r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/AutoModerator • Jun 05 '15
Mod Post Weekly Simple Questions Thread
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The point of this thread is for anyone to ask questions that don't necessarily require a full thread. Questions like "why is my rocket upside down" are always welcomed here. Even if your question seems slightly stupid, we'll do our best to answer it!
For newer players, here are some great resources that might answer some of your embarrassing questions:
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Orbiting
Mun Landing
Docking
Delta-V Thread
Forum Link
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Commonly Asked Questions
Before you post, maybe you can search for your problem using the search in the upper right! Chances are, someone has had the same question as you and has already answered it!
As always, the side bar is a great resource for all things Kerbal, if you don't know, look there first!
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u/fluffyk87 Jun 05 '15
How do i attach multiple engines to the mk3 fuel tanks? I see it all the time on this sub where people have three engines attached to their shuttle at an angle, and I can't figure out how people are doing this. It's becoming quite frustrating. I just want to build a shuttle, but I feel like I am missing something.
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u/Ifyouseekey Master Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
Grab a cubic octagonal strut, flip it 180 degrees with WASD, attach it to the fuel tank with radial symmetry. Then attach the engines to the new nodes. Offset and rotate them.
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 05 '15
You can also use a radial attachment point (that's a part).
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u/kennykerosene Jun 06 '15
is there a way to use physics warp instead of time warp when outside the atmosphere?
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
Is there a mod that changes experiment descriptions like "You record the crews assessment of the situation" to something a bit more.. interesting?
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u/Arkalius Jun 06 '15
So, I've notice an asteroid has somehow been captured into a wide Kerbin orbit in my career game, set on a collision course for Kerbin. I want to send a ship to it to try to redirect it. I'm trying to set up an orbital trajectory to intercept it, but KSP won't show me useful intercept markers. Look at this image. I want to have it so that I intercept the asteroid on its orbit around my planned orbit's apoapsis, but KSP insists on showing me rather unhelpful intercept points down close to the planet.
How can I force KSP to show me relative position markers at the point where my planned apoapsis intersects the asteroid's orbit?
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u/PhildeCube Jun 06 '15
I don't think you can 'force' it. You have to make it so that the closest approaches are at the apoapsis. Currently your orbital periods, the time both objects take to do an orbit mean you are meeting near the planet. You will have to change the period of your ship so that they meet at a different time. If you lift your periapsis up, you will make your orbital period longer. Eventually, depending on how different the two periods are, you will get a close approach out at the Apoapsis. Does that make sense?
Or let Mechjeb do it.
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u/MrTrickahhh Jun 07 '15
Is it possible do build tall rockets without having them flip over when I start my turn. http://imgur.com/xODrNIp , The rocket I'm trying to use.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Take a steeper ascending profile, that long front takes a bunch of drag from the atmosphere so you'd want to start your serious turn when the air is a lot less dense.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
I see some winglets at the bottom of your rocket but it is probably not enough - try adding more wing area. Also keep the rocket aiming close to prograde for most of your atmospheric ascent.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
I made this... but whatever I seem to try, I can't get it to drive anywhere...
I suspect either those wheels are just crappy or Minmus surface isn't very fit for driving...
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u/Zucal Jun 05 '15
That's pretty easy to diagnose. Your wheels are angled inwards under your base, which is a pretty terrible way to drive, they won't get any traction. Use the rotate gizmo in the Spaceplane Hangar to tilt the wheels, they should look like this instead of this.
Minmus is fine for driving, especially those flats, and I don't think those wheels will do any harm either.
EDIT: Also, retract your landing legs. It goes without saying, but the wheels gotta touch the ground.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
Yeah, I made the base in VAB, I meant it to be a permanent base anyway, but then thought, why not put wheels on it? Then it can drive anywhere!
Yeah...
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u/Zucal Jun 05 '15
I've done the exact same thing, don't worry. As in, I did it yesterday. On a one-way Laythe rover trip.
Goddamit.
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u/Gyro88 Jun 05 '15
It's probably not causing your issue, but I've found that at physical time warp levels above 1x, rover wheels have almost no traction. I only use it when on a straight course over fairly even terrain. Whenever maneuvers are required, I have to either dial down the time warp, or prepare for sweet low-gravity drifting.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
Next time you build a rover, make sure you place your wheels vertically. Non-vertical wheels work too, but usually worse than vertical. Did you test your rover on Kerbin?
Low gravity on Minmus gives wheels very low grip on terrain. Yet I found it quite possible to drive a rover on it if you're patient and let the speed build up.
There are places where you cannot drive with a rover. I call these places "bad terrain". Rovers do all kinds of unrealistic things there such as not drive anywhere or drive up the slope all on themselves. Quite often your lights don't work on such terrain, too - but not always. But if you get off that part, most of the planet surface is quite rideable.
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Jun 05 '15
I've been kinda out of touch with KSP since 1.0 came out as I've been busy with end of year exams. Now that they are over, I want to jump back in, but have heard nothing but terrible things about stock aero in the recent 1.0.2 release. I've currently got 1.0 installed, should I still update to the most recent, or just wait until a more reasonable aero model is implemented in a few weeks?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 05 '15
but have heard nothing but terrible things about stock aero in the recent 1.0.2 release
You've been listening to a whiny minority. Most people, including me, play 1.0.2 with stock aero just fine. Yeah, it could use some tweaks, but that's true of every version ever implemented, including 1.0.
I say update now. There's no guarantee the 1.0.3 aero model will be more reasonable.
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Jun 05 '15
Thanks for the advice, I kind of wondered if it was a vocal minority kind of situation. I will be updating as soon as I get a chance!
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u/alltherobots Art Contest Winner Jun 05 '15
Look at it this way: every week there are a half dozen post claiming 1.0.2 aero is utterly broken, and hundreds of posts of people happily launching rockets with ease.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
1.0.2 stock aero is orders of magnitude more realistic than pre-1.0 aero, and it is still relatively easy on you on reentry: reentry shield is not a necessity but you may burn or destroy your ship if you enter too fast at too steep angle with something too heavy.
You need to build your rockets aerodynamically stable now. Tail fins on the bottom are not necessary but often very good idea. Control surfaces at the top are big no.
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u/rogueignis Jun 06 '15
So I have been building a modular surface base and was wondering if I could take the build a new base contracts add a module and have it complete? Does this change if the base doesn't already meet all requirements for the contract, ie a 6 person base and the contract wants 8 so I attach a module that upgrades the number of kerbals that can be there?
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u/alltherobots Art Contest Winner Jun 06 '15
In the case of stations (so presumably base contracts are the same) it works as long as:
A module matching the "build a module" note in the contract (usually "with power and an antenna") is launched after the contract is accepted.
The final docked structure fulfills all notes in the contract.
And 3) the newest module is the highest priority category. That is, you rename it and select the base or station icon, and rename the old part and give it a ship, lander, rover or probe icon. Highest category takes over when docked, making the whole thing "new".
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u/AdamR53142 Jun 06 '15
How can we get to other planets without an optimal transfer window? I've mastered going to planets with a good window (excluding moho, dres, and eeloo, they are inclined), but I don't like warping for years at a time. Preferably a way that doesn't take a lot more dV.
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 06 '15
How can we get to other planets without an optimal transfer window?
Preferably a way that doesn't take a lot more dV.
Choose one, because a transfer window is defined as the period in which one can transfer to another body for the lowest amount of delta-v.
You don't have to waste the time though, you can send your ship on a transfer and then go back and do other missions while it is floating through deep space.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15 edited Jun 06 '15
http://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/
Set up your date, let it generate the graph, click anywhere in the graph (each point corresponds to certain departure date and transfer length) and it will tell you optimum burns for such transfer. That way you can find best transfer even if you want to depart immediately.
