Gravity assists and areobraking

[Fluffy crocodile]

So i was wondering the best way to do a gravity assist to jool. Also (shudders).    

Areobrakeing 

 

 ( i have lots of bad experinces with areobrakeing) how do you find the best areobrakeing hight? Thanks for all the help!

Edited December 25, 2018 by Fluffy crocodile

[Vanamonde]

Gravity assists are terribly difficult to arrange and probably more trouble than they're worth. And I find the best aerobraking height by saving, blowing up, loading, and trying again until it works. 

Welcome to the forum.

[Xurkitree]

You should probably check your spelling - areobraking is braking using Mars - which is just lithobraking.

Good luck!

Also, its better to use a simple Tylo or Laythe assist to capture around Jool rather than an Aerobrake.

You can learn online about the best method of Gravity Assists to get to Jool - Kerbin-Eve-Kerbin-Kerbin-Jool

 

[IncongruousGoat]

On 12/25/2018 at 12:48 AM, Vanamonde said:

Gravity assists are terribly difficult to arrange and probably more trouble than they're worth.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with that one. Arranging gravity assists in KSP is often more an art than a science (at least for me), but it's always been worth it. There's just something about going places without having to burn any fuel.

To answer the general question: The best way to practice gravity assists is... Jool, conveniently. Send a ship with a pile of delta-V there via a conventional transfer, then start messing around with orbits. It's really easy to get assists off of Laythe, Tylo, and Vall - my recommendation is to just play around until you get a feel for how gravity assists work. As for how to get to Jool via gravity assists, it's as @Xurkitree said: Kerbin->Eve->Kerbin->Kerbin->Jool is the way to go. The orbital periods work out really nicely, and it's usually possible to pull off without having to wait multiple orbits for an encounter. Although, it's also possible (though less efficient) to do it with a single Kerbin assist using a deep-space maneuver. That way is simpler, but the fuel savings aren't nearly as high.