pebble_garden

Hold shift down while using the rotation keys. It lets you rotate in much finer increments.

EVA is the most fun EVAR. Squad really hit a home run when they created those delightful Kerbals, and gave us the ability to scoot them around.

Even if two spacecraft are in exactly the same orbit (same altitude, same speed) with one trailing the other by a few meters, they are going to slowly spin around each other, once per orbit. Imagine this in map view, looking down on Kerbin\'s North Pole. On one side of the orbit, ship A will be above ship B because the orbit is going up. Half an orbit later, their positions will be reversed. But they shouldn\'t drift any further apart, so that\'s good. You can\'t separate by orbital inclination, because the ships will bang into each other at the two crossing nodes. The only way to make them to co-orbit without that slow spin is to dock, or put one ship inside the other. Or you could (theoretically) lash them together and spin it all around a common center, useful for artificial gravity perhaps.

Most certainly. Things like getting from the ground to orbit, powered descents on the Mun, orbital rendezvous and RCS technique, that sort of thing. I love everything about spaceflight and can\'t wait to share what tricks I\'ve learned playing KSP, Orbiter, and every other space sim I could lay my hands on. Right now I\'m working crazy hours in my day job. Today was my first whole day off from work in two weeks! I\'ll have a bit more time for fun projects in about a month.

The throttle keys still work in the map screen. At least, they do when you have the attitude ball up. (Not sure if they work when it\'s hidden.) I\'ll have to test that. Some things don\'t work in map view, like stage lock. And thank you for the kind words, Vanamonde!

You and me both! It took me many months to learn these concepts in Orbiter. The problem is, most of the people writing orbital mech tutorials are extremely technical. There\'s nothing wrong with that, of course. But using interactive visuals, I thought I could demystify the subject and spare newcomers some frustration. There\'s real beauty in the way orbital mechanics work, it\'s a blend of chess and ballet. Maybe a bit of trapeze artistry as well. Darn it, I just saw some text in the video I thought I\'d fixed. I\'ll have to reupload it. Fixed and reuploaded, relinked above.

Moderators' note -- while these videos are quite old now and some aspects are obsolete (such as the ship parts), the tutorials are of high quality and are still helpful. Keep in mind, though, that they are now of use more for their space travel science than as game guides. Hey, everyone! I've made a 15 minute tutorial on the basics of orbital mechanics. It's a visual, uncomplicated presentation designed to help non-technical people wrap their heads around orbital navigation. I hope it helps! I recommend watching it at 720p (the highest resolution available). Orbital Mechanics 101 (HD) (v0.18.4, but still totally works with v0.2x) If the ads on DailyMotion bug you, try installing an ad blocker or you can just watch the YouTube version. I've also made many other KSP tutorials. Mind you, I don't always demonstrate the best or most efficient methods. I just want to give newcomers a leg up, as simply and quickly as possible. Oh, and I've scoured the internet for the very best Creative Commons music tracks to augment the visuals, complete with a track list and download information at the end of each video. I hope you enjoy the tunes! NOTE: YouTube now demands that I accept a Google+ identity to leave comments, or even access my channel's inbox. Since I won't do that, I'm going to turn off YouTube comments and move to Daily Motion. But if you post in this thread I can respond just fine. Thanks to all my supporters/subscribers! The Miranda Project (v0.21.1 and v0.22) - An updated, more comprehensive version of the earlier Phoenix Project series. (Work in progress) Lesson 01 - Intercept and Rendezvous <-- Comes with a lesson download with saved games and .craft files YouTube version. Maneuver Nodes (HD) (v0.19.1) - A quick, 10-minute introduction to the use of maneuver nodes. Maneuver Nodes YouTube version. Take Me To The Mun (HD) (v0.19.1) - A simple approach to reaching the Mun, complete with rocket assembly instructions. As a playlist Part 1 - Rocket Construction Part 2 - To The Mun Part 3 - Home Again Mission To Minmus (HD) (v0.18.4) - How to reach Minmus using a nuclear-powered Phoenix-variant. As a playlist Part 1 - Lander Construction Part 2 - Launch Vehicle Construction Part 3 - Launch to Orbit Part 4 - Transfer and Landing Part 5 - EVA Part 6 - Return The Phoenix Project (mostly HD) (V0.18.4) - A series of lessons in orbital rendezvous and docking, under a variety of conditions. As a playlist Part 1 - Rocket Construction Part 2 - Launch to Orbit Part 3 - Rendezvous (direct intercept from launch) Part 4 - Orbital Rendezvous Part 5 - Challenging Rendezvous (eccentric, inclined orbit) Mun Ferry (HD) (v0.18.4) - A complete mission played at 4x speed, showing the launch and operation of a Munar Ferry, to be based at Kerbin-orbiting station Gamma. Without commentary With commentary Gamma to Delta (HD) (v0.18.4) - An orbital transfer flight from stations Gamma to Delta, orbiting at 100 and 200km respectively. Gamma To Delta The Goddard Problem (HD) (v0.18.4) - A visual demonstration of the effect of different throttle settings/ascent profiles, showing the impact of aerodynamic resistance, gravity, fuel expediture, etc. The Goddard Problem I removed links to some very old KSP videos that no longer apply, but the truly adventurous can find them on my channel.

