Does deltaV have a limit using only stock parts?
The problem: I am trying to go to as much of the Kerbal system as possible, with the technology and base facilities that most people (including myself) used to get to the mun. (Why? We go to the mun not because it is easy, but because it is hard. And Duna is harder!)
I appear to have run into something of a limit in terms of the amount of deltaV that I can fit into my rocket. With a 5t payload, I can't seem to get past about 8km/s. Is this a hard limit? Am I screwing up somewhere, or is this just the reality of rocket science?
Note that I am not asking you to design me a better ship. I want to know if I'm hitting the engineering limit. If I'm near the limit, I can let go and move on. If I'm short by 6km/s, then...well...I've got some redesign to do...
Limits
- Mun tech (read: all 1.5m parts below tech 5/6), because that's the point
- Less than 140t, because that's the size of launch pad I had/have for the mun
- 5t payload, to allow dV numbers to be compared directly
Best Answer
The above answer already is excellent, but forgot one thing I might have added, that can also drastically increase deltaV if done.
Assemble your payload in orbit.
If your rocket is "limited" to a certain mass in payload, which translates into a certain amount of fuel for anything that goes from LKO to Duna or whatever, then why not shoot several separate payloads up, e.g. pure engine stage with moderate fuel, pure fuel tank, and command module with science stuff or whatever else is needed, and then dock them together in low orbit. The fuel tank can later be ditched if necessary or kept to refuel later.
This way you can combine a much larger fuel load with a given set of engines, command and control, and other payload (science for example), that can easily make it to duna and back. The entire ship can also this way be extended and modified in orbit by adding whatever modules are handy for the planned mission while the science is either deposited into a mobile lab, or the command module alone lands on kerbin (leaving fuel and engines in orbit to be reused).
Note that this plan may require a station in orbit for assembly and refueling of fuel tanks. (If not you need to constantly shoot new fuel tanks up)
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How much Delta V do you need for Moho?
Landing/ Return Stage Moho has low gravity, so it is easy to get off the surface. For this stage, make something that can get from Moho orbit, land on Moho, and get back to Kerbin, which requires around 3000 Delta V (Liftoff from Minmus, orbit Mun, and safely land on Kerbin).How do you increase delta V?
There are four basic techniques to increase the delta-V of a spacecraft:8 STUPID MISTAKES everybody makes in Kerbal Space Program
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Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Liza Summer, cottonbro, Liza Summer