Reaching SPACE in KSP using ONLY JET ENGINES!

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I LOVE BlackRack’s volumetric clouds mod, in combination with all the other visual mods we have for Kerbal Space Program now, but one of the issues I have is that my missions often don’t really showcase them for very long, since rockets don't spend that much time below the clouds. So, I wanted to make a video featuring a plane, and fly through clouds and thunderstorms and all that good stuff! I'm super happy with how this one turned out, so I really hope you enjoy!
My PC specs:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16-Core Processor
64 GB RAM
3840 x 2160, 144Hz

[@MattLowne]

Click this link sponsr.is/bootdev_MattLowne and use my code MATTLOWNE to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. That’s 25% off your first month or your first year, depending on the subscription you choose 🚀

[@007Brady]

Hey Matt! What mods do you use for KSP? Would you be willing to do a video on that? This one is great so far btw!

[@Rob-el8ti]

hi matt has there been any news concerning ksp2 ? and one more question ksp1 has so many mods and that is ksp2 able to be modded like the massive improvements that ksp1 got from the modding community or are most modders just waiting and seeing if any devs takes up ksp2 ?

[@OmikronTitan]

That was a nice segue in the video for the sponsor.

[@Aiden_onroblox]

@@OmikronTitan32 mins ago!

[@CityAstro]

@@Rob-el8ti bro. the studio is defunct. there is no news

[@Kaelygon]

11:42 "Drinks and snacks will be on the way shortly", proceeds to pull 11G right after

[@CauliflowermuncherNo5634]

He presumably meant on their way back

[@Allthegoodhandlesaretakenlmao]

@@CauliflowermuncherNo5634 lmao

[@maciejbowlosy]

"Shortly after the passengers regain consciousness"

[@HypeSteady]

Just wantedd to make sure that they weren't full 🤷‍♂

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

You gotta make them puke so they have room!

[@creativecarveciteclimb5684]

What's crazy is that Stratzenblitz did this but he actually got to orbit. He saved up angular momentum using unequal drag which added a torque and he used that to get into orbit.

[@MattLowne]

Yeah, it's a great video, but a completely different mission goal. I wanted a craft that feels like it could hypothetically exist IRL (not throwing shade, that video is one of the GOAT)

[@creativecarveciteclimb5684]

@@MattLowne Yep, yours seems definitely more possible in real life. But you can make it more realistic... The RSS Mod!

[@maciejbowlosy]

​@@creativecarveciteclimb5684 I agree, I think that the Real Slim Shady mod can improve this design tenfold!

[@draftymamchak]

@@creativecarveciteclimb5684There is a Rainbow Six Seige mod for KSP? How would that help with more realistic aircraft?

[@jjeeqq]

​@@draftymamchak rainbows exists, six is real number, and sieges has happened according to western history books and Tolkien.

[@Alxium]

I was blown away, literally, with the weather effects on Jool. I don't know how, but he extended how far you can go into the planet and it has some truly some insane sights and sounds. Also, Duna has dust storms periodically which are really neat too. HIGHLY recommend Blackrack's clouds if you have a few dollars to spare.

[@skyward14]

i uh “found” a link to it which im not gonna distribute, but the mod is so good im gonna sub to the patreon when i get the chance

[@chilledburrito]

My computer weeps...

[@R-BGamingUK]

Matt, I have a question, will you record yourself exploring a comet at some point? Since I've searched for "Matt Lowne comet" and the closest I've found was you capturing a magic asteroid and Danny2642 plugging the Mohole with a comet

[@docgratis]

The black bars make sense on the second mission because otherwise you would see the and with the capabilities of to .

[@quoniam426]

Given the Delta V you have on the plane, opting for a shallower ascend profile would allow for a faster orbital insertion for the payload, the only caveat being the return trajectory, forcing to complete the world around tour like a antipodal bomber, like the Germans wanted to do or like Pr Mortimer's Swordfish tactical nuke bomber. BTW, I tried to recreate it in KSP and it works very well as an Antipodal aircraft, with insane TWR, one normal engine the one that can switch between subsonic and post combustion), half of the fuselage being empty cylinders, that thing can easily circumnavigate Kerbin, alterning between thrust pushes and gliding descents. I also made the cockpit detachable like in the comics. Of course my prototype had no payloads. And as it has no landing gear, it needs a rocket assisted take off from a stageable stability girder and then drops the sepatrons (ModPods or I don't remember which mod with a similar name) had a smaller radial decoupler that was very useful for that). Of course to avoid stalling in turns, the engine nozzle must be have thrust vectoring disabled.

