Kouston We have a Problem !

[Blo0d]

Well. i did experiment a new ship and it kinda worked well too well... Now my 3 pilot are orbiting sun and havin no mean to get back home ! How can i plan a rescue mission and not failling ?! dont want them to die ;.;

[sierra_seven_]

You should've probably put this in the 'How-To' subforum instead of in the General Discussion one... but seeing as you're here, let's see what we can do! Do you have any more information? How far away from the Kerbin system is your experimental ship? You're gonna be looking at one hell of a rescue mission if your ship is floating in the middle of nowhere So yeah, we'll need some better information if you need help with this, man!

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Well, this might take a long time.

First you have to know how to dock, and that takes tons of practice, then if they're in solar orbit, its the same concept of doing an interplanetary mission, only your target is about 5 meters across with no gravity.

I myself have never done a docking in Kerbol orbit. Unless you don't have a docking port and must EVA them over, but you still have to get close which is hard.

If you know how to do interplanetary missions, have some more specifics, and can dock/get close to it, then we could take you through it step by step.

[Ralathon]

Well, this might take a long time.

First you have to know how to dock, and that takes tons of practice, then if they're in solar orbit, its the same concept of doing an interplanetary mission, only your target is about 5 meters across with no gravity.

I myself have never done a docking in Kerbol orbit. Unless you don't have a docking port and must EVA them over, but you still have to get close which is hard.

If you know how to do interplanetary missions, have some more specifics, and can dock/get close to it, then we could take you through it step by step.

Getting close is quite easy in Kerbol orbit in fact. Provided that the craft start off relatively close. The distances are so huge that you can pretty much ignore orbital mechanics, so just point and burn.

[TheGadfly]

Currently, Kerbals have infinite life spans and won't die just sitting in orbit. If you got into solar orbit accidentally, you will have a lot of trouble getting them back as you will need a ship that has much more dV (delta V, or change in velocity, ie "mileage") than the first.

Start with a probe core and add a capsule (it should be empty then). Make sure to add solar panels or an rtg. It will need enough fuel to get to solar orbit, make maneuvers to catch up to the stricken craft, and return to Kerbin (you do know how to change periapsis and apoapsis right? if not, check the tutorial) Practice your rendezvous or you will have to ship in need of rescue.

Don't sweat it, we've all been there.

[regex]

OP all you need to do is launch a ship that has enough space to hold its crew and the stranded crew ( bring along a hitchhiker container), and that has enough delta-v to rendezvous with the target craft and get back. No docking ports needed, just meet up and EVA over some Kerbals.

Your biggest worry right now is making a rendezvous and getting back.

Edited July 14, 2013 by regex
stupid phone

[regex]

Start with a probe core and add a capsule (it should be empty then).

It won't be. The second manned part after the first will be empty, at least in 0.20.

[Merinsan]

You will have to build a new ship with about double the delta V from LKO to get there and back - I'd recommend more, say about 2.2 times the delta V. Next you just need to arrange an encounter the same way you do it with ships orbiting a planet - It just takes longer.

Don't expect to get a really close initial encounter, it's very hard in solar orbits. When I did it, I got an encounter about 100km.

If you can, dock the ships so you can transfer crew or refuel, otherwise you need to space walk across.

Some thing to keep in mind, don't use time warp when arranging the rendezvous, until you are under 200m away. Rounding errors will cause the positions of ships to jump. It probably also applies to switching vessels. Once you get under 200m, the physics loads and the errors disappear and stay away until you get past 2.4km.

Good luck!

[FleetAdmiralJ]

I actually did a solar orbit rescue mission not too long ago (though with a one man pod lost, though I figure this will be the same). The name of the game will be patience. Since you have a 3 man pod lost, you'll either need a ship with a 3-man pod but remotely controlled, or something like two 2-man landing pods on the ship. The rescue craft probably will absolutely need nuclear engines just for the fuel efficiency, and quite a bit of fuel (4 to 6 tanks I would guess thereabouts). Then of course you'll need a launcher to actually get that into space. You'll want to get your orbit somewhat like the lost ship's (you can set it as a target and play around with trying to find burn angles/times that get you close). When I had to do it, I think I ended up doing 4 or 5 course corrections to finally get everything lined up. You're going to be talking about several burns with Delta-V of 2000-4000 quite possibly, thus why fuel-efficient nuclear engines are probably a must, even though the burns will probably take 20 to 30 minutes with those engines.

If you don't have docking ports on your stranded craft, you're going to have to get relatively close (2k or closer probably. Closer if you can) and then have your lost Kerbals EVA to your rescue ship). Then, of course, you're going to need to adjust your orbit to try to get a Kerbin encounter once you're rescued them. My attempt took about 13 months of game time to ultimately complete, I think.

Edited July 15, 2013 by FleetAdmiralJ

[Blo0d]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160334774

Is this link working i uploaded a screen shot of the Situation!

[Spyritdragon]

First of all, i'd backup your save. If anything goes wrong, you can reload it.

If you have a reasonable amount of fuel left in your craft, see if you can get an intercept with Eve. You look pretty close there, and a rescue from a stable Eve orbit seems easier to me than rescuing from a random Kerbol orbit. If you can't, try to circularise your orbit and get it as close as possible to Kerbin's orbit around Kerbol.

Else, make a craft with a probe core, so you don't risk losing any more Kerbals, and a hitchhiker container or an empty three-kerbal command pod. Have nuclear engines on it, very important for maximum delta-V, and try to get 2 times the delta-V of your other craft. Then make a few calculatioins with the orbital speed of Kerbin, your craft, and the radius of both orbits. Shouldn't be all too complicated. Find the right moment to launch your ship to get as close an intercept as possible, and preferrably close to target ship's apoapsis and periapsis. Then, burn prograde or retro, depending on what situation you're in. Try to equalise your orbits then, and from thereon its a standard intercept maneuver, just on a larger scale.

Make sure you've practiced a rendezvous several times in orbit around Kerbin. These RV's are alot easier to do, less risky, and will give you essential practice for your rendezvous and docking in Kerbol orbit. And, as said before, watch out for rounding errors, be cautious in your use of timewarp.