Name that "Rover" (?) contest!

[Whackjob]

Ok, so here's the deal. I'm constructing an overly elaborate and completely unnecessarily large rover that preferably will be able to take off from the homeworld and land wherever it's supposed to be roving. The intent is for this thing to be sodding enormous, but not so big that it takes an hour and fifteen minutes real time to get it up in the sky from too many parts.

The problem: I can't think of a witty name for it. So name it! Screenshots follow.

Spine and lower wheel assembly beginning

Vroom vroom! Moves about well even in higher gravity. Sloped surfaces have to be taken gingerly.

CURRENT TASK: Top plate, engine clusters, finish framing

More pictures will follow as I progress.

[Guest]

Priapism

(extra characters)

[Whackjob]

Right now I'm experimenting with different lift methods. Touching on jet engines at the moment; Seems like a smart move to have my initial stage or stages use that, as I wouldn't have to carry oxidizer.

[Whackjob]

"RoverJetFuelDepot, requesting permission to buzz the tower."

[Whackjob]

Priapism

(extra characters)

Don't have near enough blue paint.

[KSK]

That Could? As in 'the little rover that could'.

[Devo]

How about we call it "Fugly"

[Camelotking524]

Big-Um....

[Flixxbeatz]

WJS-MK.1

(Whackjob Special - Mark 1)

[Whackjob]

Crashin' out for the night. Going to dream of engine clusters and shoddy Mun landings.

[Specialist290]

Call it the "Fitzcarraldo." Then send it over the mountains to the west, and try to launch it from the opposite shore of the continent.

[Whackjob]

Got a build together, trying to lift it into orbit. First stage is jet powered; Figured the lack of having to carry oxidizer would make the liftoff more efficient. I don't have enough. I'm getting lift, but it's rising into the air agonizingly slowly. Getting few frames per second. Running obscenely slow. I have a secondary orbital placement stage of regular mainsails, which I'm not firing yet, and then a third permanent internal stage of them atomic engines for landing on the Mun.

We'll see how it goes.

[cesarcurado]

Visionary XL

I don't really know, this just popped in my mind when I saw it's huge tower.

[Richy teh space man]

How about Calamity Wheeler?

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Yes! I vote Fugly!

[Whackjob]

Test flight. Will it orbit?

[Whackjob]

You are having a bad problem

You will not be going to space today

Ran out of monopropellant. That and I need to beef up my jet engine stage. I'm packing too much fuel and not enough engine there.

[SkyRender]

I propose you call it Operation Incredible Sport. A fun little reference plus a pretty accurate description of what it will be like to try to drive that monstrosity on any sort of low-gravity body.

[Whackjob]

Revamped the jet stage, added more RCS fuel... going for round two!

[Whackjob]

Slow and steady gets the rover on the Mun

[Whackjob]

Another failure. Ah well. That's what test flights are for. I need more air.

[Whackjob]

Another launch. Another failure. Control issues this time; After dropping the jet stage I cannot maintain orientation.

Though on the plus side, I'm mostly confident, that once this is corrected, I will be Mun bound.

[Whackjob]

Final launch of the night... making this the last one because it's still an hour long process. I'm above the lower third of the atmosphere, I'm canted at a forty-five degree angle, aiming for going exoatmospheric. Air levels getting quite low... about to get to the point where I jettison the jet stage and let my rocket orbit boosters kick in.

Now, last time I did this, the engines slammed into my main carriage, so this might be sketchy.

[Whackjob]

Ok. I surrender.

Here's the deal. When I drop the jet stage, it has all my vaned wings on it. That's my orientation control. When I drop that stage, I spin out of control. Forget hitting R and T. That seems to do nothing for me. There's something I am missing. The mainsails have gimbals, so I figured that and the little multidirectional thrusters, would be sufficient for keeping me oriented. No such luck. No matter how many thrusters I glue on this thing, I immediately lose control.

I do not know what to do.

"No reason to hang on to 'em. We can't point 'em in the right way."

I must beg advice from the more experienced. What is the remedy for this maddening condition?

[tntristan12]

I would try sending it up in a way that allows you to put it together in orbit. Send each orange tank separately and connect them with a Clamp-o-tron Sr., then connect the extra structure with docking ports. You can use quantum struts to add more stability to your design.