Kimberly
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Everything posted by Kimberly
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For my RemoteTech and GPS constellations, it is desirable to evenly space out satellites. I can't seem to get it just right, though. What's best way to go about it, if the satellites themselves don't have any propulsion? So far I'm getting into the right orbit, releasing satellite one, lowering my apoapsis and then going through a few orbits, progressively increasing my apoapsis again so I don't go too far ahead of the previously released satellite, and then I eyeball when I'm the right distance and increase my apoapsis to more or less the right orbit. Is there a more elegant method? (On a related note, is there a particular trick achieving polar orbits without wasting ridiculous amounts of fuel? I'd just launch northwards, but that doesn't give me control of the separation between various polar orbits.)
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[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
I have a request for the Flight Computer: could it get an orientation option for your current target, e.g. pointing at the Mun when you have it targeted? This would be immensely helpful with telescope mods and the like, where getting a manual fix on far-away objects can be nearly impossible. -
What balance issues have you found that need tweaking?
Kimberly replied to michaelphoenix22's topic in KSP1 Discussion
You mean the Skipper? -
I suppose that's true, if the code does not include any of the original KSP code. But there is potential for other IP issues, still. I think it'd be nice if Squad could write up something properly for the EULA, rather than letting us wait until a conflict occurs and seeing how that turns out.
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17 USC § 101: A “derivative work†is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative workâ€Â. Much like the way an annotated book is a derivative work, I believe a mod would also be considered a derivative work. It does not modify the original, but it is reliant upon it. Without a Kerbal Space program, there can be no Kerbal Space Program mod. (This may only apply to code and not to textures and other artistic assets in mods.)
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What do you do with spent nuclear rocket stages?
Kimberly replied to oberlerchner123's topic in KSP1 Discussion
I'd be more worried about the expense of having them break up, considering fuel-grade nuclear material isn't cheap. -
There is no real point to making orbits half a sidereal day. In the real world, this is helpful because it means that at a certain time, the satellite will be at a predictable point in the sky over a predictable location and thus it can synchronize with ground stations easily. This is not a factor in RemoteTech. For your approach, you should make the orbits as eccentric as possible, like you said. This allows the satellites to spend most of their orbit on one side. I'm not sure what you perceive to be the advantage over a geosynchronous orbit, though; surely the two opposite satellites in the same orbit will drift apart just as much as your geosynchronous constellation will? Unless, for some reason, you are placing these more accurately than your geosynchronous satellites.
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Actually, mods are considered derivative works; they build on Kerbal Space Program, rather than existing independently. Ordinarily, the copyright owner has the exclusive right to make derivative works, and you can not claim copyright protection an illegally-created derivative work. The copyright holder can authorize people to make derivative works, however. This means that mods may be subject to any condition Squad wants to impose on them. Squad can, in fact, say "all your mods are belong to us" if the mod was created without authorization or without following the limitations placed on such authorization. (The EULA does not seem to contain anything granting permission to make mods. Does Squad have such a policy up elsewhere, or are we simply relying on their continued goodwill?)
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[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
More specifically, any satellites whose orbit isn't perfectly identical will drift out of formation. If you can do it accurately enough, it's not a major problem. (If you have a geosynchronous satellite with orbital time 06:00:00.1, for example, it will take 600 orbits around Kerbin for the satellite to shift one degree in longitude.) -
If you use orbital construction, though, does that make the moon more appealing? Or would orbit around Kerbin still be better?
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[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
Congratulations, MR4Y! Why such a low orbit, though? -
[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
You don't enter maneuver nodes into the computer. You make maneuver nodes as normal, and then tell the computer to orient the ship towards "Maneuver". Then, you can slide the computer throttle up to 100%, you type in an amount of burn time (I've never tried it with anything else) and in the box below, you enter in how much time the burn should occur (in the format HH:MM:SS). Then you click on send, and when the timer runs out, it will start the burn for the specified length of time at the specified throttle level. If you clicked Maneuver before and have ASAS, it should have kept that heading. -
Cant “find� Duna?
Kimberly replied to Synapse's topic in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials
Because of the need to wait for launch windows, you might find it beneficial to prepare large missions in advance. By docking multiple craft together, you can create a single craft for travel to Duna that will launch probes, landers, rovers, etc. once you reach Duna orbit, and potentially split off some parts to send to Ike, as well. This will be easier than launching successive missions during the launch window and continually having to establish an orbit around Duna. -
What defines "polar?"
