SSTOs! Post your pictures here~

[Technical Ben]

This is my fav right now. SSTO and return. Can take a nice little section/pod/drive at a time. So I'm sending up pods, then fuel, then drive units. For a forth or fifth launch including a rover and orbital pods.

It's not much to look at, but it's had zero failures so far... after initial testing and refinement that is!

The parachutes are for emergencies only, and have not been used... or tested yet.

Oh, and I have to use Mechjeb for it as it often lands with less than 10m/s Dv, and at times zero fuel left!

[Damaske]

Yeah~! Because Cubic Octagonal Strut's allow fuel to pass through them!~! So no need to use fuel lines.

Try to stack the cubic octagonal atop each other BOOM THREE stacked engines Currently testing Basic jet, Ramjet, and the spike all on one spot!

[Exothermos]

Is the basic jet/turbo jet combo worthwhile for SSTOs? It seems like the weight of the basic jet would off-set any low altitude advantages. Or are the momentum gains worth it?

[KissSh0t]

Is the basic jet/turbo jet combo worthwhile for SSTOs? It seems like the weight of the basic jet would off-set any low altitude advantages. Or are the momentum gains worth it?

When you think bout it Yes... Greater thrust at low altitude... and when you get to higher altitude, that is where the Turbo Jet starts to kick in with it's power and then turning off the Basic Jet Engine to save Air Intake and Fuel and also because at that altitude it is not doing much anyway.

[Damaske]

ok i am getting troubles with this EACH time i try to stack all three something screws up and i can't see the kerbal flying, the staging, i can not hit space to stage i have to use the preset keys, and if i try to use SAS it pins itself to the extreme and i end up crashing . or just circle around till i run off the runway if i add no thrust.

what is causing this? I clear it out with new ship and its not there.

[KissSh0t]

ok i am getting troubles with this EACH time i try to stack all three something screws up and i can't see the kerbal flying, the staging, i can not hit space to stage i have to use the preset keys, and if i try to use SAS it pins itself to the extreme and i end up crashing . or just circle around till i run off the runway if i add no thrust.

what is causing this? I clear it out with new ship and its not there.

Posting images so we can see what you are doing might help.

[Damaske]

Posting images so we can see what you are doing might help.

That the thing i don't know what i did to cause it. Let me see if i don't play for a bit and then try a few things. If it keeps going I'll take a few screenshots and post em up to find out wtf is going on.

[TheMontgomery]

I've finally created an SSTO that I can reliably and consistently get into a stable orbit (albeit with help from MechJeb)!

I call it the Lech CTV (Crew Transfer Vehicle), Mark II, and it serves as a light crew transport to ferry Kerbonauts to and from the nascent Lazurgóra space station presently under construction in LKO.

It's a bit airhoggy (2x Ram intakes, 4x circular intakes [i prefer the appearance], 4x scoop intakes for a single turbojet engine), but it performs well enough; I reach just under 1,600 m/s at around 25,000m altitude, and once the LV-909s get me into a proper orbit, I've got between 600-800 m/s delta-v remaining.

Excuse the ladders on either side of the cockpit--I find that having egress on either side helps, since I usually find myself on side without a ladder after an EVA otherwise, it seems.

A screencap of my apsides and remaining fuel.

[Damaske]

Posting images so we can see what you are doing might help.

Rebuilt another space plane and then went to fly it and blam this happened AGAIN! I am really getting sick and tired of this crap....

will post in troubleshooting but i bet you they will tell me " sorry you have modded content can't help you" grrrrrrr

Seams to be a mod, did a stock game with only mech jeb, fuel balancer, rcs balancer, and it works without a hitch. *sighs* I'll add in mod after mod till i get it. Will also post a full list of the mod that have been causing this.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Damaske
more info aboot the problem.

[Rune]

When you think bout it Yes... Greater thrust at low altitude... and when you get to higher altitude, that is where the Turbo Jet starts to kick in with it's power and then turning off the Basic Jet Engine to save Air Intake and Fuel and also because at that altitude it is not doing much anyway.

Actually, sorry, but when you think about it, it doesn't. Let me explain: Extra jets are basically increasing T/W, at the expense of weight, when low in atmosphere. That might decrease time to upper atmosphere, but a bettter T/W on turbojets at same intake ratio will do so too. Now you might say, "but they are more efficient than turbojets" well yeah, but they are still dead weight at orbit, and they are also dead weight while accelerating in the high atmosphere, so you end up getting to lower speed before you run out of air, and needing more rocket fuel to make orbit, offsetting any fuel you might save by flying the first 10kms and ~150 m/s on a slightly better isp (where, incidentally, most of your drag losses will happen unless you stay below terminal speed).

So all it does is decrease time to orbit by decreasing range, and it is worst at it than just improving T/W on turbojets. A definite no-no on any efficiency claims. It does, however, look nice.

Rune. Sorry to rain on your parade, but SCIENCE!

[KissSh0t]

Rebuilt another space plane and then went to fly it and blam this happened AGAIN! I am really getting sick and tired of this crap....

will post in troubleshooting but i bet you they will tell me " sorry you have modded content can't help you" grrrrrrr

Seams to be a mod, did a stock game with only mech jeb, fuel balancer, rcs balancer, and it works without a hitch. *sighs* I'll add in mod after mod till i get it. Will also post a full list of the mod that have been causing this.

