Suborbital swivel and decoupling

[Tygerjack]

Hi guys. So I just started and I have a mission to do a suborbital flight to test the swivel and the decouples. Both are asking to read 120 and 130k meters.

So I did that, moved my swivel around at 120 and the decouples at 130, went to 250k meters and reentered the atmosphere with the heat shield.

I never reach orbital speed so a clear ballistic flight.

I did not get the achievements

 

What did I do wrong?

 

(I am a super beginner!)

 

 

 

 

[DeadJohn]

19 minutes ago, Tygerjack said:

moved my swivel around at 120 and the decouples at 130

Moved? Most part test contracts that I encounter require staging the part, or clicking "run test" in the part's popup window.

Part test contracts sometimes have a speed requirement in addition to altitude.

 

[HvP]

Pay close attention to text in the contract that states how those parts must be tested.

Sometimes it says that they should be testing by staging them. That means that you'll have to activate them with the space bar at the right time when all of the other contract requirements are met. Make sure there is a green check mark next to all of the requirements in the contracts window when you do it.

If you need the engine to be already activated then you can just go into the action groups editor in flight to reassign the same engine to the staging group to activate it again later when the time is right.

If the contract just says to "test" the engine, but doesn't mention staging it then you'll need to right click the engine at the right time and click a button in the menu that says "Run Test" to complete the contract.

[Tygerjack]

Thanks for your help! That was not super clear in the phrasing (I am even not a native English speaker)

 

Ok it says "to perform the test, activate the part through the staging sequence when all test conditions are met".

That means I have to do the staging in the exact range they tell me (120-130k meters). It is super narrow!

[Tygerjack]

5 hours ago, HvP said:

Pay close attention to text in the contract that states how those parts must be tested.

Sometimes it says that they should be testing by staging them. That means that you'll have to activate them with the space bar at the right time when all of the other contract requirements are met. Make sure there is a green check mark next to all of the requirements in the contracts window when you do it.

If you need the engine to be already activated then you can just go into the action groups editor in flight to reassign the same engine to the staging group to activate it again later when the time is right.

If the contract just says to "test" the engine, but doesn't mention staging it then you'll need to right click the engine at the right time and click a button in the menu that says "Run Test" to complete the contract.

I tried to do the staging at 120k but did not work

 

 

[paul_c]

You can open the contract parameters on the buttons on the right and keep it open during the flight. Once all the parameters are ticked, do the staging and it should register as contract completed.

[HvP]

3 hours ago, Tygerjack said:

I tried to do the staging at 120k but did not work

 

 

Sometimes the contract also specifies a range of speed that you must be going at the same time you are at the requested altitude.

If the engine has already been staged earlier then it won't work the second time unless you trick the game into thinking this is the first time it has been staged. It's kind of tricky to do this. It's easier to make sure this engine will only be staged for the first time when your ship is at the right speed and altitude for the test.

If you absolutely need to have the engine running before the test, then you can try this. When you are in flight and coasting upwards towards the required altitude go into the stage icons on the left side of the screen and click the little plus sign "+" that appears next to the engine stage. This adds an empty stage to your stack. Drag that empty stage to the bottom of the stack. Now grab the icon for the engine you need to stage and drag it out of its box and place it into the new empty one at the bottom. This creates a new staging event for the engine the next time you hit the space bar.

I haven't done this recently but I think it still works.

If that still doesn't work then you may just need to keep the engine unused until you are at the right place to stage it for the first time.

[Spricigo]

5 hours ago, Tygerjack said:

That means I have to do the staging in the exact range they tell me (120-130k meters). It is super narrow!

Actually that is quite easy assuming you don't have a required velocity too. You need to meet all requirements at the time of the testing, 

On the flight scene, before launching your craft, find those little buttons in the bottom left:  

Click in the lower one and it will open the Advanced Info Tab.

Now just launch your craft as you did before but this time pay attention to the Apooapsis. Cut the engines when the apoapsis is above 120km but still below 130km. That way you will be slower at the desired altitude, thus having more time to make sure all requirements are meet.