Mun sync orbit?

[BSNB]

What orbit do I need over the Mun to have a sync rotation? I want to try sending a ship that sends down a lander that can fly basically straight back up to the ship.

[RoofCat]

iirc it is not possible since that orbit would be outside of Mun SOI. Mun rotates too slow. It's an issue with many moons - either too small SOI or slow rotation.

[BSNB]

So I should just land my lander and wait for the ship to come back around?

[Chibbity]

Originally posted by BSNB:

So I should just land my lander and wait for the ship to come back around?

Unless you have your heart set on doing it Apollo style don't even bother with the seperate lander and the rendezvous, just extra complication. Bring your return stage with you to the surface and then leave direct to Kerbin.

But yeah, basically. You go up and rendezvous with it like you would anything else, this will be easier if you time it correctly.

Here's an example of a very simple Mun lander with direct return:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1193873660

[Jupiter3927]

The synchronous orbit altitude for the Mun is outside the Mun's sphere of influence.
All tidally locked moons are like this so you can't get a synchronous orbit around any of Jool's moons either.

Moho is special and just rotates very slow ao it's synchronous orbit is outside its sphere of influence too.

Semi-synchronous or quarter-synchronous might be possible but I never checked.


If you want to dock 2 ships in orbit low over the Mun Apollo style, you can time your launch by estimating how fast your lander can accelerate to the orbiter's velocity.
Velocity is a function of time and acceleration so V = a*t.
Position is a function of velocity and time so X = v*t.

Your lander will accelerate at some rate in m/s^2 and you can find the game's last known value in the map screen while selecting your lander.
Your orbiter should be in a circular orbit so the velocity is pretty constant.

Then you take your orbiter's velocity divided by your lander's acceleration to get time, t=v/a.
Plug that time value into X =v*t and you'll get the distance your orbiter needs to be at to start your ascent to meet the orbiter.


I recomend just taking your lander back to Kerbin and ignoring the orbiting ship bit.
Why overcomplicate things.

[BSNB]

Originally posted by Jupiter3927:

The synchronous orbit altitude for the Mun is outside the Mun's sphere of influence.
All tidally locked moons are like this so you can't get a synchronous orbit around any of Jool's moons either.

Moho is special and just rotates very slow ao it's synchronous orbit is outside its sphere of influence too.

Semi-synchronous or quarter-synchronous might be possible but I never checked.


If you want to dock 2 ships in orbit low over the Mun Apollo style, you can time your launch by estimating how fast your lander can accelerate to the orbiter's velocity.
Velocity is a function of time and acceleration so V = a*t.
Position is a function of velocity and time so X = v*t.

Your lander will accelerate at some rate in m/s^2 and you can find the game's last known value in the map screen while selecting your lander.
Your orbiter should be in a circular orbit so the velocity is pretty constant.

Then you take your orbiter's velocity divided by your lander's acceleration to get time, t=v/a.
Plug that time value into X =v*t and you'll get the distance your orbiter needs to be at to start your ascent to meet the orbiter.


I recomend just taking your lander back to Kerbin and ignoring the orbiting ship bit.
Why overcomplicate things.

Just through it'd be cool to do it Apollo style.

[Chibbity]

Originally posted by BSNB:

Just through it'd be cool to do it Apollo style.

And it is!

By all means, do it Apollo style if you want; just because it isn't the simplest way to do it doesn't matter.

You don't even really have to get the timing right, just bring some extra Dv, blast up to Mun orbit and rendezvous like you would anywhere. I'm actually planning an Apollo style Mun landing just for fun/coolness myself soon, I've got the rocket built but I've been distracted lately from actually launching it.

[Oiff]

You cannot get a geostationary orbit with the mun while within it SOI, however since the mun is tidally locked to Kerbin all you need to do is put yourself in any position on the mun’s orbit that is not within it’s SOI.
You will orbit Kerbin at the same speed as the mun and you will stay directly above the same part of the mun.

[BSNB]

Pretty much have everything unlocked now and sending my first probe to Duna for more science lol.

[ray.mcdonough]

Wait till you try mining missions, and run out of fuel. Refueling rescue missions are all kinds of fun.