Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Okay, so what the title says. I've spent almost three days gnawing at this problem and beating my brains out over it to no avail. Is it -actually- possible to get the three-man pod to the Mun? Every time I've tried I've either not been able to get enough thrust to get the dang thing into orbit around Kerbin (The weight of the fuel tanks kills it) or I use all the fuel in the 'lander' getting aligned to orbit the Mun. Is it -actually- possible to use the 'stock' parts and get three Kerbals on the Mun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 It's very possible. I do it all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Okay. Er. Do you have any advice...? I mean, I can get ONE Kerbal to the Mun easily. But somehow three is impossible for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I have no idea what your rockets look like, and it sounds like you need practice piloting if you use up all your fuel getting aligned with the Mun.Basically, I have no way to help you with nothing to go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 I use Mechjeb for the ascents and descents. Honestly, I've tried dozens of different shapes getting off the ground- the most recent being this. [ATTACH=CONFIG]31867[/ATTACH]Oddly, this one also lagged my computer to a standstill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 You should use fuel lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 You should use fuel lines.Where, and to do what? How would fuel lines change things in this situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 https://www.dropbox.com/s/3y72t371gja3k8s/4.craftTry that one and learn from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fendleton Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Ok1. You're on the right track. You need a central rocket, surrounded by similar-sized strap-on boosters to get you most of the way to orbit.....personally I prefer using a smaller injection stage rather than a big second stage in orbit....but that's just a "save on RCS fuel" thing.2. Remember: The big-big engines on your first and second stages are VERY powerful, but are VERY fuel-hungry. While I can't see much of your rocket, it may not have enough fuel.3. The fuel line system you need to use is based on the first stage of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. Set up lines feeding from the outer boosters into the central stack, and set the staging to fire the central engine as well when you fire up the boosters to take-off. This does three vital things: Firstly, it means that you get rid of that extra mass faster. Second, because you've got more thrust in the lower atmosphere, you get out of it faster and thus get a far more efficient launch. Finally, it can help with preventing the old "lower half of rocket accelerates faster than the top, clipping through it and blowing it up" issue because that extra fuel saps acceleration until you're safely in orbit and able to handle it.My personal favourite rocket uses a central 2-tank core, with about 18 boosters (I use smaller 1.25m parts for them) strapped on with fuel-cross-feed letting me eject boosters in sets as I go up... That gets a payload *almost* into orbit, where the inject stage takes over and stabilises it before heading off to the Mun. The effects of good fuel cross-feed are VERY noticeable.Good luck with it, and keep working on it....took me a while to get the 3-kerbal pod over there, but it's a great machine when you do get it there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 so that's how they work! How do you direct which way fuel flows down one of those lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 I wish I'd looked into them earlier. They've also helped me on two other projected o.o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matticus88 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 fuel through lines goes from front to back of craft and from the sides in towards the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndlessWaves Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 so that's how they work! How do you direct which way fuel flows down one of those lines?The first click in placing them is the source, the second the sink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 The first click in placing them is the source, the second the sink. And if you forget, they have little gray triangles on them, pointing in the direction the fuel flows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassyr Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Thanks! I thought the thing about arrows in the desc was just as much fluff as the rest of the descriptions. XD But thank you so much. This is the missing idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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