Land on Vall

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Hey all, I'm in a sort of sticky situation. How do I land on Vall, with no landing legs?

Please don't say use cheats, or mechjeb, or send another.

If you need a picture of the craft, where I'm landing or something like that just ask.

Thanks in advance.

I know this is a stupid question, I know, I'm asking for optimal ways to land on the engines, any ideas?

Edited June 2, 2013 by Spaceisbeautifulul
Insulting myself.

[WhiteWeasel]

Yes send a picture. Depends on what engines & how much fuel you have.

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Sorry for the lateness I was eating onion rings, here it is:

http://imgur.com/umwoNDfs

Two nuclear engines, and a lot of fuel for corrections and getting back.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Spaceisbeautifulul
Forgot a "s"

[nhnifong]

You could land on those engines.

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

I know I tried that, they're very "breakable", I was going 1 m/s and it still snapped off.

[Shrike42]

If you can't land it at 1 m/s, you're probably not going to be able to land it at all. You'll just have to add legs to the next version. Also, might want to add more struts to the engines.

I mean, you could try to land it on the side, but then you can't take off. So, to answer your question: You're either going to land it on the engines, or you aren't. I'd suggest redesigning the craft and trying again, since you can certainly make the trip successfully.

[Vanamonde]

You still might be able to land safely if you don't mind reducing the ship's weight by burning off most of the fuel, but I have to tell you that you're in a bad way anyhow. Not only may this not leave you with enough to get back, Vall's gravity is strong enough that the rover is going to take damage when you try to drop it to the surface. Also, Vall is quite hilly and lumpy, and it would be extremely difficult to find a spot flat enough to land on those engines without tipping over. If you had RCS, I would advise you to let the ship gently crash, accepting that this means no return, slowly let it fall to the side, and then drop the rover from that reduced height, but even then, the rover likely to land upside down and you probably wouldn't be able to turn it over again. It looks like your choices are a) attempting to accomplish the mission even though it means marooning the crew, or bringing the boys home while abandoning the mission objectives.

[CalculusWarrior]

How do you land without landing legs? Verrrrrry slowwwwwwly...

If your engines are breaking off, then maybe try to land it on its side, if you can find a hill. This will hopefully allow you to take off again. Alternatively, if its mission is to land the rover, simply come in close to the surface, then detach the rover (and maybe EVA a kerbal ) then boost for orbit again! However, don't quicksave if you land on your side; there is always a chance of you not being able to take off again.

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Hum, I think my best option is to launch the final probe and abandon the mission.

Man, I hate making simple mistakes like this.

Thank you all for your help.

[Giggleplex777]

I have a very radical idea: slow down to a hover very close to the ground, then disable ASAS, tip over, and land on its side.

[Penguinhero]

vall has similar gravity as kerbin. so rebuild the lander and test it out on kerbin then land on vall

[Catsceo]

Vall and Kerbin in no way have similar gravity, you're thinking of Tylo. Vall has about a meter per second more gravity than the Mun.

[Penguinhero]

whoops well test it on the min then

[Flixxbeatz]

Vall and Kerbin in no way have similar gravity, you're thinking of Tylo. Vall has about a meter per second more gravity than the Mun.

Then I guess it's safe to say that if a certain lander can do it on Mun, then it can also land on Vall (but with slightly higher fuel expenditure)?

[miketheveeg]

Man, I hate making simple mistakes like this.

we all do that .. i was on duna and miss placed the ladder and spent like 20 minutes jumping and climbing til i finally got back in..

[Uberick]

Just crash(land) it and send a rescue mission with version 2.0! You'll give your Kerbals a great story to tell their friends!

Side note, for some reason nuclear engines have a horrible tendency to separate from their host fuel tanks for very little reason. Try to get into a habit of just routing a pair of struts to every nuke engine if you don't mind the part count.