What did you do in KSP1 today?

[RizzoTheRat]

Couldn't figure out how to separate satellites from a launch vehicle and switch between them reliable using KOS, so I ended up setting them to reboot every 10 minutes unless they only had one engine, which worked but seemed a bit of a bodge, and I had to then delete the boot scripts from each one once they were in place.

However it all worked, 3 stage launcher lifted to the correct altitude for a 90 minute period, then raised it's periapsis to a 60 minute period, dropped off the 2 satellites on consecutive orbits, which each lifted themselves to a 90 minute period, and then the launch vehicle lifted to a 90 minute period on the next orbit.  They all ended up within 0.01 seconds too.

 

[Kerbalwerks]

Gave the Space shuttle a Go.

 

[Kerbital]

On 5/6/2018 at 5:27 PM, Triop said:

Yes, thanks for asking.

I could use mods to do my flying, docking, but where is the fun in that ?

I think most ksp players can't even dock without mods, correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't mind mods, I like visual mods and BDA.

But for now I want to stay vanilla in career mode to see how far I can come.

 

 

 

I would have quit playing the game withing the first couple of hours if didn't find MechJeb. I find it insanely hard. Autopilot should be included in the base game as a difficulty option.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Kerbital

[crasher925]

1 hour ago, RizzoTheRat said:

Couldn't figure out how to separate satellites from a launch vehicle and switch between them reliable using KOS, so I ended up setting them to reboot every 10 minutes unless they only had one engine, which worked but seemed a bit of a bodge, and I had to then delete the boot scripts from each one once they were in place.

However it all worked, 3 stage launcher lifted to the correct altitude for a 90 minute period, then raised it's periapsis to a 60 minute period, dropped off the 2 satellites on consecutive orbits, which each lifted themselves to a 90 minute period, and then the launch vehicle lifted to a 90 minute period on the next orbit.  They all ended up within 0.01 seconds too.

 

how do  u do this 

[Kerbital]

22 hours ago, DeltaDizzy said:

I cant dock even with mods, so Im trying to learn. As for visuals, yeah I love those. I get what you mean with the stock career thing, but I love my Planet mods too.

Docking with MechJeb is very easy.

[Geonovast]

18 minutes ago, crasher925 said:

how do  u do this 

https://meyerweb.com/eric/ksp/resonant-orbits/

Launch your carrier craft into your elliptical resonant orbit.  At your PE, you release a satellite, and circularize the satellite, not the carrier craft.  Warp your carrier to PE again, and release another satellite, circularize the sat.  Rinse and repeat for however many sats you're using.

[RizzoTheRat]

30 minutes ago, crasher925 said:

how do  u do this 

I'm using RemoteTech so antenna calcs are a bit different than KerbNet, but a bit of trigonometry to work out the required altitude and then round that to a sensible numbered period (90 minutes), based on the this equation 

To get 3 satellites on a 90 minute period I needed a 60 minute period on the launch vehicle to drop one off at each Apoapsis on the first 2 orbits, then accelerate the carrier on the 3rd orbit.

My standard launch and circularization script does a turn at 50m/s based on the TWR at that point and then follows prograde until the correct apoapsis, and the  circularizes, so I ran that to an 80km orbit, and then another functon to burn prograde to hit the altitude calculated above, then burn at apoapsis to hit the 60 minute period, then separate the first of the satellites.

The 2 satellites had their own KOS cores and on boot up if below 1000m loaded all my function scripts.  It counted the number of engines, and if there's only 1 it meant it had separated so it circularised at apoapsis to the 90 minutes period, then switched back to the launch vehicle.  Otherwise it waited 10 minutes and then rebooted.

I messed up the launch vehicle code slightly, it should have had a similar engine counting routine, but on the last orbit it tried to stage and the code fell over, but it had comms so I was able to paste in the circularisation code from the smaller satellites and run that.

Edited May 7, 2018 by RizzoTheRat

[DeltaDizzy]

1 hour ago, Kerbital said:

Docking with MechJeb is very easy.

If it works properly that is.

[Zeiss Ikon]

On 5/6/2018 at 5:27 PM, Triop said:

I could use mods to do my flying, docking, but where is the fun in that ?

I think most ksp players can't even dock without mods, correct me if I'm wrong.

