KerbalX

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: spaceplane
• Part Count: 44
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.12.4

Description

After the roaring success of their first SSTO, the CEO of IslaDyn, Kevin Kerman, had one major problem: his company was a front to launder money though protracted development projects, but his engineering staff (of one) had very rapidly and successfully developed two functional products. To remedy this, Mr. Kerman set forth nigh unattainable targets for the next development project, named for the brother of a certain winged horse: Project Chrysaor

Ostensibly to address shortcomings in the company’s smaller offering, the new product would carry double the crew, be capable of docking with another craft in a polar orbit, possess extended cross-range capability, have no reliance on solar power, and would be billed as the perfect shuttle craft to operate with interplanetary ships that could not land on bodies with atmospheres. With this in mind, it had to be stable in all flight phases, with all fuel loads.

The intrepid engineer, still unaware that he was meant to fail, set to work. He discovered that the wings were mostly empty, and could be filled with fuel. He also realized that they needed to be very strong and, that with a little work, other things could be added to the wings, like engines. This clever workaround alleviated the need to counterbalance rear mounted engines, allowing for perfect balance. This allowed for a stretched fuselage, and parts commonality with the smaller Spaceman SSTO. Within a year the new SSTO was rolled out, weighing nearly three times as much as its predecessor.

Instructions

Take off from a runway, rotating at about 90m/s. Skim the surface of the sea until reaching 500m/s, then pull into a 10 degree climb. Use SAS to maintain the climb, and switch the RAPIERs to closed cycle when your LF quantity reaches 1440 using Action Group 2 if they haven’t switched on their own (you’re better off burning through your oxidizer than carrying it to orbit). Once in closed cycle, select Prograde on your SAS, and cut the engines when your Apoapsis reaches 80km. Coast up and circularize. You can cut the main engines using Action Group 2 (switch mode, they’ll flame out) and maneuver more precisely using the Terrier in the tail.

Reenter by dropping your Periapsis to 40km over your landing zone on Kerbin. Apply the brakes, and set SAS to prograde once you enter the atmosphere. Set SAS to Stability Assist as soon as you see the overheat indicators on the forward RCS pods. You can switch back to prograde once you get to +10m/s vertical speed. After the first reentry skip you can maneuver down to land.

Hotter, higher reentries may require additional skips, a higher initial periapsis, and more track distance.

A stock aircraft called Chrysaor Crew. Built with 44 of the finest parts, its root part is mk2DroneCore.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.12.4.