Adjusting a Scanner Orbit?

[Elroy Jetson]

Today I'm attempting to adjust the orbit of my scanner/relay satellite around Mimnus.  It is currently orbiting in what looks like about a   30 degree incline and 188k.  It is not perfectly circular but close.  I think I have plenty of fuel for this but I'll send a refueling ship if I need it.

 

i don't see how to make the AN/DN buttons appear?

 

Also  how do I identify the poles?  I guess if there is a way to display the AN/DN info that would give me the exact polar info?

[Zhetaan]

34 minutes ago, Elroy Jetson said:

i don't see how to make the AN/DN buttons appear?

Select the vessel.  I am not certain that the ascending and descending nodes appear in the Tracking Station, but I know that they appear if you're actually flying the vessel.  If you still don't see them, then you need to upgrade your Tracking Station to level two.

34 minutes ago, Elroy Jetson said:

Also  how do I identify the poles?  I guess if there is a way to display the AN/DN info that would give me the exact polar info?

Actually, no.  The AN/DN are in reference to the equatorial plane, so they always appear on the equator.  A perfectly-polar ninety-degree orbit will pass over the poles, but it won't indicate exactly where the poles are.  To find the poles in stock, you'll need either a narrow-band scanner for the KerbNet access or a surface scanning module, preferably on a rover so you can move to the exact location, and it will display your latitude.  You've found the pole when the latitude is ninety degrees north or south.

If you don't have scanners, then the next-best poor-man's pole locator is to have two satellites in perfect ninety-degree polar orbits, but rotate the longitude of ascending node for one orbit so that the orbits are not coplanar.  The location where the orbital tracks cross is directly above the poles.  The accuracy of the location is dependent on how close you can get to exactly ninety degrees inclination, and how close you can get to the surface.  For Minmus, I believe six kilometres (it could be 5900 or 5800 metres; it's been a while) is the minimum altitude to prevent unintentional lithobraking badness.

After that, the best you can do is to go to map view and attempt to align the intersection with the exact centre of Minmus (thankfully, the centre of Minmus is small; however, it doesn't show up well against the terrain) and note the ground location.  It would be better if you could land someone or something and try to align all three, but this method is prone to a lot of observational error.  It's much more accurate to use the surface scanner and its latitude readout.

Also note, however, that the exact poles of celestial bodies tend to be buggy.  Mind the terrain and don't fall through into infinite nothingness.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Zhetaan

[Elroy Jetson]

Very good, thanks!

[bewing]

There is no way in stock to show An and Dn visually. As Zheetan said, the An and Dn happen when you cross the Equator, and that's when you burn. To know when you are crossing the Equator, open Kerbnet and watch the latitude readout.

To know when to stop burning, watch your navball. You still have to lock onto either your Normal or Antinormal marker while you burn. While you are burning, your marker headings will move toward the East. When your Normal marker is at a heading of 90, and your Antinormal marker is at a heading of 270, then your orbit is going over the pole and you can stop burning.

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by bewing