Mun Transfer Tutorial

[cfivie]

So i recently purchased Kerbal Space Program and am going through all the in-game tutorials. However, I keep getting stuck on the To The Mun Part 1. I either constantly run out of fuel before I reach the Mun's atmosphere and am unable to slow my orbit to descend, or I attempt to conserve my fuel but I never have an orbit that reaches remotely close to the Mun. My question is how do I make it to the Mun with enough fuel to slow my orbit? Also, I cannot activate the next stage of my rocket in order to use more fuel, but I'm not sure if this was intended.

I apologize that this is such a dumb question, but I don't know where else to go for help. I really want to go through all the tutorials since this game is very complex and it's hard for me to learn from videos.

[Dida44]

I am also new to the game and my learning has been maximized in this tutorial: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/79658-Exploring-The-System-A-design-tutorial-campaign-0-90-Interim . It is a step by step, which is giving me an important basis for progress in the game. Hope this helps you too.

[CalculusWarrior]

First of all, welcome to the forums! Secondly, it's not a dumb question at all! You're definitely in the right place.

It sounds like you're having a bit of trouble properly setting up your Transfer Orbit. A great way to make sure you have the proper trajectory is to create a maneuver node and tweak it so that your trajectory enters the Mun's Sphere of Influence (you'll see the orbit change colour).

Then, it's just a matter of burning retrograde at periapsis, and you'll be in a stable orbit around the Mun! The spacecraft is in an Apollo-style setup, so don't try to land just yet. You will have to transfer a kerbal or two into the lander, then undock it (right click the docking port) from the main spacecraft.

Then, take control of the lander (the bracket keys [ ]), and try to land! You should have enough fuel to do so.

If you need any more help, just ask away!

[Anquietas314]

Hi, welcome to the forums

I either constantly run out of fuel before I reach the Mun's atmosphere

Just so you know, the Mun doesn't have an atmosphere. So, y'know, don't expect parachutes to work

I apologize that this is such a dumb question, but I don't know where else to go for help.

It's not a dumb question; getting to the Mun is hard

Okay, so having just had a go at the tutorial (I learned to do it the hard way... like most people - the tutorials came roughly around 0.18 and I think they were updated in 0.90), you have enough fuel to do the mission, but not a huge margin for error. I guess what you're struggling with is figuring out where to place the maneuver nodes. The tutorial does tell you how to use them, but it's a bit difficult if you're not familiar with the terminology; you want to stick the maneuver node somewhere on your orbit - anywhere will do; you can adjust it later - and then drag the prograde marker (the green circle with 3 lines sticking out of it, but no cross) until your apoapsis (the "high point" in your orbit, it's the "Ap" marker) reaches out to Mun's orbit. Once you've done that, slide the maneuever node around in your orbit until you have a good intercept. It should look a bit like this:

Don't worry about the various icons and overlays on my screen that you don't have - or that the navball is bigger. That's caused by the mods I have installed.

Next, you want to tweak the prograde/retrograde (the opposite one) to get your Mun periapsis (low point - it's the Pe marker) down to about 30km (to be safe - ideally you should go lower). If you go too far (Pe marker disappears - that means you'll hit the Mun) use the retrograde one to drag it back. Don't worry too much about precision.

After that, you need to aim at the node marker on your navball - it's the dark blue one the arrow is pointing to. Try to get the dot in the middle of the navball to line up with the blue one on the marker as closely as you can. Since it's the tutorial, you can also use the "hold maneuver" button to the left of the navball when you activate SAS (T key) - it's the top right one in the list. Normally you need to level up kerbals pretty far in career mode to have that ability though, so it's worth learning to work without it. It's also slightly buggy in 0.90, so be careful about using those.

The ship you're given takes about 2 minutes to complete the burn plotted by the maneuver node, so wait until 1 minute before the node (i.e. "Node in T - 1m") before starting the engine. Double check you're aiming at the maneuver node at the time though! As you're burning, try to follow the node marker - it'll almost always move a bit; that's because you usually can't line up with it perfectly, but don't worry about it.

Once you've completed the burn (the "m/s" bar is very close to zero), cut engines (X key to do it instantly) and then time-warp until you're about to cross the "Mun Encounter" marker. Slow down timewarp to 1000x for that - there's a minor bug where timewarping through those markers too fast will alter your orbit. After you've crossed the marker, your orbit around Mun should look a bit different, and change colour. Next, place a maneuver node at your Mun periapsis, and then drag the retrograde marker out to bring the orbit down from a big arc into a nice, neat circle. You want to get your Ap/Pe to about the same value, but within 5km will be fine . It should look something like this:

Next, just complete the maneuver exactly like last time: aim at the navball marker, wait until 20 seconds before the node, fire the engines until the m/s bar reaches zero. And that's it . Your flight screen should look like this:

Edited December 31, 2014 by armagheddonsgw
wrong screenshot link

[technion]

People here are guessing, but nothing will beat what we could say if you could post a screenshot. If you can shot us your map after you've made a burn to put you on course with the mun I think we'll have a good idea.