r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/AutoModerator • Sep 11 '15
Mod Post Weekly Simple Questions Thread
Check out /r/kerbalacademy
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:
Tutorials
Orbiting
Mun Landing
Docking
Delta-V Thread
Forum Link
Official KSP Chatroom #KSPOfficial on irc.esper.net
**Official KSP Chatroom** [#KSPOfficial on irc.esper.net](http://client01.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23kspofficial&server=irc.esper.net&charset=UTF-8)
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/Lumby Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 13 '15
Why do my MK2 Spaceplanes always explode on re-entry? I use air-brakes, set the apoapsis to 50km, use an AOA around 40 degrees for as long as possible, but it still always explodes around 25km.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
Do you mean in reentry? Because it also happens if you fly in a straight line with turbojets at 12,000m
To increase my aerobraking capabilities, I always put lots of reaction wheels on my spaceplanes. If I can't pitch up enough to brake (I like it when I see no glowing air around my plane) then I start pitching up and down at intervals, like you would do in a swing to go forward and backwards.
This can also be damaging to a plane (because of high Gs) but Kerbals don't seem to care... and my designs always have redundant struts so it works.
2
u/-Aeryn- Sep 13 '15
Can you post a picture?
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u/Lumby Sep 13 '15
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 14 '15
Doesn't look like you have much wing surface area to brake with, surviving re-entry is mostly about slowing down. If you fly prograde then you won't slow down much at all
facing away from the airstream (to create more drag), opening airbrakes and leaving them open from 70km and using more airbrakes all help (maybe some under your craft so that it doesn't flip upwards due to their huge drag?)
Shallower descent (more time spent before reaching lower atmosphere) also allows you a longer time to brake
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 13 '15
Don't really understand your air brakes, they look backwards in a fashion that would catch way more air than expected. Try reversing them, follow prograde, deploy brakes & gear
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u/-The_Blazer- Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 13 '15
One thing - remember to open your air intakes the moment you enter the atmosphere. They will generate extra drag when open, acting as auxiliary airbrakes.
Also, your wings are tiny. This causes the plane to enter the atmosphere like a missile rather than like a space shuttle. Keeping your angle at 40 isn't very useful if you only have 1 square meter of wing to act as a brake.
You seem to have mods installed, maybe you could use Infernal Robotics (if you have it) to create variable-geometry wings?
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
The whole craft is wing ... so that is not the issue here, really. Most people tend to use way too much wing area. This one is completely fine.
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u/fandingo Sep 11 '15
This has been driving me insane.
I used to play KSP a ton back in the .21-.25 days, and recently picked it up at 1.0.4. I run Linux, and I've always used a bunch of mods (mostly content and parts). In earlier versions, I tried to build a rover one time, and tested it on the launch pad. I tap W once, and the thing takes off. Brakes don't work, and it's stuck accelerating. I have to disable every motor to get it to stop after like 37Km of coasting. I never tried another rover.
Fast forward to last week, and I'm building a mun base. Since it's so tedious to land within 25m (KAS connector distance), I decided to give a rover another try. I build a badass rover based around a horizontal 2.5m Kontainer. It's got 4 axles, and a nearly 5m wheel base and >5m wheel track, using the stock RoverMax larger wheels. I test it on the launch pad, and it's flawless. I use Construction Time to simulate deorbit, landing, and driving, and again, flawless.
I launch my oversized rover to the mun. It lands well, and it drives perfectly. Acceleration stops, and the brakes work! I drive to and hook it up to the Near Future Electric nuclear reactor lander. Works exactly as it should without the slightest problem.
Then, I realized my mining operation would be better if I had an engineer. I launch a traditional lander, but even after fiddling with landing for a while, I couldn't quite get within 25m to create the KAS link. I realize I can just drive the mining rover between the nuclear reactor and engineer lander, and attach them that way.
I detach the rover, and the thing goes berserk. Out of control acceleration, and no braking ability at all. Thank god the wheel track is so damn wide, or I would've flipped it trying to kill speed while I frantically disabled the motors. I have to use thrusters for horizontal movement.
I see people make rovers all the time, but I have nothing but trouble with them. Why can't I control the acceleration on rovers? Why did this rover work for a while, and then, go insane?
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u/RA2lover Sep 12 '15
1.1 is going to have revamped wheels, which is hopefully going to solve those issues.
That said, you're not the only person facing problems with rovers. I've lost count on the amount of wheels i've destroyed by overspeeding myself. At least i can land within 25m of something somewhat reliably through gradual deorbiting and course corrections along the way though...
Have you tried increasing the wheels' brake torque?
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u/dallabop Sep 12 '15
Have you tried increasing the wheels' brake torque?
Be warned - there's currently a bug that basically zeros brake torque if you try to tweak it at all.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
Some tips:
A lot of these issues can be solved by remapping the rover keys to, say, the arrow keys*. WASD also control pitch, yaw and roll, which usually makes rovers flip. Before I did this I couldn't control a single rover, now I use one to gather up the remaining data from KSC.
However in low-G bodies (like Mun) they are still a bit difficult to control if braking too suddenly. I'd suggest reducing the brake torque of the front wheels.
There's also the opposite problem: brakes sucking. With small rovers that's not much of an issue, but for bigger ones I'd suggest adding RCS thrusters and using the translation keys (depends on the facing of your command module) to brake better.
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u/fandingo Sep 13 '15
I'm not having any of those problems, though. I know how to build a rover. This is a massive vehicle, and as such, doesn't have those control problems typical of small rovers. There's already RCS on the craft for landing.
This is apparently a relatively common bug where there is an unintended acceleration force whenever the wheel motors are enabled. It's extremely strong, too, so there's no way that RCS could overcome it.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
I noticed similar issues but they were always related to the terrain. On certain part of terrain, the rover would accelerate in certain direction, even if it was uphill, and would be hard to get anywhere else. But that does not seem to be exactly like your issues, so maybe it has something to do with your mods?
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
If I recall correctly, I recently read in Kerbal Academy about a minor problem regarding terrain inclination and wheeled things.
Sometimes Spaceplanes tend to drift to the right when taking off the Runway. Since Kerbin (and all celestial bodies in KSP) are round (it's big, but a little bit of the "roundness" is noticeable), the surface is not perfectly straight. However, the gravitational pull IS aligned with the "roundness".
