Kspedia-xb1.pdf 231i5p

Manual A place to find information about playing, and succeeding at, Kerba l Space Program.

Controls Compatibility It mea ns controls are compatible with controll er-n avigation, including rad ial menu or accelerator controls.

CURSOR

It means contro ls are compatible with the cursor. If both are compatible, you can toggle between modes by pressing the ,s Button button.

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Manual/ Construction Interface There is a lot you can do during construction. You will be picking and aligning parts, adjusting staging and almost certainly coming back to add a chute that you forgot the first time. Vessel Details

Editor Info and Assists

App Launcher

Gizmos

Staging Stack

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Manual / Construction Interface/ Construction Gizmos

Construction (iizmos

CURSOR

In the construction interface there are four tools to help you design the perfect vessel.

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Place Glzmo (Default)

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Offset Glzmo

Activate this tool to pick up

Provides handles to drag the

and connect parts.

part along each axis.

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Rotate Gizmo

Provides handles to rotate the part along each axis.

Root Gizmo

Lets you change the root part of any group of parts. It is a

two part process of clicking the group then se lecting the

new root part.

Fine Control Option: * Open radial menu •VJ and

select "Toggle AngleSnap". It will make the offset and rotate tools work in greater increments. * With snap enabled, holding down aB . w ill make the offset and rotate tools work in smaller increments.

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Rocketry/ Advanced / Girders, Plates and Struts

Girders, Plates and Struts As vessels grow larger you will find a need for structural components. These parts help you to position parts in just the right place without needing to repurpose a fuel tank.

These are especially useful in space station construction.

Strutting Your Stuff The EAS-4 Strut Connector is the kerbal universe equivalent of duct tape. You can use it in just about any situation to parts together. If the connector goes between parts in different stages in a vessel, then it will "break" by design when that stage is activated.

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Rocketry / Advanced/ Fairings

Fairings for A

ynamic lmprouements ... ,

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Once a vessel clears the atmosphere aerodynamics become unimportant, unless you are landing on some planets. This means that things like th'ej · --1-• satellite shown here do not p eed to be streamlined once they reach space. f-f--,--,--1-

1 I i ..-+-++-+++-1:=-hllll=:t"-+++r-t--t-c- r

To protect a vessel from aerodynamic forces on ascent we can use fairings.<-<-+-+

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Storing Ia Satelli I I I

Once a fairing base is placed you "draw" the shape of the fairing s with the mouse. Below you can see how this satellite was stored.

--1---r rrl--1+++-H~~, Attached to the top a/the rocket on the

wtth the cursor to j

fairing base.

wrap the sotell!te.

Building the fairing

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- All packed in snug

and tight.,

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Staging the fairing to reveal the satellite.

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Aircraft

Aircra~ Those magnificient kerba ls in their f lying machines, and other aircraft information. i

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Aircraft/ Basics

The Basics of Aircra~ While kerbals spend a lot of time reaching out into space, getting around on Kerbin is another of their pastimes.

You'll hopefully learn some tricks in this section to go from this pil e of parts to the below levels of awesome!

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Forces

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Forces That Apply to Planes* Excludes gro~nd impact force • • . · 11

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Th is aerodynamic force is generated

:r--i-t-H--t-t--,---

----++-+-'-+ by airflow over the w ings .

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The force of t he engines propel ling the plane forwards .

This aerodynam ic force is ca used by a ir resistan~e ~s ~he plane moves t hroug h the air.

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· This force comes from g~av_ity pulling down on the plane. _

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Aircraft / Basics / Lift

(jetting a U~ Up With a plane, lift is generated by air being shaped as it es around the wings. Wings in KSP are symmetrical, if there is no angle of attack (angle into the airstream), there is no lift generated by w ings. With a plane, t he lift is generated by air being shaped by the wings. Air deflected downwards adds force upwards. Basic rules of thumb are: 1. Larger wings generate more lift. 2. Faster airfl ow generates more lift. 3. If the angle of attack is too great the wing sta lls and produces next to no lift, only drag.

The part details in the Co nstruction Interface show the "Relative Wing Area" of each part, which makes it easy for you to compare them .

Small Delta Wing Delta Wing

RWA = 0.5

RWA = 20

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Thrust

What is Different About Jet Engines ~

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Jet Engines provide the thrust for our aircraft. Th ese engines use int akes to get their oxygen . Th is means you don't have to carry ox idizer along, but you can only operate where the atmosphere is thick eno ugh.

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Your aircraft needs air intakes and liq ui d fue l to reea tneJet engine.

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-~m-Hrf

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If you are trying to bu il d a Si ng le Stage to Orbit (SSTO) craft t hen you might use jet engines to asce nd to the upper atmosp here and then us_e--.'.:ockets t~ pus h from there to o~it. 1

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Aircraft l Basics/ Intakes ExJ)lained

Needing to Breathe Intakes, like engines, come in many shapes and sizes. The key thing to is that they grab air for jet engines, and the amount varies depending on speed and altitude. ·

The faster you go, the more air is captured; the higher you go, the less air is captured (because the atmosphere is thinner at higher altitudes). '

Picking the Right Intakes+----+-------+--, Whi le all intakes perform the same function, you wi ll find that some are better suited to your design, visually or functiona lly. It's important to pick the right part for the job, and pay attention to the specs when building.

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Aircraft/ Basics / Drag

This Is Such a Drag As your plane travels through the sky, the drag force caused by air resistance slows it down. You overcome the effect of this force by adding thrust - "moar engines" - or improving aero shape.

Drag and Its Effect on Li~ Drag is the force that's slowing you down. As lift is related to the speed you're travelling, more drag usual ly means less speed and therefore less lift.

Xzibit Kerman pimped this version of the Velocitize to pick up every station on Kerbin. Unfortu nately it's going to be very slow w ith all that drag.

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Aircraft/ Basics/, Control

Let's c;et Some Control .--t-t~ When bui lding a vesse l you w ill use a number of contro l parts, and there are two typ~s of parts to consider. Having one type and not the other w ill leave yo u f loundering for contro l.·

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r-1~RCS

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Thruster

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I lSources These parts apply force to the vesse l - via airflow over j +-art \ s urfaces, torq ue from gyroscopes, gimballed engine -+-~.c-,e-+~-+-J-- moveme nt and d irect thrust from thrusters.

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Manual/ Construction Interface /~ ymmetry and SnapJ)ing

Symmetry and Snapping To help balance your vesse ls when building, there are two functions that can be a great help.

Angle Snap

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The angle snap too l makes it easier to get exact ang les around t he centerline of t he vessel. By default it works in 15° increments; ho lding down , RB ~ w ill make it to work in finer 5° steps.

Radial

..,.., ·~ •• ...

ft '-"

No Symmetry

2x5ymmetry

Mirror

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Angle Snap On

0 } Angle Snap Off

Example Placement in 2x Symmetry

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3xSymmetry

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4xSymmetry and more...

2x Radial Symmetry

2x Mirror Symmetry

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Control Surfaces

, Controlling Airflow In the atmosphere you can use contro l surfaces to redirect the airflow. T~e change in airflow wi ll change the attit ude of aircraft. There are many parts that wi ll he lp you to do this.

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Be low are some very simplistic effects of each ty e of contro l:

Affects Pitch Affects Yaw

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Aircraft/ Basics / Center of Lift

Where U~ Is Applied When deg an aircraft one of the key indicators is the center of lift (Co l ). Its location is crucial to the balance of the plane. The Col is found by adding the individua l lift components from all parts of the craft. Lift is generated by w ings, control surfaces and even some fuselage parts (via an effect ca lled body lift).

UI Helpers (in Editor)

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Center of Mass

G.?} , , ' - ,• , J

Center of Lift

;~, i '- ·

Center of Thrust

Control surface lift not shown, butyou should get the idea.

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In game you will only see the Col marker in the construction interface.

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Achieving Flight

It's All About the Balance Deg a plane that will fl y is all about ba lancing the four aero forces. In construction you can use the UI helpers to apply some common ideas to help you succeed .

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--C~nt~r _o f Mass

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Center _ o f Lift

i~-t

Here are some basic themes that help build simple planes.

Of course, once you have a firm grasp offl :ght; imaginatil

u1·Helpers (in Editor)

Center 0f Thrust 0

(a nd·physicsf are the only lim its.

Use Symmetry:

Bui ld your plane arou nd a "center line."

Push Along the Center:

Li ne up the CoT to push through the CoM .

CoM Near Col:

The center of lift should be near the center of mass.

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Balancing Act

Balandng Act Here are some examples of planes that suffer from ba lance issues. Hopefully you can learn a thing or two from our mistakes.i

The thrust in this design is pushing the plan~ a~ und

the CoM, not through it. This is a CoT Issue.-+-+-+-

Here the center oflift is offthe center-line. This plane will roll left quite badly

Lastly the CoL here is well behind the CoM, this plane will pitch down hard.

