Epigram Shuttle

The Epigram-class shuttles were designed by the ================== both as ==================== and to replace their expendable research vehicles (which ================================).

It is designed explicitly for ease of manufacture, with the hull being symmetric on two axes and constructed from as few - and simply-designed - parts as possible. Each pair of shuttles can orbit 20 tons of people and cargo, and land 100 tons of the same. While some 56 people can be put into orbit at once, over a thousand people can be brought down from orbit by emptying the main LOX tank and using it as passenger space.

User Manual

So, disregarding all of the flavor text above, this vehicle is a crew shuttle which can carry up to 12 astronauts up and down in style and hurl them into a 100km orbit with 1,300m/s of dV to spare. This also means that you can strap another 26 tons of payload to the back (Shuttle-C style) and get away with it.

The vehicle is equipped with auto-launch courtesy of Orbital Maneuver Suite.
- Press 1 to launch.
- Configure launch parameters in Vizzy.

It's also equipped with a system which automatically detects reentry and keeps it straight (which is important, as it's a long and annoying process). The deorbit burn should be 2500km or so away from the target location and drop periapsis into the ground.

The vehicle has a ridiculous glide ratio, considering it has the aerodynamic profile of a juice bottle. Perform s-turns to bleed off speed once control is relinquished to you and land below 250m/s.

Vehicle Computer Modes

The computer keeps track of what mode it's in, and will beep on mode change.
- A0: [Waiting] Ready for launch
- A1: [On Press 1] Launch countdown started
- A2: [Auto] Ascent
- A3: [Auto] Circularising
- O1: [Waiting] In orbit
- D1: [On Deorbit] Reentry
- D2: [Auto] Piloted Descent
- D3: [Auto] Landing gear deployed
- D4: [Auto] Landed and safed

Once landed, the computer will reset to Mode A0 if you refuel the vehicle to full. Hoisting it upright is left as an exercise for the reader.

Notes

Like the Challenger spaceplane, this was also built to validate a design in a different game after I saw it was possible to replicate its shape in SimpleRockets.

The vehicle design is partially based on the British MUSTARD shuttle concept design, which uses three near-identical vehicles staging off of each other. It's not particularly efficient in terms of fuel, and probably a pain in the rear to design, but is excellent for manufacturing efficiency once the kinks are ironed out. I intended to strap two of them together here, but just one is already obscenely overpowered.

You probably could fit 56 seats in the crew bay, but I couldn't be bothered to build an interior. 12 astronauts is enough.

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