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Lets talk about specs! (1.0 data)


Stealth2668

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As a returning player, I seem to have forgotten all the numbers except to make your gravity turn at around 10km. Now I think even that has changed due to the new aerodynamics so now I'm completely lost. I didn't even play 0.9! So I'm wondering, what are all the new numbers; gravity turn altitude, maximum speed you should have during liftoff to avoid wasting fuel, dV to orbit Kerbin, the mun, the furthest planet, what engines are good for what etc etc. Perhaps people can post they're data and new things to know about 1.0 below for noobs and returning players in one spot. Much thanks!

Edited by Stealth2668
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I wouldn't at all be surprised if it were something like FAR - that is, as a very rough guideline, aim for a TWR of 1.2 - 1.6, and turn over ~5 degrees at around 75-125m/s, then follow prograde until you're around 30km up.

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From watching streams all weekend, it looks like you want to start the turn almost immediately, at least a slight tip of a couple degrees. I even saw some people angle their vehicle on the launch clamps by a couple degrees. The trick with the new aero seems to be that your trun must be very gradual, you can't stray very far from the prograde marker or you may explode. With that in mind you will need to start the turn earlier in order to complete it in time.

Also, you need a lot less DV to get to orbit, something like 3500m/s instead of 4500m/s.

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I suspect that the preferred turn will be similar to FAR, where you want to turn to ~85 degrees around 80m/s and turn off SAS so that gravity will cause your vehicle to slowly turn(aka a 'real' gravity turn not this 45 degrees at 10Km thing I have been doing in 0.90)

note: from what I understand, you want enough fins on the bottom of your rocket so that you pass 45 degrees around 10km (tail fins slow your turning as they try keep you straight)

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Gravity turns now mean exactly that; get your aerodynamics right (long, thin, streamlined rocket with fins on the back), nudge it gently eastward during take off, and then stop fiddling. Decreasing air density will pull it further over as you ascend; use your throttle to control how much it tips.

At least, that's what it looks like from preview videos :) FAR users are pretty much used to this anyway.

- - - Updated - - -

I even saw some people angle their vehicle on the launch clamps by a couple degrees.

I do this all the time with FAR. Means you can turn your SAS on prograde within a few seconds of launch and get a nice smooth ascent :)

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From watching streams all weekend, it looks like you want to start the turn almost immediately, at least a slight tip of a couple degrees. I even saw some people angle their vehicle on the launch clamps by a couple degrees. The trick with the new aero seems to be that your trun must be very gradual, you can't stray very far from the prograde marker or you may explode. With that in mind you will need to start the turn earlier in order to complete it in time.

Also, you need a lot less DV to get to orbit, something like 3500m/s instead of 4500m/s.

I wonder why it takes less dV to get into orbit? Anyone know the technical reason why?

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I wonder why it takes less dV to get into orbit? Anyone know the technical reason why?

In the old aero model the atmosphere was reaaallly soupy and you'd lose a lot of energy to drag. Now that it behaves more like air and less like treacle, there's far less drag slowing your ship down and so you can get into orbit far more efficiently

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Because the atmosphere isn't made of nearly-dry concrete anymore.

Also, if you've been using NEAR or FAR, you know how to do proper gravity turns, and the techniques are the same in 1.0: Start your turn at ~70-100 m/s, nudge over a few degrees, follow prograde to orbit. If you have a large circularization burn at the end, you didn't turn over fast enough. It's more about watching your "time to apoapsis" than anything, really, just ensure that it keeps climbing slowly, and once you hit about 90 seconds to apoapsis, keep it somewhere there in the neighborhood. Nosing up will increase time to apoapsis, nosing down will reduce time to apoapsis. If you do it right, you finish your boost phase with your periapsis just underground (I shoot for -10m) so your booster will hit the ground (or burn up now), and your circularization burn is small, under 100m/s.

Also, 1.2-1.4 TWR is plenty. Remember, Saturn V left the pad with a TWR of 1.18.

Edited by godefroi
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I wonder why it takes less dV to get into orbit? Anyone know the technical reason why?

From what I can tell, the new atmosphere is much less soupy. And it's the deltaV that you expend earlier in the flight that costs the most, where you fight inertia and the atmosphere the most. In the previous stock versions it was thick but it dropped off fast, meaning you would do a much more abrupt turn to reach orbit. Now we can use a much more ballistically efficient gravity turn.

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NOTE: If you do the old fly up to 15km at near terminal velocity and suddenly turn over to 45 degrees above the horizon routine - you will just as likely flip your rocket over as anything else.

We'll have to unlearn that, and learn how to do them the new aero way. This will be the topic of my very first full tutorial - which I'll start recording as soon as I'm home with KSP 1.0 in hand. It's much more important that your nose be pointed to PROGRADE with respect to the atmosphere.

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From watching streams all weekend, it looks like you want to start the turn almost immediately, at least a slight tip of a couple degrees. I even saw some people angle their vehicle on the launch clamps by a couple degrees. The trick with the new aero seems to be that your trun must be very gradual, you can't stray very far from the prograde marker or you may explode. With that in mind you will need to start the turn earlier in order to complete it in time.

Also, you need a lot less DV to get to orbit, something like 3500m/s instead of 4500m/s.

Yes, take note that if you drop first stage low it might hit the pad as the physic bubble is now 25 km.

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Yes, take note that if you drop first stage low it might hit the pad as the physic bubble is now 25 km.

If you put a parachute on it so it lands safely, can it be recovered later for a refund or do you still need a mod for that?

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If you put a parachute on it so it lands safely, can it be recovered later for a refund or do you still need a mod for that?

It's unlikely it'll land before you hit 25km, unless it's something small and short-lived, like a couple trashcans or something. If it does, then yes, you can recover it.

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