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Aircraft/ Basics/ Landing Gear

Let It Roll As you aren't tak ing off vert ically you will need ~o~e stylish

whee ls to help with takeoff. T~esec,ch~ av;-ec_;ca~lsro7bre7e~n•.'ccl,,.\..I-Mo±c--l--+-+known to he lp wit h that pesky _r'-lrr-c!= -

land in g thing too.

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Hauing «;oo You need to make sure the re are whee ls front and back, and at least one set are spaced w ide apa rt fo r stab ili ty.

Nice spread for balance and stob!ltty

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This configuration is less likely to stay · I

upright in many situations. '

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Communications Networ~

Communications Network Here you will find out about CommNet and KerbNet functiona li ty.

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Communications Network/ CommNet

CommNet Communication Networks allow your vessels to transmit data between each other and Kerbin. You can create a CommNet with antennas which connect back to Kerbin's Deep Space Network (DSN).

These links are used for Control and for Science. You can extend the range and Signal Strength of DSN connections by upgrading the Tracki ng Station and can increase coverage and Signal Strength further with Relays.

Signal Strength Orbital

\~~

Relay . . . _ _ ,

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··d} ,

~- - - - - - - - - -

~~~ ""

s "

Remote Control Point

Communications Network/ CommNet / CommNet Interface

CommNet Interface The current contro l path, as we ll as all potent ial li nks, and the who le network can be visua li zed in map view and the tracking station . A pane l shows relevant Comm Net information inc luding contro l leve l,

s igna l strength, and destination type .

Cont rol State

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IIA-2 Rcloy Anknn•

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...... ..........,-. ,.,_,.,,,_,,__, . ...~-___. ... _.,. __ . ,

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You will also see re leva nt Comm Net info in the editor and map views as shown here

Links to Disp lay

Communications Network/ CommNet / Control Lin ks

Control Units A control link is a connect ion from the vesse l back to a contro l source. Th is contro l source is either a Pilot Kerba l in a vesse l that offers remote contro l, or any of the ground stations on Kerbin (wh ich are presumab ly staffed by ace pilots). A vesse l wh ich req ui res b ut lacks a contro l so urce w ill s uffer red uced co ntro l ab ili ties.

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Full Control

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Partial Control Partial Control No Control IIProbes:11 Crewed

Part Action Window

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Stag ing

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Autop ilot

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Existing Maneuver Nodes

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Full/Zero Throttl e

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Toggle SAS/RCS/Lights/Gear

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Yaw/P itch / Roll

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Throttle Up/Down

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Add/Edit/M aneuver Nodes

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Any vesse l which lacks a Pilot Kerbal requ ires a contro l source for f ull contro l. Other kerbals can add some contro l abi lity but cannot provide fu ll control.

Communications Network/ Comm Net/, iTransmission

Science Transmission With the correct equipment, a vessel can transmit its science data back to Kerbin via Comm Net. The higher the signal strength, the more science results from the transmission. It's always better to return the data than to tra nsmit it, but a strong Signal can make a lot of the difference.

Signal Strength The signal strength is the product of the signal strengths of all links on the path back to the DSN or to a Control Point. For example:

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Path Strength

-80_¾_ _

100%

X

80%

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95%

=

7696

Ocdusion Comm Net uses soft occlusion where signals are not cut off immed iately when the destination goes over the horizon . In addition, atmospheric bodies allow bouncing the signal through the atmosphere,

furthering the distance below the horizon a destination can be.

Manual / ._Bight Interface

The Flight Interface Be low is the ma in f li ght interface . You w ill be spend ing a lot of time here, so there is more informat ion abo ut each labe led area in the following pages.

Altimeter

Time Controls

Action Menu

lkoc..... ~:ioo-u; Fo-' ,..

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App Launcher

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l•Ofl1JIIJ•oe,....,...,.

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(EDl'TOl],St,owr,,-

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(EOOORJ,fin, Part ~

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Staging

Stack

Kerbal Portraits

' A·1 More

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Communications Network/, Comm Net/ Relays

Relays Somet imes, you are unab le to get to a control po int either due to extreme range, or because something is in the way (terrain, or another orbita l body) . Re lay antennas all ow a signa l to be

'bo unced' from a vesse l, to a relay, then onto a control point or even another re lay!

Or boost signal stre ngth by having a low power antenna transmit via a high power re lay.

Communications Network/ Comm Net/ Range

Range The maximum range at which two antennas can commun icate is the square root of the product of their powers (the geometric mean). Antenna powers are divided into six classes, Class O through Class 5.

Cla ss O ante nna s are the interna l antennas on pod and probe cores; the other classes are sta ndal one parts. The DSN also has three power levels, one for each Track in g Station leve l.

Most antennas can comb in e the ir power w ith each other on the same vesse l. However, do ing so has dim in ish in g ret urns.

Effectlue Range Table Class 5 Level1TS Level2TS Level3TS

Class o

5Km

50Km

158Km

3.1Mm

8.6Mm

22.3Mm

Class 1

50Km

500Km

1.58Mm 31.6Mm

86.6Mm

Class 2

158Km

1.58Mm

5Mm

100Mm

Class 3

3.1Mm

31 .6Mm

100Mm

Class 4

8.6Mm

86.6Mm

Class s 22.3Mm

223Mm

3.1Mm

15.SMm

35.4Mm

223Mm

31.6Mm

158Mm

354Mm

273Mm

707Mm

100Mm

500Mm

1.1Gm

2Gm

5.4Gm

14.lGm

2Gm

10Gm

22.4Gm

273Mm

5.4Gm

15Gm

38.7Gm

5.5Gm

27.4Gm

61.2Gm

707Mm

14.1 Gm

38.7Gm

100Gm

14.1 Gm

70.7Gm

158Gm

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Communications Network/ KerbNet

KerbNet KerbNet is a network of information that allows your space program to link its sensors directly to Kerbin's scientific community. This in turn allows you to plan more efficient missions. KerbNet is enabled on every probe core, as well as some more specialized parts. Each part has different capabilities which affect the detail and sort of data available. KerbNet requires a communications link with the Kerbal Space Center to access that data.

Mouf!1.airl•

s• SO' s. 174· 12· w 0" O' N, 17~ 6' E

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Communications Network/ KerbNet / KerbNet Interface

KerbNet Interface

CURSOR

The interface to Kerb Net is ca lle d up from the Action menu on KerbNet scanners.

KerbNet Mode:

overlay Visibility:

Cycles between the ava il ab le scan modes.

Fades some items on the map so that you can see the data more clearly.

Automatic Refresh: Cyc les through KerbNet 's specified automatic refresh inte rvals.

Scan Map: Shows the celestial body you are scann ing a nd the ac ti ve sca n mode. Drag the targeting reticle for information abo ut a specific location or to place a waypo int there.

Information : Shows information about where the map is on the ce le stia l body and more specific data about the targeted location.

Field of View Slider. Lets you zoom the map in or out

Waypolnt:

based on the altitude and capab ilities of your vesse l. Some senso rs ca n ha ve greatly enhanced field of view un der specifi c conditions.

Color: ...- ~ ' Change co lo r of scan map.

Places a waypoint where yo ur targeting reticle is located using the name in the text box just above it.

Refresh: Make a fresh scan be low your vesse l.

Communications Network/ KerbNet l Scanning Modes

Scanning Modes KerbNet has three modes of operation -- depending on the scanner 's capabi lities.

Terrain Mode

-·-.

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·.'·-'"...·"'"_,,..,,.,

no",;,11,.••w

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Bas ic monochromatic sca n of the terrai n heights of t he ce lestia I body. Plac ing the ta rgeting re ti cle

wi ll show you the height at any given location. It is avai lab le on most KerbNet scan ners a nd is usefu l for locating safe landi ng sites.

Biome Mode

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...... "''"'""'"" , • S(l'~ l 7'"STW

Avai lab le on more adva nced KerbNet scanners. It allows you to

see a colorfu l b iome map of the ce lestia l body below you.

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'•"'-'"'· '-'"' ....... .,,.._,,..,n ~

O"!T~ll•"

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Ava il ab le on highly special ized KerbNet scanners. It allows you to v iew deta iled scans of the resource

concentrations on a celestia l body in contrasting color schemes.

This al lows you to optimize your hopping from biome to biome .

This makes it much easier to decide where to set up your mi ning bases.

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Communications Network/ KerbNet / Waypoints and Anomalies

