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Wee Shuttle: Smallest Space Shuttle Ever?!

BagelRabbit

By BagelRabbit
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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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After seeing zekes's "life-sized" Space Shuttle, I decided to go to the other extreme, and created perhaps the Smallest Orbit-Capable Space Shuttle that KSP has ever known!

Introducing...

The Wee Shuttle!

(I've watched a few too many Scott Manley videos, I think.)

The Wee Space Shuttle is just barely orbit capable, kinda holds a crew of one, and lifts off on a paltry five Rockomax 24-7s! It still maintains, however, as much of the original proportions of the Shuttle, and flies the same sort of ascent profile!

Here's some images of the Wee Shuttle in all of its glory!

Qh5GKDS.jpg

Here's the full stack. The boosters are going full blast, and the three main engines are burning as well. The External Tank is a bit oversized, but that's needed to get the (1.4-ton) Orbiter to orbital velocity and back.

jSuzOJU.jpg

Same angle, just without the boosters. Note the lack of a bottom engine on the External Tank. Despite the fact that the stack is pointed at a 10-degree angle from vertical, the engines are still pushing the craft out towards the ocean.

C1ZNOK3.jpg

A close-up of the orbiter as it re-enters the atmosphere after a successful orbit-and-a-half. Note the monopropellant tanks behind the Kerbal: the circularization and deorbit burns are performed with two O-10 Monopropellant engines in the back.

Unfortunately, because the orbiter is far too small for landing gear, a single parachute deploys out the back to bring it down for a semi-vertical landing. The Orbiter, however, glides reasonably well and is quite stable in the atmosphere.

This shuttle is admittedly currently not very good for anything, as its range is only just barely an 80x80km orbit, and not even that if you want to deorbit the thing without getting out and pushing. However, I'm planning to upgrade this so that it's capable of docking via a Clampotron-Mini, and maybe even give it enough fuel for a 100x100km orbit and return, though I may just be overly optimistic here.

In the meantime, this is my first Shuttle and I'm looking for the opinions of those more capable of building these sorts of things than me, as well as (possible) verification that this is the Smallest Shuttle Ever Built...

...so let me know what you think, and thanks for looking at this li'l thing!

-Upsilon

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zekes

zekes

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After seeing zekes's "life-sized" Space Shuttle, I decided to go to the other extreme, and created perhaps the Smallest Orbit-Capable Space Shuttle that KSP has ever known!

I could fit like 12 of these into my cargo bay XD

But seriously cool, and cute. But you might have to talk to Giggle, I think he has a micro shuttle, though not as cute as this one.

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War Eagle 1

War Eagle 1

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In what way? Practicality is subjective.

Crew of 6

Cargo bay

Light on parts

I'm just saying between us 3 mine would be more practical as compared to upsilon it can carry a lot more and compared to zekes it is less part heavy and less complicated

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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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Several major milestones have been passed in the development process! I actually removed more than half of the boosters' Oskar-B's (which were really heavily part-clipped) and stopped using asparagus staging for the boosters, and the thing had more delta-V! I think that's because of the amount of time it takes the stack sans-SRBs to have a TWR exceeding one. :wink:

Also, the valiant test-pilot Bobger actually stopped screaming for a little while on the latest run! This must be a good sign...

I could fit like 12 of these into my cargo bay XD

But seriously cool, and cute. But you might have to talk to Giggle, I think he has a micro shuttle, though not as cute as this one.

The Orbiter's mass is actually 1.5 tons and thus you may only be able to fit 10 in there and have it reach orbit okay. (The extra ~0.1 ton is the Kerbal, which I forgot to take into account.)

Speaking of Giggleplex:

Nice. I think yours is smaller than mine.

http://i.imgur.com/wzFIFH4.png

Yeah, from what I can see, yours looks a little larger.

...and is it manned? I'm not entirely sure about how a Kerbal could see out of there, let alone enter and exit the craft.

That poor kerbal probably feels like this guy:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/mini-bike-frame.jpg

Although I admit that I really love small ships in KSP. They bring out the creativity of people, and I think Giggleplex's stuff is a perfect example of it. Have some rep for that tiny and awesome shuttle!

Yeah, it must be a little cramped in there. Poor Bobger. At least he's expanding the frontiers of Science! (Also, he can get out and experience Space after a five-minute ascent, so it's not too bad.

...and in response to the +Rep comment (thanks for that!), yep, I really am Bagel Rabbit too.

I feel like I need to make a smallest shuttle now.....

Good luck. My personal definition of a Shuttle is that it has to be capable of carrying people and/or useful cargo, has to take off vertically on two SRBs (or the equivalent) and a External Tank, and be capable of orbit and return. With these definitions, I think I'm just brushing up against the Smallest Possible Shuttle...

upsilon has the smallest

Zeke has the largest

Ive got the most practical

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

To be honest here, I agree with Giggleplex. It may be more practical than Zeke's or mine, but saying that this is the most practical shuttle ever made is impossible to do. Different people have different standards for this.

Besides, if you wanted to make this part-light or High-Delta-V capable, it may be best to not cover the External Tank in metal plates. Just sayin'.

