

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[Overfloater]

Jet-1

Just conducting a rescue mission to the moon, where a three-man lander didn't have anywhere near enough fuel to get home... x-(

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Edit: No mods or cheat codes were used here... ;o)

Edited December 14, 2013 by Overfloater

[KissSh0t]

@Overfloater

Very nice craft... very good mission...

Edited December 14, 2013 by KissSh0t