Waypoints Every scan mode in Kerb Net all ows you to place custom named waypoints on the map by moving the targeting retic le to a location and clicking the

c,..t., i.l•nd

waypo in t button. You can eas ily navigate to these waypoints by clicking them in map v iew.

r--;-1-----. ? Anomalies Sometimes a scan wi ll pick up something tru ly unexpected, and your sc ientists w ill mark this with a quest ion mark.

These a nomalous read ings may disappear a nd reappear sporad ica lly, so it is suggested t hat you tag them w it h a waypo in t for f uture investigation.

It's (i

"ng Hot in Here

It is inevitab le that you wi ll have to manage heat in your space program. Hopefully th is info can help.

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Heat/ Parts and Heat

Parts and Heat

Heat Flow Symbols

Heat management and thermal systems are quite complex topics, but as you are now an expert at orbital mechanics we will dive right in.

Part to Part Part to Environment Heat Injection

In the KSP thermal model these are the "basic" rules: • Each part has connected internal and skin components; • Connected parts have their individual components connected ie. Skin<=>Skin and lnternals<=>lnterna ls • Heat "flows" between connected components to equa lize temperature over time - th is is via conduction; • Via radiation and convection heat "flows" between the skin and environment (atmosphere I space); • The sun and planetary bod ies emit radiation that heat the skin of a vessel;

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Heat Flow Diagram

Skin

This diagram shows you how these ru les apply with the simp lest of vessels -- two connected parts.

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The following screens w ill cover specific part types, and finally an entire vessel to give you a chance to see it all in action.

'·•······· .. -·······················'··································· Fuel Tonk Fuel Tonk The flow ofheat is not instantaneous. The transfer ofenergy happens over time.

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Heat/ Engines

Engines and Heat Sources

Heat Flow Symbols

While the sun and planetary radiation will heat your vessel, parts on your craft will generally be of much greater concern.

Part to Part Part to Environment

Engines will be used for the main example here, although there are other parts that generate heat too e.g. RTGs.

Heat Injection

Engines consume resources and convert that to thrust, with a lot of heat generated in the process. Most of that heat leaves the vessel as exhaust, so we don't have to worry about that, but some of it does "soak" into the engine part itself.

* Body radiation not shown to save space.

The Flow From Engines It can be helpful to think of the heat production being a module inside the internals (like the combustion chamber).

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The exhaust takes a lot of heat away, but some of it soaks into the part as well.

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;···············l ···············;···············l ···············:. ' .

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: Exhaust

- - .! ■ ..: - .: ... ... ... .·-.. -.. -.. -. -. --. --. --. --. --. --.. --·- ---. --. -----. --. --. ------. --. ----·.

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Fuel Tonk

Rocket Engine

The flow ofheat is not instantaneous. The transfer ofenergy happens over time.

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Heat/ Core Heat

Ports With Core Heat There is another type of heat generating part. Some parts have a core component which has another important function (for example dri lls and ISRU co nverters).

Heat Flow Symbols Part to Part Part to Environment

Heat Injection Using the ISRU as an example you can think of the core as the furnace that melts down Ore to prod uces resources. This process has three important thermal po ints: • The core has an optim um temperature, with inadequate cooling it will overheat (a nd be less efficient); • The process discards a lot of t he therma l energy through exhaust directly to the environment (for drill s you can th ink of th is as the tai lings of the dri lli ng process); • Some of the heat does "soak" into the interna l component of the part;

Convert-0-Tron

1

.~--····· ········

Skin

.....

m

Fuel Tonk!

~---------------· . ..

............................

................ . Skin

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To keep the core from overheating you wi ll need rad iators as the part soak is simply not enough to prevent an issue. Luckily, that's whats next.

. : Ill : ...:

(jetting to the Core of It

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•· Body radiation not shown to save space.

- · ----:--------------·1 ------------·-.: --. -----. -. --. --. -.. --. --. --. --. Exhaust ,_

/ Waste

The flow ofheat is not instantaneous. The transfer ofenergy happens over time.

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Manual /,Bight Interface/ The NavBall

The NauBall

CURSOR

This helps you understand your vesse l's or ientation . Think of it as a three-dimens iona l com: the blue ha lf of the sphere indicating away from the body you're orbiting (sometimes known as the sky when you are la nded), the brown half is towards it (ground) a nd the li ne betwee n them an artific ia l horizo n.

RCS Indicator

Stab ili ty Ass ist Ind icator

as:' .1- j_/

St ab ili ty Ass ist Mode Indicator

G-Force Meter

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sui- Id( J- ' -- - - _ . ,

Thrott le Indicator

A rt ificial Horizo n

Vesse l Heading

NauBall Markers On the NavBa ll you wi ll see a range of symbo ls that indicate po ints of reference:

-6-

Prograde

8.

Norma l

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Radia l- In

Maneuver Prograde

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Retrograde

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Ant i- Norma l

a

Radia l- Out

Leve l Ind icator

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Heat/ Radiator s

(jetting Rid of Some Heat

Heat Flow Symbols

There will be plenty of times when you need to cool your vessel down. That is where radiators can help.

Part to Part Part to Environment Heat Injection

Radiator s Coming in surface and edge attached models, these devices pump heat away from nearby parts, as well as nearby core modules. They do this through conduction and using their large 1 surface area to radiate th e heat into space.

What Are "Nearby" Parts? Radiator s draw heat from the part they are attached to, as well as any part attached to that one.

In this weird shaped assembly ofparts, a radiator attached to part C draws heat from that part and those that are one away (B, C and DJ

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You can think of it as the radiator's parent part, plus one more hop (or parent+ 1).

Rm/lator~ Pone/

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Heat/ Thermal Control Systems Heat Flow Symbols Part to Part Part to Environment These parts pump liqu id throughout the entire vessel to draw heat to the s.

Heat Injection Pipes

They, like t he rad iator pa nels, pump heat from both parts and core modu les, but do not have the same "nea rby" parts limitation . Both types of radiators require EC to run the pumps, but t herma l control systems are deployab le parts, so you also need some EC to extend them.

In this example the res radiator draws heat from all the ports in the vessel through ''pipes" to radiate it to the environment.

I i T; _ ,.. ·-

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Largest size res is simply too big to show here.

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Heat/ Feeling The Flow Heat Flow Symbols

The diagram below shows how all these systems come together in a simple vesse l.

Part to Part

...o,•, . ..

Solar and body radiation affects all skin components

. . . . . . 1. . . . . . Skin

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=.. ......... . 0

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1... . . . .

Skin

Internals

-

=........... . f

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Part to Environment Heat Injection

I l\

...

Pipes

1. .. . .· · :. . . . . . 1... . . . . :I.· · . . . ..1. . . . . ..

Skin

Internals

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t

-

Skin

-

Skin

Internals

The flow ofheat is not instantaneous. The transfer ofenergy happens over time.

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Heat / Heat Shields

Protection During Reentry If a vessel is entering an atmosphere at high speed, reentry will generate a lot of heat. This heat can be "absorbed" by a heat sh ield that will burn off Ablator to keep the craft cool.

Solid Heat Shields Ava ilable in all three sizes these heavy shields are versatile parts for protection during reent ry. Do keep in mind that t heir mass mea ns you may need drogue chutes on your vessel.

Inflatable Shield This part is deceptively sma ll when deflated. Once deployed however, it can protect a large vessel from behi nd the mammoth 1Om shi eld diameter.

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Career

Your KSP Career The career mode of Kerbal Space Program adds some directed play to the game. It's most ly procedura lly generated, so it will not be the same on each playthrough .

The goa l of career mode is to bui ld your space program from its f ledg li ng roots to an epic undertaking that reaches the lim its of the solar system . Seeing a ful ly advanced KSC with kerba ls orbiting or wa lking on planets througho ut the system is an amazing reward.

It adds making decisions about contracts, crew assignments, strategies and a number of other act ivit ies, to your already busy job of bui lding and flying miss ions.

