A New Thread to Discuss 5thHorseman's Challenge

[Superfluous J]

Here's my craft file:

[defunct site link removed by moderator]

Here's what it looks like:

[defunct site link removed by moderator]

And here's the video:

Arkie, could you put these in the first post so they don't get buried?

[The Jedi Master]

Can someone link to the original challenge?

[arkie87]

Here's my craft file:

http://pulpaudio.com/ksp/mun_orbit/Mun_Orbiter_6.craft

Here's what it looks like:

http://pulpaudio.com/ksp/mun_orbit/slide_6.jpg

And here's the video:

Arkie, could you put these in the first post so they don't get buried?

If you answer my questions

[Superfluous J]

If you answer my questions

Oops sorry, you posted while I was typing and I never saw it

I know. But that wasnt my question. My question is better or worse than the direct vertical launch? My guess is better, since it is somewhere in between vertical and horizontal... Maybe it will only cost 10% more...instead of 20%

I think it'd be worse, but the idea of doing it is so distasteful I can't bear to.

A good measure of how good your gravity turn is is horizontal velocity at apoapsis... do you by any chance know how much horizontal velocity you had by the time you got to apoapsis? Or alternatively, the approximate angle your prograde vector had with the horizontal... i can never get mine anywhere near 45 degrees with my rockets when i try a gravity turn... Is that what you found too? If so, why wont my rockets do a gravity turn...

I have the original video. If I have time I'll look at it tonight (I probably will). I have KER up all the time though I turn off a lot of the displays I don't ever use.

My prograde vector went down pretty much with the direction my rocket was facing. It went under 45 when my apoapsis was at about 20 (IIRC) and was at maybe 10-20 degrees when my apoapsis was at 50 (again IIRC). At least, that was the plan, as it always is when I launch, in FAR or stock.

By atmospheric efficiency you mean terminal velocity, i presume?

Almost. Terminal velocity changes with altitude. Atmospheric efficiency is the ratio of terminal velocity to your velocity. If it's < 100%, you're going too slow and losing to gravity. If it's > 100% your'e going too fast and losing to drag. Things get a little complicated when you're not going straight up but it still generally applies.

And it sounds like you had more fun using my rocket

[Superfluous J]

A good measure of how good your gravity turn is is horizontal velocity at apoapsis... do you by any chance know how much horizontal velocity you had by the time you got to apoapsis? Or alternatively, the approximate angle your prograde vector had with the horizontal... i can never get mine anywhere near 45 degrees with my rockets when i try a gravity turn... Is that what you found too? If so, why wont my rockets do a gravity turn...

I hate to double reply (especially when quoting the exact same thing) but I just realized you're probalby talking about my gravity turn with YOUR rocket here, not mine. Sorry about that.

With your rocket I think I may have *just* got it below 40 degrees before the SRBs conked out.. It was pretty easy to turn for the first few seconds and then it was a bear. If I was going to do it again, I'd do an even stronger immediate gravity turn. I may just try cranking it as far right as it'd go. If it crashes, then I'd let up on the next try.

[arkie87]

I hate to double reply (especially when quoting the exact same thing) but I just realized you're probalby talking about my gravity turn with YOUR rocket here, not mine. Sorry about that.

With your rocket I think I may have *just* got it below 40 degrees before the SRBs conked out.. It was pretty easy to turn for the first few seconds and then it was a bear. If I was going to do it again, I'd do an even stronger immediate gravity turn. I may just try cranking it as far right as it'd go. If it crashes, then I'd let up on the next try.

I think the problem is i'm not being aggressive enough with the turn early on, and too aggressive when its already too late.

I'll adjust my methods a little bit.