Recovering intact "debris."

[jros83]

I understand there's a limit to where debris disappears. This is not that.

I performed a test a moment ago that required low speed and very low altitude, so it was very inexpensive. Because of this, I also tried something for my own amusement.

The test was to activate ([run test] worked so I didn't need to do it through staging] the Hammer SRB in a specific altitude and speed bracket. So I went Mk1 command pod, Hammer SRB (removed all fuel in the VAB of course), decoupler, smallest first tier liquid fuel tank, and Reliant engine, and of course topped off with a parachute. Now the EXTRA that I did for my own purposes was to attach a radial chute to the fuel tank + engine assembly, to deploy at the moment of separation. Also I placed the first gen landing struts at the bottom of the SRB so I could recover it intact, because the chute at top of command pod would have just barely not slowed me down enough for the SRB not to wreck on contact with ground.

Well everything worked out as I had hoped, being such a small and easy thing. However... The liquid tank + engine assembly, though the chute fired fine and it came to rest on the ground with no damage, was not recoverable when I went back to the space center.

There's no way to recover parts that come to rest peacefully, even right at your facility, once they leave your primary vehicle?

Edited December 3, 2015 by jros83

[Ignath]

5 minutes ago, jros83 said:

There's no way to recover parts that come to rest peacefully, even right at your facility, once they leave your primary vehicle?

I believe you need a control device of some sort (HECS, OCTO core, etc...) attached to the stuff you want to recover if you disconnect it from your primary vehicle, otherwise it's considered junk.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Ignath

[magico13]

Did you switch to the Tracking Station and enable the display of "debris" (aka, uncontrolled things)? Try that if you haven't. You should see it sitting there on the map near the KSC.

[Dizzle]

If I'm understanding correctly, I think the Stage Recovery mod is what you're looking for. It automatically recovers all debris that leaves your area, provided it has enough chutes and/or propulsion to bring it down in one piece.

[Ignath]

Just now, magico13 said:

Did you switch to the Tracking Station and enable the display of "debris" (aka, uncontrolled things)? Try that if you haven't. You should see it sitting there on the map near the KSC.

Yep, I bet magico13 is correct...the control device rule only matters once you go outside the 22m distance requirement or w/e.

[magico13]

6 hours ago, Ignath said:

Yep, I bet magico13 is correct...the control device rule only matters once you go outside the 22m distance requirement or w/e.

If only that were correct then we wouldn't need StageRecovery and I'd have one less mod to develop  ALL things: controlled, not controlled, kerballed, etc get deleted if below 22km and more than 22km away on Kerbin (obviously except landed things). Having a probe core or a Kerbal won't prevent them from destruction unfortunately.

[RocketPilot573]

Did you land on or around KSC grounds? Any debris landed at KSC are automatically removed to keep things clean. For some reason it doesn't seem to give you any funds when it does that...

[CalculusWarrior]

Any debris landed on Kerbin which has been removed will be recovered, as opposed to destroyed. This means you should notice your funds ticking up slowly after the debris gets removed. As RocketPilot573 says, the game automatically recovers debris near KSC (I don't know the exact range off the top of my head), so that's likely the reason for your disappearing rocket parts.

[Aethon]

I've been returning parts for profit ever since they started having a cost.  My main lifter cores all have a probe core buried inside, two radial 'chutes, batteries ,and just enough fuel to make orbit, deorbit themselves at a later time into the sea around KSC, and to decelerate for splash down.  It's not so important these days, but there were earlier versions  where funds were harder to come by.  Plus I hate leaving debris, and try to be realistic about it.  Probe cores are a must. 

 

Edited December 3, 2015 by Aethon

[jros83]

Thanks for the informative replies. Cheers all around.

[swjr-swis]

16 hours ago, magico13 said:

If only that were correct then we wouldn't need StageRecovery and I'd have one less mod to develop  ALL things: controlled, not controlled, kerballed, etc get deleted if below 22km and more than 22km away on Kerbin (obviously except landed things). Having a probe core or a Kerbal won't prevent them from destruction unfortunately.

Magico, are you sure about this? I have been leaving 'debris' behind quite regularly lately, as I am building and flying Juno-based craft that are too small to use a cockpit and need to use the external seats, and the only way to man (Kerbal?) them is by attaching a can that is left behind after launch. After flying a good bit farther away than 22km (Island runway is what, 25+km away? The next continent heading east is hundreds of km away.) and returning, the left-behind can has always still been there for me to recover separate from the craft I just landed.

[magico13]

@swjr-swisThat can you leave behind is a landed craft, so it isn't removed (hence "obviously expect landed things"). If you launched a vessel from the cargo bay of a plane, then flew >22km away from it, you'd notice the original plane would disappear (unless the plane were above 22km, in which case all the drag from the atmosphere gets turned off and the vessel stops firing engines and falls back down to below 22km, where it is destroyed). If the object is landed then there's no complex physics to calculate on it, so it gets saved. It's only things that are in atmosphere and not landed that get deleted.

[problemecium]

18 hours ago, RocketPilot573 said:

Did you land on or around KSC grounds? Any debris landed at KSC are automatically removed to keep things clean. For some reason it doesn't seem to give you any funds when it does that...

That there is where I've had a problem. I spend all this money building scaffolding to launch my rockets, and the janitors just up and delete it when it's still perfectly usable and could easily just have a new rocket stuck in it again. I want my money back!

...and on the off chance I am getting it back and not getting told about it, I suggest for future KSP versions that a little notification display about it, a la the "cannot activate while stowed" and Science transmission notifications: "X funds awarded for recovery of Y debris."

[SR]

Go to settings(the main menu settings, not the ones you get from the space centre), there is a setting called max persistent debris You may need to increase it.