So let 's look at some of the deta il s.

__.. :,\

~:::::, ---_'\

--· ~:, .,._ -

Career I Facilities

Facilities As your career progresses you wi ll find that you 've outgrown your origina l Space Center. Lucki ly the Kerba l Engineering department has your back, and through judicious application of Funds you can upgrade each of t he faci lities from basic to world class.

Basic R&D

+ Funds

Facility Damage Whether by errant trajectory, decoupler issues or even nefarious circumstance you may fi nd that you've damaged one of t he facilities at the Space Center. You can recover from these issues by repairing the faci lity (at a cost of course).

Result on Launchpad ofmisguided SRB disposal

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Career/ Currencies

Currencies Throughout your career there are three currenc ies to keep an eye on. Your Funds pay for vessel bu il ds, hire astronauts, upgrade/repa ir fac 1l1 t 1es and on harder d1ff1cu lt 1es even buy parts as yo u research Having eno ugh to keep up wit your

lanned m1ss1o ns 1s cr 1t 1cal

Career/, Kerbal Roles

Your Staff The whole of kerbal society is knocking at the door to be involved in your Space Program. With the

seemingly endless list of applicants you will find that there are three areas (or roles) that kerbals specialize in.

Sometimes thought of as the rockstars of space exploration, pilots are focused on ship control and get better as they experience more

-

The brainiacs of kerbal society. These guys and girls spend their time unravelling the universe (we just hope they get it put back tog~ er

by dinner-time). When situated in a mo ~i~ processing lab they can increase the science earned significantly.

•

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Career/ Kerbal Exi:,erience

Kerbal As your kerbals get out and explore they w ill experience new and exc iti ng situat ions . These t rans late to increases in each kerba l's exper ience leve l and can increase the ir sk ill leve ls.

Eac h kerba l ga in s experience from flybys, orbiting, fl ight, landi ng a nd p la ntin g flags on pla nets. The f urthe r from home t hey are, t he mo re experience they w ill ga in for eac h, but do note they only get XP for the first time they comp lete one of t hese arou nd eac h planet.

ience and Leuels Once a kerba l's tot al XP reaches the below va lues they w ill adva nce in levels:

TotcllXP

Leuel

Leuels and Roles ski ll s based on the ir ro le and level. Th e skil ls add up as your kerba ls advance:

Engineers EVA Interact with Experiments

Prag rade/Retrog ra de

5x La b Research

Normal/Anti Norma l

Repa ir Lander Legs

9x Lab Research

Target and Maneuver

Re pair Wheels

13x Lab Resea rch 17x Lab Research 21x Lab Research

~

Near death experience is unrelated to this topic, but a !tkelyoccurence in a kerba!s lifetime.

Career I Contracts

Working for The Man To advance your career you will need to take on contracts from the various companies based on Kerbin. The rewards, goals and timelines for these will vary depending on your reach into the system and your reputation.

' " " ' ,~-·~-~ -· --~- _, .m ·-··

=... -,. ...... ,,,,*~•-~·- !!:I II ~--, ,,..,-~ ... ______ '::',::·: _.;.~.., .....

-......

You will sometimes be offered contracts related to vessels or kerbals you have

out there too, so keep an eye out for opportunities.

.

Iii

...--~·-··--'"~,

·~"-"""'"'"'-

Be aware that turning down (or failing) contracts will cost you in Reputation and sometimes even Funds and Science.

World-Fi

Record Keep

This society of kerbal philanthropists is interested in the advancement of space exploration. They reward space programs for doing things that ave never been done before. Through this group you may find yourself getting unexpected rewards.

*Abt"e. Must be space program related ■ Return to Game

Manual /.f!ight Interface/ Mode Controls

Mode Control

CURSOR

The mode contro l shows important informatio n regarding the inputs and contro l of yo ur vesse l. It can be changed between stag ing, _ dock in g and map modes usi ng radia l me nu ( .'' !J l or pressing ~ Button to show cursor and se lect t he des ired icon . 1

Stag ing Indicators:

Mode Buttons:

Shows the active stage number and the st age lock indicator (green for go, purp le for locked) .

Activates staging, docking

Precision Mode: Note that the PYR Ind icators change to blue when precision mode is enab led.

and map modes.

Docking Mode: Shows spec ia li zed control input ind icators for the two docking modes: rotat ion (ROT) and tra nslation (LIN).

~"""'"'"" ,., :··1 ~---

Pitch/Yaw/Ro ll Ind icators:

Shows the state of the three input axes and any trim appl ied.

..'

-··

-

-·· i•J

~

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Career I Technology

Aduanclng Technology The core of any space program (aside from the actual space part of course) is in the research and

development of technology to advance exploration. You do this through the application of Science points in the R&D facility.

This blueprint represents the master plan of the R&D department to discover everything.

Each node represents an area for growth and comp leting this research will un lock

the parts related to that area.

Looking Into the Futur It is important when you are looking at the tech tree, and what to research, that you look at future branches too. If you are trying to bu il d a rover, but don't research areas that lead to whee ls, it 's gonna be a bumpy ride "rolling" on structura l girders. -....-- - - ~

*Abt"e. Must be space program related ■ Return to Game

Career/ Strategies

Applying Some Strategy In the istration bui lding you wi ll find representatives for some KSC departments who wi ll help you

to a lter how Funds, Rep utation a nd Scie nce are spe nt or ea rn ed . Strateg ies come in two flavors, but all have a set up cost a nd allow yo u to adjust the commitment to tweak the return on your investment.

n Strategies These st rategies trade off o ne curre ncy for another over t he long term, by affecting

You w ill pay an ini tia l set up cost based on the comm itment you are mak ing, and w ill see costs and rewards adjust from then on as yo u play.

Immediate Strategies . These strateg ies are conversions of one currency to another o the spot. The setup cost is rea lly what it wi ll cost you to get the reward, a nd they take effect immediate ly.

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Science

Science and Space The scient ific method is an all consuming ion for many kerba ls, and lu ck ily also a key to unl ock ing many techno log ical advances for

spacefl ight. An importa nt function of you r space program is to see how you can advance science and techno logy for Kerba lkind.

Science Points Sc ience po ints (or Science) are needed to research techno logy areas and unlock their re lated parts. These points are generated primari ly

through ex perime nt a nd observation t hroug ho ut the so lar system. You will also get some for ing mi lesto nes and completing some

types of con t racts .

Wernher von Kerman

The Subject of Science When perform ing sc ience activities it is key to understand the location for the act ivity. These invo lve where yo u are - planet/biome - and what yo u' re doing- flyi ng, orb it ing, landed, etc. This comb in ation of situation, planet and biome is t he subject of an experiment - eg. landed at Minmus f lat s.

' A·, More

•

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Science /~periments

Experimenting for Profit The most obvious way to generate Science is through activities. At its simplest this involves observations by the crew (crew or EVA reports), and works its way up through performing experiments all the way to

processing data in a lab.

Crew/EVA Reports A simple action the ci-ew perform as required. Once you have done these you w ill rare ly get any reward for repeating them with the same subject.

.,,

·Experiment Reports These involve the use of science parts to perform experiments. These tend to generate more data,

but you do need to keep the subject in mind. For example you won't get any siesmo logy readings if your vessel is in space.

Science / Science from Data

TUming Data into Sdence When you petiorm act ivit ies a report with the data is generated. The primary method to extract the Science from that data, and adva nce kerba l knowledge, is to get the data back to Kerb in.

You can see a ll the opt io ns for t he ,

report in the result w indow.

. . Tra,umK: +0.0 Scleoce

• Tran'"!" Da,.

,z, !Vote, The recovery and transmit bars that show the amount oftotal Science possible, and amount this report will earn.

Bring It Baell to Kerbin By choos ing "Keep Experiment" the report Will be stored to be recovered with the kerba l or vessel on Kerbin 's surface.

Thi s usually nets you t he best Scie nce return, and is t he only way to extract all the possib le Scienceirom any exper iment and subject comb inat ion .

Science l iTransmission

Phoning It In - Remote Data Another way to get the data back to Kerbin is by transmitting it. Transmitting the report means yo u wi ll get Science wit ho ut having to fly a ll the way home, but-you will only get a perce ntage of the recovery va lue. Another downside is that no matter how many t imes

you transmit t he same experime nt/s ubject combo you cannot extract all t he possible sc ience.

Transmission Options To t ransmit th e report you wi ll need a commun ications antenna and enough EC to send the data. If you do not have enough EC to send the data in one go then yo u can choose to receive d iminished retu rn s (via the "All ow Partial" mode) or

have the report returned and try agai n ("Require Comp lete" mode - this is t he def_au lt). As us ual there are a range of parts, and these have varied capab ilit ies regarding data thro ughp ut and EC requ ired.·