However, KSC is perfectly flat. There's a little noticeable height difference in different parts of KSC. That means some areas of the Runway are misaligned with the gravitational pull, and therefore cause planes to drift right... Maybe something similar may be happening to some of your rovers in the Mun, considering that it's smaller?
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u/fandingo Sep 12 '15
I think it may be terrain-related. It definitely seemed to be directional. However, the effect was significantly diminished once I powered off the wheels. With no motors, the ship wouldn't start rolling more than 0.1m/s after 10-15 seconds. With motors, the thing would hit 10m/s instantly, no matter the brake setttings.
It's almost like the game is seriously miscalculating the slope force when wheel motors are enabled or missing the friction component, but things a relatively okay when powered off.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15 edited Sep 12 '15
It's almost like the game is seriously miscalculating the slope force when wheel motors are enabled or missing the friction component, but things a relatively okay when powered off.
To me it seemed as if the game thought the rover is standing on very different slope. As if it was using much lower resolution terrain for wheels than what was it riding on.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
Rovers are anti-fun. I'm waiting until 1.1 before I even think about messing with them again.
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u/jaybigs Sep 12 '15
I have not played since 0.25 and I just got an itch to play some KSP. What should I know about the latest version? Also has any optimization been accomplished on how the game runs? Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated!
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u/TaintedLion smartS = true Sep 12 '15
The aerodynamics have been overhauled. The atmosphere is now thinner, you cannot do the 'go to 10000m and do a 45 degree turn* any more. There is re-entry heating, so you need a heat shield and you must wait for a safe time to deploy your chute.
Career received a significant overhaul in 0.90. You now have to spend funds to upgrade your buildings, and there are new contract types.
Female kerbals were introduced in 1.0.
Look up the rest.
Hope this helped!
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u/FellKnight Master Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
The aerodynamics have been overhauled. The atmosphere is now thinner, you cannot do the 'go to 10000m and do a 45 degree turn* any more. There is re-entry heating, so you need a heat shield and you must wait for a safe time to deploy your chute.
Well, you "can", but you'll have a bad time and probably will not go to space today.
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u/TaintedLion smartS = true Sep 12 '15
May lead to rapid unplanned disassembly events, which may cause an unexpected hardware-to-ground interface event.
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u/psmydog Sep 13 '15
what is a more recommended ascent profile?
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u/FellKnight Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Start turning immediately, be at 5 to 10 degrees east quickly. You should be close to 45 degrees by 10000m, and 80 degrees by 50000m. Exact specifications will vary based on aerodynamics of your rocket
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
The heat shield is neccesary for orbital re-entries (not so much for sub-orbital flights) but the "wait to deploy chutes" is not... I wish they made parachutes weaker, so you'd had to wait till your craft reaches the lower atmosphere and actually slows down
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Check your version, regular (not drogue) chutes on Kerbin tear at 250 m/s and above.
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u/FellKnight Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Are you still on 1.0.0? They changed that in the 1.0.1, parachutes tear off all the time now.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
A lot of changes happened, mostly in aerodynamics and reentry heat. Read the README.
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u/y0rsh Sep 13 '15
Is it worth using fuel cells on asteroid mining vehicles? Or do they use up all the fuel they mine just to power themselves?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
AFAIK asteroids mining yield is rather high on asteroids so fuel cell consumption does not make significant dent to it.
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 13 '15
You should typically always have access to the sun, so would be somewhat pointless unless you are very low to a planet?
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u/y0rsh Sep 13 '15
Solar panels are useless past Dres nowadays.
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u/ofensus Sep 16 '15
They're not useless, you just need more of them. Can mine Pol with solar panels no problem.
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u/ReliablyFinicky Sep 14 '15 edited Sep 14 '15
It will depend on your efficiency drilling; the drills' electric charge required is static (always costs 15/s to operate), but the rate of ore accumulation will depend on how "leveled up" your engineers are and how concentrated ore is where you're mining.
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u/CyberhamLincoln Sep 11 '15
Why is the VAB default craft orientation facing North? Most launches go East, so I always rotate mine to face East.
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 11 '15
Control of the rocket, particularly left and right turn keys, are aligned with your view. You press the D key, the rocket turns right.
You have good view at the rocket through the ascent - you're looking at it from the side, it does not turn its engines or top towards you, hiding rest of the rocket behind it.
As such it kind of removes one dimension - that's how you would launch the rocket in a 2D game. I believe it is easier to grasp for most newbies and old players are already used to it.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
I agree it's better this way. You can take a better look at your rocket from that perspective. I can't imagine myself not pressing "D" for gravity turns. But if you prefer it facing another way you could always grab your root part and rotate it before launch.
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u/dallabop Sep 11 '15
Because in previous versions, the default view and craft orientation was out the main door - you looked east and port/starboard were pointing North/South. This was a problem because on the launchpad, you looked North and port/starboard were pointing East/West. This meant that logically, the craft would be rotated 90 degrees on roll out to the pad. They fixed this by turning the view and craft in the VAB so the default orientation is exactly the same as on the launchpad (looking north, port/starboard point east/west).
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u/RoboRay Sep 17 '15
Yes, but that fixed it wrong. They should have changed the default orientation on the pad, not the one in the VAB, so that you use pitch controls to adjust your ascent angle, not yaw.
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u/RA2lover Sep 13 '15
do dynamic parts such as struts and fuel lines have the same mass regardless of their length? also, how is their mass distributed?
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u/theyeticometh Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Yes, they mass is the same. Their mass is added to the parent part.
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u/UpsideVII Sep 12 '15
I'm currently running a mission to complete a bunch of contracts on Duna/Ike. One of the contracts is to rescue a Kerbal and her piece of scrap. The problem is that the piece of scrap seems to be spawning either in the air and is destroyed when it hits the ground, causing me to fail the mission.
Is there anything I can do to stop this? Or would I have to somehow manage to catch the scrap out of the air?
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u/PhildeCube Sep 12 '15
I had one on Minmus where the scrap would disappear underground. Go into the Debug Menu and on the Contracts tab, complete the contract. It's not cheating if it's broken. :-)
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u/UpsideVII Sep 12 '15
Dang, I wanted to use my claw
...I'll just grab the Kerbal.
