Precise docking

[Tex_NL]

His docking ports are setup in a way that won't allow mounting them backwards.

Then don't dock both ports, simply just dock one.

Thrust me, I have dealt with this myself in the past. Docking the two huge semi-circles is a lot easier that trying to squeeze the last wedge into place.

[justidutch]

Then don't dock both ports, simply just dock one.

Thrust me, I have dealt with this myself in the past. Docking the two huge semi-circles is a lot easier that trying to squeeze the last wedge into place.

Unless the silly RL stuff gets in the way, I should get to the eighth segment this weekend. I'll do my best to give a detailed account with pics of my (hopefully only one) various attempts. Right now I am thinking of sending up the final segment just like the rest, but on it, in the middle of the back side, have a little pod attached with some fuel and a bunch of Vernor engines pointed at the appropriate angles. That should give me the dexterity needed once, with the big engines, I get it within 20 meters or so.

[RainDreamer]

Thrust me, I have dealt with this myself in the past. Docking the two huge semi-circles is a lot easier that trying to squeeze the last wedge into place.

KSP gives us some very interesting freudian slips, doesn't it?

Anyway, I think docking semi circles are much easier too, considering the contact surfaces will meet on a flat-ish plane rather than at a very tight angle. And you can just simply spin the whole thing around to complete.

[justidutch]

KSP gives us some very interesting freudian slips, doesn't it?

It certainly does! And with that in mind, I give you http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/102724-KSP-Freudian-slips?p=1593992#post1593992

[Tex_NL]

KSP gives us some very interesting freudian slips, doesn't it?

Oops. That's what happens when English isn't your first language and your spell checker doesn't see anything wrong.

Anyway, I think docking semi circles are much easier too, considering the contact surfaces will meet on a flat-ish plane rather than at a very tight angle. And you can just simply spin the whole thing around to complete.

Exactly.

[justidutch]

Forgive me for the necro...

Well, after another redesign of the entire process, I finally managed to close my ring. I got all the segments in place including the last one. What I found, however, is that it is not possible to close the system - at least I couldn't do it. When placing the final segment, I got the one end connected correctly, but the last remaining connection would not quite line up properly. In fact, the docking ports were actually technically docked since I could right-click them and choose to undock, but visually they were not close together.

So, I thought, no problem, I will send up a little tug and push the two ends together. And it wasn't a problem, I did just that. The two keyed ports lined up and connected together, and I could again right-click and choose to undock if I wished. Obviously I did not do that but to me this proved that the keyed ports were docked. Excitement and pride abounded.

But… After going to the tracking centre then back, this final connection was NOT docked! So, I now have a new question (although I will keep this thread labelled as Answered):

Does anyone have previous experience using closed systems like this? Can you actually dock a ship to itself - since that is in effect what is going on?

Edited December 15, 2014 by justidutch

[StormKat]

I had an issue similar to this. My ring station had RCS blocks on the ends of each arm as well as on each corner module.

I deactivated all RCS blocks for the entire ring except for the problematic arm / corner. Undocked the one end of the arm and used the RCS to push the connections back together. It took a couple of tries, but worked like a charm.

Be sure to quicksave before you do anything.

[phunk]

A ship can't dock to itself. When the last piece is added, it has to make all of its connections simultaneously.

[Gaul]

Might not be what you're aiming for, but what about a single horizontal 'ship' just to make the connections? COuld have on at either end to keep the spacing relative.

[Wemb]

My first thought when I read your other post was: 'Damn, that dude will have to do some extremely accurate docking.' (I know a thing or two about circular building. Check my sig for more details.)

Docking Port Alignment Indicator as suggested by NASAHireMe will help A LOT. It will tell you your rotation with 1/10th of a degree accuracy.

Another great option is to use MechJeb to help you. I am no fan of MJ's docking pilot but I do like Smart A.S.S. as it can hold your crafts rotation while you concentrate on the actual docking.

I'm increasing using MechJeb - not for the actual docking itself, but coupled with the RasterPropsMonitor to do in-capsule dockings - having the rasterProp Monitor docking page open on one MFD, showing a zoomed in first person view overlayed with very precision offset co-ordinates, coupled with the Docking Alignment Indicator on a second and the SASS TGT+/- and RVEL +/- autopilot buttons on a third makes I can generally dock, often more reliably, from inside the cockpit with the KSP gui turned off (F2) than I can do outside the cockpit with the gui turned on.

Wemb