Help! I can't get into orbit!

[Plaka]

So, i just bought the Kerbal Space Program yesterday, and i've been spending some hours just making ships and stuff, and then i tried to launch, and everytime i try, the rocket just can't fly up. It eventually just crashes back down from some angle fault.

Is it really this hard? I read that you must get up to 70,000m just to get into orbit? What am i supposed to do? I usually just get two of those Rockomax Jumbo fuel tanks and try and fly up vertically and the plan is to reach 70k. What's the proffesional way to do this?

[Gh0st_Preacher]

After you get to around 10-12k, turn due east at about 45 degrees and keep going - go to map view and watch your apoapsis reach at least 70k - preferably 75-80. Then use that node to set a burn until your periapsis is about the same. Congrats, you're now in orbit!

There are also TONS of tutorials on YouTube - check out Scott Manley's videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/szyzyg

[Maverick]

1) Do the training session.
2) Grab the Z-map satellite rocket (stock) and gogo flight and deploy based on training.
3) Then grab the Kerbal X (stock) rocket and look at how it was made. Launch and re-enter.

Building rockets and asploding is what you are SUPPOSED TO DO! Killing Kerbals is also optional but highly recommended...

(They're not really dead.... Just stunned....)

Enjoy.....

Just on the orbit thingy, I go 10 for 10. Easy to remember.

At 10k, tilt 10 degrees. At 20k, tilt another 10. Keep doing it. At 60k you should almost be "parallel" with the ground (i.e. 0 degrees)

Switch to map (M), check the blue triangle called Ap, when it's 100k, cut motors, that's the top of your orbit.

For more instructions deposit $15 into my bank on setting Pe (Periapsis for orbit) goto 1. Then do 2, then go back to 1, then do 2....... After a while you'll go EUREKA!!!

and crash......

[Raingnome Noir]

Also if i may recommend Scott Manley tutorials, he really helped me learn:


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYu7z3I8tdEm5nyZU3a-O2ak6mBYXWPAL

[Lime Soda]

Here's the easiest way to get into orbit.

Fly up.

Watch the nav ball at the bottom to make sure you're going the right way. (orange line should face up)

once the little atmosphere bar under your height really goes close to black, turn right. (just hold D).

you can figure out what your orbit looks like with M.

[The Beeman]

Scott Manley has some amazingly informative videos, as people have mentioned. But getting to orbit for the first time can surely be a pain in the butt.

You just have to...well, instead of trying to add more and more and more to your rocket, try seeing how far you can get with very little. Keep taking things away until you can get a tiny orbiter to space.

After that, you can start experimenting with sending heavier things to orbit and eventually you'll be docking and building space stations or dropping rovers on mun before you know it!

[[HnS]Riggsy]

I've just done a step by step procedural tutorial on getting into orbit, will follow on from this basic design to landing on the moon in the next tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRjO4ZXZlQ0

[Furious George]

If you're having problems with stability or designing a rocket, grab a prebuilt one (I recommend the Kerbal X) and try launching it until it makes sense. Scott Manley is great as others have mentioned.

Also, if you get discouraged, don't worry, cause starting off this game will be HARD. It's got a steep learning curve but gets drastically easier after first making orbit, first getting to the Mun, first landing on the Mun, first docking, and first transferring to other planets.