High inclination orbits

[steuben]

Is it better to introduce some to most of the inclination for an orbit at launch or to lunch near enough to 0 and then burn to right inclination out near Minmus?

[Aegolius13]

Yes, the most effective way to get into any inclined orbit is by launching that way.  So, for instance, if you want a satellite in a polar orbit around Kerbin, best to launch it straight north or south. Going out really far is often the second-best option.  But since just getting out to Minmus costs 900+ m/s, even if the plane change ends up effectively free, you're still better off just launching into the inclined orbit. 

 

EDIT: Now I understand.  Disregard below unless you're interested in going to Minmus..

So, assuming you're in an equatorial Kerbin orbit, how best to match planes with Minmus?  Ideally you want to do this at the same time you do your ejection burn.  But if this only works if your ejection point is at the same place as your ascending or descending node with respect to Minmus (since that's the only time you're IN the same plane as Minmus, that's the only time you can match completely).  Sadly, that doesn't happen too often - just twice per orbital period of Minmus.  Failing that, you're right, it works pretty well to just set a node about halfway and align your plane there.  

*You can also combine the two approaches by doing some normal/antinormal burn during your ejection, to get the plane closer to correct, then finish off later.  The closer you are to AN/DN you are, the closer you can get to a zero inclination.  I find the best way to tell whether it's as close as possible is: you want the new AN/DN to be equidistant from your maneuver node.  This is not a big savings for Minmus, but can be a useful trick for going interplanetary.  

 

Edited March 8, 2017 by Aegolius13

[steuben]

That's what I figured. Though I may keep with the two hop approach. It is easier to rendezvous with my research stations  that way. The timing of the launch would have to be tighter than my skills allow to get it close to the right inclination on launch.

Basically you'd have to have to launch when your initial AP, before circularization will be at or near the nodes, correct?

[bewing]

You have to launch when the launchpad is at the nodes.

[Red Iron Crown]

22 hours ago, bewing said:

You have to launch when the launchpad is at the nodes.

That works well for a launch from the equator (like from KSC). To expand to the general case: For launches where the launch site might not be equatorial, you must launch when the site is directly underneath the desired trajectory, whether that is under a node or not. This is handy to know for Apollo-style missions where you want to launch to a rendezvous with a craft in an inclined orbit.