why is my orbiting capsule unstable?

[richardg]

Space capsule in orbit well outside of the atmosphere keeps drifting unstable after turning SAS off. What force is doing this? Or is it a bug?

[Lorunification]

If you can provide more information it will more likely be possible to help you. Can you provide a screenshot and more detailed information on what is going on?

[MrZayas1]

Look at your pitch roll and yaw indicator on the right of the screen, if one is off of the middle, it means you have trimmed your pitch roll or yaw by using alt+key. Try using alt+x to reset your trim, see if that woks, it worked for me

[richardg]

Thanks I'll look at that. I ruled out inadvertent controller inputs already.

Pitch roll yaw indicator is on left side of screen isn't it? Or do I need to turn on an overlay? (I'm new to kerbal)

[MrZayas1]

Sorry yes it is on the left XD

[MacroNova]

Might just be that your reaction wheels were applying slight torque at the moment you disabled SAS.

Try time warping 5x (this kills all rotation) and coming out of time warp to see if the issue persists.

[Lindy]

is it a bug?

That's not a bug, it's a feature! With the SAS turned off it's perfectly normal for a craft to drift off axis. If you don't have a lot of electric I say turn the SAS off and let her tumble, turning it on only when necessary.

[Tex]

That's not a bug, it's a feature! With the SAS turned off it's perfectly normal for a craft to drift off axis. If you don't have a lot of electric I say turn the SAS off and let her tumble, turning it on only when necessary.

C'mon, there's no need for that. No, it is definitely NOT a feature, it may well be a bug provided there are absolutely no factors which may be contributing to the rotation. Try time warping, that will lock the craft on rails temporarily. When you stop the time warp, if the craft starts to tumble again, check everything, and yes, please provide screenshots.