Newbie help with getting into orbit

[jonpfl]

8 hours ago, HebaruSan said:

In my opinion, yes.

You can calculate it by hand using information available in the game: mass of vessel, mass of fuel, thrust of engines, specific impulse of engines. That's effectively what @Kerbart did in his subsequent posts. (Differences between our numbers are due to his inclusion of a heat shield, which I didn't see in your screenshot, and using a slightly different engine; otherwise we would have calculated the same numbers.)

TWR and delta V themselves are not shown directly anywhere in the stock game, which is a common complaint/request of players.

Ok, I added the mod to the directory and now I cannot click on it (I did see it in the VAB though).  What am I doing wrong?

I put it here : F:\SteamGames\steamapps\common\Kerbal Space Program\GameData

Thx
jonpfl

EDIT : Never mind, found the issue!!  Can I delete this post??
 

Edited May 15, 2017 by jonpfl

[jonpfl]

Wow, I finally did it!!  I followed a guide that had a link in this thread, got the redux mod and spent countless times when I got home (probably 8 to 10) trying different combinations.  I read I should be able to do it delta V of 3,400 but I had to get it much higher to do it (I kept running out of fuel).

Or is it one of those things where I got lucky and really should focus around 3,400 and a higher TWR (I don't remember my lowest but I believe it was around 1.5).

When I got into orbit I barely had any fuel left (it is crazy watching the path/numbers and how quickly periapsis happens) but waited for apoasis and flew retrograde for probably a few seconds until I ran out of fuel but luckily it got me out of orbit.  

When I got back into the atmosphere, my goo and temp gauges blew up and lost them.  Is there a way to not lose them on reentry?  My periapsis dropped quickly from 70k to a negative number, is that normal.

Now all my missions are take samples over a specific spot and go to moon.  Seems impossible for me at this point, should I just kill those missions so they get replaced?

Thx

jonpfl

[Kerbart]

Congratulations on making it into orbit! Now you just need to practice it until it gets routine (maybe rebuild your craft in Sandbox mode so it doesn't cost you money in career). When practicing you can do a couple of things:

• Experiment with where you start your turn, and how fast you turn. It's general practice to be around a 45° angle at an altitude of 10,000m but for your rocket that might be higher. Or lower.
• Once you make it in orbit on a regular basis, play with the design. Can you replace one FLT-400 with a smaller FLT-200 tank? What if you start with two strap-on SRB's?
• Can you control your orbit? For instance, maneuver your craft in a 75×75km (apo×peri) orbit? Once you've achieved that, work on a standard de-orbit procedure (for instance: "retroburn to a 75×25km orbit, stage for re-entry at 70km, keep retrograde") and then keep track of the longitude in Kerbal Engineer, so you can pinpoint your landings close to the KSC (just for fun).

[HebaruSan]

8 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

Wow, I finally did it!!

Congrats!!

8 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

Or is it one of those things where I got lucky and really should focus around 3,400 and a higher TWR (I don't remember my lowest but I believe it was around 1.5).

There's a good chance that your first launch to orbit was a ways off from an optimal trajectory; it takes some practice to launch in a way that uses the least fuel. What you decide to do next is really up to you; if you want to learn to optimize launches, you can spend quite a while fine tuning to do it within 3400 m/s (or even less, supposedly). Or if that sounds boring to you and you'd rather explore further off targets, you can continue blasting to orbit with a bit of overkill. The game won't penalize you much for wasting fuel.

8 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

When I got back into the atmosphere, my goo and temp gauges blew up and lost them.  Is there a way to not lose them on reentry?

Yes, there are a few options. The simplest one is to have your Kerbal exit the capsule, collect the science data, and store it in the pod so it doesn't matter whether those parts burn up, but Career Mode may not let you do that if you haven't paid for the requisite upgrades for extravehicular activities. You can also try to shield those parts from the heat, either by putting them in a service bay or moving them upwards so they're behind the pod itself.