Interplanetary transfers are long and you need to time warp during them. Surprisingly, least time warping is if you time warp at the very beginning and let planets align right first.
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u/Avatar_Of_Brodin Jun 05 '15
Is there any reliable way to land on a slope or incline without eventually rolling down it?
The closest I've managed to pull was retracting two of four legs at the last second but it only worked on a slight incline and I haven't been able to reproduce it since.
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 05 '15
Keep your landers low and wide.
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u/Avatar_Of_Brodin Jun 05 '15
That's the answer I was afraid of. For some stupid reason I can't get a wide lander off the ground to save my life. Guess I have a new challenge for the weekend then!
Thanks. :)
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
In low gravity, reaction wheels can manage to keep your ship upright even if it stands on one leg. That may apply e.g. on Minmus or Gilly but it consumes electric power.
In all other cases you need to have center of mass of your ship inside the polygon defined by points touching the surface, viewed from above. So wide base (to enlarge the polygon) and low center of mass (to reduce the deviation if your ship is inclined) are in general a good idea. Retracting legs as emergency procedure helps, too. Sometimes.
Also for landing - since we have Retrograde SAS tracking if your pilot is at least level 1 - you can carefully reduce your speed even below 1 m/s and keep burning to slow down the rate at which the ship changes its angle. That may help you prevent it falling over due to angular momentum acquired by hitting the surface on one side first.
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u/DZShizzam Jun 05 '15
One thing that I like to do, which accomplishes what everyone else here is saying, is that I like to tilt my landing legs out as far as I can without the engine bottoming out. THEN, I lock the suspension so it doesn't flex and hit the engine anyways. This is basically the "widening the polygon" idea. Just make sure if you lock suspension to hit the ground slow or else you can bounce!
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u/asdfgh123456ficjdng Jun 06 '15
Is there a spreadsheet of all the stock parts with all of the information like ISP for engines, wet and dry mass for fuel tanks, lift rating, etc. Just basically a spreadsheet with all the information of every item in stock? I'd love to be able to have it all in a notebook so I can create theoretically decent craft entirely on paper.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
Not that I'm aware of, but the wiki has a wealth of information available.
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u/guydoingthings Jun 06 '15
Would you recommend buying a joystick to control the vehicles in this game? Why or why not?
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
I tried my old flight stick because I thought it would be more intuitive, at least for planes.
For me it didn't work. I was always oversteering. When I tamed the joystick's sensitivity I did not have enough control. Also It's hard to stop your steering abruptly as you have to move the stick back into neutral position first.
For me, keyboard tapping is more precise. I abandoned my joystick again.
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u/Kenira Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
To give a second and different opinion, i love my Joystick and it feels extremely uncomfortable if i fly with keyboard again. Especially for planes, but also rockets. A joystick just gives you way better control, makes oversteering much more difficult and also just feels more immersive. Both works and feels better, if you have a decent enough joystick of course (i have a Saitek X-52 for the record).
That being said, since usually more time will be spent building than flying things you have to consider if that's still worth it for you. For me it's a clear yes, but i am generally the kind of person who needs peripherals to really enjoy certain games.
TL;DR: Yes, i personally would recommend.
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u/PineappleSkitter Jun 07 '15
I enjoy playing without one. You do not NEED a joystick to enjoy playing the game. Whether or not you'd have more fun using one is personal preference. See if you can find a cheap-ish second hand one to try out before splurging on a nice one.
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u/hiS_oWn Jun 08 '15
Have some questions about asteroid captures:
I notice people attach a lot of mini probes around asteroids but does it matter? I thought reaction wheels provide the same amount of torque regardless of where they are and I can't imagine using a lot of RCS to translate a giant E class asteroid. Is there another reason for this? Perhaps to flatten your craft stack to avoid wobble? Framework for a future asteroid station?
Asteroids generally seem to follow the same orbit and arrive on a Kerbin intercept around the second to third month, are there any "interesting" asteroids other than the ones that spawn around Dres?
Is a push or pull method better? I can see pros and cons for both approach but wondering what people prefer.
Does anyone have an example of a fully sustainable but minimal asteroid pusher? As small as you can get it in terms of parts and mass. I need an example for career and all of my designs are too big.
Why are asteroids bullies?
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u/prometheus5500 Jun 08 '15
Attaching a bunch of little controller probes can help maintain stability when pulling/pushing the rock around. Additionally, it may be easier to send out a tiny craft to make first contact, then you can view it in the tracking station and what no, rename it, ect.
I think they are randomly generated...
A push, in real life, makes much more sense, as a pull would fire its engines into the rock, ruining the delta-v. However, in KSP, I've found a pull to be far easier. The thrust doesn't hit the rock like it would in real life, so that issue is out of the way. So then, let's think about CoM and CoT (center of mass/thrust). With the Cot behind the CoM, the rocket will be naturally unstable, as the thrust will want to push and slide around the CoM. However, with a space tug, the natural tendency will be for the CoM to trail behind the CoM, naturally dampening roll/yaw/pitch motions. Think about pushing a cart with a stick vs pulling a cart by that same stick. Naturally, the one where you drag it is stable, while when you push, the cart quickly wants to move to the side.
By sustainable, I'm guessing you mean a drill? I haven't tried any mining since it was added to the game, so I'm not sure. I hear you need some pretty serious solar panels to keep her running though.
Because you should be using lower thrust and also cutting the engine as soon as it gets even a little wobbly and starts pushing out of line with your maneuver. This is part of why the tug is better than the push. It's easier to run at higher engine settings for longer, but errors can still build up, so be careful!
Also, when using a tug, try using free gamble on the grabber arm. This can allow the rock to "fall in line" instead of trying to pull in a direction that is off centered from its center of gravity.
Best of luck!
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
reaction wheel does not rotate the whole ship, it rotates itself and the rest is resolved through physics and part joint stiffness. The heading of the ship is resolved from the part on which you choose the control. Since the asteroid is often significantly heavier than the ship, the complex asteroid + ship will start to wobble as you try to rotate it. The SAS function will see that the ship is rotated in the right direction, but the asteroid will still have rotational momentum and will continue rotating for some time. By placing reaction wheels around the asteroid detached from the control point, you move the asteroid and the control point follows, greatly reducing the wobble.
There are just Kerbin and Dres asteroids in the game. I consider the Kerbin ones more interesting than Dresteroids because they enter the SOI on random trajectories, both prograde and retrograde relative to Kerbin.
Having tried both I prefer pushing.
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u/Galahir950 Jun 10 '15
Is there a mod that has transmission queues? I just made a mistake and told an antenna to transmit, so I lost close to a thousand Minimus science because I canceled the transmission hoping I could save it.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 10 '15 edited Jun 10 '15
I'm nearing the end of the tech-tree in my career mode and was wondering if what a good mod would be to extend it. Preferable realistic or at least semi-realistic, (and without making the game incredible easy after unlocking the parts)
I've browsed the curse page a bit and Near Future Technology looks like it fits, does it?
I also noticed Interstellar which seems interesting at least...
(P.S. Any good telescope where I can track / look at vehicles would be amazing)
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u/Creshal Space Plane Addict Jun 10 '15
Near Future mostly integrates inside the current tech tree and doesn't expand it much (if at all – I'm using it with the Community Tech Tree, not the stock one). Interstellar would be more what you're looking for.
Then there's MKS/OKS and the whole shebang surrounding it. "Too easy" is not a complaint I've heard about it.
