EVA problems

[Marten _kluge]

Why do I keep bouncing off my ship when trying to grab on to it during an EVA? I am having major problems trying to get used to controlling my kerbals during an EVA and spend more time trying to reboard the ship.

[Geschosskopf]

There are 2 causes of bouncing off ships:

1. You're going too fast

2. You're hitting some part mounted too close to the hatch.

For #1, you have to go very slowly in EVA. Never hold down an EVA movement key, just tap them, to keep from getting going too fast. Also be sure to hit L to turn on the Kerbal's headlights. This is very useful for judging distance and approach speed as you get near the hatch. If you're going slow enough, you can often get into hatches that are otherwise obstructed by nearby parts.

For #2, if going slowly doesn't work, you'll have to move the parts.

BTW, it's best to learn how to EVA on a low-gravity moon instead of in space. On a moon, if you screw up, eventually you'll hit the ground and can walk back and try again instead of drifting off lost in space.

[Starstrider42]

Sounds like one of two things are happening:

1. You need to slow down before you reach the ladder/hatch. At high speeds, your kerbals will lose their grip.

2. You have a part blocking the hatch. In this case, you need to place your kerbals so they get the "board" option while floating in space. This takes some trial and error, so I can't just tell you a quick way to do it.

Hopefully your problem is the first one -- the second is much harder to fix.

[Starstrider42]

BTW, it's best to learn how to EVA on a low-gravity moon instead of in space. On a moon, if you screw up, eventually you'll hit the ground and can walk back and try again instead of drifting off lost in space.

There's also a scenario that's basically an EVA sandbox. It's a good place to practice without risking any of your real crew.

[magnemoe]

Ladders are your best friend, the small pods are worst here and some ladders help a lot.

And as other say don't place science equipment or other stuff to close to the hatch.

[EtherDragon]

It may also be worthwhile to build a very simple LKO mission. Get the pod into orbit, then practice some EVA with it, for a while. (In fact, you can get some Science while you're out there, if you're playing Career Mode). While learning EVA - less is more. Small pulses, and try to keep movement down to one axis / vector at a time.

[HafCoJoe]

I'm guessing that you are bouncing off and then turn the jetpack back on again. This should solve spinning. To fix bouncing off: When exiting the cockpit, leave the ship vertically up and down. This way when you get back in, the hatch should be angled the same way as you.

Hope this helps!

Later.

[Marten _kluge]

All answers help, thanks.

[nekogod]

BTW, it's best to learn how to EVA on a low-gravity moon instead of in space. On a moon, if you screw up, eventually you'll hit the ground and can walk back and try again instead of drifting off lost in space.

Careful on minmus though, it's very easy to achieve escape velocity on EVA. Infact I believe it's possible to fly from minmus to kerbin on EVA power alone!

[Geschosskopf]

Careful on minmus though, it's very easy to achieve escape velocity on EVA. Infact I believe it's possible to fly from minmus to kerbin on EVA power alone!

Quite true. The object of the training, though, is to get the feel of gentle translations forward/backwards and left-right, combined without to move the camera around. You're not going for speed, so usually you don't have to worry about leaving Minmus. Just bump yourself up a few feet off the ground and move around laterally, like flying in a square around your lander or a nearby boulder. Then try to get into the lander's hatch without using a ladder. Only thrust up periodically to stay off the ground and never get going fast.