How to go to other planets?

[Cyberdragon1]

The farthest celestial object that I have managed to reach so far is the Mun. I'm so pathetic that I can't even reach Minmus, and even if I get into orbit around the Sun I just run out of fuel whilst attempting to perform a maneuver.

Yes, I did watch Scott Manley's videos and other ones too, but they just usually babble about something called Delta V and they go into the math and I lose their point. I'm good at math and physics, but I don't seem to really understand astrophysics and these orbiting mechanics. With that said, can anybody please give me a step-by-step guide of going to another planet like, say, Eve?

[Norpo]

First of all, Delta-V is basically how much your rocket can do, it's very important (and there are mods that can even calculate how much of it your rocket has), if you don't want to do all the calculations yourself.

Second of all; there's a tutorial on how to get to Eve here: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Tutorial:How_to_get_to_Eve

Third off: you can't just go to Eve any time willy nilly, you have to wait for a transfer window. Otherwise, it'll take a lot of rocket fuel to get there (either that or you'll be stuck in solar orbit waiting for a transfer window). That might be the problem you're running into.

I hope these sources help!

[skyfire322]

I would also suggest trying Duna, as the atmosphere is quite similar to Kerbin's so you if you have built a lander, you can easily use parachutes. Eve's is as thick as pea soup, so it's pretty difficult to get a lander to take off from there.

As Norpo said, transfer windows are key. Those plus maneuver nodes (and a little patience) are your best friend. It's frustrating at first. I still have a hard time! Fuel management (Delta-V) is still probably the hardest thing for me. I've never made it past Laythe without ships turning into space junk lol.

Best of luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[SRV Ron]

The intercept to Minmus will be a lot easier if you plan on arriving there when it's orbital plane crosses that of Mun. And, a ship that can reach, orbit, and return from Mun can do the same thing at Minmus. The same goes for a lander. In fact, Minmus, due to its low gravity and large flat areas, is much easier to land on then Mun.

As others have said, wait for a transfer window to go to the other planets. Otherwise, you will wait in solar orbit until you can get an intercept and end using up about twice as much fuel.

[Anquietas314]

I would also suggest trying Duna, as the atmosphere is quite similar to Kerbin's so you if you have built a lander, you can easily use parachutes.

Sorry, but Duna's atmosphere is much thinner than Kerbin's. Parachutes usually help to slow you down, but they're certainly not safe to rely on for a typical Duna lander - you'll frequently need to use engine thrust for touching down safely.

Eve's is as thick as pea soup, so it's pretty difficult to get a lander to take off from there.

"damn near impossible" is the phrase you're looking for there

For planning transfers to other planets, I would recommend this calculator. By default it picks the most efficient transfer window in the given time frame, but you can also choose an earlier one at the cost of a small amount of delta-V.

[tjsnh]

The super "dumbed down" explanation is that "delta-v" is how much speed you can change.

You are traveling in kerbin orbit (totally made up numbers just for the example) at 1000 m/s.

To escape kerbin orbit and get to orbit around the sun, you need to speed up to 2000 m/s.

You need 1000 delta-v to do this.

In terms of plotting a course, the "easy way" to learn is to use Hohmann transfer orbits. Here's a super quick no-math explanation:

http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/EveningStar/Unit6/unit6_sub2.htm

This guy put up a vid that explains it pretty well in KSP, with a demonstration:

[GoSlash27]

Cyberdragon,

You're not "pathetic", you're just losing focus before you get a chance to learn about concepts that are vital to reaching other bodies.

Delta-vee is important, and you need to understand it.

Transfer windows are important, and you need to understand them.

Maneuver nodes and burn directions are important, and (yeah, I know... but still) you need to understand them.

Without a basic understanding of these concepts, you're not going to be able to intercept other bodies. Once you understand them, it all gets *much* easier.

You should not be learning about how to get to other planets right now, you should be learning about these concepts.

I believe Manley also has videos on these concepts, and if they're like his other videos, they should help you tremendously.

tl;dr

Go back and watch the video again. When he starts talking about something you don't understand, *stop*

Go and watch his video on whatever it is you don't understand. Once you've got it, pick it up where you left off.

Good luck!

-Slashy

Edited December 27, 2014 by GoSlash27

[Pecan]

What Slashy said ... and practice!

Plus, unless you're purely of the video age - use the vehicles in Chapter 5 of the tutorial in my signature. They work. PRACTICE going to Minmus (and Mun). Mun is easier to orbit and return from but Minmus is so much easier to land on and re-launch from once you've got there that, overall, that's the preferred first landing target.

[MartGonzo]

I can't really add anything to what's already been said except to say that it will 'click' and will become second nature.

when it does you will a: fall in love with KSP and b: gain a greater respect for those that send stuff 'up there'

Good luck

[EndOfTheEarth]

Before going interplanetary, it is very helpful to master docking.