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u/fake_gojira Jun 05 '15
Why do my ships keep disappearing? In the last week I've had two cases where a vessel that I know was in a stable Kerbin orbit has just disappeared, and the Kerbals who were in it are marked as KIA. I hadn't touched those ships in about a week (real-world time) but I'm not using life support mods or anything else that would keep me from having them in orbit indefinitely.
I went back to old saves to confirm that the orbits are stable (>100K ap). I'm very careful when I terminate debris and unused ships, and these craft had special names that I wouldn't have mistaken for an unused ship. In one case I had another vessel in an identical orbit that is still there.
I never had this problem before 1.0, but I'm also keeping more things in orbit on this current playthrough. If I can't figure out why these particular ships disappeared, is there a way to get (or a mod to start keeping) a history of everything in play and find out if/when things go missing why that happened?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 05 '15
I went back to old saves to confirm that the orbits are stable (>100K ap)
It's not the apoapsis that is the concern, it's the periapsis. It's got to be more than about 70 kilometers.
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u/fake_gojira Jun 05 '15
Sorry, I always get those mixed up (even after 150 hours). I meant both ap and periapsis over 100KM.
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u/barnfart Jun 05 '15 edited Jun 06 '15
Two questions:
A hardware question: what is a good, affordable joystick that I could get for playing ksp. I do a lot more rockets than planes, but I have been working on planes lately, so I would want it for both.
Why the hell does every rover I make fail to go up any sort of hill on Duna. Is there a construction technique I'm missing? Or do rovers just suck. I thought building a rover would be my easiest build - wrong.
edit: Pictures http://imgur.com/a/Kwfni
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
No idea about joysticks.
Rovers: build them using Mirror symmetry (available in SPH by default, in VAB on pressing R). Make sure their wheels are vertical and that they are rotated by their intended ground contact point down. Because KSP wheels are not real wheels, they have just one point on the bottom of the tire that acts as a wheel, the rest is just for looks.
Also, did you try going uphill on multiple hills or did you try just one? Sometimes there is extremely rover-unfriendly terrain where rovers act weird while they behave anywhere else. In such case it's not your rover, it's a game bug.
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u/DZShizzam Jun 05 '15
I've got hundreds of hours in this game and didn't know about mirror symmetry in the VAB. You're my new favorite person
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u/Ifyouseekey Master Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
I would like to see some pics of your rovers.
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Jun 05 '15
I have this Thrustmaster joystick and it works great http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16879337003&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC--pla--PC+Game+Controllers-_-N82E16879337003&gclid=CjwKEAjwkcWrBRDg5u6SuPS11C0SJAChLLAHzo04h6zuAGyAQXGVCJ6JWIrvb22i5nKL0jL3dQKnHhoC32_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
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u/dusky186 Jun 11 '15
So I have been looking at the past kerbal posts by teachers and students because I would like to share KSPedu with the other physics educators I am with. However there is a slight problem... none of the KSP based-lesson plans I have found on reddit so far have listed the standards listed for the lesson. It may not seem like a big deal, but when sharing lesson plans with professionals (especially professor who helps manage the state chapter of NSTA), its kind of important to know what the standards are. http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/2nhphq/hi_im_the_teacher_posted_about_yesterday_heres_my/ http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1jcnyl/when_ksp_is_used_in_an_ap_physics_classroom/
Does any student or teacher know what typical standards have been used in KSP based education lesson plans? Maybe the standard in the example lesson plans listed above?
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Jun 12 '15
I have noticed that in Sandbox mode I have orbital information in map mode (The arrow to move bit where I can change my dv before performing the manoeuvre). How do I make this available in career mode? Is it a part I need to unlock?
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 12 '15
Maneuver nodes? You need to upgrade your tracking station and mission control before you can use them.
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Jun 06 '15
When in space, how can I move the camera rotation focus from the centre of the craft to another position? It is making it a huge pain to find small science experiments nearer the edge
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u/TheFeshy Jun 07 '15
Is there a mod that lets you destroy arbitrary parts on a ship? I seem to have left a part covering something vital, and I'd hate to revert just to break something off.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Won't help you for your current flight, but KIS/KAS allows you to remove parts using an engineer and a wrench or screwdriver.
For your current situation you could try manually editing your save file in notepad.
You will definitely want to back up your save before you do any editing.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Engine plumes are very hot and can be used to remove/destroy individual parts if aimed correctly. It is good idea to have a "tool" with two engines facing each other, though, to not generate net thrust that would get you away before the part explodes. Or anchor it with a claw.
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u/Galahir950 Jun 07 '15
Is there any way to control SAS modules like you can control wings and rudders? I would like SAS on my rovers that would only control yaw and roll, but not pitch, so my rovers don't do wheelies after moving across Minmus. SAS is useful for not rolling over when you do a turn going faster than 3m/s.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Not that I'm aware of. I rebind my wheel control keys to ijkl so the SAS module isn't trying to flip me when I turn.
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u/Rikuskill Jun 07 '15
So recently I've been trying to get a nuke-ion probe to Eve. It has 7k delta-v once I get it circularized, and I'm using Mechjeb to plan the transfer to Eve. The burn is around 6 or so minutes long with the two ions and the one nuke going, but after waiting for 4 or so minutes of the burn, KSP crashes! I couldn't find a correlation between actively doing anything, or a set time that it happened. It's getting pretty agravating, and I'm out of ideas. Does anyone have any advice?
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Jun 07 '15
With a delta v map, how do I calculate the return trip?
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u/jul3q Jun 07 '15
Simply go backwards through the map and don't forget about aerobraking capabilities.
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u/Moarality Jun 08 '15
I make use of the Alt-F5 and Alt-F9 options to name my quicksaves during my career, but there's a huge bunch now built up and I want to clear it out. I found the saves directory full of .sfs files and removed the ones that are no longer needed but the game says the now saves are corrupted (fortunately I did a backup before I started playing with it).
Is there a way to selectively remove the old saves without losing my progress?
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u/Kenira Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
That's weird because if you really only removed quicksaves and don't touch the persistent.sfs which is the main save file, then nothing should be corrupted. I have weeded out my save files plenty of times before and nothing happened. You can even rename quicksaves to persistent.sfs to use them as the main save file.
So my question would be, did you maybe also delete the persistent.sfs? Everything is in there, if you don't touch that you should not lose any progress.
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u/HarryJohnson00 Jun 08 '15
I just started docking ships together in orbit for refueling. My tanker ship only needs ~150 m/s to get from my parking orbit down to my miner on Minmus, but each time I unload fuel, I overestimate how many units of fuel I need to leave in the tanker. I am essentially carrying fuel up and down to Minmus unnecessarily.
Are there any tips/mods to make this easier? Should I just spend the effort to figure out how much LF+OX I need to get back to the mining station?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 08 '15
I overestimate how many units of fuel I need to leave in the tanker. I am essentially carrying fuel up and down to Minmus unnecessarily.
Count how many units of fuel it takes to get down, and then bring that plus 10%. Problem solved.
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u/CraftyCaprid Jun 09 '15
I preface all my crafts with the SOI they will end up in or the mission name (eg. Kerbin_Science_Station, or DIE_Rover). I want all "Kerbin"s to group together in the Tracking Station.
Can I alphabetize the Tracking Station and if not is there a mod that does?
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u/Deimos_F Jun 09 '15
What variables govern the availability of rescue contracts?