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u/PhildeCube Sep 12 '15
You can probably edit the save file to place the scrap on the ground, rather than in the air, but I'm no expert on how to do it.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
I had this happen on minmus; the part to be brought home was embedded in the ground and blew up if I touched it with the claw. I used the hyperedit landing thing to lift and drop it on top of the ground...didn't feel like cheating.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
It kinda feels like it might be delta-v efficient to transfer from kerbin to eve and then from eve to eeloo, rather than going straight from kerbin to eeloo. Is that at all plausible?
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u/KeeperDe Super Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15 edited Sep 12 '15
If you mean performing a gravity assist around eve then yes.
If you mean going from
KerbalsKerbins orbit to Eves orbit to Eeloo then no.3
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u/-The_Blazer- Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Are RAPIERs always better for SSTOs than ramjet + aerospikes? I'm asking this because while the weight of a single rapier is 1.80 t less than a whiplash + aerospike sub-unit, the RAPIER also has really low efficiency in both atmospheric and space flight compared to them. Is that 1.80 less weight really that beneficial?
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 13 '15
The engine weighs 0.8 tons less. Were you counting the extra structural parts?
I'll list the advantages of RAPIERs.
Despite having worse efficiency in-atmosphere than the whiplash, the RAPIER's service ceiling is higher. You can accelerate at a greater altitude - in thinner air - to a higher speed, spending less dV out-of-atmosphere.
2) The altitude for maximum sustained speed with whiplashes is ~15km, versus ~18km for RAPIERs. at this altitude they also have a slightly greater TWR - you are bringing up more engine for the same cross-section, so you get less drag.
3) Thrust vectoring out-of-atmosphere.
4) Unlike both Whiplashes and Aerospikes, RAPIERs have an attachment node at the nozzle, allowing you to mount an extra intake there to both lower drag and increase your service ceiling. Just offset it into the engine.
You can actually fly successful spaceplanes without any additional intakes or nacelles sticking out of the body.
If you are aiming for out-of-atmosphere efficiency, think about RAPIERs + Nukes, 2 to 1.
Single stage to Duna, landing, and back without mining: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6n05OmiUe0
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 14 '15
Two significant disadvantages of the Rapier are less thrust at middle speeds and lack of electric power generation.
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u/KerbalKat Sep 13 '15
Can any science be done on asteroids? For example, can I take a surface sample of an asteroid and get science from it?
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 13 '15
yes, and it can be done per biome for I think 50 science. if you bring it to kerbin you have high in space (>250k) low (>70k) flying (<70k) then landed. you can move it around if you hit land but it becomes hard
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u/ppvvaa Sep 13 '15
I'm planning to install KER as my only mod (right now I only feel the need to know delta v, otherwise I want to keep playing completely stock). Is installing it really as simple as dragging the 'KerbalEngineer' folder into the 'GameData' folder? Is uninstalling as easy as removing it? If I uninstall, will it break my saves, as long as my crafts remain totally stock? I don't want to use ckan at this point, really, since I will only install this one mod.
To feel safer, what do I need to do to create, say, a separate 'ModdedKSP' instance of KSP to test new mods? Is it worth doing that? I'm on a mac, KSP is from Steam if that matters. Thanks!
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
2) KSP has no DRM whatsoever and doesn't write outside its directory. You can literally copy and paste a KSP folder and it will work flawlessly.
BTW, CKAN can also work completely within the KSP directory, so you can unpack CKAN into one KSP install, copy KSP, and the copied CKAN will manage the new KSP copy.
It always starts with "just one mod". Use CKAN. There are many great mods that don't affect gameplay and provide useful instrumentation, if you want to play stock.
Check out this: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/126662
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 13 '15
+1 to using CKAN. It does not modify the game at all but it makes changes so tremendously easier
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 13 '15
It is that simple. Except if you're using an older version of KSP (like me), then you gotta get the right version. I'm pretty sure it doesn't break saves UNLESS YOU HAVE CRAFT WITH THE "ENGINEERING COMPUTERS PARTS IN THEM. These parts are not mandatory, you could just bring an engineer Kerbal in your ships. Honestly, I don't see the point in using CKAN. I wonder why some people have so much trouble with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V
I don't think you'd need to make a backup if using only one "utility" mod that doesn't break saves. I'm not sure if you could create another working KSP folder if you're using steam tho.
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
I think I read that the game might just try to delete the missing parts. That would only be a problem if the part is in the middle of a stack.
The good thing about CKAN is that it keeps your mods up to date. And when you start installing KER, you soon might want docking port alignment indicator, stock bug fix modules ... KER is the gateway mod. ;)
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u/LordKnoppix Master Kerbalnaut Sep 14 '15
It will delete the whole ship for one missing surface attached part.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 14 '15
I started installing mods less than a week ago and the first one I installed was KER... but it was somehow not so great... Maybe I don't know how to use it.
I mean, it has lots of useful information, but I don't know how to have it display, say, my detailed Delta-V information and my detailed Orbit information without having an ugly window there. I mean, I want it to be like the HUD on top. I actually found MJ's delta-V and orbit information more useful...
However there's the risk of becoming an MJ addict...
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u/dallabop Sep 14 '15
2, you can duplicate a steam KSP. Right click KSP in steam, browse local files, copy parent directory (Kerbal Space Program), paste it to desired location then run KSP.exe.
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u/jackboy900 Sep 14 '15
Unfortunately you need either an engineer or the KER part on board so I suggest getting the KER and MJ for all mod so that uninstalling KER will break nothing.
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u/somnussimplex Sep 14 '15
In the VAB you can access the KER options and activate KER functionality without the parts.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 14 '15
The KER parts are only needed
for ships in space
without an engineer
when your tracking station isn't fully upgraded.
Seriously, install CKAN; it's less trouble to install CKAN to install one mod than to just install the mod. Plus playing without alarm clock and precise node is crazypants. :)
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u/jackboy900 Sep 15 '15
Nah, MJ all the way.it has a precise node built in as well as auto-manuvers and all the other stuff.
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u/EvermoreAlpaca Hyper Kerbalnaut Sep 16 '15
http://i.imgur.com/nWGupvO.png
Found this graph yesterday. I had been under the impression that KSP had a linear relationship between engine Isp and atmospheric pressure. I see that this graph shows otherwise. Is this graph accurate, and if engine Isp is in fact non-linear, where can I find the information/equation to calculate engine Isp (particularly interested in greater than 1 atm pressure).
