Contracts - testing engines

[Silverwood]

Hello

I have tried to find an answer to this (honestly) - how exactly do you test an engine? In the contract it says test on the launch site, but how without launching it.

I have tried just having the rocket, adding just a capsule - no crew, and right clicking for 'test'.

I know it is really easy, but I can't work it out, nor find any info on it.

Keith

[Snark]

3 hours ago, Silverwood said:

how exactly do you test an engine?

Option 1:  Activate it through staging.

Option 2:  Right click on the engine and choose "Run Test".

 

3 hours ago, Silverwood said:

I have tried just having the rocket, adding just a capsule - no crew, and right clicking for 'test'.

The rocket has to be controllable for either of the above options to work.  If you're launching without a crew and without a probe core, your rocket isn't controllable and you won't be able to do anything.

So, the simplest thing to do to test the rocket:  Make a simple craft, with just a (crewed) pod and the engine.  (No fuel tanks needed, since you don't actually want to take off.)  Launch it to the pad, hit "space" to activate the engine via staging, recover vehicle.  Done.

[Silverwood]

OK Thanks. I actually just managed to do that by trial & error before I read your post!

But thanks for confirming this is the way.

Keith

[Chakat Firepaw]

An important thing to remember when clicking "Run Test" on an engine:  It will turn the engine on, so don't use it to test one of your set of SRBs before liftoff.

[swjr-swis]

52 minutes ago, Chakat Firepaw said:

so don't use it to test one of your set of SRBs before liftoff.

That sounds like you found out from experience...

[FloppyRocket]

Follow-up question - this has always puzzled me. What does "Activate it through staging" mean? "through" isn't very specific.

[swjr-swis]

5 minutes ago, FloppyRocket said:

Follow-up question - this has always puzzled me. What does "Activate it through staging" mean? "through" isn't very specific.

It means simply to stage it - as opposed to activating it through rightclick and the part action menu.

[FloppyRocket]

28 minutes ago, swjr-swis said:

It means simply to stage it - as opposed to activating it through rightclick and the part action menu.

Thanks much. So it's "through" in the sense of "by using the spacebar".

Edited May 3, 2017 by FloppyRocket

[bewing]

27 minutes ago, FloppyRocket said:

Thanks much. So it's "through" in the sense of "by using the spacebar".

Yes, but even that has changed. Engines can now always be tested either by activating with the spacebar, or by using the "Run Test" option in the part action menu. It's your choice.

 

 

[fourfa]

If you get a contract to test SRBs, you can remove all the fuel in the VAB, run the test - it still works

[Spricigo]

1 hour ago, fourfa said:

If you get a contract to test SRBs, you can remove all the fuel in the VAB, run the test - it still works

Which was good to know when I figured it out.  

Unfortunately that was after I used the 'trick' of activating SRBs together with the decouplers holding it... more than once,  or twice.

I wonder why past me had such a pleasure embarrassing me. 

[Silverwood]

7 hours ago, bewing said:

Yes, but even that has changed. Engines can now always be tested either by activating with the spacebar, or by using the "Run Test" option in the part action menu. It's your choice.

 

 

I don't get that option when I click the part.

[bewing]

19 minutes ago, Silverwood said:

I don't get that option when I click the part.

The engine must be activated before you will get a "Run Test" option in the menu. So that one is actually more for testing engines in flight, rather than on the pad.

As said above, for SRBs on the pad just take all the fuel out, stage them to complete the contract, and then recover them. For liquid engines on the pad, set the throttle to Off, and stage them.

 

 

[Pand5461]

18 hours ago, fourfa said:

If you get a contract to test SRBs, you can remove all the fuel in the VAB, run the test - it still works

Or zero the thrust in the VAB. I prefer doing both, just for extra safety.

[Kryxal]

On 2017-05-03 at 4:13 PM, Chakat Firepaw said:

An important thing to remember when clicking "Run Test" on an engine:  It will turn the engine on, so don't use it to test one of your set of SRBs before liftoff.

Also noteworthy is that heat shields you "run test" on will decouple ... this can really spoil your day.

[Chakat Firepaw]

On 03/05/2017 at 5:07 PM, swjr-swis said:

That sounds like you found out from experience...

Yes, but not mine.  I was watching a LP on YouTube.

His line after was:  "I don't know why I expected anything different."

[Spricigo]

1 hour ago, Chakat Firepaw said:

Yes, but not mine.  I was watching a LP on YouTube.

His line after was:  "I don't know why I expected anything different."

This line alone make me want to give him a like.  Do you have a link to the video? 

[Chakat Firepaw]

On 06/05/2017 at 3:37 AM, Spricigo said:

This line alone make me want to give him a like.  Do you have a link to the video? 

I did a bit of digging but it was too far back in my YouTube history to turn up.