Need advice with my science tree.

[MrUberGr]

Ok so I've reached this point:

Researched everything, cause everything had something usefull in it. Now, I'm being troubled as to how to advance. I need both RCS and Solar panels to get to mun or minmus. I currently have 102 science points, and I don't have much more to get from close to kerbin. Also, I'm a newb at going to other planets, (only done it in the tutorial ) cause I enjoy building airplanes more. So, what is your advice?

Also, I suppose you cannot recover a mission from Mun or Minmus? So if I send a manned mission I have to plan for a way to get it back, right?

[allmhuran]

Take solar panels, then go down the tree that gets you additional science parts.

[MrUberGr]

So no RCS?

BTW, hyperion is pretty insane... *Thumbs up*

[UmbralRaptor]

I'd go for solar panels (and more instrumentation). The other major things worth getting at this level of the tree would be the 48-7S and fuel lines.

RCS isn't necessary for Mun or Minmus missions. Strictly speaking, neither are solar panels, but they let you do a lot more transmitting, so...

[Dave Kerbin]

I'd also go the solar route.

What specifically do you need RCS for at the moment, maybe we can suggest an alternative way to accomplish the same thing. You don't need to do docking to go to the Mun (in fact it seems to be a little easier to use a Mun lander that returns directly to Kerbin instead of docking Apollo style).

[MrUberGr]

As I said, I've never been to another planet so I don't know what I'd might need it for.

I was planning on sending a probe, (that wouldn't return), but that's a tremendous waste of science points. Yet, going and coming back is a bit hard IMO.

[Markus Reese]

I like the solar panels as well. You can always turn with gyro if you have electricity even if not having any rcs. Cannot do anything if you power out. Should be good for no RCS until you start building docking rockets and large enough interstellar rockets.

[UmbralRaptor]

going and coming back is a bit hard IMO.

Planets (somewhat harder to hugely harder, depending on the world) or moons (barely harder)? The minimum ÃŽâ€V to get back to Kerbin from the Munar surface is ~850 m/s. Bring along 1 km/s, and you have a decent margin. For Minmus... 300 m/s, maybe. (As long as you plan ahead about Minmus' inclination, it takes _less_ ÃŽâ€V to go there than the Mün.)

[Col_Jessep]

Solar panels all the way. You might want to fly to Minmus before you go to the Mun. Minmus' gravity is much more forgiving and it's a perfect training area for powered landings. You might have to fiddle more with the maneuver nodes but it will pay off.

[Eric S]

One more for team Solar Panels. RCS really isn't very helpful until you're trying to dock, and you need a lot more research to get docking ports.

As others have said, returning from the Mun or Minmus is rather easy. About 75% of the delta-v it takes to return to Kerbin from the Mun's surface is just the delta-v it takes to get off of the Mun's surface, so I find that a lunar rendezvous mission profile takes more than it returns. Not to mention the fact that if you don't return the capsule that landed, you won't get science points for landing on the Mun or for the EVA reports and surface sample(s) stored in the capsules.

In my campaign saves, the only thing I use RCS for is for adjusting orbits on fairly light craft, and an LV-1 still beats RCS since RCS isn't throttleable. By the time I'm doing something ambitious enough to need docking ports, I've finished the tech tree.

[capi3101]

Hit Electrics, Fuel Systems, Space Exploration, Advanced Flight Control in that order - with solar panels, you can transmit more and actually afford to screw up your steering a bit more. Small batts and lights are a nice bonus as well (particularly for making landings). Fuel Systems is a consideration not for RCS - you want that one next for Fuel Ducts (allowing asparagus staging and shorter, wider lander stacks); the 48-7S is a nice bonus. Space Ex and Advanced Flight Control have the Pegasus I Mobility Enhancer (ladders) and Probodobodyne OKTO (the first probe core available) respectively; Space Ex also comes with the Thermometer, a Science Part, which is why I recommend it first. All the others you have available are fluff - even Advanced Rocketry (nothing you can do with an FL-T800 that you can't do with two FL-T400s and I just don't care much for the Mk55).

Edited November 26, 2013 by capi3101

[celem]

Most folks are bang on with the solar panel suggestion.

I'd also agree that a mun land/return as a single ship is somewhat easier than an apollo style lander/cm. And as folks said, you dont have docking ports yet.

Dont rule out your probe idea. Transmitting data back vs returning it is not really balanced in 0.22 You dont actually 'lose' any science, you just have to keep retransmitting the same experiments until they stop yielding, at which point it will equal bringing the science home anyway. It's still worth trying to bring a probe lander home for the experience, but if it gets stuck its not the end of the world. You do lose out on eva/crew reports and surface samples with these probes however.

Next priority after solar panels? Chase down the electronics branch at the bottom of the tree. It starts with solar panels/batteries and progresses through a lot of science modules. You can easily cap out the tree without leaving Kerbin's soi just by getting all the sci modules to various Mun biomes

[DrMonte]

For Duna mission ships docking I was not using RCS at all. SAS was enough for this and that was ~30t ship.

[PhanThom]

You don't need either RCS or solar panels for going to the mun or minmus. Solar panels are only needed for unmanned flights and I usually don't use RCS unless I need to dock with something. So I suggest to invest in fuel and engine related things (if available) instead of solar panels and rcs so that you will be able to fly longer and such, making it easier to get to and back from the mun. And yes, your craft needs to be back on kerban soil (or water) to be able to recover it.

[Franklin]

Another for solar before RCS, but another question: have you maximized all the research available to you on and around Kerbin? There's loads of points available even on the ground at the launch pad, and low atmosphere. If you've just collected all the points available in orbit around Kerbin there's still a big chunk available to you without ever having to approach another body yet.

edit: And yeah, you can put off solar panels even by overcompensating with more batteries. As long as your engines are firing, they'll charge your batteries. But of course transmitting data uses a **** tonne of electricity, so if that's your goal then solar panels has to be your next logical step.