The Saturn-Shuttle

[G'th]

So, I've finally come up with an idea for a challenge that I haven't seen here before. And that is to see who can build the best interpretation of the Saturn-Shuttle concept by NASA.

Background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn-Shuttle

The Saturn-Shuttle was an initial idea by NASA to bring the STS Orbiters into LEO. Rather than the expendable tank and dual SRB's we all know and possibly despise, the Saturn-Shuttle concept would have had the Orbiter attached to a modified Saturn V. The way it would have worked is to have the Orbiter attached to an expendable tank (as was done with the SRB system) which would fuel its SSME's, and that would be placed atop an S-IC stage, which was the first stage of the Saturn V. The S-IC would be able to be recoverable after jettison, and the expendable tank would obviously be left to burn up in reentry or otherwise crash into the ocean after the Orbiter's SSME's propel the pair into LEO, and the Orbiter itself would perform its mission as usual.

So, the challenge here is naturally to produce your own interpretation of this concept in whatever way you feel is necessary. I unfortunately don't have an example (mostly because a catastrophic failure has necessitated the rebuilding of my own Saturn V. That, and I still need to make my own Orbiter) but sooner or later I'll have one.

You are allowed to use almost any mod (See Restrictions below) you feel is necessary to accomplish this task. The basic one to have is B9 Aerospace, which will make designing an orbiter much easier.

You will be scored according to this system:

Tier 1: The Basics

Those that fall within this tier will be those who simply produce a Saturn-Shuttle system that can deliver an Orbiter into LKO, utilizing the components listed above. IE, a recoverable S-IC first stage coupled with and expendable fuel tank that fuels the SSME's which propel the Orbiter into LKO. Mission Success is achieved via the successful recovery of the S-IC and the Orbiter.

Those who accomplish this tier will be awarded 5 points.

Tier 2: Mission Ready

Those that fall within this tier will not only be those who meet the qualifications required by Tier 1, but who also manage to accomplish some kind of mission with their Orbiter within Kerbin's SOI. This can be literally anything from simple supply run to a space station, to a fly by of a moon, simple orbit, etc etc. Mission Success is achieved via recovery of the S-IC and the Orbiter, as well as the accomplishing of your self-chosen mission.

Those who accomplish this tier will be awarded 10 points.

Tier 3: Exceeding Expectations

Those that fall within this tier will be those who completely exceed the original point of the Orbiter's while using the Saturn-Shuttle concept. This naturally includes every conceivable mission beyond Kerbin's SOI. This will also include Mun and Minmus landings. Success is achieved via compliance with the success conditions of the previous tiers, as well as accomplishing the mission beyond Kerbin's SOI. The third condition of Tier 2 can be substituted with the condition of this one. As such, you are not required to do something within Kerbin's SOI to still be considered tier 3.

Those who accomplish this will be awarded 20 points.

Multipliers:

True Space Transportation: For each Kerbal carried by your Orbiter (beyond the basic 3. You lose no points for only having 1 or 2 kerbal crewmen however) add one point.

Precision Landing: 5 points may be added if you land your Orbiter back at the KSC Runway

That looks like a Saturn: 5 points may be added for how closely your rocket resembles the actual Saturn V S-IC stage.

That looks like the Enterprise: 5 points may be added for how close your Orbiter resembles the actual Space Shuttle

Substitution is for chumps: 10 points may be added if you accomplish a dual mission, accomplishing a task not only within Kerbin's SOI but also outside of it.

I'm Cheap!: 10 points may be added if your Expendable fuel tank is made to be recoverable as well, producing an entirely recoverable system.

I don't have much RAM: 20 Points may be added if you accomplish any tier with purely stock parts. Mods such as MechJeb or Kerbal Engineer do not count against this multiplier.

Look Ma! I can fly!: 30 points may be added if you decide to comply with and succeed at actually flying the S-IC stage back to KSC, as was intended via the Saturn-Shuttle concept. I did not include this as a requirement in the base challenge because I couldn't see how you'd manage to fly the S-IC back to KSC, even in real life.

Restrictions:

No Hyperedit

No KSP Interstellar or other future propulsion mods. As this challenge is meant to explore a concept that was meant to be feasible in the late 70's and early 80's, no future propulsion methods may be used.

[jacobgong]

I think mine looks pretty cool, it's just really hard to fly without proper computer aid. You can't even point at nodes because your actual acceleration vector is offset by the external tank and engine gimbal.

[Deathsoul097]

IIRC, the Saturn Shuttle didn't fire the SSME's until the S-IC was dropped. Actually. Hang on a mo. DERP. "The SSME's would be fed by the S-IC until stage separation."