Science / Lab

Processing Data in Situ One other way to use the data you generate is with the MPL-LG-2 Mobile Process ing Lab. This behemoth of a part is someth ing you will have to work up to in career, but the benefits can be substant ial.

You can process your reports in the lab if there are scientists aboard yo ur vesse l. They w ill slowly process the data into Sc ience points (us in g lots of EC), before returning th e report to yo u so yo u ca n deliver it to Kerb in. The number ar,id leve l of the scie nt ists aboard affects how qu ick ly the report data is converted into Science .

Another added side-effect is that t he lab can "c lean" Goo and Sc ience Jr modu les so they can be reused after the ir data has been extracted.

•

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Resources

Resources The solar system is rich in many things, one of which is Ore .

This versati le resource can be mined and converted to a

number of usefu l substa nces.

Whether you are sett ing u p a refue lli ng station for inter-

pla netary trave l, or just system hoppi ng with a mini

1r.t.l-l ,

I.

co nverter to top up your fue l tanks, th is section shou ld have some usefu l information for you .

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lr lD

w:

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•

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Resources/ Scanning

Finding Your Ore You will find Ore in two different environments - on planets and within asteroids - let 's start w ith p lanetary m ini ng. Fin ding a good place to mi ne is all about gathering inte l. To do this there are th ree scan ner compone nts to he lp find a good·spot for mini ng.

The Orbital Scanner To get an overa ll view of a pla net's Ore conce ntrati o n leve ls, po,sition a vesse l in po lar orbit a nd then run a scan with t he M700 Survey Sca nn er. Thi s w ill allow you to e~ab le an overlay of the planet with Ore informati o n.

Your orbit needs to be a stable polarorb1t{+/- JO degrees), and

within the altitude limits for the scanner and the specific planet.

Once the scan is completed there are a range of opt io ns available in map mode to vis uali ze t he concentration data that's bee n co ll ected.

Resources/ Scanning (Continued)

(ietting Ore Spedfac Now that you have some idea of where the Ore hotspots are, what 's next?

·The Narrow Band Scanner Thi s scanner is used to get a hi -res view of the planet's surface, d irectly u nder t he vessel. Thi s can be used after an orb ita l scan to give more detai l about Ore concentrations.

There's a mass of in formation and opt io ns here to he lp fi nd the best place t o land and.drill.

.,,_

,

"'·:

•

The Surface Scanner Once touc hed down, this scanner is used to "ground truthnthe planet. and

improve the res ults from o rbi ta l scans. MJ/t: You do not have to complete an orbital scan before using the surface scanner.

Manual/~ Flight Interface/~---The Staging ---~-- Stack

The Staging Stack

CURSOR

The staging stack helps you to visualize the vessel's current and stages. In flight mode It shows you how much fuel is attached to running engines, and also lets you adjust the stages "on the fly."

Here we see the six stages of

a vessel and the parts assigned to each stage. When a stage is activated, the parts assigned to that stage are activated.

',\@ D

-~1""

. , - - • Remove Empty Stage: Deletes the stage next to t he icon .

.\\\lt) D

~

\II~

Nore: this only works for empty stages.

l!l!I

~

_ J~,,.,~ - - - - - • Empty Stage:

Moving Stages:._.../ You can select a stage pressing the A button and drag selected one to change its order in the stack.

\\\'rn D - "Ill

r-.... I'll

~

-~

between the stages by moving its icon.

-------eAdd Stage Below:

\11{4~1!1

"7i

"7-.'

This wil l add an empty stage that is ready to have parts dragged into it.

Ii'!

\i@ D Moving Parts: e------ '/, You can se lect a part pressing the A button and drag it

Ready to have parts dragged into it.

- I----•

,r

-

Active Stage Resources: Shows the resources this active stage 1s consuming.

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Resources/ Asteroid Mining

Ore on Asteroids Every asteroid in the so lar system has some amount of Ore in it. Genera lly speaking, the larger the asteroid, the more Ore there is.

Discovering the amount of Ore is a litt le bit more cha ll enging though. · You can on ly det ect the amount of Ore an asteroid contains by gett ing up close to it. · '-and then checking its properties .

• UAU, LVZ -3]1 Mo«. 29M 31117t

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-

h•f•t Con,., ot '-!us

~

~enomeAstoro,~

Thi s means you have to re ndezvous, before , you know j ust how much Ore t here might be .

The Effect of Mining One point of note when you drill Ore from an asteroid, it does reduce the mass of the astero id. The O're extracted adds mass to the m ining vesse l, so u nl ess you d isca rd the Ore afte r drilling you will have quite a heavy vessel. .

Resources/ Asteroid Mining

Ore on Asteroids Every asteroid in the so lar system has some amount of Ore in it. Genera lly speaking, the larger the asteroid, the more Ore there is.

Discovering the amount of Ore is a litt le bit more cha ll enging though. · You can on ly det ect the amount of Ore an asteroid contains by gett ing up close to it. · '-and then checking its properties .

• UAU, LVZ -3]1 Mo«. 29M 31117t

~e,o,,,,e, 235-( ll253< [Ill 000)1;

-

h•f•t Con,., ot '-!us

~

~enomeAstoro,~

Thi s means you have to re ndezvous, before , you know j ust how much Ore t here might be .

The Effect of Mining One point of note when you drill Ore from an asteroid, it does reduce the mass of the astero id. The O're extracted adds mass to the m ining vesse l, so u nl ess you d isca rd the Ore afte r drilling you will have quite a heavy vessel. .

Resources/ Drilling

Mining for Ore To get the Ore out of the ground you wi ll need to dri ll ! Dri ll s are Electric Charge (EC) hungry devices that extract Ore wh il e generating lots of heat. This means that drill ing requires a bit of tho ught and ma nageme nt.

Kerba l engineers have deve loped two sizes·of dri ll for you to use .

Major Drill Made ·for lo ng-term m ini ng operations to extract e\lery 1, last bit of Ore, pe rhaps as part of a refue llin g statio n.

Mini Drill This is perfect for short hopping missions where you wa nt to touch dow n, extract some Ore and move on. Do keep in lllind you have to dri ll in the right place, this drill has a 2.5% m inimum concentrat ion restriction.

Resources/ Conversion Management

Resource Conuersion Management Due to mining and conversion being long running processes, keeping resources f lowing involves some

strategic thinking. It.is never fun to come back and find out nothing happened in the last year. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Core Heat Managing the core heat of these parts is key to a long ru nn ing operation. If the core heat cannot be mainta in ed then efficiency suffers . Optimci l core heat is: Drills: SOOK Converters:

1 OOOK

. PartH at

Capacity Whe n extracting Ore, or converting it to ot her resources, you must have room to store the end product. If you are mining and converting then that means thinkin g about storing two resources.

cCharge These processes are very hungry for EC, so you need some good EC sources (so lar or fuel ce ll s maybe) to back them .

Manual /,Bight Interface/ The Altimeter

The Altimeter•

CURSOR

This is the alt imeter contro l - and the gear toggle, and the brake t ogg le, and t he abort button, and ..

Alright, it does show a few more th in gs tha n just a ltitude, a nd does let yo u co ntro l a number of fu nctions . You can see t hese below.

* May contain "some" other information and controls.

Abort: Trigger the abort action group.

Transition Buttons:

Lights Toggle

Recover vessel (avai lab le when landed on Kerb in) or Space Center

to return there.

Altitude: A lti t ude above sea level, NOT above ground leve l.

Atmospheric

Brakes Toggle

Pressure

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Manual /.f!!ght Interface /Time Controls/Action Menus

Time Co

ls and Action Menus

CURSOR

Using the time controls you can adjust or "warp" time as well as togg le between mission elapsed time (MET) and universe time (UT). , .. 00:03:03

EVA Action Menus Kerbals on EVA also have contextual actions

they can perform. There are some examples in the picture here.

Part Action Menus Most parts have a contextual menu that lets you interact with them. You will see details of the part and any actions you can perform.

-

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aeoc,,on Whee" l dl<

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Cant,al "'"' H•·•

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Manual / ,Bight Interface /,!y.pp_ Launcher

The App Launcher

CURSOR

From the app launcher you can access a range of too ls and information. Some examples are shown here.

~----e Resources App:

Messages App:

Shows resources in your vesse l. Enab le the checkbox next to a

Where im portant career events are shown.

resource to see where that is on the vessel. :Re~ourtes

0

Electr1<:Cl'large

0

MonoPropellant

0 0

Contracts App:

Liquidfuel

Oxidi,er

'------- Currencies App:

Current contracts with the ir parameters and comp letion status.

Yo u r current Funds, Rep utation and

Science .

., Achieve a land distance

or s.ooom from KSC

KSPedia App You are here.

..,._

I mliiiifiE

:103?:2.0

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Manual /.f!ight Interface/ Kerbal Portraits

Kerbal Portraits

CURSOR

During flight you can monitor the fear - I mean excitement - of your astronauts via the portraits in the bottom r ight corner. Hovering over a specific ke rba l wil l give you detai led info on them .

