Probe and science queries.

[Skorpychan]

First off, probes.

I've been using them to explore, because I can't into docking yet, don't have a handle on how to get things off other planets, and my super-heavy lifter design is beset by a case of hipster boosters wanting to do their own thing, and detaching partway up.

But anyway. I've been having issues with balancing the mystery goo containers. They're kinda heavy, and being radial rather than stacked parts, it's tricky to balance them out while only using one on a small probe.

Any input on how to balance one out, and what with?

Batteries.

I've taken to stacking a few of the 1k batteries on my small probes to drive the transmissions while I can't use extendable solar panels. This adds weight, though, so how much power is optimal for a full bank of science parts being used repeatedly during atmospheric descent?

Duna landing/ascent.

I want to send kerbals to Duna, and return them. For that, I need a lander that can lift itself into orbit from the surface. Getting it down will be mostly parachutes and a braking stage I plan to jettison while on the surface. What sort of setup with engines/fuel should I be using to get a craft up and into a stable orbit?

Mun polar orbiter.

There's a lot of science to be farmed by flying over the moon's biomes, so a low polar orbit is obviously best for farming that. However, mountains are a thing. How low can you go without risking slamming into one?

Rendezvous and docking.

Are there any decent, current tutorials on it that people can link?

I already have a couple of identical probes in Kerbin orbit, in pretty much identical orbits. However, I can't seem to get them close enough with maneuver nodes, nor can I match speed when I get close.

Big launches.

My heavy lifter involves 7 mainsails, 6 on radial boosters. The radial boosters like to pop off, despite strutting. Is this aerodynamic issues, or just structural wobbles?

Nosecones, more struts, different decouplers, what?

[Vanamonde]

Batteries: Not to dodge the question, but the number of batts needed is entirely dependent upon how much transmitting you're doing. You can save reports up and transmit them while the engine is running, though, so as not to drain the batts as much.

Duna ascent: When I was working it out, I simply built a lander that could takeoff from Kerbin. Yes, it will be overkill when you get to Duna, but lives are at stake! You can trim the design after you've flown it a few times and seen where it's trimmable.

Mun heights: Anything below a certain distance (which I do not recall) is "space near Mun." Going lower doesn't get you any more points, so don't get too barnstorm-ish with it.

Launch stage: Pics are pretty much required to diagnose problems like that. Post some?

[magnemoe]

A few tips, for Duna and other places with atmosphere bring two, it allow you to store the result from atmosphere and send later.

On others balance with batteries.

You don't need lots of batteries, You want some but no need to have boatloads.

During atmospheric reentry simply analyze and transmit, analyze and transmit.

Your transmissions will be queued and continue after you land.

Bring plenty of solar panels, bring some of the small 1x1 so you don't run out of power then transmitting during decent, after landing the transmitting of the atmospheric data continues.

[Skorpychan]

Batteries: Not to dodge the question, but the number of batts needed is entirely dependent upon how much transmitting you're doing. You can save reports up and transmit them while the engine is running, though, so as not to drain the batts as much.

Duna ascent: When I was working it out, I simply built a lander that could takeoff from Kerbin. Yes, it will be overkill when you get to Duna, but lives are at stake! You can trim the design after you've flown it a few times and seen where it's trimmable.

Mun heights: Anything below a certain distance (which I do not recall) is "space near Mun." Going lower doesn't get you any more points, so don't get too barnstorm-ish with it.

Launch stage: Pics are pretty much required to diagnose problems like that. Post some?

Barnstorming is essential to cover as many biomes as possible as fast as possible! Although, I may set it up as an elliptical orbit so there's space to charge batteries.

Images, I'll sort out tomorrow, when I can properly analyze things.

If I can't manage to make the system shove a jumbo tank into orbit, I'll have to do it with the -32 tanks and daisy-chain them together with docking ports.

[codepants]

First off, probes.

I've been using them to explore, because I can't into docking yet, don't have a handle on how to get things off other planets, and my super-heavy lifter design is beset by a case of hipster boosters wanting to do their own thing, and detaching partway up.

But anyway. I've been having issues with balancing the mystery goo containers. They're kinda heavy, and being radial rather than stacked parts, it's tricky to balance them out while only using one on a small probe.

Any input on how to balance one out, and what with?

Well, even probes get more efficient when you master the art of docking. ) Pro tip: Roll your craft so its up is the camera's up. Alternatively, try and design ships that don't need to dock to go far away. While the most efficient designs will have an orbital stage, a lander, and an ascent stage, it is very possible to get to most of the moons and planets in the game with a simple, efficient design.

