Munar Orbit?

[starkllr]

I actually did manage it on my own, but it was very ugly and horribly wasteful of fuel, even with MechJeb's help (please don't judge!).

So I'm asking for advice: how do I efficiently put a ship in a reasonable (30km or so) Munar orbit?

I can do the Hohann transfer (yeah, MechJeb is my copilot on that, too), but what do I do to insert into a good munar orbit, and when do I do it, ideally without burning all my fuel? Thanks!

[Vanamonde]

After you enter Mun's SOI, turn retrograde and burn until your periapsis is at the height you want. Then wait until you reach that periapsis, turn retrograde again, and burn until apoapsis = periapsis. It's most efficient if you go to your settings file and set patched conics draw mode = 0, and then your projected path through Mun's SOI will be displayed right by the moon itself, and you can see how close you will pass. Wait until you're half-way there, set a maneuver node, and try moving the radial/anti-radial tabs until you've got the periapsis you want. Burn to set that, wait until you reach it, then burn retrograde to set apoapsis.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Vanamonde

[Atanar]

Do the ingame tutourials, they are very helpful and explain it better than any text here could.

[Syhrus]

Do the ingame tutourials, they are very helpful and explain it better than any text here could.

Lies and slander!

Hohann Transfers are probably best for Mun, so you've got that part right. For best efficiency, try to get your final Periapsis to Mun at 30km when you do your initial insertion burn. the further away you are from a point on your orbit, the less fuel it takes to change it (hence why burning at one side of your orbit directly effects the other side). Once you get to you Mun Periapsis, bur retrograde until your Apoapsis is as 30km as well.

If you want your orbit to be equatorial, make sure your have your orbit aligned correctly before doing your insertion burn.

[Tarmenius]

You may find this old topic particularly useful: Optimal Munar Orbit Insertion. Even though it's dated now, the methods found within are still quite valid. I hope this helps, and always feel free to ask questions if you're unsure on anything.