First rescue attempt: Need some advice first

[SpaceGoblin]

I'm new and had the game 4 days. In career mode, only a few parts unlocked so far.

So I stranded Jeb on the Mun. I burned too much fuel landing, and he has just a sliver of fuel remaining. The ship is also damaged, one lander leg broken and ship is laying on it's side. But the fuel means he is stuck anyway.

So I want to launch a rescue mission, but first I need to know:

• Can I attach an empty command capsule to the top of a Stayputnik, and launch it empty?
  
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• If Jeb rides this other capsule back to Kerbin, will it stick him back in the astronaut selection, or will he be stranded where the rocket lands (since he's not the pilot)?
  
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• What happens to the original mission? If I terminate it, will it kill Jeb even if he is back on Kerbin?
  

Thanks for any advice. I'm excited to attempt a rescue mission, but I don't want to waste hours if this won't work.

Edited December 17, 2013 by SpaceGoblin
Question was answered

[sal_vager]

Hi SpaceGoblin, welcome to the community

You can indeed attach an empty pod and it'll work fine, Jeb can ride home in it and will return to duty after you recover the flight from the tracking station or the button under the altimeter.

Terminating the craft's flight with Jeb in it will make him unavailable for a while, though if he's standing on the Mun he is his own separate "flight"

[SpaceGoblin]

Thank you! So Jeb won't die permanently? I was worried about losing him to a crash at some point in the future. I even try to pick another pilot for dangerous missions haha. I want to keep Jeb alive.

[capi3101]

You might find it easier to attach a pod to the bottom of a Stayputnik, but yes it will work. The main concern you'll have in that case is keeping the Stayputnik powered, though unless I'm mistaken if you have the Stayputnik you should have batteries at least (I'd look but everybody's crashed the servers at the moment and the wiki's out of commission as well).

If you need design help, holler - and let us know what tech's you've unlocked so far.

[LittleItaly]

Jeb never dies. Similar to the Master Chief, he will always be listed as MIA...then turn up for duty eventually. Alternatively, if you are concerned about his vanishing because he isn't the "pilot" of the rescue ship, once he is on-board, you can right click on the command module and there should be an option that says "Control from Here," which would in fact make him the official pilot.

[SpaceGoblin]

Thank you for that good info!

I'm still going to attempt a rescue because it's rather exciting to try. I have been treating this as a real space program so far, like in science where failures are a good thing if you learn from them. So I don't mind rescuing him, since I think it will teach me a thing or two.

[Themac]

Thank you for that good info!

I'm still going to attempt a rescue because it's rather exciting to try. I have been treating this as a real space program so far, like in science where failures are a good thing if you learn from them. So I don't mind rescuing him, since I think it will teach me a thing or two.

Just be happy oxygen/food etc is not in the game (yet) by default I also enjoy my rescue missions the most...

a couple of weeks ago, i was in the same situation, then sent a rescue mission witch ALSO crash landed (so 2 kerbals stuck ) a 3rd ship with hitchhiker module picked them up, but didn't have enough fuel to get back to kerbin, so stayed in munar orbit..... and my 4th ship had to rendevous with it and the 3 kerbals EVA to the new ship just to get home took me hours lol but so satisfying when they finaly splashdown