"Once you're in low Earth orbit you're halfway to anywhere"... Prove it!

[Phafor]

Hello fellow Kerbalcrashers!

So I just came up with a great challenge!

It's about proving Robert Heinlein's famous "Once you're in low Earth orbit you're halfway to anywhere" statement.

Goal:

Build a SSTO that can get into an orbit around Kerbin between 70 & 100 km (doesn't have to be a spaceplane!)

If you were succesfull then congratulations to you, but you are not done yet!

Take your SSTO and build a booster stage under it that can get it in an Kerbin orbit without using any of the fuel and the engines of the SSTO.

Get it in orbit between 70 & 100 km (NO MORE NO LESS), detach the booster stage before any manouvers!!!!. You should be left know with your fully fueled Ship that you took to orbit in one stage to orbit. And you are free to go anywhere you want NO MORE STAGING ALLOWED NOW!. Any further you go the more points you get.

How to participate?

Do the Goal like described above have a screenshot about the SSTO in the VAB or SPH, on the launchpad, it in orbit, SSTO with booster in VAB/SPH and on launchpad, it in orbit with booster detached and everywhere you have been! (doesnt have to be like Screenshot of Eve incounter, Eve orbit, Eve landing, Eve takeoff. But only the best. In this case Eve landing and Eve Take Off (Back in orbit))

Some things you need to know:

No using of the developer tab.

You may only use Flight Engineer, no other mods

Your SSTO must be manned.

Don't cheat in any way it ruins the fun for everybody. (You don't wanna be that guy...)

Explosions are always good!

You may only land on any planet/moon/asteroid once.

No refueling nor docking

Scoring!

Every Kerbal more than 1 = +2

Spaceplane: score multiplier 1.3 (It's a Spaceplane when it takes off horizontaly and if it looks like a plane)

Body:...............Flyby:...........Orbit:...........Landing:..........Taking off (After Landing, going to a stable orbit)

Mün...............+10...............+15...............+40...............+20

Minmus...............+15...............+10...............+30...............+15

Moho...............+100...............+25...............+70...............+35

Eve...............+70...............+10...............+60...............+250

Gilly...............+15...............+5...............+1...............Did you fart?

Duna...............+75...............+10...............+40...............+20

Ike...............+10...............+7...............+35...............+17

Dres...............+80...............+15...............+40...............+20

Jool...............+100...............+15...............Dafuq...............Nice try cheater

Laythe...............+15...............+10...............+14..............+8

Vall...............+15...............+10...............+17...............+8

Tylo...............+8...............+20...............+90...............+100

Bop...............+18...............+10...............+8...............+4

Pol...............+20...............+10...............+10...............+5

Eeloo...............+110...............+20...............+20...............+10

Return to Kerbin......+40

Landing on runway...+70

Example: I land Pol, and got a flyby of Tylo. So the points are like this: Jool Flyby , Jool Orbit, Tylo flyby, Pol flyby, Pol Orbit, Pol Landing

+100 +15 +8 +20 +10 +10 =+163 Poins

Note:

If you have any improvements for the scorings just tell me I just thought this up in like 10 mins

Scoreboard:

1. Stochasty 414 Points*1.3=538 Points

2. Jasonden 248 Points

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Participants:

Stochasty

Note:

I will participate myself ones i have the time for it, i'm quite busy. I just wanted to post this so you guys can do this challenge!

Edited February 13, 2014 by Phafor

[MarkoeZ]

Interesting. But define "Taking Off", you mean to orbit that object?

[cyberklad]

Instead of building a booster stage for an ssto. Why don't you just allow one refueling in low orbit instead ?

Or is it intended that you can use your booster stage for a final push out of low orbit ?

[Phafor]

Interesting. But define "Taking Off", you mean to orbit that object?

Changed it!

[Phafor]

Instead of building a booster stage for an ssto. Why don't you just allow one refueling in low orbit instead ?

Or is it intended that you can use your booster stage for a final push out of low orbit ?

You could do this if you wanted but it only would make it harder because you would need dockingports and presumably rcs. But it wouldn't make it not hard enough in my opinion to make this a 'harder' challenge.

And you have to detach your boosterstage before you can do any manouvers

[Kasuha]

Is command seat okay?

SSTO means it must not be able to stage or subdivide at all (i.e. do the whole mission in one piece), or that it must get it to orbit without staging but I can drop pieces (decouple, undock) during the mission?

Changed it!

I think the question was more about whether "take off" means you get at least 1 m above the surface, or you must get back to orbit.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Kasuha

[Phafor]

Is command seat okay?

SSTO means it must not be able to stage or subdivide at all (i.e. do the whole mission in one piece), or that it must get it to orbit without staging but I can drop pieces (decouple, undock) during the mission?

I think the question was more about whether "take off" means you get at least 1 m above the surface, or you must get back to orbit.

You can use a command seat, and you may also get a second ship for the kerbal in command seat. This is only before launch though.

You first build a working SSTO, Then build a booster under it like in the SSTO is the payload. So you can stage till you decoupled your last booster and you are only left with the SSTO fully fueled in a low kerbin orbit.

I hoped this cleared that up for you.

About that Changed it! I agreed that it wasn't really clear so i changed it in the post itself .

and I changed that in the post too, Taking off defines getting in to orbit around the body you landed on previously.

