How can I rescue Jeb?

[Gav]

Ok, so I managed to get Jeb stranded in orbit of the Mun with no fuel left. No problem I thought, this gives me my first chance to launch a rescue mission. I'll just do a quick EVA report for some extra science before going back to the space center and....oh. Seems I inadvertently had symmetry on whilst attaching the antenna to the ship in the VAB, and now the hatch to the capsule is blocked...

So, any ideas how I can get Jeb back to Kerbin? There are no docking ports on the ship (new career save for .23, so not researched yet) and prefer to keep my career mode save stock parts only.

Gav

Edited December 18, 2013 by Gav

[Biker Joe]

Send another ship with an empty seat and get it close to the stranded craft, then get Jeb to do an EVA to the rescue ship, simples...

[LethalDose]

New lander and new mission. Assuming you don't have the any 2 or 3-man command modules researched, your new lander should have:

a 1-kerbal CM + a probe unit

OR

2 x 1-kerbal CMs

Launch with one can empty.

Oh, and just be sure land near Jeb. Not ON Jeb.

[KvickFlygarn87]

First of all, how did you get out if your hatch was blocked?

Second of all, you can land next to Jeb with an extra pod (empty, obviously) and then get Jeb into that pod and go home. Alternatively, if you're really good you should be able to use your EVA pack to get home provided you're full on monoprop, at least you could in .22.

EDIT: DOUBLE NINJA'D? Curse my slow phone fingers.

[Tobmaster]

Create a craft to push him back home. If you are slow on the contact, nothing will blow up too hard.

[Gav]

I tried to EVA, and that's when I realised that the hatch was blocked. I think my only option will be Tobmaster's suggestion; to build a ship that can push Jeb's ship back to Kerbin - should be interesting!

Thanks all

[Kilmeister]

Another craft with an empty seat. And if you don't have the 3 man command module yet you can use a probe to control and just put an empty 1 man module on it.

[Wallace]

what type of antenna is it? Cos the little one can be smashed off pretty easy...

[Ravenchant]

Oh, and just be sure land near Jeb. Not ON Jeb.

Umm...

...stranded in orbit of the Mun with no fuel left.

What Biker Joe said. Try using the external seat, that way you don't have to get within grabbing distance...

[celem]

I've successfully knocked small panels and antennas off hatches. normally when trying to 'push' a craft anyway. Thats gonna be your best bet, build a "catcher's mitt" and shunt the stranded jeb into an aerobrake trajectory. Before you begin the pushing (which is tricky and prohibits any kind of time-warping), see if you can snap that antenna off. set it to transmit something first so that it telescopes out.

[capi3101]

First, don't panic. You can still pull off a rescue mission; Jeb's suit won't run out of air or anything like that. Just have him cling to the outside of the hatch and he should be fine.

I'm assuming you're low down on the tech tree - let's say Basic Rocketry only. If you're higher up that that, great.

A two-Kerbal craft with 6,375 m/s of total delta-V oughta be able to do the trick (actually, that's way more than what you need, but I want to make sure there's a good fudge factor there).

That's pretty easily designed - for your Mün stage, you need two Mk-1 Command Pods, a Mk-16 Chute, (if you have Survivability though, by all means change that to two radial chutes for extra safety), a TR-18A decoupler, an FL-T400 and an LV-T30 engine (put the tank and the engine below the decoupler; you want to blow them loose for landing). That should get you 1,784 m/s of delta-V; you only need 1,480 to get to the Mün and back. Add an FL-T100 only if you think you need more fuel.

The booster will be the tricky bit; your Mün stage comes in at 5.15 tonnes. I'm calculating that a single-stage rocket would require 4 LV-T30s at a minimum to get that into orbit; each engine would require a stack of seven FL-T400s. As a three serial-stage booster, you'd want one LV-T30 in the upper stage, two in the middle and three in the lower stage - fuel requirements for each stage are 9, 19 and 39 FL-T100 equivalents each; I anticipate that one would be a tall rocket no matter what.

Launch with Bob in one capsule and leave the other empty. Once you're up, make your Mün transfer. Once in Münar orbit, target Jeb's ship. Burn normal at the descending node or anti-normal at the ascending node to zero out your plane. Then set up a maneuver node at the next apsis. Pull prograde; if the projected distance between you and the target decreases, keep pulling until you get a close intercept (within 2 kilometers, closer is better). If the distance increases, stop and pull retrograde - be careful that you don't put your periapsis below 10 kilometers. If you can't get an intercept, wait until the other apsis and try again. Burn as the node indicates.

Once you're within two kilometers, you need to do the old stop-reaim-start trick at decreasing distances; you can't dock, obviously, but treat it as a docking approach anyway. Once you're within a comfortable distance, have Jeb jetpack over to the rescue ship. From there, set up a standard Münar return and fire up the engine when you're ready. If you run out of gas before closing the periapsis to within Kerbin's atmosphere, decouple the command pods from the engine pack and have one of the two Kerbonauts get out and push.

Good luck.

EDIT: Missed the bit where you couldn't get Jeb out of the pod. That's an issue - same design, but instead of two Command Pods, try one command pod with some modular girder adapters on the end arranged in a claw shape. And even moar luck...