You can place your spacecraft on the launch pad, and before launching it you can visit another part of the space center. To launch your already prepared spacecraft
A slow, careful approach by repeatedly changing the orbit altitude to first catch up with, and later match the speed of the target. This is easier for beginners, as we gradually approach the target and its speed. It uses more fuel, in real life this method is not used.
Using a transfer orbit to quickly catch up with the target and slow down just before the intercept. This is a more dynamic process and requires more skills and attention.
The launch, orbit injection, and matching the inclination of the target are the same for both methods, we will start with these.
Install the recommended mods
There are mods for Kerbal Space Program 2 which make space flight much easier. We will not use “cheats”, these mods display the necessary information for easier maneuver node configuration, manual burn execution, and docking. Use CKAN to install the mods. See the CKAN wiki for documentation and installation instructions.
We recommend the following mods:
Maneuver Node Controller
Flight Plan
Docking Alignment
Micro Engineer
To activate the installed mods
Click the App Panel and select the mod.
Key bindings
Key
Action
C
Close the cockpit view and return to the normal view
Set the target
Click the target object and select Set as target
Launch the docking vehicle
Launch the docking vehicle before the target will pass the launch pad overhead as the rising vessel needs time to gain altitude and catch up with the target.
Set the Nav Ball to Target mode
Launch the docking vehicle
At 10 km altitude turn towards the target in a 45 degrees angle between the zenith and the target
Right-click the Apoapsis node to keep the values displayed
When the “T-” of the Apoapsis is over 1-minute, switch the Nav Ball to Orbit mode
Aim for the orbital velocity vector (prograde marker)
Continue to burn until the Apoapsis reaches the altitude of the target orbit
In the Apoapsis, create a maneuver node to move the Peiapsis to the same altitude to circularize the orbit, and reduce the inclination of the Ascending and Descending nodes. Adjust the Normal and Antinormal vectors to move the Ascending and Descending nodes 90 degrees to the Apoapsis and Periapsis.
Adjust the Prograde and Retrograde vectors to compensate for the Periapsis and Apoapsis altitude change caused by the Normal and Antinormal vector change.
Select Maneuver in SAS and start the burn. As we get close to the end of the burn duration, the velocity vector will deviate from the maneuver icon, so reduce the throttle and track the blue maneuver icon on the Nav Ball.
Match the inclination of the target
Right-click the Ascending or Descending node to display the inclination relative to the Target.
Create a maneuver in the closest Ascending or Descending node
Open the Maneuver Node Controller and adjust the Normal vector to achieve close to “0” inclination in the Next Orbit column. Try moving the maneuver node itself a bit with the Time arrows to move the number closer to zero.
At the time of the maneuver start the burn and stop the engines when the inclination number reaches the minimum in the Previous Orbit column.
Catch up with the Target
Target information
Micro Engineer mod
Use the Micro Engineer mod to display values relative to the target.
Target periapsis
Target apoapsis
Distance to target
Relative speed
Relative inclination
Altitude
Closest approach distance
Closest approach time
Closest approach speed
Flight Plan mod
Use the Flight Plan mod to display the altitude and closest approach distance information of the target.
Target orbit information
Relative inclination
Relative velocity
Separation at closest approach. The minimum distance between the vessels in their current orbits. Change to a closer orbital altitude for less separation.
Set the target in the mod
Click the Target Relative Maneuvers: Vessel button
Click the upper left button to show Vessel and select the target vessel in the list
The target orbit, relative inclination, next closest approach distance and relative velocity information are on the display
There are multiple ways to catch up with the target.
Catch up slowly by gradually changing your orbit
Change your speed by altering the altitude of your orbit
When we want to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit, we need to match three values:
Location
Speed
Direction
Match the location
Once the two orbit’s inclinations are close enough, to meet another craft far away in orbit, first, we focus on our angular velocity to “catch up” or “wait” for the other. We want both crafts to be above the same region of the planet.
The orbital and angular velocity of the satellite depends on its altitude above the planet. The nearer to the surface, the faster it has to fly.
Change the Nav Ball to Orbit mode
Change your speed to go faster to “catch up” or slow down to “wait” for the target to catch up with you.
If the target is ahead of you, lower your orbit to go faster
If the Target is behind you, raise your orbit to go slower.
