Need help with Sats!

[AcHayes]

When i launch sats in orbit they seem to operate normally but im not generating any science or data that is useful in career mode. any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Also if anyone could explain in slow people terms how to post screenshots i would be extremely grateful!

Edited June 14, 2014 by AcHayes
Answered

[Taki117]

Without Mods Satellites are useless. If you want Satellites to be useful you can take a look at RemoteTech which requires a communication network, or ScanSat which allows you to map planets and moons for science.

To take screenshots: press F1 (Press F2 first to hide the HUD, optional)

To post Screenshot: Upload to an image hosting site (imgur.com is most common) then copy the BBCode URL to the forums.

[allmhuran]

Doing science actually requires activity from you. For example, if you send up a goo cannister you need to put your ship into orbit, then right click the goo cannister and click the equivalent of "do science" ("observe goo", whatever). Then you can transmit the data back or land the craft back on Kerbin. Just having the satellite in orbit won't earn any science.

I don't know which experiments require a crew and which do not, since I've never done science without a crew, but obviously "crew report" and "eva report" experiments won't be possible without a crewed ship.

[Claw]

Yes. In order to do science with a probe/satellite it must have one of the science thingies installed (that's the technical term). Any of the attachable science experiments (graviloi, goo, etc) can be done with a probe as long as they are on your craft and the probe has power.

Then you have two choices for the science. Transmit it back to Kerbin (if you have an antenna and power) or recover the science module to Kerbin.

If you transmit, there is a percentage cap to how much of the science points you can gain (the percent varies by the experiment type). If you recover the experiment, you get nearly the full amount of science points available for it.

Transmitting does not prevent you from recovering more points in the future, but does require you to repeat the experiment. Most experiments allow you to reuse the science module again after transmitting. SciJr and Goo become unusuable once you transmit, unless you clean them with a science lab.

There are some other rules too, but that is the basics.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Claw

[technicalfool]

If you want satellites that do science on their own, SCANsat or the KSP Interstellar mods are for you.

SCANsat gives you sensors that will paint a map of the planet. The more of the planet is painted, the more science you get when you transmit the data back (and SCANsat sensors don't have a penalty for transmitting data).

KSP Interstellar has a new lab part that can be told to run experiments while in orbit. The less stupidity of your Kerbal crew, and the lower the altitude you orbit at, the more science is generated by the new lab part. It is, however, the slow way of doing things.

KSP Interstellar also has an IR Telescope part that requires liquid helium to operate, and can also generate science over time.

Be aware that KSP Interstellar changes the game so that power generation parts (apart from the RTG) generate waste heat, which must be dissipated using heat sinks. If your craft overheats, things start shutting down. It also changes the accelerometer to be a seismic impact detector, which is fun in its own right, as you get to smack spacecraft into planets for science.

Other than that, as people have mentioned, you need to include science parts and use them to perform one-shot experiments with an immediate science value.

Edited June 10, 2014 by technicalfool

[cantab]

In terms of the stock game:

Firstly only Kerbin, the Mun, and Minmus have biomes. Everywhere else you're only getting one result for in space high, and another for in space low. Thus a satellite that sticks around is only better for science than a one-off flyby around those three bodies.

Then in terms of specific experiments:

EVA Reports, and Surface Samples require a Kerbal, so are moot for unmanned satellites. Circling Kerbin, the Mun, or Minmus with a manned ship taking and transmitting EVA reports on the other hand is a great way to get science.

The barometer, seismometer, and Sensor Nosecone are of no use in space.

The Mystery Goo and Science Jr (aka Materials Bay) are single-use unless you have a science lab (the big one) with 2 kerbals in it to clean up the experiments.

Crew Reports, surprisingly, do NOT require a Kerbal. You need a manned command pod but that pod doesn't have to be occupied, though if it's empty you will need a separate probe core to control your ship. However, they aren't biome-sensitive.

The thermometer is not biome-sensitive in space either, you can only get a single result when you're close enough to the celestial.

That leaves the gravimeter. Its results are biome-sensitive both low and high over the celestial, and even with the transmission penalty it's still capable of sending back a nice chunk of science. IMHO it's the only experiment that can make a satellite useful in terms of science gathering. Unfortunately, it's the last science instrument to be unlocked.

That said, a gravimetry satellite taking and transmitting readings from high and low orbit over all biomes would bring you 144 science from Kerbin, 720 from the Mun, or 576 from Minmus. Not bad for what by the end-game will be a very simple, if a touch tedious, mission.

[AcHayes]

On the screen shots i had totally forgotten i had changed the button!

Thanks for that website to host my screen shots!

[AcHayes]

Thanks for the help with the IR telescope! i had no idea that i needed the tank in order for it to work. I feel like a dumbass!

But on the scan sat do i need the Remotetech mod in order for it to work?

[AcHayes]

Thanks for the help with the IR telescope! i had no idea that i needed the tank in order for it to work. I feel like a dumbass!

It seems my problem was with not having remote tech installed for the antenna parts needed for unmanned probes!

Thank you again.

[Pecan]

You don't need Remote Tech 2 (RT2) for unmanned probes. If you DO install RT2 you WILL need to have antennae with the correct range and orientation on every unmanned probe or you won't be able to control them.

So, you do not need RT2 for SCANSat satelittes and it is more difficult to create the communications structure you need if you do have RT2. That can be fun but if you're having satellite trouble uninstall RT2.

[Kerba Fett]

In addition to Scansat, the Kethane mod also has parts to scan a planet from orbit. While this doesn't generate any science points, mining Kethane is a good source of fuel in career mode.

Also, for screenshots if you're using the steam version of KSP you can use F12 to take them. Your screenshot library is visible from your game page in your library. From there you can upload them to the steam servers.

Then you can look at your online screenshots. Click on one to make it full screen and right click and choose copy link address.

In the KSP forum use the Insert Image button in the editor and paste in the address.

To preview the message and make sure the screenshot is in it, use the go advanced button in the editor.

[xtremespino]

You need to have experiments to do and send that science home, they don't generate science by them selfs.