Mun's Surface and Back in a 10.7 ton rocket (no building upgrades)

[katateochi]

Because of this thread started by WanderingKid I set about making something that could be launched without having to upgrade any buildings (ie it had to be under 18tons and 30 parts).

The result is this odd looking Rocket-Plane hybrid (named Chimera) which is 10.7 tons and 30 parts. It was actually the part count limitation that was the biggest issue for me, but I was able to just about squeeze in an antenna and single solar panel so it's able to do multiple crew reports.

It's actually a really easy craft to fly and had quite a bit of fuel spare after the mission, so there's plenty room for error. Since this mission I've used it quite a bit in early career mode, was especially useful at getting a bunch of Minmus contract done in one hit.

The craft is available on KerbalX.com if you want to give it a go.