Jump to content

Asteroid gravity


Recommended Posts

High there. Before this thread gets demolished with "you can't do that". Hear me out.

I understand that Squad said that this would not happen because the asteroids are much too small, but I still very much want asteroids to have mass for my kerbals. I want gravity. I also want also know that this cannot happen because an asteroid is basically a ship, they can't do this in the code. Or can they? There is a mod that allows asteroids gravity even though they are part of the ship, so is this possible and would you want to see something like this?

I also want to say that there should be a threshold for gravity on implemented if I'm not talking crazy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By my (rather quick) calculations, if you've got a 20 m radius asteroid that weighs 3000 tonnes you're only going to get around 0.0000005 m/s^2 of gravity on the surface, so its not really worth using the CPU cycles to calculate.

Edited by Steel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knowing Kerbal construction methods and materials you're better off not squeaking one out, you might blow a hole in the suit and it's all over.

I'm sure there's a warning label somewhere on the suits that say not to let them come in contact with water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

fart and you've just made escape velocity. i dont think its something the game really needs.

You wouldn't even get that far, breathe and you've left the SOI in seconds.

I do think that you should be able to take surface samples and suchlike from them. Can you do that? You should be able to. It'd be a shame if you couldn't use them for science.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that we could had larger (yet not-movable) asteroids in asteroid belt(assuming that asteroids will came out at some point) and other lone dwarf bodies all around kerbal system... largest ones could probably be like gilly.

Also it would be nice to see small captured asteroids orbiting around gas giants... small rocks everywhere.

Anyway, there is no sense in adding gravity to most asteroids (especially ones that can be moved by rockets) as their gravitational pull is between none and unnoticeable.

Edited by karolus10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything with gravity cannot be moved.

Anything massive enough to have appreciable gravity is too massive to shift in a reasonable time frame.

That said ... many asteroids contain iron. A system based on magnets would be more plausible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a large surface without noticeable gravity. We don't have that in KSP.

Ever watched your probe slide down a hill on Gilly because the gravity isn't strong enough to stick the thing to the ground? :)

Ever watch your Gilly lander cartwheel for a couple of minutes because your fallen Kerbal headbutted it off the ground while standing up?

Vxhcs.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ever watched your probe slide down a hill on Gilly because the gravity isn't strong enough to stick the thing to the ground? :)

Ever watch your Gilly lander cartwheel for a couple of minutes because your fallen Kerbal headbutted it off the ground while standing up?

http://i.imgur.com/Vxhcs.jpg

Of course. But Gilly has a decent gravity field, and I'm feeling quite comfortable in it. I'd like a body without any measurable gravity, to get outside the comfort zone.

And this:

10155645_673893876007016_1103904510_n.jpg

(author: Reddit user EarthLight)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By my (rather quick) calculations, if you've got a 20 m radius asteroid that weighs 3000 tonnes you're only going to get around 0.0000005 m/s^2 of gravity on the surface, so its not really worth using the CPU cycles to calculate.

Go to 100,000X warp and it will look like 0.05 m/s^2 of gravity on the surface, which is equal to the surface gravity of Gilly at 1X warp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course. But Gilly has a decent gravity field, and I'm feeling quite comfortable in it. I'd like a body without any measurable gravity, to get outside the comfort zone.

Sheesh, my 'jump rover' broke Minmus orbit by accident (took less than 2 seconds) and I had to do a 180 roll and fire thrusters again to get down. Gilly oughta be fun...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For one, Gilly is an asteroid; it is a captured asteroid. Notice its orbit. And yes, Gilly is much larger than the asteroids that will be included in the ARM pack. Even then, the gravity on Gilly is low enough that Kerbals can gain orbit with their jetpacks; jumping on this rock is going to send you on a suborbital path. The asteroids in the ARM pack are not large enough, even in real life, to have any kind of gravitational pull that would be noticeable. Yes, you can calculate it mathematically, and you might even be able to detect it with the right instrument, but it's not going to be enough to even warrant coding for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For one, Gilly is an asteroid; it is a captured asteroid. Notice its orbit. And yes, Gilly is much larger than the asteroids that will be included in the ARM pack. Even then, the gravity on Gilly is low enough that Kerbals can gain orbit with their jetpacks; jumping on this rock is going to send you on a suborbital path. The asteroids in the ARM pack are not large enough, even in real life, to have any kind of gravitational pull that would be noticeable. Yes, you can calculate it mathematically, and you might even be able to detect it with the right instrument, but it's not going to be enough to even warrant coding for.

You can get into orbit around Minmus and land again using a Kerbal's pack. (They have ~500ms, IIRC) On Gilly (Which has a Low Orbit velocity of ~20ms), you can use the EVA pack to return to Kerbin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You don't even need to do Hohmann transfer orbit to dock with something in Gilly orbit. You can simply shoot straight up towards the target when it's overhead, then kill relative velocity once you're near it. You can even do this with EVA suit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That said ... many asteroids contain iron. A system based on magnets would be more plausible.

Magnets may work if the iron density was large enough but the extent of a magnetic field from something such as a magnetic boot is very short distance indeed. (Think about 2 magnets) Lifting your foot (by say 30 cm) would extend the distance beyond any appreciable force and certainly rule out allowing to jump/run.

Of course that depends on how real life you want things to be.

IMO the idea of this pack and asteroids is to add some of the difficulties and challenges involved with them. Beyond the difficulty in getting to them the lack of appreciable gravity in real life is an issue for any drilling mission or future manned mission to such an asteroid, the CLAW is already a huge help to us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Magnets may work if the iron density was large enough but the extent of a magnetic field from something such as a magnetic boot is very short distance indeed. (Think about 2 magnets) Lifting your foot (by say 30 cm) would extend the distance beyond any appreciable force and certainly rule out allowing to jump/run.

Of course that depends on how real life you want things to be.

Alternatively, something more realistic would be the option to use the EMU while walking. You could apply a very slight, but constant downward thrust to keep you planted on the ground.

Really not worth the trouble though. I just wish turning on EVA wasn't so clunky, and you could 'drive' a kerbal the same way you do a vessel in docking mode, with the ability to switch between rotating and vectoring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By my (rather quick) calculations, if you've got a 20 m radius asteroid that weighs 3000 tonnes you're only going to get around 0.0000005 m/s^2 of gravity on the surface, so its not really worth using the CPU cycles to calculate.

A 20m radius asteroid would weigh roughly 90000ton assuming a it was made from solid rock-like composition, unless it was made from packing foam or bubbles in which case it wouldn't survive the rigors of space. I personally think they should be given a zero gravity. by that I mean have ships and eva kerbals behave as though they where on a surface which includes the camera orientation dynamics, That way you would need to use RCS to stay on the "ground"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saying you want gravity is not really what you want.

I added gravity to my larger asteroids and it doesn't work so well. You cant really land or walk on them, time warp breaks down and there is no SOI.

What people really want is to land and walk around on the asteroids, if it has significant gravity or its own soi is a moot point. Beyond that people want to add their own large bodies to the solar system, planet factory style but supported by the stock game. That is what your really asking for, but your going to have to wait a loooooooooooooong time for that one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What people really want is to land and walk around on the asteroids, if it has significant gravity or its own soi is a moot point.

Or do we just want to stand on the asteroid while waving a laser around that's linked to a gatling gun on the rover (for no logical reason whatsoever) and shoot the living heck out of crystals?

Naa... really though, improved EVA controls would fix all of this. Controlling the EMU is over-complicated, so I don't blame people who prefer walking to floating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...