jarmund

To increase apoapsis, burn prograde at periapsis. To increase periapsis, burn prograde at apoapsis. To decrease apoapsis, burn retrograde at periapsis. To decrease periapsis, burn retrograde at apoapsis. To catch up with your target, make sure it's shorter than it, for example, roughly the same apoapsis, but with a periapsis lower than it.

I participated in the Deep Dive Challenge

I had to give this ago, and i reached -334m on EVE, using a class C asteroid as pudding-weight. Bonuses claimed: Sleeping with the fishes REDUX (x5) Swimming in fuel reserves (x2) Touched the bottom of the pool (x1.5) 334m x 5 x 2 x 1.5 = 5010 points. Screenshots of the entire ordeal can be found here (How do i make those nice and convenient albums i see all over?) Sorry about the poor angle of some of the screenies, but i was fighting a bug where the trajectory wasn't showing up if i zoomed too far away in map mode. In addition, the Kraken attacked me severely several times: Once was a plain crash, and when i entered EVE SOI my ship refused to move. Got around both by restarting, ofvcourse. I doubt it can be argued that my orange tank can be considered a mothership, but if it does, add another 1.5 multiplier.

Whichever bug allowed my Jeb to EVA down from orbit, grin while engulfed i reentry flames, and survive i.pact with the ground

Duna, because: - Atmosphere, not just another suicide burn to land - A very thin one at that, so not just a matter of using chutes for easy mode - Semi-close to kerbin so it's easy to get to - A large moon close by Whenever i start a new save, it's one of the first places i work on other than the standard sample-return-trip, as i often work on colonizing it. Dres comes a sa close second, as it's large and far enough away to be a challenge while still being fun. Also, i see it as a gateway to jool and eeloo, and GP2 whenever that comes along. I'm not much for regular jet flying, so laythe doesn't score that many points with me.

I've watched the entire series, and i can confirm that he has. He mentions it in one episode. I cannot remember why, but there was a logical reason for it. After a while he disabled the mod altogether because of compatibility issues

What he said. MechJebs predictions are rubbish when FAR is being used, as the different drag and lift model isn't accounted for. The mod mentioned above, however, takes this into account.

Not necessarily true. I just wanted flying to be more intuitive, and have the ability to sweep wings with same lift and less drag as opposed to reduced lift and same drag. I do use Deadly Reentry and TAC-LS but not for the realism - I do it for the sheer awesome of seeing your heatshield catch fire as you decend into the atmosphere and hope it'll hold past max Q, praying that your food containers won't get torn off by the fact that Very true. Also, if you don't like it after a day or two of trying, you could always *GHASP* uninstall FAR.

I wish i had a video of this, but I managed to land my Kethane drilling rig on Duna. Big whoop, you say? Well, there were some problems with the landing: 1. It was built around an orange-tank with those huge rovemax wheels on it. 2. One parachute at the end because "Dunas gravity is so low that this should be enough, right" 3. realized during reentry i realized how flawed this was 4. the transfer stage was still attached, but not powerful enough to stop it However, i noticed that i was very close to a long and steep slope. The transfer stage (I can't remember which engines i used) allowed me to steer towards it, while my chute added stability. I ended up actually using the slope as a ramp to arrest most of my speed, as i landed on it in reverse, engine blasting on full. It only took two quickloads to get it right (I had a save from just before chutes opened) I ofcourse broke the wheels during landing, which needed repairs from one of the green men statione not far from the landing site, but other than that the drilling rig was still intact.

It's hard at first, but then you realize that it actually makes flying a stable craft more intuitive, so in the long run it's actually easier. Just a couple of things you need to get hang on first: - Planes are harder to design, but FARs tools helps a lot. - Your existing crafts probably have to be redesigned somewhat. But they should fly with minor tweaks. - Rocket launches can get tricky at first, until you realize that you just need to limit your angle of attack. - The lifting body effect can screw you over until you learn to use it to your advantage - Fairings become a must. I haven't tried out many mods for this, but Procedural Fairings works fine for me Once you get the hang of it (shouldn't take that long, really), you can reap these rewards: - Taking off without having to swim through the soupmosphere - Lift is generated realistically, meaning that you get more lift. (If memory serves me right, lift should be a square of the speed, while in stock it's just linear) - Swept wings work as they should - Flying is more fun - In most cases, getting to space requires less Delta V with winged crafts - It might prepare you for 1.0, depending on how the new aero model works

They are convinced that cell phones, GPS and sat TV is a hoax too that THEY make you believe so that THEY can control all information. We all know that THEY consist of the holywood elite amongst others.

Despite quite a few claiming that it makes little to no difference in stock, it actually matters a lot. If you sweep the wings backwards, it'll loose a lot of its lift, as the airspeed perpendicular to the wing is what counts. In other words, a wing turned 90 degrees before attaching will generate no lift in stock, while still having all of its drag, despite it'l clearly exposed to the airstream. FAR, however, models this correctly, as stated by others. Scott Manley

Ifter reading The Mote in God's Eye and The Forever War, it seems to me that rushing somewhere in science fiction isn't about speed but acceleration. I choose to believe that the "stopping" we're seeing is the other ship continuing to consume dV for tactical advantages while Enterprise is drifting. Just a thought... I don't care that much, as sci fi to me is entertainment, not physics lessons (Apart from Scott Manleys videos... they serve both purposes)

I encountered a problem similar to this, and i found a workaround. I remembered this thread when fixing my own problem, so here is the solution to my problem. Maybe it'll work for you too. My issue was a procedural base fairing and a docking port being launched together. I was unable to pull away from the docking port upon disconnecting (and yes, i know it's not exactly orthodox to have those two connected like that, but i've done it a myriad of times before without this issue)

