Where are the rocket SSTOs??!!

[iClarion]

Right, but SSTO's are typically reusable. If you aren't designing them to be reusable, you're sacrificing the efficiency gained by staging for nothing.

With the new Klaw part in the ARM patch 2.3.5, planes that can land at the runway over and over are pretty easy to reuse. Just drive up to something with a fuel tanker and klaw and bam! Refueled.

[Superfluous J]

It works! My new Tylo rover can can reach 80km orbit in a single stage, deorbit burn, land without parachutes, and drive home.

I put a link to the download in the stock vehicle section.

-Slashy

You seem to have forgotten to post images of getting that to Orbit in a Single Stage.

[Bobnova]

Lately I've been doing my best to design first stages that aren't SSTOs, and I've been having to shut them down early to prevent them being SSTO anyway.

Only reason I'm preventing them from SSTOing is that I don't want all the debris up there, largely for RP reasons.

This includes rockets with 5000-6000dV in the payload section.

I'm using FAR, which drastically lowers the dV requirement for orbit at the cost of requiring long thin rockets, fairings, careful balance, and a very long very gentle gravity turn.

Prior to .23.5 it was harder, the ARM liquid booster thing makes a lovely SSTO engine.

[Superfluous J]

Lately I've been doing my best to design first stages that aren't SSTOs.

...

Prior to .23.5 it was harder, the ARM liquid booster thing makes a lovely SSTO engine.

I know what you mean. Take your payload, slap some SLS parts under it and bam, you have an SSTO.

[confession]I actually don't mind it though. Launching is the boring part and making it easier does not in the least diminish my enjoyment of the game.[/confession]

[Dingbat1967]

Video of one of my Rocket SSTOs:

It's on the smallish side but it can put about 10 Tons in LKO.

It can put an orange tank in LKO but will consume more than half of the fuel.

[mr_yogurt]

2) looking for ways to make a reusable VTVL. The latter tend to have poor payload fractions (5% starts to look good)

... 5%? I got 10% without trying. I used the new gigantor engines and tanks. a 3-1 ratio of tanks to engine (biggest tank and biggest engine) will get you a 10% payload fraction. 9 tanks and 3 engines will get you something that can take up a full tank (biggest one) and come back down to kerbin if you add parachutes.

[UmbralRaptor]

... 5%? I got 10% without trying. I used the new gigantor engines and tanks. a 3-1 ratio of tanks to engine (biggest tank and biggest engine) will get you a 10% payload fraction. 9 tanks and 3 engines will get you something that can take up a full tank (biggest one) and come back down to kerbin if you add parachutes.

Gigantor is not an engine. Did you mean the quad KS-25?. In which case, that's not too surprising. High Isp, high TWR, and can survive 20 m/s impacts. I'd argue that the engine selection involved some trying.

Certainly since my last post in this thread testing with aerospikes (good Isp and impact tolerance, though not TWR) yielded a craft with a 7.35% payload fraction.

[mr_yogurt]

I'd argue that the engine selection involved some trying.

I just had Jebediah pick. Jebediah always picks the biggest one.

[Jouni]

My highest payload fraction for a reusable SSTO rocket was 12.7% to a 100 km orbit. Using two kinds of engines felt like a nice idea back then, but I'm not sure whether the KR-2L really helped.

[RidingTheFlow]

Video of one of my Rocket SSTOs:

It's on the smallish side but it can put about 10 Tons in LKO.

It can put an orange tank in LKO but will consume more than half of the fuel.

Umm, this is not SSTO, but just a jet-boosted 2 stage with recoverable upper stage?

[Umami]

I have used my rocket SSTO extensively in my career mode. Made for interplanetary trips around the Kerbol system. With the built in pod it can land on most of the moons. I put the whole thing down on Duna once.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[SRV Ron]

Cheapest rocket to orbit is also SSTO

Also possible to orbit Mun

[Pecan]

Yep, I use that as my 'Mk1' rocket, without all the pesky ancillaries - but I may add a link to your post so people get the idea ^^.