I almost exclusively balance them with another goo container using 2x symmetry. If you insist on having only one, you'll have to find something or a combination of somethings that weighs the same amount, and put it across from the goo. I don't recall how much exactly it weighs, but I imagine with a combination of the other experiments, an antenna, and some batteries, you could work it out. Also, keep in mind that the heavier the ship, the more tolerance it will have for imbalances. EG, a light probe generally has to be perfectly balanced, while a three-seater with two nuclear engines will probably tolerate a single goo hanging off the side.

Batteries.

I've taken to stacking a few of the 1k batteries on my small probes to drive the transmissions while I can't use extendable solar panels. This adds weight, though, so how much power is optimal for a full bank of science parts being used repeatedly during atmospheric descent?

I find ~1.2k of electricity will let me run the high-science experiments a few times while descending. You might have to be picky and trash those that generate less than 10 science, but it's worth it if it means you transmit the 100+ ones (eg, atmosphere analysis).

Duna landing/ascent.

I want to send kerbals to Duna, and return them. For that, I need a lander that can lift itself into orbit from the surface. Getting it down will be mostly parachutes and a braking stage I plan to jettison while on the surface. What sort of setup with engines/fuel should I be using to get a craft up and into a stable orbit?

From Duna, the most basic setup would be a Poodle+1/4 Orange Tank (I forget what they are called). With a good transfer that will get you off Duna and all the way home. If you want to be a bit more fuel efficient use 1/8 Orange Tank to get into orbit, then dock with something powered by a nuclear engine and ditch the lander.

Mun polar orbiter.

There's a lot of science to be farmed by flying over the moon's biomes, so a low polar orbit is obviously best for farming that. However, mountains are a thing. How low can you go without risking slamming into one?

Find the optimal height. ) 10k is safe, and most people will put their orbital stages in at about that height. 7k is as low as I would go.

Keep in mind that the higher you are, the more time acceleration you can do. I don't recall exactly how height affects the biomes but I bet somebody has figured out how high you can go and still enable recognition of the biomes.

Unrelated: For the Kethane mod, the long range detector in the highest orbit over the moon will only take a few minutes to map the entire moon... thank you, time acceleration!

Rendezvous and docking.

Are there any decent, current tutorials on it that people can link?

I already have a couple of identical probes in Kerbin orbit, in pretty much identical orbits. However, I can't seem to get them close enough with maneuver nodes, nor can I match speed when I get close.

A quick search and skim suggests this one might be half decent:

And I bet Scott Manley has done one that you would find useful.

My process is usually this:

- Get the docking ship up in front of the ship I want to dock with.

- Match the orbits.

- Grow the docking ship's orbit so it's just bigger than the ship I want to dock with. It will now orbit "slower" than that ship; since it's in front of it, it should only need a few orbit for an intercept.

- Set the target and time accelerate until a decent intercept shows up.

- Grow or shrink the docking ship's obit until the intercept is < 5km.

- Tutorial takes it from there.

Basically, if you can get two ships into the same orbit, all you need to know is that larger orbits take longer. So if you are behind your target ship, shrink your orbit; if in front, grow it. I like to start out in front of my target because you can always grow your orbit, but sometimes in shrinking it Kerbin will get in the way. Good luck!

Big launches.

My heavy lifter involves 7 mainsails, 6 on radial boosters. The radial boosters like to pop off, despite strutting. Is this aerodynamic issues, or just structural wobbles?

Nosecones, more struts, different decouplers, what?

When you say "on radial boosters" do you mean booster engines that are radially attached? If so, the booster engines aren't very strong, nor do they last as long as an orange tank on a mainsail. If you just mean mainsails attached radially, then strut the sh*t out of it. Also, the closer they are to the center of gravity, the less trouble you will have -- use the "thin" decouplers if you can.

OperationDx is one of my favorite KSP players to watch on Youtube. He does cool stuff, narrates well, and typically has pretty good designs. He does a heavy lift here:

And again, I bet Scott Manley has a tutorial or something.

Bottom line, if you can't get heavy stuff up, break it into two pieces and dock them in space. Everybody has trouble with heavy stuff... that's just how physics works. Good luck!

[SRV Ron]

You don't need anything huge to get a probe to Duna or Eve. This design worked for me.

Waiting for a window for a second probe to Duna since the Krackin ate a thruster block thus unbalancing the lander.

[Skorpychan]

Well, even probes get more efficient when you master the art of docking. ) Pro tip: Roll your craft so its up is the camera's up. Alternatively, try and design ships that don't need to dock to go far away. While the most efficient designs will have an orbital stage, a lander, and an ascent stage, it is very possible to get to most of the moons and planets in the game with a simple, efficient design.

I almost exclusively balance them with another goo container using 2x symmetry. If you insist on having only one, you'll have to find something or a combination of somethings that weighs the same amount, and put it across from the goo. I don't recall how much exactly it weighs, but I imagine with a combination of the other experiments, an antenna, and some batteries, you could work it out. Also, keep in mind that the heavier the ship, the more tolerance it will have for imbalances. EG, a light probe generally has to be perfectly balanced, while a three-seater with two nuclear engines will probably tolerate a single goo hanging off the side.

