Stable Orbited Probes Dissapeared

[Lolkillalevi]

I had a stable orbit around kerbin, The probe sattelite was going around kerbin like it's suppose to, I had a few other ships out there orbiting kerbin as a test orbit, But i just finished my test missle thingy to use if a meteor was threating us, I decided to see how my guys and probes we're doing...I was greeted with them doing fine, I go working on my missle again, Come back...The probe is gone. It had a stable orbit, It couldent've wen't back into kerbin's atmosphere and fall down. All my ships we're still there...But, There was no probe, It was gone, Like mysteriously GONE. No trace, Not even any debris from it, Like it was...Is this a bug, But all my ships we're there, All their debris there...So it couldent've crashed into the probe...Is this is a bug? It surely shoulden't have just dissapeared like that? Any help would be appriciated because i'm expiriencing this also with a Sattelite rocket i sent up...It had a stable orbit...Dissapeared. GONE. What is going on?

Edited November 1, 2013 by Lolkillalevi

[gtmattz]

What was the Pe of the orbit (the lowest point)? A stable orbit is not simply a circle around the planet, it is o.ly stable if no part of the orbit dips into the atmosphere, which ends at roughly 70km up. So a stable orbit is one which does not drop below 70km at any point. It sounds to me like the orbit was dipping into the atmosphere and eventually dropped below 25km, which is the point at which things disappear forever.

[Smidge204]

Hard to say without knowing exactly what the setup was. Was it a proper probe with a probe core so you could control it? It's even gone from the list of missions from the communications center?

Also, if the orbit ever dipped below ~70km then it was not stable... it would have been hitting the atmosphere and slowing down with each pass until it falls.

=Smidge=

[Lolkillalevi]

The PE Was pretty close, But not close enough to get clipped back into the atmosphere of kerbin.

[Lolkillalevi]

I used the Z-MAP Sattelite Launch Probe kit thingy, Because i don't know how to make probes.

[Sirrobert]

Did it run out of power? I believe probes without power get classes as debris, since you have no way to control them anymore.

What was it's PE and AP?

[Lolkillalevi]

I would get a snapshot, But it dissapeared, Sorry about that guys. But okay, The AP I'm new to stable orbits and the game so it was kind wide like a potatoe size and the PE was close to kerbin but didn't look like enough to destroy it or anything, Now it's power...I don't know. I didn't even know probes needed power :/ So...sorry bout that.

[gtmattz]

The PE Was pretty close, But not close enough to get clipped back into the atmosphere of kerbin.

You say 'close', but we really need to know how close... How did you determine it was not skimming the atmosphere? If you are assuming that the orbit line becomes split at the atmosphere that is incorrect, the orbit line will be solid until it intersects the surface, well In to the atmosphere.

[Lolkillalevi]

Yeah i was kinda assuming that it woulden't because it didn't even look like it was close enough the blue line was Around the planet, But...What do you guys think is going on here?

[Blackstar]

Two common ways that a ship can just disappear:

1. Accidentally reverting to a quicksave made before the probe was launched.
   
2. Uninstalling a mod or a part that is used by the vessel.
   

An unexpected sphere of influence change can also fling a craft into a different orbit. If the resulting orbit passes through a planetary body or too close to one with an atmosphere (<20Km usually), the game will assume it crashed and delete it. That's a very unlikely occurrence, and pretty much impossible in low kerbin orbit unless your apoapsis is out close to the Mun's SOI.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blackstar

[Lolkillalevi]

The ship was stock parts, So...Can't be the mod part, I wen't to the space center after i got a stable orbit for it.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Lolkillalevi
mistake

[Sirrobert]

I would get a snapshot, But it dissapeared, Sorry about that guys. But okay, The AP I'm new to stable orbits and the game so it was kind wide like a potatoe size and the PE was close to kerbin but didn't look like enough to destroy it or anything, Now it's power...I don't know. I didn't even know probes needed power :/ So...sorry bout that.

How close is close? We don't ask for 'close', we ask for numbers

The atmosphere reaches up 70 km above the planet, so if it's below that, than it was not a stable orbit

[gtmattz]

Personally I think your Pe was too low and your orbit degraded. Once you get a circle around the planet put your mouse over the Pe marker and make sure it is over 70km. If it is too low, time warp until your ship is at Ap, point the navball at prograde, and burn to raise the Pe.

[Lolkillalevi]

Yeah the ship was stock parts, I went to the space center after i got a stable orbit for it? Is that reverting to another save?

[Lolkillalevi]

K, Thanks guys!

[Sirrobert]

Yeah the ship was stock parts, I went to the space center after i got a stable orbit for it? Is that reverting to another save?

Going to space center just puts the ship on rails. If the orbit intersects with the atmosphere to far while it's on rails, the ship will get deleted. Simulating the crash it would normally have because of the drag.

Remember: a stable orbit is above the atmosphere, not just above the surface

[Blackstar]

The orbit will only decay if it's the actively focused ship (or within the 2.5km loading distance of the ship you're flying), however. When a different ship is active, orbits will not decay due to atmosphere drag, even if their periapsis is within the atmosphere.

According to the wiki, a ship on rails will be deleted when it passes below a 23,026 meter altitude on Kerbin.

I went to the space center after i got a stable orbit for it? Is that reverting to another save?

No, going back to the space center won't revert anything, unless your ship is throttled up or you're in the atmosphere. In that case you get a pop-up box first telling you exactly how far back things will be rewound.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blackstar

[gtmattz]

Ok I stand partially corrected. So what I think happened is the periapsis was never above 23km and his ship went poof.

[Blackstar]

So what I think happened is the periapsis was never above 23km and his ship went poor.

Yeah, that's my guess as well. Either that or a mistaken F9 press.

[Ralathon]

If his Apo was high enough it could've been slingshotted outside the system by the Mun.