[GoSlash27]

You seem to have forgotten to post images of getting that to Orbit in a Single Stage.

I didn't forget, I just didn't bother since they're boring pictures. But I have supplied the vehicle file itself so that anyone who doubts it can download it and prove it themselves. That's the best proof.

Regards,

-Slashy

[edit] but just for you, I'll do a photo-shoot

Edited July 6, 2014 by GoSlash27

[Tripzter]

SSTOs are not used as much because theres no atmosphere on most planets/moons and the ones that do the jet engines dont work unless you get mods, so theres no benefit to it once you take off from Kerbin and currently a simple asparagus system is much easier to do. I suspect once they add money into the factor and they add resources it will become a good option for running supplies to a kerbin space station as cheaply as possible.

[GoSlash27]

What kind of dark magic is that ? I have no idea of what you may have done, let alone how it works D:

No dark magic, honest!

It's just 4 wheels, 4.66 tons of tanks, 3 48-7S engines, 2 light landing gear, a couple medium clamp-o-trons, an okto-2 RGU and assorted "massless" parts.

The rocket equation predicts that it will work and it does *shrug*...

I did take the liberty of folding the engines inside the tanks for a lower center of gravity and improved clearance in rough terrain (it drives like a Baja buggy), but the SSTO thing is just straight math.

Best,

-Slashy

Edited July 6, 2014 by GoSlash27

[Pecan]

...the jet engines dont work...

We're talking rocket SSTOs ;-)

[Random Tank]

Here's some piccy's of some of mine:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited July 6, 2014 by Random Tank

[Superfluous J]

I didn't forget, I just didn't bother since they're boring pictures. But I have supplied the vehicle file itself so that anyone who doubts it can download it and prove it themselves. That's the best proof.

Naaw, that sounds like work. Plus, now that I know...

I did take the liberty of folding the engines inside the tanks

...that it actually HAS ENGINES I'm cool with it. I don't see how proving that with a picture would be "boring" but to each their own

[Ruthgar]

deleted, moved to correct thread.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Ruthgar
deleted, wrong thread

[Red Iron Crown]

Here's some piccy's of some of mine:

http://imgur.com/a/ANlRE

(How do you show albums? It won't work...)

{imgur}ANIRE{/imgur} <-- Replace {} with [].

[GoSlash27]

Dupe post...

Edited July 6, 2014 by GoSlash27

[GoSlash27]

Photos of the TR5.0 SS going from Kerbin surface to orbit in a single stage...

On the pad

Showing off a little

Liftoff

Gravity turn

Transstage checkpoint 1

Transstage checkpoint 2

Beginning injection phase

Injection complete

It doesn't actually take much to pull off an SSTO like this if you don't have any payload. Just a matter of doing the math and designing accordingly. This thing won't take a Kerbin into orbit by itself from sea level, but if you use a pair of them, dock them to a lander pod with clamp-o-trons and drive to a suitable altitude then they will. It works for every body in the system except for Eve.

And as shown, even this small amount of fuel is adequate for a deorbit burn and landing without 'chutes for a drive home (although any realistic mission would have you refuel while in orbit).

Winning!

-Slashy

Cruise on over to the stock vehicle thread and pick one up while supplies last!

[Dat_Spacewaffle]

I accidentally developed 1 out of a single ram air intake, a Mk.1 lander can, 2 parachutes, a decoupler(I thought It wasnt going to make orbit), the largest 1.25m fuel tank, and a RAPIER engine. Though to be honest, I used a glitch with physical time warp that gave me more intake air, it still made it to orbit though.

[RoboRay]

SSTOs are not used as much because theres no atmosphere on most planets/moons and the ones that do the jet engines dont work ... so theres no benefit to it once you take off from Kerbin

We're talking rocket SSTOs ;-)

Indeed. And, in fact, the only real-world example of an SSTO craft was a rocket SSTO that operated from one of those "other" worlds.

Edited July 6, 2014 by RoboRay