Do you still use Asparagus?

[DovaJeb]

No. I used to be incredibly loyal to the Religion of the Asparagus, but nowadays I just slap some big engines together and call it my launcher.

[numerobis]

In career mode I want to reuse everything, so no asparagus anymore! Mostly I use jets instead. That said, I haven't taken off from Eve in career mode.

[NecroBones]

After the ARM update, it reduced my reliance on it, but didn't eliminate it. I found myself using Onion staging a little more frequently, but I've still done Asparagus too.

The main difference is that with larger lifter stages, I've needed fewer of them. None of this 18+ mainsails stuff anymore.

Even when I put together a "proof of concept" to get 1100 tons into orbit in one shot (after the ARM update), I went with Onion, just to keep the design simple.

Edited October 31, 2014 by NecroBones

[Pecan]

More of the same as everyone else again I think - I use it when I'm making something as mass-efficient as possible, but limit myself to a single 'layer' so it's no less aerodynamic than any other radial staging.

Since I've 'perfected' asparagus and am concentrating on SSTO launch vehicles and cost-optimisation for a tutorial at the moment I rarely need mass-efficient, so no asparagus.

[Redwizard000]

I try to use but everytime now the discarded tanks will rotate and explode. People have been talking about this bug other threads, hope it gets fixed soon.

I have had that problem also, I have started putting seperatrons on the discarded tanks so that they get thrown clear instead of clipping through the main stage. Works pretty well.

[theend3r]

All the time. Well, I spend 90 % of my time constructing SSTOs but the rest is asparagus only.

Btw are pancaked asparagus really that un-aerodynamic? It's just like a few rockets flying close together, the only addition being the struts.

[timsfitz]

Don't need it very often anymore.

[Slam_Jones]

Never used it. Never plan to.

[justidutch]

I use it all the time, since I insist on creating interplanetary motherships that are at least 1,000 tonnes and must be sent into orbit fully fuelled.

[Pecan]

All the time. Well, I spend 90 % of my time constructing SSTOs but the rest is asparagus only.

Btw are pancaked asparagus really that un-aerodynamic? It's just like a few rockets flying close together, the only addition being the struts.

The drag in real-life (and FAR) depends on the cross-sectional area of the rocket, so keeping things thin is more aerodynamic in that respect. In stock drag is only dependent on mass.

[Kulebron]

Asparagus is simple if you attach pairs of boosters, not 4 or 6 at a time. Then you can use symmetry to add pipes correctly and clone the pair after that.

After cost was added, it became rather impractical to expend many engines which are expensive.

[EdFred]

Use it when leaving Eve. Otherwise, onion.

[No one]

Yes, because it's easy.

If you need more delta-v on an asparagus-staged thing you just add another stage. If you need more on a regularly staged you need to make the next stage bigger enough that it's much bigger except then to add another stage after that you need even more bigger and then the entire thing dies.

[Leszek]

When I build my rockets, the performance of my engines determine what I use in the end.

First I build vertically.

If I find my rocket needs radial boosters I won't be doing asparagus if my center stage TWR is less than 1 G. This is by far the more likely case as the core stage(s) usually has enough or almost enough to reach orbit. When the onion staged boosters run out, I will have a TWR >1. (I will size the stages and adjust the thrust limiter to make it so.)

Once in a blue mun, I will have a situation that calls for Asparagus staging but it isn't often. My current career has only 1 and that is for a heavy payload before I have 3.75 M parts.

[Norcalplanner]

Used to use it all the time, but now I play mostly career so it's not cost-effective. I've recently gotten into Interstellar, so using thermal rockets with beamed power and big boosters to get off the pad initially seems to be the winning combination. I've got so many reactors and relays up and running that I can get 11,000 kN of thrust at an Isp over 800 on liquid fuel from a single 3.75m rocket motor once the rocket is up to a decent altitude.

[cantab]

Asparagus is simple if you attach pairs of boosters, not 4 or 6 at a time. Then you can use symmetry to add pipes correctly and clone the pair after that.

Yeah, that's how I did my lol-delta-v Near Future ship. Work in 2x symmetry, place a stage with accompanying struts and fuel lines, then copy and paste that. I also built it as a square spiral, like so, which I found seemed more stable than a hexagonal packed design.

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But it's still more complicated than some other staging strategies, and I still ended up with a missing pair of fuel lines.

Yes, because it's easy.

If you need more delta-v on an asparagus-staged thing you just add another stage. If you need more on a regularly staged you need to make the next stage bigger enough that it's much bigger except then to add another stage after that you need even more bigger and then the entire thing dies.

For an interplanetary ship, this is valid. For a launcher less so. I don't need more delta-V per se but more payload to orbit. If I've got an asparagus lifter built for a 40 ton payload, and I try and slap a 400 ton payload and more asparagus boosters with it, I'll end up with 1/5th of the TWR on my core stage. Since said core stage actually has the lion's share of the delta-V, chances are I won't make orbit.

By contrast, if I've got a serially staged lifter built for a 40 ton payload, and I want to lift a 400 ton payload, I can gang ten of those lifters together and I'll have exactly the same TWR at all points in my launch.

If it's something like 45 rather than 40 tons then sure, adding a couple of boosters to the asparagus lifter will work. But adding a couple of boosters to the non-asparagus lifter will equally work.

[The Hawk]

I use it obsessively, but then I have recently been working on orbiting a 1000+ ton Jool-5 mission vessel. Assembly of multiple launches in LKO might be more realistic, but also much, much more annoying.

[theend3r]

The drag in real-life (and FAR) depends on the cross-sectional area of the rocket, so keeping things thin is more aerodynamic in that respect. In stock drag is only dependent on mass.

Obviously if the rockets were stacked together very closely with no space between the drag would be enormous but if they're far from each other the drag gets lower as the air slips between them. Using the long decouplers you can make a pancake that should be quite aerodynamic if I understand it correctly. Of course it's not so easy irl (and probably FAR - I use it but I'm not entirely sure what it incorporates) as the diverted air from the booster collides with the other boosters and more forces are at play like the craft's orientation.

[SkyRender]

Using FAR, so I never risk more than 2-layered asparagus staging (ie. 2 sets of 2 side tanks). Even that can have some unwanted side-effects if the payload has an odd balance to it.

[Jas1126]

My launch stage is as simple as it gets. A couple of liquid boosters buttressing a liquid rocket. With the exception of comically large payloads, I don't see a need for a complicated staging scenario.

[GoSlash27]

I haven't had a need to use asparagus staging lately, but I would if the situation presented itself.

The only reason I might need it is early in the tech tree where I don't have turbojets or an Eve launch vehicle. Otherwise, I've found it easier and cheaper to use standardized SSTOs.

Best,

-Slashy

[magnemoe]

The drag in real-life (and FAR) depends on the cross-sectional area of the rocket, so keeping things thin is more aerodynamic in that respect. In stock drag is only dependent on mass.

Yes but if you already uses an oversize faring around twice the core diameter you don't increase diameter much if you don't use the TT-70 decopler, pretty much as many real world rockets.

On the other hand the space shuttle did it all wrong, its almost as wide as high, off center trust and wings on rocket.

[GregA]

Asparagus staging is good enough for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, so it is good enough for me.

[AlexanderB]

My Eve manned return lander has aspargus to get both the TWR and dV to make orbit..

Everything I built used to be aspargus, but since carreer mode, I don't use it anymore, pretty much because of re-useability of the parts == less money spent. A lot of my missions are now SSTO, or use cheap throwaway solid boosters.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

I use it only for landers, I use serial and occasionally parallel staging for launchers.