Asteriod lifting?

[peachoftree]

has anyone landed an asteroid on kerbin and then launched it back into orbit? I was considering making a challange about this but don't know if it is possible.

[regex]

Theoretically it's totally possible except ?maybe? for the largest class E asteroids but I'm not sure what the mass ranges are. I don't know what the drag on an asteroid is but stock isn't exactly FAR so it should be fine.

E: Ah, the asteroid part has the same drag as pretty much anything else, so it should be just like launching any other part. All you have to worry about is getting the mass to orbit.

[Thomas988]

Woah. This is actually pretty interesting! I'm sure with Moar Boostersâ„¢ it could work, or, well, maybe through ingenious engineering and masterful maneuvering. But who has time for that?

But really, I'd love to see Whackjob try to do this....

[Random Tank]

Lightest roids are about 6 tons, so if you have a Skycrane that can lift 10t to LKO it will take an A class roid up there easy, just song long as it can fit over the top of the roid with its claw!

[RocketPilot573]

I landed a 2000 ton E class on Minmus a few days after .23.5 came out, and it was in the wrong place (few Km off from a base).

It is still in the wrong place.

[merendel]

it can be done. the hard part is finding a good way to attach it to a launch system. Small ones landed at KSC wouldnt be all that difficult with a good design but a D or an E would require a vehicle of wackjob proportions. even a small one could be hard if it wasnt near KSC.

[SkyRender]

That would make an interesting challenge, actually. Hardcore Mode would be to do it with FAR installed. And by "hardcore" I of course mean "all but assuredly impossible without some serious exploits".

[merendel]

That would make an interesting challenge, actually. Hardcore Mode would be to do it with FAR installed. And by "hardcore" I of course mean "all but assuredly impossible without some serious exploits".

you'd be surprised what odd shapes you can lift even in FAR as long as they are symetrical. the obsurd pancake asparagus launchers can be flown you just need sufficent deltaV to brute force your way to orbit while keeping speed low. no exploits required your just going to have crazy high gravity an drag losses till you get into the upper atmo. Go too fast though and youll either flip out or break up.

[midnitemax]

But really, I'd love to see Whackjob try to do this....

I'm guessing "Whackjob" is the name of a person and I don't know if he did it, but here's _a_ whackjob doing it:

Check out the other Robbaz-KSP vids, if you don't know him, especially #2 of the pet asteroid series in which he retrieves the asteroid (named "Charlie" or "Sharlie" in his pronounciation) from it's crash site to the KSC in 4 attempts, each one funnier than the last. IMO the funniest youtuber ever and the reason I got into KSP in the first place.

[Deadpangod3]

I was thinking of landing an asteroid on the mun and returning it to orbit the other day...

[merendel]

I'm guessing "Whackjob" is the name of a person and I don't know if he did it

ya Whackjob is a forum user thats somewhat famous on the forums for launching obsurdly massive things into space. and by massive I mean 2-3 SPF (seconds per frame) monstrocities that apparently melted at least one computer to date. If anybody could design a launcher that could lift an E back into orbit it would be him.

[Artfact]

I'm guessing "Whackjob" is the name of a person and I don't know if he did it, but here's _a_ whackjob doing it:

Check out the other Robbaz-KSP vids, if you don't know him, especially #2 of the pet asteroid series in which he retrieves the asteroid (named "Charlie" or "Sharlie" in his pronounciation) from it's crash site to the KSC in 4 attempts, each one funnier than the last. IMO the funniest youtuber ever and the reason I got into KSP in the first place.

Robbaz has some incredible videos indeed. Those Pet-Astroid episodes are priceless.

[Epthelyn]

I landed a 2000 ton E class on Minmus a few days after .23.5 came out, and it was in the wrong place (few Km off from a base).

It is still in the wrong place.

A 2000 ton object on Minmus only weighs 100 tons, which isn't too bad.

Better still, 2000t on Gilly is only 10t, but you'd need to bring an asteroid to Eve first

Lifting that much on Kerbin would be extremely difficult though; it's hard enough to lift a couple of thousand tons when you have full control of a VAB-built payload.

[J.Random]

Better still, 2000t on Gilly is only 10t, but you'd need to bring an asteroid to Eve first

It may weigh 10t but still handles like 2000t. Ever heard of inertia?

[Shisouka]

"Landing a class E roid on Kerbin an returning him safely back to orbit .."

Yeah, whackjob takes the #1 spot on the list of people to ask for a "solution".

[Deadpangod3]

Speaking of which, where IS whackjob? I havnt seen him on the forums recently