Docking is very similar to interplanetary travel on a small scale. You are trying to meet up with a target that is not necessarily on the same plane as you, or in the same position as you, and the maneuver node aspects work in a similar way. It's good because it teaches the following skills:

1) The maneuver node system. The maneuver nodes tell you how close your orbit will take you to whatever you are trying to meet up with. It costs no fuel to play with maneuver nodes, and they give you the level of accuracy that winds up being vital for travel to anywhere other than the Mun or Jool.

2) Plane changes. Most planets are on a slightly inclined plane (compare the Mun to Minmus) and so require you to know how to bend your orbit to account for these changes.

3) Patience. Sometimes, a few minutes of waiting during time warp for a better orbit can do more for you than a million units of fuel. Inpterplanetary travel means that you will have to wait for things to line up, and then even longer for the ship to get where you need it to go.

Many of these skills are introduced by KSP's tutorial missions, but practice makes perfect. The more you practice docking, the better you get at everything.

Once you have spent enough time working on these, try for Minmus again, treating it like something you're trying to 'dock' with. Once you enter its gravity, it becomes very similar to a mission to the Mun.

After you have gotten comfortable with travel to minmus, I would highly suggest that your first interplanetary trip be an unmanned parachute probe to Eve. The fact that it's close by, has a larger gravity range than Duna, and is insanely easy to land on makes this a good first target, and gives you a good chance of success. Remember, UNMANNED means "Don't send Kerbals"; returning Kerbals from Eve is one of the hardest things to do in the game. Use a probe core.

There are a few tricks to a successful interplanetary flight:

1) LV-N. The nuclear rocket motor. One LV-N attached to an x200-16, probe core, SAS, and a reliable power source can fly to anywhere in the solar system.

2) Know when to go. Based on the position of the planets, it is better to leave at some times than others. These are called "departure windows" or "transfer windows". Leaving during a departure window lets you go somewhere while using the least amount of fuel to get there. To learn the best departure windows for your flight, type "olex orbit calculator" into google and use the first link that appears, ksp.olex.biz

3) Start in a low orbit. The lower your orbit, the less fuel you need to use on your first burn. This is that "oberth effect" that you probably keep hearing about in KSP videos.

4) Maneuver nodes. Remember all that docking training you did? This is where it pays off. Never make a burn without simulating it with maneuver nodes first.

5) Pack light. The heavier your ship, the harder it will be to get it going where it needs to go.

Space is complicated, there is no easy set of rules for getting from one planet to another without mastering the fundamentals. Learn to dock, learn to fly to oddball targets like Minmus, and interplanetary travel will come to you on its own.

Edited December 27, 2014 by EndOfTheEarth

[RainDreamer]

You can always do it the Kerbal way. Trial and error. Keep building bigger and bigger rockets, eyeballing transfers and hope for the best. If you are lucky, you will get there. Not necessarily in one piece.

[Space Peanut]

You can always do it the Kerbal way. Trial and error. Keep building bigger and bigger rockets, eyeballing transfers and hope for the best. If you are lucky, you will get there. Not necessarily in one piece.

This is how I do it! Experienced players can get a little wrapped up in efficient planetary transfers when for a newbie any old way to get there is good enough!

My main method is to build ludicrously overpowerful rockets [definitely a lot easier with docking but not impossible without it!]. Then escape Kerbins SOI by getting into orbit and raising my AP until I escape. Then I select my planetary target, check that I am in the same orbital plane - and if not I setup a maneuver at the nearest ascending or descending node. Once I am in the same plane [orbital inclination = 0 with target] I setup another maneuver node to change my orbit until it intercepts that of the planet. Then I just move that node around my orbit until I get an encounter!

horribly inefficent and people will probably slag me off for teaching you bad habits but it works for me!!! I think its a lot more important for you to learn about maneuver nodes than delta-V. You can always cheat [alt-F12] and give yourself more fuel if necessary. Thats cheating but I think its a better way to learn the game than relying on autopilots like mechjeb.

[Anquietas314]

This is how I do it! Experienced players can get a little wrapped up in efficient planetary transfers when for a newbie any old way to get there is good enough!

Ahem, we "experienced players" get "wrapped up" in efficient transfers for a damn good reason: it costs way more delta-v (and therefore fuel + cost) to brute-force it . I think I get the essence of what you're saying though: figuring it out yourself is way more fun

[xcorps]

The reason you are having difficulty reaching Minmus is not because it's farther away, but because it's not on the same plane as Mun. That means if you are doing a typical gravity turn with 90 degree heading, you will be on the same plane as Mun, but about 6 degrees off of Minmus...Factor in the distance to Minmus SOI and you are going to have a hard time plotting an intercept. So..once you get into LKO and have a fairly circular orbit, set Minmus as your target, then plop a maneuver node on either An or Dn. Then drag the purple triangle up or down until you get very close to the same plane as Minmus, ideally the reading will be NaN. Then you do your burn at the node, and presto, you now have a good transfer to Minmus. The injection point to Minmus SOI will be much smaller than Mun because Minmus is a smaller and therefore has a smaller SOI. It will require a change in speed of about 900 m/s, which is a bit more than Mun, but it's easier to land and take off again because of the reduced gravity. It's therefore cheaper to get a landing on Minmus vs Mun, and you can, with a bit of practice, plan a maneuver that uses a gravity assist from Mun during your return that will put you very close to being able to aerobrake with Kerbins atmosphere, using a very small amount of fuel.