I find ~1.2k of electricity will let me run the high-science experiments a few times while descending. You might have to be picky and trash those that generate less than 10 science, but it's worth it if it means you transmit the 100+ ones (eg, atmosphere analysis).

From Duna, the most basic setup would be a Poodle+1/4 Orange Tank (I forget what they are called). With a good transfer that will get you off Duna and all the way home. If you want to be a bit more fuel efficient use 1/8 Orange Tank to get into orbit, then dock with something powered by a nuclear engine and ditch the lander.

Find the optimal height. ) 10k is safe, and most people will put their orbital stages in at about that height. 7k is as low as I would go.

Keep in mind that the higher you are, the more time acceleration you can do. I don't recall exactly how height affects the biomes but I bet somebody has figured out how high you can go and still enable recognition of the biomes.

Unrelated: For the Kethane mod, the long range detector in the highest orbit over the moon will only take a few minutes to map the entire moon... thank you, time acceleration!

A quick search and skim suggests this one might be half decent:

And I bet Scott Manley has done one that you would find useful.

My process is usually this:

- Get the docking ship up in front of the ship I want to dock with.

- Match the orbits.

- Grow the docking ship's orbit so it's just bigger than the ship I want to dock with. It will now orbit "slower" than that ship; since it's in front of it, it should only need a few orbit for an intercept.

- Set the target and time accelerate until a decent intercept shows up.

- Grow or shrink the docking ship's obit until the intercept is < 5km.

- Tutorial takes it from there.

Basically, if you can get two ships into the same orbit, all you need to know is that larger orbits take longer. So if you are behind your target ship, shrink your orbit; if in front, grow it. I like to start out in front of my target because you can always grow your orbit, but sometimes in shrinking it Kerbin will get in the way. Good luck!

When you say "on radial boosters" do you mean booster engines that are radially attached? If so, the booster engines aren't very strong, nor do they last as long as an orange tank on a mainsail. If you just mean mainsails attached radially, then strut the sh*t out of it. Also, the closer they are to the center of gravity, the less trouble you will have -- use the "thin" decouplers if you can.

OperationDx is one of my favorite KSP players to watch on Youtube. He does cool stuff, narrates well, and typically has pretty good designs. He does a heavy lift here:

And again, I bet Scott Manley has a tutorial or something.

Bottom line, if you can't get heavy stuff up, break it into two pieces and dock them in space. Everybody has trouble with heavy stuff... that's just how physics works. Good luck!

By 'radial boosters', I mean Rockomax-sized tanks on decouplers, with Mainsails stuck to the bottom, feeding fuel into the central stack.

I haven't yet figured out where the transfer windows are, nor how to use them. Or how to make Protractor work.

And the docking thing is what I'd planned already. I have an interplanetary tug designed, so I just need to know how to use the damned thing.

[NLTops]

By 'radial boosters', I mean Rockomax-sized tanks on decouplers, with Mainsails stuck to the bottom, feeding fuel into the central stack.

I haven't yet figured out where the transfer windows are, nor how to use them. Or how to make Protractor work.

And the docking thing is what I'd planned already. I have an interplanetary tug designed, so I just need to know how to use the damned thing.

First the questions with a quick answer.

Find out when to plan your flight here:

http://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/

If you absolutely must have a single balanced goo container, you can always put it on top of a flat Probe. Opposite sides will balance eachother out.

PixelStache has a video on youtube where he flies a probe at I think 4.6km altitude in a more or less equatorial orbit. Not sure if I have it absolutely correct, you can look him up.

Mainsails have huge thrust but low efficiency. The best way to build great payload delivery stages is to calculate a couple of things.

First you create your payload (The part that does all the stuff you want done on your mission) or add a lander if it needs to reach another surface and back.

Then determine the route. For example Kerbin Liftoff > Kerbin Orbit > Transfer to Duna > Duna Capture > Duna Landing/Liftoff > Kerbin Return > Instant Landing or Kerbin Orbit & Landing.

Each of those steps costs a certain amount of Delta-V (change in velocity in (k)m/s).

So you divide your rocket into stages for lift-off > transfer+capture > landing/liftoff+return.

There are maps of required delta-v for landing/liftoff, planet-planet transfer, planet-moon transfer and capture.

(Don't forget to add the numbers for the return journey as well. Most of those maps have some leeway for correcting maneuvers but you can always decide to bring more.)

