Spaceplane to Duna (WAS: Kerbonaut run over by own ship at KSP)

[Mister Dilsby]

So I'm planning a Duna mission with a spaceplane. Idea is to get the SSTOSO plane up in LKO (that's 'Single Stage to Orbit, Sort Of' because I use drop tanks and also eject one turbojet after it flames out) , then dock with with the transdunar stage.

First order of business was to roll the plane over next to the launch pad for a group photo before launching the two ships. That's spaceplane pilot Buzz Kerman standing between them:

This is where Buzz realized he hadn't set the parking brake in the unmanned plane. (Also, that it does not have a parking brake.) It started to roll--down one launchpad berm, up another, back and forth as Buzz frantically chased after it. I don't have pictures of this, as (1) I was jamming WASD and the view controls to try to intercept the ladder, and (2) I was laughing too hard.

A couple of times the ship passed right over him, narrowly missing his head with the drop tanks and ram intakes. Finally Buzz thought to wait halfway up a berm and managed to grab the ladder when it came by.

I think when (if?) this ship is on the ground at Duna, I'll retract the nosegear just in case.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Kuzzter

[Vanamonde]

The little orange button on the lower right of the altimeter will lock the brakes. Click it again or tap the brake key B to unlock them again.

[Mister Dilsby]

The little orange button on the lower right of the altimeter will lock the brakes. Click it again or tap the brake key B to unlock them again.

...Oh. We'll, this isn't going to inspire confidence in my ability to get to Duna, is it?

[Vanamonde]

You don't need brakes to get there, but it might make getting back easier.

[jedensuscg]

I have this problem all the time. Forgetting to set the brake on the Mun when you are not paying attention to your Rover, and then you turn around and it's not there.

Edited June 9, 2014 by jedensuscg

[Mister Dilsby]

Yep, that's about par for KSP, where 15% of EVA losses are due to kerbonauts opening their helmets to get at tools!

BUT... Buzz was able to get to finally corral his ship, get it back to the runway, remember which end to point to space, and reach a nice high circular orbit to wait for the interplanetary stage! Here he is dropping the wing-mounted jet fuel tanks. The center turbojet also comes off, to expose the docking port.

[Taki117]

That's a neat little design you have there, but Might I suggest using something other than rapiers? Because Duna doesn't have an atmosphere that contains oxygen the airbreathing mode is going to be useless. You could probably get away with the 48-7S augmented with the 24-77 and do just as good. (if not better)

[Mister Dilsby]

That's a neat little design you have there, but Might I suggest using something other than rapiers? Because Duna doesn't have an atmosphere that contains oxygen the airbreathing mode is going to be useless. You could probably get away with the 48-7S augmented with the 24-77 and do just as good. (if not better)

Thanks! I did consider that, but then of course I would have had to add some more airbreathing engines for the ascent through Kerbin atmosphere. (if I wanted to keep the SSTO,SO plan) Takeoff weight is about 30 tons, and I found I ran out of runway too soon on just the single turbojet.

If I could have (easily) staged turbojets over aerospikes I probably would have done exactly that, as I did in the center mount. Hard to see from the photos, but what I did was put a decoupler over the docking port with the FL-100 tank and a turbojet, and tied the FL-100 to the main centerline tank with hoses.

ETA: Now that I think on it some more, yeah I could have put better rocket engines than RAPIERS on it, and still had enough turbojet to orbit, 3-4 different ways. Maybe next time--but hey, this way I'll be able to a long powered descent after Kerbin re-entry and will have a better chance of hitting a good landing spot.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Mister Dilsby

[Mister Dilsby]

...but no time for improvements now, 'cause the boost section is in matching orbit on schedule, and Dunaglide K3 is on final approach to dock!

[Mister Dilsby]

Docking and Duna intercept successful! But Jeb did not drive the straightest curved line to get there and we may have a fuel situation. Buzz will have to use as little fuel as possible to glide to landing and return to low Duna orbit. Contingency plan is to abandon the 30 ton spaceplane and come back to LKO with the boost trailer.

[Mister Dilsby]

Wait, did you say THIRTY TON spaceplane?

KSC: "Buzz, you're coming in a little hot."

BUZZ: "I can hold it."

KSC: "You're at 270 m/s and you're heading into a hill. Abort landing."

BUZZ: "Negative, Control, I got this. Speed is now 170. Gear down."

KSC: "Buzz, mission parameter is 50 m/s or no go on landing. Abort."

BUZZ: "What? No one told me that."

Jeb: "I wrote a note, it's taped over your navball."

Buzz: "Oh, I have a navball?" (rips off note) HOLY KUZZBOT! I'm gonna die!"

KSC: "Abort! Abort!"

Jeb: "Get the science!"

Buzz: "I got your kuzzing science right here! ABORT, ABORT! FULL THROTTLE UP!"

...As luck would have it, Jeb and the boost stage were nearly directly overhead when Buzz pulled up, and only 20km away when he stabilized orbit. Docked successfully; there may be enough fuel left for another low-altitude pass to get the rest of the science, and return home. But no way is this ship landing on the surface. Too heavy, not enough lift for a horizontal landing. Back to the VAB to design a proper lander, or spaceplane that can tail-sit.

[Creature]

Interesting to see how this turns out. Have you considered dabbling in the arcane arts of VTOL?

[Mister Dilsby]

Interesting to see how this turns out. Have you considered dabbling in the arcane arts of VTOL?

Creature, that is a fantastic idea. Maybe I can rig some kind of retro/chute combination that kills landing speed enough... If not VTOL, then HTO/SL.