What is your average SSTO cost?

[Wjolcz]

So I've been building SSTOs recently, and I started to wonder how much an SSTO can cost? And I mean actually useful SSTOs that can carry a payload to orbit and back. Specify if your game is moded/stock.

Mine best costs about 39k without any cargo. And is able to carry a small payload or a crew of 6. With NEAR and some b9 landing gear. It consists of 1 big cargo bay or small bay+crew cabin. I'll post pics if I have time

Edited November 28, 2014 by Veeltch

[Hodo]

Depends on my SSTO, I have several that I am now using and one in testing.

The one in testing is the largest I have made to date, at 630tons able to haul 150tons into orbit and cost around 340k.

Then there is the one that is my medium hauler and long haul cargo SSTO, which takes things up to geosync orbit in a single flight. It runs in at 150k.

Then there is my light cargo SSTO, which is the cheapest at around 60-70k.

Or any of my combat SSTOs. Which range from a 30-70k.

Again it all depends on what I am needing it for.

[GoSlash27]

I have a family of "delivery van" SSTO spaceplanes that deliver either 12 Kerbals or 5 tons of various supplies to orbit (not counting the crew). They run √40-45,000 and cost √420 in supplies per mission.

I also have a vertical lift SSTO for bulk- lifting of structures for assembly in orbit. It runs close to √68,000 and costs √43 per tonne to orbit to operate if you drop it back on KSC grounds.

Best,

-Slashy

[Wanderfound]

So I've been building SSTOs recently, and I started to wonder how much an SSTO can cost? And I mean actually useful SSTOs that can carry a payload to orbit and back. Specify if your game is moded/stock.

Mine best costs about 39k without any cargo. And is able to carry a small payload or a crew of 6. With NEAR and some b9 landing gear. It consists of 1 big cargo bay or small bay+crew cabin. I'll post pics if I have time

Ballpark figures: √30,000 for small, √60,000 for medium, √100,000 for big. One of the joys of spaceplaning is that 100% recovery removes the need to economise.

[Starman4308]

Ballpark figures: √30,000 for small, √60,000 for medium, √100,000 for big. One of the joys of spaceplaning is that 100% recovery removes the need to economise.

Unless you accidentally neglect to account for changes in CoM as your plane loses fuel, and it lawndarts on reentry.

That was a √250,000 disaster for me (back when I was trying to build a stock aero SSTO to bring 2 Jumbo-64s of LF/O to orbit).

[Wanderfound]

Unless you accidentally neglect to account for changes in CoM as your plane loses fuel, and it lawndarts on reentry.

That was a √250,000 disaster for me (back when I was trying to build a stock aero SSTO to bring 2 Jumbo-64s of LF/O to orbit).

Prototyping large spaceplanes is a good way to run through your excess cash, yes.

I wiped out twenty √100,000+ spaceplanes in a row due to landing-gear wobbles when I was first getting the hang of it. Killed plenty of test pilots, too; ejection systems aren't much use when your capsule gets immediately run over by ~100 ton of uncontrolled spaceplane.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Wanderfound

[Hodo]

Prototyping large spaceplanes is a good way to run through your excess cash, yes.

I wiped out twenty √100,000+ spaceplanes in a row due to landing-gear wobbles when I was first getting the hang of it. Killed plenty of test pilots, too; ejection systems aren't much use when your capsule gets immediately run over by ~100 ton of uncontrolled spaceplane.

This is why my ejection systems have a bit of control to them, and fire them up and away from the craft.... which is fine in the atmosphere, but sucks when in orbit.

[Van Disaster]

Uh, well... I don't run stock so much that I've removed most of it and some of my mods are a little modded too to attempt to tame some more of the excesses, but apparently my most useful heavy lifter spaceplane is in the 360k range ... ( and dx11 happened to the SPH floor before anyone asks. I just assume it's huge amounts of gaffer tape these days ).

That's 130t or so to 150km - but not SSTO technically if I use it's drop tanks. There's lighter versions for when things are just big instead of heavy ( there is also a version for smaller heavier things but it seems to be the same price ) but they aren't much cheaper either.

Medium sized family is apparently in the 200k range ( and definitely SSTO ).

I'm not posting all those, there's about 9 versions... tankers, shuttles, mixed mode, one with enough fuel for a round trip to Laythe with a couple of comsats.

And there's this "little" thing I don't think I've ever used, but at least it's reasonably cheap.

Altho for more than half the cost of a medium lifter it's nowhere near half as capable.

Could probably build a SSTO rocket cheaper than any of these planes, given it doesn't need to come back. It seems bigger is definitely better though ( as long as you don't wreck it! ). I'm really not sure why my bits are more expensive than say, Hodos', I suspect there's some horribly expensive accessories lurking away in a shielded bay somehere.

Edit: Indeed there are some horribly expensive bits, my utility bay ( which is on most of the HL/S2 ones in some form or other ) is probably a good 50k by itself.

I should probably cut back on that.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Van Disaster

[Wjolcz]

Here are the two of mine I said I would show the pics of.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

The crew ferry is a modification of the cargo one and was intended as a space station. But thanks to Steam Shift+Tab it went back into the atmosphere, completing the contract tho. You can clearly see the cost.

NEAR+B9 landing gear and airbrakes

Edited November 29, 2014 by Veeltch

[theend3r]

About 7.4M I think but most of that cost comes from Interstellar antimatter generators and warp drive:

[GoSlash27]

From front to rear:

SX Kerboliner. 14T, 70 parts, √44,472+ √420 per mission. Delivers 12 Kerbonauts (not counting flight crew) to LKO and/or KSC as needed.