Then the easiest way to see the delta-v of each stage is by installing the Kerbal Engineer Redux Mod. By adding a single part, you get weight, delta-v, Thrust-to-Weight ratio per stage as well as the influence of different gravity bodies during building. As well as Orbit(apo, peri and much more), Surface(relative speed to surface, altitude(sea level and current location), Rendevouz and Vessel(delta-v remaining per stage adapted to current situation, Thrust-Weight Ratio. All live info.

Use this information to build your launch/transfer stages and make sure your payload/lander has enough delta-v for whatever lift-off+return journey. This tactic should get you anywhere and back.

More information on the numbers:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/28248-Is-asparagus-the-best-staging-system-%28might-contain-science%29?p=346702&viewfull=1#post346702

I use this guy's Delta-V maps(I don't know who made it):

http://i.imgur.com/dXT6r7s.png

The Top Graphs are Phase Angles (The Angle between Kerbin and another planet at the time you should make your intercept maneuver, Kerbal Engineer shows Phase Angles too..)

The Graph way at the bottom is the Delta-V Map.

Number inside each Body is Landing/Liftoff Delta-v,

Red is Planet-to-Planet transfer Delta-v,

Green is capture Delta-v,

Blue is Planet-to-Moon transfer Delta-v.

[Geschosskopf]

First off, probes.

I've been using them to explore, because I can't into docking yet, don't have a handle on how to get things off other planets, and my super-heavy lifter design is beset by a case of hipster boosters wanting to do their own thing, and detaching partway up.

But anyway. I've been having issues with balancing the mystery goo containers. They're kinda heavy, and being radial rather than stacked parts, it's tricky to balance them out while only using one on a small probe.

Any input on how to balance one out, and what with?

Well, if you only want 1 goo, put it horizontally at the very top of the rocket. No balance problems.

Duna landing/ascent.

I want to send kerbals to Duna, and return them. For that, I need a lander that can lift itself into orbit from the surface. Getting it down will be mostly parachutes and a braking stage I plan to jettison while on the surface. What sort of setup with engines/fuel should I be using to get a craft up and into a stable orbit?

Before you start worrying about the ascent, worry about the descent. Parachutes help on Duna but due to the thin air and the 3000m+ elevation of about 80% of the entire surface, they're not going to land you by themselves if your lander is big enough to take off again. So expect to retro burn hard for a long time during the descent, even if you do have parachutes. See the nifty parachute calculator for an idea of how many chutes you'll need for your chosen landing site, and note that the result is measured in TONS of chute parts. So the more chutes you add, the heavier the whole thing, so the more fuel and thrust you need to assist the chutes.

Also be advised that even with all this, parachutes are about useless anyway unless you give them enough time to work. This means coming in low and flat, like from a 50km orbit to a landing spot at least 1/4 of the way around the planet. If you come in any steeper than that, it's better not to have chutes and just rely on engines.

Bottom line: landing on Duna is the hard part. Taking off is easy in comparison. There's not much gravity or air resistance and you only have to reach 50km, so a couple of 909s, or a handful of 45-7S's, or even a pair of LV-Ns can do the job with a 2-man lander.

Mun polar orbiter.

There's a lot of science to be farmed by flying over the moon's biomes, so a low polar orbit is obviously best for farming that. However, mountains are a thing. How low can you go without risking slamming into one?

Go no lower than 8km and you won't have a problem.

[Skorpychan]

Before you start worrying about the ascent, worry about the descent. Parachutes help on Duna but due to the thin air and the 3000m+ elevation of about 80% of the entire surface, they're not going to land you by themselves if your lander is big enough to take off again. So expect to retro burn hard for a long time during the descent, even if you do have parachutes. See the nifty parachute calculator for an idea of how many chutes you'll need for your chosen landing site, and note that the result is measured in TONS of chute parts. So the more chutes you add, the heavier the whole thing, so the more fuel and thrust you need to assist the chutes.

I wasn't planning to chuck the ENTIRE rocket down to Duna. Just a minimal lander with the ability to do ascent. Previous one-way attempts have gotten away with relying mainly on chutes, with some retro-burning to slow enough for chutes to open, and to cushion the final landing.

A drogue chute seems to be the best bet, along with a few XL chutes. If I use the tiny orange engines, I can get away with a decent TWR.

My design was basically the small lander can, on enough fuel and rocketry to ascent from Duna and make a rendezvous with a transfer stage. Attached to it with decouplers would be a descent assist system; tiny orange engines on fuel tanks to do the work of knocking it out of orbit and into a safe landing.

Once up in Duna orbit, it docks with the transfer stage and they all go back to Kerbin orbit, leaving the transfer stage in orbit while the lander lands on Kerbin.

I don't even need the science kit on the lander; I can farm the rest with one-way probes. It's essentially a flags, footprints, and radio chatter mission.

[Sirrobert]

On the goo cannisters: Just put 2 in symetery mode