Squad, "Target Mode" is DRIVING ME CRAZY

[suicidejunkie]

Quote

If you're making rendezvous burns that cost a third of your remaining dV or more - or in fact, if you're making any burn at all that changes your orbit in any significant way while having a vessel targeted and being in close proximity of it - you're probably doing it wrong. If you want to rendezvous with your target, you need to burn Target Retrograde for a small amount of dV, and not manually muck about with your orbit for large amounts.

The point of a launch to rendezvous is that you don't have an orbit yet to muck about with.  You're doing a 3km/s burn to make rendezvous, starting from the launch pad.  No time or fuel to waste!

With a little practice on the launch timing, you do a decent gravity turn, and make orbit within a few km of the target; ideally within physics range and promptly get on with the mission.  Super effective.

Launch to rendezvous using 97% of the fuel, rescue the kerbal, spend your 10 minute safety margin on a snacks break while the badlands roll underneath and then land back at KSC without completing a single orbit.  Or if you feel the need for speed, burn some extra fuel, and land the rescue ship immediately in booster bay.

 

[pandaman]

The most noticeable example of this auto switching behavior is when it changes from 'surface' to 'orbit' on ascent.  This can cause the ship to  change attitude by quite a bit when locked to prograde.