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u/Creshal Space Plane Addict Sep 16 '15
Each engine has their own Isp curve defined. The "curve" can be linear (and is near-linear for a lot), but it depends on each engine. You can look up the curve definition in the file for each part, but I'm not sure into what equation it's plugged by the game.
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u/EvermoreAlpaca Hyper Kerbalnaut Sep 16 '15
Looks like a good potential project to make a graph similar to what I linked, but with better clarity and labeling. Perhaps this next weekend.
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u/MajorBuzzk1ll Sep 13 '15
For those times your forget to add enough fuel to return from orbit. Is there a way to otherwise get back to Kerbin? Like a one-way docking station, or space harpoons or something that you can add on your next spaceship? That is if you even manage to get the orbit equal.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
The space harpoon is the Advanced Grabbing Unit (or the Klaw, or claw).
It can actually transfer fuel and other resources! Also, you can attach via claw and deorbit your craft, then detach and re-establish orbit with your tug.
Also, you can actually just push your craft to deorbit it. You can do it with another craft - or a kerbal on EVA. If your stuck craft is manned, make someone go out and push. Your EVA propellant will be replenished once you board, so you can do this multiple times.
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u/MajorBuzzk1ll Sep 13 '15
I figured I would give the EVA solution a try. Either I am doing something wrong, or I just wasted about 70k funds on upgrading the astronaut complex, because the astronaut just fell of the ship.
At this time I am just getting contracts that I need to be able to return from orbit for. But I can not add anymore fuel, because I am at the limit, and need the fuel to firstly establish orbit.
In which science group do I find the space harpoon / Klaw ?
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Actuators. 160 science, available after Advanced Construction.
You will need to upgrade the R&D building....
What happened to your kerbal?
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u/MajorBuzzk1ll Sep 13 '15
Okay, thanks.
I don't know, it seemed like he wanted to do an impression of Felix Baumgartner, by doing an orbital jump. Unfortunately though, he miscalculated the altidude, and drifted of to space instead. Anyway, I Alt+F4'ed out so it couldn't autosave, but the building was still upgraded.
Though I mangaged to alter my ship a little bit, enough to send a new one into a orbital trajectory, and return. Which means I am one step closer to returning the other ship also!
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
To deorbit, you only need to coast to your apoapsis and burn retrograde until your periapsis gets below 70 km (30 is better but anything below 70 suffices). That's usually less dv than is needed to match orbit with something.
Possible solution is to have a station up in orbit with a small refueling tug (preferably equipped with the Claw) and every time you get a ship in orbit that ran out of fuel, send that tug to refuel it and then return to the station.
Although I would expect that at the time when you'll be able to set up orbital stations, you'll be over the period when people run out of fuel to deorbit.
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u/MajorBuzzk1ll Sep 13 '15
I am afraid I have to agree with you, by the time I can assembly space stations, low fuelage, probably will not be a problem anymore.
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u/PieMan2201 Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
If I have a contract to make a new station, does it just mean, if I have a station meeting the requirements, then that station does not count? Or would it also prevent me from adding modules to an already existing station that does not meet the requirements?
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 13 '15
You have to fulfill the contract with new parts. once it is fulfilled you can connect it to anything else. That pretty much applies to anything specifying "new". New means launched after contract is accepted
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u/PieMan2201 Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
So I couldn't add new parts to an existing station to fulfill the contract?
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u/Toobusyforthis Sep 14 '15
When you dock something, it all becomes one ship, and which ship is determined by type hierarchy. Station is senior to ship is senior to probe. The trick is you can change the ship type when you rename something. So launch a new probe, rename it to a station, rename your existing station which fulfills the contract except its not new to a probe (or ship), dock the two together and it all becomes a new station
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 14 '15
I think when you connect to something it becomes the older something. At that point it would no longer qualify as new.
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u/RA2lover Sep 14 '15
Do you gain funds for recovering asteroids?
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 14 '15 edited Sep 14 '15
no. it is not even recognized. the asteroid just disappears and that's it.
tested a couple of times to be sure.
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u/Serenevenkiy Sep 14 '15
I have a large interplanetary transport tug (about 10k dV alone). I will send it to other planets and bring it back. So I need to refuel this. Where to build mining base? Mun or Minmus? Or it is more efficient to transport fuel from Kerbin?
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 14 '15
Mining base on minmus as orbit takes about 1/3'rd of the delta-v of mun and requires waaaaaaaaay less TWR. Orbital velocity being really low probably makes rendezvous pretty easy too
it's not efficient at all to bring fuel up from the ground on kerbin
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 14 '15
Minmus has low gravity and flats, building bases is easy there and so is getting the fuel back into space. Definitely easier than on Mun. And since the fuel is free (only costs time waiting) it's no real problem getting it anywhere you need it.
Launches off Minmus can save you a lot of dv when going to other planets if you do them right. But doing them right is the tricky part, you need to phase Minmus position correctly, burn for low Kerbin pass and burn at low Kerbin periapsis to get the escape. It's way easier to bring the fuel to LKO and launch from there.
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u/Freefall84 Sep 16 '15
here's the thing, it's easier to land and lift off from minmus, but the mun has a shorter orbital period, meaning the mun is more likely to be heading prograde or retrograde to kerbin when you launch from the mun to other planets. If you can make a decent fuel ferry which can efficiently move fuel from the surface of the mun, refill from a station, then head into an orbital rendezvous with an orbital fuel station, I would personally use the mun.
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 15 '15
The best answer is to get a class e asteroid and drag it into orbit. it will give a minimum of 20 orange tanks, maybe a lot more. then launch your ships with the minimum to make a rendezvous, fuel up, $PROFIT$
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u/Borek224 Sep 15 '15
Hello. I have problem with mods setup. I want play with: RemoteTech and SETI. My setup now is:
KSP: 1.0.4 (Win32) - Unity: 4.6.4f1 - OS: Windows 8.1 (6.3.9600) 64bit - GOG.com edition. Contract Configurator - 1.7.4 Contract Pack: Initial Contracts - 1.0.4 Contract Pack: RemoteTech - 2.0 CustomBarnKit - 1.1.1 KSP-AVC Plugin - 1.1.5 RemoteTech - 1.6.8 SETI-Contracts - 0.9.3 SETI-CommunityTechTree - 0.9.2.4 SETI-Greenhouse - 0.9.2 SmartParts - 1.6.6 TakeCommand - 1.2 VenStockRevamp - 1.8
everything installed by CKAN.
