Heinlein SSTO family. Spaceships that land like Kod and Robert intended them to!

[Rune]

So, I have done my fair share of winged, jet powered SSTO's. But deep in my heart, I've always had this feeling that "rockets are not planes". And indeed, they are much easier. Just watch your gravity turn profile, because SSTOing on chemical rockets is tight.

Besides, with the new ASAS, keeping winged SSTO's on a good climb is much more labor-intensive. So if you want to get to orbit soon and with minimal hassle, perhaps do a crew rotation for a space station, or just getting an awesome lander up there to refuel and take somewhere else, these are your ships (4.5-4.8km/s with the tanks full, so orbit is halfway to anywhere if you can refuel there). Without further due, the Heinlein family of rocket-powered spiky fun. Enjoy!

From left to right, the Mk III, Mk II, and Mk IV. Don't ask about the Mk I... it was experimental. They are pretty similar between each other in functionality, though. The Mk II has the tightest delta-v budget (you could always deorbit on RCS, plenty of that), and the Mk IV has the most reserve, so if you are not a skilled pilot and don't get that "gravity turn" thing all that well, that is the one I would recommend. Careful about the landing that one, though: you will need some leftover fuel (fumes) to do a tiny 5m/s reduction in speed just before touchdown. The other two should descend on chutes without problems, though I would still save some fumes just in case, and obviously the Mk III is the one to use for crew rotations.

IMGUR ALBUM:

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Heinlein Mk II

Heinlein Mk III

Heinlein Mk IV

Rune. Three for the price of one! We are on sale!

[Cupcake...]

Looking slick as always. What font did you use for the lettering BTW?

Cupcake...

[Levelord]

What a hefty and unique design. I'm assuming that since you're only using the aerospike engines, you're relying solely on the other control surfaces to maintain attitude control?

[littlebattler]

Ooh, nice. But I was actually hoping for more spaceplanes

[Rune]

Looking slick as always. What font did you use for the lettering BTW?

Cupcake...

Thanks! That's Quark Storm. Don't remember where I got it, but I'm sure it's somewhere around the internet.

What a hefty and unique design. I'm assuming that since you're only using the aerospike engines, you're relying solely on the other control surfaces to maintain attitude control?

Yup, that and the torque form the command pods are more than enough control authority. In fact, the fins are there to take care of the lower drag on the spikes and give enough aerodynamic stability so they don't flip out and try to fly backwards. On the Mk III, actually, things are close, and you can lose control if you deviate too much from prograde in atmosphere. But since you have to do a decent gravity turn if you expect to make orbit, I guess it doesn't matter much.

Ooh, nice. But I was actually hoping for more spaceplanes

Don't worry, I can't keep away form spaceplanes for too long!

Rune. R-SUV needs some spring cleaning, too.

[zombiphylax]

Nice, Rune, really like the look of the Mk. III.

[Draemar]

Hey, these don't work on 0.21. Would love to try them though! Nice work.

[Rune]

Nice, Rune, really like the look of the Mk. III.

Thanks! It's a bit of a mess to refuel, but in the altar of pretty, useful is often sacrificed.

Hey, these don't work on 0.21. Would love to try them though! Nice work.

Actually, the Mk III and the Mk IV did their test runs to the same station on 0.21.1. So I'm confused, why would you say that?