Single Stage to the Mun!

[NonWonderDog]

Get to the Mun, with one rule: everything that starts on your ship must stay on your ship.

Bonus points for orbiting and returning. Massive bonus points for landing. Godlike status for landing, taking off again, and making it back to Kerbin.

The bonus challenges will almost certainly require mod parts. Fair parts, even very large ones (KW Challenger, Down Under) are allowed. Or try to do it with Silisko Edition for laughs.

Here\'s my entry: single stage to Munar orbit with stock parts.

Who here will be the first to land?

[trbinsc]

Using C7 I went within 1000 meters of the Mün, ran out of rcs fuel, and had to abort the landing. I got back to kerbin alive though. It was only one stage.

[foamyesque]

Using C7 I went within 1000 meters of the Mün, ran out of rcs fuel, and had to abort the landing. I got back to kerbin alive though. It was only one stage.

C7 is lots of fun, but waaaay overpowered for this kind of challenge. Personally I\'m boggled by the OP, although I suppose I shouldn\'t be.

[NonWonderDog]

So it turns out that the hard part of this challenge isn\'t building the rocket, but flying the monster you have created.

So far, I haven\'t been able to control a single stage spacecraft well enough to put it into an efficient pair of transfer orbits to and from the Mun. Landing when main engine gimbaling is your only source of control is its own adventure as well. Putting enough fuel on the ship is by no means the challenge, however.

I\'m sure one of you is a better pilot than I am!

[foamyesque]

I remain boggled, but mostly by how overcomplicated you\'re making things.

Getting enough juice to land and take off on the Moon is tricky, but doing a TLI, munar orbit, and return to Kerbin can be done with much less than you\'ve employed.

[geb]

Using Sundaypunch\'s parts (plus silisko\'s lunar lander leg), it\'s really very simple to go to the Mun in a single stage. The tiny liquid fuel engine is very efficient and a cluster of seven are powerful enough to do the job.

It doesn\'t make the return trip though.

[foamyesque]

Alrighty, time to back my words up with screenshots!

[Technical Ben]

foamyesque, I cannot even keep a rocket like that stable, let alone get to the mun. >

[foamyesque]

foamyesque, I cannot even keep a rocket like that stable, let alone get to the mun. >

Well, I have a joystick, which helps a lot.

[Warringer]

Well, I have a joystick, which helps a lot.

Not to mention your experience...

[Tiberion]

Well, anytime someone mentions overpowered or cheat parts, one only needs to examine how overpowered a stack of normal tanks are.

That is ridiculous

[Feragorn]

Well, I have a joystick, which helps a lot.

It\'s doable on WASD as well.

[foamyesque]

It\'s doable on WASD as well.

Yes, but, having done both, it\'s MUCH easier with a stick.

[thorfinn]

Well, anytime someone mentions overpowered or cheat parts, one only needs to examine how overpowered a stack of normal tanks are.

The thing that bugs me about standard parts is how they disfavour staging. Oftentimes, when you try to make a 'correct' rocket you are just causing yourself more trouble; problem is, Kerbin is so small that being able to do SSTO easily IS actually realistic... balancing for the campaign mode will not be an obvious proposition, at all.

Using Sundaypunch\'s parts (plus silisko\'s lunar lander leg), it\'s really very simple to go to the Mun in a single stage. The tiny liquid fuel engine is very efficient and a cluster of seven are powerful enough to do the job.

Hey, that\'s the Delta Clipper!

[NovaSilisko]

The thing that bugs me about standard parts is how they disfavour staging. Oftentimes, when you try to make a 'correct' rocket you are just causing yourself more trouble; problem is, Kerbin is so small that being able to do SSTO easily IS actually realistic... balancing for the campaign mode will not be an obvious proposition, at all.

That\'s the absolute number one thing I hate about vanilla parts. They DISCOURAGE staging. Engines and decouplers are apparently made of lead...

[Feragorn]

Plus ASAS and RCS are all wonky, so you get underpowered RCS trying to hold an overpowered ASAS module stable. Which means you flip around and around in space.

[RedRockets]

Well, I have a joystick, which helps a lot.

What kind of Joystick do you use?

Interested in buying one but don\'t want to waste my cash.

[foamyesque]

Saitek X52.

[SmiteZero]

Saitek X52.

Which is a bit extreme just for KSP, Rockets, FYI before you go looking for one.

[flying_chair]

I fail at taking off on KERBIN! You excpect me to land on the MUN?!

[PeriapsisPrograde]

...decouplers are apparently made of lead...

See the attached craft. If you adjust the stages so that the booster fires before the decouplers, it won\'t get off the ground

[Plymouth]

WARNING!Lots of screenshots.

This spaceplane\'s codename is SpaceBird-X(because of wings)38. It has enough fuel to fly to the mun and back, and even escape kerbin gravitation, but the furhest point this plane can get to is orbit around the sun.

[SteevyT]

Shrink that up into the corner and display apoapsis and periapsis values at all time and that would be a perfect minimap view for the flight window!

[Plymouth]

We should post an idea about the mini map to suggestion forum

[trvtannenberg]

Shrink that up into the corner and display apoapsis and periapsis values at all time and that would be a perfect minimap view for the flight window!

Definitely want.