HeadHunter67

To be fair, no one had to download and use that mod. Of course, no one needs to use the new parts, either... Personally, I like being able to build an SLS-style rocket, capable of a Münshot with fewer than a dozen parts in the lifter.

They did that, this one time...

OK, I think I've got it now. If I'm thrusting at a maneuver node, the CoM is still lined up with my previous vector (likely my prograde). So what I need to do is to free the pivot and align it with the blue maneuver marker? So if that's the case, the only question that remains is, how do I do that? Do I need to unclamp it completely, or is there a way to move the angle of the ship? RCS, perhaps, or even just capsule torque? Or does that not change the orientation?

If it fits in the bay of the KSO (even if it's just the Heavy Lifter), I'll love it!

Academically, that all makes sense... but I'm still not sure how it relates to the whole pivot thing. I'm told that if I'm lined up with the purple circle, it will go straight. That hasn't been the case. Maybe it's just that the ships designed for the scenarios are crap and don't have enough command authority to handle the thrust. I don't know, all I know is that the means that Squad provided to acquaint us with the new content are leading to my frustration instead of fun.

OK, I know how to target the center of mass (and how it shows on the navball). I know about the pivot on the claw, but I don't understand how to "pivot your ship around so it's lined up". Lined up with what, exactly? It's already lined up with the purple circle on the navball when I clamp on with the claw - but that doesn't stop the thing from spinning like a rodeo bull when I fire the engines. Any video tutorials of this? The in-game scenarios are pretty awful.

I'm enjoying your tutorials and your sample craft. I especially like the RCS tug, I plan to use this design for my next station. I've also made a smaller version of it using the 1.25m parts, with a standard port on one end and a Jr. on the other. Much handier than previous tug designs I'd used.

I love it - it's honestly the thing that brought me back to KSP. After some practice, I can generally land it safely at or near the strip... but I still can't get the hang of lining it up with the runway on the final approach. So often I'll land parallel to the runway (but dozens of meters to one side or the other), or sometimes at an angle to the runway (which could be bad since it's on a berm). Any advice for lining up perfectly?

OK, I'm just not seeing how to get there. Going by the navball alone, what lets you know the craft is oriented in the normal/anti-normal axis? Can someone provide pictures that explain it? I appreciate efforts to help, but as I said before, I'm more of a "show me" learner. [EDIT: I think I got it figured out when it comes to equatorial orbits. Not sure how to do it with inclined orbits, short of the enhanced navball mod.]

Fair enough - I don't honestly worry too much about how the game does things. I like to remind myself that they are, after all, little green men who build spacecraft out of junk they find by the side of the road. If they can actually go interplanetary with that, then Hell, anything's possible! For the record, though, I'm going to try out FASA's launch tower mod. It reminds me of the launches I used to watch as a kid.

It's not resting on the engines, which are clearly the bottom-most part of the spacecraft. The clamps are keeping it from resting on the ground. That's what I mean by "suspended". It's a pretty tall rocket to just be resting freely on its tail, so you had better believe that the clamps are, in fact, holding it there. So, as I said before, a 2,800 ton rocket is supported by four clamps - what difference, then, does it make that a 4,000 ton rocket is supported by six, no matter where they are placed?

OK, that's where I'm getting confused. It is my understanding that the horizon is the line between the blue (sky-side) and brown (ground-side) hemispheres of the navball. So I get lost when told to orient North (up) or South (down) since those would be the points in the middle of those respective hemispheres. So what, then, is the "North horizon" or "South horizon"? I'm obviously misunderstanding something, which is why every verbal description has only confused me. I actually do understand docking - I've built stations in orbit without autopilot assistance - but this one thing makes no sense to me. Where am I getting it wrong?

Yes, Scotty, as Giggleplex said... those are clamps. That was my point.

I'm still trying to "get" this - it's probably very simple but I just can't conceptualize it solely by being told. I've heard others call this the "Manley Axis"... where exactly do I point? I'm trying to get a mental picture of how to align the craft to achieve this.

Care to tell us how that's done? I think you'll find that the rocket is, in fact, suspended from clamps.

The Saturn V was 2,800 tons. How many launch clamps did it have? Probably in the same neighborhood, from what I can tell.

This thread is relevant to my interests. I can't wait to try them out!

Putting the claw on a tug is a brilliant idea! This way you can use it to move things that don't have a docking port.

KJR is updated top 0.23.5 as well - if you have an older version, try the new one.

I hear that! I've actually been pretty good at getting the orbiter "near" the runway... but I've yet to get it lined up with the runway before touchdown. I'm usually several meters off to one side or the other. I've tried banking in small S-turns to get the prograde marker lined up with Heading 90... but that just means I'm parallel with the strip. I have no idea how to achieve lateral movement with a space plane, but until I figure out how to get dead-on with the strip, I don't think my landings will improve. I tried the HUD in the cockpit view, and it helped a bit - but when I tried to switch out of that view, the camera moved into the cargo bay and I had no way to see what I was doing... until impact. I'm sure that's not the recommended method. :\

These guides were very helpful for me. I've been playing with the KSO orbiter and I have never successfully flown or landed a spaceplane before. It kind of defeats the purpose of a reusable spacecraft if I land it in pieces, so I needed to learn how to land from orbit. I'm still not good at lining up the final approach and touching down safely, but I'm getting better. I have you to thank in great part for my success.

Thanks, I'll watch them soon. Once I'm lined up with the runway, it's not too hard - my problem is getting to that point from orbit. I usually either overshoot or come up very short (many km). I am getting better but it's more luck than practice. What do you mean by "flare up"? I've heard this term before but have no idea what it means or how to do it.

I can't land a plane of any kind in KSP, so trying to do it with a shuttle from orbit is next to impossible for me. I really want to do more with this than just launching it in sandbox. Does anyone have any tips on learning how to land planes in KSP? I'd prefer not to use a joystick, desk space is limited.

Thanks - that looks like a bunch of useful little parts! I'd seen it mentioned on the KSP FB group a while back but hadn't played the game for a while at the time. I think I'm going to see if the TAC Fuel Balancer will do the trick as well - I found it handy in previous versions for making sure my resources were distributed in a balanced way.

No matter what I try, I always overshoot the runway. Following the instructions, burning at the right time with an unmodified orbiter with no cargo. As for the 90 fuel or less, how exactly is one supposed to accomplish that? Burning it in the engines is just going to change my orbit even further. Do I need a mod that allows me to dump fuel?