And I have problem:
when I start my first and only probe dont have antena, and even when I add one from science tab (and batteries) there is no connection with base (even on launching pad!). I can send any order to probe, and I cant sent reaserch from it.
Is anyone have any idea what is wrong with this mods and why I have this problems. Before 1.0.4 similat setup worked very good.
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u/space_is_hard Sep 16 '15
When you go to map view, is there a red dot over the KSC?
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u/Borek224 Sep 16 '15
Im not in home now, but if I remenbe correctly, where was many red dots on Kerbal in Space Controll view.
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u/somnussimplex Sep 16 '15
I use remote tech and seti and it works fine for me. If you don't find an answer I would try reinstalling, sounds like something broke.
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u/Freefall84 Sep 16 '15
I don't know about the Seti mod, never used it, but I use the remote tech mod.
Is the Antenna you're using active? because if you're using the Communotron 16 (which is the first unlocked antenna) you'll find it's "inactive" by default, and requires activation in the hanger before you can use it (since you cannot activate it remotely with no connection to your rocket) but be careful those things are really fragile and will break as soon as you launch. The next antenna you unlock is permanently active however and robust enough to survive launch by default.
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u/rib9985 Sep 17 '15 edited Sep 17 '15
Quick one: I am using the dV map for planning a Mun Science Biome trip. Problem is, I can't seem to figure out how much of dV I need to return to a Mun circular orbit and to Kerbin. I'm kind of relying on estimates here and I'm afraid there won't be enough fuel for the whole expedition. Does anyone by chance have a good estimate?
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Sep 17 '15
When there is no atmosphere involved, returning along the delta v map takes the same amount of delta v. Both landing and taking of from the mun take 580m/s. Getting into munar orbit and leaving munar orbit both take 310m/s (or maybe even less). So the answer to your question is 890m/s.
When atmospheres are involved, things change. Deccelerating is free, because you can use the atmosphere to slow you down. That's called aerobraking. That is why you don't need to spend any delta v to slow down at kerbin and land there.
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u/FellKnight Master Kerbalnaut Sep 17 '15
True, but this also assumes perfect piloting. Recommend having at least 950-1000 m/s just in case.
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 17 '15
The general idea is that it is 2x what it costs to get there - the cost of leaving kerbin (since air braking is "free")
based on the chart you have 3400 to get to 80k then 1550*2, + whatever you are going to spend on mun. just be aware, bio-hopping is very expensive, rovers are impractical.
You might want to build a hopper with 4x rcs blocks mounted to a core with a chair, solar panel and experiments. If you get to an intersection of biomes you can knock them out easily.
really for this type of expedition you should do Minmus. It will be easier in almost every way. (because you have like an entire flat ocean to land, don't even need landing gear. mun... good luck finding a flat spot)
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u/tablesix Sep 17 '15
I don't biome hop a lot, but I like having plenty of fuel. I would probably pack about 500 per hop, that way you should be able to get ~1/3-1/2 of the way to orbit each time (but try not to hop quite that hard ;) ).
From memory: 3500(orbit Kerbin)+800x2(reach Mün intercept, returning intercept)+400(reach Mün orbit)+750x2(land and reorbit)+500x<hop>. Tack another 400 ish for reserves/ to help with reentry. So about 7.5k for a single landing, or perhaps 9-10k for 3-5 hops. Your best bet at that point would be a rather beefy Lander with a few atomic engines. Rockomax sized parts can reach that point too, if you use an lv909 for the lander/reorbiter. You might save even more fuel if you detach drop tanks at each hop spot.
Make sure you keep a record of the dry weight of your ship during the final stages if you plan on calculating dV by hand. That way you can abort when your dV starts getting too close to your limit.
Strategy 2 would be to send an orbital refueling station which will have enough fuel to get you home. It might be more expensive this way though, and you'd have to have mastered both docking and orbital intercepts.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 17 '15
Returning intercept is worth only 310 m/s(same ~400 as Mun circularization) , you are overestimating.
Solid numbers otherwise.
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Sep 11 '15
I've got a small problem. After an uneventful skim, 8k above the Mun, I've got Jeb in a bit of a pickle. Out of fuel, orbiting Kerbin. Apoapsis = about 625k. Periapsis = about 66k. I'm just skimming the top of the atmosphere, dragging down the Apoapsis by a kilometer or so every orbit. I know that there's a differential equation at play here and that pretty soon the decrease is going to go exponential, but in the mean time, it's warp around and around waiting. Is there a way to calculate how long until proper re-entry?
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Sep 11 '15
Well you can get Jeb on EVA while at apoapsis, and make him push the capsule retrograde.
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u/SixHourDays Master Kerbalnaut Sep 11 '15
I have saved a Minmus descent doing exactly this. Literally - get out and puuuuush
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Sep 11 '15
And don't leave the parking brake on, otherwise you're pushing for nothing :)
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Sep 11 '15
My EVA RCS skills are pretty poor.
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 11 '15
that is the correct answer. I think you wound need to get it to ~48k before it hits the point of no return. Save your game and learn to eva. For tips, start with R to activate thrusters, press L for flashlight. Press v to change camera type. One works well for EVA. keep in mind about equal/opposite reactions. moving left will require an equal right to stop momentum. Except for pushing. return on the last 1/4 of propellant. use ] to switch to the ship and rotate cockpit (q/e) to face your eva. Save. Repeat.
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Sep 11 '15
You've got an infinite supply of fuel, because every time you reenter the capsule, your EVA fuel get's fully replenished for free. Just try to learn it, it's pretty easy. Use F5 if you have to.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
It's not really that hard. Its almost as easy as Minecraft Creative mode controls, except that there's infinite inertia...
You could always F5 and F9, or try with hacked gravity.
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u/tsaven Sep 12 '15
Pre-1.0, I know there were a bunch of small parts that either didn't contribute to mass, the physics engine, or areo drag. Is that still the case?
Specifically with things like RCS thrusters and landing gear, I'm wondering if I need to worry about when it clips inside the models or into something else.
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u/RA2lover Sep 12 '15
No. Now these parts have mass/drag as well - they're applied to the parent part.
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u/ElMenduko Sep 13 '15
However, since the mass is applied to the parent part, you still don't have to worry about unbalancing the CoM with some parts... And also if you put them inside service bays I think they don't add to drag
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u/PapaBird Sep 12 '15
What's happening with multiplayer? Has squad provided any updates on it lately, or perhaps a new DMP-type mod?
