"Wasp" Class Cargo Spaceplane, Reusable SSTO & Revisions

[Turd]

UPDATED, See last post for newest version.

I've only been building craft for 8 days now, and started right off the bat with an SSTO. I've since built a fleet of 5 rockets capable of lifting 1-100T and a second SSTO but still have not really met my personal goals. Any criticism, critique and tips are welcome, I am still very green when it come to KSP. I could really use help with the RCS placement. I had the Mk. 37 stable-ish but then it became a complete HOG for monopropellant.

My craft uses TouhouTorpedo's Mk3 expansion, Omniwheels, SasquatchMarmalade's pulse detonation engine pack, and Snjo's Firespitter.

The model numbers aren't arbitrary, each craft gained a new "Mk" each time I made a revision I felt may compromise the design, like new engine setup, tweaked wing design, or otherwise a non reversible change. The A,B,C, etc. models are just variants of the craft, like larger fuel capacity, additional maneuvering thrusters, and other small changes I have made to suit certain roles better. Some models have been "retired" as successive changed have made them entirely obsolete.

This is my first SSTO, and the very first craft I built in KSP the Mk. 37 "Wasp". It weighs about 50T wet and 32T dry. I have 3 variants of this plane, "Foxtrot" which uses all stock engine components and is a BEAST to wrestle into orbit, usually with barely enough fuel left the return on a survivable trajectory. The "Golf" became the standard craft used for small 6T payloads while attempting to launch satellites and and the first nodes for my space station but is currently being modified for a Munar shot carrying a small rover with attached landing rockets, and return to orbit stage. "Hotel" is just a modified "G" model with radial engines added for better maneuvering in orbit and a steeper thrust curve, it has taken over the typical payload runs.

The pulse detonation engines are an absolute lifesaver. Depending on angle of attack they generally get me to 30-38K meters before I have to kick on the RCS and LV-T45 rockets to stabilize. At that point I am moving between 1200-1500 m/s depending on angle of attack and model of the SSTO. The newer models will achieve orbit within 8 minutes of launch, and have over half of the fuel and oxidizer left. With the addition of a second compressed air tank in all models of craft there is usually enough air for 90 or so seconds of 90% throttle on the pulse detonation engines. Once the craft gets back below 25K meters the tanks will begin to replenish though.

Since properly aligning the center of thrust with the center of mass all issues with loss of control have been solved, thanks to suggestions on this forum. I still kick on the RCS during the short period of time during the ascent where all engines are burning, that's usually where disaster struck sending my craft into a nearly non-recoverable spin.

Sitting on the runway.

Showing off the payload bay and solar array. This is an earlier "Echo" model that had extra fuel tanks that intruded into the cargo bay, and used the air hogging exploit.

Payload bay post "Foxtrot" refit. Much more room, and I don't feel guilty about using 13 ram air intakes anymore.

Climbing the long stair.

Just enjoying some rays.

One of my better "runs" with much left over fuel. note the missing engines... My bad, those things like to overheat.

An artificial eclipse.

A satellite launch gone right...

A satellite launch gone wrong...

Payload ready for release.

Starting the long climb at night.

Retrograde burn complete, chasing that prograde marker and ready to reenter on the far side of the world.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Turd
Update

[Turd]

Updated version completed, Download "WASP" Class SSTO Spaceplane Mk. 37-H

Again feel free to comment and critique, I've only been messing with KSP for a little less than 2 weeks and have a thick skin after 6 years in the Army. I can only get better, and improve my craft(s) from here. I've been messing a lot with the B9 Aerospace pack but have yet to produce anything I'm ready to share.

Changes:

*Added radial liquid fueled engines to increase maneuverability and acceleration in space as well as during boost phase

*More RCS fuel improves docking ability and allows more use of RCS for boost phase stability

*Second compressed air tank allows for longer acceleration period at extreme altitude, a proper pilot may be able to hit speeds of >2K m/s on jet engines alone

*Relocated rear landing gear to prevent random kersplosions after gear retraction

*Better hidden struts and fuel lines

*Improved fuel flow so that transfers are no longer required for reentry

*Better cool looking lighting

*Fixed part clipping through wings

*Properly filled out FS3I data for action groups

Improvements needed:

*Slight stability issue at extreme altitude, requires use of RCS at 35K meters until 55K or so

*High level of RCS fuel consumption

*RCS imbalance

*Better usage of space in cargo hold, old versions had much more room but I never used it anyways. Big satellites get rocket launched...

