Ali Pad Launch Vehicle.
Career friendly.
K.A.L 1.2.1.
*delta-v stats include a 4.62t dead weight test payload.
This started life when I was troubleshooting another rocket. In that process I halved the cost, increased the d-v, and made both stages recoverable. The goal is efficiency, and this is now brutally efficient.
The solar panels are the way they are because they cost $0. It has solar panels because this is a full Pixie rocket, and also so if you go into deep space there won't be battery problems.
Once the upper stage circularizes, manually switch back to the booster and arm the parachutes. That's it. You're a passanger. The booster has been designed to re-enter nose first. The parachute cords clip through the interstage, but whatever. I'm not going for realism. I'm a gamer using the game systems.
What are the legs for?
There's no fancy RTLS stuff here. 99% of the time, it'll splash down in the ocean, and the parachutes are all you need for that. However, a light payload around 1.5t will mean the booster comes down over land. And probably not flat land, so I'm not expecting the legs to keep it upright. They're there to cushion the landing so it won't come down on its engines. The booster in the last picture was recovered for $1.51m in career mode. The upper stage has parachutes too, and might be recoverable depending on your mission.
It's intended to be launched from Ali Pad because the booster is intended to be recovered. It obviously splashes down closer to the DSC this way. I use Ali Pad the most for this reason.
GENERAL INFO
- Predecessor: Eagle 1 V2 | The Eagle Strikes Back
- Successors 1 craft(s)
- Created On: Windows
- Game Version: 1.3.204.1
- Price: $3,738k
- Number of Parts: 71
- Dimensions: 36 m x 3 m x 5 m
PERFORMANCE
- Total Delta V: 7.1km/s
- Total Thrust: 1.9MN
- Engines: 22
- Wet Mass: 81,186kg
- Dry Mass: 13,938kg
STAGES
| Stage | Engines | Delta V | Thrust | Burn | Mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | 3.6km/s | 1.8MN | 3.4m | 81,186kg |
| 3 | 1 | 3.5km/s | 107kN | 5.8m | 16,879kg |
The goblin SRBs are over-engineered. You can cut down the 6 radial impulse engines to 3, and it won't make a blind bit of difference to the flight trajectory or d-v. But it'll be cheaper.
The legs are a gimmick. Just to show what's possible. I've removed them for my own game.
To actually recover the booster, it needs a payload of 4t or more. For a light payload, the booster is overpowered. It'll fly too high and fast, and burn up on reentry. I've taken 10t to orbit (with not much d-v left over, mind you).
The main design problem is the ratio of 1st stage to 2nd stage.