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Getting to the Mun


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I am having trouble getting to the Mun. I'm new to the game (as in only got it on Sunday 16th), and I did the tutorials. I then went into the sandbox game, and added a maneuver mode onto my orbit, but it would not snap into a intercept with the Mun like it did in the tutorial. How can I get to the Mun?

Also, if anyone has a pre-built lander I could have, that would be great.

Thanks! :D Edited by Giacomo
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Getting an intercept with the Min is all a matter of placing the manoeuvre in the right place on your orbit around Kerbin. If you go into map view and rotate it around until the Mun is half way between the 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock position, place the manoeuvre node at the 6 o'clock position of your orbit. Also remember to select the Mun as your target to get the encounter markers.

Another rough and ready method is to be in flight view and wait until the Mun comes up above the horizon and then start to burn. This is how it was done before manoeuvre nodes were introduced to the game.

ETA : This craft is relatively simple for a newcomer to get to the Mun. It was designed in 1.0.4 but it still works in 1.0.5.

[url]http://kerbalx.com/Scarecrow88/Genesis[/url] Edited by Scarecrow88
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What Scarecrow said. Also note that it is possible to drag the manouvre node around the orbit (essentiall changin the time of the burn without changing the pro-/retrograde radial or normal components of your node). That way you can just add a manouvre anywhere and drag the prograde marker until your predicted orbit crosses (or gets very close to) the orbit of the mun. Set the mun as your target and then just drag the node around you orbit until you get an encountre. Of course this is assuming you actually have a relatively circular orbit to begin with.

I am currently not on my main PC so I can't test this craft in 1.0.5 since I built it quite some time ago. But it was built specifically for the purpose of getting new players to the mun (not back). It has oodles of dV, probably more than enough for a grand tour of the system if you are good enough at flying, so it's extremely forgiving.

Edit: Forgot to add the DL-Link >.< [url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/yne0ejuqkf7r593/Flag%20Planter%20Mk%20II%20non%20ts.craft?dl=0]Get your free lander here[/url] Edited by TheXRuler
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Things get easier if you look from above in map view.

- Set Mun as target, you can view if you miss it (otherwise, you'll only see the encounter).
- Set a node where Mun is on the horizon (it doesn't have to be precise)
- Increase the prograde until the projected trajectory touch/intersects Mun Orbit
- If you don't get anything, move the node forward or backward until you get the encounter.

When you get an encounter, you can tweak it : orbits touch, not intersects

It you have a hard time moving and tweaking the nodes, I recommend "Precise Node" mod. (MechJeb has a similar feature)
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Occasionally I've run into a bug where the maneuver was incorrectly failing to register a "hit". I've verified this a few times by hitting F5 to save my current position, then actually flying the maneuver even though the "you will fly this way" line never had an encounter marker on it. And, surprise! I was captured by the target planet even though the predictor line said that wasn't gonna happen.

I've never been able to figure out why this happens, but it only seems to happen with maneuver predictors that don't take the form of some kind of closed orbit.
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Hello Giacomo, as Warzouz pointed out: you need to [I]touch[/I] the mun's orbit. You're overshooting. That makes it very hard to get an intercept. Reduce the apoapsis so that the top of your orbit coincides with the mun's orbit. Then drag your maneuver node slowly back and forth until you have an intercept. At that point you can fine tune both the maneuver node's position as well as the velocity change, to get a better intercept.

Good luck!
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It's hard to tell from that picture so I'll ask: What's the inclination of your orbit relative to Mun's orbit?
2nd: Set Mun as your active target. That will give you some new indicators to help you getting the burn right. You'll get inclination indicators as well as closest approach markers. You want the inclination to be, ideally, zero but a few tens of degrees off are fine if you don't go for precision.
I assume your apoapsis is at a much greater altitude than your periapsis, or that your orbit is heavily off inclination-wise. Your orbit around Kerbit appears to cross Mun's orbit but that could be just the angle of view, and the dv requirements shown are much less than one would see off a circular, low altitude orbit around Kerbin (from a circular 71km orbit expect around 850 dv +/- a few required).

Last. It seems that your leading angle is less than 45* ahead of Mun. With an inclination close to zero, raise the maneuver node apoapsis until it just touches Mun's orbit. Move the maneuver node around 90* leading to 45* leading. You should see Mun interfering with your Kerbin orbit.

Oops, someone got there before me. Carry on then.
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Inclination shouldn't matter. As long as you launch directly into an orbit around the equator you should be fine.

It seems you are assuming that as long as you maneuver [passes through the mun orbit, you will be "grabbed" by the mun. This is not so. The orbit that the mun is on is just an indicator of the path the mun takes. You need to meet the mun right on the line, so that your craft and the mun are almost in the same place at the same time. This will create the encounter.

This is because the mun has [relatively] small gravity. As others have mentioned it all depends how you assign your maneuver.

keep up the good work!
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