Launching Probes(from a Space Dock)

[EQFL_Sapare]

Can anyone confirm this actually works correctly? I can not for life of me get this to function in my game. It will always launch from earth(I deactivated the Space dock, loaded a safe before it was finished, all the same), I have a space dock on mars which should cut off a few days to the closer asteroids at least.

[Lovecraft]

I think probes launch from the construction module, not the space dock.

[EQFL_Sapare]

Description says it does, so then those need to be updated/fixed.

[ulzgoroth]

I think I've done it, but I'm not certain whether it was from the space dock or not TBH.

[Lovecraft]

I just tried and I was able to do it (from a space dock, not a construction module).

Did you have all the resources needed?

[GAY_WEED_DAD_69]

Depends, the game calculates the nearest distance and launches the probe from the nearest site

Remember - the orbit isn't always necessarily stable, sometimes it changes, you should check if it's truly closer.

Also remember to check if the module is fully built, and you have enough resources to send it, because you can only send probes if you have enough Space resources.

[EQFL_Sapare]

Glad to hear it works for some people, but I dont know what I am doing wrong then, I don't see it just being a distance/orbit thing because mars is between earth and the target in this case, Video example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ816RrTEeQ&feature=youtu.be

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by EQFL_Sapare:

Glad to hear it works for some people, but I dont know what I am doing wrong then, I don't see it just being a distance/orbit thing because mars is between earth and the target in this case, Video example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ816RrTEeQ&feature=youtu.be

Between earth and the target isn't remotely enough. Transfer orbits are tricky. If the target isn't far enough ahead of mars to hit efficiently, going from Earth could easily become better.

I really don't know exactly what they're modeling here, though.

[Mistfox]

Originally posted by EQFL_Sapare:

.......

You're not cutting across in a straight line, if you did that, the asteroid would have flown way pass you by that time. This is why the launch from Earth is faster, the probe from there is going to be launched WHERE THE ASTEROID WILL BE, which means that it's faster than a probe trying to chase up to an asteroid. Which it will never do because the asteroid is faster, so you'll have to shoot the probe in the reverse direction to catch up ironically.

You can see this modeled in the Mars/Earth interactions, the Earth is faster than Mars, so if Mars is "in front" of Earth, your shipping time is actually shorter but once Earth is pass Mars, your cargo from Earth has to decelerate massively just to make Mars orbit from the momentum that the Earth gave it..

[EQFL_Sapare]

Originally posted by Mistfox:

Originally posted by EQFL_Sapare:

.......

You're not cutting across in a straight line, if you did that, the asteroid would have flown way pass you by that time. This is why the launch from Earth is faster, the probe from there is going to be launched WHERE THE ASTEROID WILL BE, which means that it's faster than a probe trying to chase up to an asteroid. Which it will never do because the asteroid is faster, so you'll have to shoot the probe in the reverse direction to catch up ironically.

You can see this modeled in the Mars/Earth interactions, the Earth is faster than Mars, so if Mars is "in front" of Earth, your shipping time is actually shorter but once Earth is pass Mars, your cargo from Earth has to decelerate massively just to make Mars orbit from the momentum that the Earth gave it..

OK scientist, then give me an asteroid that would be faster from mars in the above vid, i can try it.

[Mistfox]

Originally posted by EQFL_Sapare:

Originally posted by Mistfox:

You're not cutting across in a straight line, if you did that, the asteroid would have flown way pass you by that time. This is why the launch from Earth is faster, the probe from there is going to be launched WHERE THE ASTEROID WILL BE, which means that it's faster than a probe trying to chase up to an asteroid. Which it will never do because the asteroid is faster, so you'll have to shoot the probe in the reverse direction to catch up ironically.

You can see this modeled in the Mars/Earth interactions, the Earth is faster than Mars, so if Mars is "in front" of Earth, your shipping time is actually shorter but once Earth is pass Mars, your cargo from Earth has to decelerate massively just to make Mars orbit from the momentum that the Earth gave it..

OK scientist, then give me an asteroid that would be faster from mars in the above vid, i can try it.

Easy, look for one BEHIND Mars. This means that your probe will decelerate to meet it rather that try to catch up.

As an example, I'm launching from Ceres

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2871048310

The asteroid in front, it's 351 days.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2871048321

The one behind, 315 days.
These are relatively close so the difference is only a month or so. From Mars to the belt or Earth to the belt, you saw your timings.

[Riftwalker]

transfers are super tricky because the fastest way to get there may be to wait and transfer later, not everything is done immediately.

you need to understand that the probe needs a trajectory where it not only accelerates toward it but spends just as much time slowing down so that when it gets there it isn't moving at KM/s.

objects closer to the sun have higher momentum and are moving faster, so earth may have more "free" boost than mars does.

there are so many tiny details that change how you would want to transfer from where or when.

[EQFL_Sapare]

Not convinced its working right, and my example was an asteroid behind Mars. It should have a better trajectory than earth. That said, it shouldn't be an arcane art anyway, give players a drop down list to selected where they want the probe to be send from, and update the launch window depending on what base is currently selected.
Also, two people above implied you need the resources to send it, not boost, but then above has boost in selected in both examples, so seems like forum can't even agree on the rules.(that said, 300 days is also strangely slow considering he probalby has a bunch of tech to boost the speed of probes, so he might actually be sending from earth)

[Mistfox]

Originally posted by EQFL_Sapare:

Not convinced its working right, and my example was an asteroid behind Mars. It should have a better trajectory than earth. That said, it shouldn't be an arcane art anyway, give players a drop down list to selected where they want the probe to be send from, and update the launch window depending on what base is currently selected.
Also, two people above implied you need the resources to send it, not boost, but then above has boost in selected in both examples, so seems like forum can't even agree on the rules.(that said, 300 days is also strangely slow considering he probalby has a bunch of tech to boost the speed of probes, so he might actually be sending from earth)

From Earth, my probes take 570+ days to reach Ceres. It's definitely from the asteroid.

I know that you're trying to "intuit" physics in space. It does not work like that, you have to calculate it out, you cannot eyeball what your brain tells you because it is a totally different environment that humans do not experience, so you can't use "experience" to judge it. I had the same problem starting out and have all the exam paper fails to prove it until I got out of that habit. You have to train yourself not to "intuit" physics, energy works differently at the astral and subatomic level. Trying to do that will just make you fail your exams.

[Riftwalker]

in the bottom right next to launch probe you should have a drop down to select from space or earth, if you don't then yes it is not working.

[EQFL_Sapare]

Originally posted by Riftwalker:

in the bottom right next to launch probe you should have a drop down to select from space or earth, if you don't then yes it is not working.

What you see in the video i posted is all I have.