If your target is in a 120 km orbit, depending on the altitude of your orbit, each full orbit changes the distance:
– in a 110 km orbit: 70 km – in a 130 km orbit: 80 km
Bring the orbits closer
Warp ahead until the two spacecraft are at a 200 km distance.
Set the trust limiter of the main engine to 10% for fine control
Right-click the engine
Set the Trust Limiter to 10%
Change the altitude difference to 5 km
Create a maneuver in the closest Periapsis or Apoapsis to change the altitude difference to 5 km
Set the SAS to Maneuver mode
Burn with the lowest throttle for better control
Circularize the orbit in the next Apoapsis or Periapsis.
Warp ahead until the two spacecraft are at a 50 km distance.
Change the altitude difference to 1 km, it will change the distance change to around 20 km per orbit.
Create a maneuver in the closest Periapsis or Apoapsis to change the altitude difference to 1 km
Set the SAS to Maneuver mode
Burn with the lowest throttle for better control
Circularize the orbit in the next Apoapsis or Periapsis.
Match the speed
The speed difference between the very close orbits should be below 400 m/s.
Click the velocity indicator until it shows TARGET to see the speed difference between your ship and the target.
Warp ahead to reduce the distance
On the map view hover above the icons to see information about the next intersects.
Use the Micro Engineer mod to monitor the target distance.
Finding the closest encounter
Warp ahead until Micro Engineer shows a Closest Approach Distance comparable to the orbit altitude difference. In our case around 1 km. On the Map view find the closest encounter indicator. Slowly warp ahead, and before the closest approach start the to match the orbital altitude and the speed.
Hover above the encounter indicator to see the predicted relative distance and speed difference.
When the target is visible on the Flight view, the distance is displayed
When the distance value of Intersect 2 is greater than Intersect 1, the closest encounter will happen between them. It means Intersect 2 will happen after the two vessels already passed each other.
When the target indicator is 90 degrees from the velocity vector, the two spacecraft are above each other. Kill the speed difference by changing your orbit to match the target.
Align your vessel’s velocity vector to the target’s movement
IMPORTANT!!!
This is crucial, as for successful docking at the moment of contact the two vessels should have close to matching speed and direction. During the final approach, as you adjust the speed of your spacecraft, also continuously adjust your ship’s velocity vector, so in the final moments, the two will hover next to each other without much relative movement.
If arriving from below
If your orbit is below the target, your velocity is higher, so eventually you will be in front of the target.
Burn prograde to raise your orbit. This will eventually slow you down.
Orient the spacecraft with the W S A D keys, so when you apply thrust, you pull the Prograde symbol to the Target symbol and move your ship towards the target.
If the Prograde vector is not visible when you pull it to the target, orient the spacecraft between the Target and the Retrograde vector.
If arriving from above
If your orbit is higher than the target, your velocity is lower, so eventually you will be behind the target.
Burn retrograde to lower your orbit. This will also speed you up.
Orient the spacecraft with the W S A D keys, so when you apply thrust, you push the Retrograde symbol on top of the Anti-Target symbol.
Tip 1
When to push, and when to pull
When we run the engine, we always push the retrograde and pull the prograde symbol (think about pushing the back and pulling the front of the car). If the appropriate symbols are not visible at the same time, you can still pull or push the velocity vectors. In this example the target and the retrograde symbols are visible, and we want to speed up a little bit. We can still pull the prograde symbol toward the target by aiming between the retrograde and the target and pushing the retrograde symbol to the other side of the ball toward the anti-target symbol.
Tip 2
Curved path
As we are flying on a curved path, the target symbols and the velocity vector symbols (prograde and retrograde) continuously move relative to each other. As we approach the target, and eventually want to slow down, the retrograde vector tends to move toward the horizon. “Pushing” it back towards the target we can keep the velocity vectors of the ships aligned.
Approach the target
Make sure the Nav Ball is in Target mode and burn towards the target at 20 m/s speed
We continue this staggered approach to get closer to the target:
Catch up with the Target
If you are ahead of the target in a lower orbit, burn retrograde.
Ifyou are behind the target in a higher orbit, burn prograde
Kill the speed difference
When the target indicator is 90 degrees from the velocity vector, kill the speed difference by slowing down or speeding up to the speed of the target.
