The problem with rescue missions

[Merinsan]

So I finally got to start my career mode game last night, and so far I'm liking it. I applied the fix to the heatshields, so my pods don't flip out.

In 0.90, one of my favorite missions was to rescue idiotic kerbals who somehow got themselves into orbit without ships. It was fun and an easy way to make some money. The same applies for 1.0, with the added bonus that you don't have to pay to get the crew!

But there is a problem. In 1.0 they are all in a pod (or so far what I have seen), and it seems to stays up there. I like to keep LKO debris free, and this stuff isn't even debris! I don't know if this stuff stays there permanently, but I assume it does (I stopped for the night soon after the 4 rescues I did). So, how do people deal with this? I could probably de-orbit it when my career is further progressed.

Anyone else finding these pods annoying or have good ways of dealing with it?

[Starwhip]

Just blow it to kingdom come once you EVA the kerbal to your ship with the "terminate" button in the Tracking Station.

[Reddeyfish]

Once you have taken control of the pods, you can terminate them from the tracking station.

Otherwise, it will stay there forever.

I've gotten one of the rescue missions to spawn the kerbal in a science lab, though. You might want to keep stuff like that intact.

[ScriptKitt3h]

Just blow it to kingdom come once you EVA the kerbal to your ship with the "terminate" button in the Tracking Station.

Or, alternatively, you could peruse some of the many functional stock weapon designs people have made on here to literally blow it to kingdom come!

[Merinsan]

Just blow it to kingdom come once you EVA the kerbal to your ship with the "terminate" button in the Tracking Station.

I suspect that I will eventually do that, but it does seem a little cheaty. I'd like to think that we should be doing something a little more with the junk. They certainly make a nice ring around Kerbin though, as they all seem to be in the same orbit.

Once you have taken control of the pods, you can terminate them from the tracking station.

Otherwise, it will stay there forever.

I've gotten one of the rescue missions to spawn the kerbal in a science lab, though. You might want to keep stuff like that intact.

It'd be nice if we had a way to dock with the part (other than the claw), so we could build stations out of it.

[dryer_lint]

The thing is, though, Kessler Syndrome doesn't apply in KSP. When two parts collide, which is REALLY rare, it'll probably be offscreen and they'll just pass through each other. In the really, REALLY small chance that it happens onscreen, they'll just obliterate each other... no debris cloud.

[tater]

The new rescue missions are really dumb. The contract system needs a way to check what the player has actually accomplished before assigning missions/contracts. I had a PROBE in orbit around the Mun (I used a lv909 test contract to build it fairly early). I now get stranded kerbal missions around the Mun. I guess there is no rush for me to land on the Mun as some other agency has already gotten there, right?

Edited April 30, 2015 by tater

[Bill Phil]

Just blow it up in the tracking station. That's what I do. It's kind of like the other program passed on control to you, and you hit the "TERMINATE!" button to clean up their mess.

Real space programs have an option to blow up the rocket if it malfunctions. I just think the Kerbals put it into every part...

[sumghai]

Alternatively, design your rescue vessel in a way that recovers both the Kerbalnaut and the spacecraft - perhaps the Claw may be of use in grabbing onto non-cooperative spacecraft with no docking ports.

[bakanando]

The new rescue missions are really dumb. The contract system needs a way to check what the player has actually accomplished before assigning missions/contracts. I had a PROBE in orbit around the Mun (I used a lv909 test contract to build it fairly early). I now get stranded kerbal missions around the Mun. I guess there is no rush form me to land on the Mun as some other agency has already gotten there, right?

Think of it as their attempts at munar landing resulting in rapid unplanned disassembly and stranding them there. It is your job now to demonstrate how the pros do it and rescue their poor kerbal.

[tater]

I'm totally spammed with rescue missions right now. More are offered right now than I have sent astronauts into space in total up to this point.

[Renegrade]

What I do for the leftover debris is that just before I have the kerbal exit, I rename the craft to 'Debris'. Map->Info->Click on name->click on debris option.

That removes it from the map view, and eventually it will be deleted. Also, it means I won't ever accidentally delete a pod with a kerbal inside. If there's too many floating around in LKO/LMO/wherever, you can still delete them from the tracking station later (just enable the debris in the filters).

I LOVE that they actually happen somewhere OTHER than LKO now. I've rescued Mun orbit, Mun surface, and I have a Minmus surface rescue ship en-route right now. Also, I noticed the Mun one was in a slightly inclined, retrograde orbit.

[Tw1]

The new rescue missions are really dumb. The contract system needs a way to check what the player has actually accomplished before assigning missions/contracts. I had a PROBE in orbit around the Mun (I used a lv909 test contract to build it fairly early). I now get stranded kerbal missions around the Mun. I guess there is no rush for me to land on the Mun as some other agency has already gotten there, right?

I too find this annoying.

It's far more fun when it feels like you're the one giving the kerbal people their first steps into space.

It would be nice if they didn't appear until you'd set up a space station out there, or at least made a few return trips yourself.

*Shakes cane made of struts at other agencies*

Get of my lawn you damn kids!

[Scotius]

Build a Grabber unit with a small fuel tank, engine, heatshield, Klaw and parachutes. Attach the Grabber to stranded ship, bring both down near the KSC. Recover both. Profit!

I would at least try it, but my game steadfastly refuses to give me any rescue contracts

[Merinsan]

Build a Grabber unit with a small fuel tank, engine, heatshield, Klaw and parachutes. Attach the Grabber to stranded ship, bring both down near the KSC. Recover both. Profit!

I would at least try it, but my game steadfastly refuses to give me any rescue contracts

I've done that sort of thing before - I actually returned a Kerbal with a claw and parachute only - and probably will do that at some point in this version, once I get the claw. The problem now, is career progress is slow - it's a little bit of a grind at the moment.

[problemecium]

I concur that the pods are a nice touch, but still need work. At least some of them should come with a parachute or a docking port attached so we have the option of just pushing them back down (a perfectly realistic type of rescue mission) or refueling them.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

I love that the Kerbals are now stuck in pods.

At least that makes me get rid of thinking "How do they survive that long up there?"

BUT: I always mark the Pods as Debris via renaming them so they dont show up in the mapview anymore.

It also is quite eerie to see them orbit around you when you are using the "Distant object enhancement"-Mod

[spikeyhat09]

I applied the fix to the heatshields, so my pods don't flip out.

where does acquire fix?

[Merinsan]

where does acquire fix?

It was in this thread

[magnemoe]

Before the kerbal exit I rename vessel and mark as junk so I can kill it later.

And yes its nice to get payment for kerbals rather than have to buy them and they even come with experience.

[LostOblivion]

Don't worry, its low orbit will naturally decay......

Anyway...just deorbit it using a KAS space-tow!

[zekes]

Or, alternatively, you could peruse some of the many functional stock weapon designs people have made on here to literally blow it to kingdom come!

Exactly what he said. Although that'll make more debris than you started with.

Easiest way to fix this is to label the pod "debris" and then ignore it...

[Musil]

Uh, I hadn't noticed they come in a pod now. I still have to do one... I was saving it for later. But I am getting a bit of spam rescue missions... It used to be just one free kerbal if you rescued him; now it seems half of all kerbalkind somehow was left in orbit with no way to return...

[Rfmeijboom]

You could always align your craft with the pod and deorbit it when you bring your own periapsis down.

Just push it with the front of your craft.

[samstarman5]

Maybe it doesn't come with docking ports or such that you can make use of it in orbit, but at least bringing it down intact gives you some extra funds that you can put towards your space station or such. As for the quantity of the missions, I have yet to get that far to see it occur, so will get back with you on that.