equatorial planetary intercepts

[creator1629]

around kerbin i like having equatorial 0 degree inclination orbits, and i was wondering how to do this when intercepting other planets. whenever i get a planetary intercept the inclination degree seems to vary significantly and it rarely ever is an equatorial orbit. i have done burns to correct my orbit after i get my planetary intercept, but this always consumes way too much fuel, and i was wondering if there was a way to determine if a planetary intercept would be the one i want before i hit it, or at least is close enough so that when i do a correction burn it doesn't use so much fuel

Edited May 27, 2013 by creator1629

[rryy]

Go into the settings.cfg (not the one in game) and find the line that says "CONIC_PATCH_DRAW_MODE". In the stock game, that is normally set to 3, but you want to change that to 0.

Now, in the game, when you are in solar orbit encountering a planet, adjust your relative inclination so that it is aligned with your target. Then, target the camera to your target planet and you should see your trajectory around it. While you are still in solar orbit, you want to burn north or south to adjust it to get as close to equatorial as possible. You also want to make sure that the orbit is prograde (anticlockwise), not retrograde (clockwise). Then, you can do your small inclination adjustments once you are in a stable orbit.

Alternatively, when you perform your retrograde burn/aerobrake, keep your apoapsis as high as possible after doing so, and if your ascending/descending node is in the right position, you can perform the inclination change at a high altitude, making the burn cost much less delta-v.

[RoboRay]

Dupe is dupe.

Edited May 28, 2013 by RoboRay

[RoboRay]

When approaching another body to enter orbit, your inclination is influenced by the latitude of your periapsis. If your Pe is above the equator, you will capture into an equatorial orbit. If your Pe is over the north or south pole, you get a polar orbit.

This assumes you are arriving out of the plane of the ecliptic, but that usually is the case. If your transfer orbit took you out of the plane of the ecliptic, your minimum inclination (without a correction burn as you cross the equator) is determined by how far you deviated from the ecliptic.

[creator1629]

oh wow i didn't know about that conic patch draw mode thing. will definitely give that a try, thanks for the info guys

[Elemental]

Go into the settings.cfg (not the one in game) and find the line that says "CONIC_PATCH_DRAW_MODE". In the stock game, that is normally set to 3, but you want to change that to 0.

Now, in the game, when you are in solar orbit encountering a planet, adjust your relative inclination so that it is aligned with your target. Then, target the camera to your target planet and you should see your trajectory around it. While you are still in solar orbit, you want to burn north or south to adjust it to get as close to equatorial as possible. You also want to make sure that the orbit is prograde (anticlockwise), not retrograde (clockwise). Then, you can do your small inclination adjustments once you are in a stable orbit.

Alternatively, when you perform your retrograde burn/aerobrake, keep your apoapsis as high as possible after doing so, and if your ascending/descending node is in the right position, you can perform the inclination change at a high altitude, making the burn cost much less delta-v.

Thanks for that, been struggling with odd angles for months. Since I did this I have been able to start working on the Jool moons without running out of fuel correcting my inclination.

[kurja]

but what does the conic draw thingamabob thing do?!?

[Scottiths]

but what does the conic draw thingamabob thing do?!?

I would also like to know. I tend to be wary of changing things when I don't know what I am changing

[RoboRay]

Conic patch modes change how the trajectory information on the Map is displayed. In Mode 0, when your trajectory enters another SOI, instead of showing your projected trajectory in the location the body will be when you arrive, it shows it where the body is right now. This allows you to focus on that body and zoom in close, to see exactly how you're changing your trajectory within that SOI.

The only issue with it is, zoomed out at the Map, your trajectory appears to dead-end when it hits an SOI boundary and magically reappears elsewhere, wherever the body is now. So, your trajectory is a series of dashed arcs instead of one long continuous line. This is not the default conics mode, probably, because it may be more difficult for somebody unfamiliar with orbital mechanics to understand what's being presented.

Edited May 28, 2013 by RoboRay

[Specialist290]

A quick forum search turned up this:

Different conic drawing modes

This should explain how each mode affects what you see on the map.