"SSTO," Episode 106 of Journey Into Space
5Kerbal Space Program is Copyright Squad
https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/
Music by Kevin MacLeod: Space Fighter Loop
http://incompetech.com/
Jerry Can O' Fuel used was from Firespitter propeller plane and helicopter parts v5.5 by Snjo
http://kerbalspaceport.com/firespitter-propeller-plane-parts/
Single-Stage-To-Orbit means, you don't drop fuel/oxidizer tanks, you don't drop engines, you don't shed any propulsion parts along the way at all. The way it comes down is the same way it goes up.
There are currently no working SSTO rockets in the real world for fairly good reason: it's very very very hard to do. The closest that any American rocket has come to being SSTO is the Atlas Missile, which was "stage and a half" to orbit. It dropped engines but not fuel tanks. The original purpose for attempting SSTO rockets is reusability: in theory, you get that bad boy on the ground and tank it up again and it's ready to fly again without having to go to the trouble of building a whole new rocket. However, rockets typically drop stages for a reason: to save weight and hence keep rocket size and fuel requirements to reasonable levels. Nowadays a multistage reusable rocket like SpaceX's planned Falcon 9-R (currently being tested using the Grasshopper technology demonstrator) is considered the more practical approach.
However impractical SSTO's are in the real world, they are (just barely) possible in Kerbal Space Program, so we are going to test some out. The designs are stock except for the fact that because KSP foolishly has no small jet fuel tanks available, I used a few fuel jerry cans from the Firespitter Mod by Andreas Aakvik.
Jake Barnes, Lunar Freebooter:
https://www.createspace.com/4449024
http://www.amazon.com/Jake-Barnes-Lunar-Freebooter-Moon/dp/1492766739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379755235&sr=8-1&keywords=Jake+Barnes%2C+Lunar+Freebooter
Also if you get a copy, do me a favor and write a review on Amazon! I would appreciate it.
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"We Stopped Dreaming" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
http://youtu.be/CbIZU8cQWXc
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