Incline before going to Moho?

[Scottiths]

Random question:

When sending a mission to Moho (or any inclined planet really), would it help to have my inclination around kerbin be 7 degrees (the inclination of Moho)? Would this work? Or would my ejection burn not put me at 7 degree solar inclination but something else?

[iamaphazael]

Short answer: no, your inclination about Kerbin will not be the same as your inclination about the Sun after the SOI change

[Scottiths]

Ah. Lame. Thanks for the quick response though.

[Pyotor Gagarin]

If you want to make a departure burn into an inclined solar orbit, I think the best parking orbit would be a full-on polar orbit directly over Kerbin's terminator. Picking the right ejection angle would let you add a normal or anti-normal component to your post-escape orbit around the sun.

If you can do this at the right phase angle AND at one of the co-planar nodes, then you could theoretically make a single-burn transfer to moho. (Note that online phase angle calculators based on circular orbits can be pretty far off when dealing with an eccentric orbit like Moho's.)

Personally, I find it's easier just to bite the bullet and make the course correction at one of the nodes.

Hope that's somewhat helpful!

Edited April 30, 2013 by Pyotor Gagarin