Precision landing failure

[Pecan]

Taking a break from playing with spaceplanes, I was comparing the performance/cost of a one-seater SSTO rocket and thought 'why not pitch-up and broadside to aerobrake, as with a plane?':

This is my first experience with body-lift in KSP, as I haven't done much since 1.x came out.

It wouldn't come down! Not only did I miss KSC but I almost missed the next continent/peninsula over.

Your most epic misses please? (There should be some good ones for non-encounters as well)

[Guest]

Watch from 6:34 to 8:34.

I had set up my re-entry trajectory from the Mun, and I was aiming to land in the Desert biome west of the KSC across the ocean.

I missed. BADLY! I ended up going more than halfway around the planet before finally coming back down. D'oh!

[Tarmenius]

I recently made a first attempt at a small re-entry glider. Well, first attempt post-1.0 anyway. I brought it down from 100km in a descent path that was probably about 20 degrees or so during the upper atmosphere and at a fairly dramatic AoA. Almost "bounced" right back into space. Next time, I'll be taking a page from NASA's shuttle and performing S-turns instead.

[Gargamel]

I have airbrakes on my space planes now for a reason.

Come in just over, and drop behind the KSC mountains, right in line for a landing. Of course, there was one time (Wish I had photos, too busy to hit F1) a poorly built space plane never came back up from the drop behind part. Luckily I had a "glideslope" of such a steep descent, that I was on a perfect course to land on the mountain side. So I did, rolling down hill at 70 degrees pitched down. The slop gently leveled out in the plains. I've tried to do it again. I can't get anymore volunteers......

[cephalo]

It's very useful for controlling where you land. Especially when you come down early with not much fuel. Put the airbrakes back down and pitch up. You slow down a lot but can still coast a lot farther due to the extra altitude.

[Bev7787]

Aims for KSC, land on the Korea shaped peninsula

[oversoul]

I've landed short of KSC a few times, but tried to ditch anyway, and have the people parts survive.

[Merinsan]

I once was trying to land at Kerbin after a Minmus mission. I time accelerated too much, skipped the atmosphere, encountered the Mun and got flung out of Kerbins SOI. That's the worst failure I had.

I was also too precise once, and ended up landing a ship on top of another ship on the Mun.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Merinsan

[Guest]

I once was trying to land at Kerbin after a Minus mission. I time accelerated too much, skipped the atmosphere, encountered the Mun and got flung out of Kerbins SOI. That's the worst failure I had.

Whoa! Talk about different destinations huh? I wouldn't call it your fault though.

[samstarman5]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle7.htm

Note the part on where the shuttle is located when it begins re-entry procedure. This may well help you figure the best places to enter in when you want to make a landing at or near the KSC.