hhatch

I'm using an MK 1 lander can. I put a pilot in it and got it operational. I think I read somewhere that I need an engineer to repack chutes. Is this true ? If so I only have room for 1 in the lander and that is currently a pilot. I haven't even got into remote control issues yet. I'll look at that later.

I made it to Duna so now I want to take a lander to Duna, land and rendezvous with the command module and return to Kerbin. However, I can't figure out how to control the lander after separating from the command module. I think this has something to do with the re root tool but I can't figure out how to manage the command module and lander once they have separated.

I figured out why I had so many problems getting an encounter with Duna. After experimenting,I found that the phase angle I got from the transfer calculator was not correct (Olex).I don't know if this is related to the recent updates or maybe just user error. So using some of the suggestions I got here I can now put my craft as close as I want. I'm still working on trying to do a better job of shaping my orbit and I am still not very efficient at using fuel. However, after 400 hours I am starting to get a better understanding of how to use orbital mechanics. I don't know about the experiences of other people but for a non science person like me learning orbital mechanics is very hard. This "game" is very hard. It is also very addictive. That and this forum have kept me going. Thanks.

No I do not have RCS on this one. I'm assuming I burn prograde or retrograde based on whether I left too early or too late

I've managed to get into Duna orbit a couple of times but I think I just had some luck. I'm confused about making orbital adjustments. Below are 2 screenshots at different points on way to Duna. One shot shot shows things after doing an initial burn and correcting inclination. I could not get an encounter initially so I went ahead and did the burn. I did another maneuver and burn about half way to Duna and got an encounter. The other shot shows the ship ready to burn to go into Duna orbit. I'm a long way off and the burn is almost 4 minutes. How can I make better adjustments so I can get closer and not burn so much fuel ?

I installed this and can't get it to run.No red marker after selecting target port .Will this run on the recent update ?

The "trick" appears at about 13:30 of this video. In order to get oriented in the right direction to the target port turn off RCS and use WASD keys to orient the rocket. Imagine a line traveling through the center of the target docking port. Use the WASD keys to visually match the direction and angle of the imaginary line. Then turn RCS back on and move the rocket up and down and L R as needed. I did this about 25 meters out. I then moved in and re checked and adjusted as needed. Go slow. I used chase view as suggested in the video. For now this seemed to work better for me using East West oriented ports as I could get better camera angles for up down adjustments.

I think I'm back in business. I knew I was having problems with port alignment and I came across a video by Scott Manley and picked up one small trick which made all the difference. I just did 6 dockings in a row. Thanks for the responses.

I downloaded Port Alignment Indicator and put it in the game data directory which is where I put Kerbal Engineering. However, the icon does not appear when I designate a port as target. Did I miss something ? The screenshot below is typical of how things look just before a failed docking attempt. I know the alignment is not perfect and I've had other attempts with better alignment which also missed. I've seen videos of successful dockings with much worse alignments. How bleeping accurate do I have to be ?

I took some time off and have returned to KSP. I did a quick refresher of the things I had learned and things went ok except now I can't seem to dock anymore. I normally get close, target a docking port which is a north or south orientation, designate my port as control from here and then switch to RCS and slowly move in. I noticed that a cannot kill my speed when getting very close. l always seem to be moving. I can kill speed if I go at least 1/ms and switch to prograde but that is too fast when real close. I did discover that my thrusters were not located on the COM so I adjusted and that did not help. I did use the COM for the stage on which the thrusters are located, not the whole rocket. At this point I can't figure out how or why I forgot how to dock.

I'm accustomed to games with a steep learning curve but this one may get the gold medal. I nearly gave it up several times. If I can dock and do precise landings I think I can get to Duna. As a non math person playing this game I think it is almost unplayable without some mods. KER should be part of the stock game. If I didn't have it I would already be gone.

After all this I don't have enough fuel. I need to go back and do some redesign of the ship then try again. I will try out some of these tips and hopefully will make it to Duna and back. Thanks everyone. This is a tough game.

At the moment I am in orbit at about 106 km. The instructions indicate I should burn until I reach a velocity of 3289 m/s which I assume is escape velocity. Should I just eyeball the escape trajectory until the path looks parallel and stop the burn ?

Not sure on the aerocapture. I thought I would try it to save fuel. I need more data on the density and thickness of the atmosphere I suppose.

This picture was prior to the burn. I was going to adjust inclination with another burn if needed. Should I adjust inclination before the burn ?