SENTINEL Contract Questions

[Geschosskopf]

Has anybody completed the SENTINEL contract? I'm currently working on it but am not sure I'm doing it right.

The contract has you put 1 or more the SENTINEL probes in a specific Kerbol orbit between Kerbin and Eve. This shows a target orbit just like any other satellite contract and I've got the probe on it already. The actual IR telescope part has a button to log data for some quick science and a button to start the survey. I've hit these buttons and got a message that the SENTINEL is now working. I've also got 35 years to complete the contract and as I've just started it, time is not yet an issue.

What I'm unsure about is what I'm supposed to do now. The goal is to find 20 Class D asteroids that "threaten Kerbin". The contract says this is supposed to happen passively and that I'll get progress reports. So far, I haven't gotten any reports (but it's only been on station a month or so), which is why I'm wondering if the above set-up steps are all I have to do.

Do I need to track any of the asteroids found by the SENTINEL?

How is "threatening Kerbin" defined? Does that mean actually entering Kerbin's SOI, or even impacting, or just in the neighborhood?

Or do I just sit back and let it all happen in the background?

I have noticed that the SENTINEL is finding some very interesting things already, though. I've got asteroids in orbits inclined over 45^. I've got other asteroids in comet-like orbits with Aps way, way out beyond Eeloo and Pes down near Kerbol. It might be fun to visit such things someday.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Geschosskopf

[ClF3]

I actually started a contract like this myself a day or two ago. Plonked a sentinel on one sat that was going to a specific Kerbin orbit for a contract, figured i'd add the sentinel (two birds, one stone kinda thing), found out it needs a Kerbol orbit so redirected it after cashing in the contract (plenty of delta-v, I tend to overengineer:D).

aunched a second one, gave a wrong order to mechjeb and got it in a 2mil km Pe orbit around the sun (with 4km/s required to get the orbit back up from an ion engine, I decided to leave that be). Launched a third one to get into the proper orbit. While time warping for the SOI change for the third, I got 2 messages about spotted asteroids which also updated the contract. So it does look like it auto-completes eventually, it'll just take time. More sentinels appears to increase the detection frequency.

[Sharpy]

Just leave it with the telescope looking away from the sun (and adjust it some three times a year) and you will be receiving reports of "Suitable asteroid found" every couple weeks/months.

[Geschosskopf]

Just leave it with the telescope looking away from the sun (and adjust it some three times a year) and you will be receiving reports of "Suitable asteroid found" every couple weeks/months.

Thanks. I'll quit worrying about this now. Also, thanks for the tip about orientation. I hadn't considered that to be a factor, given that it isn't for anything else and you have no way (outside of a mod) to do "persistent rotation".