Interior Overlay Mode

View Action (IVA)

Reveal the vessel 's interior spaces. It's like

Also known as lntraveh icular

look ing at the man beh ind the curta in.

Activity. Changes the camera to show you th is ke rbal's point of view.

Bob Kerman

Add/Remove Slots Adjust how many portra its are shown in t he li st

Valentina Kerman

L

Kerbal Information

j

EVA Action

The kerbal 's name . Th eir ro le and

Extraveh icu lar Act ivity: this

ski ll leve l wi ll be shown w hen the

kerbal wi ll exit the spacecraft.*

cursor is over a portra it.

*EVA while flying in atmosphere can be detrimental to a kerba l's health.

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Manual/ Construction Interface/ The Parts Toolbox

The Parts Toolbox

CURSOR

You will find the items you need to build a vessel in the parts toolbox. Through the use of filters you can

target a search for that perfect part.

Toggle Advanced Mode: Press the X button on categories to show/hide the additional advanced filters including resource type, bulkhead Sile, tech level and more.

-,_ -·

-"-"0--,---

+---• Sort Actions: In cursor mode, press the ' JJ,: 1 button

on a label to sort the parts.

>----e Part Picker: Press the A button to pick up parts from the toolbox and use them in the editor.

In cursor mode, you can also drop unwanted parts here to discard them.

Part Details Press the X butronon parts in the toolbox to toggle the display of additional info.

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Manual / ._Bight Interface/ EVA Activities

EVA Actiuities

CURSOR

When ke rba ls are out and about you can d irect t hem to interact wit h what's around them via the action menus.

Be low are a number of the activit ies that can be performed: • Repair wheels. • Collect surface samples • Collect sc ience from experiments. • Plant flags .

• Extend a nd retract pa ne ls. • Extend and retract land in g gear. • EVA reports. • Repack parachutes. • And more .. In career mode some activities are avmlob/e to specific roles and levels only. For example, the "Repair Wheel' activity 15 only avmlab/e to engineers that are level 3 and above.

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Manual/ MaJ) Interface

The Map Interface Th is is the view from the map. Here you see the b ig picture for the active vesse l and other nearby obj ects in space.

Time Controls

Vessel Filter

App Launcher

l ~.:::::==~-----"" ~·•;;~,J.~~wi.~ai.~lt.~.~-~ ·•~ ·;~.;;;.,001~~•:,--------~l•]~II--" I ,.w,n,

r;S

MF

la:

Active

r,

Vessel

I'!:

Other Vessel

NavBall and Toggle

Kerbal and Landed Vessel

' A '1 More

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Manual l Map Interface/ Orbit Nodes

Orbit Nodes When looking at orbits there are a number of helpful in dicators.

~"

.. •·11 ....... ...... . ..... .....•·

., .... . ·····

.,___:::==-----~:::;?-'::.. .-::=::=:==::Active Vessel

!Vo/c: The color a/the orbit helps to differentiate

-

between the active and target vessels.

Apoapsis/Periapsis Node: Where the vesse l is furthest (Ap) and closest (Pe) to the p la net it is orb iting.

... ., ·~

Ascending/Descending Node: . ..........

These show where the active vessel's orbita l plane crosses the target vessel's. AN is where the active vesse l goes from below the target plane to above it (and vice versa for DN) .

Intersect Markers (Closest Approach): Th ese show where you w il l be closest to your target. The downward marker shows where

the active vesse l wi ll be, and the upward one the target's pos ition at the same time.

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Manual/ Map Interface/ Orbit Nodes (cont.)

Orbit Nodes (continued)

Future Path 3rd Patch

Active Vessel Future Path :

1st Patch

Future Path

···......

2nd ;tch

········• ............... £> /·····'--e Mun on 2nd Patch

Orbit Unes and Colon:

Shows where the Mun will be at the Pe for this orbit patch,

The co lor and style of orbit lines provides important information. • Ona vessel 's orb it the grad ient is a "trai l" with the brightest part of the orbit where the vessel just was. • Future orb it paths (after maneuver nodes) are shown w ith dashed lines.

Sphere of Influence Change (501):

v cj

Shows where the orb ital path wi ll leave one pla net's SOI and enter another's. Each time an orb it cha nges SOI the orbit color cha nges. The co lor of the SO I node re lates to the orb ita l path before the SOI node.

Maneuuer Node: Where a maneuver has been planned. The orbita l path after the maneuver is the same co lor as the maneuver node.

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Manual/ Map Interface/ Maneuver Nodes

Maneuuer Nodes This map too l is arg uably the most important too l for getting to your chosen destination . With it yo u plan the location, d irection and orientat ion of a "b urn," a firing of the engines .

Creating Maneuuer Nodes In cursor mode, press t he existing ma neuver nodes.

(A_I

button anywhere o n your orbita l pat h - t he actua l orbit or future paths after

Adjusting the Maneuuer t::.

When the ma neuver node gizmo is active you can adju st the

p la nn ed burn us ing the six handles. .You can plan bu rn s for th e se lected handle using LS (cha nge hand les w it h LB and RB ) to see how a burn made in that d irection, for that duration, would affect the res ul tant orb it.

G1Zmo Primary Mode

The Maneuuer C,iztno Alternate Mode

a x

0

~ .-

GizmoA!temateMode

Wit h the gizmo ope n you can press t he {A~ butto n to toggle between

gizmo modes. The a lternate mode lets you move the node forward and backward who le orb its pressing the L s or RB button. De lete t he node if yo u need to clea n up pressi ng t he I X button. I

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Manual / Controls

Controls How to contro l vesse ls and kerba ls so you can bui ld and explore .

'A_" More

•

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Manual l Controls l Presets

Three d iffere nt gamep lay presets ca n be chosen to adapt to different p laystyles, namely:

Radial

Cursor

Simplified

Chang ing Preset changes the flight and editor controls, as we ll as the UI navigat ion. You ca n change the preset in use in the main menu Settings sect io n, as well as through t he min isettings ava il ab le throough the pause menu, in -game.

. .....

...... ■ Return to Game

Manual/ Controls/ In-Game Help

Controls Help A list of the currently active controls can be accessed through both the pause menu ..

Manual/ Controls/ Cursor Preset

Cursor Cursor offers backwards compatibi lity wi t h previous conso le installments of the game, and is p layed largely w ith the virtual cursor, wh ich may be togg led on and off with ~ Button .

.,;,...~ - ~ - - - -

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■ Return to Game

Manual/ Controls I Radial Preset

Radial Rad ial is a balanced preset that changes some of the bindings and moves sli ghtly away from the virtual cursor.

avai lab le in all screens by press ing ~ '!} .

J -'B ..... -'

'~

Radia l also uses a v irtua l cursor during flight and vessel ed it ing.

Press

GD Button to toggle the cursor on and off.

Manual/ Construction Interface/, Part Details

Part Details You can adjust how much deta il is shown by pressing the I ~ ~ button wh il e a part is se lected in the toolbox.

General Details: ►------------, Basic in formation like mass, resource capacity, crew capac ity and more.

Mk1 ·2 Comm~nd Pod Mon: ~ 12,

Part Name and Model: Inc lud ing a one meter sca le for

refere nce .

Description:

►---1

•

Learn a b it more aboutthe use and hi story of each part

Module Details: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,, Th is section contains more

de tai ls o n the specific modu les tha t ma ke up th e pa rt.

■ Return to Game

Manual /Controls/ SimJ)lified Preset

Simplified Simp lified removes the virtua l cursor and offers an entire ly conso le-oriented game experience.

T• ...... -•10

~ Simp lified rep laces t he

i

Mn''

ri:1 ~

v irtua l cursor with a Look-At

system. Moving the camera changes your currently -.

1.::,

r,, ---~ se lected item; pressing Button Lti1 all ows you to peek around. 1

!'!

There are still some radia ls left to use the Action Groups.

Simp li fied replaces radia l men us w ith region navigatio n pretty much everywhere.

Ho ld

~Y,,

to see ava il able regions and

move betwee n them .

I.!:~}

to

Manual / Management Screens

Career Management Learn the uses and methods of the faci lities around the Kerbal Space Center so you can tailor your career for success.

WE HA VE LIFTOFF!

11/o/e,·Champagne not included

A More

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Manual / Management Screens/ Kerbal SJ)ace Center

The Kerbal Space Center This is your home for all things KSP-Re lated. You'll see it a lot as you move between different faci lities,

getting a ll your kerba ls organ ized for an epic space adventure .

Time Controls

........___. .,,···--~-·

,_~ r ,,.,,....._.,.,,_,,~.,. .• ,,....... .. ,,_. ·•.•·-····'····· ;

·"

tB\

,---.

~

n J7f

,n

r ~

r r; Bulldlng Shortcuts

App Launcher

■ Return to Game

Manual / Management Screens/ Astronaut Complex

The Astronaut Complex This faci lity lets you ma nag e your roste r of ast ro nauts. Roster Tabs: The th ree tabs here let yo u see ava ila bl e, assigne d and lost astrona uts. At the top yo u

wi ll see the max imum ros te r size you ca n have wit h t he curre nt level of th e faci li ty.

Applicants: Thi s is t he li st yo u ca n hire new staff from. Yo u can see w hat ro le each appl ica nt has spec ialized in as we ll as some basic info on their pe rso nalities. In Career mode the cost to hire t he appl ica nts is shown at t he top.

Lost Kerbals: These kerbals have ha d an unfortunate "accide nt" du rin g the ir care er. Don't wo r ry too much, as they wil l f in d th eir way home eventua ll y.

