MoridinUK

ER right, so I need relays to pass info on, and I can't use a directional on my probe to reach the relay? You see i'm confused... Relay dishes on my sats allow me to bounce a message onwards.. so one placed in high orbit around (20 Mm is what 20000km?) means any directional dish pointed at them could be passed on to Kerbin? I only need dishes around kerbin, if my directional can't reach quite to kerbin or there is something in the way? I'm startying to understand. The Ra-2 is a long way into the tech tree! I know I can just go to Mun manned, but it doesn't seem right! How do I figure out antenna power? Edit: Cross post! I hadn't seen Spricigo's post right thanks! I think I'm understanding...

Ok so I need to set up a comm net around kerbin, and her moons, etc. I'm early in the game, but most of my contract options are stupid and dull (test a solid fuel booster while in an escape kerbin etc etc ) I need science to unlock some heavier lifting equipment! So after obriting a few times for science I'm looking to start my comm net. I've been searching and can't find any straight answers. I've read this: But it doesn't answer my really basic questions... such as what do I want on my sats, do they need to down link to KSC or just have a down link to Kerbin? What kind of antenna do what? and all these stupid questions... I'm really confused. Do my sats need two dishes (one outwards the other down to kerbins surface) or more? Any suggestions would be helpful, I read a guide that explained what could and could not be done with each antena, but I got a little confused (it suggested they all needed several dishes, to link to each other and to probes/ships out in the ether and that one had to conntect to KSC itself at all time...) I have heard I should set up a huge dish array at KSC and well basically I'm utterly confused as to what to do! Any advice? I was going to try for 3 /4 in keostaionary orbit, until I read the above!

You're a star! cheers!

Thanks all! I have a pretty good idea of where and how the thign 'should' work and I'm relatively happy I can get that up into orbit with 270ish to spare... This thread has really helped me understand much better! Now for the science and then I may actually have what I need to put up a comm network (solar panels etc)

Valentina is at the helm! but yeah I do need to sort out a comm network soon.. sigh.. it confuses me! lol.. mission control! opps.. my mistake! can we confirm the exact requirements, Pilot, or comm network and core, tracking station level two? mission control level 2? I really want to find out if something isn't working right!

Actually, I have a similar problem. Node appeared once but niw doesn't. Missing control (contracts) is upgraded and tracking station twice I think (patched conics). Am I looking at a reinstall? Am using precise node mod!

With suggestions to move fuel fro. The terrier stage, wouldn't that mean carrying more mass for longer or is the extra twr worth it? I can't wait to try some of the suggestions!

Thanks all! Is that a Swivel I put on it? It was supposed to be the Reliant! I've got to orbit with 270ish left, so I'm not far off! I'm not sure I've unlocked controllable fins just the winglet things... I'll give that a try and see if I can move the science into the bay, I just like being able to access experiments without having to open anything! I may try it at full thrust, but the reason to limit, I thought, was because going faster slows the gravity turn?

Right, and wow, thanks all for the responses... I love the kerbal community! Firstly, I have been to orbit, I have been all over mun and minmus, but in 0.9... this is my first time trying to get serious since the atmosphere lost its soup! So bare with me. I'm so sorry I forgot the command pod in the description of the vehicle. (I shall have to think about where to host images as imgur doesn't want to hook in nicely! http://imgur.com/a/SqCYp Vac DV 3.8k ish, Atmos 1.8k !!! So how have I actually managed to get this into orbit? Have I been missing something big? I have made it to a circularised 80k orbit with just under 300dv left in the tank... My problem with the gravity turn (sas off) is that my rocket wonders off the east line slightly, especially after separating (I'm hitting about 20k I think before switching to the terrier... which at that point only puts out 1.5 twr but that is good enough... Also I notice the rocket starts to straighten up some times so returning, on its own, from about 15 degrees back to straight up! The staging is really troublesome and sas HAS to go on for then or it just tumbles. Time to AP methods... I try to sort this, but I don't want to hang about in the air. I find I have to dip the nose below the horizon slightly to prevent it climbing higher as I keep pushing to get the PE to pop out of the surface. Last attempe (my best) I had an AP of 82 and PE 56 before reaching the atmosphere! My best run used an odd method, keep twr between 2 and 2.5, hit the turn turn to 5-10% early. leave Sas off and throttle back to not gain too much twr. I did have to use sas to keep the prograde from wondering as the rocket tilts northward for some reason... However, having noticed the engineer thinks I only have 1,8k dv at ground level, I think I'm actually doing better than I thought!

My kerbal's can't follow prograde yet! They need to get into and out of orbit first! lol

I need help... I've been following the advice here: In a ship of this design: Parachute, two mystery goo's, a temp sensor and pressure measure, a service bay with kerbal engineer inside, heatshield. FL-t400 fuel then lv-909, decoulper, then 2x fl-t400 and an LV-t30 - dv 3.8k. I try the method above and I simply go wrong! I just don't make it to orbit! I assume my turn went too fast, as I got heated up too! Any advice other than just practice?

