Hardcore mission mode, for absolute geeks only

[togfox]

So we all fly missions \'live\' in that we watch our craft take off in real time, we steer it into orbit, warp to our destination and when things go wrong we\'re right there to correct things - maybe - and continue the mission.

What if, in an uber geek way, there were a way to program your craft to execute a mission from beginning to end in such a way that there is no person-intervention in any part of the flight? What if you had to plan your entire mission from the \'control room\' and then \'program\' the on-board computer to execute maneuvers in a set sequence and at an exact time? Your flight plan might look like this:

a) Turn on ASAS; set throttle to full; launch

at 2:30 begin gravity turn

c) at 8:23 coast to AP

d) at 14:12 begin circularising orbit around Kerbin

e) at 14:54 initiate Mun transfer

...

...

...

and so on. You would have to think ahead and plan for every action the craft needs to take during the flight, get the sequence right and the timing as well. For total realism, once you planned your flight and programmed your computer, you\'d just initiate the launch and then sit back and watch the execution to see if you messed up or not. Did you forget to circularise or orbit? Did you mistime the injection? Did you choose a bad landing spot? When things go wrong, you can jump in and fix it but that would be kinda cheating right?

Here is what I\'ve done - geek zone only from here on:

I\'ve downloaded autohot key which is a free program that lets you \'script\' keyboard commands. You can automate a whole range of manual keyboard commands so that the computer presses the right key at the right time without anyone being at the keyboard. I\'ve used this program to \'fly\' my craft. I\'ve designed a script that presses the space bar to launch. 125 seconds later it presses the space bar again to separate my bottom stage. At 17:00 it executes a Mun injection burn without me pressing a key. I just program the script, sit back and see how well I\'ve planned my mission.

It\'s the ultimate hardcore mission mode - flying the mission before you\'ve actually flown the mission!

I\'m using mechjeb to do the complicated maneuvers but I\'ve still got to time that right. My script \'presses\' the mechjeb Mun transfer button at just the right time without me doing anything. I\'ll include a log of my failed missions as I attempt to plan the perfect flight profile. This isn\'t about having the script do it all for me, it\'s about me trying to plan out an entire mission from beginning to end - like they did in the old days, fire the rocket, cross your fingers and hope you thought of every last detail because if I didn\'t, that rocket is splashing down!

[togfox]

Mission profile: To deliver a flag of my nationality to the Mun and to return to Kerbin without loss of life (counter-intuitive, I know).

Mission parameters: The mission is to be flown with zero intervention, that is, to be pre-programmed from launch to touchdown using key-press scripts and mission timing.

Flight plan:

a) engage mechjeb with preset parameters. Orbit altitude 125km.

initiate launch

c) wait for mechjeb to establish stable orbit at 125km (wait period currently unknown)

d) use mechjeb to initiate Mun injection burn

e) use mechjeb to warp to AP

f) use mechjeb to warp to PE

g) use mechjeb to circularise orbit at 50km above Mun

h) use mechjeb to land on Mun at preset co-ordinates. Landing site chosen from KGSS survey maps

i) wait for touchdown (wait period unknown). Plant flag.

j) use mechjeb to set \'direction\' to prograde (straight up) and thrust for x seconds

k) set thrust to zero, jetison capsule and deploy chute (in space)

l) fall to Kerbin, chute opens, recover capsule.

I have to program and time all the above actions - no \'real time\' intervention allowed. The early rocket developers could not use a magic hand-from-god to correct a wayward missile after launch and nor can I. A lot is done by mechjeb but that doesn\'t make this task easy. Because I really have no idea what I\'m doing, mission control wise, I can\'t risk using Kerbal pilots. I\'ll have to start with the condemned/unmanned pods. My comsat network is funcitonal but there are quite a few holes in my network so this could also interfere with my mission. I shall have to suffer this until I am confident it is safe to put Jeb in the chair (is it ever safe to put Jeb in the cockpit)?

Note that I\'ve already got a space-worthy craft from a previous design.

Mission 01: Launch successful. Craft vertical and stable. Munar transfer initiated at 1:20 - still in atmosphere - WAY too early. Rocket crashed. Max altitude = 16227m. Need to drastically delay Munar transfer. Cost $22,403

Mission 02: Launch successful. Gravity turn commenced at 2:30. Munar transfer still too early at 5:20. Circularisation not complete. AP 125km. PE 22km. Craft lost. Cost $22,403

Mission 03: Launch successful. Gravity turn commenced at 2:30. Circularisation burn successful. Orbit established at 14:35! Mun transfer burn failed. Computer executed a MINMUS transfer by mistake at 32:27. Transfer failed. Craft lost in elliptical orbit. Cost $22,403 Need to ensure computer executes a MUN transfer!

[Cykyrios]

Up until the point where you said you used Mechjeb, I was like 'how are we supposed to program or automate stuff without using the ship\'s instruments?'.

But now you got someone interested, though using Autohotkey means that we cannot use timewarp (or we have to take it into account in the timing).

Still gonna give this a try

[Tarmenius]

Another way of doing this is to have someone else fly the mission using your specific instructions and craft, taking screenshots along the way, or even making a video. That could be a ton of fun and wouldn\'t require additional software.

[deadshot462]

Map view should not be allowed. Imagine having the same feeling as Apollo 8, wondering if they were going to hit the moon or get swung out into space..

[togfox]

Mechjeb does time warp. You can turn it off or just account for it in real time.

[togfox]

So I\'ve got my first three mission logs in the second post. You can see how much trial and error is involved. It goes without saying that pre-programming an entire flight is a lot harder than \'winging it\'. I guess I\'m getting a better appreciation for what real rocket scientists go through. I wish I knew how to do the maths to calculate time to orbit and time to transfer and all that. I\'m not that clever. :-[

I\'ve learnt a new level of suspense when my craft gets all the way to AP and I\'m waiting on the edge of my seat for the circularise burn and then wait for the Mun transfer burn. I\'m like \'please work. please work. please work. \' I\'m only ever going to do this once as it\'s hard work but it adds a whole new level of anticipation when this much time is involved. 8)

[togfox]

Mission #4: Launch, gravity turn and orbit established successfully. Mun transfer burn initiated successfully but final trajectory is unexpected. Craft drifted in front of and passed the Mun, slowed down, passed AP and came down and caught up with Mun. Intersection point not at AP as expected. Mun orbit not established. Craft lost on high speed impact with Mun.

Mission #5: Kerbin orbit established. Can lose half a tank of fuel. After Mun burn time warp to AP successful. Time warp to PE successful but mechjeb miscalculated and craft warped through PE without stopping. Craft lost on high speed impact with Mun. Shall adjust the mechjeb lead time on warp computer.

Mission #6: Kerbin orbit established with 11.4kg x 2 fuel left in booster stage. Perfect. Mun transfer burn as expected. mechjeb warp to AP okay. Warp to PE okay. Mun circularisation burn okay. Landing sequence initiated. Deorbit burn okay. Flag jettisoned during deorbit. Craft landed in landing zone okay!! Program finished. Craft lost - intact on Mun. Goal success! (minus flag).

Edit: You can see the flag I\'m trying to plant on the Mun.