Nice shuttle though, looks pretty good...

We're going for a smallest contest now?

Damn I thought I was unique with my baby shuttle! ;)

It's not really a contest, I'm just wondering who has the smallest Shuttle. If you feel like you can make a smaller one, though, feel free to try. I think it can be done...

-Upsilon

Edited by UpsilonAerospace
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Giggleplex777

Giggleplex777

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@Upsilon: My shuttle was designed to carry cargo. Hence the tiny cargo bay made of ladders and wing panels. The additional mass of the payload meant that the shuttle had to be a little larger.

It might be possible to fit a Kerbal in there, but I haven't tried.

Here's an album:

Javascript is disabled. View full album
Edited by Giggleplex777
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Majorjim!

Majorjim!

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It's not about the size.. it's about what you do with it.. :D

LOL!

I'm completely in love with this thing. I am inspired to make my own small shuttle.

Ive given up turning my X-37b into one as it's just a little too heavy.

It's so damn cute! It looks like a toy.

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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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@Upsilon: My shuttle was designed to carry cargo. Hence the tiny cargo bay made of ladders and wing panels. The additional mass of the payload meant that the shuttle had to be a little larger.

It might be possible to fit a Kerbal in there, but I haven't tried.

[snip!]

As I said in that previous post, the fact that it carries cargo makes it a proper Shuttle in my book. Also, what great looks. It's actually correctly proportioned! Mine is like one of those obscene little European cars with oversized fuel tanks strapped to it... :wink:

Might want to put that in here! :wink:

I'm not sure why that's a Freudian Slip, as I deliberately named it in a Scott-Manley-esque style...?

(cool ship. Any orbital pics though??)

I sense that you're unsure that this thing is orbit-capable. Very well, here, have a picture of the Orbiter over the plains of the Desert, after nearly a complete orbit! (I think that this picture was taken at less than 70km, but I have a picture of the Shuttle in a 70.2x112km orbit, if you want absolute proof.)

I6tEsy3.jpg

...and while I'm posting stuff to Imgur, I feel as if I should show you the bottom of the Wee Shuttle, as I spent time making it look nice...

rxnl314.jpg

...as well as - why not?! - a picture of SRB separation. (They normally come off at exactly the same time, but they sensed that I was going to take a picture and so came off ever-so-slightly misaligned as a way of punishing me... :wink: )

oPuAW3X.jpg

The colour is the worst bit.

Interestingly enough, coloring things is difficult without KerbPaint. If it makes you happy, I could color the External Tank blue with solar panels... :)

It's not about the size.. it's about what you do with it.. :D

No comment.

LOL!

I'm completely in love with this thing. I am inspired to make my own small shuttle.

Ive given up turning my X-37b into one as it's just a little too heavy.

It's so damn cute! It looks like a toy.

I'm a big fan of making cute little things. I'm glad that you enjoyed this Shuttle, and I look forwards to seeing what you come up with!

Now this is a competition I am entering.

Is this a competition? I would be happy enough to start a new Challenge in the appropriate section. That could be a lot of fun, actually!

I'm not going to start a poll, but I look forwards to some responses: Would the Smallest Shuttle challenge be a viable thing to do?

-Upsilon

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Majorjim!

Majorjim!

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Would the Smallest Shuttle challenge be a viable thing to do?

-Upsilon

I'm not so sure. We have with these shuttles just about reached the limit of size. I am making one, not as cute as the 'Wee' shuttle but its a bit smaller, glides very well too.

I'm making the booster now. Looking at it you cant really go any smaller and still have a kerbal fly it. If you look at it logically the absolute smallest a working shuttle can be is at least the size of the smallest available lift surface. So the size of the smallest aileron.

Any working craft is going to be larger than this.

Oh, and Upsilon its possible to have three landing gear and land at the KSC with a shuttle the size of yours.

Edited by Majorjim
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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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I'm not so sure. We have with these shuttles just about reached the limit of size. I am making one, not as cute as the 'Wee' shuttle but its a bit smaller, glides very well too.

I'm making the booster now. Looking at it you cant really go any smaller and still have a kerbal fly it. If you look at it logically the absolute smallest a working shuttle can be is at least the size of the smallest available lift surface. So the size of the smallest aileron.

True, though I still see the opportunity for a competition here. You could gain extra points for being able to do certain things with your Shuttle: have it have the correct number of engines, payloads of a certain size, docking capacity, on-orbit Delta-V, etc., etc., etc. So you could gain more points for having a well-balanced Shuttle, though, of course, a big determining factor would still be Shuttle size.

Any working craft is going to be larger than this.

I wouldn't be so sure... if you have a hypothetical Kerbal-atop-an-aileron as your Orbiter, you need a couple of things to get the craft to work properly: RCS tank(s) and engines, some sort of Kerbal protection (I always try to build in at least something to prevent my Kerbal from getting injured too badly), the immortal External Command Seat, battery packs and/or solar panels, three engines in the back (for the ascent), some landing gear or a last-minute parachute (for the landing), and preferably a probe core so that you can have a little more torque and fly unmanned if needed.