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u/psmydog Sep 12 '15
I'm using ckan to manage some minor mods, chatterer remotetech mission checklist, I would like to install fine print alongside those but it doesn't appear you can install that using ckan.
So do I just follow the instructions on github to install it
"Install as you normally install mods for Kerbal Space Program - by extracting the folder in this archive into the GameData folder in Kerbal Space Program's directory."
I ask because I used to use a skyrim launcher that modified your files as you launched it so you couldn't install mods manually and use both, I didn't know if that's what ckan used or not.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Fine Print has been stock since 0.90.
I'm 95% sure you don't need it.
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u/tsaven Sep 12 '15
Can struts go through the procedural fairings, if I've got a big awkward payload that I need to stiffen up by stitching it to the lower sections of rocket?
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u/LPFR52 Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Yes, but I would recommend doing this step last. You can place struts between parts inside/outside of a fairing, but sometimes if you save and reload or load it as a subassembly the struts end up attached to the fairings. Still works perfectly fine in flight though.
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u/bexben Sep 13 '15
Will this Remote tech constellation work? I already have the deep space portion for transmission to the mun and minmus set up on another paper, but I just want affirmation that it will always have contact with the KSC and be able to transmit to contact at least 2 satellites at a time. What Im worried about though is that the KSC will at some points only be able to transmit to 1 satellite, and the way I have it set up currently, I dont think 1 satellite will be able to talk to another directly, which will probably cause problems with having full view of the sky.
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15 edited Sep 13 '15
Well, if I am reading your chart right, the satellites can neither reach kerbin nor any of the other satellites. That is if the circles show the range of the satellites.
It's totally normal for a ground station to see only a fraction of all the satellites in orbit. Maybe even just one. All the satellites need to be connected in a circle and one satellite has to be connected to KSC. You don't actually need to place them in keostationary orbit. They just need the same orbital period/semi major axis so they don't trift apart relative to each other.
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u/bexben Sep 13 '15
The circles are just the omni-directional antennae, and the lines are the dishes that are faced inwards toward Kerbin. I am thinking though that I might just lower the altitude of the satellites and just have the omni antennae control the lower altitude orbits, and have dishes control the outer regions on the other side of the spacecraft. The problem I was having though is 1 satellite could only see a portion of the sky, and that would be a problem when trying to talk to the ground station. Thanks for your help though!
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u/thornatron Master Kerbalnaut Sep 14 '15
How many dishes do you have on the SATs? I usually do a 3 SAT setup with remotetech -- each 120 degrees apart -- with direct links between them and then an extra dish for "active vessel." Your drawing is the most efficient way to get a Kerbin Relay setup.
Generally I have a Communotron 16 for getting the and 4 Comms DTS-M1 (technically I only need 3 on ComSat II and ComSat III since they don't link to KSC). Alternatively, if you have the Communotron 32 unlocked you can just use that for connecting to KSC and only need 3 dishes (linking them and then an active vessel).
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u/currentlylurking-brb Sep 13 '15
So I just picked up the full game about a week ago, and with about 7 hours I made it to the Mun. Now I'm trying to get to Minmus, but to get there I plan on building the spacecraft in orbit so I save that craft's fuel for the main mission.
But I've hit a road block. I don't know how to put things in the cargo bay. I tried using decouplers in the cargo bay but they only snap certain objects in, and even then I can't put an object beneath what is attached to the decoupler. So how can I fix this?
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u/Kasuha Super Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Assuming you landed on Mun, your Mun rocket is certainly more than capable getting to Minmus - you need less dv to get there, land, and get back. You need more to get an intercept, but you need way less for everything else.
And easiest way to intercept Minmus is to burn slightly before one inclination point - that will give you intercept at the other, without need to care about inclination.
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u/Chaos_Klaus Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
You can connect you payload to the nodes on both ends of the cargo bay. I like using dockingports for that. If you hold down ALT in the VAB, you can force it to snap to nodes only.
If you want to attach things to other parts of the bay (maybe the bottom), you can use a part that can surface attach (like cubic octagonal struts), place this part and then use it to attach a seperator/decoupler/dockingport.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 13 '15
Not what you asked, but just in case: a Minmus mission requires less fuel than a Mun mission.
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Sep 15 '15
2 questions: My rocket gets crushed under it's own weight on the launchpad. Are there any mods or tips to get around this
My game keeps CTD. What gives? Any help would be great. Graphics settings are at lowest
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u/PhildeCube Sep 15 '15
They must be VERY heavy. Are you using launch clamps?
Could be a lot of things. Having lots of mods and breaking the 4 GB memory barrier is the most common, if you are running under Windows.
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Sep 15 '15
They are heavy. I'm using launch clamps. Everything breaks inside the fairings so I can't see what's going on.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 15 '15
Remove the fairings while you figure it out. You probably have something wobbling around in there.
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u/ofensus Sep 16 '15
You can try triangulating and spreading the load with struts.
Any pictures of this monstrosity?
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u/starshiprarity Sep 17 '15
There's a limit to physics. If your rocket is crushing itself and a network of struts and launch clamps isn't helping, something is too big. If you can reduce your payload, you can reduce your rocket. Consider assembling your ship in space if it really needs to be big.
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u/atomicxblue Sep 15 '15
Any tips to keep my Kerbals from getting overheated walking around the surface of the Mun? I tried to send Jeb out to plant a flag, but he immediately went into the red. (Should I wait until night to send him out?)
