Atmospheric orbiting

[Lopez de la Osa]

In a launch, I get a derbis orbiting in the atmosphere; I don't know if this is very common or if this is very weird. The Apo is at 102 km and the Pe is at 45 km.

I suppouse that the derbis will lose speed in the atmosphere, so the Apo will be lesser, but in the other hand will the derbis is getting close to Kerbin, it get more speed, so when it get out of the armosphere, it get enougth speed to mantain the orbit.

I said that because it seem odd to me.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Lopez de la Osa

[Fluburtur]

Switch to your debris, timewarp and wait.

[Streetwind]

All orbiting objects move faster at periapsis and slower at apoapsis. There is no net acceleration happening anywhere.

The debris in your game stays in orbit because there is no atmosphere acting on it. You may think: but it goes through the atmosphere! And that is correct. But there is still no atmosphere acting on it, because the piece of debris isn't being actively simulated. When you left the piece behind, it was set "on rails": its orbital parameters were saved, and it continues to use them until the next time it starts being actively simulated.

Only objects within ~2.5 km of the player are actively simulated. All other objects remain "on rails" and completely ignore physics, with the sole exception of collisions with celestial bodies.

So in order for the atmosphere to slow the piece of debris, you need to go to the tracking station, select the debris, and press "fly". You will then load the debris piece in space. You will of course not be able to do anything with it, but simply because you are looking at it, it will be subject to physics again. Now timewarp until you encounter the atmosphere, and watch it get slowed properly.

Of course, this takes time, so I use a different method... I simply delete all debris pieces with a periapsis inside the atmosphere instead of riding every single one of them down to the ground everytime I launched something.

[Corw]

Just another note, any unattended object in Kerbin orbit with periapis below 30 (35)? kilometres will be deleted (simulating deorbit because of atmosphere braking).

[Streetwind]

I thought that's much lower, more like below 20 km or so...?

Edited November 3, 2015 by Streetwind

[Alshain]

No, it's at least 25 because that is what I deorbit debris at.

[KerbMav]

Would it not be cool if we could lower that value to 10m or so - set something into a 1000m PE to orbit above KSC - watch it enter the physics bubble and burn up?

[Lukaszenko]

I think they expanded or at least made the physics bubble variable depending on situations, in one of the last few updates.