What was your biggest payload you have launched into orbit?

[Remkeau]

The problem I have with the new stack decouplers is if I have 6 in the same stage they only decouple one at a time when space is pressed. Even if I use MechJeb to decouple them they still don't go all at once causing stability issues and sometimes RUD. I'm modifying my design to not use them which makes the lifter more simpler anyway.

Same here. Using action groups to decouple doesn't work either. I fixed it with using only 1 connector in the middle and some struts for the perimeter engines.

[Padishar]

Not been playing much recently but I built a 460+ ton asteroid tug and ended up getting 584 tons into LKO...

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Edited April 8, 2014 by Padishar

[rpayne88]

I've gotten 115 up in one go. No asparagus, with FAR and RT, with zero debris, and no nukes.

[SkyRender]

Listed mass in orbit is 545T. It was not an SSTO, and it has enough dV left to reach Jool and circularize without aerobraking if I so desire.

[magnemoe]

Still the Jool lander.

http://imgur.com/a/dahmU#0

it just dropped the SRB going up.

[1greywind]

About 450 ton - 250 ton refueling station + 200 ton tug (Station was successfully transferred to Laythe orbit).

[Technical Ben]

The problem I have with the new stack decouplers is if I have 6 in the same stage they only decouple one at a time when space is pressed. Even if I use MechJeb to decouple them they still don't go all at once causing stability issues and sometimes RUD. I'm modifying my design to not use them which makes the lifter more simpler anyway.

You think that's bad, what about this (partly on topic, as those two craft are my biggest launches yet):

You might be noticing the clouds. That REALLY adds to the realism. It's the "Environmental Visual Enhancements" mod.

Thanks. Noticed it after careful inspection.

[TMS]

Over 9000.

[Redshift OTF]

Over 9000.

Stock? Into LKO?

[electronicfox]

I personally wanna see someone launch a class E rock BACK into space, from Kerbin. Lord knows Im not gonna do the maths to figure out how thats gonna be done

[-RanZ-]

These new parts are insane, lifting 4+ full orange tanks is nothing anymore. My asparagus heavy lifter is crazy powerful

[Redshift OTF]

I'm currently using this engine cluster design on my lifters.

That's 8 x 3200 kN engines and 1 x 2500 kN engine in the middle to give a total thrust of 28,100 kN or almost 19 mainsails worth of thrust. Not bad considering it all fits on the bottom of one giant fuel tank.

[Hans Dorn]

TWR 2 means you should add 50% more tanks, lol

Cheers

[Redshift OTF]

TWR 2 means you should add 50% more tanks, lol

Cheers

Hah, yeah it was just something I knocked up in 10 mins to do more testing on the cluster. This would be a less wasteful redesign that can lift 250 tons into LKO using only 1 stage.

[Redshift OTF]

I think we need to re-evaluate what a payload is.

Take the example ship I made above. It can lift just over 250 tons into LKO. However, the ship as a whole can get into LKO with the first stage still intact with a trickle of DeltaV left. This brings the total mass to LKO to around 575 tons. Have I lifted 250 tons or 575 tons? The payload should be the part that gets into orbit intact with out fuel or engines having to be used IMO.

[Pecan]

Oddly enough I've just been reading the same thing on wikipedia's article on multi-staged rockets; payload/launch vehicle is a fine and easy distinction right up until someone uses part of the 'payload' as final stage. When designing a general-purpose launch vehicle I think you'd have to say 250t, because it's what "else" the vehicle can lift. If you're just seeing how much 'stuff' you can get into orbit then I agree your 575t though, especially as getting the thing into space so it can be refuelled and used for something else (eg; massive interplanetary tug) might be the point.

Ahh, the joys of taxonomy.

[ScottyDoesKnow]

I think we need to re-evaluate what a payload is.

Take the example ship I made above. It can lift just over 250 tons into LKO. However, the ship as a whole can get into LKO with the first stage still intact with a trickle of DeltaV left. This brings the total mass to LKO to around 575 tons. Have I lifted 250 tons or 575 tons? The payload should be the part that gets into orbit intact with out fuel or engines having to be used IMO.

I think the commonly used definition is what generic payload it can lift to orbit. Any launcher that includes the engines and fuel tanks used to get there in its payload (and comes up with say 500t) couldn't actually lift a 500t asteroid up there. Some people like to do the last few hundred dV of circularization with the payload (so the launcher drops into the atmosphere), but I wouldn't be too much of a stickler about that.

[Redshift OTF]

Total ship weight = 3762 tons

Payload weight = 1617 tons

Either way it's getting bigger.

[Pecan]

Lol. Has Whackjob seen that yet?

[Redshift OTF]

My stuff pales into insignificance next to the power of the Whackjob.

[Bioman222]

This whole thing (170ish tons) made it to orbit

[cantab]

But I'm going to work on a modular lifter design soon, making more use of the new parts. I'm thinking 125 tons to LKO, for at least one configuration, is a good target - that's three orange tanks plus ancillaries.

Well, my Brunel launcher was nothing like that. 18 to 42 tons to LKO, depending on configuration. I decided part count was reason to drop my initial plan of joining multiple ones of them together.

I think I'll have to stop worrying about tankage and fully go for the new parts for my serious heavy lifter.

[magnemoe]

I think we need to re-evaluate what a payload is.

Take the example ship I made above. It can lift just over 250 tons into LKO. However, the ship as a whole can get into LKO with the first stage still intact with a trickle of DeltaV left. This brings the total mass to LKO to around 575 tons. Have I lifted 250 tons or 575 tons? The payload should be the part that gets into orbit intact with out fuel or engines having to be used IMO.

its a good question, you could lift more than 250 if you had dropped the first stage and circulated with an upper stage.

You can do even better, as large upper stages tend to be massive interplanetary mothership or asteroid tugs you can complete the last 500 m/s of the burn with it, more if you have decent TWR, you only need to bring extra fuel for thee 500 m/s burn.

[maccollo]

I think we need to re-evaluate what a payload is.

Actuall payload mass on top of the launcher+fuel mass left in the launcher.

If you include the things like the mass of the engines that got you to orbit you can increase the total mass to orbit without actually improving the performance.

Edited April 9, 2014 by maccollo

[bsalis]

656 tons, a few versions ago

With all the fancy new ARM kit available now, might build something massive sometime. Though I don't have a need for it.