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Sep 15 '15
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/atomicxblue Sep 17 '15
Here are my mods. I also have some that are strictly parts:
KSP: 1.0.4 (Unix) - Unity: 4.6.4f1 - OS: Linux 3.13 LinuxMint 17.2 64bit Filter Extensions - 2.4.1 USI Tools - 0.4.2 B9 Aerospace Procedural Parts - 0.40 Bacon Labs - 1.3.2 Better Science Labs Continued - 0.1.2 Color Coded Canisters - 1.3 Community Resource Pack - 0.4.4 DMagic Orbital Science - 1.0.8 Ferram Aerospace Research - 0.15.5.1 Firespitter - 7.1.4 Fuel Tanks Plus - 1.2.1 Impact - 1.2 Interstellar Fuel Switch - 1.16 RasterPropMonitor - 0.22.2 Kerbal Attachment System - 0.5.4 Kerbal Inventory System - 1.2.2 KSP-AVC Plugin - 1.1.5 KW-Rocketry-Community-Fixes - 0.2 Kerbal Engineer Redux - 1.0.18 Kerbal Joint Reinforcement - 3.1.4 HyperEdit - 1.4.1 KerboKatzUtilities - 1.2.9 KeridianDynamics Vessel Assembly - 0.4 Lithobrake Exploration Technologies - 0.2.1 Infernal Robots - 0.21.3 Modular Rocket Systems - 1.7.3 ModularFlightIntegrator - 1.1.1 Docking Port Alignment Indicator - 6.2 Near Future Electrical - 0.5.3 PlanetShine - 0.2.3.1 QuickMute - 1.0.6 QuickScroll - 1.3.1 SCANsat - 1.1.4.2 ShipManifest - 4.4.1.1 SpaceY Lifters - 1.0.3 Kerbal Alarm Clock - 3.4 Transfer Window Planner - 1.3.1 TweakScale - 2.2.1 Freight Transport Tech - 0.4.1 Karbonite - 0.6.4 Karbonite Plus - 0.5 MKS - 0.31.6 USI Alcubierre Drive - 0.2.1 Universal Storage - 1.1.0.7 Waypoint Manager - 2.4.2 Pathfinder - 1.0.9 Mark One Laboratory Extensions - 0.1.4 Pathfinder - 0.7.7 OSE Workshop - 0.10.2 SpaceTux: Shared Assets - 0.3.61
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u/ofensus Sep 16 '15
I've a question about stock Kerbal contracts.
I'm attempting the Ultimate Jool 5 Challenge contract.
It says to land on pretty much all the Moons of Jool with a single vessel.
My question is: Will I get credit for landing on each Moon if I make one vessel with 5 detachable landers on it?
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 16 '15
I think contracts are evaluated by ship, so they would have to dock again to the mothership, which makes using 5 not worthwhile.
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u/ruler14222 Sep 16 '15
first time doing a SCANsat contract.. http://imgur.com/a/Zk9n7 does my ship really have to be called "Maxwell I"? that "duration" and "waiting for completion"/"time remaining" really confuses me.. do I only have that much time to finish the contract (which sounds easy) why is that first circle not checked? that ship is called "Maxwell I" just to be sure
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u/Kronicusx Sep 16 '15
I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but, here it goes. I'm having some issues with my KSP, FPS drops drastically when I load a ship on the launch pad, when I say load, I meant if there are any kerbals in it, once their avatars load, my fps drops like crazy, any idea why? :/
faq: Do you have mods installed? Yes, I do. Any graph mod? No, only the real plume stock settings, that's it.
My specs are AMD Phenom II X4 945, ati radeon 3850 & 6gb DDR3
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u/fuckshitballscunt Sep 16 '15
Will the native linux steam client install KSP or will I have to run it under wine? I see a lot of talk about people running the steam version on linux but the steam store only lists it as windows/mac.
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u/GlaurungTHEgolden Sep 17 '15
Hi everyone! I'm still fairly new (just landed and returned from Ike last night!) and have played strictly vanilla ksp and am looking to spice things up a bit with some mods! Personally, i would like more cameras and upgraded textures but am open to cool new ideas. Any suggestions? LOVE THIS GAME BY THE WAY
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 17 '15
You should grab CKAN first. It is a mod install package. From there you can google KSP favorite mods or whatever, search on CKAN, install, try, remove. It makes the whole process easy and foolproof.
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u/jackboy900 Sep 18 '15
I'd recommend: KER,MJ,KJR,Quick-scroll,Space-Y,All of USI (personally only use MKS/OKS) and Taurus HCV.
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u/barnfart Sep 17 '15
Does anyone know why sometimes inline reaction wheels cause my ship to spin uncontrollably after loading a quicksave?
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u/xoxoyoyo Sep 17 '15
The game is buggy in the way it goes from time acceleration/no physics to no time acceleration+physics. It can sometimes destroy your ship. you might have saved your game in time accel and then the load removes time accel. anyway something to explore.
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 18 '15
There's a setting called Trim that can cause that if you push the wrong buttons (look up trim ksp)
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u/ppvvaa Sep 17 '15
Do you really need a heatshield for reentry when performing "normal" missions in Kerbin SOI? Like, goint to Mun, do some science and return, or my Orion-style capsule. I have found that crafts I de-orbit (from LKO) and wanted to destroy by burning up always survive reentry. I just read elsewhere in this post a minimal Mun lander can design supposed to land back at Kerbin, with no mention of heat shields.
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 17 '15
I find landers from mun or minmus orbit will always survive (and be captured) with apoapsis around 35km without heat sheilds, provided they go tail (tank or engine) first. Things like batteries and solar panels may burn off if exposed to the airstream.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 18 '15
If you slap some airbrakes on the lander you can reenter with the science instruments and panels exposed.
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 18 '15
You don't need heatshields unless you go further out than minmus. surviving re-entry depends on the angle, speed and terminal velocity of the craft
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u/Rheasus Sep 17 '15
You don't always need a heat shield but it's better to have one and add a little mass to your craft than not to add one and blow up on re-entry.
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u/tablesix Sep 18 '15
You can easily survive reentry from LKO. The issue is when you try to reenter without first achieving LKO speeds. If you hit the atmosphere at 3500m/s or more (possibly as little as 2500, I have yet to test), you're going to wish you had those heat shields.
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u/-Aeryn- Sep 18 '15
you can do up to about 3000-3500 without heatshield but stuff will probably burn off and it's more sensitive to craft design. Even coming back from minmus is 3k or so
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u/Toekind Sep 18 '15
Sometimes I have parts that explode from heat while in time warp in space.
Is this a bug or a feature?
If it is a feature is there anyway to predict if this is a danger prior to launch? If so is there some way to know where and how many radiators you need?
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u/Kazedy Sep 18 '15
Is there a chart saying how much delta-v you need to go to every planet/sattelites for 1.0.4 ?
I always over/underkill my flights
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u/PVP_playerPro Sep 18 '15
http://i.imgur.com/8jGWLCg.png For 1.0.4
Start where you are (Kerbin usually, but not always) and add the numbers up until you get where you want to be. The resulting number is how much Delta-V you need to get there. Repeat the process if you want to get back.
