VincentMcConnell

I have just calculated the Trans Lunar Injection burn time for anyone who needs to know (astronauts, FIDO etc.) With the SIVB, from a 100KM orbit, the Translunar injection occurs just after mun rise. Above the SIVB is the SIVB fuel tank, Kerpollo Instrument system, SIVB separator, Kerpollo Panel Fairings and the following on Command Module. Top to bottom: Kerpollo Parachutes Kerpollo CM Orion Decoupler Down Under ASAS MecJeb 1M addition Kerpollo RCS fuel Stock RCS Kerpollo SM fuel Kerpollo SPS engine The EXACT Translunar injection burn time to a 12,500 KM Apokee is 24.84s at 100% thrust. Then , the course correction to bring that down to 12,111KM is 9 seconds thrust (retro) on the RCS with the SIVB stage STILL ATTACHED. If the burns on prograde went all correctly, our astronauts should have a perfect Apokee to intersect the mun. --EDIT -- At an altitude of 941.3KM ASL, it is time for the first course correction to change the apokee to 12,200KM so that we don\'t end up on a collision course. Burn time with RCS at prograde is: 1s with just the command module. After the first course correct to bring it down to 12,111KM, we dropped the SIVB --EDIT-- So I just got captured by the Mun. Problem! My periapsis is 14KM. So now we must burn pro to change that to 30KM. The burn time with RCS is: 17.03s. Now I have a Periapsis of 30.26KM. Course correction to take that down 260 meters is: .38s with the RCS. --EDIT-- BAD NEWS!!!! I think this mission will be impossible until Kerbal Space Program adds 100% burns. The throttle up period, where the engine goes from 0-100% in a matter of seconds, completely throws off the calculations. We need to be able to type in a burn and press ignition and it will do that. I suggested a plug in, but noooooooo nobody made that long ago. Now we\'re paying the price for it. Unfortunately, we\'ll need to use mecjeb and have mission control be the only people who can see it. That way, we can figure out burn calculations on the spot and tell them how long the burn must be to increase or decrease an orbit. I also suggested a burn data table that would give you information on your last burn (I asked for it PRECISELY for situations like this and nobody made it)... So yeah. Basically, we got screwed over. We\'ll have to think of ways to do this, because simply timing burns ahead of time cannot and will not work.

I believe Apollo now because I understand much more of the technicalities than I did a year ago.

FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS TO KNOW WHICH CRAFT WE\'RE USING, IT WILL BE THE KERPOLLO SATURN V. If you do not have it, please let me know. I\'m thinking that our first mission might be lunar orbit, since landing will be an even greater challenge, but it\'s up to you guys. I think I have a word document for burn times on the SIVB.

This is easy. at 12,100KM, you whiz by the mun at about 100kilometers. Then retroburn to bring that down to 30KM and then do the second retroburn at perilune.

OMG I love it! haha I\'ll actually see if you can still buy them. Right now, I can go calculate precise burn times and tell you guys which engines need to burn for how long for a proper trans-lunar injection.

I just did it like a normal rendezvous. No mods, just manual. I was in a 180 KM orbit until I became 50.5KM away from the spacestation and then transferred to a 200KM orbit. It was all just controlled piloting for about 900 meters from there. All of my rendezvous has either been using the table or just waiting until I was close and hoping the transfer would end me up in the right place (those were my older rendezvous. Especially my lunar orbit rendezvous). Thanks, GroundHOG

Sounds cool. How should we make a thread for signups?

Kosmo-not has a great little table on orbital rendezvous intercept burn distances. Check out 'Orbital Rendezvous Made Easy'. For the most part, the more you learn about orbital mechanics, the easier it becomes. Keep practicing. you\'ll get it. What I do is look straight down my engine bell and then make sure the purple indicator has no velocity horizontally and vertically by aligning it with a fixed surface on my spacecraft. Generally, I\'ll approach at around 100 meters per 2 minutes and then when I make final approach for 'docking' or contact, I am moving at about .5 meters per second (relative, of course). At instant of contact, of course, I have no relative velocity.

Looks like you and I might be the pioneers of this little idea. We have to start thinking of ways to do communications (not theory, but actually setting them up) and getting all of the people on the forums who would like to do this to sign up.

Anyone following, I just made my first successful rendezvous with this particular space station. This makes my 5th rendezvous in personal history. 1.) Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (weird first rendezvous...) 2.) Kerbin Orbit Rendezvous (Space Station) 3.) Kerbin Orbit Rendezvous (Space Station) 4.) Kerbin Orbit Rendezvous (Docking Shuttle to Docking Shuttle) 5.) Skylab Rendezvous. (Pics below). A few hundred Meters from Skylab. Contact with Skylab Departing.

Yeah. We should keep everyone honest. It\'s just fun if everybody is serious and honest about it.

