Maneuver Node question

[LordCurlyton]

A problem I've seen:

After firing a maneuver to get an encounter of, say, Duna, the resultant orbit will have three parts: the pre-encounter blue line section, the encounter with Duna (yellow-orange), and post-encounter (purple). Unless the post-encounter is wildly different from pre-encounter, I find myself unable to plot any more maneuvers on the pre-encounter part, no matter how far I zoom in. Is there any way to place a maneuver node pre-encounter once this situation arises, without resorting to mods?

Edited July 6, 2015 by LordCurlyton

[Wjolcz]

Yes, there is. You just need to place it somewhere around your vessel position, grab it and move wherever you want. You can also focus your target and see how moving the gizmos changes the Periapsis. At least that's how I do it. Grabbin'n'slidin' is the key.

Also this should be in Gameplay Questions and Tutorials section.

[LordCurlyton]

Sorry was browsing this one and forgot to switch over *sheepish grin*

[Red Iron Crown]

Moved it over for you.

I've experienced this, too, though I can't pin down the conditions that cause it. I use the "grab and slide" method Veeltch mentions or edit the node time with PreciseNode as a workaround.

[LordCurlyton]

It seems to happen whenever the pre- and post- trajectories are very close relatively, and dragging can be a pain when you want something soon-ish on a Duna intercept that is 300 days away. Or even worse for longer trips.

[Finndibaenn]

PreciseNode helps a lot with that, as it will let you input the desired time

[davidpsummers]

Yes, there is. You just need to place it somewhere around your vessel position, grab it and move wherever you want. You can also focus your target and see how moving the gizmos changes the Periapsis. At least that's how I do it. Grabbin'n'slidin' is the key.

Also this should be in Gameplay Questions and Tutorials section.

In such a situation, I've had a heck of a time setting it _anywhere_. I click close to the vessel. I click close the encounter. I click everywhere else. At times I have given up.

Either this needs to be fixed, or there needs to be a way to create a node x hours in the future.

[Wemb]

In such a situation, I've had a heck of a time setting it _anywhere_. I click close to the vessel. I click close the encounter. I click everywhere else. At times I have given up.

Either this needs to be fixed, or there needs to be a way to create a node x hours in the future.

This is a thing - but don't forget, if you're far out, you'll only need tiny dV changes to tweak your intercept. You may well be able to do it without a node at all - just thrust limit your engine, use the navball markers to get into the right directions for what would have been the node handles and do small, small burns and see how changes your intercept. It'll probably be a enough to give you a handle on the (probably) two different vectors you'll need to make adjustments in, and I've often found doing the burn manually with a limited engine gives much more fine control and is therefore easier than trying to adjust the node handles - once I know which direction I need to thrust.

Wemb

[Sharpy]

if you're far out, you'll only need tiny dV changes to tweak your intercept. You may well be able to do it without a node at all - just thrust limit your engine, use the navball markers to get into the right directions for what would have been the node handles

That's all fine if it's a simple prograde/retrograde... But tweaking an encounter with poor plane alignment? Even "was it Normal or Antinormal" aside, a small Normal/Antinormal burn will totally change the orbit radius - often for 3ms of normal burn I had to add 40 of retrograde. And these, in order, spoil the encounter moment as you arrive there sooner/later. So, radial/antiradial to fix that again. You do need a node for corrections like these.

[davidpsummers]

That's all fine if it's a simple prograde/retrograde... But tweaking an encounter with poor plane alignment? Even "was it Normal or Antinormal" aside, a small Normal/Antinormal burn will totally change the orbit radius - often for 3ms of normal burn I had to add 40 of retrograde. And these, in order, spoil the encounter moment as you arrive there sooner/later. So, radial/antiradial to fix that again. You do need a node for corrections like these.

Yeah. Sometimes it works, but sometimes you just need to move the different directions back and forth and then it does work.

[Superfluous J]

I 2nd precisenode. I've sometimes used it JUST for the "go back an orbit" feature.

And yes I know stock has that feature. It just doesn't actually work in this circumstance.

[Sharpy]

wait, where do you click in PreciseNode for +1/-1 orbit? I know you can increase/decrease time(=location) by the preset increments (1,10,100) or +1000/-1000 through specific buttons, but what would change it by precisely one orbital period?

Also, do you know some trick to keep the node updated after the orbit underneath shifts? Especially if it's a few orbits ahead? Normally as I grab it, it sometimes updates with the new orbit, but more often resets to orbit 1. (it's essential with encounters that happen several orbits ahead, I place a "null" node before the encounter happens, then change my current speed to make the encounter perfect.)

[AaronLS]

Also, do you know some trick to keep the node updated after the orbit underneath shifts? Especially if it's a few orbits ahead? Normally as I grab it, it sometimes updates with the new orbit, but more often resets to orbit 1.

Yeh makes it difficult when everytime you drag a node it resets to orbit 1

[Superfluous J]

wait, where do you click in PreciseNode for +1/-1 orbit?

In PreciseNode, click the "O" in the title bar. That's Options.

Check all of those you want. In particular, "Show Additional UT Controls"

I personally check all of them but the two that open new windows.

Also, do you know some trick to keep the node updated after the orbit underneath shifts? Especially if it's a few orbits ahead? Normally as I grab it, it sometimes updates with the new orbit, but more often resets to orbit 1. (it's essential with encounters that happen several orbits ahead, I place a "null" node before the encounter happens, then change my current speed to make the encounter perfect.)

I know 2 ways:

1) MAY NOT WORK! In stock, only drag your node around in "+/- orbit" mode (right click it to toggle modes). I've had luck with this but am by no means sure of it.

2) WORKS EVERY TIME. Use PreciseNode exclusively once you've put your node on a different orbit.

[AlexinTokyo]

In PreciseNode, click the "O" in the title bar. That's Options.

Check all of those you want. In particular, "Show Additional UT Controls"

I personally check all of them but the two that open new windows.

For completeness: you also need to enable 'Use x 10 UT increment' to get the +/- orbit buttons. Without this you'll see +/- 1K instead.