not raise AP during launch to high

[KerbMav]

Yesterday it happened again, after launch during circulization the Ap was already much higher then my Pe/desired orbit should have been. I try to stop the engines and coast up to my Ap but somehow more oft than not I mess up and end with a 80/450km orbit ...

Edited July 22, 2013 by KerbMav

[Cheebsta]

Is the rocket that did it a lot lighter than you're used to, or does this always happen?

[Audiopulse]

This reads as if the AP keeps rising after you already cut the engines? If so this would be a bug.

Ive never heard of something like this, though, so my guess is you just kept firing your engines too long before coasting. Bear in mind that if youre in an elliptical orbit and youre firing at its Periapsis - the Apoapsis far off can rise pretty quickly.

Thats a good method to accumulate Escape-velocity through several orbi

[Johnno]

Stop your engines earlier. Once you get to around 25-30km drag will barely touch your AP. Normally I turn off my engines straight off when my AP hits 80km, then coast up to AP and burn there.

[mellojoe]

When you are burning for circulization, watch where you start the burn. If you are not burning 100% at the Apoapsis, then you will be shifting the AP if you just point along the horizon or along prograde. To keep the AP from moving make sure you start just before the AP and if it is a longer burn time, move your nose down toward the planet at the same time. If you are not burning exactly at the AP, then you will move the AP while burning. You can usually mitigate this by starting burn slightly before and continuing the burn at AP and slightly after AP.

[KerbMav]

You all got it right I think.

Yes, I started with big landers and station parts as soon as I managed to get anything into a stable orbit. Now while experimenting with mapsat my rockets are really compared to the monsters I used in the last six weeks.

And for the same reason I keep burning up until 70k - with my Ap now far far away/up.

What I dont remember is, if I always used to split the circulization burn around the Ap - I did it yesterday though.

OK, reprogramming my wetware to pay more attention, thank you!