KSS Heinlein -- A single-stage, vertical take-off craft as G-d and Heinlein intended.

[BrianMcNett]

This requires the B9 Aerospace Pack.

MechJeb and Kerbal Engineer are optional.

I'd seen Scott Manley flying a single-stage to orbit, vertical take-off, vertical-landing, RAPIER powered vehicle in his "Interstellar Quest" series, and wanted something like it. But Manley's version was, in my mind, too complicated. It has a stage separator and GASP! parachutes!

So I built my own. It takes off vertically, from the launch pad, on a pillar of fire. It takes three kerbals to orbit, or, flies empty and brings three kerbal back from orbit.

It has no parachutes.

Because we are REAL KERBALS, and Jebediah does not use parachutes!

Turns out it's a blast to fly, so I'm sharing.

The .craft files can be found here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9vvlb6yyae4s28c/KSS%20Heinlein.zip

[spaceman1999]

I detect a scott manley fan!

[BrianMcNett]

I detect a scott manley fan!

Scott Manley made me the kerbalnaut I am today!

[Rune]

Good to see people learning from the best! But I must say, his was so big because he runs mods that seriously limit how fast he can get on airbreathers. On a stock install, you can get away with much smaller designs, even smaller than yours:

That's the shuttle on my surface base pack, and filled with LFO mix, it has enough juice to do SSTO and back on Duna, never mind kerbin where it can airhog to >1,600m/s.

Rune. For a shuttle, being light is a virtue: less fuel each refuel.

[Climberfx]

Good to see people learning from the best! But I must say, his was so big because he runs mods that seriously limit how fast he can get on airbreathers. On a stock install, you can get away with much smaller designs, even smaller than yours:

http://i.imgur.com/K6BQG1x.png

That's the shuttle on my surface base pack, and filled with LFO mix, it has enough juice to do SSTO and back on Duna, never mind kerbin where it can airhog to >1,600m/s.

Rune. For a shuttle, being light is a virtue: less fuel each refuel.

Besides the clipping stuff, that is a pretty design!

[BrianMcNett]

Good to see people learning from the best! But I must say, his was so big because he runs mods that seriously limit how fast he can get on airbreathers. On a stock install, you can get away with much smaller designs, even smaller than yours:

I had some self-imposed limitations in the design. The first was "no clipping." The second, "must carry three kerbals." Third was "clearly inspired by its predecessor." Fourth was, "no parachutes, ever." Scott Manley uses Ferram Aerospace Research, which actually makes launches easier by reducing the delta-v required (with the provision that you streamline your rockets), and although he uses Deadly ReEntry, he dials it back so that it's only "Dangerous" ReEntry. The big thing about the size of his launcher, is that he's releasing the payload in orbit. That means the payload has to have its own power, its own guidance, its own heat shields... That all adds to the size. Granted, his vehicle is more versatile. You can stick any payload of the right mass atop it.

Love your design, btw. Very nice.

I'm already looking at ways to render this fully stock. There's only two B9 Aerospace parts, and that's an intake and a fin. Nothing special there, except the shape of it. There are stock fins roughly the same size, and with the ram intakes...

(scurries off to work on the next one)

Edited February 16, 2014 by BrianMcNett
Edited to include quote for clarity.

[Pauly]

I like it.

Looks a lot like a few I have posted before.

Mine have chutes though for landing with no fuel.

I like the B9 parts on yours. It makes it look very nice.

[Rune]

I had some self-imposed limitations in the design. The first was "no clipping." The second, "must carry three kerbals." Third was "clearly inspired by its predecessor." Fourth was, "no parachutes, ever." Scott Manley uses Ferram Aerospace Research, which actually makes launches easier by reducing the delta-v required (with the provision that you streamline your rockets), and although he uses Deadly ReEntry, he dials it back so that it's only "Dangerous" ReEntry. The big thing about the size of his launcher, is that he's releasing the payload in orbit. That means the payload has to have its own power, its own guidance, its own heat shields... That all adds to the size. Granted, his vehicle is more versatile. You can stick any payload of the right mass atop it.

Love your design, btw. Very nice.

I'm already looking at ways to render this fully stock. There's only two B9 Aerospace parts, and that's an intake and a fin. Nothing special there, except the shape of it. There are stock fins roughly the same size, and with the ram intakes...

(scurries off to work on the next one)

Oh, to each their own design choices! You could very well be after a big amount of rocket delta-v for other reasons, like using it for interplanetary travel. But just to clarify, yes, that design I posted is clipped as hell (I basically hid all the intakes inside the fuselage1), but you can see (and click!) all the tanks, and its not a two-kerbal design... the middle body is a hitchhiker module, so you can get by on a really tiny amount of fuel (one FL-T400+45l of liquid fuel per engine!). To lift the three-kerbal tin can, I actually have another design much more like the one Scott uses, only resized for an unmodded kerbin (the mod of his that limits performance the most is interstellar, which makes jet engines overheat when going fast, that's why he needs so much rocket fuel, and therefore so many engines to lift off). Which means half the engines:

But I put it there mostly so you can see the intake trick. They are stacked with part clipping to a column of cubic struts. It looks cool, and it's the best way to emulate B9's intakes with stock parts I've seen, both in looks and performance. Plenty of excess delta-v in that design, BTW.

Rune. Chutes are entirely optional, of course... in fact they usually only guarantee the survival of the pilots if you don't have fuel to slow down before they fully open, the heavy RAPIERS have a tendency to pull everything else not directly connected to the chutes much faster to the ground.

[Javster]

I might do something like this...