That would involve some really serious part-clipping, especially if you wanted the thing to look even reasonably nice. And I'm not entirely sure if a single control surface, with a lift rating of a mere 0.25, would be able to set this thing down properly. I would be happy if someone built an Orbiter around a single Small Control Surface, but I'm not sure how feasible that plan would be. Mind you, if it worked, I would be very impressed and probably deliver some +Rep... :wink:

Oh, and Upsilon its possible to have three landing gear and land at the KSC with a shuttle the size of yours.

Yep, I know. I don't like the 'Three-landing-gear' option, because the gear is comically oversized compared to the Orbiter, and has a lot of drag compared to the mk1 parachute. The closest I've gotten to landing at KSC was when I undershot and just barely cleared the mountains in a fit of panic and, now that I look back at it, reasonably good piloting. I wish I had taken some screenshots, they would have been great.

-Upsilon

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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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Why must this thing be so adorable?! I don't want my eyeballs to start bleeding from the cuteness...!

By the way, I'm a little worried about the efficiency of the LV-1 engines. If you do create an orbit-capable vehicle, I'm worried about the on-orbit Delta-V...

...but I'm looking forwards to seeing this fly! Best of luck.

Oh, and have some +Rep!

-Upsilon

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Majorjim!

Majorjim!

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Why must this thing be so adorable?! I don't want my eyeballs to start bleeding from the cuteness...!

By the way, I'm a little worried about the efficiency of the LV-1 engines. If you do create an orbit-capable vehicle, I'm worried about the on-orbit Delta-V...

...but I'm looking forwards to seeing this fly! Best of luck.

Oh, and have some +Rep!

-Upsilon

Thanks mate. Inspired by yours, and I think mine looses to yours in the cuteness factor. Even after I name it the 'squeaker' because it looks like a baby pigeon.

:D

I agree dv is a concern. I am using the O-10s for the three rear engines and RCS ports as OMS engines.

It will be fine as long as the EFT has enough dv. Work is ongoing.

MJ

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BagelRabbit

BagelRabbit

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Thanks mate. Inspired by yours, and I think mine looses to yours in the cuteness factor. Even after I name it the 'squeaker' because it looks like a baby pigeon.

:D

I agree dv is a concern. I am using the O-10s for the three rear engines and RCS ports as OMS engines.

It will be fine as long as the EFT has enough dv. Work is ongoing.

MJ

I just stole "borrowed" your general Shuttle design... and it actually seems to work pretty well! The craft I ended up building was not only orbit-capable, it actually had better Delta-V margins than its earlier predecessor.

That being said, despite my best efforts, it's not as cute or even as good-looking as the old Shuttle. At least the External Tank is closer to the right color.

Pictures!

~~~

lY1IyoO.jpg

The Even More Wee Shuttle launches. There's no part-clipping on the boosters or the External Tank, which means that this thing is being propelled upwards by a truly small amount of fuel.

mlCLr1a.jpg

Here's the External Tank separating. After it does so, the Orbiter still has some obscene amount of Delta-V left in it (over 700 m/s, I think).

Pe7F8oC.jpg

After a full 70x95km orbit, I had plenty enough fuel to deorbit. Notice the docking port on the front, by the way; I wanted the Wee Shuttle to be capable of at least docking in space.

MJgAcLK.jpg

As with the old design, a small parachute allows the craft to land intact. The Even More Wee Shuttle is a bit finicky in the lower atmosphere, but it glides well and is capable of landing safely every time (so far).

~~~

Anyways, I'm going to try to make the ascent a bit more stable and make the Shuttle a little cuter before giving the .craft file, but this is really promising.

-Upsilon

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Majorjim!

Majorjim!

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I just stole "borrowed" your general Shuttle design... and it actually seems to work pretty well! The craft I ended up building was not only orbit-capable, it actually had better Delta-V margins than its earlier predecessor.

That being said, despite my best efforts, it's not as cute or even as good-looking as the old Shuttle. At least the External Tank is closer to the right color.

Pictures!

~~~

http://i.imgur.com/lY1IyoO.jpg

The Even More Wee Shuttle launches. There's no part-clipping on the boosters or the External Tank, which means that this thing is being propelled upwards by a truly small amount of fuel.

http://i.imgur.com/mlCLr1a.jpg

Here's the External Tank separating. After it does so, the Orbiter still has some obscene amount of Delta-V left in it (over 700 m/s, I think).

http://i.imgur.com/Pe7F8oC.jpg

After a full 70x95km orbit, I had plenty enough fuel to deorbit. Notice the docking port on the front, by the way; I wanted the Wee Shuttle to be capable of at least docking in space.

http://i.imgur.com/MJgAcLK.jpg

As with the old design, a small parachute allows the craft to land intact. The Even More Wee Shuttle is a bit finicky in the lower atmosphere, but it glides well and is capable of landing safely every time (so far).

~~~

Anyways, I'm going to try to make the ascent a bit more stable and make the Shuttle a little cuter before giving the .craft file, but this is really promising.

-Upsilon

lol nice one!

I still haven't finished mine. Been distracted by a Duna direct build.. You should try to keep the rover wheels though. Nothing like landing a toy on the runway from orbit!

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