ibanix

Are there any tutorials for using Vectors and Directions? I've tried experimenting with them and logging outputs, but I'm rather lost at trying to understand the results. FWIW, I took math all the way up through Calc, so it's not the math that's a problem, it's understanding what the hell I'm doing

Are you using some old version? The stock version of the X doesn't have those issues....

So I've been playing with kOS and I like it, except for the . used as ending statements - as a C/perl/php guy I'm too used to using ; to end statements. I've noticed that at least for my ships, using LOCK HEADING at launch causes rotation right after launch, and when I go to LOCK HEADING (90,80) for gravity turn, the ship goes into a seriously corkscrew/wobble. I verified it was from the LOCK HEADING by using a manual turn (no wobble) to compare. My guess here is that LOCK HEADING is forcing tiny changes to pitch/yaw/roll to stay dead on heading, and this is causing the wobble effects. Particularly with gimbal'd engines. I'm going to have to switch to raw control mode and test the current heading to work around this.... unless I missed something?

Wait, it has interior nodes?

What are these things useful for? I can't figure out how to stuff something inside while I'm building the ship, unless it's not anchored, which seems like a bad idea. Are they just for returning stuff from space?

Thanks for all the helpful advice! Is there a way to disable SAS from using RCS? This would be helpful when I am doing docking maneuvers and need to align, but don't want to mess up my vectors. I picked up the Docking Port Alignment Indicator mod, which was reaaaaallly helpful.

Thanks. I should have clarified that I was using RCS for the < 1000m alignment "burns". After I figured out to turn it off when in SAS mode...

Thank you, this was very helpful. It took me four hours to get a dock, but I finally managed it. One thing I noticed was that during the final approach on dock (less than 1000m), it was very hard to consistently keep my target and prograde aligned (or anti-target and anti-prograde). I had to do small burns to get them to line up, but then they'd slip off as the approach continued. When I got down to the last 100m, I had to keep flipping back and forth between the two craft and realigning to the other craft so that they wouldn't meet slightly offset and not dock. Is there something wrong in my technique?

Thanks for your helpful answers! For intercepting another body, is there a way to determine when to burn, without having to use trial-and-error? I have to try different maneuvers until I find one that intercepts the body when it will be in right spot, and this gets really tedious.

Hi there fellow rockteers, I've been doing OK in KSP so far: I can get to orbit without trouble and I've made it to Mun in a fixed orbit. Horray me! I have two questions: 1) Is there a way to get a roughly-circular orbit on the first pass from ground launch? My orbits always end up elliptical. 2) How do I intercept thing also in orbit? I can pick those things as 'target' and I get how to equalize inclination, but I don't know what the normal method is to actually achieve interception. This is keeping me from building awesome space labs. 3) I lied, I have a third question: What's the best way to get into orbit of another celestial body? For Mun I have been burning prograde out of Kerbin orbit until my new orbit hits the sphere of influence of Mun, then burning retrograde when I get close to the body. This doesn't always work. If there is a "normal" way to intercept and then establish orbit of another body, I'd really like to know... Thanks!