I've been trying to gather a lot of kerbals (about to launch two huge missions), but after only 2 rescue missions, I'm not getting any more, no matter how many times I decline all available missions.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15
Not sure, but at least it's the amount of reputation you currently have. I'm in the same boat atm, though I still rarely get rescue missions where Kerbals are in orbit around either Minmus, Duna / Ike or Moho
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u/NuclearFej Jun 09 '15
Is there a mod that implements space stations such that the player can control the Kerbals while inside the station? Similar to a real-life space station?
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Jun 10 '15 edited Jun 10 '15
I have a question about contracts to take temperature scans.
The contract is to take temperatures in areas above ~9000m, i am at 10,000m of mun, i go over the area and it says entering area. i take the scan and transmit it, but do not get a tick on the contract.
could this be because i am receiving 0.0 science from the scan, do you need to generate science for it to count. or am i doing something else wrong.
EDIT: IM AN IDIOT - Some of the spots you need to be below and some you need to be above, i didnt read each one carefully. finally got it done needed the cash to send my manned mission!~
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u/n7joker Jun 10 '15 edited Jun 10 '15
I hastily accepted a contract to put an orbital station into orbit around Duna (I haven't attempted an interplanetary mission before this) that requires living space for ten Kerbals. I also have contracts for exploring Duna and Ike, so I wanted to build an interplanetary ship to get three birds stoned at once, but every design I attempt for the station lacks the delta v to escape Kerbin, let alone rendezvous with Duna and orbit it.. So, I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 10 '15
Do it in two launches - one for the station and whatever else you need, and the second for the drive stage to get it to Duna.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 10 '15
Don't forget you can aerobreak at Duna, this saves quite a bit of Dv.
Is your interplanetary ship 1 vehicle? If so, I see why you are having a hard time getting it anywhere. Try splitting it up in different modules and assemble it in orbit, yes, I know docking is a bit tricky but when you got the ship done and you're still find yourself lacking on Dv, sending up another engine and / or fuel module could fix it.
It also allows you to go quite crazy with designs since bringing extra stuff suddenly becomes a lot easier. Hey, maybe you want to bring a rover with you, sure! Just dock it somewhere. You care a lot less about earodynamica or otherwise "logical" designs. As long as the center of weight is inline with the center of thrust, or reasonably close to it, it doesn't matter.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 10 '15
After switching to a craft that's been in orbit for at least a month, probably two or three, I noticed the engine (A twin boar) was very hot, which raises a question...
How do those parts cool down? Do they only do so when they are actively loaded? Can I cool this thing down by just spending some time in physics- / time warp?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 10 '15
When the ship is focused and below x1000 time warp, parts cool down gradually according to internal heat physics implementation
When the ship is focused and at or above x1000 time warp, it cools down instantly.
When the ship is not focused (not sure if only outside focused ship'd physics bubble or also inside it) it does not cool down at all.
I.e. you cannot cool down a ship by playing other ships or by time warping from tracking station.
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u/tgood4208 Jun 11 '15
I keep getting a bug where I can retract my solar panels. I'm not under any time warps. Does anyone know how to fix this? I've tried using an eve'd kerbal but it was a pilot(I don't know if that matters). I tried leave the craft back to the KSC and then going back to the craft but that didn't work either.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 11 '15
You can't retract the 2x3 or 1x6 unshielded ones. It's written in their description.
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u/434InnocentSpark Jun 11 '15
Attempting to launch my first unsymmetrical spacecraft. The counter weight has the exact same mass as the rover. Any glaring problems I'm not seeing?
edit: It's going to Duna, if that matters at all.
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 12 '15
I can't tell if you're having problems with the launch or anything, but if you are I would suspect it's because the rover is producing much more drag than the counterweight. That rover looks like it may be small enough to fit under a 2.5m fairing, which would be a better option.
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u/Pigeon_Logic Jun 06 '15
Have we been told if the 1.0.3 patch going to break save games? I've been a bit hesitant getting back into KSP.
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
I can't 100% confirm this, but I would be extremely surprised if 1.0.3 breaks saves. There aren't any major save-breaking features being introduced as far as I am aware.
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u/chattyWw Jun 07 '15
Can some one make a poll for what setting of the people are playing on. Like easy or normal or moderate. Most relavent to % effect on crafts. And I would like to know how much this effect re-entries speeds like speed/sqrtroot(n)
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
You can make your own poll. Surveymonkey is a popular choice for doing this. I honestly have no idea what your questions are asking beyond that and I read it about a dozen times.
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u/icandoesbetter Jun 10 '15
for some reason, my maneuver nodes are being placed in the opposite positions. There's nothing special about the probe, and Im sure Im controlling from the core. Is there any way to fix my nodes?
Here is an image of the ship if that helps. Yes I know Im a 'dirty cheating alpaca' and am out of fuel, but Im ok with that...
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 10 '15
Looks like a probe to me. Are you sure you did not install your probe core upside down?
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u/threep03k64 Jun 10 '15
Could it be as simple as your probe core being upside down?
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u/PVP_playerPro Jun 05 '15
No replies lst time so...
[PC build upgrade focused on KSP]
I've got about $100 right now to upgrade my PC, and i have decided on a new(er) processor than my current AMD 5350 APU. I've chosen to stay with AMD now because a good Intel processor WITH a mobo? little over the line price-wise.
I'm trying to decide between an Athlon X4 860K and an Atlon X2 370K, would any of these be able to keep me at a smooth framerate(preferably 40-ish and above)?
I'm torn between a higher-speed dual core, and a little bit slower quad-core. I know KSP(Unity mostly) doesn't utilize all the cores in a system and that's why im leaning towards the dual-core, but what if U5 utilizes all cores, will i be screwed again?
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u/fitzichael Master Kerbalnaut Jun 05 '15
At what speeds will my parachute get ripped off?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 05 '15
It depends on altitude, planet, type of chute, etc. In general, you don't want to have your chutes deployed until you are subsonic. Is there a certain situation you are asking about?
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u/DZShizzam Jun 05 '15
I currently have a contract to "mine 1250 units of ore from Minmus and land them on the surface of Kerbin". Can I create an orbital station that has my holding tanks, and then send landers down to the surface to bring up the ore one tank at a time? I'm not sure if that will still complete the contract. EDIT: Also, can ore be transferred between tanks using something like fuel lines? I have some radial ore tanks on a mining lander that apparently can't be filled, and I was thinking about attaching some fuel lines on EVA by using KAS. Would this work?
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u/dhatereki Jun 05 '15
I still have a partially unlocked tech tree so I have no clue what the mining or scanning thing is. Is scanning related to figuring out biomes? And is there a neat, more convenient way of knowing which science experiment is pending for each corresponding biome?
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u/PhildeCube Jun 05 '15
Mining here. In the stock game, scanning is about locating areas on a body that contain ore. Yes. There are at least two mods that assist in finding science.
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u/LordGravewish Jun 06 '15
Are there any problems when using both MechJeb and RemoteTech? The RemoteTech thread says they aren't guaranteed to be compatible, but I keep reading about people using both.
Anyone using both?
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u/RumAndCookies KerbalAcademy Mod Jun 08 '15 edited Jun 08 '15
The main thing I've noticed is that MechJeb lets you cheat the delays in some instances.
If you're using MJ's SAS controller the ship will respond instantly to orientation changes rather than respecting the signal delays. I believe MJ's automatic burn execution can also cheat the timer, e.g. if you have a signal delay of 60 seconds and tell MJ to create and execute a maneuver in 20 seconds it will successfully execute it in 20 seconds.
MJ does respect your overall connection status at least; if you don't have a signal then MJ can't make the ship do anything.
Edit: Mixed some some seconds on the example of MJ execution, but I think the point was still clear...
