So, I had my encounter with the Mun and it didn’t go as predicted. The map showed me being slowed down by the Mun (I think it was as close as 42,000 M) and settling into a new Kerbin orbit. However, I was close enough to get into Muns gravity well and achieve orbit. For the first time in years I put on Pink Floyd and did and the album ended in time with Kerbin rise and the completion of a burn to get me back.
The launch vehicle I have is forgiving enough to overcome my bad gravity turns yet still get a capsule with a lot of fuel into orbit even if it does rattle like a Yugo. Learning how to change my orbit plane and see how sling shots work…I am going to try and send a prob to Duna.
I know that I can land somebody on Mun but I have no idea how to get them back and I still don’t know if I want to stand someone there.
This is my Mk II manned turborocket. It’s a bit tempermental during launch - it is necessary to start the rocket engine and then eject the jets before the jets stop functioning - but the command pod has survived both of these accidents undamaged and landed safely. It’s not equipped for a lunar landing, but reaches orbit with 75-80% of a full tank and has a docking port to allow refuelling.
Do it - stranding someone just gives you another objective to strive for.
The Mk III manned turborocket is now in an elliptical orbit in preparation for its moonshot. I expect it to be more successful than my past attempts, now that I have access to more appropriate components.
That’s a long ladder to fall down. I guess it might not matter on the Mun.
I get best results by clicking the Resources tab then clicking Air Intake so that it’s visible just by looking at the engine. When the engines start getting to 0.01-0.02 of air intake, I chuck them, wait until the rest of the rocket gets to its apoapsis and then ignite the rocket. That works best with a booster as Stage 2. With a low thrust/high efficiency rocket, you might need to thrust as soon as you chuck the jets.
So got Bob into a low lunar orbit and quick saved. Here are the outcomes of my attempts.
Crash landing, Bob is killed.
Crash landing, Bob survives and plants a flag.
Crash landing, Bob survives and is trapped in wreckage.
Crash landing, Bob survives and is trapped in wreckage.
Lunar landing, Bob survives and plants a flag. Ladder came off at some point so Bob is stranded.
What I didn’t know is that you can’t branch out from saved points. You can only redo the same thing over. I do know that I can get myself to leap over the lander so I may try to see if I can get Bob back in the ship that way. The next option is to mount a rescue but again I have no idea how to bring somebody extra back…that will be an interesting challenge.
The Mk 2 lander can has room for two people. Use one crew to get back to Bob, get in the lander can (you might need to install a remote control module), get back to Kerbin.
Or you could use the Mk3 cockpit which has room for three; before launch, make one of your Kerbin exit the cockpit to his death. You now have a command pod with an extra seat.
I usually don’t get more out of them than 20K although I’ve seen videos where they were taken to 25K, I think. If I remember correctly, Scott Manley said there was a hard 30K limit built into the code.
Doing your own tests for your own designs just requires clicking the resources tab and then the air intake. Keep an eye out for it and see at what altitude it fails.
Misc note: For optimal Kerbin escape, you can fast forward time at the usual 1/5/10/50/100/1000/10000/100000 when you’re on the launch pad. This allows you to have your launch pad face the right direction in the solar system and may also allow Kerbin to get closer to other planets.
My first few attempts at a rescue have failed. I took the same design that got Bob to the Mun and got the pilot out before launch. BTW, they don’t die, you can go to mission control and select the pilot and end the flight-the ship will stay empty on the launch pad. I got the ship into orbit and then it died. I had added the remote control system but I guess I needed to add batteries as well. My other attempts have been with newer designs that I can’t seem to get into orbit on a regular basis. My new idea will be to just use brute force to get an appropriate ship into orbit.
I managed to put Bob on the Mun but alas, with only a third of the tank left, I fear he is stranded. I will have to come up with a design that can arrive there with more fuel and an open spot and rescue him. I insist on not using solid rocket boosters on my designs so that may be making this unnecessarily difficult.
It may be enough fuel to get back from Mun. Escape velocity is much, much lower so little burn time is needed to get into orbit. Just get the PE under about 40,000 on Kerbin and you should make it.
I spent much time designing a rescue craft for my Bill who is stuck on the Mun. I came up with a good design and launched it. After a perfect launch, for me anyway, I realized I was on a different character than the one who had Bill stuck. The first clue should have been the fact that the pilot was named Bill, but I’m not going to point any fingers. When I realized that there was no point in going to the Mun, I sent Bill from Kerbin 2 to Minmus, where he is now in orbit. I think that if he lands he may have enough fuel to get back, but the second stage still has about 2/3 of a full tank. I am really torn to see if I should land him on Mimus and bring him back or try to get him to Eve or Duna for a fly by, because I really doubt he could return from landing on one of those planets. In fact, I am fairly sure that you do need a lander/return vehicle combo to return from landing anywhere other than Mun or Minmus, but I’d love to be wrong there.
Of course, I could just strand my Bill on each planet in different universes and then design a perfect ship that could rescue them all. I’d call it ‘Harbinger’, I guess.
A third of a tank should be enough to get Bob back to Kerbin. You can get to Mün orbit at a very low altitude; you just need to be high enough to not smack your craft into any mountains. You also just need to enter Kerbin’s atmosphere when you burn away from Mün. The upper Kerbin atmosphere is very thin, and gravity breaking can take many orbits, but if you hit under 50k, your reentry is guaranteed.
Here’s my latest creation - a Kerbal Escape Module. Weighing in at a mere 300 kilograms, this microrocket provides a way to safely get back to Kerbin if things go wrong. It offers a bit over 500 m/s of delta-v when manned.
The astronaut just rides on the outside? I hope you have a space station in orbit above Kerbin or reentry is going to be dicey.
TBH Grumman, I’d love to see the different rockets you have designed. Like say for operations in the Mun and Minmus areas and for getting to Duna or Eve. Based on what I have done, I need to build much bigger rockets to get to other planets. I think my current design is good for maybe getting to other planets but again, I am worried about the return fuel. Generally speaking, how much fuel do you need to get back from Eve or Duna, would it be more than the FL-T400 can hold?
Bombing while facing the same way as Major Kong turned out to be a counter-intuitive as all the controls are inversed so I did it straight:
He survived the explosion of the improvised bomb (I made sure to leave a good amount of propellant in the tank), flew to around 30K and then hit the ground. The ground survived so that’s a 50% survival rate.
I indeed have enough fuel to get back, barely. It all would have gone picture perfect had I not neglected to put a decoupler between the capsule and the last stage. Splash down was a little rough, since it included the explosion of the fuel tank and other assorted fireworks, but Bob seemed to enjoy it.
I can’t even get a Kerbal into a stable orbit. I got one around twice, but the orbit was like 600KM high at one end and 45 at the other so the upper atmosphere brought them down on the second go around. Unfortunately for what reason I do not know, their parachute failed and they died, but I’m not running outta volunteers.
