Help me out on these five newbie questions

[Streetwind]

Greetings, I'm new to Kerbal Space Program. I'm someone who is all "oooooh space, cool stuff!", but my science background is a little lacking. Been at it for just two days, slowly figuring things out by myself in career mode. But after so long, there are a few questions I haven't been able to answer for myself through ingame actions. I would greatly appreciate the input of the more experienced community on these

- Do I need to pay attention to aerodynamics? One of the first things I did after unlocking my first research was take a really simple rocket - three newbie boosters around a standard fuel tank + command module for central fuselage - and launch it straight up, noting the height at which the boosters cut out. Then I reverted to the lab, slapped shiny new aerodynamic nosecones on the three boosters' flat tops, and launched that. Again straight up, until the boosters cut out. Against my expectation, the more aerodynamic variant actually achieved *less* height (16.5 km vs. 16.6 km). So what is the point of the nosecones? Should I be using them or do they actually interfere with the rocket? And in a similar vein, does sticking winglets to my rocket do anything other than add weight? I mean, obviously you need wings for spaceplanes, but on a rocket going straight up...?

- What are the advantages of having RCS? I have the option to research it right now, and I know what it is - little maneuvering thrusters. But I am making do quite nicely with reaction wheels, and it costs a lot of science. What is the selling point of RCS over reaction wheels?

- In a similar vein: what does gimbal / vectoring do on engines? The game doesn't do a good job at explaining what practical advantages it gets me. Is that a steering aid? If so, why is it useful in the presence of reaction wheels?

- How can I see the stats of the rocket I am building? Right now, I build a rocket, save it, click launch, wait for a loading screen to the launchpad, then go into solar system map mode (of all things!) and there, finally, is a little info button that shows me at least the weight of my rocket, if nothing else. There's *got* to be an easier/more informative way to do this...

- What can I do with a Stayputnik in career mode? I have googled up a thread that shows you how you can make a great unmanned probe with it, and cites the main advantage as being available early. But frankly, I am 2-3 tech levels past the Stayputnik, have unlocked everything on those levels, could research the next probe command module right now if I wanted to, and I still don't have access to any parts that are actually usable for probing. For the purposes of generating science, I have mystery goo, the junior lab, crew reports, EVA reports and surface samples. The first two lose 80% of their data value on transmission, and the latter three cannot be done by an unmanned probe at all. Am I missing something here? Why would I want to take advantage of the early availability of of an unmanned probe command module when there's no science to be generated with unmanned probes until much later tech levels? I just want to make sure that the idea of probe construction didn't completely go over my head and I missed a cool feature because I didn't understand it.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Streetwind

[7499275]

If you are building a plane, yes pay attention to the aerodynamics. Building rockets they don't have a huge affect except when doing a gravity turn. Some rockets you may want to add winglets to help steer the gravity turn

RCS is needed to control large vehicles if the reaction wheels are not strong enough to move it. But if you plan on doing docking RCS is almost required to move the vessel the way it needs to move.

Engine gimbal helps control and steer the vehicle in a given direction when the engine is pushing. It can help do a gravity turn if you don't have winglets on the craft.

To see that stats like deltaV and other things I recommend mechjeb. It will tell you all the stats including deltaV of each stage, and the total, in the atmosphere and in orbit.

Personally I would use only manned craft and not probes because with manned capsules you can do crew reports and eva reports. If it lands also has the option of doing a soil sample. A probe cannot do it. As for the math behind science I'm not too good.

Hope this info helped!

[penguinmanners]

1: No, not really. Nosecones are rather pointless, although Squad says they improve stability. You should add winglets (AV-R8 Winglet is best) onto the sides of your rockets to stop quaking and overall fly smoother. Turning on SAS (press t) is the #1 thing for stability though.

2: RCS is important for maneuvering well in space, but isn't necessary and can be gone without. You can wait on it.

3: If an engine has vectoring, its easier to steer while on. Useful for main stages, but not really a concern otherwise.

4: Vanilla ksp doesn't give many stats. Mods solve this, but overall it's not that important. Weight is important for making symmetrical rockets, though.

5: The Probodyne series is much better in terms of probes, and the stayputnik really isn't that useful. Don't bother with it.

In terms of interplanetary travel, you should work towards unlocking nuclear engines.