In this case it only has to be a particular biome! lol

The target spot is halfway round the world which is why I thought an icbm approach 'may' work. I have never managed to build a single working plane! So I haven't even looked at unlocking the tech for it as I'm science poor at the moment... hmmm

@Streetwind Me? me?? But I wasn't piloting! Jeb was! I really think I messed up because I held on to the lt-45 and fuel tanks for too long, in fact it all messed up, because I came in bottom first but I never detached the engine till way too late, I was worried that it wouldn't actually go anywhere! So I turned and then separated and then tried to get back bottom first, but I think this was one of several reasons why I can in way too fast! That and the way too steep entry. The PE at 10 to 20 km, how much further will my craft carry on east ward in that last 20 k? I'm trying to hit a particular destination for a contract! I can't use trajectories until I have patched conics right IIRC? I had/have no idea about clipping, I'm actually clueless on how to equip my rockets. I can build them, but adding instruments, well, I notice that even a temp sensor on the back of a command module on top of a 400 fuel tank an lv-909, and 2 400 fuel tanks an lt-45 and then 4 thumpers is still unbalanced enough to make it tip northwards (or is it southwards lol) during my gravity turn... I have no idea how I'm to get any kind of comms sat into orbit without fairings... and they seem to want so much research and then unlock tiny ones! It was a straight install I think! I could back up the mods and the saves and re do it, later today to try but it may be the clipping issue. I should really put a heatshield on it! As for retroburning, until I can master an efficient assent, I have so little left this sounds like dreaming... Retroburn to this speed in orbit or once partway back into the atmosphere? If in orbit wont that bring my PE down along way?

Ahh,, poor Jeb... I was not happy I'd MIA'd him... but I have an explanation. I'm not sure it hadn't blown off by 20k though... lol

I re-entered blunt end first, but got into a spin when the engine I didn't throw off blew up! (I probably shouldn't have bothered to try to save the LT-30 sigh...) but I did regain control and point blunt end forwards.. Maybe the mass was just too much but I'd have thought not, I'll retry in sandbox to see what will happens... Also I can't get an efficient climb to orbit, I'm blowing like 4.1k dv... though I'm only a little way into the tech tree... Now I think about this more, it couldn't have been too shallow? I didn't have a Periapsis! But I did hold on to some fuel tanks and an lt-30 as it still had a little dv in it... could that have added way too much weight?

I'm having trouble with this but I guess it is down to having my first 2k of delta v locked in four big solid fuel boosters! I just cant get the turn right, basically sas is never in the middle ready to be turned off... The rocket is huge and has tonnes of Dv 4.4k and so should reach orbit much more efficently than I am pulling off... I'm going to try it in a 3.2/3.5k dv craft using only liquid fuel and see what happens...

It was never safe to use the parachutes (which I didn't forget!!), it never got cool enough... Mk1, with a service bay with a Kerbal engineer thing in it. I'm really loathed to 'try again' to figure it out and risk another kerbal... opps just landed on the SPH... which doesn't count for the science around ksc missions... gulp..

Hi all, I've returned to the game and so am a 1.2 newbie, most of my experience was back in 0.9 so I'm still very much struggling with an atmosphere! I just started a new career and I've just killed Jeb.. No option to revert! This was my first orbital flight. I burned for reentry to bring jeb down somewhere in the badlands to complete a science mission. It seemed to me that re-entry was hotter for a lot longer than my previous sub orbital flight. I lost a mystery goo experiment to heat, but I was still flashing the red flames (not even the white ones) when Jebs pod smashed into the badlands at high velocity... So far I've assumed this is because I was much too shallow? That because of that I had heating for longer and less breaking? Or is it because I actually accidentally landed him on a mountain and he needed that extra few thousands of meters? This means I WILL need to plan for a serious re-entry burn? I can't simply let the atmosphere do that work for me? I'm asking because having lost Jeb I don't want to risk losing Valentina too...

Yeah I must get my head into MJ. I don't find docking boring, but trying to get the encounter right can be difficult to plan...

My problem with them is that I find rendezvous quite challenging... I once had to wait a couple of years for an encounter that made it possible withint the fuel... I simply do not fly well! lol Very kerbal!

Clever boys them nasa types...

heatshields!! argh more wieght, leave it in orbit around mun, pick it up again on the way back? or in orbit around Kerbin..

lol, I just right clicked and dragged right to try to spin it...

@Kertech Absolutely, although I am a likeable pussy cat! My elder brother had the handle Forsaken so I wanted to one-up him... So many years ago! So much more planning!!! lol... but yes I can see the advantage. I tend to build my landers with a little too little twr I think this may be my problem. I forget that once I've made my burn to intercept Mun it doesn't cost fuel to coast... Planning empty tanks to ditch sounds complex though! I have 'tried' this, but I was too high... gained way too much horizontal speed again as I plummeted... I don't think I'd have too much of a problem if I didn't need to land, bang on the right spot.