my rocket keeps flipping over while trying to put half of my upcoming space station

[Kerbonauter]

so im trying to get my upcoming space station to launch and put to orbit for like the first time ever trying to do a orbit and put a space station in orbit soo please help me cuz it will launch then not a moment later it will flip over. Bottom:https://imgur.com/UMvI5gJTtop:https://imgur.com/574HMXI

[Kerbonauter]

UPDATE: i figured out why the fairing was wider than the rocket it self and just over all weight so i fixed it and hopefully will get to orbithttps://imgur.com/sRijScX

[Kerbonauter]

another update: got to orbit!!!! and just took a picture of the station in orbit with.. nobody in it.. but soon ima see if I can use the FreeIVA Mod

Getting Into Orbit: https://imgur.com/8Oo3OsE

Successfully moved around command module and in orbit: https://imgur.com/sdF8yEH

Re-entry: https://imgur.com/TmvR0fq

Splashdown and took a picture of the sunrise: https://imgur.com/Oelz87H

[fulgur]

It looks like the engines you are using for the first stage are solid rocket boosters. You may have noticed some engines, like the Vector engine, can change direction by a few degrees (gimbal) in order to help steer the rocket. SRBs cannot do this. You could try using liquid fuelled boosters instead (I like the Twin Boar 2.5m booster personally).

Also, I cannot see any fins on the rocket. Fins (ideally at the bottom of the rocket) move to deflect the air in order to help steer the rocket. Try adding some tail fins or winglets to the side of the rocket. You want large tail fins because the top of your rocket is so big and bulky.

Other ways of steering your rocket are RCS / Vernier engines and lots of reaction wheels, but Vernier engines use some of your fuel and reaction wheels are very heavy.

To insert an image into the forum, you need to copy the image link which ends in .png, like so:

Edited September 13, 2023 by fulgur

[Kerbonauter]

thx man ur a life saver also btw i also fixed it with thinning the fairing as you can see:

[jimmymcgoochie]

Rockets flip for a few reasons, but they usually boil down to aerodynamic instability and/or an inability to steer effectively. The test launch of Starship/Superheavy is a good example of both of these things as a combination of failures in the engine control systems and the engines themselves greatly reduced steering authority while the rocket itself was aerodynamically unstable due to the fins at the top creating drag, eventually leading to a complete loss of control.

With such a large fairing you're going to get a lot of drag at the front, which is bad- you want the centre of lift/drag to be behind the centre of mass to create passive stability. Adding large fins to the bottom might help, especially if they have control surfaces that can add some extra steering force.

Your first stage is dominated by engines that can't gimbal- solid boosters and Making History Kodiaks- with only five gimballing engines (Mainsails or Mastodons, I can't tell from the screenshot) in the centre. With all the gimbals in the centre of the rocket there's not a lot of leverage to correct for any deviation from prograde and the draggy fairing will quickly cause it to flip backwards out of control. Swapping to liquid-fuelled boosters that can gimbal e.g. Mainsails or even Mammoths would give you more control authority.

[Gargamel]

Moved to gameplay  questions. 

[Kerbonauter]

thankz man

 

Note to self: put in gameplay questions next time! Thanks Gargamel!!

[Vanamonde]

Purists don't like it but if you have a bulky payload big old fins at the bottom are what you need to keep the nose pointed the right way. 

[king of nowhere]

another trick if you have to launch a payload with a really bad aerodinamic is to put the rockets on top. it looks horrible and would not work in real life, but it does wonders here

 

another option is to just have enough power and gimbaling to compensate for aerodinamic instability.

this thing has even worse aerodinamics than your station, but all those mammoths kept it flying straight.

 

finally, another option is to fly straight at low speed until you are out of the lower atmosphere. sure, it does require a lot of extra deltaV to compensate for gravity drag, but sometimes adding a bunch of fuel tanks is the simplest solution. especially if the payload is cumbersome but light

Edited September 13, 2023 by king of nowhere

[Kerbonauter]

On 9/13/2023 at 4:18 PM, Vanamonde said:

Purists don't like it but if you have a bulky payload big old fins at the bottom are what you need to keep the nose pointed the right way. 

will try next time if i go to jool.. maybe...

On 9/13/2023 at 4:39 PM, king of nowhere said:

another trick if you have to launch a payload with a really bad aerodinamic is to put the rockets on top. it looks horrible and would not work in real life, but it does wonders here

 

another option is to just have enough power and gimbaling to compensate for aerodinamic instability.

this thing has even worse aerodinamics than your station, but all those mammoths kept it flying straight.

 

finally, another option is to fly straight at low speed until you are out of the lower atmosphere. sure, it does require a lot of extra deltaV to compensate for gravity drag, but sometimes adding a bunch of fuel tanks is the simplest solution. especially if the payload is cumbersome but light

yeah i made the fairing thinner by moving around my cockpit so that way i could have it complete