[@headforscience]

This is actually a perfect example of how I believe spaceplanes are meant to work IRL.

[@eekee6034]

It's certainly easier to make suborbital flights.

[@headforscience]

@@eekee6034 I mean taking a jet above the karman line and throwing a tiny rocket out to get into orbit while the plane comes down.

[@DrakyHRT]

​@@headforscienceit's possible to make a spaceplane that gets into orbit, but RnD would cost so much and take so long it would be meaningless.

[@adrianwelgemoed9562]

⁠@@DrakyHRTthats not what theyre suggesting. Theyre saying its easier to do it same as the video shows

[@funny3scene]

A hybrid system taking off like a normal plane and igniting a rocket when the jets burn out is theoretically much more efficient than launching normally, it would just need to be very large and have extremely powerful jets. I’m surprised it’s never been done

[@NickBDesigns]

Hahaha I love the little chuckle when you were talking to the “tourist” about how the snacks would be coming shortly

[@frostifish]

I saw the some videos about KSP 2 and the whole take two and private division debacle and it made me really sad. Then your video popped onto my YT front page. As someone who played KSP when it was in early access (literally more than 10 years ago now), I also started watching your videos. It is so great to see that you are still making KSP videos. I just have to give KSP another go now. Thank you so much!

[@alexsampsonite2176]

I'm so glad you still get views. Haven't watched in a while, especially since ksp2. I'm getting the ksp itch again though, and it's great that the the Matt Lowne aspect is still thriving.

[@berengerayers]

KSP jet engines are underrated. Love the content with planes or in-atmosphere missions!

[@spinspins925]

15:56 kerbal jumpscare ;-;

[@spinspins925]

liked my own comment lol ._.

[@TechnoHackerVid]

@@spinspins925 Kudos for honesty :D

[@Zourkoskey]

Loved it! I wish I was this good at KSP lol, I still have a blast with it though I play with Real Solar System and I ended up modding all my engines to have much higher ISP so that I can actually get places plus mechjab, cause otherwise theres no way I could get any where with my skill level lol! My funnest memory was when I realized that at some point I had sent a kerbal in a ship flying off into interstellar space for whatever reason, and years later being like oh no I need save that poor guy, by this time he was past Plutos orbit. Made a big ass spaceship and used mechjabs intercept mode to fly out and meet the poor kerbal and do a ship to ship transfer via EVA. Took like decades of time but what a sweet moment when i finally rescued the guy and then got him home after like 100 years drifting in space! I just wish I had recorded it :(

[@Jeb_bezos]

Can’t wait to watch it after I come home

[@TheBestBlueGamer]

No signal up in space?

[@Edy_Cras_Edits]

I agree Cant wait to watch it when im back at base :/

[@Yodahmhm]

You are never watching this. You are on an escape trajectory out of the sun using the fartsmeller 69

[@ALEGOAnimator]

My crew called him "JebiDead" after the "De-orbit day incident"

[@branchy2279]

Currently staying at a hotel in Iceland and this was on the recommended without me being signed in! No escaping Mattrick Lowne

[@leonardobonanno5115]

It's impressive how little delta-V the payload needed to achieve orbit from using a jet plane as first stage. Also well done with the design, it's sort of elegant.

[@Cats_Elite]

matt never fails to make me amused by the size of the landing gear he uses

[@andregroo]

Two mods could've been very interesting for this video 1:a mod for extra launch sites, allowing launching from "Somewhere Airfield" and landing "Area Elsewhere". Technically could've been from desert airfield to KSC but runaways alignment is not the ideal Two: FMRS mod to, as the name suggests, manage the flights of the reusable stages. Essentially it allows you to fly your payload to orbit and then go back in time to land the plane. Bonus: would've been easier to follow fuel efficient trajectories. Technically, you could just use a quick save, recover the plane, quick load delivery then payload and pretend both things happened in the same "timeline".

[@slothomatic]

"I'm doing a bit right now." I legitimately laughed out loud. Nicely done.

[@LilDangPoot]

8:44 ayoooo!!! Matt chill dude 😂

[@BrannonAerospace]

Matt: “Let’s talk to our esteemed guests!” Me: “Oh no.”

