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HowToSpacecraft

HOW TO DESIGN AN UP GOER

• The lower stages are used immediately, so it's not recommended to write them down.
• Determine how many spacederps you want to send up and how long you want them to stay. This helps you decide how many rations to carry.
• Add payload items.
• All of the above plus one is your capsule mass. If you have a roomier capsule already researched, yay!
• Pick a thruster by dividing the above by ten (remove the units digit, and add one to the result). This shouldn't be too big. The number you now have is your dry mass.
• Start counting burns backwards, so begin with your deorbit burn and end with whichever burn comes after orbital insertion. For each step:
  • Take your spacecraft mass so far.
  • Divide it by ten.
  • Add the result to the mass as fuel.
• You will see that the fuel needed for each burn increases. Remember, you are working backwards, so that means your initial burns will use more fuel! This is because you are having to carry the fuel you will need later.
• If you can afford it, consider adding a bit more fuel in case of mishaps.
• Note that you calculated capsule-thruster-fuel. The spacecraft should actually be assembled capsule-fuel-thruster, for optimal non-burnination of capsule contents.
• The total wet mass is what your orbital insertion stage has to carry.
• The wet mass PLUS the orbital insertion stage is what your launch stage has to carry.
• Fly safe!
• If you want to get more than one capsule into orbit, for example if you want a lunar lander, treat additional capsule-fuel-thruster combinations as cargo. You can move fuel around while in space, fortunately.