How to stay at the sunny side

[Octobomb]

Wouldn't trailing behind Kerbin on the same orbital path work? Obviously it would drift but nothing so drastic some rcs thrusters every couple years couldn't fix. You'd always be in sunlight.

[Tex_NL]

Dedjal clearly stated he wanted to look at a continuously illuminated Kerbin. Picking a spot ahead/behind just outside Kerbin's SoI defeats the point as it would be so far away from the planet you can barely see it.

[CalculusWarrior]

That is true, any time you're orbiting Kerbol you're always in sunlight. Is there a reason that you want your ship to always be sunny? If it's a probe that keeps running out of power, just slap some more batteries on it and you're good!

[Cdr_Zeta]

Hi,

Sorry it just seems like the posts are making this too confusing; talk of lagrange points etc...?

I read where there is a geo-sync distance from Kerbin; Imay just look into that tonite (during my livestream)...why make this more difficult than the OP's question already isnt.

I did breeze thru this thread mind you...

Cdr Zeta

Edited May 20, 2013 by Cdr_Zeta

[Dedjal]

Power is fine, just wantes to park a spacestation in a sunny spot for RP.

And to avoid that the Kerbalnauts who is afraid of the dark, freaks out.

I thought it was such a simple thing to do, go the opposit way the planet spins, hence always remain in the sun.

Simple thing to do when on land in a plane, but in space... In space you fall down to mother eart... kerbin

[Fyrem]

Cdr_Zeta, are you thinking of this:

Normal Geo-stationary orbits are : launch EAST (90), and set up altitude at 2686k

And your thinking that you can launch WEST (270), and setup altitude at 2686k, and thus be 'above kerbin' and see it in full sunlight forever.

[NeoMorph]

I think he may have meant north or south. Hanging above or below the planet in geostationary would do it. You would see the north or south hemisphere all the time but be in full sunlight .

[Fyrem]

But wait, now my brain is melting and I do not have KSP here to verify but...

what IF you did launch WEST to an alt of 2686k... as setup your orbital speed to 6h0m0s ..... Wouldn't you be 'stationary' between Kerbin and Kerbol? (in relation to the Day/night terminator).

so if you timed it right, you would have a view of the 'lighted' part of kerbal at all times.

or would this 'drift' as kerbal made its orbit around kerbon?

no, I think this would just get you an orbit of 2 passes over ksp per day.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Fyrem

[Fractal_UK]

But wait, now my brain is melting and I do not have KSP here to verify but...

what IF you did launch WEST to an alt of 2686k... as setup your orbital speed to 6h0m0s ..... Wouldn't you be 'stationary' between Kerbin and Kerbol? (in relation to the Day/night terminator).

so if you timed it right, you would have a view of the 'lighted' part of kerbal at all times.

or would this 'drift' as kerbal made its orbit around kerbon?

no, I think this would just get you an orbit of 2 passes over ksp per day.

No, launching west doesn't help, it just means you rotate around Kerbin in the opposite direction. If you orbit at 2,868km in a retrograde orbit you will see the same point on the surface twice in a single orbit. As I've already explained several times, in order to do what the OP requested, you have to launch into a polar orbit with a tiny equatorial component to keep you aligned with the terminator all year round.

If you put yourself in a circular, polar, geosynchronous orbit (with altitude 2,868km) over the day/night terminator then select the mun as your target, you should be able to see your inclination from the equatorial plane on your ascending and descending nodes. At the equator, burn normally until your inclination reads 89.9 degrees (89.8655 to be precise), job done.

[Fyrem]

Fractal, yes, I already knew the polar orbit trick, and I understand it.

(but why not 'exactly' 90? why 89.8655?)

[andrewas]

I can't see how that works in a simulation with 2-body physics and spherical gravity. Theres nothing to cause the orbital plane to rotate.

[Fractal_UK]

Fractal, yes, I already knew the polar orbit trick, and I understand it.

(but why not 'exactly' 90? why 89.8655?)

Because if you stay exactly in a polar orbit then as Kerbin rotates around the sun, you will be 90 degrees out of alignment after 1/4 of a year, 180 degrees out after 1/2 a year, etc. The tiny equatorial component moves your orbit slowly around Kerbin in sync with its rotation around the sun.

[Cdr_Zeta]

now I undertand the geo-sync orbit better lookin at the posts...

I didnt think a polar orbit was or could be geo-sync as that doesnt follow the motion of the planet...

thinkin back now I see that the geo-sync orbit maintains position over the same spot over the planet...the terminator will change seasonally too; and I didnt know you could do a polar orbit such as to get the sunlight for most of the time in orbit; it would degrade over time and need corrections to follow the orbit around the sun.

Nice topic; made me put my brain to work !

But there was another solution I think it was mentioned...if you escape Kerbin just to the point of getting into Sun orbit...?

Lemme just get krakken on my missions an learn this stuff !

Cdr Zeta

[Fractal_UK]

Geosynchronous and geostationary are different things though they are often used interchangeably (incorrectly). A geostationary orbits is also geosynchronous but it is a special geosychronous orbit where your orbit has a period equal to the rotation period of the planet AND that orbit is circular and over the equator such that you are always above one specific point on the planet surface.

Thus a polar orbit can be geosychronous but not geostationary.

[Lheim]

Yep, a polar orbit oriented east-west would always be in sunlight.

[Morzak]

now I undertand the geo-sync orbit better lookin at the posts...

I didnt think a polar orbit was or could be geo-sync as that doesnt follow the motion of the planet...

thinkin back now I see that the geo-sync orbit maintains position over the same spot over the planet...the terminator will change seasonally too; and I didnt know you could do a polar orbit such as to get the sunlight for most of the time in orbit; it would degrade over time and need corrections to follow the orbit around the sun.

Nice topic; made me put my brain to work !

But there was another solution I think it was mentioned...if you escape Kerbin just to the point of getting into Sun orbit...?

Lemme just get krakken on my missions an learn this stuff !

Cdr Zeta

This would not work in the long run, because you would be on a different orbit then Kerbin, which means you would drift away from it gradually. Also imagine the pain of crew transfers for that station, also Kerbin would be a tiny speck on the background not really what the OP wants.

[tomf]

An orbit perfectly following the terminator would only work for a short time. The plane of the orbit won't rotate to match the rotation of Kerbin around the sun so in 1/4 of a kerbin year that orbit will be following the line of midnight/noon. In RL we take advantage of the oblateness of the earth to precess the orbital plane to keep it always aligned.