•

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Manual l Management Screens/ istration Building

The istration Building The interface has three main sections to use for managing your strategies.

Available Strategies: These are the strategies that the division heads have to offer you. Selecting one will show you more information.

--·

-~-

Active Strategies:

Strategy Details:

Here you can see the strategies that are currently active, as well as the maximum number you can accept at the current level of the facility.

The selected strategy details and effects are shown here.

For offered strategies you can use the slider to adjust the commitment you wish to make before accepting. For active strategies you have a big red button to cancel them.

•

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Manual/ Management Screens I Mission Control

Mission Control Mission Control has a mass of information on contracts -- whether offered, active or complete. You can

pick and choose the goals for your space program and check prospective rewards.

Contract List: The three tabs here let you see ava ilable, active and completed con t racts. The number you can have act ive is rela t ed to how advanced the Mission Contro l facility is.

__ ...,_,..,_., ___ _____ ,_. ...""""· _ _________ . _____ ... ...,__ ......._ _.,_, .... ,_ __ . _. __ ,_,.,. ___ _ ........ ..,. ...... - "·-~ .. -._ ..... '""" ..... .... ... . ,_ .............. "'

,.

_,

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.,

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___ ..,._

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,

....,.,.,..., o,,_

Contract Details: The details of the selected contract and completion are shown here, along with t he buttons to accept, decline and cancel (if you're not up to it).

,

Manual /, Management Screens/ Research and Development

rch and Deuelopment Technology Tree The R&D Tech Tree shows you the technologies and parts that are available. This career facility

lets you see what is (and what can be) unlocked through the application of Science. Tool bar: Across the top (from left to right) are the Technology and Science Archives tabs; the current level of Funds, Reputation and Science; and the way out.

· · ·· -

• __ ,.,..c.-

Tech Tree Nodes:

Technology Detai ls:

The color and lines of the nodes indicate what is un locked and what is stil l to be researched. The number attached to the node shows how many parts are locked. Again, at harder difficulties you have to spend Funds to unlock these parts.

The detai ls of the selected tree node and associated parts are shown here. You can see the prerequisite nodes to unlock it (and the button to spend Science to do this if it's locked) as well as the parts that make up the techno logy. At harder difficu lties you wi ll spend Funds to unlock each of the parts.

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Manual/, Management Screens/ R&D Science Archives

rch and Deuelopment Sdence Archlues The R&D Science Arch ives show your progress in scient ific discovery. It stores all the va luab le experiment resu lts that yo u have collected .

Report Details:

Toolbar:

This li st shows deta ils abou t the report s t hat match your selected fi lter. The progress bar shows yo u the amo unt of science you have co llected for t hat particu lar report compared to the amo unt of sc ience th at ca n be co llected. If t he bar is f ull th en th ere is no po int

Across t he top (from left to right) are t he Techno logy and Science Arch ives tabs; t he current leve l of Funds, Rep utation and Science; nd the way out.

,. ;:;·

repeating t hat acti vity.

•• .

,

~

~

a = ,,-..

·,,,-. .._ .·_ ,,,,,.._,·""""·-~· _____ ............. -·.,_ ,-,_ "'lfl"""' ,......... f ;;""...="

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~"' 10,,,,,,,., ,.,_....,,.,.,.,_ Out oP, .,._,,"' m ..._ _,

_,. ____ ___ ,,_·-. -• .,. ,.,..,.._ -j. - ,~.,-w.._, '-----·-~------ -• - ,--,--H- ----.. ' • 'j

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............

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Report Filters:

Here you can filter the reports to be shown on the right. Yo u can f il t er by planet, experiment. sit uation and biome.

Manual/ Management Screens/, il"racking Station

The Tracking Station

CURSOR

Here you w ill find act ive flights, nearby objects and be ab le to see a ll the places you 've planted flags.

Toolbar: The current date, t ime contro ls and a fi lter for vesse l types are across the top.

Tracked Objects: Th is is the li st of all your active flights and tracked space obj ects. Whe n se lected you w il l focus on t hat object, and can manage it using t he buttons below. You can also move th e came ra and interact w ith t he obj ects in t he ma in v iew.

App Launcher: Yo u wi ll find lots of useful info about the selected obj ect through

these Apps.

Locations

Locations With places to go and kerba ls to see, you should get the he lp you need here.

Manual/ Construction Interface/ Action Groups

Action (iroups With acti on groups yo u ca n cause m ul t iple actions to happe n at a single radial m enu action. A co mm on setup mi ght be t o have all so lar pa nels t oggle on one radia l men u actio n, or all radiators extend. With the layo ut seen he re yo u se lect an item on list ed acti ons to alter the gro ups .

Stock Groups:

Group Actions:

Yo u ca n add to t he

Acti ons li sted here wil l

stock actions through these items in the list.

be tr igge red whe n t he hig hlig hted group is activat e d

--~·-

---Custom Groups: Th ese let you defi ne

act ions to occ ur when acc ese d from the rad ial m enu

~

This shows the ava il ab le actio ns fo r t h e part se lected in the ed itor If t he part selected was p laced using symm etry th en th e act ion w il l

includ e all th e parts in the sy mme t ry gro up.

Selecting a part in the scene causes it to be highlighted blue for identification

The Abort Action Group: Th is st ock grou p can be used to fi re off your escape towe r and save you r crew in the eve nt of a launc h issue . Not saying it's like ly, but acc iden ts do happe n.

•

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies

The solar system consists of seven planets and nine moons. Kerbals have looked up since the dawn of time to figure out just how to reach and explore everyone of these shiny dots in the sky.

Ker/Jin

' A·1 More

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ The Sun

The Sun . The light at the center of the universe, this yell ow star provides light and heat for all Kerba lkind.

Kerbal Astronomical Society The sun is the most well known object in the daytime sky. Sci~ntists have noted a particu lar burning ·sensation and potentia l loss C?f vision if it's stared at for long periods of time. This is especially important to keep in m in d considering the effect shiny objects have on the average kerbal.

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Moho

Moho figures in kerba l mytho logy as a fiery p lace w ith oceans of flow in g lava. In rea lity, however, it's muc h less int eresting.

nomical Sodety . . Sc ientists specu late about poss ible ways t o make it "Awesome li ke in th e stories." Some of th ose ideas have led to new breakthro ughs in aerospace technD logy. •· 4

••

,,

I

.l, I )

• 'I

J

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Eve

Eve is certain ly the purp lest object in the solar system. It's one of the large.r,

most visible objects, ma inly because of its very, very purple t int.

nomlcal Sodety It is cons idered by some to be an almost sister p lanet to Kerb in. We ll , despite the purp le, and the toxic atmosphere, and the extreme pressures and t~mperat ures . Act ually, it's not very similar at all , is it? Who are those peop le? 4

••

.

Gilly is a lumpy rock wandering around t he orbit of Eve . It is by far the sma ll est nat ura l sate ll ite that the Kerba l Astronomica l

Society has d iscovered.

Gilly

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Kerbin

Kerbin A u~ique world, Kerb in has f lat plains. soaring mounta ins and wide, blue oceans. Home to t he kerba ls, it has just the right conditions to a vast,

seem in gly undep letable population of th e eager gree n creatures.

nomical Society Reac hi ng a stab le orb it around Kerbin is one of the f irst th in gs budding space programs strive for. It is said that a kerba l who can get their ship into orbit is halfway to anywhere. •·

Th ere are two moons circling Kerbin: t he Mun, which is a nearby trip for the adventurous, and Min mus .. seems m inty fresh somehow.

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Locations/, Celestial Bodies/, Duna

Also known as the red dot that you can see if you squint at it rea lly hard, Duna has long been a wonder to al l kerbals. ·

nomical Society The planet has been he ld in mLlch awe due to its striking red co lor and stark contrast to the color green.

Ike is Duna's on ly moon, w ith steep rocky slopes; it's a cha ll enging crash .. I mean land ing.

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Dres

Ores is a very sma ll planet. It was the first planet cons idered to be a dwarf. Its orbit is highly irregu lar and, together with its size, it took a long t ime to d iscover since half the t ime it was not w here scientists expected to find a planet.

nomical Due to (ts nature of frequent ing the bad parts Of space, th is dwarf p lanet was officially labe led as "Not to be trusted': by t he sc ientific commu nity.

•

Some astronomers have noticed variations in gravitationa l meas urements

aro und Ores . While o nly s light , perhaps there is somethi ng more to th is gray dwarf.

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Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Dres

