When/why do launch clamps disappear?

[GeneCash]

So I've noticed on about 80% of my launches that the launch clamps are gone by the time I make it into orbit.

But sometimes not.

This was particularly annoying when I recently made a "perfect" parachute landing at the pad, except I hung up on the clamps that were still there. And what was especially strange was that one of the four was about 40ft in the air, instead of on the pad.

So what governs this? Why is it "not all the time"? Why don't they stick around to be recovered for money?

[Renegrade]

They're counted as debris after they're detached - if you have debris set to zero or you go over that number, they could disappear (I'm under the impression that the debris delete system is an LRU design but I could be mistaken about that -- if it is LRU, they shouldn't disappear for a while, unless you're really spamming the debris..). Also, if you launch something without clamps after that launch, they'll be auto-recovered silently by the game, leaving the pad free of clamps..

[Yukon0009]

Try checking the KSP Debug toolbar, you bring it up by alt-F2.

[monophonic]

Do you have any mods installed that might remove debris left on Kerbin, e.g. StageRecovery? I play stock, and haven't ever seen the clamps disappear on their own. I also always fly a new launch to a stable orbit before doing anything else, although after that I tend to quite soon recover the clamps. I just don't like their markers cluttering the launch pad on the space center screen, so I click on them and hit the recovery button.

[Renegrade]

Do you have any mods installed that might remove debris left on Kerbin, e.g. StageRecovery?

That's a good point.. are there any such mods installed here? Also checking the debug log is a good idea too.

[Greenfire32]

Sometimes debris is counted as "landed on [body]" and won't get deleted. This is probably what you're experiencing with the launch clamps.

For example, I do a lot of Apollo-style Munar landings with a lander that comes down in two stages and leaves with one. The remaining stage is technically debris, but it's also "landed on the Mun" so the game doesn't delete it.

I quite like this feature because it means I can leave more than just a flag at each landing site.

[magico13]

I added automatic launch clamp recovery to StageRecovery around the 0.90 release (which actually works differently from how dropped stages are recovered) but I'm not 100% sure it has been functioning properly (as in, not always removing the clamps). You can turn it off in the settings if you want.

In stock, launch clamps are automatically recovered when you launch a new craft, and you receive all the funds at 100% recovery rate. I proved that last September in this imgur album (no reason to embed it here, so I'll just provide the link).

It's always bugged me that they don't get automatically recovered when they go out of range. There's no reason to keep them on the pad anymore. It's even more dangerous if you use them on the runway.

[Vorg]

I use stage recovery and noticed that while the clamps disapear, I never get any notice about recovery. Wondered if their cost was being recovered.

[magico13]

I use stage recovery and noticed that while the clamps disapear, I never get any notice about recovery. Wondered if their cost was being recovered.

They are. They're recovered in a separate way from dropped stages, and since they're just debris it didn't seem practical to fire off a recovery message about them. They also aren't recovered using the stock functions (because for whatever reason those only were returning like 60%) so instead I just remove them from the game and manually add in all of the funds for them and any attached parts. I do fire an SR Recovery event, so any mods that use the API will be notified of their recovery at least.

You should see the funds value go up and a message or two in the log about clamps being destroyed and funds being added.

[tsotha]

I use Trajectories for reasonably precise landings. I noticed when I get back the clamps are still there from my launch as long as my landing isn't too close. If I land close enough to load the model there's a "ka-chunk" sound (same one you hear at launch) and the clamps disappear. I don't think I get money for them, though I'm not absolutely sure about that.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Try checking the KSP Debug toolbar, you bring it up by alt-F2.

I think it's alt-f12.

[magico13]

I think it's alt-f12.

Alt-F2 brings up just the log, Alt-F12 brings up the whole debug menu, of which there is a tab for the log, but I personally find that one to be really awkwardly designed and never use it. The absolute best logging related thing for KSP is the output_log.txt file located in KSP_Data, as it reports far more than the KSP.log file does.

[monophonic]

Another idea crossed my mind this morning. When do you typically drop the first stage? If it happens very low, and the boosters hit the ground before going out of physics range, they well could blow up the clamps in the process. I don't think that explains the one hovering mid-air though.

[Vorg]

Another idea crossed my mind this morning. When do you typically drop the first stage? If it happens very low, and the boosters hit the ground before going out of physics range, they well could blow up the clamps in the process. I don't think that explains the one hovering mid-air though.

I include shutes with staging so they are opened at the same time. If still in range, they will help, though there still is the flaw that the shutes are removed by the game as soon as the ground is touched and if the part has to be laid down, it just falls over and blows up making the shutes usless

[Bev7787]

The clamps just stay there for all my launches. Then I have to recover it. Try going to KSC first and recovering the clamps if they are still there.