Communication Satellites

[giddonah]

I launched an unmanned ship and lost control during orbit, I assume is due to the fact that there's no line of sight to the ground station. Is there a way to fix this without mods? How do communication satellites work? The game evolves so quickly that any information I see in a google search is long outdated, or uses some mod and who knows if that mod even works with the update...

[astropapi1]

Comms satellites are useless now, unless you're using the remotetech mod.

EDIT: Does your ship have electricity?

Edited July 29, 2013 by astropapi1

[Deejay2000]

It doesn't require a line of sight to mission control, it requires one of the commutrons (someone verify that my spelling is correct ) I recommend that you always use the dish type one.

-Deejay

[astropapi1]

It doesn't require a line of sight to mission control, it requires one of the commutrons (someone verify that my spelling is correct ) I recommend that you always use the dish type one.

-Deejay

I think he simply ran out of electric charge, as he's asking for a fix without mods.

[SRV Ron]

You need batteries and solar cells or the nuclear generator to power your SAS module that is either external or build into the Stayputnik. Run out of power and you will have no control of your craft.

[giddonah]

Ah hell. Thanks again guys. I put solar panels on it, but didn't extend them before I ran out of power. That makes lots of sense.

[Deejay2000]

Oh, my mistake. It wasn't clear enough for me to understand.

-Deejay

[rpayne88]

Ah hell. Thanks again guys. I put solar panels on it, but didn't extend them before I ran out of power. That makes lots of sense.

If you can get a Kerbal to it, they can manually extend the panels on EVA.

[espm400]

As this has happened to me on several occasions, and the vast majority of my launches are unmanned, I've gotten into the habit of tossing a few of those tiny OSAT (?) panels on all of my unmanned flights. That way if you time warp and forget to deploy your panels, you have at least some power coming in. Alternatively you could use RTGs.

[Wesreidau]

RTG and forget about it. You avoid the ship blacking out during the shadow phase of an orbit and it reduces the need for batteries. I only use solar panels when cosmetically attractive. Besides, you can practically stuff an RTG inside of any object thanks to funny clipping, and it spares your Kerbals any negative side effects that could come from a lack of Blutonium's ionizing radiation and cheerful blue glow. Not that we know of any...

[Jackissimus]

RTG and forget about it. You avoid the ship blacking out during the shadow phase of an orbit and it reduces the need for batteries. I only use solar panels when cosmetically attractive. Besides, you can practically stuff an RTG inside of any object thanks to funny clipping, and it spares your Kerbals any negative side effects that could come from a lack of Blutonium's ionizing radiation and cheerful blue glow. Not that we know of any...

It's a shame really, but I've also gotten into the habit of using RTGs for all my power needs. They weigh about the same as panels and batteries and there is just less hassle and lower part count. Maybe the game should somehow make RTGs less attractive.

[rpayne88]

It's a shame really, but I've also gotten into the habit of using RTGs for all my power needs. They weigh about the same as panels and batteries and there is just less hassle and lower part count. Maybe the game should somehow make RTGs less attractive.

Maybe having them eventually "die" when all their Blutonium has been reacted after, say, 25 years. Or making you have to worry about overheating or radiation coming from both an operational one and one that was destroyed when it slammed into a planet at orbital velocities. Weight should also be increased. Assuming Blutonium is something of a heavy metal such as uranium or plutonium, it would weight significantly more than the silica used to make solar panels.

[Nutter]

As this has happened to me on several occasions, and the vast majority of my launches are unmanned, I've gotten into the habit of tossing a few of those tiny OSAT (?) panels on all of my unmanned flights. That way if you time warp and forget to deploy your panels, you have at least some power coming in. Alternatively you could use RTGs.

I made a 360/180 array out of three OSAT panels on a cubic strut a few times. Two would pretty much ensure you had at least some power to control the ship with. Stopped when I realised it costs as much as a solar array anyway* though I just realised it still might be much, much lighter.

*Was fiddling with mission control at the time so I was relatively appreciative of the price tag.

[Wesreidau]

Blutonium (or Plutonium 238) apparently puts out .54 kilowatts per kilogram with very low shielding requirements. I'd say once solar panels follow the inverse square law we'll see more RTG use. A shielded and an unshielded model would balance it out, but would require radiation to be modeled. Maybe in Career the RTGs won't be as cost effective.

[BubbaWilkins]

RTG's only produce a fraction of the power that a solar array does. They don't produce enough to power to run either of the Kethane scanners or the ISA mapsat scanner. I expect that the resources added in the future will behave similarly.

Basically, an RTG is only useful in a small probe like craft with no propulsion, control, and minimal scientific capability. They are a great backup system for minimal power to prevent those awkward "I forgot to deploy my solar arrays" moments though.

[Wesreidau]

"An RTG" is rarely sufficient, but I rarely use "an RTG". There is a point were the weight becomes prohibitive, however.