*Anything else the experts can come up with, seriously feel free to help me out and tweak!

This new version can BOOK IT. I think I might be able to achieve an apoapsis of 125K and a periapsis of 60K using only the pulse jet engines. Maybe Sasquatchmarmalade should nerf the pulse jets to a maximum speed and have a capped altitude... I'd also like to see his mod work without Snjo's Firespitter needing to be installed. Until then I'm going to enjoy the crap out of this plane and launch all my small satellites with it.

MODS STILL REQUIRED:

TouhouTorpedo: Mk3 Expansion, Omni-wheels

SasquatchMarmalade: Pulse detonation jet engines

Snjo: Firespitter

[Turd]

Sorry for the bad resolution and low quality images. This craft is starting to pus my laptops limit with nearly 210 parts on some payloads. I need something new but its tough to find anything with a faster CPU for a reasonable price.

What happened to Mk. 38 to 43? B9 Aerospace doesn't play well with one of TouhouTorpedo's mods and caused me all sorts of crashes when I used any fuel lines. So much for my SABRE engine powered version... Also tried building a B9 SSTO with a huge payload bay but they just look... Off. The huge B9 fuselages don't look good with a tiny cockpit, and its hard to get a decent wing profile so I will go back to it later, or just use the Mk4 fuselage set.

"Wasp" Class Mk. 44-A, EXIMIUS

MODS STILL REQUIRED:

TouhouTorpedo: Mk3 Expansion, Omni-wheels

SasquatchMarmalade: Pulse detonation jet engines

Snjo: Firespitter

This version won't be uploaded to Spaceport, I had a really tough time getting it to accept the upload last time so I am going to wait until the Mk. 44-C version is ready. That version will include "preloaded" versions with landers, rover, two different small satellites, and a tiny little Skylab style manned station. It will also include the Buran Robotic Arm on all of the craft. If I can get B9 to work with TT's Omniwheels and Mk3 expansion I will release a version that does not require Firespitter or the PDE mods.

IMPROVEMENTS

*MUCH improved RCS thruster fuel efficiency and control.

*Revised fuel capacity. Went back up to previous Mk. 37-G fuel level in order to make Munar orbit and return feasible.

*Munar Capable! Can carry 1-2 micro landers or one lander/rover. Rovers are capable of reaching orbit, re-docking, refueling and relaunching!

*Triple cargo bay will carry payloads up to 10T and almost twice as long as previous versions.

*Slightly improved lift/flight characteristics for easier fully loaded takeoff.

*Sturdier landing gear mount for "heavy" landings with fuel.

MILESTONES

*Launched successful Munar landing and return with two Kerbals.

*Docked with, and de-orbited dead satellite using Buran arm. (Will definitely be on the downloadable version)

*Delivered small module to my ISS clone. (Previous Mk. 37-H was the first to dock there, besides 2 other rocket delivered modules)

*Launched 3 satellites at 250 kilometers with a single Mk.44, refueling at KSC between flights and landings using KAS. (Kerbal Attachment System)

**Required heavy application of F5 and F9...

Required on ground testing of all action groups, making sure its good to go as restarting a 20 minute flight due to stupid mistake would suck. Jeb, Bob, and Bill are still in orbit at the ISS clone.

Belly of the beast.

Just past supersonic, waiting to lose aerodynamic stability after 38,000 meters then deploy RCS and main boosters.

Ready to deploy with the larger cargo bay.

Get a safe distance from the EXIMIUS before something crazy happens with the physics engine.

First time success, no quick-loads needed!

Previous flight of EXIMIUS to Mun, doors closed, rover on Mun surface. Will get more and better pics next time when I'm not all antsy and worried about getting it right.