Recoverable booster S1 SRB-KD25k

[POllik]

I know there have been other threads on recovering parts, covering lots angles, but I haven't found the answer to my question...I apologise now if I have somehow missed.

Most jettisoned parts are junked as debris, although there is a mod to do something about that.

However, the solid booster S1 SRB-KD25k is designed to be recovered...but how?

I have tried attaching radial parachutes to it....I sat and watched it land next to Jeb's capsule which came down first. But when I hit recovery, I couldn't see it. I could only see the capsule.

I feel like I am not seeing something really simple.

Playing 0.90 in normal career mode.

Polly

Edited December 26, 2014 by POllik

[Bacterius]

The tracking station doesn't show debris (= objects without a control pod) by default, they need to be checked in the top left corner. That might be it?

[silks]

Your capsule came down first? That's one odd flight.

The thing with recovering separate parts is that they need to have a pod or a probe attached to them. Otherwise they are just debris and you get no funds for them.

I'd recommend not to bother with recovering SRBs, rather try to build an SSTO spaceplane or something similar that you can accurately pilot down again and get at least 90% of the funds back.

Edited December 27, 2014 by silks

[POllik]

Your capsule came down first? That's one odd flight.

I thought that, too, but it happens every time. Capsule + 1 chute. Booster + 6 chutes.

Thanks for the tip about the probe..that worked. My thinking was that if the description said it was designed to be recovered, then there must be something different about it compared with other debris. Apparently not so.

I am not keen on planes in KSP...they feel very un-planelike to me. Probably been spoilt by Flight Simulator.

Thanks for your help guys

[Torquemadus]

The thing with recovering separate parts is that they need to have a pod or a probe attached to them. Otherwise they are just debris and you get no funds for them.

Debris can still be recovered, but you don't see the recovery dialogue telling you how much money you got back. Check how much money you have before and after recovering.

Solid rockets are cheap "trash bins full of boom". Almost all of their cost comes from the fuel they contain, they are worth next to nothing once empty. This makes them ideal for use as expendable first stages, since you can afford to throw them away.

[LethalDose]

There's also the issue that vessels in the atmosphere (< ~22 km alt, with or without capsule or probe) are removed from the game if they move more than 2.5 km from the active vessel.

[Anquietas314]

There's also the issue that vessels in the atmosphere (< ~22 km alt, with or without capsule or probe) are removed from the game if they move more than 2.5 km from the active vessel.

I'll just add that the StageRecovery mod will simulate a landing and automatically recover those parts for you (instead of deleting them) with the value based on where they would have landed and how hard they hit the ground (it doesn't seem to account for parts exploding though).

Edited December 26, 2014 by armagheddonsgw

[POllik]

The above comments notwithstanding, the reason I started this thread was because the product description of the S1 SRB-KD25k says this:

“This super heavy booster is designed to be recovered after jettisoning. Once recovered, it is refurbished and refueled for another launch.â€Â

I took this to mean that the S1 SRB-KD25k was different from other boosters. I took this to mean that despite the general rules for debris and despite the 2.5 km rule and despite pod/probe rule, despite all that, I assumed that it meant that the booster could be routinely recovered.

There is some good general advice in this thread, but none of it really addresses the stated special nature of this part.

[Martin0]

That is just fluff text, it doesn't have any in game effect.

[wolfedg]

That is just fluff text, it doesn't have any in game effect.

Still he's making a valid point. The part description is misleading especially to new players.

[Laie]

However, the solid booster S1 SRB-KD25k is designed to be recovered...but how?

Right after its introduction, the pencil booster was highly recoverable: usually parts just get silently deleted when they're too low and outside of your physics bubble. The long boosters, however, would be placed on the ground for recovery, no parachute required. Being recoverable was their unique feature. However, back then there were no funds and no point in recovering the pieces, so all it really did was clutter the tracking station.

Since the introduction of funds, it's behaviour has changed, now it is just as volatile as any other part. The part description is the same as always, though.

[Murdabenne]

Right after its introduction, the pencil booster was highly recoverable: usually parts just get silently deleted when they're too low and outside of your physics bubble. The long boosters, however, would be placed on the ground for recovery, no parachute required. Being recoverable was their unique feature. However, back then there were no funds and no point in recovering the pieces, so all it really did was clutter the tracking station.

Since the introduction of funds, it's behaviour has changed, now it is just as volatile as any other part. The part description is the same as always, though.

I wish they would fix this - I am new to the game and just spent the past couple hours trying to figure out why I was unable to recover these ad anything other than debris despite controls, fins, radial parachute, drogue chutes, etc.

(Sorry to necro a thread but this is still an issue 1.02, and with newbs like me arriving with the announcement of 1.0, its worth a refresh)

[TheXRuler]

The description is like that because they are based on the shuttles SRB's as far as I know. And those were indeed recovered.

Still I agree that it is rather misleading to new players, as are some other things in KSP (many of which are not the dev teams fault)

[Ulzgoroth]

I wish they would fix this - I am new to the game and just spent the past couple hours trying to figure out why I was unable to recover these ad anything other than debris despite controls, fins, radial parachute, drogue chutes, etc.

(Sorry to necro a thread but this is still an issue 1.02, and with newbs like me arriving with the announcement of 1.0, its worth a refresh)

Recovering them as debris is what you want to be doing. You get credit (and, I think, science from any experiments) when you recover debris just the same as when you recover a ship.

[LiveHereNow]

But HOW do you recover stage sections or can you? They seem to disappear even w/ chutes (I've tried quite a few combinations). Others have mentioned the exact metrics (the 2.5km distance drop-away).

The launch clamps stay, and they get recovered... and the funds are returned (making them essentially free)... but other sections that have flown do not get recovered even if set for "soft" landings. They seem to just disappear.

Anyone have a non-mod way of recovering stages?

[magico13]

But HOW do you recover stage sections or can you? They seem to disappear even w/ chutes (I've tried quite a few combinations). Others have mentioned the exact metrics (the 2.5km distance drop-away).

The launch clamps stay, and they get recovered... and the funds are returned (making them essentially free)... but other sections that have flown do not get recovered even if set for "soft" landings. They seem to just disappear.

Anyone have a non-mod way of recovering stages?

The physics bubble is 22.5km in 1.0.x and things above about 23km aren't automatically deleted until they drop back down to below 23km altitude. If you're careful, you can use those to try to recover things. Set you parachutes to deploy only when they're fairly close to the ground (so they can fall faster), or take your stages with you past 23km and try to juggle the orbital insertion burn and recovery of dropped stages (a high apoapsis gives you more time).

Totally doable in stock, but requires way more planning and work than using StageRecovery or FMRS.

Launch clamps stay because they're landed. Once something is landed and unloaded, it doesn't need physics to be applied to it. But things that are floating in atmosphere still need physics, so the game decides to destroy them if they're too far away from the active vessel to be of interest.

[Rizzee]

But HOW do you recover stage sections or can you? They seem to disappear even w/ chutes (I've tried quite a few combinations). Others have mentioned the exact metrics (the 2.5km distance drop-away).

The launch clamps stay, and they get recovered... and the funds are returned (making them essentially free)... but other sections that have flown do not get recovered even if set for "soft" landings. They seem to just disappear.

Anyone have a non-mod way of recovering stages?

If the debris/parts isn't destroyed you can usually recover them in the tracking station. You need to toggle 'Debris' at the top of the window(there are several other toggles such as Probes, Stations, Asteroids etc.). The part has to be landed on Kerbin for this to work, you can't recover parts in outer space or on other celestial bodies.

There are also mods which several here have mentioned which make recovery much less hassle and more streamlined.