Do you use SpaceShuttles??

[TheBadAstronomer]

I don't always use space shuttles, but I do use them for their lifting capacity. Not only can you bring crew to orbit, you can bring a cargo too! The shuttle I use can carry small ion probes, so it isn't all that useful for big space station parts.

[0x0h]

I figure I'll try a shuttle again soon enough, I just need to relax and be confident in my new attempts. And make sure my Center of Thrust stays reasonably the same through my ascent stages.

Tweakable parts have made this much easier then it used to be since you can now selectively add ballast around the ship without going through the hoops of enabling/disabling the tanks. Plus the benefits of being able to scale back SRBs and limit liquid-fueled engine throttles independently cannot be overstated since if you're going for an STS style of ascent then you've only got a very slim margin for COM drift before things go bottoms up. The difference between one or two percent throttle on an individual engine in a cluster may not sound like much, but depending on placement it may mean several degrees of overall movement.

As for shuttles in general, I used one regularly from .18 to the end of .21 for things like space station crew transfers and launching satellites. Mine was a Buran-style based on the Mk 3 with Echo 8's old bay so it's relatively small (1-4 tons of payload + ~20 ton fueled orbiter to LKO) compared to some of the ones I've seen lately, but it was fairly reliable considering how impracticable even real shuttles are. More recently (in no small thanks to tweakables,) I've finally managed to convert it over to a true STS launch system with stock SRBs and engines only on the shuttle itself while remaining stable enough for Mechjeb's auto ascent to fly it to space with almost no added input. Personally I think what makes building shuttles so much fun to build in KSP is that by their nature they're actively trying to murder you the whole way into space, so even when you do find a design that works well you'll almost always have more room for further improvement.

[BananaDealer]

I started using shuttles as my main lifters for station parts since I found (read- noticed) the shuttle engines pack...

[m4rt14n]

Any links for shuttle building tutorials? What mods do you recommend? Stock seems to painful with all the weight transfers, thrust alignment and assymetrical lifiting surfaces. Especially on ascent.

[AeolusRoc]

The mods I use for shuttle construction is Farram, B9, Kerbal Joint Reinforcement and Shuttle Engines parts pack.

[Nick7892]

I only use space shuttles for launching big things or assembling the space station.

[BananaDealer]

Any links for shuttle building tutorials? What mods do you recommend? Stock seems to painful with all the weight transfers, thrust alignment and assymetrical lifiting surfaces. Especially on ascent.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/67485-23-Mod-Space-Shuttle-Tutorials-27-01-Build-a-Space-Shuttle-Propulsion-Module

Right now, this is only for building your own engine cluster, but acc's planning on making it a full tutorial.

[dommcq]

No.

Why? What can they do that rockets /landers etc can't do?

[Stahlwerk]

I do not always Space Shuttle...

...but when I do, I do Doppelshuttle.

I find that this is a very kerbal solution for a well-known problem. Our Space Shuttle-Constructions always suffered from a severe thrust imbalance. But the solution I found, was indeed very kerbal: When you have two identical 16-ton shuttles at your rocket, there is neither a thrust imbalance, nor a displaced CoM. And you have two shuttles at once in Orbit. You ask me who needs two shuttles? I don't know. But I find it cool and it's the only way for me to launch Space Shuttles.

See? This is an ascent without any thrust imbalance.

The Shuttles "Erich Honecker" and "Walter Ulbricht" in Orbit, the final ascent stage can be refueled and it can decouple it's engine, so that I can attach a big LV-N, for going interplanetary.

The Shuttle "Erich Honecker" about to reenter.

Now guess which country's flag this is.

I have to say, that, especially with B9, building and testing Shuttles is extremely fun. That's the reason I do it. I always feel sorry if one of my shuttles goes Columbia...

But I still need some advice about landing my shuttles. They always come in too fast, so the rear engine explodes. Can you help me?

[Herbert McCheese-Wang]

I developed one this weekend - a great challenge, they look fab in orbit, a use for the mk3 cockpit.

But - useful? No, especially with the lack of cargo bays outside B9 (I'm using the MOL cargo bay from FASA).

I recommend using the Mk3 refit project: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/the-mk3-refit-project/

[kiwiak]

I recently started playing rount with space shuttle engines mod.

Right now im still using ready saved crafts from mod, and its really fun to take things into space instead of just generic rockets launch vehicles.

[fireflower]

Now guess which country's flag this is.

The German Democratic Republic.

I've used spaceplane SSTO's to shuttle crew to orbit. It's cool and all, just not the most practical thing.

