recoverable launch stages

[jman508]

i had a 3 stage launcher that can get my satellite deployment vehicle to orbit. but i could save A LOT of MONEY if my first stage didn't disappear after the 2.5 km mark.

even though i do place parachutes and probe cores on them they still disappear after the 2.5km mark and its getting annoying because i really want to start recovering my stages and saving money.

Edited January 14, 2015 by jman508
got my answer

[Secuas]

You might want to consider [thread=86677]StageRecovery[/thread] It automatically recover vessels with enough resources after the 2.5 mark.

Also Scott Manley did a video on re-useability.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Kaname

[Panzerbeard]

Unfortunately in stock you don't really have many options, apart from boosting into a high enough trajectory with your first stage, so you can burn into an orbit and switch back to it before it re-enters the atmosphere.

If you're willing to use mods I'd recommend Stage Recovery, that'll automatically recover stages that have enough parachutes.

*edit* wellp, Kaname beat me to the punch, I guess.

[Secuas]

Oh, have I been too helpfull? ^^

[Panzerbeard]

Oh, have I been too helpfull? ^^

Yeahp. One day. One day I will be useful!

...but not this day

[jman508]

im not one of those "purists" in which everything has to be stock. ill use mods and this one sounds promising.

btw describe "enough resources" for it to be recovered.

[Panzerbeard]

im not one of those "purists" in which everything has to be stock. ill use mods and this one sounds promising.

btw describe "enough resources" for it to be recovered.

It either needs enough parachutes to slow it down to a safe touchdown velocity, or enough fuel and thrust to perform a powered landing (if it has a probe core)

[jman508]

yeah it has a radial parachute and the mk16 on on it with the sputnik probe onto of a cubic strut thing. I've tested it it slows it doth to about 11 m/s before touching ground.

[PlonioFludrasco]

I use recoverable first stages very often in career, without any mod. The trick is to use a two and half stage design, where the first-and-half stage is composed by cheap srbs attached to a liquid fuel core. The core is kept at low thrust, to have a longer burn, while srbs provide the extra thrust to mantain a proper twr in the early ascent. The core flames out while the apoapsis is near the edge of the atmosphere, at an altitude that it is kept on-rails by the game while falling away from the upper stage. That upper stage burns for a few seconds to push the apoapsis just outside the atmosphere, then it coasts to the circolarization burn. When circularization is finished, the first stage core is still on rails, at an altitude of about 30km. Then it's focused again and landed with the help of few chutes.

[Mystique]

StageRecovery mod is just fine, especially if you don't want to babysit every decoupled piece of your booster stage and make bets on whether you'll be able to switch to falling stage before it disappears or not. It also has deadly reentry integration, so it's not making things too easy for deorbited stages.

[jman508]

Gonna mark this as answered since i got my answer

btw off topic but how do you make a poll?

I've seen people make them but idk how to.

[Anquietas314]

btw off topic but how do you make a poll?

I've seen people make them but idk how to.

The option is at the bottom of the page when you're posting a new thread. It might be available editing the OP too, but given I haven't posted many new threads, I'm not sure about that.

EDIT: Checked one of the few threads I have started; nope, can't add polls to existing threads.

Edited January 14, 2015 by armagheddonsgw