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GunsForBucks Feb 6, 2021 @ 6:50am
Hard time moving comet
Just had a comet come fairly close and wanted to put it in orbit around Kerbin.

Never really tried to move asteroids or comets before so I have no experience in doing this.

Using fuel and electric cheats.

Docked / grabbed comet just fine.

SAS on normal makes craft and comet wobble badly, turned SAS to SAS only and that seems to work out fine.

Thrust on engine only seems to make comet spin, craft shakes badly and breaks apart.

Sent second craft with hydraulic legs and pads to hope to stabilize engine to comet but legs just seem to clip into comet.

Can I use more than one grabber to grab the comet and make it more stable?

Is there some way to use the cheat menu or something to reduce comet mass to make it easier to move? I don't have any COM indication to know if I can grab it differently to avoid the spin.

Is there something I am missing? Some method to grab it better?

Any help / suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks for any replies.
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Originally posted by Happy Ant:
afaik comets are just oversized asteroids with some gfx extras, so it should be possible to move them. Orbit cheat should also work the same way it works with grabbed asteroids, I tried it once and had no problems.
The easiest way to cheat that thing into a a stable orbit around Kerbin would be the lower part of the "Set Orbit" tab: Just select something that's already orbiting Kerbin, set a rendezvous distance and click button.
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Showing 1-15 of 16 comments
Jupiter3927 Feb 6, 2021 @ 6:57am 
You should be able to target the comet's center of mass.
Then you should be able to free the pivot on your klaw and rotate your ship a little.
Once you line your center of thrust up with the comet's center of mass, you'll eliminate any spin it had.

You could also free the klaw's pivot and pull the comet instead.
#1
GunsForBucks Feb 6, 2021 @ 7:03am 
Originally posted by Jupiter3927:
You should be able to target the comet's center of mass.
Then you should be able to free the pivot on your klaw and rotate your ship a little.
Once you line your center of thrust up with the comet's center of mass, you'll eliminate any spin it had.

You could also free the klaw's pivot and pull the comet instead.
I don't see any way to align with the comets COM... where is that exactly? I don't run any mods so I don't know if you are referring to something there.

Guess my best option is to pull it for now and see how that works out. I can just flip around four engines to use to pull it after I dock and adjust thrust on them to avoid any pull one way or another.
#2
GunnyErmy Feb 6, 2021 @ 9:21am 
When you right click the comet you should get a "target center of mass" option, before you've grabbed it.
#3
GunsForBucks Feb 6, 2021 @ 9:32am 
Originally posted by GunnyErmy:
When you right click the comet you should get a "target center of mass" option, before you've grabbed it.
Oh nice, thanks for that info.
Do I need advanced tweakables on for that <or whatever its called> or is that a normal option? I tend to keep that off as it just seems like a lot of clutter in the menus I don't use.
I'll give it a go next time I get close enough.
#4
GunnyErmy Feb 6, 2021 @ 11:30pm 
I do believe that is an advanced tweakables option, but not sure.
#5
Happy Ant Feb 7, 2021 @ 7:36am 
It isn't. Just reloaded my comet encounter save and checked.
#6
GunsForBucks Feb 7, 2021 @ 8:08am 
Originally posted by Happy Ant:
It isn't. Just reloaded my comet encounter save and checked.
Thanks for checking!
#7
Happy Ant Feb 7, 2021 @ 8:43am 
No problem.
Have fun moving that comet. I didn't remember the delta-v drop when I grabbed it, so I just didi it again. Available 8800m/s went down to 1m/s when grabbing a 240 kton comet.
#8
GunsForBucks Feb 7, 2021 @ 9:26am 
Originally posted by Happy Ant:
No problem.
Have fun moving that comet. I didn't remember the delta-v drop when I grabbed it, so I just didi it again. Available 8800m/s went down to 1m/s when grabbing a 240 kton comet.
Using fuel cheats and one mammoth to fly it there with 4 radial mammoths to fly it back the other way ha ha.

In the end I would like to have a bunch of comets all in orbit around Kerbin ... figure it would make quite the view!
#9
Happy Ant Feb 8, 2021 @ 3:42am 
Even with four Mammoths and fuel cheat it still will take quite some time to bring a comet into Kerbin's SOI. I hope physics warp works and doesn't break apart your ship.
#10
GunsForBucks Feb 8, 2021 @ 7:02am 
Well I connected and am trying to move it.

It seems to start to effect the orbit and then stops and goes back to where it was. Wondering if it even possible to move them at all or if they are programmed to stay where they spawn.

Would the orbit cheat work? If I manually put the docked craft into kerbin orbit will it bring along the comet? How does the orbit cheat work? I have never used it so I have no idea what to even put in the boxes. For example can I somehow set it to 100k perfect orbit?

I see the perfect orbit checkbox but not sure what to put in anything else.
#11
The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.
Happy Ant Feb 8, 2021 @ 1:12pm 
afaik comets are just oversized asteroids with some gfx extras, so it should be possible to move them. Orbit cheat should also work the same way it works with grabbed asteroids, I tried it once and had no problems.
The easiest way to cheat that thing into a a stable orbit around Kerbin would be the lower part of the "Set Orbit" tab: Just select something that's already orbiting Kerbin, set a rendezvous distance and click button.
#12
GunsForBucks Feb 8, 2021 @ 1:17pm 
Originally posted by Happy Ant:
afaik comets are just oversized asteroids with some gfx extras, so it should be possible to move them. Orbit cheat should also work the same way it works with grabbed asteroids, I tried it once and had no problems.
The easiest way to cheat that thing into a a stable orbit around Kerbin would be the lower part of the "Set Orbit" tab: Just select something that's already orbiting Kerbin, set a rendezvous distance and click button.
Well I have never docked with anything else so I don't really know how to mess with the asteroids either... so it will just move to some orbit that I set the craft to and move as a single unit?

Not sure of the exact procedure if you don't mind explaining it step by step.
So I am in control of comet and bring up orbit cheat window... then zoom in on something in orbit around Kerbin and set distance to it?
#13
GunsForBucks Feb 8, 2021 @ 1:29pm 
Ha ha excellent... worked great, thanks for that!
#14
Happy Ant Feb 8, 2021 @ 1:31pm 
Comet is part of your ship when grabbed, so both will be telecheatoported to where you want.

This is where you want to go in the cheat menu: https://imgur.com/a/Hyktv2t

Choose any vessel that's orbiting Kerbin, set the distance to some km away so the comet doesn't crush your other vessel, click button. Tested with comet, works. But be prepared for some physics hickups (exploding ship or something like that).

Edit: Too late... :D
Last edited by Happy Ant; Feb 8, 2021 @ 1:32pm
#15
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Date Posted: Feb 6, 2021 @ 6:50am
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