Moon rockets are rockets that are designed to visit the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. These rockets do not need to be as large and sophisticated as those designed to reach Mars or Jupiter due to the low Delta-V required (670 m/s, from orbit). It is recommended that players build Moon rockets after orbital rockets before advancing.
An updated basic moon rocket with three stages. Download here: https://sharing.spaceflightsimulator.app/rocket/kR5RPDfOEe-3buNyTkiz9w
Stages[]
Building a Moon rocket is quite simple compared to building longer-range rockets. A Moon rocket shold consist of at least
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Stage one[]
This stage will, or should carry the rocket to closely achieve orbit around Earth.
It should contain at least 1 high-thrust engine (Hawk Engine, Titan Engine or Frontier engine). Have some fuel tanks, but not too many (6 wide or more is recommended). It is also advised to add a pair of boosters that run out of fuel first to be staged with side separators (see figure 2). The boosters can be ignited before the first stage fires its engine(s) to get to orbit.
Stage two[]
The second stage will get the rocket into a parking orbit, shoot the rocket into a trans-lunar injection, and optionally put the rocket into a lunar orbit.
It should be propelled by a vacuum engine, like the Valiant Engine or Frontier Engine.
Stage three[]
The third stage will (or should) be able to land on the moon, and if manned, return to Earth. It should usually be propelled by a small engine such as the Kolibri Engine. Add a pair of landing legs to cushion the impact while landing on the Moon, in case you don't perform a landing burn early enough. If it can return to Earth, it should have a capsule (that can carry astronauts), parachutes (to slow down into the atmosphere during landing on Earth), and a heat shield to protect it against the reentry heat.
Other stages[]
It can have up to 5 stages, or several modules, for more sophisticated missions, such as an Apollo 11 recreation.
Real Moon rockets[]
Rockets that have gone to the Moon in real life. The most famous example is the Saturn V. There are even rockets that were intended to be launched ON the Moon's surface.
- Saturn V
- N1-L3 (unsuccessful)
- SLS
- Starship HLS
- Atlas-Agena
- Delta 1000
- Delta II
- PSLV
- Proton-K/D
- Molniya-M
- Luna 8K72
- Juno II
- Thor
- -IIA
- Long March 3 Rockets
- Long March 4
- Long March 5
- Long March 9
- GSLV-Mk-III
- H3
- Proton/Zond (Launched Zond Payloads)
- Falcon 9
- Vulcan Centaur
- Falcon Heavy
- Atlas V
- M-Series of rockets (Launched Hiten)
- Titan 23G (Launched Clementine)
- Soyuz
Tips[]
- Create quicksaves in case you make a mistake. (Unless attempting a Moon Tour run)
- Use Straight Aerodynamic nose cones. They create less drag than Diagonal ones.
Examples[]
See also[]
| Rocket construction |
|---|
| Suborbital rockets • Orbital rockets • Reusable rockets • Moon rockets • Mars rockets • Venus rockets • Mercury rockets • Jupiter rockets |