Pro Tip... Turn off SAS during cruise.

[Fraggle]

:\

Well huge hairy horse nards.....

Initial mission to Minmus.

Scanner ready.

Fuel guessed well.

Kerbin orbit ok.

Intercept with Minmus calculated and aim point locked.

Fold down Panels before main burn.

Correct minor drift. Trajectory perfect.

24 hours from Minmus calculate burn for 1k orbit.

Orient for burn..... orient for burn?... Hello?. Maneuver you worthless pocket calculator?.

Check propellant..... Ok.

Check electric.... ......

oh f.....

Someone forgot to disable SAS and extend the panels after the primary burn from Kerbin.

Im going to blame ground control....

Lesson learnt....

Another item for the Post-it note check list......

This is why we fire probes first.

Now to wait for another launch window.......

Iv yet to fire a Kerbal off into deep space.... but its going to happen at some point.

[TimePeriod]

The trick is to attach a standard 100 unit battery and disable its flow (like rocket fuel).

So when you muck up, just turn the power back on and orient your solar panels towards the sun.

[Temeter]

Just use an emergency battery. You can disable fuel flow from a battery just like you can with fuel tanks. And then, when you are stranded without energy, just active it again to get some valuable seconds of control.

edit: dem ninja's

[luizopiloto]

I aways have an RTG for backup...

[Sky_walker]

Always have two inline nuclear engines pointing in an opposite directions and synchronized to work as a nuclear powerplant for your rocket. (For easy mode point them outside, for Chernobyl edition point them at each other)

[The Yellow Dart]

SAS doesn't use electric during time warp. That was just your probe core using juice at a constant rate.

[ArchGaden]

Just use an emergency battery.

RTG for backup...

Always have two inline nuclear engines pointing in an opposite directions and synchronized to work as a nuclear powerplant for your rocket.

That escalated with high TWR...

[zarakon]

You can also timewarp long distances without using any power if you do it from the tracking station instead

[AcidSludge]

Bonus points for being in a free return trajectory and smashing into a mountain because the 'chutes needed a spark, too.

[TimePeriod]

Bonus points for being in a free return trajectory and smashing into a mountain because the 'chutes needed a spark, too.

Yeah, that's if we work with an electrical primed chute.

What if it was mechanical? Then it wouldn't be an issue.

[moronwrocket]

Use 2-way symmetry to apply deployable solar panels. Put two OX-STATS right above them.

[KrazyKrl]

I usually just disable the probe battery on unmanned craft; the 10 or so electric charge is plenty to open a solar panel if needed.

And fuel cells are the new RTGs. Fuel cells are "smart" too, they will only provide electric charge if there is no other source available, and you are using electric charge.

[Rickenbacker]

This is why I always put at least three symmetrical solar panels on my ships - one of them is bound to see some sun. If I put two, you can bet they'll both be in shadow when I need to maneuver .

[TimePeriod]

This is why I always put at least three symmetrical solar panels on my ships - one of them is bound to see some sun. If I put two, you can bet they'll both be in shadow when I need to maneuver .

I've found out (the hard way) that the optimal amount of solar panels is also 3. One on top(1x6), one on the 90 degree axle and one on the 180 degree axle. Works like a charm.

[problemecium]

You actually use launch windows for Minmus? I just go whenever. The dV difference isn't all that big.

[Wjolcz]

You actually use launch windows for Minmus? I just go whenever. The dV difference isn't all that big.

Same. Plain change doesn't take that much dV to make.

The thing that happened to OP is the reason why I always put that one small battery with disabled flow on my probed flights. That little thing really saved my ass many times.

[stibbons]

Bonus points for being in a free return trajectory and smashing into a mountain because the 'chutes needed a spark, too.

My first Mun mission in my current career game was an unmanned flyby on a free return trajectory. It was before I'd unlocked a solar panel, and managed to severely underestimate the power requirements for a probe core and RemoteTech link back to Kerbin. I'd managed to perform all of my science experiments at Mun, but didn't have enough power to either transmit results or survive the entire trip back. So in a last-ditch survival attempt I increased the minimum pressure of the probe's chutes to maximum, decreased their full opening height to a few hundred metres, and deployed them while still in Mun's SOI.

Reentry was pretty hairy. I was able to tweak it to a reasonable angle, but completely misjudged the attitude, so it came in sideways. There was enough fuel left in the tank to push the CoM down and it swung around to point engine-first soon enough, but I suspect the extra heating was what caused the Stayputnik core to explode soon after.

Luckily both chutes survived, but the minimum opening pressure on Kerbin is very low. I thought losing the core was the end of it, but they finally popped open almost at the last minute, and it finally dropped to the side of a hill, tipped, and rolled out of control for a while before coming to rest under a tree.

I used the science points from that flight to research solar panels immediately.

[hugix]

I always do some roleplaying in my head when I perform certain actions. So I don't forget stuff like this.

"Jeb, this is KSC. Stand by for time warp"

"KSC, this is Jeb. standing by for pre warp check"

"Panels pointed toward kerbol?"

"Pointing panels toward kerbol"

"Panels pointed towards Kerbol"

"SAS, of??"

"SAS off"

"RCS off?"

"RCS off"

"Jeb, you are GO for time warp!"

""

[Jeez]

Bonus points for being in a free return trajectory and smashing into a mountain because the 'chutes needed a spark, too.

Wait. What????

[Temeter]

You actually use launch windows for Minmus? I just go whenever. The dV difference isn't all that big.

I wasn't even aware of a minmus launch window.

[Rickenbacker]

I wasn't even aware of a minmus launch window.

Me neither. But I guess you do have to go at a certain point in your orbit unless you want to waste HUGE amounts of fuel.

[luizopiloto]

Minmus launch windows are the AN and DN relative to KSC... you launch pointing to AN-96° or DN-84° and you will save a lot of fuel because you will not need to do an long burn to correct inclination for orbit transfer...

[FatDABZ4DAYz]

even on the launch pad with launch bridges it does a wiggle and destroys my craft