KerbalX

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: spaceplane
• Part Count: 84
• Mods: 10

Mods

• B9 Aerospace - Legacy Parts Pack
• B9 Aerospace Parts Pack
• Ferram Aerospace Research
• Kerbal Attachment System
• KerbalEngineer
• MechJeb 2
• Procedural Wings
• Squad (stock)
• TAC Life Support (TACLS)
• TweakScale - Rescale Everything!

Description

A mod spaceplane called Cygnus-3mi. Has 84 parts. Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.2.2.
Requires FAR! Atmosphere Autopilot highly recommended for its Fly-by-Wire feature. Craft is capable of Single Stage to Mün (one way, sorry) missions and has VTOL capability on Mün. Seats 2 crew + 4 passengers. Can deploy microsatellites.

Flight Manual.

Take-off:

1. Set Brakes on
2. Turn Fly-by-wire on, RCS off, SAS off
3. Set Flaps to position 1
4. Start up Whiplashes (action group 8)
5. Full throttle
6. When thrust is at least 80%, release brakes
7. Rotate at 130 m/s
8. Gear up
9. Flaps up

Achieving Orbit:

1. Set speed control to 250 m/s
2. Set climb rate to ~100 m/s
3. Climb to 10,000 m
4. Set full throttle and disengage speed control
5. Set climb rate to 50 m/s
6. Climb to 18,000 m and keep that altitude
7. Accelerate to 1400-1500 m/s
8. Start up Aerospikes (action group 9)
9. Set climb rate to 200 m/s
10. Turn RCS on
11. At ~30,000 m set prograde course
12. Keep accelerating until desired apoapsis is reached
13. Coast out of atmosphere, disengage Fly-by-wire
14. Circularize orbit

Vertical Landing (possible on Mün and celestial bodies with similar or lower gravity):

1. Use MechJeb to land with nose up (i.e. like a rocket), but set touchdown speed to -0.7 m/s.
2. Turn on RCS, turn off front and VTOL Vernors
3. Activate MechJeb landing autopilot
4. If automatic gear not set, extend landing gear at altitude between 1500-1000 m.
5. At altitude of 300-200 m, abort autoland, engage Fly-by-Wire
6. Set full throttle and achieve 0 +/- 1 m/s vertical speed.
7. Turn front and VTOL Vernors on (action group 6 and 7)
8. Rotate craft horizontally
9. Using dorsal translation, keep descent speed in safe range
10. Adjust craft position and attitude as required

Atmospheric entry:

Spacecraft is capable of high-speed entry if operated correctly.
0. Recommended periapsis for low-speed entry is 30 km, for high-speed entry - 38 km.
1. Retract solar panels (action group 4)
2. Before entering atmosphere, set AoA to 70-80 deg.
3. Engage Fly-by-Wire, turn off moderation.
4. Turn on front Vernor (action group 6)
5. Keep high AoA until craft slowed down to speeds below 1800 m/s
6. Perform further descend and aerobraking as necessary

Landing:

Maximum landing weight is 45 ton.
Minimum control speed is 100 m/s. Recommended landing speed is 110 m/s for landing weight below 38 ton. Set flaps to position 2.
NavUtilities highly recommended for landing aid.
For Mün return flights I recommend to have at least 1500 dV - some fuel is spent for attitude control during re-entry and some fuel might be required for atmospheric flight to landing site. The craft has reserve tank in the nose with 180 units of LF which is normally locked.