Best dV in LKO with SSTO - no jets, no ions, no flapping

[James_Eh]

Hmmm... now I realize that this challenge is a bit flawed. I had assumed that LV-N's would need to be part of the ascent phase, but since that is clearly not the case, this just becomes a contest to see who can get the most fuel into orbit with 1 LV-N attached. Chalk it up to my lack of practice with the 23.5 parts...

Nope, never mind, this is very wrong and I take it back...

[Jett_Quasar]

This is what I threw together really quickly for this challenge. I don't have mecjeb but I put a screen shot of the initial velocity 2262 m/s (at periapsis) and final velocity as soon as I ran out of fuel of 4578, so just over 2300 m/s as a rough calculation. I'm pretty sure I could bring that closer to 3000 with some minor modifications and a bit more practice piloting this new design.

The name of the craft is the SSTO-Challenger, shows here the velocity as it passes periapsis.

So the final velocity is 4578, and I know that's not accurate but gives an idea. Also the velocity indicator reads 1865, in addition to the 900m/s which was my initial manoeuvre node which comes out to around 2700 dV. In any case it's not like this is the best design in this competition so far, I just wanted to give it a proper try.

So this is what the final orbit looked like. It ended up way inside the orbit of Moho - not bad for an SSTO.

Edit: Oops, I didn't read the fine print for the additional restrictions and stuck some fins on my rocket - I guess I'll have to try again.

JR

Edited August 13, 2015 by Jolly_Roger

[James_Eh]

You characters are fantastic. Lots of fun here.

I am stuck in Detroit on business all of this week and have just now managed to convince my work laptop to allow me to log in to the forums, and I miss my rockets very much (game is on home system), but I will make an effort tomorrow to create a proper leaderboard and do all of that other stuff that comes with challenges.

PS - Despite the craziness of the Hammerhead (and the, um, crowded LKO space which it inhabits), it looks like Sensei is currently in 1st.

Edited August 12, 2014 by James_Eh

[Jett_Quasar]

Just to make it official I decided to do a test and find the actual Delta-V I could get from this rocket. I put it in orbit again and set up a maneuver node for 4000m/s. I know I won't make it that far, but by burning until I run out of fuel I can figure out my total Delta in m/s. I just need to subtract the remaining velocity from the initial amount.

I found a relatively flat spot to land; it's leaning a bit and I'm actually surprised it didn't fall over... but a nice photo op with Kerbin on the horizon and a big ass rocket landed on the Mun. There wasn't enough fuel to get back into orbit but it was unmanned anyway, and it got me thinking. If I could build an SSTO with ion engines and a little more delta-V I could turn it into a probe and actually make something useful out of it...

JR

Edited August 13, 2015 by Jolly_Roger