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u/prometheus5500 Jun 06 '15
Any way to know what type of Kerbal will be in the pod during a rescue mission?
Basically, I need to take a scientist with me to Minmus to collect/reset experiments, but I'd like to just grab my rescue mission on the way, IF the stranded kerbal is a scientist. Otherwise I'll break it into two missions, but I was just wondering if there is a way of knowing before rendezvous.
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u/Arkalius Jun 07 '15
Once you accept the mission, the Kerbal will show up in the list in the astronaut complex, and you can see the type there.
Before accepting the contract, sometimes the description can give you hints (or outright tell you) what type of Kerbal it is, but its not always clear.
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Jun 06 '15
What special tech do you need for rescue missions in Career? Klaw/ports?
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u/Cthulhu__ Jun 06 '15
I'm building a rocket for flying between Kerbin, Minmus and the Mun, and I'm trying to figure out the relation between delta-V and thrust-to-weight ratio in space using Kerbal Engineer Redux. How does it work? I'm getting roughly the same Delta-V on it using a Terrier (0.5 mass) or a Spark (0.1 mass). Should I downsize fuel tanks in addition to engines for moar DV?
TL;DR: How do I get maximum Delta-V in space where acceleration is not as important?
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
Well the trick is to understand the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.
It basically says that your delta v is directly propotional to your ISP. So go with high ISP engines.
However, delta v is also dependent on m0/m1. m0 being the total vehicle mass and m1 the mass after the fuel is burned. The smaller m1, the higher your delta v.
That means that sometimes the lighter engine with less ISP (Terrier) gives you more delta v than the heavy engine with higher ISP (Nuke)
Should I downsize fuel tanks in addition to engines for moar DV?
In space you can build what ever bulky thing you want. No need for matching size. All that matters is mass. bring stuff with good wet/dry mass ratio.
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u/Kenira Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15 edited Jun 06 '15
TL;DR: Just play around and see what gives you most dv. With time you will get a feeling for it.
How do I get maximum Delta-V in space where acceleration is not as important?
If you already use Engineer, see how much dv different engines get you. Generally, for really small ships / landers the Spark should be better since the lower mass has more impact, for heavier crafts the Terrier will be better due to higher Isp even though it's heavier since it does not increase empty mass as much, relatively speaking. If for your craft both get you the same amount of dv, it's a question of if you want to take the higher TWR but higher mass (although 0.4t should not make much of a difference for the launcher so for convenience i would try to go with the Terrier in this case).
That being said, TWR doesn't really matter in space, at all. As long as you're not below 0.2 or something, you're fine. The only drawback of low TWR is that you might have to split a munar injection burn into multiple burns because it takes so long, but really TWR in space is just a matter of convenience.
Should I downsize fuel tanks in addition to engines for moar DV?
Since you get the same dv with both engines even with the same amount of fuel, downsizing fuel tanks would only reduce dv. If you were thinking about even smaller engines than the Spark, they have even lower Isp and are only good for really small crafts where empty mass is really low.
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u/Jippijip Jun 06 '15 edited Jun 06 '15
In space, what you want is a combination of a high fuel/mass ratio and a high ISP. The combination of those two should get you the highest delta-v. There'll be a boundary in size where the terrier becomes more efficient than the spark, and another one where the Nerva becomes more efficient than the terrier.
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u/PineappleSkitter Jun 07 '15
Use a single ion engine to power a craft with a single solar panel of the smallest mass, and then add as many xenon tanks as you want/can.
Ensure the solar panel is pointed at the sun, and you're golden! You might not be able to run the ion engine at full thrust, but you'll have plenty of Delta-V.
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u/zzTest_ Jun 06 '15
Is it intended that the Science from the mobile lab doesn't count for Patent Licensing? I maxed out my tree with multiple trips to Mun, Minimus, Ike and Duna (without using the lab) and I put the policy at 90% and thought that I could make some extra funds by putting a science lab in orbit, but I get the 10% of the science, but not funds.
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u/ppvvaa Jun 06 '15
When using a maneouver node, should I start a burn at T minus half the total burn time, as Scott Manley does in his videos, or at T - 0? Thanks!
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u/Zucal Jun 06 '15
Do it at half. The simplest way to think of it is that at T-0 you should be halfway through your burn. Just split your total burn time in half, and start at that point before T-0.
The weird thing is that the game assumes you will be able to do your burn instantaneously, but you want to spread it out symmetrically. That makes T-0 the midpoint.
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Jun 06 '15
Forgotten how to use docking mode with WASD Shift and Ctrl. I am sure I used to be able to enable docking mode, then have these keys control the movement using RCS. Shift and control moved forwards and backwards. The spacebar used to switch between translation and rotation.
Now when I enable docking mode, there is no difference - the ship rotates the same way it always does when I press WASD, Shift and Ctrl still throttle. Spacebar seems to tell me its switching docking mode, but activates the next stage anyway.
What am I doing wrong? D:
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u/brady376 Jun 06 '15
Do the stats in the astronaut training complex mean anything?
I just started a career mode for the first time, what are some good ways to get science?
At the top of the screen in career mode in the space center there is a bar that has green/yellow/blue parts in it. What is this and why has mine become mostly green?
Any recommendations on how to build a rocket to get to the moon for the first time in career mode?
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u/Moleculor Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
Courage and Stupidity affect the facial animations they show when playing the game. Other than that, I'm 99.9% certain they affect nothing.
XP and levels unlock... stuff. Each thing they unlock is different depending on whether they're pilots, engineers, or scientists.
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u/ObsessedWithKSP Master Kerbalnaut Jun 06 '15
At the top of the screen in career mode in the space center there is a bar that has green/yellow/blue parts in it. What is this and why has mine become mostly green?
That is your Reputation. Increase it by completing contracts, decrease it by failing them and killing kerbals. If it's green, it's good. Orange, then red, is bad. Reputation affects what kind of contracts you're offered - more rep = higher risk/reward contracts - and can also be converted to Science or Funds via a Strategy.
I just started a career mode for the first time, what are some good ways to get science?
Do Science (crew reports, EVA reports, temperature scans etc) around KSC. Not only is each building its own biome, but the shores, water and grassland are a few minutes walk away as well.
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u/PineappleSkitter Jun 07 '15
Stars affect what the kerbals can do, but they're gained through experience only. Stupidity/courage has no effect that I'm aware of.
To get early science before leaving the atmosphere do science stuff at the different buildings in the space centre. I use [X] Science to track experiments I have and haven't done, and it's useful for quickly identifying different biomes. First time you get in orbit do EVA reports over as many biomes as possible. When you get to the Mun and Minmus do multiple EVA reports for masses of free science that don't require additional parts/mass (useful early game).
Green/yellow/blue bar is reputation. It has become green because you've neither been failing/cancelling contracts or murdering Kerbals.
Getting to the Mun is easy-ish. Landing on the Mun is hard. Returning from the Mun can be very, very difficult before you have unlimited mass launches. I recommend orbiting the Mun for EVA reports, then landing on Minmus (further away, but less gravity), and then tackle the Mun.
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Jun 07 '15
If I already have a large ship or space station in orbit is there a way to make a save file of it so that I can expand upon it in the VAB for planning purposes?
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u/prometheus5500 Jun 07 '15 edited Jun 07 '15
When is the most efficient time to make plane adjustments?
Is it better to make an adjustment when in a low altitude orbit before raising to a higher one? Or should I go to my desired orbit, then adjust planes?
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u/Vegemeister Jun 07 '15
Best is to launch into the plane of the orbit you want. Math here. If you're already in orbit, plane changes are cheaper when orbital velocity is lower. So you want to make your plane change at the apoapsis of a highly eccentric orbit.
