Help with getting parts to a space station

[Mtshaw113]

Mods: KW Rocketry, Station Science, other misc. stuff

Hello all. I just got Station Science about a day ago, and I've never built a space station before. I got a contract, not realizing the stations were 2.5m and are big and heavy, and now im trying to complete it.

I currently have an extremely small station up in orbit, and I was wondering if anyone has a good rocket design to get a Zoology Bay up into orbit and successfully dock with it. Im having some trouble building rockets, as I am pretty bad. Thanks for anyones help!

[slumpie]

Does it have to be cost efficient? Are you playing in sandbox or career?

[Mtshaw113]

Career, I do have 12 million funds somehow, but i would prefer it not to be a 5 million dollar craft, or something extremely expensive

[Zylark]

In my career save, I got a sub-assembly of a lifter capable of getting 45 Tons to a 250km orbit - nearly 60 Tons if the payload got its' own engines to do the final push under its' own power. It's a pretty simpe design as these things go, no fancy non-stock parts, Asparagus or complicated staging.

Top to bottom: 4 way large Hub, Zoo module, Science module, Service module, 4 way large Hub. Slung underneath is the lifter itself.

This { means in symmetry }

4th Stage - Rockomax X200-32 tank with a Skipper engine.

3rd Stage - Rockomax X200-32 and a LFB KR 1x2.

2nd Stage - 2x {2x Rockomax X200-32 (or just use a Jumbo - I did not have this unlocked when making this lifter) and a LFB KR 1x2.}

1st Stage - 4x {S1 SRB - KD25k}

Since I use Stage Recovery, each stage got plenty of Parachutes slapped onto them - and Sepatrons to make sure they do not hit anything when staging. No mishaps yet.

Using three launches, I got this in orbit so far:

Left to right: The Hab module, Science module and then Fuel and Life Support module. Docked are two vessels, the Station Assembler that is used to dock the big heavy modules. Features a long skirt to envelop the modules, with RCS thrusters at the end for easy docking. And a unmanned little fuel-hauler to carry fuel from my Mun based Karbonite operation and back to LKO.

Next up is getting two Cyclotrons to the station. Each of those weigh in at 45 Tons, so is just on the edge of what my Lifter can manage to kick into orbit.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Zylark

[Zzabur]

I am using this kind of design to get massive modules into orbit

Don't trust the DV MJ stats, i could bring this launcher into orbit, this is a Mun planetary base using a karbonite drill, it has landed on Mun karbonite hotspot with....0/ms DV left ! Boosters are very useful to lower the cost of the rocket, but can be hard to manage with FAR if you don't use the optimal thrust.

I could reach orbit with 3 space station modules (about 200t each) and the munar drill (though for this one, DV is really low and you must be very careful on DV losses).

I am using FAR, TAC life support, karbonite, MKS/OKS, TAC CLS, scanSAT... The design is not very aerodynamic, i guess that using nosecones will make the lander too heavy. I can send you my .craft files if you want, but you have to use same mods, or you can pick up ideas on screenshots and build your own launcher.

I know my launchers are ugly, but they are efficient, i almost always use a central propulsion with 4 liquid boosters around and solid boosters for the first step. As solid boosters are often not powerful enough to take off the rocket, i calculate the final TWR and use engines to get an optimal one : either SRB then liquid boosters then main engine (lightest top module) or SRB+liquid boosters as 1st stage then main engine, or even SRB+liquid boosters+main engine at the 1st stage, but then i often lower thrust to stay under terminal velocity. This is not the moste efficient design, but you need a lot of mower to lift these kind of heavy modules.

[Pecan]

...I was wondering if anyone has a good rocket design to get a Zoology Bay up...

No idea what a Zoology Bay is but I have lots of launch vehicles. What does the total payload mass?

[Mtshaw113]

In my career save, I got a sub-assembly of a lifter capable of getting 45 Tons to a 250km orbit - nearly 60 Tons if the payload got its' own engines to do the final push under its' own power. It's a pretty simpe design as these things go, no fancy non-stock parts, Asparagus or complicated staging.

http://i.imgur.com/XQQWJjy.png

Top to bottom: 4 way large Hub, Zoo module, Science module, Service module, 4 way large Hub. Slung underneath is the lifter itself.

This { means in symmetry }

4th Stage - Rockomax X200-32 tank with a Skipper engine.

3rd Stage - Rockomax X200-32 and a LFB KR 1x2.

2nd Stage - 2x {2x Rockomax X200-32 (or just use a Jumbo - I did not have this unlocked when making this lifter) and a LFB KR 1x2.}

1st Stage - 4x {S1 SRB - KD25k}

Since I use Stage Recovery, each stage got plenty of Parachutes slapped onto them - and Sepatrons to make sure they do not hit anything when staging. No mishaps yet.

Using three launches, I got this in orbit so far:

http://i.imgur.com/Wjzo4oJ.png

Left to right: The Hab module, Science module and then Fuel and Life Support module. Docked are two vessels, the Station Assembler that is used to dock the big heavy modules. Features a long skirt to envelop the modules, with RCS thrusters at the end for easy docking. And a unmanned little fuel-hauler to carry fuel from my Mun based Karbonite operation and back to LKO.

Next up is getting two Cyclotrons to the station. Each of those weigh in at 45 Tons, so is just on the edge of what my Lifter can manage to kick into orbit.

Your design looks very good actually. I just installed TAC LS, SXT, and Interstellar cause why not(But i dont really know how to use them yet lol). Do the LFB KR's on the side feed fuel into the center stage? And do you have all 3 engines and 4 boosters launching at once? Thanks everyone, I managed to get my extremely sketchy rocket into orbit with the Zoology Bay. I'll put some pictures up at some point(Its so awful lol)

Edited October 25, 2014 by Mtshaw113

[Zylark]

Do the LFB KR's on the side feed fuel into the center stage? And do you have all 3 engines and 4 boosters launching at once? Thanks everyone, I managed to get my extremely sketchy rocket into orbit with the Zoology Bay. I'll put some pictures up at some point(Its so awful lol)

The side LFBs' do feed the central one. The central one do not ignite until the SRBs' are spent however. Too high a TWR at the start is just wasting fuel pushing against the souposphere