Move toward the target
Turn toward the target and start a burn
Cut the engine at 10 m/s speed difference
Turn retrograde and prepare to slow down
Slow down around 60 – 70 meters from the target
Catch up quickly via transfer orbit
Create a maneuver to get into the Transfer Orbit. Use the prograde or retrograde marker to reach the orbit of the Target, and move the maneuver to set the distance between the two orange markers below 5 km. If the pink markers appear, your trajectory will cross the target’s orbit and overshoot it. Reduce the burn duration until the pink markers disappear. You may need to select an orbit in the future to be able to burn at the correct time for a close intersect.
Make sure the new orbit stays above the 70 km thick atmosphere, otherwise the spacecraft can even burn up at the periapsis.
Set the SAS to Maneuver mode, and stop the burn before the estimated duration. Fine-tune the intersect with short low-throttle burns until the distance reaches the planned amount.
If the orbits are not parallel
If the orbits are just intersecting, we can create a maneuver in the intersecting point and adjust the prograde/retrogarade and radial in/ radial out vectors to bend our orbit to match the target
Create a a maneuver in the intersection point
If your Apoapsis or Periapsis is too extreme, dial back the prograde or retrograde vector, and adjust the radial in / radial out vector to bend the curve
Adjust the prograde/retrograde and radial in/radial out vectors to match the trajectory of the target
If there is still a vertical separation between the orbits because of the different inclinations, use the normal/anti-normal vectors to bring the Ascending or Descending node close to the encounter.
Slow down
Click the speed indicator to switch to Target mode
Once in Target mode turn to Retrograde
Warp ahead even through multiple orbits until the two spacecraft reach the intersect point at the same time.
The easiest way to dock is if both vessels actively turn toward each other. We will set up active tracking on both ships. In this example, we will dock “Ship” to “Station”. When the vessels are close to each other you can use the “[” and “]” keys to switch between them.
Switch to Station
Right-click the docking port and select Control from Here
Select Ship as target
Turn on SAS and point Station to Target
Switch to Ship
Right-click the docking port and select Control from Here
Set Station as target
Turn on SAS and point Ship to Target
From now on the ports should continuously face each other.
Approach
Rotate the ship “upside up”
Press the V key to switch to Chase view. This will orient the spacecraft to align the RCS response with the keyboard inputs.
To make it easier to maneuver the ship during docking, rotate the ship, so on the screen the top of the pod points up. There is no good indicator of the top, but the hatch of the pod is at the “bottom”.
Rotate your ship with the E and Q keys to turn the hatch to the bottom, and the two windows are visible on the top.
In this position use the lateral controls to move the pod. As the first astronauts were fighter pilots, the controls work the same way as you fly an airplane in a flight simulator with the keyboard:
J – left
L – right
K – (pull the pod) up
I – (push the pod) down
Maneuver to the target
Turn Retrograde to be able to use the engine to slow down if needed.
Turn on RCS with “R”
In Retrograde press the “H” RCS key to slow down, “N” to speed up until the Target speed drops to zero, or use the engine if more power is needed.
Turn Prograde, “H” is forward, and “N” is backward.
Use the RCS to approach it with no more then 10 m/s until it is in 100 distance.
Right-click the target to see its distance
Set the docking port as the target for a precise approach.
Final approach and docking
It is important to learn the basics of docking with a visual approach, to understand the steps necessary for success, but there is an excellent mod that provides a user interface to perfectly align the docking ports even in total darkness. Install the Docking Port Alignment Indicator mod (see Recommended mods for details)
Advantages
Adds port renaming functionality during construction and flight, so you can later select the target port by name at the bottom of the instrument.
Usage
In the map view switch to the target vessel
Right-click the receiving port, and select Control from Here, so the SAS of the approaching vessel can properly track it.
Switch back to the approaching vessel, and make sure the target vessel is selected. If not, select it in the map view
Right-click the port on your vessel and select Control from Here
When you are 2.5 km or closer to the target, select the target port on the Docking Port Alignment Indicator UI.
During the final approach, the only thing you need to do is to
set your SAS to track the target
with your lateral RCS controls (IJKL) keep the green prograde marker on the intersection of the green lines, and control the approach speed with H and N. If you successfully track the green lines, your vessel will slowly line up with the target port. The orange marker at the top of the circle shows the 0° of the port of your vessel. Use Q and E to rotate your craft.
