Rendezvous and docking help 0.24.2 (modded)

[alpha tech]

I recently sent an Apollo Saturn-V to the mun and landed on the moon but I need help getting back and also the mod that i got the Saturn-V is the FASA Mercury to Apollo and I need help

CSM orbital info

PE: 156,650

AP: 181,300

INC: 2.5

LM info

INC: 2.54

Edited October 26, 2014 by alpha tech

[Wanderfound]

I recently sent an Apollo Saturn-V to the mun and landed on the moon but I need help getting back and also the mod that i got the Saturn-V is the FASA Mercury to Apollo and I need help

CSM orbital info

PE: 156,650

AP: 181,300

INC: 2.5

LM info

INC: 2.54

You're going to have to give us a lot more information than that.

What is it exactly that you're having trouble with? Have you ever done any rendezvous and docking before? How much of the process are you familiar with? Is the lander still on the surface? How much fuel does it have left? Etc.

[Cerberus738]

Yeah... if you're asking for general rendezvous help I would seek out a tutorial. People have put a lot of work into them and they see full of useful general information.

If you're still I the surface of the Mun you need to launch it back into orbit... assuming the CM is orbiting prograde you should launch toward the 90 degree mark on the nav ball. Build your orbit to 20km and use a maneuver node to make the rendezvous.

If you're tying to launch straight back up to the CM wait until it's about to pass overhead and try to time the launch. Much harder in my opinion. As you're launch ing you can adjust your inclination north or south to get a better rendezvous

[Heagar]

I haven't that mod but for all docking attempts there are several rules to follow:

For liftoff:

• "Shortly" before the orbiting target is about to overpass your own position takeoff and go for an orbit.
  
• nearing the orbit (the same as the target preferably) you see if you are in front or behind the target, then the orbital dynamics kicks in:
  
  • a object at an higher orbit will be slower, if it is in an lower orbit it is faster than the target. In this way you can allow the target to catch up to you or otherwise.
    
  • you have to be at the same inclination. Therefore you mark in map mode the CSM as target (visually his orbit will be highlighted in yellow). There will be two points marked in green colour: AN (Ascending Node) and DN (Descending Node). In the vincinety of these points you orient you craft to the southern pole - 180 degree on the navball - (with horizontal alignment) at the AN or to the nothern pole - zero degree on the navball - at the DN. Hovering with your mouse over one of this points reveals the deviation. Burn - but only if you are in the vincinety of these nodes - until the readout is zero.
    
  • now the next step: You should have a perfect orbit by now a slightly higher or lower than the target. Create an manouver-node and manipulate him in that way, that your orbit at the AP (Apoapsis, the highest point of your orbit) or PE (Perapsis, lowest point of your orbit) "touches" the orbit of the target. Two new markers in orange are appearing: They represent you and the target at the point of that orbit with the lowest distance to each other. Now you have several options:
    
    • move the manouver-node to see where you get the shortest distance to the target
      
    • wait one orbit an see how mutch the distance gets shorter
      
    • or manipulate the manouver-node in that way, that you "overshoot" the orbit of the target. In that way you get a second pair of orange markers. These can tell you the the "speed" of closing in to the target. The last markers you have passed will be purple, the active orange
      

    [*]when you have an distance of 2km to the target - better shorter of course - wait for the interception point. Reaching this you:

    • cancel out all movement relative to the target. There are purple markers for this on the navball, and the speed is mesured relative to the target. If you are closing up to the target use the circle marker. If the target catches up youse the triangle-marker until the readout is zero. Important: The markers for the target have to be lined up with these for your movement indicators (Pro-/Retrograde).Therefore you have to point beside the target marker go get your movement marker on the spot.
      
    • The nearer you come to the target the more you should reduce you closing speed.
      At about 500m you should engage your RCS for finer controls, make yourself familar with the translational controls (h/n-keys for forward/back;j/k-keys for left/right and i/k-keys for up/down).
      
    • Aaand, switch your view to chase view for the docking, it is easyer to see in witch direction you have to burn. If availible, turn on docking lights.
      

There are people out there, who are doing docking in one pass. But with a slower method with multiple orbits you are on the save side in the beginning.

[Kryxal]

I still think one of the ships having an eccentric orbit is of benefit ... it means you have intersection points on the orbit, but can have differing orbital periods. Either way can work, though, so long as you're not playing with a life support mod.

[Sirine]

Typical question for beginners that use MJ. Before even know how to Orbit Kerbin Manually.

[alpha tech]

Typical question for beginners that use MJ. Before even know how to Orbit Kerbin Manually.

Im using 0.24.2 and i haven't found mechjeb

[dzikakulka]

Rendezvous in-game tutorial will surely get you started, try it a couple of times and then tell what part are you having problems with. There is a great deal of video and text tutorials spread around web by the way but still there are people willing to help, you just need to ask more precise questions.

[juanml82]

Im using 0.24.2 and i haven't found mechjeb

It's a mod. You can download it here

http://www.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/220221-mechjeb

[alpha tech]

hey i figured it out and its real easy just forget everything you have seen about it just get the nodes as close as possible then switch to target mode then before you get the close encounter point retrograde and fire and point towards it and fire