[IMG Heavy]Cardinal Series Nuclear SSTOs! Update (Already)

[Basilo1146]

These are my most successful SSTO spaceplanes to date, and I figured it would be worthwhile to share them. They are R.A.P.I.E.R./Nerva powered SSTOs designed to be easy to fly and efficient, and, upon refueling, to be capable of interplanetary travel.

First, some notes:

1. The R.A.P.I.E.R. engines are all set to manual, and if you change this, it is advisable to remove the "Switch Mode" command from the first action group.

2. Action group configuration: 1. Toggle intakes and switch R.A.P.I.E.R. modes, 2. Toggle Nerva, 3. Toggle R.A.P.I.E.R.s, 4. Toggle other engines(when applicable). There may be some exceptions to this in upcoming models.

3. The Nerva engines should be turned on at the same time you switch to Closed Cycle mode. Doing so improves your TWR and Isp.

4. While the Nerva engine is meant to be used for orbital circularization, it can take a while (at least 0:02:11, 3 minutes for the heavier ships) to complete the burn, so it may be advisable to simply keep it burning through your injection burn into your circularization burn, or to use the R.A.P.I.E.R.s to increase the acceleration for a short time while circularizing.

5. Do not try to land models other than the Mk-3I on atmosphere-less bodies (unless you know how, which I don't).

6. When performing interplanetary travel, it is advisable to empty the jet fuel tanks in order to decrease the weight of the ship.

The first ship I am presenting is the Cardinal Mk-2-2, the flagship of the Cardinal series.

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Mk-2-2 Download

The Imgur album basically shows the ascent profile of the ship, and it is the same one used by all of the Cardinal series SSTOs, with slight variation.

The next ship is the Mk-3I, a modified Cardinal with Aerospike VTOL engines designed to allow it to land and take off from worlds without atmospheres. The only differences are the modified wings to allow the fitting of the engines, as well as increased lift, and the VTOL engines themselves. This is one of the "Heavier" Ships.

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More Images Soon

Mk-3I Download

Accessories

The main accessory being released for my ships are the tugs used to pull them around on the ground. They can be a little finicky to dock with, so just pull them up right by the side docking ports, extend their gear, and then release the brakes on the plane and the ports will pull themselves towards each other and dock. It is recommended to lower the front gear on a plane when docked to allow all of the wheels on the tugs to contact the ground. The Tug is saved as a subassembly.

Cardinal Tug Download

Note: I changed the ships because having the docking ports at the very front of them could cause physics to go whacky when docked to large space stations. I kept the side ports though because they are used in other designs.

More Vehicles and accessories to come!

Edited January 22, 2014 by Basilo1146