Duna Connections

[KASA Space]

Hey there!

I'm a well-seasoned KSP player (been playing since .22, maybe earlier) and I've gone to Duna my fair share of times.

I've started a new career for 1.2, and I want to know how big of an antenna I need on both of my crafts to connect to home base from Duna. Do I need relay sats in solar orbit?

Thanks!

[DerekL1963]

1 hour ago, KASA Space said:

I've started a new career for 1.2, and I want to know how big of an antenna I need on both of my crafts to connect to home base from Duna. Do I need relay sats in solar orbit?

 

You shouldn't need relay sats unless a few days interruptions when Kerbol is in the way bothers you.

[KASA Space]

1 hour ago, DerekL1963 said:

 

You shouldn't need relay sats unless a few days interruptions when Kerbol is in the way bothers you.

Thanks for the calculator! Unfortuantely, when I copied it to my drive, it broke or something because it's doing a divide by 0 error no matter what I do, even if I do the stuff in the gif he showed. So I'm going to show you the crafts I have and see if they'll connect, if that's alright.

 

This is my long range sat. it's got a RA-2 relay antenna and is at 5,000km orbit. There are two of them

This is the craft to duna. it's not going to land, just orbit then return.

Thanks!

[Snark]

So, the distance between Duna and Kerbin ranges from 8G to 35G.

So,

• if your tracking station is level 2, with power 50G (IIRC), that means you need an antenna power of 1.28G (nearest) to 24.5G (farthest)
• if your tracking station is level 3, with power 250G, that means you need an antenna power of 25.6M (nearest) to 4.9G (farthest)

...so with a level 3 tracking station, the 15G antennas will easily cover all of Duna's orbit, and the 2G antennas will cover about half of it.  With a level 2 tracking station, the 15G antennas will cover most of Duna's orbit, and the 2G will cover only a small bit at closest approach.

 

[Plusck]

If I've understood it correctly (and I'm still not entirely sure), you don't need any kind of relay as long as you have a level-3 tracking station.

If you have level-3 Tracking Station, you just need a decent antenna on the ship, ideally the HG-55. The RA-2 will be OK for arrival and departure, but not when Duna is on the opposite side of the sun from Kerbin.

If you only have a level-2 Tracking Station, the minimum you need is the HG-55, but you'll need the 88-88 to maintain contact during that "most distant" period.

I don't think your orbiting relay with the RA-2 will help at all, unless you have a dozen of them perfectly (and unfeasibly) spaced between Eve and Duna.

edit: too slow to post - I think Snark said much the same thing before me...

Edited October 16, 2016 by Plusck

[KASA Space]

Thanks guys!