Antenna

[Sam Forte]

Sola panels can track the sun so why no Kerbin tracking antenna? 

[Blaarkies]

A little context would be great, don't you think?

[TheDestroyer111]

There is going to be a big remake of antennas in the next major update, 1.2. This is a highly probable thing to be added IMHO.

[Magzimum]

3 hours ago, Blaarkies said:

A little context would be great, don't you think?

An antenna should be pointed at the intended target of the communication? Since the KSC is usually located at Kerbin, the antenna should be pointed at Kerbin to be more realistic.

From NASA's New Horizons site:

Quote

Operators aim the antennas by turning the spacecraft toward Earth. The high-gain beam is only 0.3 degrees wide, so it must point directly at Earth.

It appears to me this is almost purely aesthetic, but could also introduce a little extra challenge for players when they need to rotate the ship so that the antenna can be aimed at Kerbin. Hopefully the antenna will indeed track Kerbin, so we do not have to rotate the entire ship very precisely.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Magzimum