I leave the matter to personal preference, and I can think of many reasons one might choose to fly manually or not. If using MechJeb helps keep a KSP newcomer from getting too frustrated to continue, I say it\'s a good thing. Once they have a firmer grasp of the terminology and techniques, they\'ll likely want to try flying by hand anyway. It does a good job of showing hard numbers for your orbit and whatnot, so that\'s also useful even if you don\'t touch the autopilots. They might use it to speed up their flight tests of new ship designs, helping to standardize the development process. Or it might simply be a quick way to get to the situation they really want to try, like an orbital rendezvous. Some people will always want to use MechJeb so they can concentrate on the other parts of the program they prefer. Also fine, in my opinion. Myself, I got started learning orbital mechanics in Orbiter, and its simple autopilot helped me a lot. Even so, it took me months to really understand OM. I am impressed with the functionality of MechJeb (it\'s a wonderful bit of programming!), but I prefer to fly by hand just because I\'m a nerd that way. I know I\'ve said it before, but I love KSP more than I can say. It\'s awesome. Thanks Squad!

That looks like the ultimate theme park ride, that reentry. 'Please keep your gloves and visor inside the cage at all times, and remain seated until the vessel has come to a complete stop!'

If two players have exactly the same install of KSP (plain vanilla or verified same mods) would it be possible to share the saves\default\persistent.sfs file and see spacecraft from another player\'s game? It\'s not the same as real multiplayer, but I can imagine scenarios where player A strands a kerbonaut on the Mun, sends the persistence file to player B, who stages a rescue operation before sending back the new version of the file. Has anyone tried this?

Congratulations on your first successful orbital rendezvous! For what it\'s worth, I understood you weren\'t claiming to have achieved the first such rendezvous in the world, just for yourself. Many KSP players create their own personal space program narrative, which makes sense since there\'s no multi-player component.* And people should feel proud of their accomplishments. It is rocket science, after all. The images you posted are quite dramatic. I love your sense of composition. The later shots remind me a bit of Chesley Bonestell\'s art from the 1950s. I hate to sound like a broken record, but Kerbal Space Program is the most fun I\'ve had in ages. Best money I ever spent. *This does give me an idea though! If two people have identical installs of the game (plain vanilla, or have exactly the same mods) could they share the persistence file and fly with the other participants orbiting craft in place? I\'ll have to post that question where it can get answered by the devs.

Well done! I enjoyed it immensely. Nicely shot, and stirring music too.

Lovely ship, and well done! With the amount of delta v that ship has, and Minimus\'s low gravity, you could have just fallen to within a kilometer of the surface and slowed to a landing at the end. But it\'s fun to sight-see. Minimus looks COLD.

Are we talking real world or game logic here? It might be possible in a game, where the physics are just approximations of reality, to a greater or lesser degree. But in the real world air is a gas, which means means it moves fluidly. Thus a big, fully inflated parachute (bearing a capsule or whatever) is under the influence of gravity, and wants to move downward. The air beneath the parachute will be forced aside, allowing the whole thing to descend. Thicker atmosphere might slow that process. But unless the air were solid, it will move always out of the way eventually. And another name for \'solid air\' is \'ground\'. Now, a hot-air balloon is an interesting counterexample, where the air inside is lighter than the air outside. But those don\'t operate well at reentry speeds and pressures. Still...(rubs chin) that does give me ideas.

My second attempt at recycling orbiting space junk. This time I applied lessons learned in the first abortive mission. (Fixed some typos and a missing music credit, reuploaded.)

Congratulations! And that\'s a fine looking ship, it reminds me of the classic Willy Ley design:

Talk about serendipity!

I wish to express my gratitude to the developers of this most excellent game. KSP gives people a chance to play in a realm that few have experienced or really understand. The game is charming, approachable, and respects the player rather than holding their hand. I couldn\'t imagine a better balance of fun and realism than the game you\'re busy creating. It\'s been a lifelong dream of mine to be an astronaut. It\'s exciting to know that I can learn some of the skills required to navigate in space, where our everyday skills don\'t seem to apply. I\'ll make every effort to help people learn about KSP and hopefully try it.

Great thread! Here\'s a video record of a capture mission I flew, in an attempt to clean up the orbiting junk floating around Kerbin. I\'m using a set of reversed landing legs as a primitive grapple, based on a video I saw in which someone retrieved a capsule from the Mun and sent it back to Kerbin. Ever wonder why NASA spacewalk footage is so boring? It\'s because working in space is HARD, and the astronauts are trying to be very careful. (I reuploaded my video to fix some typos and improve the commentary.) http://youtu.be/oE8KVOCDM5U

That\'s a large lander. I suspect the trouble is the four slender decouplers holding your extra fuel and the landing legs...I bet they\'re not strong enough for all that torque. I\'d add some braces across the space between those outer tanks, and maybe a strut or two from the top of the tanks to the main body. And try for a landing speed of under 2m/sec, if you can manage it. As for not seeing your shadow, it doesn\'t really appear until you\'re about 50-60m above the surface, with the sun directly overhead. I don\'t know what effect slant angle has on that distance.

This is how I found it as well. Of course I had to buy it, and I\'ve been hooked ever since. I\'ve even made a semi-tutorial video. I\'m still learning though, so I plan to make more informed videos once I\'ve truly gotten my skills up. http://youtu.be/5wlhz7s4J78

Nomer, your posts made me laugh. Thanks for documenting your mission attempts. And congratulations!