Two Stage to Orbit Reusable

[RuBisCO]

I've been experiment with making two stage to orbit reusables rockets in 1.25, 2.5 and 5 m sizes, just splash down recoverable. It is very tricky in that I need to switch to the first stage before it crashes or disappears altogether and switch to the second stage and make sure it makes it to orbit. Once with Mission Control Mod the first stage of a 1.25 m fell and then a message came up asking if it should be recycled while it was still falling and I was focused on the first stage. "Yes, dear god YES!" I said and click it, freeing me up to focus on the second stage, this would be great if the first stage only needs some 'shutes and is autorecycled, but alas I could not get this to happen again. Anyone have better experience with this, got it working such that it autorecycles the first stage for money consistently?

[Johnno]

This should be in Add-on requests and support or General Add-on affairs as it's not a gameplay question for stock or generic knowledge.

[blizzy78]

Wouldn't this question be better suited in the mod's thread?

[RuBisCO]

First of all i'm using most stock parts, second of all that one innocent was so one of a kind I not sure what did it. Let me rephase the question

"Is is possible to do two stage to orbit reusable with stock KSP, if not what is mods are needed?"

[astropapi1]

In Stock KSP, you can strap a couple of chutes to the first stage and call it a wrap. If you actually want it to land while you control the upper stage, get the Lazor system, it enables you to change the loading distance (Stock is 2.5km).

If you want to do it profesionally, get Mechjeb, leave a little fuel in the first stage, and let it land it like the

.

[Johnno]

"Is is possible to do two stage to orbit reusable with stock KSP, if not what is mods are needed?"

Generally speaking, no. You can if the first stage lands while the second stage is still within 2.3km of it, and then it'd at best be 'simulated' reusability. Anything outside of render range of your controlled craft while in atmosphere gets outright deleted. Even then to get proper reusability you'd have to use docking ports instead of decouplers.

To get around the 2.3km atmosphere thing you'd have to get a mod, I don't know off the top off my head, romfarer or lazormod or somesuch. Then however everything within the extended render range (up to 100km I think) would have to be calculated, decreasing system performance.

[PetWolverine]

If you can get it out of atmosphere with the first stage, and just need the second stage for circularization, it's very doable. You just have to complete your circularization burn before the first stage falls back into atmosphere.

I've used a vertical-launch reusable SSTO rocket as a launch vehicle for most of my current save. For one particularly heavy payload, it didn't quite make it to orbit, but the payload was a lander with enough excess delta-v to finish the job. Since the launcher is piloted by two Kerbals, I would have been devastated - devastated! - if it had not landed safely, but fortunately I was able to do what I described above and get them safely to the ground.

[RuBisCO]

OK lets just call this answered. A very large first stage that gets the second stage to 100 km and to <1500 m/s of circular orbit followed by a seconds stage (1/10 the fuel and 1/8 the mass of the first stage) works very well, splash down parashute recovery, no deadly re-entry.