New Kerbalnaut reporting in

[CheesieSpray]

Hello!

I just bought the game yesterday and can't get enough! I almost made it out of the atmosphere last night before looking up some tips online.

I have a few quick questions. Is there a benefit to launching an unmanned satellite into orbit over a manned capsule other than the obvious one of not suffering a casualty in case of an epic fail? Do the science instruments actually gather information that is communicated back to base level once it is in orbit?

Thanks!

[Finnerty]

The scientific instuments do work, but no communication. Just right click on them and they show info on temp, strength of gravity, barometric pressure(only reading from this in orbit is "IN VACUUM" but works in atmosphere and on the surface) and can't think what the fourth one does. The antennas unfurl, but no real comms yet with them. Haven't read recent upcoming additions to the game, so I can't say whether they will be used in future updates.

I've been launching just satellites for now myself, just for kicks putting one in orbit everywhere I go, just to say, "I was here". And it gives me an idea of how much fuel it takes to get to each planet,moon. The temp and gravity instruments I have on each satellite. They both show readings in orbit. But, that's just how I'm starting out playing.

[Specialist290]

Welcome to the forums!

If you have any other questions about how things work, be sure to stop by the "How-To" section and ask there. There's also the Drawing Board (link in my sig), which has lots of tutorials and other useful stuff that might come in handy as you figure the game out. In general, feel free to look around and jump right in to any topic that interests you.

Happy landings!

[Crown]

[...]can't think what the fourth one does.[...]

The fourth is an accelerometer. Enabling it during ascent it is more accurate that the gauge beside the nav ball. This way it is possible to keep a constant acceleration during ascent.

When you fire your engines in space it will show the vessel's current acceleration. Using this number it is possible to estimate/calculate the time to reach a specific speed. Using newton's second law this way it is also possible to measure the vessel's mass. And thereby determinate how much fuel is needed for a maneuver. Maths!

[Capt'n Skunky]

Happy Launching!

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

KSP Community Manager

[Guest]

Welcome!

The scientific instruments do work, just right click them, but the "communotron" is just for show. Sorry, but communication is not here yet.

The game's still pretty deep in development, so, we won't be having any use for them until the devs say so. Even then, they have the rights to cancel any future updates without warning.