Morzak

Loving KSP, but voted for The Swapper. KSP isn't finished and it doesn't really feel that Sci-Fi to me. But it will win either way

Hard to say since my current 0.20 install is mod free, but I feel like big ships with a lot of parts are handled way better and I don't see as big of a drop off as in 0.19 . But really I didn't test that enough to make a definitive comment on it.

Since I started using Kethane I try to fill it from kethane I mined on the mun (transfer fuel in 1 or 2 tanks.) Else I'm able to get a full/Nearly full orange tank to around 100-120k. Fuel tank includes 2 Big RCS tanks and an Orange one and Docking ports. Launcher is an Orange Tank with a small one underneath it and 4 boosters with the same layout and asparagus staged. This is normally enougt to get it into orbit with all it's fuel left.

This would not work in the long run, because you would be on a different orbit then Kerbin, which means you would drift away from it gradually. Also imagine the pain of crew transfers for that station, also Kerbin would be a tiny speck on the background not really what the OP wants.

Only had huge wobbling issues with Docked togheter crafts, multiple SAS can really make the whole thing unstable, It also doesn't help that Dockingports are extremely tough but seem to be made out of rubber. At launch it only gets problematic if the payload is really long or docked together, that means strutting the hell out of it or using bload sweat and tears to wobble the thing into orbit manually.

If you use the node's they will not give accurate changes, because as you're inclination changes during the burn so does you're Normal/anti Normal position, that means on the node you have to either use the Retrograde or the prograde marker to adjust for that difference, else you would try to stay on the normal/anti normal the whole burn. Around kerbin it will probably need more then one correction burn, since it will take a lot of delta V (launch everything in the inclination you need it, changing it in LKO is just not a good Idea).

Even then you're only not moving in the reference frame of Kerbol, in the reference Frame of Kerbin or Duna or any other object in the Kerbol System you still would have a relative velocity. Since there is no fixed reference point you're always moving in relation to something else. It's all about reference points.

I think the Kethane Mapper and MapSat aren't the same mass, so that would give you some imbalance, but with that overall mass I highly doubt that this would be a big issue with the transfer stage. Like Evil Acrylic mentioned, make sure that you select "control from here" on the probe of the transfer vehicle, if you use Mechjebs Smart A.S.S. it will turn you're ship 180 degrees otherwise.

I honestly think if someone has real problems getting a rendevouz, the core issue will probably be not understanding orbital mechanics. Honestly if you don't understand the basics of how Orbits work and how they react to changes in velocity to different Vectors it can be very hard to get a rendevouz even with nodes. I'm probably not good at explaining that, but there are tons of Youtube videos about orbits and how to change them. It also helps to just play around with a small ship and watch what happens if you burn in a specific direction and certain points. I highly recommend Kerbal Engineer Redux or Mechjeb, so you can see the changes to you're orbit easier. The most important basic stuff: 1. Higher Orbits are slower (you have a lower velocity, you take longer to get around the planet) 2. Lower Orbits are Faster (you have a higher velocity, you take less time) 3. Inclination to target should be at 0.0 degree (under 0.2-3 should be good enough). 4. Make sure that both ships move in the same direction (counter clockwise normally), else you never ever will get a workable rendevouz. 5. Get the orbit of the Target ship circular, matching ecliptic orbits is possible but harder (your have to match PE to PE and AP to AP, on a circular orbit PE/AP can be about anywhere on the Orbit) Like I said I'm not that good at explaining those things with text only, but do yourself a favor and learn the orbital mechanics, it will make everything way easier.

On another note, is it possible to get a 2nd install of KSP while using Steam? I'd really woul'd like a mod free version so I can do reddit challenges and that stuff (because Kerbal Alarmclock will always be active).

Having the same Issue with the game, just learned to ignore it. i5 3570k, overclocking doesn't make much of a difference for me, maybe I'll play with the sound drivers a bit, because gameplay doesn't suffer that much but the sound cutout isn't pleasant. @NeoMorph Most modern games actually are very light on CPU's, an i5 3570k will be bored to death with most modern games, But since KSP does a lot of physics calculation it's one of the few games that actually eat up CPU Performance (it doesn't help that unity isn't built for multi core CPU's).

1. The timing for launch is a bit tricky, with Kerbal Engineer Redux you can display distance to target, wait until this is around 500-400km away and then launch, this only applies for LKO at a 90 degrees heading (aquatorial orbit) (thanks to Scott Manley). 2. After launch you should get a decent approach at apoapsis, change your navball relation to Target, and start burning retrograde to kill all velocity in relation to the target. then you can start the approach (just burn a towards the target, I wouldn't go faster then 10 m/s under 1km). 3. If you missed the target with the launch, you have to check if the target is infront or behind. if it's behind leave, push you're Periapsis to be higher then the targets orbit (it becomes the new Apoapsis). a few KM should be enough. Warp and check after one revoluton how much closer the approach becomes and continue warping until you get a decent approach. If the target is infront, keep Apoapsis on targets orbit and leave the Periapsis a few kilometer below the targets orbit. If you're inclination is of (more then 0.5) you can adjust it on the Ascending or descending note (just set a node and pull normal/antinormal until inclination is around 0). I hope this helps a bit, I get good approaches but I suck at the actual docking part.