KerbalX

Description

The Bristlecone is a powerful, reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of carrying large payloads within the Kerbin system or medium payloads almost anywhere in the Kerbol System in reusable mode, and flinging massive payloads far into space in fully expendable configuration. The central core stage should take the upper stage and payload all the way to LKO before separating and returning for a parachute-assisted landing at the KSC. By using the airbrakes and engine to tune the speed as you descend, the core stage can be landed with a high degree of accuracy. Deploy the landing legs before touchdown by right-clicking the one of the pistons and extending it. The upper stage can then continue the mission and return to Kerbin for a soft, parachute-assisted landing. Prior to entry, retract the landing legs. When reentering, fly the upper stage heat-shield first, using the airbrakes and SAS to maintain the proper orientation. Deploy the parachutes and land on the landing legs, extending the same way as with the bottom stage. Note that it may be required to press control from here on the upper stage’s command unit for the control point to align correctly with the direction of travel.

MODIFICATIONS:
The staging should be altered to suit the mission. Results may vary if care is not taken in the staging process. It is recommended to construct your spacecraft independently, then use the merge option to mate the payload with the launcher. Use the re-root function to change the launcher’s root part to the stack separator inside the payload fairing to attach the launcher. It is recommended to lower the amount of fuel in the core stage Sepratrons. The landing pads are the recommended attachment points for any struts between the launcher and payload.

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES:
If desired, performance can be increased by adding Kerbodyne FM1 Mite or F3SO Shrimp boosters to the sides of the Kerbodyne S2-17 Thoroughbred first-stage boosters. This represents the medium and high performance variants, respectively (though it should be noted that the default light variant is plenty capable on its own).
The recovery hardware can be removed to increase vehicle performance. If this is desired, it is recommended to remove all attitude control, communications, control, and recovery hardware from the booster and upper stage to maximize the performance increase. This represents the ultra high performance variant.
An intermediate variant can be achieved through the removal of recovery hardware on the upper stage and recovering the booster downrange on the peninsula East of the KSC.
For lower capacity flights, two of the S2-17 boosters can be removed, leaving only two remaining. In this configuration, it is recommended to add fins to the S2-17s to increase stability. This represents the ultra-light configuration.

Contains 143 parts.
Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.12.0.

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: lifter
• Part Count: 143
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.12.0