Well, for anyone who\'s reading, I\'ll be doing periodic updates on my first Skylab docking mission. Right now, I\'m in an orbital chase of my space station at 180KM (20KM below it.) I launched too early (or late) and so I ended up getting in front of my space station. I have a chase of what seems like a bajillion orbits to make, but it\'s coming along. Here\'s a picture:

The idea is to place this space station into a near perfect 200KM orbit (which it is now. Off by 38 meters from circle) and then use it as a rendezvous station for Kerpollo Command Modules. It is a permanent space station, which means it has no ability to retrofire and return to Kerbin. Crews that dock will leave with the same CM they rode in on. (F* you and the horse you road in on?) This station rides a single orbit in about 39.88 minutes, according to my very basic calculations on the matter. (orbital diameter x pi = orbital circumference in meters. Number of meters divided by orbital velocity of the space station.)

Where do I put the command capsule so that it is hidden??

AHMGA (spelled OMG)! You really should post the craft file for that...

I thought of an idea that I think would be really fun for all of us, I don\'t know about you guys. We should organize a system where we can all remain within radio contact with each other (live stream of some kind?) But only the CAPCOM can be heard by the astronauts. Someone here has to get two friends in real life that play Kerbal Space Program. The first to do so, please PM me and you will be the prime crew. We can set up a whole mission control with different shifts (I\'d like to be a CAPCOM) and we\'d do the entire mission with no time warping or anything allowed. No cheats, either. Somehow, we have to figure out a way where the MecJeb data can be relayed to the 'mission control' 'on the ground'. Maybe a camera pointed right at it on the astronauts\' screen? This way, control will be able to tell them when to make course corrections, etc. Objective? Land a crew in the Sea of Instability on the near side of the mun. I\'m not sure how to set up these kinds of livestreams, so we\'d have to all figure it out as a community.

How\'s that? I was never active on these forums during the time I was a hoax believer... I never mentioned I believed Apollo was fake currently. So unless you know me from youtube, where I was once quite active making hoax videos, then I really don\'t see how you\'d know I was a hoax believer before I came here. My 'conversion' to pro Apollo was July of 2011. I made the official announcement on youtube on July 27th. Video can be found here: Vincent McConnell Confirms he is a propagandist in person Wow... I sound so much different... FYI: My spazz attitude when making this video was because I\'d been up for about 36 hours and had to wait until the next night to go to sleep.

LOL\'d. Why is there no 'like' option on forums?

You\'re not making a mistake at all. He decided to claim that I believe all conspiracy theories despite knowing it was not true. I will read your articles for sure, because Russian and Chinese theories don\'t really effect me so I\'m open to whatever the proof shows.

You don\'t need to do either of those... It\'s a GIFT CARD

Off topic, hmm? On a thread about MARS nothing can be off topic if it is ABOUT MARS. Jeez. I\'m beginning to think you may want to just choose option one on that choice I gave you earlier... idiot? Me? HA! Maybe time to take a look at your own intelligence, posts and LIES.

Wow... What a quote mining, dishonest, lying moron you have proven yourself to be... First of all, yes, I am highly skeptical of China\'s space walk and I have not seen enough of the 2003 footage to know if China showed videos of their taekonauts floating for more than 30 seconds. If they did not, it stands to reason they could have been on the vomit comet. Second of all, I am also highly skeptical of the Russian early spaceflight. While there is technical data all over the place that documents American early spaceflight, the secretive nature of Russia makes it impossible to tell, and there is evidence to suggest that Leonov\'s spacewalk was a fake. I do believe Americans have flown in space... Why? Because we were not secretive with every little thing we did. We didn\'t lie and coverup if one of our astronauts died. We admitted it, solved the problems and moved on. (Apollo 1). The Russians had troubles launching all of their rockets, could not land on the moon and provided NO evidence that their men even flew in space. In addition, Gagarin the 'first man in space', descended to Earth on a simple parachute... Why? If the Russians were putting people into space in the 60\'s, they failed and probably realized they needed to fake Gagarin\'s flight. At least that\'s what I believe. IF the Russians were putting people into space, I believe they all turned out as 'phantom cosmonauts' and the Soviet Union covered that up. If you look it up, you\'ll see what Phantom Cosmonauts are. So here\'s the issue. You think I think the rovers are fake... I clearly stated that I DO NOT think that. After calling me an idiot, I feel I have the ability to give you two options, one of which you *MUST* choose. 1.) You either didn\'t know I said I believed the Martian Rovers, even though I posted it two times. In that case, you\'re ignorant and don\'t pay attention. 2.) You knew what I said about the rovers, but avoided it and lied anyway. Have fun.

I know what you mean, but I don\'t want to feel like I\'m orbiting Hoth. (not insulting you, just saw the opportunity to crack a really shitty joke and went for it.) Anyway, it\'s your planet. I was just suggesting you take the ice caps down a little. But, honestly, do it how you would like to do it. Only when the rest of the people agree with me should you even care.

Here\'s an article talking about the atmosphere on Mars. http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/what-is-the-atmosphere-on-mars-like-and-how-much-carbon-dioxide-is-there-on-the-planet-mars

I\'m not really all that knowledgeable on Mars rovers, honestly. I\'m more in favor of a manned landing and I consider robotics to just be a bunch of jerking around. I do believe they are real, but I don\'t really have the care enough to get real into the argument. As for the moon landing conspiracy theories... Well... I know almost everything there is to know about Apollo and I KNOW that that is a bunch of nonsense. I spend a lot of time on youtube arguing that the moon missions were real. (I used to be a hoaxer.)