Tomboi

If anyone's interested, I've managed to finish my simulation: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/retsjfiwa3 tZeit is the time variable you can move. The suicide burn will be predicted numerically.

That's pretty cool, I never knew how it actually worked. Cheers big time. So far I've been tinkering with my own method: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/xqijfoqscg

Thanks Zhetaan, I've found the problem. The reason for the confusion is as obvious as it is dumb: My game isn't remotely stock, I have a myriad of solar system mods including interstellar ones. Because of that, the mass of Kerbol is an order of magnitude lower than in stock. I should have drawn all my numbers from KOS instead of the Wiki. I've calculated the actual standard gravitational parameter and the speeds now line up pretty neatly. The same goes for Duna's speed at around 2000m/s instead of the stock 7147 to 7915 m/s. BTW does anybody know what the best way is to acquire true anomaly on my hyperbolic trajectory to make it a function of time? Do I have to approximate for hyperbolic eccentric anomaly? Updated calculator: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/q4j6vzsxnj

Would I be better off using a differential equation to predict my trajectory as a function of time? Is it possible? Or maybe run the numbers on KOS predicting speed at every point? I should probably just approach it numerically, since my orbit goes out the window once I start my engines.

It has to be, it produces the correct trajectory with only a 1.6% error. The radius is pretty much correct but the Vis-viva equation is completely off for whatever reason. I've looked at the KOS documentation and it mentions no issues regarding the semi-major axis. Alternating the plus & minuses on both radius and semi-major axis only alternates everything between 46'753m/s and 50'971m/s at ΦMira = 0. Note, that when alternating plus/minus I put the bracket in absolutes if their content becomes negative to get a real result. Here it contains all variations: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/jo9lzskbnk It's definitely my spacecraft that KOS is providing the numbers for, my current orbital speed is consistent with what KOS predicts. Current flight data (ETA Periapsis: 10dKerbin 1h 57min): Altitude: 11'500'200km from Kerbol surface || 11'569'837km from Kerbol center Orbital Speed: 13'542.6m/s PS: I thank everyone for helping me out!

Edit: Please remove this accidental double-post. Sorry for the inconvenience.

For the speed to I've added the factor 1000 to both distances to convert them back to meters. I asked the KOS on-board computer.

Thanks for your input, HebaruSan. I've had a look and the 2.4% error from ignoring Kerbol's radius cannot be the source because the radius of my trajectory (called rMira in the calculator) is calculated based on the semi-major axis using this formula from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolic_trajectory#Position I've edited the calculator now to include your correction and updated the link in the original post. Its error is <1.7% relatively and absolutely expressed in the additional term "ccorr". None of this explains this massive error for orbital speed ranging around 250%.

I've found myself in a bit of a pickle for the past few months given that I was trying to get from Kerbin to Duna in <100 Kerbin days. Having spent a week putting my nuclear ship (both thermal and electric) named "Mira" on a hyperbolic trajectory almost literally straight to Duna (eccentricity >23), I need to take another week to slow down. Given the weak thrust of my electric engines it will by difficult to slow down precisely so that I don't miss Duna. I've been trying to do this by means of a simulation in Desmos where I've successfully mapped out both Duna's and my trajectory to sufficient precision and also my Δv-plot on a separate simulation but there is on final stumbling block: The vis-viva equation gives me grossly incorrect results for speed. Something in the region of 51'000m/s at periapsis but my actual speed at periapsis according to KOS is 13'560m/s. No matter how I change the pluses & minuses it doesn't give correct values. Here's my full-scale simulation including the equation marked with the note "PROBLEM AT HAND:" (all distances are in kilometers): https://www.desmos.com/calculator/nufnmhwxak Please help, I can't continue KSP until I've got this solved. I'm happy to give any further information to help you help me.

It turns out that, while absolutely nothing happens most of the time, RTGs have a tendency to occasionally run away with heat generation when you store them too densely and isolated with no cooling. This pseudo-reactor is simply a cargo bay with 48 RTGs stacked in them. This is in a Dres orbit so there's no atmosphere to cause the heat; It was from the RTGs themselves. Kerbal Engineer gives some information under "THERMAL". Simply opening the bay luckily solved the problem. It's kinda weird and probably caused by some bug but definitely interesting. Love to hear your thoughts.

I had built a class of nuclear powered interplanetary vessels with a lab, a lander and ~9'000deltaV. Then I spent most of my waking time for over a month working out a re-usable launch system with KoS that refuels the ships with liquid fuel with no control input from me whatsoever. It even switches between stages automatically. With the addition of Tantares and recycled parts. I made this ship powered by nuclear light bulbs that has 18'000m/s deltaV to open up the outer planets to me: Returning from a 10 year expedition to Sarnus I was able to gain experience with using the Oberth effect on close solar fly-byes to get everywhere quickly. I got from Sarnus to Kerbin in less than 2 years although it was kinda risky to get so close. After having discovered the advantages of electric propulsion I'm planning to upgrade all the ships with a nuclear electric drive for more deltaV in interplanetary flights. Meanwhile I've worked on a bigger and more efficient launch system for refuelling the ships. In the following picture is a fully re-usable rocket with an N1 first stage, a nuclear-afterburner second stage and an electric RCS third stage that docks with the ships to refuel them. 1st stage returns to KSC automatically just like the one you saw before. The second and third stage de-orbit themselves automatically as well. I guess I've got too much time on my hands.