If the two lines are red, you are approaching the target port in the wrong direction. The orange arrow on the UI shows the direction you should move the prograde or retrograde icon for the correct alignment. If the yellow symbol changes from prograde to retrograde, you are getting farther away from the target.
Fine tune the docked module rotation angle
When a module has been docked, you can fine-tune the angle +- 15 degrees using the docking port menu. It looks like the module position is not saved, so when you reload the game all modules turn back to the original angle.
Right-click the docking port
Move the Alignment Angle slider to fine-tune the rotation of the docked module
The Invert Direction button changes the direction of the rotation.
Re-docking
When you just want to re-align a docked module the docking port needs to be reset. When you undock, the magnetic force which attracts the ports is turned off and the port is deactivated to let you leave the vicinity of the port. This prevents quick re-docking the same module. The port is reactivated when the module is moved at least 1.5 meters away, but if you just want to rotate the module sometimes it is not practical.
To quickly re-enable the docking port
Undock the module
Press F5 to “quick save” the game scenario
Hold F9 to reload the last quick save
Dock again
Transfer the crew
To transfer the crew between docked vessels
Click the hatch, or right-click the module, where the crew member is located and select Transfer Crew
Click the Transfer button of the crew member to transfer across the docking port
Click the target module to select it. In a few seconds, after a “tv static” video effect
the crew member will appear in the new environment
Docking tutorial videos
Teaching the transfer orbit method
Teaching catching up slowly by gradually changing your orbit
Building the right spacecraft and flying those successfully can be challenging in Kerbal Space Program. To aid beginners KSP has official, but not well-advertised cheats.
Emergency exit
When something goes terribly wrong (it can happen any time in Kerbal Space Program) on the PC press Alt-F4 to exit the program without saving. Windows terminates the program and you can load the game again with the state of the last save.
Before a risky maneuver, like a spacewalk, save the game with F5
Cheat menu
To open the official built-in KSP cheat press Alt-F12. There is an alternate way to open the cheat menu:
Press ESC to open the pause menu
Click the version info link
Click Cheats to open the main cheat page
These cheat settings are not saved, so when you launch the program the next day, you have to set them again.
Orbit
To place a spacecraft into a specific orbit and prepare the rendezvous with an asteroid or another ship open the Set Orbit panel.
The default settings on the Set Orbit panel place the spacecraft in a circular orbit around Kerbin at 86.75 km altitude above the surface.
Semi-Major Axis: The average of the apsides (Apoapsis and Periapsis) and usually measured from the body’s center in meters. The radius of Kerbin is 600,000 m, so the orbit altitude above the surface is 600 km less than this number. The Major axis is the distance between the Periapsis and the Apoapsis. The Semi-Major axis is half of it.
Eccentricity: The eccentricity gives how circular the orbit is (0 – 1). If a = Semi-Major Axis, based on these numbers we can calculate the
Periapsis = a * ( 1 – Eccecntricity)
Apoapsis = a * ( 1 + Eccentricity )
Inclination: The tilt of the orbit is given by the inclination in degrees ( –90° and 270°). Over 90 ° is a retrograde orbit (rotating against the planet’s rotation)
MNA: Mean anomaly at epoch, a pseudo-angle (up to 2π) expressing the proportion of the orbital period that has passed since the last periapsis (0 – 6.2831853071796). It shows how far we are in the orbit starting at the Periapsis.
OBT: it looks like this number does not have any effect on the orbit.
LAN: Longitude of ascending node specifies the tilt of the orbital plane (anticlockwise from the ecliptic at the ascending node) and its orientation (anticlockwise from the vernal point to the ascending node). (0 – 360)
Arg PE: Argument of periapsis is the angle from the body’s ascending node to its periapsis, measured in the direction of motion. (0 – 360)
Editing the orbit in the save file
Set the bold values and delete the landedAt value to place the vessel into orbit.
When you edit the orbit attributes in the save file you need to specify the planet you are orbiting around.
REF
0 = Kerbol
1 = Kerbin
2 = Mun
3 = Minmus
4 = Moho
5 = Eve
6 = Duna
7 = Ike
8 = Jool
9 = Laythe
10 = Vall
11 = Bop
12 = Tylo
13 = Gilly
14 = Pol
15 = Dres
Rendezvous
To place a spacecraft next to an asteroid or another ship, use the Set Orbit cheat panel.