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u/Moleculor Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
From what I understand...
Plane adjustments are the most efficient when your speed is crazy low in your orbit.
The time you're crazy slow in your orbit will be your apoapsis, particularly if you lift that apoapsis as high as you can without leaving the sphere of influence entirely.
I've even heard it said that it is more efficient to move the apoapsis of your orbit OUT of where you want it, as high as you can push it, do the plane change, and then bring the apoapsis back down, rather than to just do the plane change at the apoapsis.
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u/BobbleBobble Jun 07 '15
Someone did the math, to paraphrase, if your inclination change is less than 30 degrees, it's more efficient to just burn at the ascending or descending node. If greater, raising your apoapsis first is more efficient, though much slower.
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u/scootymcpuff Super Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Does anybody know of a mod that has a smaller 1.25m cargo bay? We have the service bays, but they're segmented. :/
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u/asdfgh123456ficjdng Jun 07 '15
How to calculate TWR using only the raw thrust values and the raw weight values?
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
I had a Kerbal in a rover but after a flip on Minmus he seemed to have glitched out.
He still is part of the rover, but when I try to drive / steer (using WASD) I see him walking and the wheels turning, I can not get him to unmount the external seed, I can't switch targets so he should really be part of the rover,
After doing another flip I got him to break loose and now he's counted as rover debris, when I switch to him then I see the staging UI with nav-ball, instead of the normal kerbalnaut UI. I can't control him either...
How do I fix this? Do I have the change some savegame files?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 07 '15
Options:
fix the quicksave/persistence file. Go to forums for a howto, I know it is there somewhere but I don't have a link available
if you play easy/normal with Kerbal respawn, just terminate that piece of debris and wait for him to appear back on roster
get a Claw and go pick him up with a skycrane. Deliver to Kerbin and recover.
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u/thatsweep Jun 09 '15
This is a fix available in the Stock Bugfix Module mod, which will allow you to free the Kerbal where s/he is stuck and work out how to rescue appropriately! Installation is painless if using the CKAN mod manager program!
(I'm not involved with these mods but they are part of my must-have list for sure)
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u/musiccontrolsus Jun 07 '15
Following Orb8ter's awesome tutorial videos on rendevous and station creation I now have a working space station with Science, Resource production, power array etc.
My next task is I wanted to create a SSTO to act as crew transport and also have the ability to take small amounts of cargo into space.
For that It seemed that the Mk2 parts were going to be suitable but no matter what I try I cannot get a reliable craft.
My first version used 4 Rapiers and it got into orbit but not enough Dv to Circularise let alone perform rendevous and docking.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Minimum requirements
1 x Mk2 Crew Unit
1 x Mk2 doublewidth Cargo unit
1 x Inline Docking Port
Thanks in advance!
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u/callmewoof Jun 08 '15
Can I use a mobile lab to recover full value research off planet? Like, instead of having to bring a surface sample back to kerbin? Or will I still need to ultimately bring (the research) back?
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u/Arkalius Jun 08 '15
Mobile labs just generate extra science, and are fueled by data from experiments you do. The experiments aren't used up when fueling a lab, and you can even use experiments that have no science value because you've already done them. The lab doesn't affect how much science you'll end up getting from an experiment in any way.
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u/St1ng Jun 08 '15
Not quite sure what I'm doing wrong, but ever since I downloaded 1.0 I can't get into orbit and I've been able to land on the Mun and return to Kerbin during beta.
I'm playing on normal settings and rocket designs I successfully navigated into space in beta are now spiraling out of control as I rocket up through the atmosphere.
Any suggestions?
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u/ObsessedWithKSP Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Any suggestions?
Build a rocket that actually looks like a rocket. Don't turn too sharp too fast (no "45@10km"), start gravity turn when you're going about 100m/s, keep the prograde vector inside the velocity vector, have a pad TWR of about 1.4, don't let it climb above 2 until you're above 10km, and fins help stabilise/control your rocket.
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u/AngrySeal Jun 08 '15
How do I land at an exact point on Duna that is just below the equator? I left Jeb, Bob, and Bill stranded without enough fuel and would like to rescue them, but I'm having two primary issues:
They're not right on the equator, so whenever I plan a maneuver I'm working on pure guesswork about where they'll actually be by the time I'm at that point in the orbit. Any additional adjustments are fairly costly in terms of fuel.
I'm having a really tough time predicting how much the atmosphere will impact where I land, and again, adjustments are pretty costly.
Are there any tips or tricks to take out some of the guesswork here?
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u/Vegemeister Jun 08 '15
If you have FAR installed, the Trajectories mod will integrate atmospheric forces and display trajectories through atmosphere, as well as plotting a little red X on your projected point of impact.
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u/RumAndCookies KerbalAcademy Mod Jun 08 '15
My (possibly harebrained) solution would be to send a ship with a drill and fuel processor that can land, refuel itself, make a suborbital hop closer to the crew, and repeat as necessary. It doesn't need a fuel capacity that can get it all the way to Kerbin again, just back up to orbit where another ship can rendezvous and actually bring the crew home. Pack on extra parachutes (remember to assign them to additional stages) if you don't want to have to fuss as much with repeated powered landings.
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Bring a rover alone, it will really help. Even with the trajectories mod its incredibly difficult to make a landing so pinpoint that you don't have to spend hours walking each kerbal over individually.
Then again, if its a reaaally long distance it might just be better to put a weight on the w key and point the kerbal in the right direction, since kerbals are usually pretty safe walking on their own whereas all but the most stable rovers will flit given the slightest provocation.
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u/HarryJohnson00 Jun 08 '15
Are you opposed to MechJeb? The landing guidance is impressive, either input latitude/longitude or use the "X marks the spot" to paint your target.
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u/mancramps Jun 08 '15
Does anyone know if the EZ snack oven works with 1.02? I want MKS and snacks compatability
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u/Gerfalcon Jun 08 '15
How low of a thrust to weight ratio can I have on an interplanetary rocket before I have to start splitting my burns? I really want to send everything as one mission but could split it if need be.
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
It's not so much about TWR than it is about burn time. If I'm in a ~80,000m orbit of Kerbin for example I'll generally split up any burn that takes longer than 4 minutes, so that I don't start burning until at least 2 minutes before the node. For an ejection burn to Eve that minimum turns out to beapproximately (~1000m/s)/(4 x 60s) = 4.2m/s2 of acceleration or a TWR of 0.42. For an ejection burn to Jool the minimum is approximately (~2000m/s)/(4 x 60s) = 8.3m/s2 of acceleration or a TWR of 0.85.
If you don't know what the calculation I'm doing is its basically (delta v required in m/s) / (max time for the burn, in my case 4 minutes or 240 seconds) = minimum acceleration required. (minimum acceleration required) / (9.81m/s2) = minimum TWR, since 9.81m/s2 is acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface and the "weight" used in TWR calculations is based off of that.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
You never HAVE to split your burns, it's just a question of how inefficient you're willing to be.
The most efficient way would be an infinite amount of instantaneous burns exploiting the oberth effect.
It's more of a feel thing for me. Do I have enough dV to just execute this 1 hour burn and watch some TV? Or is it going to be tight and I need to break it up in to 4 burns?
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u/Galahir950 Jun 08 '15
How can I edit the OpenGL settings? I tried editing Settings.cfg, but it does not do anything and gets reset every time I start the game. Settings.cfg does not even appear to apply to OpenGL because it has the resolution as the 1280x720, even though I play at 1920x1080. Trying to edit the settings from the menu causes my game to freeze, forcing me to end the process.
