Docking orientation problem

[Philae & Rosetta]

Hi,

 

I managed to reunite the two ships of the docking tutorial. But they were aligned.

 

I then put a "space station" in orbit with a docking tool and a kerman in it. Only! No propellant, no engines.

I try now to unit a ship with my space station to pick up my kerman and bring him  back to Kerbin.

The main issue here is the space station orientation...I don't know why but it is' not aligned with the prograde vector...Then I don't manage to dock it ....Because I don't know in advance the orientation of my space station like on the following picture:

 

 

Do you know if there is a way to know the orientation in advance to align also with it. Or how I could manage to dock in these conditions?

 

Thanks,

P&R

Edited December 13, 2017 by Philae & Rosetta

[Rocket In My Pocket]

Are you targeting the docking port itself? That helps.

Several mods exist to help with docking orientation, if you aren't opposed to modding.

It's entirely possible to do by Mk.1 eyeball alone, just line the two docking ports up visually and slowly move towards the target.

[Geonovast]

What happens if you right-click on the docking port on your ship and click "control from here"?

I don't see anything on your ship that could throw it off, but you never know. (Plus the SS is kind dark)

I also can't tell if the hitchhiker has the same size docking port as the ship.  Are they both Juniors?

14 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Are you targeting the docking port itself?

It looks like it's targeted.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

45 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

It looks like it's targeted.

Yeah, I can hardly tell cause the SS is so dark.

The ol' Mk.1 eyeball ain't what she used to be!

(I turned 32 yesterday...I'm feeling old.)

[Geonovast]

10 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

(I turned 32 yesterday...I'm feeling old.)

Happy Birthday!

Only about a year and half behind ya.

@Philae & Rosetta, if what we suggested doesn't work, can you get a daytime screenshot?

1 hour ago, Philae & Rosetta said:

I then put a "space station" in orbit with a docking tool and a kerman in it. Only! No propellant, no engines

Even if you don't put engines on a station, you should always make sure it has a reaction wheel and some kind of control point.  IIRC you can't control a ship from the hitchhiker pod.

[James Kerman]

1 hour ago, Philae & Rosetta said:

Or how I could manage to dock in these conditions.

I usually switch to the target vessel and have that either pro or anti target.  It looks like the SS has no control or reaction wheels - you might be able to nudge it more into alignment by eva'ing a kerbal and using your jetpack but this will be fairly difficult.  Quicksave before you try anything.

I would try to give it a light tap and be ready to timewarp a little when it lines up with your space craft (the timewarp will stop the rotation of the vessel).

Edited December 13, 2017 by James Kerman
more information

[Superfluous J]

1 hour ago, Philae & Rosetta said:

I don't know why but it is' not aligned with the prograde vector

As you orbit the prograde (and retrograde, and both radials) marker changes, because you're going around and a around in circles. The normal vectors, though, stay the same. If you align your docking ports on your station so they are facing in one of the two normal directions (the purple triangles) then you can align your ship to the other normal direction, and be sure you're facing the correct way.

Though I prefer using one of the several mods that help you align docking ports:

 

[Confused Scientist]

3 hours ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Yeah, I can hardly tell cause the SS is so dark.

I took a look and I think the docking ports are the same size. I don't see any form of control, or any anything on the target except a hitchhiker,  antenna, docking port, and decoupler.

[Plusck]

9 hours ago, Philae & Rosetta said:

Or how I could manage to dock in these conditions?

If your target has no means of control:

• Hit "V" until you get the "locked" camera view. Align the camera so that it's facing the same way as your ship is.
• Then use the translate keys (IJKL-HN) to change your approach vector so that you will move into the space just in front of the target's docking port.

If your target does have some sort of control:

• Right click your own docking port to bring up the GUI window
• Switch to target (default keys [ ] ). The GUI window should still be visible, click on "set target".
• Turn on SAS and turn to face the target (using target hold if available)
• Switch back to the other ship and dock.

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Plusck

[Philae & Rosetta]

woah so many answers. Thanks for the help I just discover this ^^

20 hours ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

(I turned 32 yesterday...I'm feeling old.)

Happy birthday!!!. Well I am a little bit younger (28). With your experience it seems like you began to play KSP at the same age more or less than mine. I hope to be as good as you when I turn 32!!

 

21 hours ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Are you targeting the docking port itself? That helps.

Yes it is targetted

 

17 hours ago, Confused Scientist said:

I took a look and I think the docking ports are the same size. I don't see any form of control, or any anything on the target except a hitchhiker,  antenna, docking port, and decoupler.

Yes the same size. The same docking ports: The Clamp O tron Docking port Junior on both parts.

 

20 hours ago, James Kerman said:

It looks like the SS has no control or reaction wheels

No control on my SS. It is just a PPD 10 Hitchhiker Storage Container with one Kerman inside and a HG5 High Gain Antenna outside. And the docking port of course

 

Thanks, I will try what you suggest, and let you know. 

[Spricigo]

22 hours ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

(I turned 32 yesterday...I'm feeling old.)

Kids...

 

@Philae & Rosetta seems pretty obvious, you need to turn and translate your vessel to be aligned with the target. Its only a matter of practice,  see how your craft react to the various control inputs and eventually you will figure it out.