I was gonna say Mods.. so yeh.. you confirmed it yourself.. xD

[KissSh0t]

Actually, sorry, but when you think about it, it doesn't. Let me explain: Extra jets are basically increasing T/W, at the expense of weight, when low in atmosphere. That might decrease time to upper atmosphere, but a bettter T/W on turbojets at same intake ratio will do so too. Now you might say, "but they are more efficient than turbojets" well yeah, but they are still dead weight at orbit, and they are also dead weight while accelerating in the high atmosphere, so you end up getting to lower speed before you run out of air, and needing more rocket fuel to make orbit, offsetting any fuel you might save by flying the first 10kms and ~150 m/s on a slightly better isp (where, incidentally, most of your drag losses will happen unless you stay below terminal speed).

So all it does is decrease time to orbit by decreasing range, and it is worst at it than just improving T/W on turbojets. A definite no-no on any efficiency claims. It does, however, look nice.

Rune. Sorry to rain on your parade, but SCIENCE!

It really comes down to the design of the craft and what you want it to do.. In my case I am building a very heavy SSTO, and using this type of engine setup is helping me get the extra speed I need to get it off the ground before the end of the runway.. Without those extra Simple Jet Engines, It just doesnt have enough power.

There is no wrong or right way to do things... only what works best for the design.

Edited November 11, 2013 by KissSh0t

[Fellow314]

A couple of attempts at being clever.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Fellow314]

Okay, third attempt at this concept.

The first two both performed perfectly. They did everything they were supposed to do except, when you got to the moon, you could either land or come home. Not both.

So, I made it bigger. It's still a work in progress, the pics are orbital tests, but at 361 parts and 58 tons I'm thinking I might have overdone it slightly. (the first two were 'only' 194 & 239).

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[KissSh0t]

You are on a roll Fellow314~

[Deadweasel]

[TABLE=width: 800]

[TR]

[TD]The DV-102 "Sherpa"

The Sherpa orbital tug and light equipment dropship is capable of SSTO on all celestial bodies in the Kerbol system except Kerbin and Eve (due to gravity and atmospheric density).

Featuring three torque sources for the ultimate in control and stability, the Sherpa was built primarily around an experimental fuel converter, which serves as its fuselage as well as its sole source of fuel. Because of this design, it can operate at an extended range (unloaded) by converting fuel on-the-fly as it operates, and is the only tug and dropship in the fleet capable of berthing aboard an IPEV vessel's vehicle bay.

At full throttle, the Sherpa will definitely run its tank dry in no time, even if the converter is active. It is also incapable of generating its own power and monopropellant, which means once it hits atmosphere, it is now on battery power, and the clock is ticking. It can convert fuel for itself only so long as the batteries hold out. This can make landfall while loaded on planets or moons with atmosphere quite tricky to successfully complete!

But land it can, and it's quite capable of delivering a substantial payload to any surface.

Recently improved as the DV-102A, the Sherpa is now the exclusive mover and surface delivery vehicle for the Duna Explorer Missionâ„¢!

*Duna Explorer Mission is sponsored in part by Kellog's Special Kâ„¢ cereal. Look special, feel special![/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Hodo]

[TABLE=width: 800]

[TR]

[TD]The DV-102 "Sherpa"

I love it, granted it will most likely not work for me, but I love it. Great design!

[Bloodbunny]

Here's my first ever Kerbin capable SSTO spaceplane. Nice to look at, and still has a workable amount of dV left..but all that just to take Jeb to orbit? I don't think rockets are in any danger of being surpassed by SSTO's in my space program anytime soon.

[Deadweasel]

Here's my first ever Kerbin capable SSTO spaceplane. Nice to look at, and still has a workable amount of dV left..but all that just to take Jeb to orbit? I don't think rockets are in any danger of being surpassed by SSTO's in my space program anytime soon.

Ahh, but they just might, IF there just happened to be a handy-dandy fueling station loitering around at a totally coincidental altitude of 72,319 meters.

...just sayin'... >_>

[KissSh0t]

I don't think rockets are in any danger of being surpassed by SSTO's in my space program anytime soon.

I have an SSTO that can fly to and land on the Mun and Minmus.. and fly back to Kerbin.. without refueling.. without dropping parts..

Can you do that with a rocket?

There are few others here that can fly their SSTO's *With Cargo inside them* to Duna and Laythe.. and return back to Kerbin without refueling.

Can you do that with a rocket?

SSTO's can do many things Rockets simply cannot.

[Cruzan]

I think the the keywords in Bloodbunny's post were:

of being surpassed by SSTO's in my space program anytime soon.

As in, his skills aren't quite up to snuff just yet for SSTO designs

Don't worry Bloodbunny! Keep at it and you'll get there. Find a design that works, then refine, refine, refine!

[Tommygun]

Well I finally got a SSTO up into orbit with stock engines.

Orbiting at 72km, I still had over 1800 Delta V left over even after recovering from a bad flat spin when my jet engines flamed out at 26,000 meters.

I was target locked on my altitude and wasn't watching my intake air.

A B9 Saber version.

[sjwt]

Nice thread, I present my argument to "Struts don't work" or "ASS can't fly anything!".

[Tommygun]

Good God!

I think we need to change the thread's name to Single Strut To Orbit.

[Cruzan]

Nice thread, I present my argument to "Struts don't work" or "ASS can't fly anything!".

Sweet mother of struts....it's glorious!

Good God!

I think we need to change the thread's name to Single Strut To Orbit.

Maybe Several Struts to Orbit would be more appropriate?