I've tried a few modded installs to figure out which ones suit my playstyle in science mode, and i have these recommendations: KAS - Great Karbonite - For colonization it's a must Remote Tech - I got somewhat bored with launching satellites all the time. Many like it, I find it more of an added restriction that was boring to work with, as satellite launches don't differ that much. It's a good mod, but not for me. In addition, I can recommend these TAC Life support - You've probably heard about it already Deadly Reentry - You probably already know about this FAR - Same as above, plus they combine really well. FAR makes some things harder, some things easier, but all things a lot more fun. Procedural Fairings - A must if using either of the two above Kerbal Joint Reinforcement - Good to have with FAR as your craft won't break apart as easily. RealChutes - Makes parachutes more realistic in a good way. They won't insta-deploy and tear your crafts top off Action Groups Extended - Allows you to edit action groups post launch, as well as a bit more advanced than regular action groups. Really useful for mothership-like crafts In addition, i recommend these utility mods: Docking Port Alignment Indicator - Self explanatory. It's awesome in its simplicity, design, and it makes docking a lot more intuitive Enhanced Navball - Self Explanatory Kerbal Alarm Clock - Allows you to set alarms for things you need to pay attention to, such as maneuver nodes approaching, transfer windows, SOI changes. A must if you have a system with many things going on at the same time TAC Fuel balancer - Useful for large crafts, as it simplifies and to a certain degree automates fuel pumping. The thread says 0.25, but there's a link there for 0.90 as well Trajectories - Atmospheric landing spot prediction And with a lot of mods, you'll benefit greatly from Toolbar

I'd say science mode. Let's you learn how to fly without having to worry about funds. It introduces new parts and functions at a slower rate, so it'll ease you into the more advanced stuff. That being said, docking is what some would consider semi-advanced, so if you're struggling, I wouldn't worry about it at this point. 1. Land and reurn from mun 2. Repeat for Minimus 3. Repeat for duna

Test if the new aero model is anything like FAR and decide whether i should continue using FAR or not.

When dropping a subassembly in the subassembly-creation-box, the node you disconnected when picking it up in the first place is the only node that can be attached when trying to use that subassembly later. What i normally do when making subassembly is to first place some small fuel tanks or the like to have as a root part, and then build the subassembly onto that. In your case, do this: 1. start a new vehicle 2. place a fuel tank to have as root 3. attach the science assembly any way it'll let you. 4. place some fuel tanks onto the docking node you will actually want to use (the radial one, i guess) 5. use the reroot too onto the fuel tanks placed in step 4 6. remove the fuel tank placed in step 2 7. pick up the subassembly by the radial docking node, and drop it into the subassembly creator This way you get the connection point where it should be. A note on the reroot tool: From what i've seen, you need two parts to create a new root part. I've never understood why. But that's why i used the plural "fuel tanks" in step 4 and 5. Click reroot, click both of the fuel tanks in any order. I might be doing something wrong to necesitate this, but it works for me.

1. Pick a capsule 2. Attach what you need for kerbin reentry 3. Add a fuel tank and a LV 909 (is that the name?) 4. Strap on other stuff you want to bring 5. Add a transfer stage big enough 6. Add a booster stage big enough 7. launch 8. have the kerbals dismantle the spacecraft and scatter themselves over a large area 9. fix what went wrong, and repeat from step7. Or restart from 1 TL;DR: Start building the last stage. Everything under that is just tools to get the upper stage where you want it. At least that's how i do it.

Regarding Science Containers After getting a boatload of science after a trip to the mun with my pod auto-collecting all science, i ran a test, and my suspicion was confirmed: I can store the same science many times (crew report in my case), in the same biome, in the same situation. While this in itself is fine, it turned out that it also gives me the full science points for all of these reports. Is this a bug, or did i miss something? It would be preferable (and less cheaty/more realistic) if the pod discarded duplicates, or at least saw to it that the reward wasn't duplicated as well. Using the linux version, but I'm willing to bet this is related to the mod itself, and not the platform. I tried posting in the release thread for the mod, but without any results so far. I'm wondering if someone else is experiencing this, and if there's a workaround for it, or if i missed something entirely.

You're saying undocking works, so if I understood you right, you can click to undock, but it's still connected? Do they appear as two separate crafts now, or a single craft? (test by trying to switch between them). If they're treated as separate crafts now, what happens if you try to thrust away using RCS? Have you tried turning off SAS? I have no experience with the 3.75m docking port you're refering to, but provided that they're the same size as the node you're docking to, it should not matter. PS: I believe i remember hearing about a known bug relating to docking ports. Could someone else confirm or deny this?

Heh, I actually thought about that quote when writing an earlier reply -JAPH

I waved goodbye to my first interplanetary probe (in this save, anyway. I started anew yesterday) as it left the Kerbin SOI. Its mission: Skim the corona of Kerbol, slingshot around for an eve intercept and landing.

Different battery types.... LiPo decays if charge is stagnant, and Lead+Acid suffers if left without charge for extended periods of time. I like it. Not directly related to my original idea, but realistic batteries sounds both fun to do and use. Makes Eeloo probes more challenging.

Limited to physics range is a given. Also, I consider it unrealistic to have something as simple as a CAN bus trying to compensate for transmission-delay when going interplanetary. Besides, for that we have probe cores and remote tech. Anyway, for now I'm just thinking aloud (in written form, at least) about something semi-useful to work towards as a learning experience. Any great ideas to include would be welcome, as i'm not entirely sure how useful the work would be other than the learning experience itself.