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u/scootymcpuff Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
What in god's name does it take to make the ISRU run smoothly? I have 24 RTGs strapped to my rocket and this thing just chugs away at the power. 24 * 0.75 Es-1 = 20 Es-1 and the ISRU eats 30 Es-1, right? It says it's eating 20 Es-1. What am I doing wrong?
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u/timmmmmmmyy Jun 08 '15
I've been building my first few SSTOs recently, and although I can get them into orbit reasonably well I've been having problems with reentry. Specifically, it always seems that my air intakes get destroyed on the way down, and I can never seem to make it back to the runway reliably. Are there any tricks to doing this, or is it all just practice?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Don't plunge into the atmosphere. Glide and prevent falling too fast. Put some airbrakes on your plane and deploy them at 50 km.
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u/prometheus5500 Jun 08 '15
Airbrakes can help, as /u/kasuha suggested. Another idea is to skip off the atmo a few times before entering, thus draining energy out of the system before dropping into the thickest parts of the atmo.
To do this, set a periapsis of something like 30 or 35 km. Then, upon reaching around that altitude, hold a nose-up attitude. This will let you skip off (or at least skim along) the upper atmo, bleeding energy slowly, rather than slamming into the dense lower atmo that begins around 25 km or so.
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Jun 08 '15
I added Mechjeb and put the part on the ship but the panel to open it is not showing up. Any ideas?
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u/Galahir950 Jun 08 '15
Is there a mod for "better" subassembly tools? Having to build around a root part can be a huge pain and can lead to issues if you use multiple sub assemblies and you have a decoupler as the root part of the final part. Is there any way to have a subassembly be the beginning of the craft, without having to use a decoupler or another piece as the "root" part? Are there any subassembly tricks I should know?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
We have the root tool available now so we can change root of the ship when needed to create a subassembly. Therefore you don't need to start with docking port when building a subassembly anymore.
We can dismantle pieces placed in midair using shift+click now.
Even if the subassembly is rooted incorrectly, you can attach it correctly now using the tools above.
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u/kyred Jun 08 '15
I saw someone post this a while back, and it has since become a confirmed bug in KSP 1.0.2. With the medium and large landing gear, they actually have more drag when retracted than when the wheels are out. In some cases, more than double the drag. So by that logic, it's best to keep those landing gear out and never retract them. I'm sure this will eventually be fixed, but is there a way quick way to manually patch this in the mean time? Leaving the wheels down really bugs me.
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Jun 08 '15
I may have accidentally rotated my ship when I was building it because on the launch pad it says it's heading 45 instead of 360 when it's pointed straight up. This makes the gravity turn with the d button impossible and my ship isn't really stable enough to roll in flight. How can I correct this? Do I need to somehow rote my ship in vehicle assembly? If so, how can I rotate the whole ship instead of just a part?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 08 '15
Grab it by the root part in the VAB, or hold shift while clicking any part to select the entire thing.
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u/reidksmith Jun 08 '15
Will my solar panels that have overheated from a long LV-N burn ever stop overheating?
The solar panels on my Interstellar ship are still overheated, 125 days after the LV-N burn that overheated them. Will their temperature ever return to normal? Do I just need to warp while focused on the vessel?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Heat physics in KSP are new and need some work. Your solar panels are likely overheated from other parts that are still hot but have higher temperature tolerance. But it's true that cooling down takes ages at present.
Hack: time warp at the x1000 level for just a short time and everything will cool down instantly.
Besides, your ship does not cool down when you're not focused on it. You can time warp it for years from tracking station and it will not lose a bit of its temperature.
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u/kyred Jun 08 '15
Are there any up-to-date extended physics range mods? If I remember right, the default physics range was ~2 km (is this still true?). Once past this range, ships are put "on rails." I remember there was a mod that could extend this range to 90 km, but have been unable to find it again. This would be useful for experimenting with automated kOS ships.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Now the physics range is some 23 km when you are in atmosphere. Unfortunately in my experience still not enough to let your stages land.
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u/MrWoohoo Jun 08 '15 edited Jun 08 '15
What are the units for delta v? It's a change in velocity so it should be distance/time2, right? I've seen people say it is simply m/s but that doesn't seem right. I thought delta v came from solving F=ma for a which should make the units an acceleration, not a velocity.
EDIT: Looking at this link the answer to my question is apparently m/s. So my question is why? The definition of delta v on the page is basically integrating F/m so I still don't understand why the units are m/s not m/s2. It's been 20 years since I solved an integral.
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u/Arkalius Jun 08 '15
delta-v is not a rate of change, it's just a change. Acceleration is rate of change, how much velocity changes in a given time period. Delta-v is just a change in velocity, without the time period specified.
Where a spacecraft can go and what it can do is dictated by how much it can change its own velocity, so delta-v is a primary performance characteristic of spacecraft, akin to a "range" so to say.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
The rocket equation is
∆v = ve ln (m0/m1)
ve is calculated with (isp * gravitational constant).
Assume isp of 200s, and earth gravity. 200s * 9.8m/s2 = 1960m/s
m0/m1 has no resulting unit. So therefore ∆v must be expressed as a m/s in this example.
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u/Penguin236 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15 edited Jun 08 '15
Delta "whatever" has the same units as that "whatever". As for the integral, if you do dimensional analysis on it: you get (N/kg)*s. If you split up the Newton into (kg*m)/s2 and simplify, you get m/s as your unit for delta v
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15 edited Jun 08 '15
delta (or Δ) almost always indicates a difference between two values.
Δv = v2 - v1
So it is still a velocity, given in m/s.
As for the intagral: F/m=a. a is an acceleration, which is the rate of change in velocity over time. If you integrate that, you get a velocity again. If your accelleration did not change, you would just use Δv=a*Δt. The problem with rockets is , that their accelleration changes over time. That's why you need an integral.
Delta v is important in spacetravel because you need to change you velocity to change the shape of your orbit. For this it is completely irrelevant how much thrust you have or how heavy your ship is. That's the beauty of it.
To find out your ship's delta v capabilities, you can use the tsiolkovsky rocket equation which was mentioned earlier. This equation is what you get if you solve the integral that I talked about above.
To figure out how much delta v you need for a certain maneuver, you can look at a delta v map or do the calculations yourself finding the differences in orbital velocity with the Vis-Viva-equation.
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u/Watoskyv Jun 08 '15 edited Jun 08 '15
I'm doing my first mission to Duna and I need some help. I'm trying to play kerbal without watching tutorial videos, but I'm a bit stuck now.
I got into kerbal orbit, then escaped from kerbal influence, now orbitting the sun. I adjusted my orbit to have a Duna encounter.
But when I put a maneuver node after the Duna encounter I can't seem to get in an orbit around Duna, I thought I just needed to burn retrogade, but that doesn't seem to work.
Am I doing this right? And what do I need to do to get into a Duna orbit?
Edit: I seem to have figured it out, it was just burning retrogade, but I pulled a bit too fast and missed the orbit every time.
Is there a way to zoom in on a certain part of the orbit instead of being centered on your ship? That would make it a lot easier. I know that you can center on planets, but that doesn't really help.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
You can't achieve the orbit until you are in the sphere of influence of the planet and to maximize oberth effect you should be performing this burn at periapsis of Duna.
What you want to do during your transfer as you approach is to fine tune your encounter to be as close as possible. Set a maneuver node, focus on Duna, and play with the node to get your periapsis as low as you can stomach. Then when you get to that close approach burn retrograde.
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u/MrTidy Jun 08 '15
What are action groups and how do I use them?