8 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

My periapsis dropped quickly from 70k to a negative number, is that normal.

Yes, that just means it's below the surface of the planet. Your projected path is still an ellipse shape even if part of it is invisible.

8 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

Now all my missions are take samples over a specific spot and go to moon.  Seems impossible for me at this point, should I just kill those missions so they get replaced?

It sounds like you're catching on pretty quick, so I'd suggest taking a look at those Mun contracts. They'll be challenging, but you'll have fun trying to figure them out.

[jonpfl]

All,

I noticed in some videos of people in orbit, they hit a key and they can drag a colored icon around to provide a "what if" change to their orbit (I think).  Is this a mod?  It looks similar to when you are in the VAB and you hit the icons in upper left to move/rotate items.

Thx
jonpfl

[Shadow Wolf56]

No, I'm pretty sure that is a manuver node. That is a way to plan a change to your own orbit. (for example make your orbit higher)

Also, to use manuver nodes, right click on your orbit and there will be a button saying, create manuver node.

Hope that helps!!! 

EDIT: Also manuver nodes are not part of a mod, it is a part of the stock game.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Shadow Wolf56

[jonpfl]

On 5/16/2017 at 10:07 AM, Shadow Wolf56 said:

No, I'm pretty sure that is a manuver node. That is a way to plan a change to your own orbit. (for example make your orbit higher)

Also, to use manuver nodes, right click on your orbit and there will be a button saying, create manuver node.

Hope that helps!!! 

EDIT: Also manuver nodes are not part of a mod, it is a part of the stock game.

I am doing career mode, is that something I need to research or upgrade to get?  It didn't seem to work for me.

EDIT : Never mind, I see I don't have access to it right now in career mode.

Thx
jonpfl

Edited May 17, 2017 by jonpfl

[Shadow Wolf56]

Yeah, you have to upgrade the tracking station by right clicking it and there will be a button that says upgrade.

[jonpfl]

All,

I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with trying to get into orbit.  I wasn't turning my ship towards 45 degrees soon enough and thus path was too straight up (don't what term to use to describe it).

Anyway, I ferried two kernels and then one kerbal into orbit to make some money.

My ship did have around high 3s for delta V though.

Thx

jonpfl

[Vanamonde]

Yay.

[jonpfl]

All,

If I am playing science mode (as suggested) and trying to get to the moon, what should I research next?

Thx
jonpfl

[IncongruousGoat]

2 minutes ago, jonpfl said:

All,

If I am playing science mode (as suggested) and trying to get to the moon, what should I research next?

Thx
jonpfl

Are you trying to get there with a manned craft or with a probe?

If your craft is manned, then you probably want propulsion systems for the lander, fuel systems for building bigger rockets. If you're building a probe, you want propulsion systems and electrics, with electrics taking priority since it contains the probe core and solar panels you'll need. Space exploration could come in handy regardless of what approach you take, just for the extra science from the barometer (although the wheels would allow for the construction of some nice rovers). Everything else is mostly a toss-up, although fairings would be helpful to have.

[jonpfl]

19 minutes ago, IncongruousGoat said:

Are you trying to get there with a manned craft or with a probe?

If your craft is manned, then you probably want propulsion systems for the lander, fuel systems for building bigger rockets. If you're building a probe, you want propulsion systems and electrics, with electrics taking priority since it contains the probe core and solar panels you'll need. Space exploration could come in handy regardless of what approach you take, just for the extra science from the barometer (although the wheels would allow for the construction of some nice rovers). Everything else is mostly a toss-up, although fairings would be helpful to have.

Just trying to get into orbit right now to get some science.

I assume I should try and get to the moon to start getting more science.  Or should I focus on planes and collect science on Kerbin?

Thx

jonpfl

Edited June 3, 2017 by jonpfl

[IncongruousGoat]

Just now, jonpfl said:

Just trying to get into orbit right now to get some science.

Thx

jonpfl

Ah. Well, then unlock the barometer for the science. Otherwise, you should have everything you need to reach orbit.