Help with orbital missions

[amnesia]

I'm trying to do an orbital mission and I understand how to match the apoapsis and periapsis, but it also states I need to have a specific inclination, longitude of ascending node, and argument of periapsis... I can't find anywhere in my info screens that display these values. How do I match them up?

[HoloYolo]

Check the contracts and use manever nodes.

[amnesia]

Well I don't have those yet, but what I'm asking is where does it show you the current inclination of your orbit, for example? The orbital info only shows the apoapsis and periapsis.

[SievertChaser]

From what I know there is no possibility to access the data in-game without instrumentation mods.

For inclination you have the option of setting Mun as a target. It has an inclination of 0, and will display the AN and DN, through which you'll be able to deduce yours.

Argument of periapsis is the angle between your AN and your Pe.

Longitude of AN... damn, you're in a bind there. I don't know an in-game systems that displays your coordinates relative to Kerbin.

[El Rushbo]

If you're trying to match a specific orbit shown on the map, it should show an ascending and descending node on the orbital path you're trying to reach. These will be located where your orbit intersects with the path shown. Without maneuver nodes, your best bet would be to burn either pointing straight up or straight down (In relation to Kerbins poles) and watch the effect it has on your orbital path. Be wary that doing so does change your AP/Pe, so you'll have to do a correcting burn afterwards, I hope this was helpful.

[amnesia]

Originally posted by dennis.danilov:

From what I know there is no possibility to access the data in-game without instrumentation mods.

For inclination you have the option of setting Mun as a target. It has an inclination of 0, and will display the AN and DN, through which you'll be able to deduce yours.

Argument of periapsis is the angle between your AN and your Pe.

Longitude of AN... damn, you're in a bind there. I don't know an in-game systems that displays your coordinates relative to Kerbin.

So, I must be missing something... why does it give a mission where you are supposed to match a set of parameters that it doesn't even display anywhere?

[El Rushbo]

What does the contract specifically state?

[amnesia]

Originally posted by El Rushbo:

What does the contract specifically state?

It says I have to launch a new unmanned probe with antenna and power to these orbit specifics:

Apoapsis: 3,372,809 meters
Periapsis: 2,121,976 meters
Inclination: 90 degrees
Longitude of Ascending Node: 194.2 degrees
Argument of Periapsis: 175.1 degrees

When I did the orbital tutorial it taught me how to adjust the inclination, but even then it gave feedback as to my current exact angle and how close I was to target. It never talked about Longitude of Ascending Node or Argument of Periapsis, so I didn't even know what those meant until the other poster mentioned them above.

This is a single-star mission, marked as "trivial", but it sure seems more difficult than that to me.

[El Rushbo]

Does it show an orbit on you map view, namely where it wants you to go? I don't know if there's restrictions with upgraded buildings on that or not but when I take those missions it'll show the orbit path the contract wants me to take.

[amnesia]

Yes, it does show the path. I was going to try and see if I could complete the mission just by eyeballing it, but I ran out of fuel while making adjustments. Now I have a probe in orbit and no way to get it down, lol.

[Sovereign]

When in the map view you will see a sort of ghost orbit floating where it should be. Make the orbit of your ship match the ghost orbit. Profit.

Basically if the number and terms confuse you, don't think about it. Just make the lines overlap.

[amnesia]

Yea, that's what I'm going for, but always run out of fuel adjusting the orbit.

[HoloYolo]

Originally posted by amnesia:

Yea, that's what I'm going for, but always run out of fuel adjusting the orbit.

Add moar fuel.

[El Rushbo]

Originally posted by SquidgyTunic:

Originally posted by amnesia:

Yea, that's what I'm going for, but always run out of fuel adjusting the orbit.

Add moar fuel.

What he said, plus more efficient engines. Look for higher ISP numbers for your final stages.

[amnesia]

I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I build a payload with 2 FL-T800 tanks and an LV-909 engine, and got it into orbit, but I still didn't have enough fuel to get my orbital path to match. I've read a lot of posts/tutorials that make it sound easy, and I understand in theory what I need to do, but I can't seem to pull it off. All the screenshots I'm seeing are tiny probes with the smallest fuel tank, so I must be doing something to waste fuel, but I can't figure out what.

[J-Curwen]

Thats a polar orbit. Wait till you are underneath it (fast forward time in map-mode), then launch your rocket. DONT turn east, like you usually do, instead turn either north or south, depending the direction of the orbit shown on the map.

Changing the inclination is the most fuel consuming thing ever, so try to match it from the start. AP/PE isnt so important.

When matching the inclination, always do it at the most outside position in your orbit (either AN or DN), try to avoid doing it close to PE in excentrical orbits.

You can also use that to your advantage. Make an highly excentric orbit and change the inclination close to AP, then lower your AP again. You lose way less fuel this way.