In-orbit repair: can't attach part

[valenti_scott]

Hello-
I'm performing an in-orbit repair. I am trying to use my engineer to attach a small inline reaction wheel to a satellite.

My engineer is on the ladder outside, and very close to the satellite (about 3m).

I removed a thruster from the satellite and placed it in inventory, to make room for the reaction wheel. That worked fine.

But when I remove the reaction wheel from inventory and try to attach it, it won't attach.

The part stays red, and never turns green and looks like it wants to be attached. I am wondering if I can get a hint about what might be going on. Thanks.
-Scott

[GunsForBucks]

I have had issues with them as well. Rover contracts I wanted to add stability to. Lets me drop it on the ground but acts like it is too heavy to put in place?

Try multiple engineers EVA, that is supposed to allow more weight to be worked with.

Seems like a small enough part though and I have done it before with a single kerbal, so maybe it is bugged or requires more kerbals due to a change.

I think I ran a file verify when it happened to me and it didn't make a difference? Not sure but worth trying anyway.

[valenti_scott]

In the OP I said I removed a thruster from the satellite and placed it in inventory. Just for a test, I took the thruster out of inventory and put it back on the satellite. Worked fine.

But for some reason I just can't attach the small inline reaction wheel. It has a mass of 0.05 t, which I would think would be light enough to handle?

[FourGreenFields]

How sure are you there's no part blocking placement? The rules for blocked parts don't exactly seem generous to me.

[valenti_scott]

That's why I removed the thruster. There is a clear spot at the end of a fuel tank for the reaction wheel now.

I put the other two kerbals out on the ladder, but that didn't help either.

[GunsForBucks]

Originally posted by valenti_scott:

That's why I removed the thruster. There is a clear spot at the end of a fuel tank for the reaction wheel now.

I put the other two kerbals out on the ladder, but that didn't help either.

if it is a weight thing they have to be engineers. Honestly I think it may be bugged.

[valenti_scott]

Besides, if it were a weight thing, you'd think you'd get a prompt saying "Mass limit exceeded" or something.

I agree it seems bugged. I understand the EVA construction feature is kind of new, and it seems half-baked.

[valenti_scott]

I've since abandoned this contract, but I'm thinking that maybe I just needed to press the WASDQE keys to change the orientation of the reaction wheel, so it could snap into place at the end of a fuel tank.

[valenti_scott]

I tried something today. I had a Mun lander on the Mun with a crew of three.

Just for a test, I used the engineer to remove one of those little three-rung ladders from the craft, with the idea of putting it back, or somewhere else on the craft.

It seemed really finicky about where the ladder could be placed. It was real sensitive to the orientation of the vehicle in space.

There were some spots on a fuel tank where the ladder could be placed, and other spots where it could not be placed.

The spots where it could be place seemed to be at 90-degree intervals around the fuel tank. Otherwise it could not be placed.

I could not even place the ladder back where it was. I tried rotating the ladder with the WASDQE keys, but that did not help.

So, yeah, this in-flight repair thing is very rudimentary and finicky and often it's simply not workable.