The Best Return Mission From Duna Ever

[irichey25]

So, sense I've never really legitimately came back from Duna, I decided to remake my landing stage on my Duna ship. So a couple minutes later I arrive at Duna, I land, plant a flag, and plan my return mission. Using phase angles I get an almost instant encounter with Kerbin and the whole burn is not using to much delta V.

So I do the burn, and now I'm on my way to Kerbin. I change my orbit a bit so I am around 37,000 meters above Kerbin, that way the planet's atmosphere will catch a hold of me and hopefully help me have a smooth landing. I enter the atmosphere at around 5000 M/S, and from there is when it all goes wrong. I was going to fast for how high I was up, so instead of Kerbin's gravity pulling me in, I just skimmed across the surface like a pebble skimming across water.

Unfortunately do to my own stupidity I saved at the wrong location, I had no boosters it was just the Pod. I think for a while and that's when it hits me. Whack a Kerbal! I open up Whack A Kerbal and begin experimenting, a minute or two later I found a good setting that didn't cause spontaneous explosions. I turned my ship back side up and fired right at the middle. When I checked my map it said I was instead of 37 Meters up I was 23 meters up. Whack A Kerbal saved me! I then proceeded to land safetly and recover the poor traumatized Kerbins from the ocean. And Jeb was smiling the entire way.

Edited August 31, 2013 by irichey25

[tntristan12]

Sounds crazy. Glad you got em home safely! Also, 37 meters seems like it'd be low enough. Did you mean kilometers?

[irichey25]

Nope, Meters. I just skimmed across. It was weird.

[Dunbaratu]

5000 m/s relative to Kerbin is *REALLY* fast. My Duna returns usually have me going about 3500 when I start hitting the atmosphere. Also, if you skim through the atmosphere and come out that usually doesn't mean you're doomed - it just means you have to do another orbit before you come back and re-enter again. Unless you were *still* going fast enough to be on an escape trajectory, which sounds REALLY unlikely if you got as low as 27 meters.

Edited August 31, 2013 by Steven Mading

[Dizzle]

There's no way you passed within 37 meters without deorbiting LONG before you got that low. Pretty sure you meant kilometers.

[irichey25]

Oh wait, I meant 37,000 Meters up. Changed the post.

Edited August 31, 2013 by irichey25

[irichey25]

I was going at about 4000 m/s or so when I skimmed passed the Atmosphere. And still said I was on a escape trajectory.

[Scarecrow88]

If I think I am going to be returning at high velocity, a periap below 30,000m is usually enough to ensure you slow down enough not to go whizzing by.

[Motokid600]

Where you still on an escape trajectory even after the aerobrake? If not you could've just waited to orbit around once more and enter the atmosphere again. Although your way does sound more entertaining.

[irichey25]

Yeup, I was unfortunately