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Tips for Rendezvous?


goon46

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I'm a beginner at KSP (<100 hours) and I've only ever done rendezvous once, and that is with rescuing another kerbal (personally I think I just got lucky.) Now I have to learn how to dock. I've watched videos on it, specifically Scott Manley,  but I just can't manage the skill to get the inclination right, nor get the spaceship in the exact same position as the target vessel. 

Any tips on how to make rendezvous easier? No mods please (except maybe those that don't affect gameplay).

Thanks guys :cool:

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Rendezvous are quite easy once you know what you're doing. I am preforming a rendezvous mission now. I'll add pictures soon.

 

Step 1: Go into orbit

Step 2: Match inclination (you can do this by burning normal (the purple triangle) or antinormal (the triangle with things sticking out of it) at the ascending and the descending node which appear when you set your target. (0.1 degrees off isnt a big deal but I would try to go under 0.5)

Step 3: Make you AP just under your target (a few thousand meters will do, don't do this if your target is at 70,000 meters because you will fall back into the atmosphere) and make a maneuver node at the AP slide the prograde vector. You will see tags moving. Slide till two tags of the same color come close to each other (preferably within 5 km but 20 km will do as well).

Step 4: Preform the node you just made in step 3 and wait till you are about 2 minutes from the intersect of your target.

Step 5: Switch to target mode by clicking on 'orbit' a few times just above the navball.

Step 6: Burn retrograde till 0 m/s (NOTE: you are not going 0 m/s in orbit but your relative speed to your target is 0 m/s)

Step 7: Point towards the target indicator on your navball and burn in that direction IMPORTANT: Do not go over 20 m/s or you might very easily crash into your target or miss it. (use time warp to speed things up).

Step 8: When you're about 1000 meters away from the craft slow down to 10 m/s 

Step 9: When you're about 200 meters away slow down to 1 m/s and use time warp till you get close to your target.

Step 10: When you're at your target (30 meters is a nice distance) slow down your craft to 0 m/s. 

Congrats another successful rendezvous

Edited by ToukieToucan
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