SX Mono. 13.6T, 47 parts, √26,498+ √420 per mission. Delivers 1200 units of monopropellant to LKO.

SX Tanker. 13.4T, 47 parts, √25,482+ √420 per mission. Delivers 450 units of fuel and 550 units of oxidizer to LKO.

And then there's this guy, the ULS 2.0. √67,989, 21.3T, and 77 parts. It can deliver nearly it's own weight in outsized cargo such as ship segments and space station modules to LKO. It's fully reusable, but recovery cost depends on how close you drop it to KSC.

Best,

-Slashy

Edited November 29, 2014 by GoSlash27

[Pecan]

Mine cost as much as a length of string.

[Aragosnat]

Currently 40k in Funds. But, trying to get one that does more the get Kerbals. Think it can care a small payload too. About 2 tons or less?

[Wjolcz]

@GoSlash: 26k? How is that thing so cheap? I assume it doesnt carry any payload?

Edited November 29, 2014 by Veeltch

[GoSlash27]

@GoSlash: 26k? How is that thing so cheap? I assume it doesnt carry any payload?

They both carry 5 1/2 tonnes payload, but it's in the form of transferrable supplies. AFA why they're so cheap, probably because they are designed to be as efficient as I can make them, so they require less engines, wings, fuel, oxidizer, and structure to do the job. I hadn't thought about it before, but apparently this makes for a decent buy- in cost savings as well.

If you'd like to build one of your own, the directions are here.

Best,

-Slashy

[GoSlash27]

Currently 40k in Funds. But, trying to get one that does more the get Kerbals. Think it can care a small payload too. About 2 tons or less?

That's do-able. Flight crew of 2, 4 Kerbals, and about 3 1/2 tonnes of payload is in that price range. What kind of payload are you looking to haul?

-Slashy

[Spatzimaus]

There's no such thing as an "average" for me. Let me demonstrate four of my current SSTOs to illustrate the point.

First, there's the Dinky Weasel, my small low-orbit spaceplane:

10 tons, costs only 30k, designed to carry a 2-ton payload to 75km orbit or recover stranded kerbonauts. The payloads I lift usually cost more than the plane; my ion mapping probes run about 50k per. I get back just over 29k with a runway landing, meaning less than 1k in net cost per launch.

Then comes the Sleazy Weasel, my long-range spaceplane designed for Laythe trips:

32 tons, 275k roots. Recovery gives you around 200k, since it carries a LOT of Xenon for its ion engines and that stuff's expensive, but it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than a rocket. Besides the fuel, the design also includes a lot of expensive science parts and such, which adds up quickly.

Up third is the Chunky Weasel, my heavy cargo spaceplane:

~350 tons, only about 400-500k roots due to its lack of expensive parts, and it gets back nearly all of that cost (only 15k in fuel lost on a round trip). Right now I'm using this to lift 30-ton rovers into orbit, but it can handle anything up to 50 tons as long as it isn't wider than 3.75m.

And finally, the Brick:

Those are 3.75m rocket stacks, although I'm finishing up a 5m version now. 12000 tons, puts 1000 tons into a circular orbit, and don't even ask what it costs because I can't count that high. (Seven or eight million, last I checked.) The final 5m version should be about twice that size and cost, since I need it for a new ~1500-ton station design. Unfortunately, since I'm doing a Hard career mode, I have to wait a long time to save up enough to pay for even a single launch. I'm using a smaller version (5000 tons) to lift my more petite 400-ton fuel depots right now, and that one costs about 3M per launch sans payload.

So yeah, there's no simple answer for what an SSTO costs. It'll really depend on what you want the design to do, especially once you start adding on science gear and such.

[GoSlash27]

Aragosnat,

Your ride is ready!

http://wikisend.com/download/167192/SX Generic.craft

33,287 rooties, 52 parts, 10.97 tonnes.

It's got a 2 man flight crew, cabin for 4 more kerbals, and a double-length cargo bay for 3 tons of whatever cargo you need to carry.

Action groups:

1) Toggle intakes

2) Toggle cargo bay doors, docking port, docking light, and solar arrays.

Profile:

Pitch to maintain 100 m/sec until 40* pitch

At 10KM, pitch down to 30*

At 15KM, Pitch down to 20*

At 20KM, Pitch to maintain 100 m/sec climb rate

At engine cutoff, throttle down for reignition

Repeat cutoff/ throttle down/ reignition until speed is no longer increasing

space bar to engage rockets and #1 to close intakes

Burn as necessary to establish orbit and circularize.

#2 for orbital configuration.

Best,

-Slashy

[GoSlash27]

My best one yet!

SX-D Tanker

This one costs √28,705 with stores and payload included. It delivers 6 tonnes of fuel and oxidizer to stations in LKO at a cost of √58.33 per tonne. It returns to KSC under power, so full recovery is assured.

SX-D Tanker craft file

[Van Disaster]

45t to 90km circularized, parachute braking, lands on the fins if you give it a burst just before impact to slow it down. Uses Realchute, mind ( and I just realised the bottom drogue chutes are obscured, but there's a pair there so it does come in nose-first rather than attempt tail-first & flail wildly everywhere ).

Probably more efficient as two stage, but it wouldn't be SSTO then also would cost rather more raw funds, 33k isn't bad.

[09Kasa]

It almost cost nothing in a flight in compete with rockets.

The cost of this plane itself is about 85000.