Kimberly replied to SuperWeegee4000's topic in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials
A perfectly polar orbit is fine if you just want to map a planet with the least hassle possible. It's not the most efficient (because you scan the poles over and over, while you could be scanning something else), but it works. The ideal altitudes are if you really want to get professional about it. -
[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
If the new craft is sufficiently far away, the old craft will not rotate at all, because the game does not process physics for far-off objects in orbit. If it's nearby enough for rotation to be possible, I think the SAS will remain turned on. I don't know if you've tried it yet, but you can use flight computer commands even when the probe is out of range, so long as you gave the command while it was in range. For example, if you need to burn on the dark side of the Mun, enter your burn time while you're still in contact, and enter the time it will take to reach the point you need to burn at. Once you confirm the command, it will be executed even if you later lose contact. -
[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
The drone is useful for sending to planets like Duna, especially in combination with something like Mapsat. You can put a Mapsat dish on it, get it into orbit together with your main mission, let it scan, and use its small fuel reserve to deorbit it and fly around Duna until you find a nice spot for e.g. a manned mission, which you can then mark by landing your probe there. I haven't been adventurous enough to use the drone as a skycrane for a light rover, but it might be able to do that, too. It's basically a convenient exploration tool that's much more compact than anything you could make with stock parts. The unfortunate thing about the drone is that, should it ever lose connection, it stops functioning. Now this is true for rovers as well, of course, but rovers don't drop out of the sky... -
[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
There are three questions you need to ask for your communications network design: Should I use satellite dishes or antennas? Antennas are usually preferably for when you'll have a lot of satellites in orbit, e.g. around Kerbin, but dishes are useful when you're only sending a probe or two, because they work over long distances and don't require much in the way of advance preparation. Remember that you can do both; if you're putting satellites with antennas up in orbit, you might as well slap some dishes on them for later use. Where do I need the signal? If you've decided you want to launch many satellites around a particular planet, e.g. Kerbin, you're going to want coverage with antennas. You want to do this with as few satellites as possible. Using strong antennas will help, of course, but the main challenge is to stop the planet you're orbiting from blocking the signal. Two satellites orbiting a planet can provide perfect coverage if they are exactly opposite each other in the same equatorial orbit, but they can't send a signal to each other (as the planet is right in between), which means you'll usually want to have three satellites space out 120 degrees, instead. To give you a better margin of error with satellite placement, consider use of four satellites. These designs will not cover the poles at very low altitudes (within the atmosphere, on Kerbin), but this is not a big deal for most purposes. Keep in mind that when you use dishes, a dish can still be blocked by Kerbin. If you have two satellites at opposite points in a rotation, one will always be clear while the other is obscured, guaranteeing a signal to a probe. Where is the signal going to come from? In most cases, your signal is going to come from Kerbal Space Center. To get it anywhere reliably, then, you will always need a satellite to be within range of KSC. The most efficient way to do this is to place a single satellite in geostationary orbit over KSC (there are guides on other parts of the forum on good ways to do this), so it will always be overhead and able to relay the signal to the rest of your network. For missions to far-off planets, you may consider having a manned spaceship with a RemoteCommand module in an orbit nearby. If this ship can form a shorter connection to the probe, it will do so, potentially saving use of satellite dishes and reducing the communication delay that results from the signal having to travel long distances. You can do it in other ways, of course. RKHVTC simply has tons of communication satellites in orbit, which also ensures good coverage, but obviously takes more effort to set up. -
[0.21.1] Ordan Industries Telescope! Last Updated August 23, 2013!
Kimberly replied to hubbazoot's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
The readme says "If you have RemoteTech, you can use the "OrdanInd_Telescope_RemoteTech" folder to support RemoteTech modules." However, the current download doesn't have any such folder. -
Sounds like an installation issue, then.
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[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
Neither do I (at least not to my knowledge!), but it seems to work for me. -
[0.20] RemoteTech: Relay Network – V 0.5.0.1
Kimberly replied to JDP's topic in KSP1 Mod Releases
If you have the compatibility patch, then stock probe cores will function as RemoteControl modules, and the stock antenna and dish will function as well. As for a tutorial: an unmanned vehicle needs a RemoteTech part (or a stock probe part, with the patch) to be controllable. Additionally, it either needs to have an antenna and be in range of another craft with an antenna, or it needs to have a satellite dish and be in range of a satellite that also has a satellite dish, with the dishes pointing at each other. Kerbal Space Center has an antenna with a range of 500km, but the signal is blocked by the planet, so you can't get a direct signal on the other side of Kerbin. Satellites can transmit a signal from the Space Center to other satellites, so a well-designed network of satellites (with antennas or dishes) can reliably provide coverage. -
An orbital period of one year?
Kimberly replied to Kimberly's topic in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials
I was indeed inspired by the James Webb space telescope, after reading up on Hubble and deciding that its orbit was far too simple. I think what I'll do now is simply orbit the sun, so that like the Webb telescope I can have a shield with solar panels, and I'll simply keep the craft pointing away from the sun. -
An orbital period of one year?
Kimberly replied to Kimberly's topic in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials
Thanks for all the help, guys. It's a shame the idea isn't feasible, though I will definitely try to implement sgt_flyer's suggestion. -
An orbital period of one year?
Kimberly replied to Kimberly's topic in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials
D'oh, there we are...I wasn't sure which figure to use, and a lack of attention to detail caused me to overlook the fact that the sidereal period is over 1000 days longer, so that maybe it made a significant difference. I guess it's not possible, then. That said, is my understanding of the way orbital mechanics work in the game still correct in this regard, or...?