You're wrong.  The only mod I use is Better Burn Time, which does nothing for docking (it makes parking the rendezvous easier, though).  I dock almost entirely with the nav ball, barely even look at the vessels, and find docking in the dark only a little more difficult than docking in sunlight (because I hardly look at the vessels).  Further, I learned to dock without help, after a few tens of hours playing the game (started with 1.2.2).

If your target is stabilized, docking isn't hard.  If the target has active piloting (a probe core, even with only heading hold, or any pilot at all), docking is fairly easy.  If the target is unstabilized, docking is fairly difficult.  A couple times, I've successfully docked with an actual tumbling target -- it requires only only skill, but timing, but it is possible if the tumble rate isn't too rapid.

I start with a dead-still rendezvous within 200 m (rendezvous is the first skill, and it's pretty easy too, once you know how to approach it), point the two craft at each other (don't forget "control from here" on the docking port you intend to use on the active craft, and target the docking port on the target, if your game version doesn't do it automatically; 1.4.0 and later seems to do so), use either RCS or the main engine (at very low throttle) to give yourself a couple m/s closing velocity, then use your RCS translation controls to adjust your target velocity marker so it's centered on the target marker .  Keep adjusting for drift as you approach; when you're 20-30 m away, cut your closing velocity to under 1 m/s and keep adjusting for drift (which gets more pronounced as you approach, because geometry).  While you have time (more than 50 m out) you can also momentarily shut off RCS and readjust your actual heading (the wing symbol) to center its dot on the as well.

Keep everything aligned, and when your two craft bump, they'll dock.  Done.

I can' t talk to docking without RCS -- it's going to be a very slow process, because all your maneuvers have to be done by rotating the active craft to thrust in the direction of the correction you need and then rotate back to point to the target docking clamp, and this takes time.  I understand how it's done, but I just don't leave the RCS off anything that's got the slightest possibility of needing to dock, or even to EVA transfer a Kerbal (as in rescue ops).  A 20 m rendezvous is far easier to deal with than a 200 m distance, when you're trying to fly a Kerbal across on his EVA pack.

Back on topic: Over the past couple days, I launched (and docked!) the first two modules of my new Minmus station.  In the end, it needs have an antenna, ability to generate power, a cupola, a docking port, room for 15, plus three pilots and 6000 units of Lf/O aboard for acceptance.  At present, I've got four Hitchikers and the cupola (total capacity 17), one 3200 tank a bit less than half full (the command module positioned itself in Minmus orbit), seven available Clamp-o-Tron Jr. and five full-size Clamp-o-Tron ports.  Two more launches, the heaviest of my career so far, ought to be able to bring up enough additional fuel tanks for acceptance (and their pilots will fill that clause).

I also flew tourists on a science gathering mission to a new biome on the Mun; the tourists enjoyed the flight (and paid well), and Tridin brought back almost 500 science as well.  AND, I rescued two Kerbals in one launch (one from LKO, the other from a very low Munar orbit), and deorbited two debris objects (one from LKO and one from around the Mun) on the same launch, and on another launch, relieved the commander of Kerbin Station Alpha, deorbited the station, then rescued a Kerbal from the surface of Minmus (he had to fly his EVA pack 2.7 km to make his bus, but he didn't seem to mind -- he'd been there for 255 days as I was ignoring things back home to watch the crew flying past Duna and Ike).

At present, the only remaining open contracts I have are completion of the Minmus station, and one more pair of tourists who want to go to the Mun (one wants to land, the other will have to put up with landing).  Looking forward to the science haul when the Duna flyby crew get home...

[Triop]

4 hours ago, Kerbital said:

I would have quit playing the *game withing the first couple of hours if didn't find MechJeb. I find it insanely hard. Autopilot should be included in the base game as a difficulty option.

Mods are the motor for playing KSP.

I love how tweakable this game is, without modders I wouldn't have played all these hours.

Also must admit I never installed MJ, and I never will.

I guess I'm scared it will help me to much on stuff I need to figure out myself.

AS FOR TODAY !

We took some leisure time and dusted of the good old MiG 15 and took it for a flight

Spoiler

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Triop

[Kerbital]

1 hour ago, DeltaDizzy said:

If it works properly that is.

Docking actually worked for me. Landing would sometimes be problematic though. The only times docking wouldn't work for me were:

- I had modded RCS thrusters tat were too powerful for the craft

- there was object protruding too close to the docking port.

[Triop]

Some leaked images of Project Torpedo

[Triop]

Whorthless ass a sub . . .

Great Hydro foil though . . .