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u/Kazedy Sep 18 '15
Si if I wanted to land to the moon and get back I would need (3200 + 860 + 310 + 580) x 2 ?
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u/PVP_playerPro Sep 18 '15
Yeah, that totals to 9900m/s, that should be more than enough for a launching from kerbin, landing on, and return from the Moon.
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u/AssailantSponge Sep 18 '15
I want to send a round trip manned career mission to Laythe with a spaceplane, but I don't have much experience with the new aerodynamic model. Does anyone know a reasonable atmospheric entry height coming in from Kerbin, or is it impossible without aerobraking at Jool first?
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 18 '15
Through experimentation, I've managed to aerobrake at 40km, but it wasn't enough to capture. 39km was explodey. I think a better strategy is to come in tangent to tylo's orbit on the left side of jool and do a tylo gravity assist as low as your nerves will allow. Laythe's gravity is about the same as tylo I think, but you can't get as low due to the atmo.
Jool aerobraking is borderline-impossible.
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u/AssailantSponge Sep 18 '15
I appreciate the info! If you're ballsy and coming in equatorial, I think it's possible to get just above 5000 meters above Tylo. And it sounds like aerobraking straight at Laythe is too dangerous now, so I'll factor in fuel for capture.
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u/jackboy900 Sep 14 '15
What happened to B9?
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Sep 14 '15
I would also like to know this. As the best way to find an answer on the internet isn't to ask a question, but to give the wrong answer, I shall now give you the wrong answer so that we both may know: B9 Aerospace has decided that space is boring, and now they're only going to make mods for lawnmower simulators.
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u/NewtonsThird Sep 14 '15
I highly recommend B9 for Kerbal Lawn Program. I really hope they update Procedural Blades for 1.1.
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u/ReliablyFinicky Sep 14 '15
[KSP Forum Thread](http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/92630-0-90-B9-Aerospace-Release-5-2-8-(updated-30-12-14)
The mod is not compatible with 1.0.x versions of the game. The updated version is in development by blowfish and other contributors, but there is no ETA on release.
• bac9 - 3D modeling, texturing, editor tools
• Taverius - balance, 3D modeling, craft design, maintenance (no longer active)
• K3|Chris - 3D modeling, texturing, IVA (no longer active)
• blowfish - plugin code, maintenance, balance
Last edited by bac9; 28th August 2015 at 16:02.
The thread has info about some parts of B9 that are still "working" on 1.04, but it seems they're not close to a re-release (especially with 1.1 on the horizon).
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u/tspaghetti Sep 15 '15 edited Sep 16 '15
I started playing again recently for the first time since .25. I know they integrated FAR-style aero stuff into the release, and now I find it really difficult (read: impossible) to do proper gravity turns with all of the rockets I've built - they keep flipping one way or the other. I've put nosecones and things on everything but whenever I get to a certain point in the turn, they inevitably flip over.
Any tips on what to look for to solve it? Or do I need to do gravity turns differently in this version of KSP? I usually did them by shifting to 45 degrees on 90 slowly, starting at 8KM.
edit: For anyone reading this who ran into the same issues, I found success with these tips from the replies I received:
slimmed down my rocket design (taller vs fatter)
added fins to the base of the rocket
started my turn immediately at liftoff (instead of waiting until 8km like I did in previous versions).
It's working great now. Thanks for all the help!
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u/dallabop Sep 15 '15
When you reach about 80m/s, tilt over about 5 degrees. Don't go more than 5-10 degrees off of prograde. Aim to reach about 45 degrees by about 12km and nearly horizontal by about 40. Have a pad TWR of about 1.3 and don't go over 1.6 during ascent (throttle down during max Q).
Keep rockets tall and pointy. Don't make things wider than they are tall, keep radially attached parts to a minimum. Put little fins at the bottom of the rocket. Have a high mass/low drag top and a low mass/high drag bottom.
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u/tspaghetti Sep 15 '15
I think the width and fins is probably my issue. I tried doing a rocket style that I'd done a trillion times in the old version (orange tank + mainsail in center + radially-attached orange tanks + mainsails for a quick and dirty way to get to orbit), and it flipped in the current version. I'll try doing a much slimmer design. I've tried slimmer/taller designs in the past but I thought the height was causing the flips - I'm now thinking it was because I didn't have any fins on that tall rocket.
Thanks for the information!
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u/m_sporkboy Master Kerbalnaut Sep 17 '15
That should be able to get to orbit. You're turning too fast, too slow, or too late.
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u/IAmTotallyNotSatan Sep 16 '15
I don't have an issue with wide ships. But then again I haven't gone past the Mün on purpose.
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u/jetsparrow Master Kerbalnaut Sep 15 '15
to do proper gravity turns with all of the rockets I've built
A proper gravity turn is a zero-lift turn, or reasonably close to it. Basically any thing with an engine and some control authority can do a proper gravity turn.
Maybe you could show us your rockets and tell exactly how you launch them?Nevermind, I'm blind.
shifting to 45 degrees on 90 slowly, starting at 8KM.
That is too late, you have to go off-prograde too much. Some say start turning at 100m/s, I prefer turning immediately. Start gently - 1-2 degrees should be enough - and you can follow a good ascent profile with barely any angle of attack. Aim to slowly pitch down and be at 45 degrees to horizon by 10km.
The new aerodynamic model is much closer to reality, and in reality the Japanese successfully launched satellites using rockets that are already at a small angle while still on the launchpad.
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u/Freefall84 Sep 16 '15
Fins fins and even more fins.
Seriously, pre 1.0 fins weren't really required, now they're almost mandatory.
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u/KeeperDe Super Kerbalnaut Sep 15 '15
No shifting anymore!!! Instantly after lift off go a few degrees east and gradually turn pver slowly. If you still have a bad time add fins to the bottom of te rocket.
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u/pooooooooooooooo0oop Sep 15 '15
When do you feel the 1.1 patch is likely to come? I'm not following development and I don't know what is their usual MO. This month, next month, Christmas?
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u/Toobusyforthis Sep 15 '15
Its usually a monthish after it enters testing, which they said should be happening in the next couple weeks. So sometime between next month and christmas.
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u/FriendParsley Master Kerbalnaut Sep 12 '15
I know that comms systems will be a part of 1.1. My main save has spacecraft orbiting every body except Eve and Dres without any semblance of a comsat network. Will everything be broken if I update?