LKO rescue plan

[MPDerksen]

13 hours ago, Espatie said:

You need Electricity to run Reaction Wheels.

at the time I couldn't rotate, my batteries were full.  Plus, I've done about 3 of the same mission without batteries or panels, and never had a problem.  The only difference was that I added a second lander can (to pick up 2 stranded Kerbalnauts in 1 mission) and removed the monopropellent from everything.  I did think since I didn't have any RCS jets in this design.  My question is to determine if I created the issue, or if it was a glitch.  The fact that I backed up 1 quicksave, and was able to proceed with it working makes me think it was a glitch.
 

[Loren Pechtel]

On 2/14/2019 at 4:05 PM, MPDerksen said:

When I reached the 500m intersection point, I burned retrograde to drop my relative speed from 14.6m/s down to 0.0m/s.  It only stayed that way for a few seconds before becoming 0.1m/s and climbing.  Slowly, but still.  I switched to the stranded Kerbal, and tried (and failed) to EVA.  I'll try again, but think I should thrust TOWARDS my target to close the gap from 500m to much closer.  Is the proper method to burn retrograde to get 0.0m/s, then burn towards the target, then get back to 0 once I'm as close as I want?

I do need EVA practice, and I think I'll nail this one after a few more tries.  But given that docking is even MORE delicate, I really need a longer window to work with than I'm getting.

This behavior is a logical consequence of orbital mechanics.

You said you were 500m from the target.  If you were in it's orbit and 500m ahead or behind you would remain in that position forever.  However, with an eyeballed intercept you're not even going to be close and the game's resolution isn't enough that perfection is even possible.  (If you want truly perfect orbits--say, communications satellites that will retain their relative positions for centuries--the only way to do it is to cheat and use HyperEdit to position the satellites and then never switch to them.)  You are in a different orbit that merely comes close to your target at the current moment.

The closer you are to your target when you have zero relative velocity the slower you will drift away but you're always going to drift away eventually.  If you get reasonably close and match velocities well the drift rate is slow enough it's not going to matter for a rescue.  I can't remember if you have 500 m/s or 600 m/s in the jetpack but you certainly have a boatload--your rescued Kerbal can chase after his ride home.

[Kryxal]

Chase after the ride home indeed ... I tend to not bother with a rendezvous, and might just pass by at 200 m/s.  Switch craft in passing, burn to come to a stop relative with the jetpack, then add maybe 30-50 m/s straight at the rescue ship...