Space shuttles using new big fuel tanks!

[Moar Boosters]

Well....... I want to see them!

The new big fuel tanks are the perfect diameter to build shuttles with, and the new engines are great for creating powerful boosters for the American version, or giant Energia style things if you wanna recreate the Buran.

I'll start you off with mine. It's my most accurate shuttle yet, reasonably well proportioned and with all the correct functionality.

The main differences would be the liquid boosters, and the little MK55 engines on the orbiter. The real one used these in orbit, however on my version they fire all throughout the ascent to help give more power. Once you're in orbit all you have is RCS, but there's over 2400 units, I haven't tested if this enough for a moon flyby or something, but it's definitely enough for lots of orbital maneuvering.

It's not too bad to fly, I've balanced it quite well. It's got quite a lot of SAS units stashed inside the main tank, which obviously help quite a bit.

Flight plan is as simple as it gets. Full throttle, spacebar to launch and start the gravity turn around 8000m. It pulls slightly towards the VAB at the beginning of the boosters stage, so you'll want to correct that, and it slightly towards the gravity turn during the end of the boosters, so you'll also want to watch for that. Once the boosters are gone you've gotta keep using the controls to keep it steady, but it's not difficult to fly.

It's only got a t/w ratio of about 0.7 when the boosters are gone, but this is just about enough to keep chasing your apoapsis and get it into orbit, it just takes a while to get the apoapsis up to 70k.

Unlike the real one, this does have an abort system. Hit backspace, and then activate the parachutes if you survive.

This is my first build, so I hold no responsibility if you encounter problems such as imbalanced RCS, imbalanced flying on de-orbit, or boosters taking out the wings during separation. Your Kerbals knew the risks when they signed up!

Anyway, here is the file.

https://mega.co.nz/#!5h5WRBCZ!LLdmYZUJyuENuX7yic5RLS9h8jUuN2mxZD_Ta3xJPUo

And here are the screenshots.

This was from a test flight, hence the missing wing.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Moar Boosters

[montyben101]

Can you try and add a cargo bay?