[Efficient landing procedure?]

That's fascinating.

But why do I need to know length C? or A for that matter.

All it looks like I need is B. - wait do I even need to know that?

All I really need to do is:

1 Plot that test mode.

2 Know how long the burn is.

3 and start the burn that many seconds before the node.

I don't need to know distances at all just speeds and times.

or am I missing the point? (which I usually am)

The burn time to stop orbit tells you nothing about how long you are going to be dropping. The distance (A) helps for that. If you look at the triangle you would assume based on the test node & speed that you start your burn 19418m from the target. The calculation however shows 20727, so the delay will probably result in overshooting the target by 1300m

[Efficient landing procedure?]

it can be somewhat calculated, if you like that sort of thing. scott manley explained how to do it

[Retrieving Science Points]

note that scientists can take the experiment out and reset the canister which allows it to be used again. if you put the science into the ship you can then transmit it... and repeat the process. The experiments can be run multiple times in the same area, however only part of the data can be transmitted.

[Please make a new game mode that ties parts to contracts and ditch science]

was just thinking about how career mode is good but it is somewhat pointless, empty. science is cool but it becomes very grindy. Then it struck me how much better it could all be if **some** contracts included parts rewards. Science could still be fit in there but it would not be used for unlocks. In some video game models you do x then you get y which makes doing x easier next time. The contracts could be simple to complex. Rescue someone and get a new astronaut. Recover a part and be able to use it. Fly to x and get a part to make it easier next time. The pay for parts tree with science... could still remain... but optional....

[Minmus Discontinuity]

damn the oil pipeline.... always screwing up the environment

[Landing accurately from Kerbin Orbit]

landing a rocket just is going to eat a ton of dV regardless of circumstances. add to that an atmosphere and it increases the complexity. missions like this can be done on a one shot basis but a plane really works much better, especially if you have multiple locations in the same area.

[Plan landing site "perfectly" effectively without burning more fuel than necessary]

The planet navigation is probably the weakest part of KSP. You can help with either NavHud and/or Waypoint Manager. NavHud will put all of your navball markers on the hud, they also move as your ship moves so it is easier to track destinations. Waypoint Manager will put a big marker on your hud, it also shows distance and ETA in addition to being able to do other things. Both IMO are essential to doing navigation on planets.

As for those types of contracts... you can just decline them with no penalties. IMO they are just too hard and annoying to do with very little payoff. On Kerbin, fine, you get to build cool planes. On moons/planets though you are mostly talking rockets and each landing is going to be expensive.

It is good to learn how to do precise landings, but probably better to use them for building a base or rescues or so on. Changing inclinations and landing for temperature readings... just not fun.

All that being said... there is an anomaly surveyor that gives contracts to visit the various easter eggs in the game. VERY worthwhile, and it will test your landing skills in some places.

[How do I change nodes?]

you mean root parts? first you have to connect it to your main ship, break off what you want to save, remove what you don't want from the main ship then reconnect. You may need "re-root" parts. You have a part you want to be the main part. Click root function then click a part next to it, then click it. You can then break off the parts above it and below it.

[Refuelling station for dummies]

get a class e asteroid into 100km orbit. Should easily give 25 orange tanks worth of fuel

[Is it possible to increase the size of the navball?]

hey, as a general FYI you should find and download CKAN. it is a mod manager and makes finding, installing and removing this stuff really easy.

[Rescue Kerbals on Kerbin Missions]

You are looking for a contract pack called Kerbin-Side Jobs, works with Kerbal Konstructs + KerbinSide, which adds many different types of bases to the planet. The missions include crash investigations, survivor rescues and moving people from one base to another. Get CKAN to make download and install easy.

[How does KSP do damage tracking??]

that is one answer. I have a saved game file of a ship attached to an asteroid. time acceleration always causes explosions. same after detaching it. the problem went away after I reattached in another spot. So what in the craft caused the "always explode" ?

[Spontaneously Exploding Ships]

the "get out of warp" feature is somewhat flawed, it really decelerates, and you probably have noticed blowing by points where you said to stop the warp. this is especially true @ periapse

[How to get into perfect equatorial orbit?]

if you want to be absolutely orbital then use kerbal engineer redux, orbit tool. it list inclination. get it to 0. you can use a node, or if it is close you can just point at a node and use RCS, hit H or N, whatever makes the number smaller.

[What did you do in KSP1 today?]

Welp push mode is not going to work on this sucker. Good thing the ship supports both.... F9....

[Career mode revert flight is no longer career-mode reverting]

Anyone know what can be causing this? I had installed some atmospheric sound mods and removed them once the problem arose. Does not make a difference, even when moving my saved game file to a prior instance of KSP. I get ships left on the runway, KIA kerbils and large rep losses. thanks

Edit: Just redid a clean install of KSP. My mods are mostly contract & navigation related. The problem persists, so I think it is in my saved game file.

Edit: may have been caused by having too many contracts open. clearing them appears to have solved the problem.

[How can you strengthen a plane's fuselage and wings?]

everyone hates struts, but the general way attachment works in KSP is that

a->b->c->d->e

if you add a strut between e & d then it is not going to be doing much, but between e & b you are strengthening all of the intermediate joints

so when considering how to add struts do it in a way that encompasses as many layers as possible

[RCS not always firing]

I used the tiny square probe core... and I had no control on anything. not sure what happened there, so I just fired engines near retro to bring it home.

[Your six word KSP story]

then get out and push dammit!

[Your six word KSP story]

Took off. blowed up. repeat. repeat.

[Pro SSTO builder/pilot Challenge]

Danob, by Nich -> only one attempt - as you can see I sometimes struggle with landing... Is it enough?

you may want to put your landing gear closer to the body. as is they work like a lever putting heavy force at the connection on the body. may not solve your problems but it should stiffen the wing joint tremendously.

[What did you do in KSP1 today?]

I docked to a space station. it wobbled a few times. then joined. then exploded. try again without sas. explosions. and again. explosion. grrr.

[Pro or Retrograde Capture]

I reentered the kerbin soi with a reusable craft but found I was retrograde, thus all all encounters were going to be difficult. I was able to use mun though to flip my orbit around, so that works.

[What did you do in KSP1 today?]

Yay! First SSTO, docking & crew transfer & landing back at KSC

[What did you do in KSP1 today?]

NEED MOAR STRUTS!!