[Kasuha]

You first build a working SSTO, Then build a booster under it like in the SSTO is the payload. So you can stage till you decoupled your last booster and you are only left with the SSTO fully fueled in a low kerbin orbit.

I hoped this cleared that up for you.

I can understand that much. But the matter is what you mean by a "working SSTO".

The thing below is an SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit). I got it to orbit without staging.

And it follows the definition of SSTO for some other challenges, such as the Reddit 3 Man SSTO Challenge

Take 3 Kerbals to orbit with a craft that uses only one stage to get there! The Kerbals must also return home, but additional stages may be used after getting to orbit.

So my question is if that is ok or if you mean something else by an SSTO.

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[Phafor]

I can understand that much. But the matter is what you mean by a "working SSTO".

The thing below is an SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit). I got it to orbit without staging.

And it follows the definition of SSTO for some other challenges, such as the Reddit 3 Man SSTO Challenge

So my question is if that is ok or if you mean something else by an SSTO.

http://imgur.com/a/beGi5

Take the SSTO as a payload on a regular booster. think about it as a satellite you put in low orbit, then you detach the booster. And then you can't stage anymore.

[Kasuha]

Take the SSTO as a payload on a regular booster. think about it as a satellite you put in low orbit, then you detach the booster. And then you can't stage anymore.

Okay so it's not only SSTO but it's forbidden to stage it (or break or divide in any way, I assume) any further.

That's rather important I think.

[Phafor]

That is what I said in the main post .

[Red Iron Crown]

No, you didn't really. Single stage to orbit is not the same as no staging at all.

[Phafor]

I hope I made it clear in the main post now. Let me know if it isn't

[Kasuha]

Okay I have my SSTO. I'm not sure if I'm totally happy with it but I think it's decent. Is it ok if it has still some fuel left in the tank after it gets to orbit? Of course it's not really a problem to circularize with no fuel left if I fly less economically.

[Stochasty]

Am I required to actually use a booster, or can I just fly the missions as an SSTO? Because there's only one target that might be doable using a booster that's not doable using an SSTO without the booster: Tylo. And I've been everywhere else already.

Regarding your scoring: Eve landing is relatively easy, and Eve takeoff is impossible (for a single stage craft). Flyby of Moho and Eeloo are about the same, but orbit of Moho is much, much harder. And you should probably including returning to Kerbin in your scoring.

As for my submission, here is my SSTO to Moho:

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Total score: Eve flyby, Moho flyby, orbit, landing, and takeoff; 70+100+25+70+35 = 300

Edited February 9, 2014 by Stochasty

[NQMT]

I suggest changing the Ike flyby to something a lot lower. Not once has Ike let me go straight to Duna. Not once.

[Phafor]

Am I required to actually use a booster, or can I just fly the missions as an SSTO? Because there's only one target that might be doable using a booster that's not doable using an SSTO without the booster: Tylo. And I've been everywhere else already.

Regarding your scoring: Eve landing is relatively easy, and Eve takeoff is impossible (for a single stage craft). Flyby of Moho and Eeloo are about the same, but orbit of Moho is much, much harder. And you should probably including returning to Kerbin in your scoring.

As for my submission, here is my SSTO to Moho:

http://imgur.com/a/hCitr

Total score: Eve flyby, Moho flyby, orbit, landing, and takeoff; 70+100+25+70+35 = 300

Woaw very nice Stochasty! Thanks for the entry, and I think its a good idea to add points to return to Kerbin and land on the runway!

Ill add you to the main post! I'll add the points for Kerbin return and landing on runway.

Although i think you got it wrong, if you got your ssto to orbit. you were allowed to go back to the vab/sph to put a booster under it and get it into orbit so you have full fuel in low kerbin orbit, i thought it was a challenge to make something like this so you had a lot of extra weight for your airbreathing engines.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Phafor

[Phafor]

I suggest changing the Ike flyby to something a lot lower. Not once has Ike let me go straight to Duna. Not once.

I don't really get what you are saying. Do you mean when you get an encounter with Duna you probably instantly get an encounter with Ike?

[Whirligig Girl]

I don't really get what you are saying. Do you mean when you get an encounter with Duna you probably instantly get an encounter with Ike?

That's ALWAYS what that statement means.

[Phafor]

That's ALWAYS what that statement means.

ok, i was just making sure. you dont have to take it so heavy man...

[MarkoeZ]

I've never built a working ssto before, always been more of a big rocket man

So yeah, started with step one, getting something in orbit.

Approach: Kiss - Keep it simple, stupid

And this was an attempt at getting up without using the nuke engine within atmosphere, barely making it at the end of the runway... Its quite a lot more comfortable with a little nuke boost at takeoff

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Next up, booster stage

[Phafor]

Looks Cool! Im excited to so your full entry!!!

[MarkoeZ]

one question, can the booster stage have stages? If so i will just plop some jumbo tanks with massive engines and some boosters below it to do the job.

[Phafor]

one question, can the booster stage have stages? If so i will just plop some jumbo tanks with massive engines and some boosters below it to do the job.

Throw some asparagus mainsails under it. It's booster won't be rated and it is just there to get your full SSTO in orbit.

[MarkoeZ]

Ok, in that case: the ssto to orbit

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