[@LNYC16]

16:33 "is that racist? hopefully not" 😂

[@ZedNinetySix_]

I love how the community evolved KSP into their own KSP2~

[@maciejbowlosy]

Awesome craft and vid! Just wanna mention that (as tested by VAOS) 1 shock cone intake can power UP TO 4 RAPIERS! (just have to throttle gradually so you dont flame-out at takeoff) So you theoreticaly could use just 2 intakes to power the whole plane and cut a bit of mass and drag by using nose cones!

[@Freak80MC]

Your flight path is basically how I recover first stage boosters in my career saves! Tho the idea of using a plane as the first stage and flying it back in another arc back to the space center seems *really* tempting hmmm Also a tip, might help others or maybe this is my weird brain, but when landing back at the runway, I try to target a "virtual runway" in my mind that extends far past the actual one so that when I inevitably glide a ways for landing, I still hit the runway instead of overshooting it.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I end up flying at like 90m for the last couple km. The scariest part is setting it down.

[@jonbelanger312]

Matt, try a circular descent from orbit, but also down to the approach end of the runway. This is how it's done if an emergency descent to a point is required. Also a stabilized approach starting at around 2000meters about 2km from the runway should allow enough time to bleed speed and approach at Vref and land smoothly.

[@SteelWardogs-8913]

2:39 how many engines do you need :The people at KSP:Y E S

[@pepsolenel]

Really love the "live commentary part"! It would be good if you did more videos like this, you wouldn't have to explain afterwards what you did or what happened exactly. Maybe you could add a little text on the screen indicating when your voice is live recorded with the footage

[@The_cgull]

Hey Matt! I think a series where you explore various planet packs and interstsllar travel mods would be awesome! Cheers!

[@p3chv0gel22]

If the Idea was "No oxidizer", couldn't you do the circularization burn with Ion or nuclear engines?

[@spinspins925]

yeah even i didnt think about that ._.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Instantly thought nuclear engines would show up. Using them to get the last kick into space. And even more important, to have something to come back down.

[@eekee6034]

I thought of ion engines because I've tried to make that exact combination, but it's hard. But I was fascinated by the practical use of suborbital flight, anyway.

[@wills.5762]

@@eekee6034 Ion engines dont make nearly enough thrust for this application, ion engines are only really good for interobirtal maneuvers

[@eekee6034]

@@wills.5762 It can be done if you're crazy like Bradley Whistance or Stratzenblitz75. I don't think you can do it without aero exploits though; you have to get the drag waaay down.

[@mr.deenamiq]

Matt, your plane designs keep amazing me.

[@setaindustries]

Wow, that's a really cool design for a plane!

[@zenothksp]

next up: duna and back with only srb's

[@legobuildinggamer4048]

Bro is not strazenblitz

[@alexb-mc4jo]

Matt is not one for challenges

[@WhaleJin-e2i]

then you need to choose a vary specific time and angel to reach the target orbit which leads to the duna atmosphere. sounds interesting and tricky

[@Delphinus-Keya]

I watched this on my TV and the non cropped version fit perfectly.

[@benjaminshort4169]

8:20 this has been a very charming video, Matt. Thank you for a cute and entertaining video. Love pilot voice Matt.

[@TheAvaitor2025]

6:17 is Crazy how those 2 kerbals were Freaking out and 1 of them were not happy

[@paulmuszynski5138]

LMFAO dude this was the best. Your tour guiding was phenomenal.

[@Orogenesis]

Great video Matt! I'm just getting back into KSP after years away, would you mind posting your complete mod list so I can replicate those gorgeous visuals and any other essentials? Much appreciated!

[@SpawnLocationn]

12:44 2 anvil clouds in a row? WOW VERY RARE

[@legobuildinggamer4048]

Correct me if I’m wrong but 26:38 Matt you need to engage the brakes for them to work, that’s why you overshot on the first launch. If you had it to a action group then ignore this

[@csljr1]

@3:19 "I didn't design this plane and then build it again and film it; I just sort of winged it..." [rimshot] - Nice pun🤣

[@CarCarPro]

The weather looks cool and I think you could also get a good video about the clouds at Jool, like send a prob down into Jools cloud layers. 👍

[@lourenco3216]

How does your game look so good? Over the years your video quality has improved a lot, along with the graphic mods. Can we please get a tidy list of the mods you are using? [Especially for the graphical ones :p. Thanks!]

[@bobokent1]

Thanks for the video! Thought about doing this myself, so it’s nice to have some ideas about how to proceed.

