Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program

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ES-44 "Friede" with reusable lifter
   
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Craft
Craft Type: Ship
File Size
Posted
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285.675 KB
17 May, 2019 @ 5:39pm
19 May, 2019 @ 9:14am
4 Change Notes ( view )

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ES-44 "Friede" with reusable lifter

In 1 collection by Juggernoob
Juggernoob Spacecraft & Co.
133 items
Description
ES-44 "Friede" is a self-sufficient Mun/Minmus tourism shuttle, popular due to its retro-futuristic rocketship appearance. It’s designed to comfortably ferry 4 passengers (+1 pilot/guide) from LKO to Mun/Minmus surface and back to LKO, then standby at a LKO space station. Can also serve as interorbital transport vessel. Its name means "Peace" in German and comes directly from the moon rocket in the 1929 Fritz Lang silent film Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon).

Comes with EL-8R 40t-class SSTO reusable lifter.
Flight instructions at the bottom.

Key Features
- 1950s retro-futuristic rocketship look
- >2800m/s vacuum dV (ore is to be converted en-route)
- Self-sufficient: continous ISRU capability
- Custom and reliable landing supports
- Fully reusable
- 90 parts (ship) + 67 parts (lifter)

Design Notes
- Yes, she is the little sister of my old interplanetary ship Johnny. Early prototype already seen with the Spire space hotel. Lazy me...
- Vanilla game will show a 2061m/s vacuum dV which is not correct, because ore is regarded as dead weight. It should be converted into rocket fuel en-route, which weights exactly the same (good job Squad for a 1:1 conversion!)
- After quite some trials and frustrations, I think this kind of landing support is way better than any landing legs (despite being slightly heavier), which are very easy to break or bounce, especially after time wraps. As for the reusable lifter, this is the only option I find feasible without using bearings or mods. It looks not too bad, btw.
- Some seemingly inefficient design choices are meant to lower tech requirement.
- I tried my best to fairly use the spaces inside the "Friede", but the rear fuel section may still seem overclipped. My idea is that the rear section should be one single large fuel container, and its tail fins should be thick and also contain fuel. It passes my "being reasonable" standards as such.
- The 4 thrust vector control engines on the "Friede" are pretty much just back-up engines. KSP magical reaction wheels are powerful enough in most cases. They can, however, save a too fast descent from ending up badly.

Flight Instructions
- Engage SAS, liftoff, conduct gravity turn, reach 45deg pitch @ 12000m.
- Lock prograde from now on until circularization.
- Push AP to 75km, cutoff engines and coast.
- Once out of atmosphere, stage to jettison fairings, circularize.
- Once 75x75km orbit is achieved, stage to release the ship.
- If done correctly, now there should be ~700m/s dV left for lifter recovery.
Lifter Recovery
- Quicksave. It may require quite a few trials to achieve a pin-point landing.
- Burn PE to 40km ~1/6 Kerbin equator further than target zone. (Caution: may be inaccurate!)
- Engage brakes and lock retrograde during reentry, keep engines shut down.
- There should be >600m/s dV before touchdown, and the terminal speed should be <200m/s.
- Try to kill the speed rapidly and as near the ground as possible.
- Engage RCS and lock radial-out in the final seconds, enjoy a successful soft landing.
"Friede" Ship Notes
- Remember to convert the ore en-route (AG5, plus AG3 for solar panels. AG9 for fuel cells when on the ground.)
- Use thrust vector control engines only when necessary to reduce dV loss (although not much).
- Please check action groups page for control setups.

Wish you enjoy and happy landings!
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100% Stock, 159 parts. Root part is the Mk1 cockpit.
23 Comments
martian 30 Nov, 2023 @ 7:59pm 
i have a question.. it can get to the mun bit can i get back?
ʇsᴉƃuǝʌǝɹ 12 Jan, 2021 @ 6:00pm 
Through years of testing, I discovered that airplane landing gear are the strongest part. They survive the center of Jool! (RIP Jool Explorer)
Juggernoob  [author] 28 May, 2019 @ 7:13am 
Timeless charm of 50s rocketships!
Navalny's Astronomical Balls 28 May, 2019 @ 4:39am 
I love the Tintin look of the craft ! looks awesome
Straight Boolean 22 May, 2019 @ 1:44pm 
Iron Europe is a mount and blade mod
Juggernoob  [author] 21 May, 2019 @ 6:21pm 
@lukslu5
I usually use maximum thrust to kill the speed a few hundred meters above ground, so that it hovers (or even flies slightly upwards) at like 100m, then it would be easier to keep a slow speed until touchdown. At the final seconds, keep it as slow as 1m/s while pointing radial-out with RCS, so that it won't tip over. 600m/s dV before touchdown burn would be enough for this.

And I like to do a quicksave at 10000m for repeated crashes practice lol
lukslu5 21 May, 2019 @ 11:31am 
@Juggernoob
Well...
Actually all goes fine until i make the final touchdown burn...
I can't get a clear good and slow touchdown without a explosion or a bounce^^:lunar2019deadpanpig:
Juggernoob  [author] 21 May, 2019 @ 4:14am 
Thanks guys! "Time wraps" seems to be correct here...am I missing something?

@lukslu5 , in which step did you get stuck? I may be able to help with the bitter experience from many many failures...Or you can play a stock scenario about booster recovery, it helps too.
Or just attach a tonne of parachutes to it, will work 100% xD

50s sci-fi ftw! I'm having fun digging into early spaceflight concepts, they are so oddly charming even when I know some of them won't work at all xD
Azalea 20 May, 2019 @ 2:20pm 
yes jesus christ
carl 20 May, 2019 @ 12:21pm 
Glad to see that I'm not the only one who is into 50s sci-fi!