To place to spacecraft next to each other in orbit for docking
Select the first spacecraft in the Tracking Station and click the Fly button
Open the cheat menu with Alt-F12
Place the spacecraft in an orbit
Select the second spacecraft in the Tracking Station and click the Fly button
Open the cheat menu with Alt-F12
Place the second spacecraft in the same orbit
Select the first spacecraft at the bottom of the panel, set the distance, and click the Rendezvous button.
Save Game State
This is really not a cheat but can be very useful to save the game state from time to time to be able to return to a scenario if something goes wrong, or just to practice a certain maneuver. The game is automatically saved in reular intervals, or by pressing F5, but there is no way to go back in time to an earlier save. You can save the game state with a name before a complex docking maneuver, so if there is a collision between the vessels or any of them spins out of control, you can start over again.
Save the game state
Press the ESC key to bring up the pause menu
Click the Save Game… button,
Use a descriptive name, so it will be easier to find the state save later.
Load a saved game state
Unfortunately, the menus call the game and the games state the same. To load the saved game state, first load the game, and after that load the game state.
In the Kerbal Space Program main menu select Start Game
In the Game menu select Resume Saved
First, load the game
Press ESC to open the pause menu and select Load Save…
Select the game state and click Load
This will revert the game to the state you saved, no matter what happened after that in the game.
The easiest way to build a space station in low Kerbal orbit is to
build it in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB),
break it apart and save the modules as subassemblies,
launch the modules individually,
dock them together in orbit.
Build the space station
You can build the space station yourself, or load one from Steam.
Using a pre-built space station
I have run into stability issues with the KSS space station. When a few modules have been assembled, it started to wave side by side. I think the issue is, that the heavy fuel tanks are at the edges, and the center is hollow crew modules. Also, the docking ports don’t provide enough rigidity to the structure. If you want to use it
Subscribe to the space station of your choice on Steam
To make the station more robust, I use the Rockomax Adapter where the Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port Sr. is too big by itself to connect to the part, like the Rockomax HubMax Multi Point Connector.
The core
The core at the center of mass should contain the battery, reaction wheels, and control units
Z-4K Rechargeable Battery Units (4)
Advanced Reaction Wheel Large
RC-L01 Remote Guidance Unit
OX-STAT-XL Photovoltaic Panels
Additional Control
Use the Advanced Inline Stabilizer off the center of mass to assist in attitude control.
Joining modules
The Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port Sr. provides a very strong connection between large-diameter modules. If a smaller port is used between modules, reinforce it with a Rockomax Brand Adapter 02 and 4 Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port Jrs. attached with girders.
Crew modules
The MK1 Crew Cabin, and the MK3 Passenger Module provide comfortable accommodation, but those have smaller diameters. If you are looking for a large-diameter module with windows, use the Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2
Fuel Tanks
To provide enough fuel for docking vessels, use the
Rockomax X200-32 large diameter, FL-T800 medium diameter long fuel tank for liquid fuel storage
FL-R120 and FL-R750RCS Fuel Tank for monopropellant
PB-X750 Xenon Container for the IX-6315 “Dawn” Electric Propulsion System ( ion engine)
If the space station contains a Cupola
The Cupola can host one astronaut.
Launching the Cupola with a booster equipped with a Probe Core
When you launch the Cupola, place an astronaut in the cupola. Make sure the front of the Cupola and the Probe Core faces the same way, otherwise, the booster becomes uncontrollable, as the Cupola and the Probe Core will issue conflicting commands to the engines, the Reaction Wheel Module, and the RCS.
Rotate the Cupola, so the hatch is facing you (West) in the VAB.
Rotate the Probe Core, so the label is facing the same way (West in the VAB).
If the cupola is upside down, right-click the Cupola to open the menu, and click the Control Point button until it shows Reversed.
Controlling the space station from the Cupola
To control the space station from the Cupola set the control point correctly.
Right-click the Cupola
In the panel click the Control Point button until it shows Forward.
JSON was designed to be a data only format, and deliberately does not support comments to avoid parsing directives which could break compatibility.
There is a way to add comments as custom elements:
{
"//comment_1": "This is the first comment.",
"//comment_2": "This is the second comment.",
"Name": "John von Neumann",
"Born": 1903,
"item": {
"//item_comment_1": "A nested comment.",
"//item_comment_2": "Another nested comment.",
"Field": "Computer science"
}
}
These are notes on the specifications of spacecraft for specific purposes.