[@Sal-T]

There used to be (and may still be) a 'bug' where if you closed the air intakes it would starve your jet engines (obviously), but when you opened them again, the jet engines would get one last burst, as if the inlets 'held' some air in them. Someone once used this to get into orbit with only jet engines. He got his apo high enough, and his peri was high, then when he hit apo, he re-opened the inlets, the engines spit out a tiny bit of thrust, but it was enough to raise his periapsis just enough to get into orbit, so it IS possible to do.

[@FederationStarShip]

3:12 Me everytime a new Matt Lowne KSP video drops

[@Helycon]

love that the "top secret military mission" still had tourists

[@spaceflightfox8494]

6:44 fun to see those two as tourists themselves

[@marshymoo_]

volumetric clouds weather is amazing. In my own time I once went up to the north pole and flew through a snowstorm. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but there was violent wind that threw the craft around

[@alexb-mc4jo]

Either the plane lost control due to control surfaces being weird, or u had a wind mod installed

[@marshymoo_]

@@alexb-mc4jo I don’t think I had a wind mod, but it was cool nonetheless

[@gdutfulkbhh7537]

Beautifully done! Thank you for sharing.

[@Untitled_Pribor]

23:32 should’ve kept the black bars

[@waywardscythe3358]

I once managed a stable Kerbol orbit using only jet engines and intake air. I was using the scramjet from one of the MK2 mods lol but it was difficult keeping it in atmosphere long enough to get up above escape velocity. it was mostly radiators.

[@DirtyHairy1]

That reminds me of Starflight One! I guess that has been reenacted in KSP multiple times already ;)

[@SP4CEBAR]

Your segue (sponsor transition) was so natural that it caught me off guard

[@Mrfalcone12]

More live videos Matt. It’s so much better. We get the live reactions and if you have to quick save, we do it too! I know there’s a perfect product and the timeless hours spent creating that… so just give us some live no cuts (except for space shit cuz that takes forever like always) but you know what I mean. We love the live commentary.

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

I never thought of using the mk2 bicoupler like that. Good inspiration for my builds

[@barryberman563]

"BARRY KERMAN". Thanks for that.

[@eekee6034]

Whoa! Coincidence! Or was it?

[@lord_kerman]

​@@eekee6034 insert VSauce theme

[@lightspeedvictory]

Looks like a swing-wing aircraft, looks pretty good. Getting some Arkbird vibes from it

[@jampert3656]

Really cool design as always. If you took off from the desert runway, wouldn't you land quite close to the ksc? That could make the flight a bit easier to land

[@maxkantono]

Matt:we landed on the runway Reality:landed on grass

[@HardcodedHamster]

This was a great mix of live and post commentary

[@nerokcubreva]

the mods look so great, could you do another video of all of them instaling?

[@RubenvanKuik]

I'm hoping Matt will give the OPT spaceplane continued mod a go in the near future. Those parts are something else.

[@Racky_TM]

What all mods did you use in this video, Id love to have my game look like that!

[@IsaacDaSaxaphone]

You hae to pay for the clouds/weather mod, sadly, I hate Greedy people......

[@mrtoast4554]

@@IsaacDaSaxaphonegreedy? Dude spent so much time to create this mod just to release it for nothing?

[@МирныйЧеловекСмерти]

@@mrtoast4554 Yes. Otherwise, it shouldn't have been created. Sarcasm or not decide for yourself :)

[@DrakyHRT]

​​@@IsaacDaSaxaphoneyou are just ungrateful, much like most of the people that use mods in any game, the work that was done to create this mod is absurd, instead of congratulating the person you judge, how sad.

[@alexb-mc4jo]

Mod list: Stockalike station parts redux(and it's iva mod), volumetric clouds mod, freeiva, deferred rendering, restock, restock waterfall, hud replacer with Ztheme, kerbal engineer redux, parallax 2.0,

[@RobloxianX]

i swear these ksp1 mods are insane

[@CooperJackson-pc5ne]

You should get a mod called speed unit annex, which can show different speed measurements, and on planes, it shows both meters per second and Mach.

[@Fireheart318]

That plane looks awesome! Like something out of Speed Racer!

[@SillyFemboi]

19:44 it sort of looks like the lightning fighter jet if you squint :D

[@HyperMAX9001]

Love the clouds and the plane!

[@Gamba16374]

2:48 you wanna go as fast as possible so you mount many many parts on it wich create a lot of drag 😂

[@Derzull2468]

Man, I can't wait for KSP2!

