Is there a "Perfect Rocket"?

[JiWint]

I came to wiki to read how to make a good rocket.I saw thrust to weight,mass vs weight and etc...

I just wish to know is there a perfect rocket,a rocket that has more delta V than other rockets?

Like ssto,it can not be over-weighted,but can't be too small.Is there the "Golden center" between big and small rockets?

I'm really confused,like you are now

EDIT: Someone make a rocket that lifts as much as possible (or has as much as possible Delta V) weight.

Edited August 26, 2013 by JiWint

[blizzy78]

It comes down to this simple formula: To get more delta-v, you need to bring more fuel. To bring more fuel, you need to bring more fuel to get it up into orbit. To be able to bring more fuel to get more fuel into orbit, you need even more fuel. You get the idea. Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.

In my opinion, a "perfect rocket" would be one that has enough delta-v to get the job done, but not substantially more. Everything else is just dead weight not needed for the job.

[thescientist]

Nothing is perfect-it's just the better that someone can do! I think it doesn't exist and that the real challenge is to make one that is the most similar possible!

[UmbralRaptor]

In general, there's no such thing as a perfect rocket. For a sufficiently well defined mission, constraints, and limited parts set, there may be.

[Nibb31]

Rocket science is about compromise. You can't have a perfect rocket.

[ArmchairGravy]

The perfect rocket is the one that safely delivers its payload just as it runs out of fuel.

[Spyritdragon]

There isn't a general 'perfect rocket'. It all depends on the mission, your intent and what you percieve as fun.

There will, however, be a most efficient rocket for any situation, although it might be hard to find.

What i can tell you is that in current KSP, Asparagus staging, rather than SSTO, will get you very close to perfect weight in ascent. Using it, you'll carry very close to the least amount of dead weight possible at all times. Any tanks that can be dropped are dropped as soon as they are empty, and no two symmetrically-lined tanks will start emptying untill the current one is fully empty.

[JiWint]

It comes down to this simple formula: To get more delta-v, you need to bring more fuel. To bring more fuel, you need to bring more fuel to get it up into orbit. To be able to bring more fuel to get more fuel into orbit, you need even more fuel. You get the idea. Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.

In my opinion, a "perfect rocket" would be one that has enough delta-v to get the job done, but not substantially more. Everything else is just dead weight not needed for the job.

This is what I was thinking about.To make a good rocket,you need much delta V.TO get much delta V you need thrust.To get thrust you need engine and fuel.But the fuel and engine weighs,and kills delta V.XD

[MrKicker]

A rocket that delivers its payload and destroys itsself with minimal parts.

[capi3101]

Is there a perfect rocket? Depends on how you define perfect and for what task the rocket's intended. Is there a perfect catch-all rocket for all situations? No. I think others have explained why that is sufficiently at this point.

[HeadHunter67]

I believe there is a "perfect rocket" for each mission, based on the parameters of that mission. However, this hypothetical rocket will be different than the perfect rocket for any other mission - so the answer is "no rocket is perfect for everything, and any rocket perfect for this mission will be less perfect for others".

[Amoun]

Its a very open ended question.

1) Does the rocket get you to where you want to be with the fuel left over that you wanted? You have built a perfect rocket for that job.

1a) Do you not like getting rid of that excess fuel because you feel like you are wasting it? You have not built a perfect rocket for that job, you should take less fuel=>less weight=>more efficient.

1b) Was there not enough fuel in the same rocket (1) to get the job done for another craft that you built? Then you have built a perfect rocket for that job but not for this one.

And so on and so forth.

Technically, the most perfect (per job) rocket would have only the parts that you want on there and that you need, and runs out of fuel exactly when you land (or gets into the exact orbit that you wanted) after you have done what you wanted to do.

[TheDarkStar]

For space, the dV approaches infinity as the full/dry mass approaches infinity. Since the fuel ratio in tanks is 8:1, you approach a maximum per stage and delta-v as you use more fuel tanks per engine. With one LV-N, you get a bit more than 18000 m/s, and the ion engine gives 34000 (check this). Multiple stages improve this, so you can get liquid-fueled ships without a limit for delta-v (but your framerate will suffer). However, if you make something that can land on Eve and come back (especially from sea level), it can land anywhere and return (with proper piloting).

[JiWint]

For space, the dV approaches infinity as the full/dry mass approaches infinity. Since the fuel ratio in tanks is 8:1, you approach a maximum per stage and delta-v as you use more fuel tanks per engine. With one LV-N, you get a bit more than 18000 m/s, and the ion engine gives 34000 (check this). Multiple stages improve this, so you can get liquid-fueled ships without a limit for delta-v (but your framerate will suffer). However, if you make something that can land on Eve and come back (especially from sea level), it can land anywhere and return (with proper piloting).

Erm,I tried 3 LV-N engines attached to orange tank on my last mission to Gilly.When I tried to thrust with them...Fuel was consumed very fast but my speed didn't change ._. Glad I had 909 one

[TheDarkStar]

Erm,I tried 3 LV-N engines attached to orange tank on my last mission to Gilly.When I tried to thrust with them...Fuel was consumed very fast but my speed didn't change ._. Glad I had 909 one

You probably have something blocking those engines, then. Also, with 3x the number of engines, you have 3x the fuel usage rate, but the same efficiency. Because of their thrust and their small mass compared to the large orange tank, you should see a faster acceleration than with an LV-909, or even 3 of them.