Deep Space Exploration Vessel

[StelarCF]

So I was looking at other challenges today and suddenly it struck my trek-filled mind: What if someone made a Deep Space Exploration Vessel?

So here it is, the Deep Space Exploration Vessel Challenge.

You have to do the following to be presented with a badly well made Jebediah Sculpture:

- Make an liquid fueled rocket that can go at full throttle for at least 3 in-game hours (this must be just the last stage, can only go online after getting into space)

- Stock parts only (Probodyne parts allowed ONLY for the antenae and other scientifical parts)

- Must be able to get back to earth Must include pizza

- Show pictures of the craft at 1 hour intervals.

[Tosh]

Your results first, please. It\'s preferable to \'do it yourself\' before starting a challenge.

[StelarCF]

Your results first, please. It\'s preferable to \'do it yourself\' before starting a challenge.

I was working on that. ATM the stage that is supposed to get my DSEV in orbit is still a fog dispenser... :/ But do not dispair, I\'ll make it fly in no time.

[Entroper]

So I was looking at other challenges today and suddenly it struck my trek-filled mind: What if someone made a Deep Space Exploration Vessel?

So here it is, the Deep Space Exploration Vessel Challenge.

You have to do the following to be presented with a badly well made Jebediah Sculpture:

- Make an liquid fueled rocket that can go at full throttle for at least 3 in-game hours (this must be just the last stage, can only go online after getting into space)

- Stock parts only (Probodyne parts allowed ONLY for the antenae and other scientifical parts)

- Must be able to get back to earth Must include pizza

- Show pictures of the craft at 1 hour intervals.

The smallest final stage I can imagine that fits this requirement with stock parts is 152 liquid fuel tanks and one vectoring liquid engine. This lasts 152 * 500 / 7 = 10 857 s, which is 3h00m57s.

Thus far I\'ve only been able to lift 21 liquid fuel tanks to orbit. This will be an enormous challenge with stock parts only.

[Neomex]

- Make an liquid fueled rocket that can go at full throttle for at least 3 in-game hours (this must be just the last stage, can only go online after getting into space)

This one is pretty impossibile. (at least with novadays computers)

[Tosh]

The smallest final stage I can imagine that fits this requirement with stock parts is 152 liquid fuel tanks and one vectoring liquid engine. This lasts 152 * 500 / 7 = 10 857 s, which is 3h00m57s.

Woooooah. Thanks a lot, that are the digits I wanted to see... but was way too lazy to calculate \'em myself

So, I state that

Mission. F---ing. Impossible.

[StelarCF]

The smallest final stage I can imagine that fits this requirement with stock parts is 152 liquid fuel tanks and one vectoring liquid engine. This lasts 152 * 500 / 7 = 10 857 s, which is 3h00m57s.

Thus far I\'ve only been able to lift 21 liquid fuel tanks to orbit. This will be an enormous challenge with stock parts only.

Well, at least you agree it\'s possible. And yes, that\'s how much it would be.

And the craft would go at about 4999 m/s at its best if there were no air or gravity and its mass wouldn\'t go down. I\'d say about 8000 m/s if it would go down, and using gravitational wells you could get well above kerbol\'s escape velocity.

[StelarCF]

Woooooah. Thanks a lot, that are the digits I wanted to see... but was way too lazy to calculate \'em myself

So, I state that

Mission. F---ing. Impossible.

Don\'t say it before you tried it - I tried it and I think I could try to get it working. Maybe. Who Knows.

[Tosh]

Don\'t say it before you tried it - I tried it and I think I could try to get it working. Maybe. Who Knows.

I won\'t be trying to even build that 152-parts upper stage. I already know how 50-parts rockets lag.

Probably with some later game versions, when VAB lag will be fixed...

Anyhow I\'ll take a look at your results as soon as you get any))

[Kosmo-not]

I think this should be a post-persistence and docking challenge.

[UmbralRaptor]

152 tanks + 1 LV-T45 + 1 CM + 1 TR-18A == 383.8 tonnes. If we (generously) assume that a 5 tank rocket can lift 5 tonnes to LKO, this will require 77 5 tank + engine columns, for a 462 part lower stage, not counting ASAS, RCS, and struts. Actual part count would likely be north of 500. Lag may well force a direct ascent to Kerbin escape layout, resulting in an even larger rocket.

Alternatively, the challenge says reach space, rather than orbit. This should help considerably if crashing after a few minutes is acceptable.

edit: If the goal is to maximize DV, this monsterous upper stage only has ~11,729 m/s. Staging would help considerably.

[Huojin]

Just when I was thinking about attempting this... '152 LFTs'... Hell no.

[Entroper]

152 tanks + 1 LV-T45 + 1 CM + 1 TR-18A == 383.8 tonnes. If we (generously) assume that a 5 tank rocket can lift 5 tonnes to LKO, this will require 77 5 tank + engine columns, for a 462 part lower stage, not counting ASAS, RCS, and struts. Actual part count would likely be north of 500. Lag may well force a direct ascent to Kerbin escape layout, resulting in an even larger rocket.

Alternatively, the challenge says reach space, rather than orbit. This should help considerably if crashing after a few minutes is acceptable.

edit: If the goal is to maximize DV, this monsterous upper stage only has ~11,729 m/s. Staging would help considerably.

If the upper stage has to run for 3 hours, it can\'t crash after a few minutes. You basically need to put it into orbit, because one little vectoring LFE isn\'t going to keep it aloft otherwise.

And yeah, staging would be ideal. With fuel pumps and crossflow on LFTs, this becomes easier, as you can just throw away clusters of empty tanks every once in a while.

With docking and persistence, this won\'t be all that hard. Just lift one stage at a time and dock them all together.