The Mun Base Resupply and Crew exchange

[notJebKerman]

So ive been working on a mun base recently. ive designed the modules and did the maths. but i still have a problem: resupply missions. i have usi life support installed and crew cant just stay there forever (ive made it self suffiecent using planetary base systems, but usi ls also includes hab and home, so u need to change the crew every now and then). thing is, that im not the best with accuracy landings. i also know that mechjeb can do it for u but im a type of guy that enjoys lko station resupply missions. so, how do i transport kerbals and supplies from lander to base? are there any tools to show you more accurate landing predictions? should i move that to another thread? tnx for reading and (hopefully) responding. 

[Tyko]

My solution was to practice landing accurately. Build a lightweight lander and have a small mothership in orbit for refueling (or just quicksave and reload ). Drop a flag or other target on the ground and practice your landing planning.

My current method is to do a de-orbit burn that will result in a flyover of my target at ~5Km. I then drop another node a bit before I'd pass my target and use that node to bring me down on the target. Right before the second burn I make might have to drag that node a bit forward to account for rotation of the moon/planet. Once that second burn is complete you should be dropping on target. The final step is your final deceleration burn. The longer your wait the more accurate your landing will be, so suicide burns are a great idea here.

[Aragosnat]

When it becomes a pain to get precise landings. Use a rover... Even when able to do precise landings.... Use rover..... I find it easier to use rovers to transfer Kerbals and other stuff they need as it means I can then have a bigger base and not be worried about part count of my lander craft. But, what tjt sugests does work if you want to get a lot closer.

[Tyko]

Good point, and rovers are fun to drive around in. I was so excited the first time I was able to do an on-target landing I just wanted to share the chance to learn how to do it 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by tjt

[zarakon]

Setting something as a target so that it shows up on the navball is helpful for the final approach

[septemberWaves]

Target the base in the map view. Aim your descent to overshoot slightly. Once on a sub-orbital trajectory, try to keep the retrograde marker close to the anti-target marker during the descent. Hint: directing your rocket so that the retrograde marker is directly in between the anti-target marker and the rocket's direction will make the retrograde marker move towards the anti-target marker when you burn to reduce your velocity.

Also, you'll want a fairly good thrust-to-weight ratio, as well as a decent amount of extra fuel.

[Corw]

There is a mod for that (pun intended). It will show you where on the surface you will land, taking rotation of the body into an account. It also helps with atmospheric landing, but it is not very precise.

 

 

[Wjolcz]

Yep. Trajectories is the one. Came here to suggest just that. And it's great.

[magnemoe]

3 hours ago, Aragosnat said:

When it becomes a pain to get precise landings. Use a rover... Even when able to do precise landings.... Use rover..... I find it easier to use rovers to transfer Kerbals and other stuff they need as it means I can then have a bigger base and not be worried about part count of my lander craft. But, what tjt sugests does work if you want to get a lot closer.

Yes, an rover to move supplies and kerbals between lander and base. 
Uses mechjeb myself but need this on Duna, another option is to put wheel on the lander so you can drive it up to base. 
 

[septemberWaves]

Or if you don't like driving for several kilometers, just do what I suggested earlier. Eventually you get used to where exactly you have to aim for a particular planet, and I've been able to land modules on the Mun within 100 meters of their targets with that method so it's really not something to underestimate.

I think that, after a while of using the method I described previously, I can execute a precision landing directly onto a docking port on a base module after directly descending from orbit, except I generally don't have the patience for that. That being said, I'm in the middle of a complete overhaul of all of my space exploration infrastructure, so I might just decide to put that ability to the test. I will reiterate again that it's an incredibly effective method with some practice; experience is everything, and sending a transport rover on a 16 kilometer round trip to pick up your latest resupply vehicle gets old pretty quickly.

Edited October 28, 2016 by eloquentJane

[Norcalplanner]

58 minutes ago, Veeltch said:

Yep. Trajectories is the one. Came here to suggest just that. And it's great.

Mechjeb's landing module can also work - put it in information mode so it will show the predicted landing site, select the base as your target, and will give you a readout on the distance between your predicted landing spot and your target. Once in th he ballpark, it's very similar to docking in that you push around the anti-velocity marker to line up with the anti-target marker. Just don't forget to watch the altimeter. ;-)

[septemberWaves]

9 hours ago, Norcalplanner said:

Mechjeb's landing module can also work

I've found that MechJeb's autonomous landing has some issues with the 1.2-compatible dev version. If you're in 1.2 you'll want to do it manually (until there's an official stable MechJeb update), otherwise you might risk losing your spacecraft.

[Norcalplanner]

2 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

I've found that MechJeb's autonomous landing has some issues with the 1.2-compatible dev version. If you're in 1.2 you'll want to do it manually (until there's an official stable MechJeb update), otherwise you might risk losing your spacecraft.

Seems I wasn't clear - you don't actually have it do any of the work for you, just show the information. MJ can display predicted landing location on a body with or without atmosphere, so you don't necessarily have to install Trajectories to get that sort of data.

[septemberWaves]

1 minute ago, Norcalplanner said:

Seems I wasn't clear - you don't actually have it do any of the work for you, just show the information. MJ can display predicted landing location on a body with or without atmosphere, so you don't necessarily have to install Trajectories to get that sort of data.

Ah right, that makes sense. It is rather helpful for that.

[jhousen]

On 10/28/2016 at 2:49 PM, eloquentJane said:

Target the base in the map view. Aim your descent to overshoot slightly. Once on a sub-orbital trajectory, try to keep the retrograde marker close to the anti-target marker during the descent. Hint: directing your rocket so that the retrograde marker is directly in between the anti-target marker and the rocket's direction will make the retrograde marker move towards the anti-target marker when you burn to reduce your velocity.

Also, you'll want a fairly good thrust-to-weight ratio, as well as a decent amount of extra fuel.

this, but be careful, this method is more...accurate than you might think (landing on the base tends to break things)

[septemberWaves]

3 hours ago, jhousen said:

this, but be careful, this method is more...accurate than you might think (landing on the base tends to break things)

Depends on how you design the lander. If you have radial engines high up on the vehicle (which I would do if I were trying to land directly on the base) it's generally fine.