Spacecraft to go to orbit
Rotate the spacecraft 90 degrees with “Q” so the pod hatch faces you in the VAB, the spacecraft heading 90 degrees on the launch pad for easier control with the elevator.
Part
Model (symmetry)
Notes
Stage
Parachute
MK16
Min pressure = 0.6 Altitude = 1000
0
Command pod
Mk1
This should be the first part of the craft
Heat shield
1.25 m
Upper stage
Decoupler
TD-12
1
RCS fuel tank
FL-R120
Monopropellant = 100/250
Fuel tank
FL-T100
Fuel tank
FL-T400
RCS Truster block
(4) RV-105
On top of FL-T400 fuel tank
Battery
(4) Z-100 Rechargeable battery pack
On bottom of FL-T400 fuel tank
Solar panels
(4) OX-STAT Photovoltaic panels
On bottom of FL-T400 fuel tank set Toggle Snap to 6 sided before placing it rotate 90 degrees to horizontal
Engine
LV-909 “Terrier” Liquid fuel engine
2
Booster
Decoupler
TD-12
3
Fuel tank
FL-T400
Fuel tank
FL-T400
Winglet
(4) AV-R8
On lower FL-T400 fuel tank
Radial decoupler for solid fuel boosters
(2) TT-38K
On lower FL-T400 fuel tank
4
Booster engines
(2) RT-10 “Hammer” Solid fuel booster
on radial coupler with “aerodynamic nose cone”
5
Booster main engine
LV-T45 “Swivel” Liquid fuel engine
Trust limiter = 65
5
To launch the space station modules to low Kerbin orbit
Part
Model (symmetry)
Notes
Stage
The station module
Upper stage
Decoupler
TD-25 Decoupler
This will release the payload
0
Fairing
AE-FF2 Airstream protective shell (2.5 m)
1
Remote guidance unit
RC-L01 Remote guidance unit
Fuel tank
Rockomax X200-32 Fuel Tank
Solar panels
OX-STAT-XL Photovoltaic panels (4)
Batteries
Z-400 Rechargeable Battery (4)
Engine
RE-L10 “Poodle” Liquid Fuel Engine
2
Booster
Decoupler
TD-25 Decoupler
3
Fuel tank
Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tank
Orange variant looks great
Radial decoupler
TT-38K Radial Decoupler (4)
On main fuel tank
4
Main center engine
RE-M3 “Mainsail” Liquid Fuel Engine
5
Booster fuel tanks
FL-T800 Fuel Tank ( 2 x 4)
On radial decouplers with “aerodynamic nose cone” with EAS-4 Strut connectors to attach the top (3) and bottom (1) to the main fuel tank
Booster engines
LV-T45 “Swivel” Liquid Fuel Engnies (4)
5
Winglets
AV-R8 Winglets (4)
On the main fuel tank
Tie down the payload
When the payload is attached make sure to select “Autostrut heaviest part” of every payload items.
When you are in orbit and you don’t want to accidentally stage parts of the spacecraft, hide the staging panels.
Click the Display Staging button to hide the staging panel.
The Stage light will turn light red.
Time Warp
Press the period (.) key to speed up time, and press the comma (,) to slow down
Click the Time Warp indicator to change the Warp speed
Click the orbit and select Warp Here to time warp to that point
Warp to sunrise
Launch and docking are sometimes hard to do in darkness. Click the Warp to Sunrise button to advance the time to sunrise. Make sure no collision happens during the time change.
Flight information
In the Map view
Apoapsis and Periapsis
Hover above the “Ap” (Apoapsis) and “Pe” (Periapsis) icons to view the changing numbers, and right-click them to keep the numbers displayed.
Flight control
The NavBall
The NavBall symbols
Manual flight control
As we rotated the craft 90 degrees in the VAB, use the up (W) and down (S) keys to turn East.
Automatic attitude control
To enable automatic flight control after launch
Turn on SRS with “T” and
Click the Target icon
Automatic maneuver orientation
To automatically rotate the spacecraft to the maneuver marker
Turn on SRS with “T” and
Click the Maneuver icon
Note: You still have to initiate the burn, this is just for automatic spacecraft orinetation.
