跳 Tiào (non-asparagus lifter subassemblies)

[Elmetian]

Horizon Heavy Industries presents the Tiào (Jump) range of subassembly lifters. These rockets are the end product of months of development, and can trace their basic characteristics back to the Kumo booster used to launch my Spider Class tug and O.O.P.S. All three models are 2-stage rockets, relying on the improved efficiency of the Skipper engines over the older Mainsail. They feature minimal clipping, and the part count is significantly lower than their predecessor (57, 80 and 108 parts for the S, M and L respectively). For the sake of simplicity, none of the subassemblies have action groups. The upper stages also have a probe body so that they can be easily deorbited. Payload fractions are 12.35%, 12% and 11.53% respectively, which is not a world away from the 15% expected from comparable lifters using asparagus staging.

Admittedly, I'm not sure how much use people will get from these given the ARM pack is just around the corner. I've avoided clipping the tanks as much as possible so the fuel density is unlikely to be any higher than would be achievable with the new large tanks, but since I kept them on my Rocket Builder thread I figured I best release them soon. If the ARM pack makes these completely obsolete, then I'll start working on an improved launcher family with the new parts.

Also included is the Voltaire Cismunar Shuttle. This rough-and-ready demonstration ship is only 22.44 tons with the fairing (17.75 tons without), small enough to be launched on the Tiào S subassembly, which can easily place it into a 100km circular orbit around Kerbin:

Mediafire Download

The files are compressed in a .rar archive, but I can provide them as separate files if requested.

Flight Notes:

Increase throttle to max and engage SAS before launch. Use the spacebar to stage as normal. I begin a slow gravity turn at about 10km altitude, pitching over gently to 70°, and throttling down by a couple of notches at the same time. You should continue to pitch over and throttle down as the flight progresses. As a general rule of thumb, by 25km you should be at 45° or less, at about 2/3 throttle, and getting ready to follow the orbital prograde marker rather than the surface one on the navball. The maximum payloads stated above are given for an average launch. With good piloting skills, you might be able to squeeze out a ton or two more than advertised.

Voltaire Cismunar Shuttle Action Groups:

1 toggles the engine

2 toggles the solar panels

Edited March 24, 2014 by Narcosis

[Redrobin]

Those are some good looking lifters.

[The14th]

Nice and clean, and I can never have too many lifter choices! Thanks Narcosis!

[Larrt_M]

I just put your Voltaire Cismunar Shuttle into orbit. It worked perfectly and was very easy to control. Nicely done!

Edited March 25, 2014 by Larrt_M

[MmPMSFmM]

... I saw what you did there...

Mr. leap

[Wayfare]

Sexy rockets and nice presentation!

[Elmetian]

Many thanks guys. I've got another two craft ready to share over the weekend as well. The first is a Munar lander that uses the Tiào L, and the other is a K Drive vessel that uses the Tiào S. Not found a use for the Medium yet though. Any suggestions?

[spaceman1999]

Make a modular space station!