First Rendezvous, easier than I thought....

[Wild Card]

So, I\'ve been playing this since .13. Never actually got serious about a rendezvous. Tried several times, but didn\'t quite grasp that brute force didn\'t accomplish the feat. Would always end up WAY overshooting the target, or never even coming close.

I have done multiple Mun and Minmus landings (even both on the same flight), and I have become rather decent at basic orbital flight mechanics. So, with the .16 parts and EVA-ing, I finally decided to build a Space Station in orbit around Kerbal. I made it with all stock parts (except a tiny little MechJeb module on its underside and the crew tank). She\'s big, weighs in at quite a bit. Got it into orbit (that was difficult, my computer would spontaneously disassemble the entire craft at various spots in atmosphere). Raised its orbit to 125km, circular. She has plenty of SAS, an ASAS, way too much RCS (thrusters and fuel), and a heap of fuel for her half-size LFE. Also has the Mk2 command pod and the 5-Kerbal crew tank. She is ringed with several ladders, going in many directions, making it a space-jungle-gym of sorts.

So, I decided after I put this into orbit, that I would make a small space-ferry to ferry the first extra crew member aboard Kirr (I know...not original). Lo-and-behold, it was good ol\' Jebediah! I fashioned a single-seat, throw-away intercept craft, launched it, and proceeded to use the awesome intercept table available on the forums here. First try, and I got to within 1.5km of Kiir. A little RCS maneuvering, and I was on top of her. Within about 20m, I EVA\'d Jeb and hopped on over to the station. Jeb meandered about and then boarded the station.

First 2 attachments are the Space Station, last is Jeb\'s personal ride arriving.

So, I really do feel that .16 is a helluva improvement. Actual incentive to rendezvous!

[Dusty926]

I...want...that...space...station.

[Candre]

Nice station you have there!

[Erixxxx]

That\'s no Mun...

Seriously, nice work there.

[Wild Card]

Didn\'t realize she was that nice.....but, if you guys want to muck around and test the 'might' of your computers, I\'ll post the craft file here. It is attached.

It went through many, many iterations, and I\'m sure it doesn\'t have the most efficient ascent profile. Struts like crazy to hold everything together, although it still likes to self-destruct whenever your computer hits a bad lag spike.

Uses an asparagus style, quad-engine second, third, and fourth stage. First stage is ALL engines going except for the station\'s. SRB\'s should seperate around 5000m. First 'pack' of LFE\'s should seperate rather early in the flight, but don\'t be worried, as her speed REALLY picks up at that point. You should be out of the thick atmosphere at that point, too.

You NEED Damned Aerospace 'Crew Tank' part (you don\'t need the whole DA pack, but, whatever, if you have it, it\'s not used). You also need the newest iteration of Mechjeb. Have fun, let me know if any of you try it. And, if you still can\'t get her into orbit, I could post my persistence file. So far, it\'s minimal, a little debris in orbit, SS Kiir in orbit at 125km. Jeb\'s 'Space Ferry' floating relatively nearby. Oh, and a larger size lander near the nearside Mun arch, with a single Kerbalnaught 'Kerby' standing all alone at the peak of the Mun Arch. That was over a 5km walk for the guy, and he lost his two crew members enroute.

EDIT: Oh yes, before I forget, some of the ladders don\'t seem to be working as intended. It\'s possible that the problem may lie with the 'Snap-to-angles' feature, as I placed some of them with it 'on' and some of them with it 'off'. So, I may correct the issue at some point.....

[A Fat Pokemon]

Once you\'ve rendevoused once, its so unexpectedly easy to do again.. Well for me atleast, like my ship? ;P It has a fully traversable interior

[Wild Card]

Now that\'s impressive!