KSP Planet starting positions, random or the same?

[BlackHat]

Started a game and used the Kerbal Alarm Clock to plan transfer window alarms.

Ok, but I keep getting contracts poping up "You should go explore Duna", or "Go get science from Eve", or "Start a base on Ike".....

The problem is according to the transfer window alarms, its 8 months till my Duna window, and 15 months until Eve's. I have a Jule window before any of the other planets.

Now if every game starts with random locations for the planets, maybe next time I start I will look for better xfer window. But if they are all the same, then I can safely just keep canceling these contracts to go places I cant even launch to for many many months and not worry about it.

At first these contracts made me keep looking at my xfer windows 3 or 4 seperate times to be sure I had done it right. Cause I could not figure out why it kept giving them to me. (So far I have only done a unmanned flyby and orbit of the mun.)

Thanks

BlackHat

Edited June 28, 2015 by BlackHat

[rofltehcat]

It is always the same. There are also websites that tell you at which times your transfer windows are and they wouldn't work if it was different every time.

The game also doesn't care much about feasibility when handing out contracts (you can cycle through them by declining them). Or you could just fast-forward a few months. I don't know how the transfer windows are calculated by alarm clock (I use Mechjeb for that) but launch windows aren't static, it'll just require more fuel or take more time.

For example look at http://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/ (same visual representation as in Mechjeb) and let it plot a Duna transfer window. The optimal transfer window will be around day 232 but if you go 60 days earlier it'll cost you just 200 dV more.

Afterwards you'll be stuck on Duna for 2 years either way... or you go straight down from the optimal transfer window for a faster transfer. Getting a quicker transfer window will cost just 600 dV more but you'll arrive at Duna just in time so you can stick around a few days, then take a very good return window back to Kerbin. It even looks like the return window is a lot more restrictive in timing and dV cost than the transfer window from Kerbin.

Edited June 28, 2015 by rofltehcat

[BlackHat]

Thanks for the info and the link.

[Old Foxboy]

orbital mechanics were invented by a very sadistic person.