[Dust]

- That's a great test you did with the nose cones. I've always wondered about the aerodynamic benefits versus the weight... As for the tail fins, they help quite a bit. Put them around the bottom of your rocket for stability. Steerable fins are nearly essential for controlling tall staged rockets in the lower atmosphere without having to use large SAS units.

- RCS clusters and fuel tanks usually come out heavier than SAS, so if you're not docking you can typically forgo RCS on smaller craft in favor of just SAS (remember, pods & probes include some SAS). However, the more mass you have away from the center of gravity (larger, longer craft) the more torque you will need, so RCS clusters out at the ends of your larger crafts allow for much greater turning capability. Finally, RCS is a must-have when docking. In addition to the W-S-A-D-Q-E controls for yaw/pitch/roll pivoting around your GOG (used with either SAS or RCS), note that you also have the I-K-J-L-H-N controls to vector straight in all six directions (which can only be used with RCS). Watch any docking tutorial video to see how the RCS vector controls are essential for docking.

- Engines with vector control are useful for turning your rocket during ascent. They can also be useful during orbital burns, but don't rely on them in space because they are ONLY useful during burns. Again, with a tall staged rocket design it can really help control your craft, especially in the upper atmosphere when the fins are no longer effective.

- Mods

- I agree the unmanned probes currently have pretty limited usefulness. For collecting science manned missions are almost always preferable. Unless you've unlocked new science parts and wish to return to somewhere you've already collected crew/EVA reports and surface samples from. Mainly I use them for ferrying things up to orbit and docking stuff without tying up Kerbals and worrying about returning them home safely.

[Amram]

KSP just adds up total drag. So it takes every part you have, and adds the drag together, and there's your current craft drag. There's a bit more to it, but for the sake of understanding why nosecones seem to not really help, thats about all that really matters. it doesn't care that your tanks or boosters are behind the cone, it doesn't hide them, so their full drag is still counted as if the nosecone were not there, as to KSP's drag model, it isn't.

So the nosecone does three things, two of them negative.

It adds yet more drag to your craft. Less than other parts, but its still more than you had. Considering its not helping you reduce drag anywhere, this means your total drag just got larger, not smaller.

It adds mass. Everything has mass, nosecones are no exception, so now you must lift the nosecones mass too, which reduces your thrust to weight ratio by a little bit.

They have less drag than other parts, so all things equal, the other parts will be slowed more than the nosecone, so the nosecone will have a slight tendency to assist you in holding a prograde alignment. However its small to the point of almost insignificant. Fins at the base of your rocket are a better investment for stability.

So if your playing stock aerodynamics, your choice is whether or not you care about appearance. They hurt your performance(as you saw), so style is about all they can do for you.

[JiWint]

I used to be a newbie like you,so lemme help you out too :3

1.no,aerodynamics aren't in the game yet

2.RCS helps handling large ships,by thrusting little amounts of monopropellant. But probably the main reason they're still living is for DOCKING.They're unvaluable in docking.

3.Vectoring engines have gimbals,which help to move the end of the engine a little,which can help handling the rocket.

4.Currently,the probes aren't very useful now

if you have any more questions,I would be happy to help.

also,don't be afraid to ask,community is very friendly here!

[PCGeek]

- What are the advantages of having RCS? I have the option to research it right now, and I know what it is - little maneuvering thrusters. But I am making do quite nicely with reaction wheels, and it costs a lot of science. What is the selling point of RCS over reaction wheels?

- In a similar vein: what does gimbal / vectoring do on engines? The game doesn't do a good job at explaining what practical advantages it gets me. Is that a steering aid? If so, why is it useful in the presence of reaction wheels?

RCS basically is a system of "micro rockets" that basically allow you to maneuver easier out of the atmosphere.

Vectoring helps steer the rocket when the engine is throttled up. (it doesn't have to be 100% thrust. it can be 1% thrust and it still works)

[Streetwind]

Many thanks for your comments! Based on what you told me, I was able to come up with a few new test flights, and now I understand a lot better how different parts and engines affect rocket stability at launch, which was an issue I was encountering. My newest design is rock stable even with the reaction wheel disabled, and looks good while at it

I'll mark this answered now, and go see what mischief I can make with my newfound knowledge.