[@MinerBat]

the kerbal military got quite unlucky by launching exactly on the one moment in the entire decade a rainstorm happened in the desert...

[@eekee6034]

True that! XD

[@albertoelorduy]

omg big sciota on the background my favorite

[@JOSHH-mf7wd]

honestly that was the best flight ive ever seen

[@TarisRedwing]

That weather mod is amazing.

[@miege90]

these weather effects are absolutely insane

[@Goosethesecond-m8l]

I saw the wing shape while playing this for background noise and I immediately thought of the tu160blackjack

[@jamoecw]

If you go slower at first you can get a nice flat trajectory before ramping up the speed and getting yourself into space a lot closer to a circular orbit.

[@Goofy-Gaffa]

When I first saw the thumbnail and I didn’t realise it was Matt I thought it was real😂😂

[@TlMEL0RD]

NROOOO nobody saw the black bars. AND PLEASE IT MAKES IT ANNOYING NOW.

[@redpug5042]

that could have been so much better if you did a shallow ascent to get a lot faster at ~25 km altitude, to the point that your apoapsis is on the opposite side of kerbin. Then it would only take a little bit of fuel for the station to get into orbit, and you would end up pretty close to the KSC

[@atomicscream31]

14:45 slew mode. Apply directly to the crash site.

[@Peter_Morris]

Captain Slow got to fly in a Dragonlady? Aw man I gotta find that video. That sounds hilarious.

[@Bagthebag]

You should to a mission through jools new subsurface cloudlayers added by blackracks clouds

[@pl-AEtheRR]

Hello, Matt! Lovely video as always. I found the ignition sequence especially fantastic and satisfying. Quick question though: what Shabby pre-set are you using or, if you aren't using a pre-set, do you plan on releasing one/could you share your settings? I love the way your shader settings look, they're almost understated and stock-alike (I guess) but very pleasing to the eye. Thanks in advance!

[@aneru9396]

This video combines well with the recent update to Terra Invicta allowing us to field Low Orbit Fighter planes

[@karlmccroy8912]

Dude what are those visual mods holy those are nice

[@STSKSP]

Blackrack mod is my favorite mod ever. I spend so much time circling storm systems. Well worth the 5 bucks

[@max_or_smthn]

You should start doing planet packs mods such as kcabelloh and opm quack pack is pretty neat too

[@alice20001]

4:35 Will you be playing KSA? Kitten Space Agency? It's a spiritual sucessor to KSP and a good chunk of the developers from the original team are on it!

[@awilliams1701]

I started a new career save. It's crazy how hard the game is at start. Also I'm using TAC. So taking tourists sucks because they use electric charge and I didn't have batteries! I don't have to land with EC, but you only get an hour before people die.

[@DancerVeiled]

The balls on this guy to attempt a split-S maneuver for orbital re-entry

[@stinkyfungus]

I managed to go juuuuuuuuust suborbital with a single seat, single engine whiplash design inspired by the F-104 starfighter. I even gave it some RCS so I could maintain attitude at apogee and fly a parabola similar to the IRL NF-104 flights. ( meant for Reentry Training USAF astronauts for the X20 Dyna-soar program) On attempt #1 I even managed to pull a Chuck Yeager and depart controlled flight at the apex of the parabola... and got into a flat spin. 😂 And just like real life - after trying everything I could think of (including deploying the drouge chute) to bring it back I yanked the chicken handle and made Jeb ride the silk home.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Building an SR-71 works quite well. i have one design that can hold ~22km at 1150 m/s quite stable.

[@adamgames1975]

I thought its going to orbit i was like ... Damn lowne aerospace going broke now

[@sonicsupersam7793]

bought volumetric clouds, lost all my files, bought it again. no regrets.

[@NateHotshot]

or you could find them on page two of google searches

[@Benaplus1]

With these volumetric clouds weather effects, do the storms also snow at high altitudes or near the poles? It'd be cool to see a flight (or rover trip) through a driving snowstorm

[@alexb-mc4jo]

Yeah, there's snowstorms at the north and south pole

[@ioxynotreal]

Ask smooneychad for some advice. I'm sure he's more than happy to help an ambitious rookie in spaceplanes like yourself!

[@PersonThatExi]

smooneychad mentioned?

[@eekee6034]

🤣

[@Skyliner_369]

All you need to do is have the satellite automatically circularize with KOS so you can just hit "go" on the detachment of the satellite and fly the plane yourself

[@AlexWalford-jm3mg]

I sure Floydson would love this game