Keep maneuver nodes post-EVA

[horndgmium]

When we EVA from a ship that has a maneuver node, it disappears, which is VERY annoying for nodes that I have painstakingly perfected. All I wanted was a little extra science while waiting instead of time warp!

Can we... not have that problem anymore? I'm sure others have this issue too.

[Andon]

it IS a pain in the ass. The solution I've found is using Kerbal Alarm Clock and setting an alarm for that node - This actually saves the node and, when the alarm goes off, can restore it.

[Kasuha]

It would be nice if the maneuver node stayed past ship decoupling, too. My interplanetary ship drops empty fuel tanks by decoupling and I always lose the maneuver, sometimes even engines shut down. I mean, it is logical to drop empty tanks during burns, isn't it?

[SilverWarior]

I mean, it is logical to drop empty tanks during burns, isn't it?

It is logical to drop empty tanks as you are reducing the weight of your craft this way and therefore the Delvta-V requirement.

And the change in your craft weight is what makes your previosly planned nodes obsolete (accelerating for same Delta-V with lighter craft would lead to completly new path).

[allmhuran]

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

[vexx32]

It would be nice if the maneuver node stayed past ship decoupling, too. My interplanetary ship drops empty fuel tanks by decoupling and I always lose the maneuver, sometimes even engines shut down. I mean, it is logical to drop empty tanks during burns, isn't it?

They'd be one and the same, I should think. Manoeuvre nodes are lost on EVA because EVA Kerbals are treated as separate ships in the game, so it's like switching to a nearby ship, as far as I know. Keeping them past staging and keeping them between switchin craft/EVAing Kerbals would be very much related if not identical situatations, I think.

[jwenting]

yes, suggested they persist on changing ships (or moving to the space center) some time ago

[Kasuha]

And the change in your craft weight is what makes your previosly planned nodes obsolete (accelerating for same Delta-V with lighter craft would lead to completly new path).

That's obviously not true. Delta-v stays the same regardless how much mass your ship has. The only thing that changes is thrust-to-mass ratio and subsequently estimated burn time.

[Sirrobert]

That's obviously not true. Delta-v stays the same regardless how much mass your ship has. The only thing that changes is thrust-to-mass ratio and subsequently estimated burn time.

Which is constendly recalculated anyway, based on what engines you activate/shutdown.

EVA is just switching to a new ship. New ship, old node gone. May be something to fix later on though.

But node going poof on staging sounds stupid. You are still opperating the same ship. It's just a little bit smaller now

[horndgmium]

How about we just agree that maneuver nodes shouldn't cease to exist unless we explicitly cause that to happen?

[Andon]

The reason that Manuever Nodes sometimes disappear on staging is the way the rocket is built.

If your rocket is Command pod, decoupler, tank, engine, decoupler, tank, engine and you start from the command pod you should have no issues with staging.

If you start from the bottom tank and build up, you have issues. When you decouple the bottom stage, the "main" part is removed and then you go to the "new" ship. Thus, no more maneuver nodes. The "Main" part I think is then set to the next newest item on the list which is probably the next engine. Then when that gets dumped with a stage, it has to reset again and fix your ship to the next thing.