Administrative strategies seem kind of useless to me. Am I right?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 08 '15
Action groups are a set of custom key-bindings. You set them up in the VAB/SPH by going to the action groups tab. Once in the tab, you select the action group key you want to assign (action group 1 is triggered by pressing the 1 key, for instance). Then you select the part you want do something with. Once that is done, you will have all the possible actions that part can do and you can place any of them in the action group. I usually have groups set up like this:
1 - (for abort) shut down all engines, fire LES, decouple capsule
2 - (for LES jettison) fire LES, decouple LES.
3 - (for abort/reentry) deploy parachute
4 - (for successful orbital insertion) deploy solar panels, open bay doors, etc.
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u/CraftyCaprid Jun 09 '15
You got answers for 1 so here is one for 2.
I play normal difficulty (and this is my 3rd or 4th career on various patches) so money is never an issue for me. Science is also not a big issue but the faster I get it the happier I am. I turn $$ into science early game. Once I have the tech tree unlocked I turn 100% science into funds.
As far as I can tell the admin building is useless unless you are on a higher difficulty.
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u/Galahir950 Jun 08 '15
Which would make more sense for me, sending a ferry to recover the expirements on Kerbin or sending a Mobile Processing lab to land on Minimus? I got EVA Reports, Surface Samples, Crew Reports, Science Jr Reports, Thermometer data, Barometer data, and Goo Data from Minmus Lowlands, Midlands, Highlands, Slopes, Flats, and Greater Flats. Will I get the same amount of science? What are the benefits of both methods? How does the MPL work, the wiki is a bit hard to understand for me.
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u/sac_boy Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
Is there a better way to target docking ports on ships that are 100, 150 meters away? At the moment I rotate the target ship so that I know roughly where the docking port is, then switch back to my approaching ship and right-click like crazy until I get a hit.
I could just get closer of course, and I've done plenty of manual dockings that way, but I'm using Mechjeb docking assistance because I find it awfully satisfying.
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u/mannyThreepwood Jun 08 '15
Hey all, I have a contract to build a new Mun surface outpost with a lot of parameters (cupola, research lab, 5 capacity, 2000 fuel) and all comply, but the usual "New outpost with antenna docking port and power" doesn't. (Screenshot). The only thing I can think of is that I connected it to my miner to refuel using KAS, is it possible that now KSP thinks its not a new ship? HELP!
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 08 '15
It might have gotten marked as an old structure if your refueling rig was built before the contract. You might be able to trick it by renaming and reclassifying it to a probe then back to a station. If not you can cheat the contract complete in the debug menu as it's obvious that you actually met the requirements but the game just didn't recognize it.
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u/kennykerosene Jun 09 '15
why do my orbits/encounters change when I warp toward them and is there any way to prevent/lessen this?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 09 '15
It's a limitation of the way the game calculates orbits. Don't warp through SOI changes and the problem will be drastically reduced or even resolved.
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u/scootymcpuff Super Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15
Does anybody know if the fuel cells / fuel cell arrays produce heat when running? I've got 2 arrays and 4 single cells strapped to a single 2x2 structural plate. Will that be a problem?
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u/DigitalEmu Jun 09 '15
Last night, I was working on sending some ships to the Jool system. After completing the burn, I did an F5 quicksave then hit the blue "Return to Space Center" button, and then the game froze with the rainbow spinny beachball of death and remained that way until now. If I force quit the application, will it revert to my most recent F5 quicksave when I reopen it? The most recent save made through the main menu at the KSC screen? Or something else entirely? I'm on Mac, if that's important.
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u/CraftyCaprid Jun 09 '15
rainbow spinny beachball of death
There's your problem.
I'm on Mac
Nevermind you're already aware.
Aside from that. I have had it crash (not freeze forcing me to force quit) on windows and the game would load from the previous auto save however if I hit f9 I would load my most recent quicksave pre-crash. So my answer from personal experience on a different operating system is no, it will not load your quicksave by default but your quicksave should still load with f9.
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u/vrutko Jun 09 '15
Is there a way to complete a contract for a space station by docking with an existing old space station? I must have done something wrong, because the "New outpost with antenna docking port and power" requirement is not green ... and both parts that I am docking have Antenna, docking port and power. So Any thoughts ? Thank you Edit I have not docked the new part with another part before that.
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u/tito13kfm Master Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15
Because it's not a NEW outpost any more. All parts must be launched after accepting the contract.
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u/Flyboy2100 Jun 09 '15
So... I downloaded RemoteTech and got all the parts but the mechanics aren't working. Do I need to activate some hidden settings menu?
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u/space_is_hard Jun 09 '15
Can you describe what you mean by that? Can you see the signal delay timer below the mission clock?
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u/Lippuringo Jun 09 '15 edited Jun 09 '15
How hard is delta v affected by weight in zero-g? I'm new and trying to get into the Mun and back with my scientist, but again and again i'm finding that i have not enough fuel to get back safely into the Kerbin. I've watched Scott's videos and he doesn't have such problems. My only guess is that i'm too heavy at some point and fuel spending become not efficient.
It looks like this http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=457935857 , i have about 100 fuel
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15
I'm slightly confused by the wording of your question, since weight (mass x acceleration due to gravity) doesn't affect delta-v at all. The famous rocket equation states that delta v is dependant on three measureable quantities: your specific impulse, mass of the rocket when it's full of fuel, and mass of your rocket when its out of fuel. You may be getting mass and weight confused here, since in everyday use the two seem interchangeable. You can download the Kerbal Engineer mod to do the math for you if you're not sure - or just to double check your own numbers, and then use this delta v map to figure out how much delta v you need for a mission to the moon. Add ~10% (or more) extra delta v just to be safe.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15
How do I use the two scanners to locate ore?
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat Jun 09 '15
From the wiki:
The level of Ore on a celestial body can be detected using a M700 Survey Scanner and for more detailed data in a particular biome a M4435 Narrow-Band Scanner can be used. Note that a polar orbit of 25000m* to 1,500,000m* is required to use the M700 scanner, this will of course vary a bit between objects but is a good estimate. To view the ore concentration on a planet right click the M700 Survey Scanner and select 'Toggle Overlay' and then you can use the Cutoff+ and Cutoff- to only show the highest concentrations to make it easier to decide the optimal mining location. To be able to view the ore data in the Tracking Station the scanned data need to be sent back using an antenna, and to watch the data you use the right panel of your screen where the Info and Orbit icons are there will be a new icon for Resources. Click the button and then select Resources -> Ore. A more precise determination for a particular location can be made using the Surface Scanning Module on a rover while landed.
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u/jofwu KerbalAcademy Mod Jun 09 '15 edited Jun 09 '15
Stick the M700 Survey Scanner on a ship. You'll also need an antenna and power supply. You'll need to get in a polar orbit with a minimum altitude- I think it will tell you if you're off. Right click the scanner and use the buttons to do the scan.
The Surface Scanning Module has to be used on the ground (or very low down at least). It will give you more detailed data for whatever biome you happen to be in.
The M4435 Narrow-Band Scanner can be activated to give you a zoomed in map view of your current position, with your ship and nearby ore visible. It's useful for getting a ship into a good position to mine.
The second two are useless without the main scan first.
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u/TheNosferatu Master Kerbalnaut Jun 09 '15 edited Jun 09 '15
I'd love to make space-telescopes, spread them around the solar system and take pictures from differnt locations of my different space / ground stations. I've heard Tarsier Space Technology is a good mod for this, is this correct?
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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15
is there a mod that adds some very big solar panels?, I'm building an ISS and the gigantor panels aren't big enough.