RCS Thrusters

[Raven2099]

Obvously a dumb question

I looked in the wiki and in the forum for this but

how do I turn on the RCS Thrusters and use them once in space.....?

thanks in advance doe relivent and non trolly answers

[duncan1297]

press the r key to activate RCS

[TheDarkStar]

Also, make sure you have RCS fuel. RCS fuel is not like rocket fuel; it teleports straight to the RCS ports from anywhere.

[Raven2099]

thank you so verry mutch... i'm sure to post more stupid questions soon

[stringyquark]

There are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

[jebster]

Press R to turn on RCS, then use WASD, SHIFT, and CTRL. Turn on Docking Mode (bottom left corner) and then press V a few times to turn the camera to CHASE mode. This is probably the easiest way to use RCS thrusters. Make sure you have the RCS thrusters positioned accordingly (as far away from the center of mass and in sets of 4).

[SRV Ron]

RCS thrusters can also be used for translation maneuvers such as for small precision burns to reach ideal slingshot maneuvers for doing captures or major precise orbital plane adjustments.

[AbuMaia]

I've got a ship with 6 RCS thrusters evenly spaced on the ship's CoM. I tried docking for the first time yesterday, and found I was unable to translate forward or backward, only rotation and sideways. Is the positioning of the thrusters on the middle of the ship responsible for lack of forward or backward translation?

[Superfluous J]

I've got a ship with 6 RCS thrusters evenly spaced on the ship's CoM. I tried docking for the first time yesterday, and found I was unable to translate forward or backward, only rotation and sideways. Is the positioning of the thrusters on the middle of the ship responsible for lack of forward or backward translation?

While it's hard to answer your question without seeing your ship, I suspect you may have the unidirectional thrusters and not the 4-way thrusting ones.

If you put 4 4-way thrusters around your ship right on the center of mass, it can translate in any direction without rolling. You don't need 6, but they shouldn't hurt (other than wasting fuel)

[jebster]

I've got a ship with 6 RCS thrusters evenly spaced on the ship's CoM. I tried docking for the first time yesterday, and found I was unable to translate forward or backward, only rotation and sideways. Is the positioning of the thrusters on the middle of the ship responsible for lack of forward or backward translation?

Were you in rotational mode instead of linear mode? Pressing space while in docking mode allows you to switch between RCS rotational and RCS linear.

[TheDarkStar]

In normal mode, RCS assists rotation with wads, but you can also use ijklhn for translation. In docking mode, wads + shift + left ctrl is used for translation. In all the docking I do, I find it easier and more convenient to keep the mode normal so I can both rotate and translate.

[AbuMaia]

I suspect you may have the unidirectional thrusters and not the 4-way thrusting ones.

That may be it. I'm using the round, ball-like thrusters, not the ones with the four nozzles. I thought they looked better than the nozzled ones, and assumed they worked the same way, only using one nozzle that can point in any direction instead of four fixed nozzles.

Were you in rotational mode instead of linear mode? Pressing space while in docking mode allows you to switch between RCS rotational and RCS linear.

I think it was linear. I saw the two mode lights, the one on the right was lit up. I didn't know how to switch them.

Edited August 16, 2013 by AbuMaia

[Superfluous J]

That may be it. I'm using the round, ball-like thrusters, not the ones with the four nozzles. I thought they looked better than the nozzled ones, and assumed they worked the same way, only using one nozzle that can point in any direction instead of four fixed nozzles.

That's it. Those thrusters only shoot straight out, so you you'd need one per direction you want to thrust, and several more to be able to rotate (which isn't as big a deal as you can do that with reaction wheels). That means to be able to go all 6 directions you'd need 6.

I just use the 4-way ones myself, toss 8 (or 12 for big ships) on the sucker and call it done.