Reddit SSTOs (1.5 Edition)

[Earl]

Now that drag has been patched, reddit SSTOs have become impossible... Or have they? The challenge is to create the smallest SSTO you can.

You know the drill:
- No cheats
- No glitches
- Stock solar system

Good luck!

 

[Earl]

Here's mine.

I needed a steep ascent profile so I could get out of the drag as fast as possible.
Didn't have any pictures of the ascent. But here's the orbit.

Pretty simple rocket if you ask me, but it works.

 

[Altaïr]

Ah, the good old SSTO challenge... Hopefully Cosmo is not online right now

Here is my best:

16.6 tons.

The mission:

First, right ascent:


Then throttle reduction to pass Max Q and to help bending the trajectory:


Then full spead ahead to gain horizontal speed, while still gaining altitude:


Then throttle reduction again, to better control my trajectory, because most of the fuel is burnt, and my rocket has the TWR of a missile now:


Then engine cut-off, now that the apoapsis is just above the atmosphere, and when I reach it, full power until satellization:

2% of fuel remaining. Those are 225 kg of fuel I had in excess. Not too bad...

 

[TtTOtW]

Ah, the good old SSTO challenge... Hopefully Cosmo is not online right now

Here is my best:
View attachment 38955
16.6 tons.

The mission:

First, right ascent:
View attachment 38956

Then throttle reduction to pass Max Q and to help bending the trajectory:
View attachment 38957

Then full spead ahead to gain horizontal speed, while still gaining altitude:
View attachment 38958

Then throttle reduction again, to better control my trajectory, because most of the fuel is burnt, and my rocket has the TWR of a missile now:
View attachment 38962 View attachment 38963

Then engine cut-off, now that the apoapsis is just above the atmosphere, and when I reach it, full power until satellization:
View attachment 38964 View attachment 38965
2% of fuel remaining. Those are 225 kg of fuel I had in excess. Not too bad...

Dang Stig's killing it still!

 

[Why2k4]

Ah, the good old SSTO challenge... Hopefully Cosmo is not online right now

Here is my best:
View attachment 38955
16.6 tons.

The mission:

First, right ascent:
View attachment 38956

Then throttle reduction to pass Max Q and to help bending the trajectory:
View attachment 38957

Then full spead ahead to gain horizontal speed, while still gaining altitude:
View attachment 38958

Then throttle reduction again, to better control my trajectory, because most of the fuel is burnt, and my rocket has the TWR of a missile now:
View attachment 38962 View attachment 38963

Then engine cut-off, now that the apoapsis is just above the atmosphere, and when I reach it, full power until satellization:
View attachment 38964 View attachment 38965
2% of fuel remaining. Those are 225 kg of fuel I had in excess. Not too bad...

The Same Craft weighs 18.8 tons in 1.406, did stef change the mass of certain parts?

 

[TtTOtW]

The Same Craft weighs 18.8 tons in 1.406, did stef change the mass of certain parts?

Yes.

 

[Why2k4]

Yes.

Oh, cool! thanks! On iOS so 1.502 hasn't released yet

 

[TtTOtW]

Lol. 1.506... It's 1.5. Though a patch is imminent.

 

[Why2k4]

Lol. 1.506... It's 1.5. Though a patch is imminent.

Ah, I thought 1.502 was out cause ion engines were reimplimented according to reddit. lol

 

[TtTOtW]

Ah, I thought 1.502 was out cause ion engines were reimplimented according to reddit. lol

Yeah... we're eagerly awaiting the second patch. The first fixed the issues that was quick to fix.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

The Same Craft weighs 18.8 tons in 1.406, did stef change the mass of certain parts?

A lot of things have changed in 1.5 to make this kind of thing a realistic challenge. The grasshopper kolibri engines are much better, the aero works properly, parts are a little bit lighter

 

[Why2k4]

A lot of things have changed in 1.5 to make this kind of thing a realistic challenge. The grasshopper kolibri engines are much better, the aero works properly, parts are a little bit lighter

Imo they were already kinda OP, but that's awesome to know! cant wait for apple to approve the update!

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Imo they were already kinda OP, but that's awesome to know! cant wait for apple to approve the update!

They weren't OP, used properly with the game in its correct state they'd never break the karman line in this set up.
Even now you may consider them over-powered, but the balance is actually really subtle if you look at how they relate to the other propulsion systems, especially RCS now

 

[Why2k4]

They weren't OP, used properly with the game in its correct state they'd never break the karman line in this set up.
Even now you may consider them over-powered, but the balance is actually really subtle if you look at how they relate to the other propulsion systems, especially RCS now

Good point, I was just thinking of in-space. with a probe, the smallest tank and a "Kolibri" you can go literally anywhere from LEO

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Good point, I was just thinking of in-space. with a probe, the smallest tank and a "Kolibri" you can go literally anywhere from LEO

They've kinda sorted that, everything is much further apart now (the orbits are 2.5x larger than 1.4) and to be fair, it shouldn't need that much to push such little weight about.

 

[Altaïr]

The Same Craft weighs 18.8 tons in 1.406, did stef change the mass of certain parts?

Ah true, you're on Ios. I hope for you it will come quickly
For the parts, fuel tanks haven't changed, the probe weighs 3 tons, the nose cone 0.1 tons, and the kolibri 0.5 tons.
However, when a fuel tank is adapted, its mass is now adjusted in proportion with its size, which wasn't the case under 1.4. Because of this, the fuel tank I use weighs 12.5 tons once resized, while the original part weighs 15 tons.
And yes, as you both said the kolibri is very powerful now.

 

[Earl]

Quick tip: the top of fairings now stick to the top of probes now! A lot lighter than nose cones.

 

[Pink]

What a cute hat.

 

[Earl]

 

[Pink]

A robot alien!

 

[Earl]

14.06t. I utilized the fact that ions are back and don't need electricity. I just used as many as I needed to get my TWR above 1.0.
Not sure if this is cheating though...

 

[Altaïr]

Nooooo! Stef, take back those ion engines please!
Nice trick, I didn't think about this

 

[Pink]

View attachment 39061 14.06t. I utilized the fact that ions are back and don't need electricity. I just used as many as I needed to get my TWR above 1.0.
Not sure if this is cheating though...
View attachment 39062 View attachment 39063 View attachment 39064

Daaaad, Stef broke the game again!
You didn't bp edit or use a mod or turn off cheats... I say it's valid, with the caveat that I hate it.

 

[TtTOtW]

Daaaad, Stef broke the game again!

Hahaha! You...

View attachment 39060

"Walk like an Egyptian..."

 

[Blazer Ayanami]

Fixed the RCS and Solar Panel glitch...
Behold, the Ion Engine bug!