Oscar B radial attachment.

[Motokid600]

How is it I can make the Oscar B fuel tank attach radially? Is there something I can do in the part file?

Edited August 7, 2013 by Motokid600

[Johnno]

How do you guys go about long interplanetary burns? Is the general rule of thumb to always burn at half the time of the total burn no matter what?

No, it depends on the length of the burn. For longer burns you can do several burns, the transit windows are usually open for days and even if you miss the optimal then it doesn't cost that much extra dV. Personally I just check my current date and build a vehicle capable of transit without having to timewarp for more than a couple weeks at best.

Because this is impossible for me because id say 90% of the time it says N/A for me until I fire the engines. So..how is it I can go about long burns when it doesn't give me that information?

You can throttle up your engines for a second or two to get a reliable estimate in anticipation of your burn. It won't change your orbit/planned node enough to be an issue. The estimate burn duration relies on what thrust you had last time your engines were active, so it's wise to do a pre-burn to get the correct reading.

Also lets say that halfway through a burn a stage runs out and I decouple it. This would effect the burn time.

Again, not enough to be an issue.

Now it takes me a good while of messing with the maneuver nodes to get an intercept. And it takes precision to perform that maneuver. So when stuff like this happens...that precision is lost, no?

Nope, the manouver node target reticle keeps pointing in the direction you need to burn to get the planned orbit. If the burn is long enough and you're off target enough then you can just do a correction burn afterwards. For interplanetary burns I do a course correction anyway about halfway to my destination to ensure I get the correct SOI entry/PE.

[Motokid600]

Thanks so much that's exactly what I needed.

[Xaiier]

Not quite, if you decouple a stage and the TWR changes dramatically that can have a huge effect on the burn time. Otherwise everything he said is right.

[Motokid600]

It shouldn't be too dramatic of a change in weight. Another question.. off topic, but I didn't want to create a new one. How is it I can make the Oscar B fuel tank attach radially? Is there something I can do in the part file?

[saik0]

It shouldn't be too dramatic of a change in weight. Another question.. off topic, but I didn't want to create a new one. How is it I can make the Oscar B fuel tank attach radially? Is there something I can do in the part file?

You can use the small cubic octagonal strut to attach radially, then put the tank on that. If you dont mind abusing the clipping, you can rotate with WASDQE so that it's mounted flush with the surface. It can be a little tricky to (re)move later if it's not visible from the outside of the part, but you can pan and zoom the camera inside the part to grab the strut.

Also, when you have a new topic just start a new thread. Editing both the post title and text is confusing.