Automatic prograde orientation
To speed up the spacecraft keep it aligned prograde during the burn
Turn on SRS with “T” and
Click the Prograde icon
Automatic retrograde orientation
To slow down the spacecraft, keep it aligned retrograde during the burn
Turn on SRS with “T” and
Click the Retrograde icon
Changing orbit
Going to orbit
Start pitching east at 60 m/s speed. Slowly keep pitching over, always aiming about ~5-10° below your current prograde marker. If the spacecraft is long, the air resistance can flip the ship.
Maintain this until your map’s apoapsis point is at about 80 km.
200 m/s 75°
300 m/s 65°
400 m/s 65°
Stage solid boosters
500 m/s 60°
530 m/s 50°
600 m/s 40°
700 m/s 30°
800 m/s 25°
Stage lower-stage
Start upper-stage engine
900 m/s 15°
1100 m/s 10°
1500 m/s 5°
Stop the engine when the apoapsis is 80 km (this already happens around 2000 m/s speed and 60 km altitude with the periapsis around -54 km)
Create and execute a maneuver at apoapsis to raise the periapsis to 80 km
Changing Apoapsis and Periapsis altitudes
To change the altitude of the Apoapsis and Periapsis burn at the opposite point.
To raise the Periapsis, at the Apoapsis turn prograde and start a burn. (Fine tune with radial in burn.)
To lower the Periapsis, at the Apoapsis turn retrograde and start a burn. (Fine tune with radial out burn.)
Click the Apopsis or Periapsis to place a Maneuver
On the Maneuver panel, open the Graphical Maneuver Editor
Set the “Scale”, the value of one click
Click the symbols to adjust the orbit
Return from orbit
To return from orbit lower the Periapsis to 32 km. The atmosphere will slow down the spacecraft preventing it to reach Apoapsis again.
At the Apoapsis turn retrograde and continue to burn until the Periapsis lowers to 32 km.
Open the parachute below the speed of sound (330 m/s) when the G force reduces to close to 0, around 100-150 m/s speed, at a height of around 3-5 km.
Maneuver nodes
We can set up maneuvers ahead of time and the spacecraft will execute them at the correct time with the correct burn length.
Create a maneuver node
Click the orbit and select Add Maneuver to place a maneuver node
Set up the maneuver
Pull the handles to plan to change the speed of the spacecraft into that direction. Watch the orbit to make sure you reach your desired destination. The farther you pull the handle the faster the orbit changes. Release the handle to stop the orbit change.
Watch the Apoapsis and Periapsis display to see the result of the burn
Delay and delete the maneuver
First, click the maneuver node to show the handles
Right-click the inner circle to switch to the other view
Click the red X to delete the node, the plus and minus icons to increment and decrement the orbit counter to delay the execution of the maneuver.
Execute the maneuver
Click the dashed planned orbit line and select Warp to Next Maneuver to move the time to 90 seconds before the maneuver
Rotate the spacecraft to align it with the blue cross on the NavBall
Split the burn duration around the node time, so start the burn before its time by half of its duration. Start a one-minute burn at T minus 30 seconds.
If the burn is very short, less than a few seconds, execute the burn with the low throttle for better control.
If you burn with the lowest setting, it is approximately 6.66% power. In this setting, you have to run the engine for 15 times longer than the estimated burn. So a 1-second full throttle estimated burn needs 15 seconds of low throttle burn. So start the burn at T – 7 seconds to center the burn around the maneuver time.
Stop the burn at the correct moment
To make sure you cut off the engine at the right moment, watch the resulting Periapsis or Apoapsis number, do not entirely rely on the calculated burn time.
Right-click the blue Periapsis or Apoapsis icon of the actual orbit to keep the number displayed, or open the Maneuver Node panel.
During the burn, watch the number change and stop the burn when it reaches the planned amount.
Close the maneuver
If you have already reached the correct orbit and the maneuver is no longer needed
Click the red X or green check mark to delete the maneuver
Warp to a location
To warp to a location on the orbit
Click the point on the solid orbit line where you want to warp to and select Warp Here
To warp to the next maneuver
Click anywhere on the dashed planned orbit and select Warp to Next Maneuver
OR if the solid and dashed lines overlap
Click the Maneuver Mode button in the lower left corner to open the maneuver dashboard
Click the Warp to Next Maneuver button on the ORBIT display in the lower-left corner of the screen
OR
Click the Next Maneuver button on the ORBIT display to go to the next maneuver
Click the Warp to Next Maneuver button on the MANEUVER display