[Geonovast]

On 5/6/2018 at 4:27 PM, Triop said:

I think most ksp players can't even dock without mods, correct me if I'm wrong.

I disagree.  I believe it's the most common struggle, but I don't think the most common solution is "go get a mod that does it for me."  Viewpoint is just skewed a bit since you don't see a barrage of people reporting routine docking.

 

7 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Is it bad that I have like 280 hrs in game an I just got the steam version a few months ago?

I had a copy from the website since like 2016 so yeah...

When I started, I easily had 50+ hours into this game every week.  It was pretty much all I did, except for work and pretending to sleep.

[Jett_Quasar]

16 hours ago, crasher925 said:

what mods did you use for the effects? they dont exactly look stock

The only mods I have installed are EVE, camera tools and vessel mover.  I use the voice tracks from chatterer but it's not in the game it's done during editing.

 - Jett

[Cavscout74]

I spent a little time experimenting with low to mid-tech SSTO designs.  The least unsuccessful one looked pretty cool, flew pretty nice, but is about 1000 m/s shy of the "O" part.  Then I launched a few satellites for contracts & followed up with a Mun rover landing.  Ended the day with sending off my first round of Duna probes for this career.

The "least unsuccessful" SSTO attempt:

0.625m LFO sounding rocket boosting a small satellite to orbit:

And finally the Mun remote rover landed at Twin Craters:

 

[KerikBalm]

10 hours ago, RizzoTheRat said:

To get 3 satellites on a 90 minute period I needed a 60 minute period on the launch vehicle to drop one off at each Apoapsis on the first 2 orbits, then accelerate the carrier on the 3rd orbit.

...

Hmmmm, that's much more elegant than what I do for my comm-net. Early on I just sort of randomly launch sats for contracts. Later on I deorbit them all to avoid clutter, and launch a network of 3 or 4 RA-100s to the limits of kerbin SOI. In that case the orbital period is so long, that the time to do 1 orbit in LKO is insignificant, so I just lanuch 3 or 4 sats to LKO, then eyeball 90 or 120 degrees (if 3 or 4), and do burns to the same Ap nearthe SOI edge. Then Minmus/Mun (in the system I play now, its just Mun where minmus was, and minmus is moved to be in an orbit similar to that of Dres' orbit) are all interior to the relay network, and I have connections on the far side of Mun/Minmus with just a comm-16 

@Triop   to be yet another one, yes, you are wrong. I have never installed mech jeb, I can dock. I don't just dock separate vehicles, I do orbital assembly:

Spoiler

Mods: 3x rescale of the system (So orbital velocity at LKO is about 4,100 m/s), TAC life support, kerbal planetary base systems

Rendevous of prop module:

Propulsion module docked:

Fuel depot added:

Faux centrifuge module added:

Transfer to Mun, rendevous and docking with a fuel tanker (gets its fuel from ISRU at Mun)

arrival at Duna:

Duna shuttle rendevous with the mothership

Duna shuttle docked to the mothership for refueling. Also docked to the mothership is a tug that took surface base modules, for loading in the shuttle to take down to the surface:

Which reminds me... loading surface modules into the shuttle in orbit is rather tricky docking that I do manually:

Sticking this in wasn't easy:

Its a tug "train" of surface base modules, and I would stick one into the shuttle, and disconnect it from the "train"

And something similar going on around Mun:

Loading single modules without tugs to help, just the RCS on the shuttle/dropships:

Docking was hard for me for quite a while at first, but the game does give you all the tools you need to do it, even to thread 2.5m modules into a mk3 cargobay, and dock inside the cargobay.

Edited May 8, 2018 by KerikBalm

[RizzoTheRat]

1 hour ago, KerikBalm said:

Hmmmm, that's much more elegant than what I do for my comm-net. Early on I just sort of randomly launch sats for contracts. Later on I deorbit them all to avoid clutter, and launch a network of 3 or 4 RA-100s to the limits of kerbin SOI. In that case the orbital period is so long, that the time to do 1 orbit in LKO is insignificant, so I just lanuch 3 or 4 sats to LKO, then eyeball 90 or 120 degrees (if 3 or 4), and do burns to the same Ap nearthe SOI edge.

This is the first time I've ever tried the Resonant orbit approach, previously I've always just launched in to a lower orbit and Hohmann'd each satellite to the required orbit, and gone for 4 satellites in a 90 minute period. The fact that the satellites only have to circularize means they could be way lighter than the ones I used, can't remember how much dV they needed but a spark and an OscarB would be plenty, so I'll probably replace this network with a lighter weight 4 satellite one when I've got farings and better antenna.