[lodestar]

I was very enthusiastic about them when I started playing, but when I finally got one that works, I realized it's simply not worth it. Frankly, when I feel like flying something with wings, I go to X-Plane.

[Fastfishy2]

i did use shuttles once, after trying and failing so many times i found a design that worked. and it worked well.

the only thing i stuffed up was the landing and that was (almost) entirely my fault. it was small for a shuttle, but i managed to deploy a small military spy satellite with it. the satellite had a romfarer lazer system module so it could zoom in on targets.

here is another shot, in orbit. the kerbal is worried for a good reason: he knows my landing skills were so bad that at the time that except for a few flukes, i could not land most aircraft i built.

[SkipSpikowski]

I made this back in .21. It will put an Orange tanks into orbit with a 3 man crew, dock, and return under power. It has an absolutely insane action group profile and it handles like a sinking ship, but it works.

http://imgur.com/a/7RHwi

You wanna put something big into orbit, do it with style.

[Giggleplex777]

I sent Jeb to Minmus with a Space Shuttle today. It was probably the most inefficient and overly complicated way to do it.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[liweih]

Yes, but just for transportation from the surface of a planet to low orbit. I made a spaceplane that could take off from runway and take 5 kerbals to the spacesation on LKO then go back to KSC. I am also testing some spaceplaces which can ship my kerbals between laythe's surface and orbit. But I don't think I will use spaceplane for a interplanetary travel. Too much dead weight.

[InterCity]

Since there is no kerbal congress or president Kobama, i use rockets. I don't have to use wings, which saves me weight and helps me achieve bigger Delta-v. I was toying around with space shuttles earlier, but i abandoned them a long ago.

[m4rt14n]

The problem with shuttles IMO is that they're so overly complicated that by the time you can build them, you're already capable of sending SSTO to Duna and back...

In real life its the other way around though...

[allmappedout]

The problem with shuttles IMO is that they're so overly complicated that by the time you can build them, you're already capable of sending SSTO to Duna and back...

In real life its the other way around though...

Well, no. The problem with shuttles is that establishing a stable centre of thrust with an asymmetric load is very difficult with the limited gimballing that KSP stock provides, plus the Mk3 'shuttle' parts are set up for liquid fuel only, rather than oxidiser as well.

[Brapness]

The problem with shuttles IMO is that they're so overly complicated that by the time you can build them, you're already capable of sending SSTO to Duna and back...

In real life its the other way around though...

SSTOs still confound me and as such my shuttle disagrees with your argument. (That being said I haven't yet tried an SSTO that uses the rapier engine)

[panzerknoef]

Yes, my cargo shuttle is getting close to completion!! And btw, I have never succeeded in making an SSTO, I haven't really tried either but still...

[TerLoki]

I'd love to build an SSTO or shuttle of some kind for crew transfers and launching small probes and stuff. Heck, I'd really love to build one that could refuel, do a run to station orbiting the Mun or Minimus, then come back and land ready for a new mission. Buuut as it is I use rockets only because I cannot into spaceplanes, they always veer off the left and crash for some reason.

[LethalDose]

I'd love to build an SSTO or shuttle of some kind for crew transfers and launching small probes and stuff. Heck, I'd really love to build one that could refuel, do a run to station orbiting the Mun or Minimus, then come back and land ready for a new mission.

Wow, This is almost exactly my sentiment, but for slightly different reasons. I would love to use an SSTO to

• Move kerbals from the KSC up to stations and interplanetary vessels in LKO
  
• Bring kerbals on stations and interplanetary vessels in LKO back to the KSC
  
• Recover data from probes and vessels in LKO
  
• Deliver small probes to LKO to launch into interplanetary space
  

But, since I just play the stock game so far, the following deficiencies limit by ability to do this:

• No stock Mk3 parts carry oxidizer
  
• No good stock Mk3 parts for crew transport
  
• No stock cargo bays
  

Also, the SSTO's I've built in Career mode just use 1.25m and Mk 2 parts, and they are just barely able to get themselves into LKO. Adding any payload (even a single kerbal in a lander can) proved to be more than the craft could handle. I haven't used RAPIERs yet, though, so maybe thats the trick. Every time I boot up KSP I end up trying to get this to work and wasting time on it, so lately I'm just trying to avoid the game play and focus on getting mods written.

[Sparker]

IMO, the poll should be called 'Do you use re-usable spaceplanes' or something like that. Also, word 'also' in the first item isn't necessary, because shuttle-like spacecraft can't suit your every mission.

And as for the poll itself, yes, I use re-usable spaceplanes, mainly for crew transfer at the moment.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Sparker