Do You Spin Your Craft on Launch?

[Sathurn]

I have noticed that with Mech jeb and spin, I can get some unwieldy craft into orbit. I was wondering do you use spin to launch "ugly" ships?

[Spades_Neil]

Not often, no. Usually that compounds the problem.

[WarWyvern]

I frequently spin my craft on launch, but never on purpose.

[katateochi]

launching craft like a rifled bullet lol, err no, it makes Bill puke. I do rotate 90 degrees on launch before starting the G-turn so side boosters or tanks are either side rather than above and below when they are dropped. obv. I could rotate the craft in the VAB so I don't need to rotate but I also do it in a vain attempt to look more realistic. tbh if my craft is spinning on its own then something is wrong.

[nhnifong]

launching craft like a rifled bullet lol, err no, it makes Bill puke. I do rotate 90 degrees on launch before starting the G-turn so side boosters or tanks are either side rather than above and below when they are dropped. obv. I could rotate the craft in the VAB so I don't need to rotate but I also do it in a vain attempt to look more realistic. tbh if my craft is spinning on its own then something is wrong.

I used to always do that, now I just put the boosters on the right sides of the ship

[Guest]

I frequently spin my craft on launch, but never on purpose.

Same here. It's never intentional. Spin stabilisation doesn't buy you much in the atmosphere.

[The Jedi Master]

Do I rotate my ship on launch? Yes. Do I do it on PURPOSE? No. It is VERY confusing.

[w4rlord117]

It could be beneficent on stage sep, the forces throw the ejected parts away from the craft

[alacrity]

I think "Use Spin" is too strong a description. I don't use mechjeb on launches very often unless I an just launching some stock parts or refuelers I have launched a 1000 times before, but as a general rule I try to keep things from spinning.

The uglier the ship tho and the more spin comes into the launch. Nothing you can do about it really but try to work with the spin without letting it get out of control. As a general rule I aim to get the ugly ships over 15000 km as fast as possible, without much concern for tilts and orbits.

Ship type A) Well balanced "standard" configuration

1) Launch at 0

2) First tilt at 500km 2-5 degrees towards target

3) Second tilt 8000- 10000km 15-30 degrees towards target May spin if the the remaining ship is a little more linear across the axis (Three engine in a line vs still in a cross pattern)

4) final insertion when AP is at desired, tilt towards horizon and burn for victory

Ship type inventive "Ugly" design (Who would want to launch a pirate ship into space? Next time Hyperedit)

1) Launch at 0

2) Full burn power assent fighting the ships attempts to flip over, spin out, or spontaniously combust

3) First tilt 15000km 30-45degrees and continuing heavy burn until AP target is achieved then coast until ship is out of atmo (ie don't fire the engines again unless absolutly needed

4) once out of atmo burn engine towards or below the horizon desperately trying to circ the orbit.

Needless to say, the pirate ship and the eiffle tower orbits looked decidedly more egg like then hoola hoops.

Alacrity Fitz

[Landge]

When you are in the VAB, once your ship design is finished, click on the capsule/probe body to select the whole ship then press the "Q" key 1 time.

That will rotate your ship 90° east so that when you go to the launch pad your ship is already facing east. The only time I don't rotate the ship in the VAB is if I need a polar orbit.

No more having to roll your ship around after launch. Just pitch it down to initiate a gravity turn as stated above.

If you still have issues with spin add more fins if it's a big ship. If it's a small ship it might be you're going too fast while still in the atmosphere. In that case reduce the throttle and see if that helps.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Landge

[Festivefire]

The only time i use spin stabilization is for unguided projectiles, like atg rockets, or cruise missiles. otherwise, you are likely to rip something off of a larger orbit sized vehicle, as well as not be able to make your gravity turn, or any corrections should you sway off course, because you are not a computer, and thus lack the proper reaction times to do it properly.

[Brotoro]

No, I try not to have my rockets spinning on launch.

I HAVE used spin to stabilize some unbalanced spacecraft without ASAS during burns in orbit.

[Pipcard]

When you are in the VAB, once your ship design is finished, click on the capsule/probe body to select the whole ship then press the "Q" key 1 time.

That will rotate your ship 90° east so that when you go to the launch pad your ship is already facing east. The only time I don't rotate the ship in the VAB is if I need a polar orbit.

No more having to roll your ship around after launch. Just pitch it down to initiate a gravity turn as stated above.

If you still have issues with spin add more fins if it's a big ship. If it's a small ship it might be you're going too fast while still in the atmosphere. In that case reduce the throttle and see if that helps.

I don't perform roll maneuvers but that is an excellent idea.

[UmbralRaptor]

Not intentionally, but sometimes extraneous torques force it.

Also, why do a 90° roll + pitch when you can yaw?

[Landge]

Not intentionally, but sometimes extraneous torques force it.

Also, why do a 90° roll + pitch when you can yaw?

I don't know. Maybe has to do with OCD in me. I like the ground half of the navball below me.

[FlamedSteak]

I'm fond of double parking SRB's on the side of my launch craft. For some reason I can never mount them perfectly perpendicular, so I always do a few rotations before speration.

[AmpsterMan]

I like doing a roll maneuver and then pitch over

[wilt57]

I tried the trick to rotate the ship 90* in the VAB back in .19. All it did was make the top of my ship the right-hand side. I thought it was all working just fine until I went to dock in orbit and as I lined-up I noticed I needed to make a slight adjustment, and my thrusters fired 90* off of what I was expecting

So... I've just learned to deal with my OCD and make right-hand gravity turns. LOL

[technicalfool]

because you are not a computer, and thus lack the proper reaction times to do it properly.

Actually it's not that hard to get a spinning rocket to lean over the right way, provided you have at least some flight sim (or hey, real flight) experience, or possibly model aircraft experience. I can make a model aircraft aileron-roll around the sky at over 100mph for as long as you want while flying in circuits around the field.. and I can get a wildly spinning Kerbal rocket toward some semblance of an equatorial orbit, so long as it's not spinning too stupidly.

Just takes practise and a little common sense.

[mellojoe]

Do you spin your craft on launch?

Wait .... there's a way to NOT spin your craft? I must learn this magic NON-SPINNING technique.

All of my crafts are equppied with extra kerbarf-bags.

[joppiesaus]

Sometimes for the fun.

[Landge]

I tried the trick to rotate the ship 90* in the VAB back in .19. All it did was make the top of my ship the right-hand side. I thought it was all working just fine until I went to dock in orbit and as I lined-up I noticed I needed to make a slight adjustment, and my thrusters fired 90* off of what I was expecting

So... I've just learned to deal with my OCD and make right-hand gravity turns. LOL

You need to make sure you rotate the docking ports too. That's why I don't rotate the ship until everything is attached beforehand. If you detach anything below the capsule after rotating, the freed parts resets to 0. You need to re-rotate the freed parts to line back up with the upper section.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Landge

[Crass]

In KSP a spinning rocket is less efficient. Design better rockets.

[Sathurn]

In KSP a spinning rocket is less efficient. Design better rockets.

Well the ship (payload) was balanced for horizontal landing on the Mun. However as the vertical launch vehicle neared burn out, it just could not keep it going straight. Both hand flying and MechJeb resulted in the rocket tumbling end over end at about 50k over Kerbin. The CoM and the CoT just are not quite lined up. They are pretty close though. However I found if I started a spin right after the last booster dropped, My launch would wobble in a circle but would not tumble.

[Mefi282]

I do only use it for stage separation. Especially when asparagus staging. Sometimes not on purpurose but it helps anyways.