Goddard rocket Challenge

[Slugy]

I've finally made a Goddard style rocket that is pleasant to fly, thanks to Kerbal wobbly engineering, putting engines and flight controls on the end of girders works really well.

741.41t on the pad and 201.42t to orbit (88 x 75km), and it's land-able with a brief burst of engines of engines at touch down.

I was trying to do a powered landing but it's too hard for me

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Craft file for the curious.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Slugy

[numerobis]

This challenge a couple weeks ago made me think I should write a mod to make it easier. Goddard proved that putting rockets on top was neither more nor less stable than putting them on the bottom -- and yet, gimballing rockets in KSP are doom when they get above the center of mass. Also, they can't roll.

So I wrote a mod to change that; not yet in packaged form, but the adventurous can download and compile it. After building the DLL, change the "ModuleGimbal" in any part.cfg to "ModuleSMRTGimbal" and bingo, that engine can now handle being off the center of mass.

Does it work? Here's the pudding:

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Flies perfectly well manually, or here using MechJeb: you don't need to reverse the controls, so autopilots can fly it.

[Nalin_Airheart]

*scoffs as he remembers previous attempts at staging gone wrong* On a more serious note this is literally just putting a payload into space with the engines on top.

>Doesn't see the challenge in it besides not putting engines on the bottom.

[numerobis]

Since it's so easy, presumably you can show your best attempt.

[Nao]

edit: ok can i delete a post ? damn im stupid.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Nao
stupid

[ericpar]

So I got 74.11t into space!

I present to you the Goddard Web. I made a nice web of areospikes and strutted that mother hubber. I used mecjeb for construction and S.A.S.S.

Thanks for the challenge I had fun!

http://imgur.com/a/Kc23f#4

[Slugy]

This challenge a couple weeks ago made me think I should write a mod to make it easier. Goddard proved that putting rockets on top was neither more nor less stable than putting them on the bottom -- and yet, gimballing rockets in KSP are doom when they get above the center of mass. Also, they can't roll.

So I wrote a mod to change that; not yet in packaged form, but the adventurous can download and compile it. After building the DLL, change the "ModuleGimbal" in any part.cfg to "ModuleSMRTGimbal" and bingo, that engine can now handle being off the center of mass.

That is really cool and it would be a great mod to release in a user friendly format, it would open up some fun designs.

[Eric S]

Why is this such a challenge? Scott has already done a video on just this.,. last year.

Like many challenges, the challenge isn't to do it, but to do it the best/most. The scoreboard on this is the payload mass in orbit. So while small masses are easy, heavier masses get hard. Perhaps more so than a conventional rocket, perhaps less so, but it doesn't matter. More mass is harder, and that's where the challenge comes from.

[Speedy4460]

Challenge Accepted

[Slugy]

Why is this such a challenge? Scott has already done a video on just this.,. last year.

All you have to do is put the rockets on pylons, away from the pendulum and it flies. Put them on the pendulum and it crashes. It has nothing to do with anyone being smarter than Goddard or pendulum rockets even working. It's the physics engine not modeling real-life physics.

Build a rocket, and you will understand why it's a challenge...

[Slugy]

I might have done that once or twice. No challenge in this tho. Hauling a payload just for sake of doing it with flawed physics? Who can haul the largest mass? That comes down to how fast your computer is and how much part count lag you can tolerate. Naa. I'll go catapult Kerbals or infi-glide if I want unrealistic. Those I don't have to tolerate lag to 'win'.

No it comes down to designing around a limitation, this is not unknown in many universes.

Try it - you may be surprised.

"Lag" or slow fps has not a lot to do with it, or at least no more than with any large part count rocket.

Also; why are you commenting here, if you have no interest in attempting the challenge?

[Karmacoma]

Dont know if this counts as i couldn't fly this thing due to lag so i had to leave it in the hands of mechjeb.

if it counts then i claim 249.1 ton to 100x100 orbit of this 12420.6 Ton launchpad monster

8 mainsails clustered, 32 big orange tanks4 large sas, 64 reaction wheels, 20 RTG's, 4 large solar panels and a partridge in a pear tree!

all stock (apart from mechjeb and the partridge) and the biggest rocket i have ever made and got into orbit just a shame i had to use MJ i would have loved to try manually getting this to orbit!

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Edited August 17, 2013 by Karmacoma

[lobsterbark]

Lol, right. And the post RIGHT ABOVE this proves my point. "Dont know if this counts as i couldn't fly this thing due to lag so i had to leave it in the hands of mechjeb."

Because it's no challenge of the game or skills to go out, buy a faster computer and slap something stupid together to 'win'. I'm posting because this is listed under 'Challenges' and buying a fast computer is NOT a Kerbal challenge. It's an economic one. Plus, I didn't want the people competing in this to start thinking they'd outsmarted Goddard.

I'm fairly sure this is a troll.

[Karmacoma]

Lol, right. And the post RIGHT ABOVE this proves my point. "Dont know if this counts as i couldn't fly this thing due to lag so i had to leave it in the hands of mechjeb."

Because it's no challenge of the game or skills to go out, buy a faster computer and slap something stupid together to 'win'. I'm posting because this is listed under 'Challenges' and buying a fast computer is NOT a Kerbal challenge. It's an economic one. Plus, I didn't want the people competing in this to start thinking they'd outsmarted Goddard.

because there is no challenge in actually building it is there? you don't like the challenge, then avoid it because i'm pretty sure no one who is actually participating in it gives a flying *CENSORED* about your views, i know i don't

also after rereading the rules MJ is allowed so everyone has a level playing field. The challenge (for me at least) was building it, not flying it!

and now i'll stop feeding the troll...

[sal_vager]

I'm fairly sure this is a troll.

Yep, troll, going to close this thread for a few mins

Edit:

Reopened!

Edited August 17, 2013 by sal_vager