EDIT:

Here's an easy way to figure it out:

1) Install Mechjeb

2) Start a sandbox game.

3) Build a rocket that will have about 3k Dv once it gets to orbit.

4) Launch manually into a normal orbit, about 75k altitude with a 90 degree heading.

5) Set Minmus as your target.

6) Open the Mechjeb maneuver planner and use the "Match Planes with target Feature", then click on place node, not execute. Notice where the node is, and look at the inclination differences (Should read NaN)

7) Fiddle with the maneuver node that Mechjeb created. After you fiddle with it, delete it and tell Mechjeb to plot it again.

8) Fiddlw with it. Delete it.

9) Now make your own maneuver node that matches what Mechjeb did. Burn that node.

10) Now that you have matched planes, tell Mechjeb Manuever Planner to do a Hohmann transfer to target. Play with the node, delete it, reset it. Then burn a new Hohmann transfer and go to Minmus.

11) Once you get the injection done and you are in the Minmus SOI, tell Mechjeb through Manuever planner to circularize orbit at Periapsis. Fiddle with the node. delete it. Make one like it. Circularize your orbit.

12) Leave the SOI of Minmus, but just barely.

13) Set Mun as your target.

14) Tell Mechjeb to match planes with Mun. Fiddle with the node. Create a new one and burn to match planes. Make your own Hohmann transfer to the Mun. As soon as you finish the transfer burn, set a new node about an hour away and try to adjust it so that you leave the Mun SOI on a trajectory for Kerbin.

Repeat as necessary.

This will eventually help you get a grasp of the mechanics. It worked for me. It isn't that important right now to understand a lot of the terms like Dv or Hohmann transfer. All you need to know at this moment is how everything looks. The rest will come together as you explore Kerbal Space Program.

Be patient!

Edited December 28, 2014 by xcorps

[Anquietas314]

So..once you get into LKO and have a fairly circular orbit, set Minmus as your target, then plop a maneuver node on either An or Dn. Then drag the purple triangle up or down until you get very close to the same plane as Minmus, ideally the reading will be NaN.

This is actually a really inefficient way to do that plane change. If your launch isn't perfect, the best way to do it is to plot a maneuver node with your apoapsis out at Minmus's orbit, and then stick another maneuver node (before you burn the first one) in the middle of the transfer to do the plane change, and then tweak the first node (move it around your orbit too if necessary) until you get an intercept. It'll cost you a few tens (or less) of deltaV instead of a couple hundred for the plane change itself. If you get lucky with your botched launch, you can of course just do one maneuver node at AN/DN and end up with your apoapsis at DN/AN respectively with a Minmus encounter nearby

[xcorps]

This is actually a really inefficient way to do that plane change. If your launch isn't perfect, the best way to do it is to plot a maneuver node with your apoapsis out at Minmus's orbit, and then stick another maneuver node (before you burn the first one) in the middle of the transfer to do the plane change, and then tweak the first node (move it around your orbit too if necessary) until you get an intercept. It'll cost you a few tens (or less) of deltaV instead of a couple hundred for the plane change itself. If you get lucky with your botched launch, you can of course just do one maneuver node at AN/DN and end up with your apoapsis at DN/AN respectively with a Minmus encounter nearby

Yes, but it's easier to understand the concept watching it work from a place where you only need one node, and the adjustment of that node gives a very clear defined picture of what happens to the orbit. The OP is still at the very beginning of the KSP learning curve.

Edited December 28, 2014 by xcorps

[Pecan]

Yes, but it's easier to understand the concept watching it work from a place where you only need one node, and the adjustment of that node gives a very clear defined picture of what happens to the orbit. The OP is still at the very beginning of the KSP learning curve.

Seconded - the potential dV saving isn't much and as I say in the tutorial, "For me, it's more trouble and time than it's worth as <ship name> has enough fuel to do it the easy but inefficient way." I only briefly mention the other ways to match plane since I'm concentrating on the vehicles, not flight.

It's also a good point that rendezvous and docking is a good practice on a small scale, as is transfer between Mun and Minmus on an intermediate one. They both introduce the idea of a transfer window as the right time to do the transfer burn.

[moogoob]

I've been playing for a while now and I still use Mechjeb (autopilot mod) for planning interplanetary transfers and course corrections. Why? It's tough and fidgety even with Mechjeb's porkchop plot calculator helping you. You can choose between a transfer that uses more fuel but gets there AND/OR leaves sooner, or wait for an ideal window, it's up to you. Watching what MJ does is very useful to help figure it out yourself, too.