is there a way (or a mod) to allow switching vessel in atmosphere?

[lammatt]

i recently want to launch my ships from another jet plane, just like how they launch the X51 from a B-52 in the sky.

see... curremtly

i can kind of do it but by the time i get my rocket into space to allow me to switch vessel, the plane is >25km apart and is despawned already.

is there a way i can save the plane while i am getting the rocket to leave the atmosphere?

(cos i want to land the plane too...)

Edited June 18, 2014 by lammatt

[malkuth]

Should not despawn if you have a pod on it. So if you only have a pod on the one ship, once you detach from the plane, the plane becomes debris and will despawn. If the plane itself has a remote pod on it, then it should not despawn until it hits the ground.

[lammatt]

Should not despawn if you have a pod on it. So if you only have a pod on the one ship, once you detach from the plane, the plane becomes debris and will despawn. If the plane itself has a remote pod on it, then it should not despawn until it hits the ground.

i have a probe there

but yes it despawns

[r4pt0r]

i recently want to launch my ships from another jet plane, just like how they launch the X51 from a B-52 in the sky.

see... curremtly

i can kind of do it but by the time i get my rocket into space to allow me to switch vessel, the plane is >25km apart and is despawned already.

is there a way i can save the plane while i am getting the rocket to leave the atmosphere?

(cos i want to land the plane too...)

you say >25km but things in atmosphere get deleted if they are farther than 2.5km from your currently controlled ship

[lammatt]

you say >25km but things in atmosphere get deleted if they are farther than 2.5km from your currently controlled ship

o... i mean 2.5km then

[Wooks]

You can install "TTNeverUnload" in your gamedata folder to increase the despawn distance up to 100 km or more, follow the link http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/48720-TT-NeverUnload-Vessel-Unloading-Preventer

[MadChris48]

the '[' and ']' keys will switch ships within close range. try decoupling then switching using these shortcut key bindings.

[the_bT]

there is a plugin called flight manager or something similar, it tries to solve pretty much this problem. I have not used it yet so I don't know how exactly it works.

Edit: here's the forum thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/80292-0-23-5-Flight-Manager-for-Reusable-Stages-%28FMRS-v0-1-03%29

[Bloodbunny]

You can install "TTNeverUnload" in your gamedata folder to increase the despawn distance up to 100 km or more, follow the link http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/48720-TT-NeverUnload-Vessel-Unloading-Preventer

Unless your name is Emmett Brown or Marty McFly, you won't be getting that mod. TT's way of "protesting" the Spaceport closure, is to not upload them anywhere else.

[RenevB]

Should not despawn if you have a pod on it. So if you only have a pod on the one ship, once you detach from the plane, the plane becomes debris and will despawn. If the plane itself has a remote pod on it, then it should not despawn until it hits the ground.

I've seen multiple people claim this, but it just isn't true. Anything outside your physics bubble moving in atmosphere (above 0.01 atm pressure) gets deleted by the game. The never-unload mod is a way around this, but apparently isn't available any more.

[SRV Ron]

the '[' and ']' keys will switch ships within close range. try decoupling then switching using these shortcut key bindings.

19 probes coming down on parachutes. Still no way to switch between them. (Parachutes and separation was activated before reentering the atmosphere.

[Claw]

First, that is strange that you can't switch for close craft using the brackets (like the picture above). It definitely works for me. Are the keys remapped or maybe a mod is interfering? Does it say anything when you try to switch?

Another way to get around the carrier plane despawning is to get it flying high enough. If you can get it to cruise a bit above the magic 22km line (i forget exactly where the 0.1 pressure line is), it won't get deleted when you go out of range. Get it a little ways above 22km, or get it going fast enough to actually have time. This can give you some extra time to get the space ship to orbit. Then use map mode to switch back to the carrier plane and land.