Most Kerbal Looking Real Life Rockets

[mstrfalco]

I think the Japanese HII-A is a good one with its short stubby little boosters

That rocket is being launched tomorrow so be sure to watch! (0305-0320 GMT on 24th (11:05-11:20 p.m. EDT on 23rd))

So, what rockets do you guys think look like something straight out of KSP?

[technicalfool]

...for obvious reasons.

Edited June 28, 2014 by technicalfool
Old hotlink stopped working.

[pauix]

Because not only Kerbal rockets have staging problems

[SkyRender]

Most of the Japanese rockets remind me of my own Kerbal rockets, what with their focus on large quantities of stage-dropping early on during the most fuel-intensive part of the flight. The N-II in particular is very similar to a number of my launch systems:

Naming-wise, my rockets more closely resemble the Indian launch systems: perfectly utilitarian and descriptive of their function rather than being some sort of reference. That said, I don't see any space agencies that launch rockets with horrible puns for names, so I still hold the distinction of having no real-world counterpart there.

Edited May 22, 2014 by SkyRender

[Mighty1]

Behold a rocketcopter.

[quietsamurai98]

Definitely a KSP-like failure.

Its so much more horrific when its people, not Kerbals, who are killed

[Overjay]

I think that russian Proton-M can be nominated, as "kerbal". Too many fails recently.

[zarakon]

Delta 4 Heavy, because orange tanks

[AlexL]

Definitely a KSP-like failure.

...

Its so much more horrific when its people, not Kerbals, who are killed

I'm not sure if it's just the cut that was taken from the program, or the whole thing, but it does seem condescending to mock the Soviet programs accomplishments of getting to orbit without acknowledging their losses, and then boast of America's successful moon landing without mentioning the loss of the Apollo 1 crew.

[UmbralRaptor]

Silly answer: Ed Keith's innovative asparagus stalk.

Serious answer: Delta III (9 SRBs and a giant fairing).

[djnattyd]

This is the single greatest fail in history, put a massive grin on my face

[Captain Sierra]

Because only kerbal rockets can boast the same degree of "screw efficiency, MOAR POWER!" as that one.

Plus the failure.

[zarakon]

And look at all of those struts between the stages!

[Specialist290]

Dropping this into the Science Labs, since it's discussing real-world rockets

[MK3424]

How about the X-15?

It's still a rocket being launched from a plane.

[cantab]

This one, definitely

[Black_Tomcat]

I would say either the Falcon 9 Heavy (if it works) vor that one OTRAG concept (the one with the really many mass production parts).

[LaydeeDem]

[Brenok]

What is that? ICBM?

[R0cketC0der]

How about the X-15?

http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/05/x-15-mach-6-04-mission-09-nov-1961.jpg

It's still a rocket being launched from a plane.

That's just suporbital stuff. If you want to get a payload(also though no crew) into orbit launched from a plane, use the Pegasus. It's a plane-launched rocket using only SRBs.

[TechnicalK3rbal]

What is that? ICBM?

Yeah. Im not sure what type though.

[Kryten]

Yeah. Im not sure what type though.

It's Dnepr, a commercial launcher modified from the R-36. As for a kerbal rocket, how's this?

NOTS EV-1 Pilot. Clustered solid rockets, launched from a supersonic aircraft, at least a 90% failure rate-it practically has Jeb's name on it. For bonus crazy points, the payload was so tiny they couldn't work out if one of the launches reached orbit or not-it was simply too small to show up on any contemporary radar.

[sgt_flyer]

The UR-700 and UR-900 russian rocket concepts -

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/ur700.htm

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/ur900.htm

It had it all - pankake build and fuel crossfeed:p (and Moar boosters for UR-900 ^^)

[deadshot462]

Proton rockets. Those fairings look like they were salvaged from junk yards.

[Deathsoul097]

Because not only Kerbal rockets have staging problems

That has to be my most favourite fail ever, of all time.