I'm trying do as much as I can by KOS scripts this game, which means doing the maths for everything so it makes sense to do it the most efficient way.  However without farings yet I had to use Terriers rather than Sparks to keep the drag down (3 changes from 1.25 to 0.625 on my initial launch attempt meant the spent boosters overtook the second stage when they dropped :D), and this early in the game (only done 1 Mun flyby so far) the extra weight meant I could only launch 3 not 4.

It did take a hell of long time to work it all out though, I'm finding KOS slow going but very satisfying.

 

 

 

 

ETA:  As for the docking/mods debate, I tried using Mechjeb for docking once, it was rubbish.  I usually rotate the target craft so its docking port is pointing at the docking craft, and then with the docking craft "controlled from" its docking port start heading towards the target and use the RCS to control any sideways drift by watching the navball.  As someone else said docking in the dark is just as easy as docking in daylight if you're doing it on the navball.

Of course this assumes you've managed to rendezvous close enough, in my experience you need to be closer than 5km to start the docking, so if people are trying from further apart than that I'm not surprised they're struggling.  Once you get the hang of it it's easy enough to get a rendezvous within a couple of hundred meters so worth practicing that before moving on to docking.

Edited May 8, 2018 by RizzoTheRat

[G'th]

Spoiler

Most cinematic KSP screenies ever? 

Edited May 8, 2018 by G'th

[Hotel26]

2 hours ago, KerikBalm said:

Early on I just sort of randomly launch sats for contracts

@RizzoTheRat too.

In my first attempt, I put comsats up by eyeball and then tuned their orbital periods to be exactly the same.  But then Brikoleur pointed me to the Meyer reference for resonant orbits and I thought it was very elegant and I got very enthused about comsats for a while. 

This tutorial is fascinating, too: https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Tutorial:Ideal_Orbits_for_Communication_Satellites
especially where it refers to the Law of Cosines.  It's a little bit of trig but the result is that you can, for example, put 5 space stations into the same 125km orbit fairly haphazardly and then space them quite precisely at 72 degrees from each other.  You can use the line of sight distance (Map View, distance to Target) from B following A to compute how much longer or shorter its orbital period should be for one orbit in order to arrive back into the orbit (and re-circularize) at the precise spacing that you want.  I think I found 2m accuracy was pretty achievable.  (If the adjustment is large, you may have to divide it over several orbits.)  You can then use RCS on fine adjustment to make your orbital period match within a millisecond or two which minimizes the drift over time about as good as you are going to get.  (Bet kOS could have a function to sync-lock such orbits if you wanted!?)

That got me into the whole geostationary thing after that.  (I built a maximum-security installation positioned a little to the north of KSC.  )  All in all, very absorbing.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Hotel26

[G'th]

Album YpToFQa will appear when post is submitted

[RizzoTheRat]

29 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

 (Bet kOS could have a function to sync-lock such orbits if you wanted!?)

I was thinking on my next constellation I could have the boot script set up that it checks it's position relative to a reference  satellite, and adjusts if necessary.  That way I could trigger a resynchronisation just by selecting the selecting the satellite as it will run the boot scrip when the physics loads.  I hadn't seen that tutorial though, useful stuff.

I've been using RemoteTech for years, but am starting to wonder if I should drop it in future careers and go with the stock comms model which looks to be pretty good now.

 

[Hotel26]

5 minutes ago, RizzoTheRat said:

position relative to a reference  satellite

Just having longitude (for an equatorial constellation; otherwise deriving the orbital parameters) is enough to figure out the orbital period adjustments, I think.  It could still work off a lead sat.  Well, more or less "what you said"!

Edited May 8, 2018 by Hotel26

[RizzoTheRat]

I'm always a bit dubius about using longitude as it goes from +179.999 to -179.999 somewhere and I always mess that bit up .  I usually measure phase angle by the angle between different objects velocity vectors and up vectors rather than their longitude as I tend to get it right more often.

 

[Urus28]

I'm working on a spaceship to visit Duna with 3 kerbonauts, what you see is not the final design, I have still some work to do on it.

This spaceship is equipped with a lander which will let a Duna surface a working probe. Before leaving Duna the landing ship will be transformed in a small relay station.