Ores is a very sma ll planet. It was the first planet cons idered to be a dwarf. Its orbit is highly irregu lar and, together with its size, it took a long t ime to d iscover since half the t ime it was not w here scientists expected to find a planet.

nomical Due to (ts nature of frequent ing the bad parts Of space, th is dwarf p lanet was officially labe led as "Not to be trusted': by t he sc ientific commu nity.

•

Some astronomers have noticed variations in gravitationa l meas urements

aro und Ores . While o nly s light , perhaps there is somethi ng more to th is gray dwarf.

■ Return to Game

Locations/ Celestial Bodies/ Eeloo

The furthest planet from the sun, Eeloo is like a riddle, wrapped in a mystery,inside an enigma, covered in ice.

nomical Sodety . . There's been a considerable amount of controversy around the status of Eeloo as being a proper planet or just a "lump of ice going around the

The debate is still ongoing, as most academic summits held to address the issue have devolved into, on good days, petty name calling, and on worse ones, all-out brawls. ·

Locations / Facilities

The Kerbal Space Center This is the Kerbal Space Center (KSC). It is literally the center of the known universe (well, until you look up). Here we'll run through the facilities, their career levels and limitations.

A More

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Manual/ Construction Interface/ Vessel Crewing

l Crewing The crew tab in t he co nst ru ctio n interface he lps yo u to ass ign kerba ls to t he seats in yo ur vesse l.

Crew Seats:

Available Kerbals:

Here yo u wil l see a segme nt for eac h part in the vessel t hat

Th e kerba ls listed he re a re the ones on yo u r roster. Pay special attentio n to the ro le and skill leve l of yo ur ke r bals, es pecia ll y in ca re er.

has seats Press t he A butto n to assi gn kerb als to seats

from th e ava ilable crew, o r remove ke rb a ls from seats if yo u need a n empty seat fo r a rescue .

If you run o ut you may need

to hi re mo re .

Astronaut Complex:

. _...... . -

Press ing X wil l take yo u to the AC w here yo u ca n h ire (o r fire) me m bers of you r space

prog ram .

,

Moving Kerbals Around : Yo u can ass ign kerba Is to positio ns by draggingt hem. or usi ng the t ick/cross buttons that are disp layed when yo ur cursor is ov er o ne. There are lots of ways to ma ke sure you f ill a seat, but yo u'll still forg et som et imes.

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Locations / Facilities/ Vehicle Assembly Building

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) Th e Vehic le Assembly Bu il ding (or VAB to those in the know) is the place where rockets and other vertica lly launched spacecraft are designed. From here they are moved over to the launc hpad fo r li ftoff.

Noll. Ignition ofrocket engines inside the VAB voids the KSC insurance policy

•

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Locations / Facilities / Spaceplane Hangar

The Spaceplane Hangar (SPH) Thi s facil ity is sim il ar to t he VAB, both being used for constructio n. The primary difference being the SPH is designed for bui lding horizonta lly launched craft, that then use the attached Runway. It is from here that ma ny a p lane has been designed to investigate the home planet.

Career Limits Level 1: 30 parts and no action groups Level 2: 255 parts and basic action groups Level 3: Un li mited pa rts and all action groups

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Locations/ Facilities/ Tracking Station

The Tracking Station {TS) At the Track ing Station, all ongo ing m iss ions can be viewed and flown. Landed craft can be recovered from here as we ll . It's a great place to get an overa ll view of your space program and who is out exp loring.

Leve l 1: Orbits in map and f light p lanning (with upgraded MC) Leve l 2 : Patc hed con ics v isib le in map Leve l 3: Patc hed co ni cs in map and unknown object track ing

Level 3

Locations / Facilities / Astronaut Complex

The Astronaut Complex (AC) Th e Astronaut Complex contains the living and recreation spaces for all your crew. New applicants also apply here to be recrui ted. From t his facility you can manage your crew roster and check t he status of any kerba ls who may have unfortunately gone missing.

Career Limits Level 1: Roster li mit of 5 and no off-Kerbin EVA Level 2: Roster li mit of 12 and off-Kerbin EVA allowed Level 3: Roster unlim ited and off-Kerbin EVA allowed

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Locations/ Facilities/ Mission Control

Mission Control (MC) At the Mission Control faci lity, all available contracts can be managed. It also offers a very nice view of the launch sites, for any brave enough to be so close to a launch ing vessel. You can pick and choose t he next goa ls for your space program, and check out the prospective rewards.

Career Limits Level 1: 2 active contracts, flight planning unava ilable Level 2: 7 active contracts and fli ght plann ing Level 3: Un limited active contracts and flight planning

Level3

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Locations/ Facilities/ istration Building

The istration Building () Th e ini stration Bu il d ing may not seem li ke a very exciting place at f irst, but here is w here all the strategic dec isions are made .

These strateg ies can help to focus your space program towards specific rewards and goa ls.

Leve l 1: 1 active strategy and 25% comm itment Level 2 : 3 active st rategies and 60% commitment Level 3: 5 active strategies and 100% comm itme nt

Level 3

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Locations/ Facilities l Runway

The Runway At the Runway, craft built in the SPH have a long flat surface to reach take-off speed. Conceivably, such

aircraft could even land back on it.. The 2.5km length is sufficent for a range of designs and sizes, making it the perfect place for all kinds

of tests.

Career Limits Level 1: 20.0 x 15.0m - 18.0t Level 2: 36.0 x 28.0m - 140.0t Level 3: Unlimited

Level'3

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Locations I Facilities/ Launch Pad

The Launchpad The Launchpad is where vessels built at the VAB start their flights. We are reasonab ly confident it's at a

safe enough distance from everything else. It is primar ily des igned for vertica l launches, but don't let that stop you from trying var iat ions.

Leve l 1: 20.0 x 21.2m - 18.0t Leve l 2: 36.0 x 39.6m - 140.0t Leve l 3: Un li mited

Level 3

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Locations/ Facilities/ Facilities Menus

Fadlities Management You can access extra informati on about any of t he faci lities in the KSC by pressing I ~I on it.

-

n, ..m,,.,,..,.,. ""''""'< - "°' '""'" ,., •

-•-•'-"'"'-""'-·............. ........ ....

In th is menu you can see i nformation about its

current state, capabi lities and in career mode you can also manage upgrades.

____....-........._ -·--·-·... ·-·--·""•c---......... ............

Yolllde_,,,...,..._,,.

........... .

~

. ,...,

acilities If due to some unforseen rocket, I mean circumstance, a fac il ity is damaged - th is

is where you access the repair fu nction as well.

Aftermath ofearly nght tum from the runway

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Manual / Construction Interface/ Scene Actions and Vessel Details

Scene Actions and Vessel Details

CURSOR

Pressing _I you open a men u fr om w here y ou can cont ro l what happens to yo ur vessel.

Move vesse l t o launc hpad ~

Load a previous creat io n.

I~

Game Paused

R•tum to Sp•ct cu,t••~

Save yo ur vesse l for late r.

or runway.

Laut1c:h

Clea n t he slate and start from scratch.

Open Craft

New Craft

Save Craft

Chan1e Flill

Rename Craft

0,1n1• description

Senlnp

Resume

Set the f lag fo r t he cu rrent vessel .

You can al so set the name and descri ption for th e curr ent vesse l.

A

Sal■ ,;1;

Re,um ■

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Locations/ Easter Eggs

Other Places of Interest Throughout the so lar system there are many places to see and visit. This inc lu des a number of unus ual objects a nd p laces of in terest.

I wo nder how m a ny yo u.ca n find?

Sf)ace iTravel

To Boldly c;o Where No Kerbal Has c;one Before Atthe heart of every space program is the drive to get out there and exp lore what's beyond t he home p lanet. Here you' ll find information to help you succeed in trave llin g through space.

·A· Less

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Si:>ace Travel/ Orbital Definitions

Orbital Definitions Without knowing how an orbit is described you might find it hard to get a vesse l to the right destination in space. That's why it is important to understand the components of an orbit that will help you on the

way to a s uccessfu l space program.

In this section t he parts of orbits, and orbital mecha nics, that w ill he lp you to shoot for t he stars w ill be exp lained (and maybe even some of the mathemat ics involved).

Space Travel / Orbital Definitions/ Direction and Inclination

Orbit Direction Orbits are described as prograde or retrograde re lative to the

Prograde Orbit

Retrograde Orbit

planet's rotation. Vessel Direction Orbiting the planet in the same direction as its rotation direction is a prograde orbit.

the color gradient ofthe orbit line shows the direction ofrotation

,.,,. .

· Topviewo/Kerbin

lndination

Equ nro rinl • F' l.;ne- - - - - - - -

Side view of Kerbih

Inclination is the angle an orbit differs from the equator of the object its orbiting.

Space iTravel /, Orbital Definitions/~Apoapsis and Periapsis

Shaping Up Your Orbit The two apsides (apoaps is and per iaps is) are important points in describ ing an orbit.

Periapsis The point on an orbit closest to the obj ect yo u are orbiting.

Apoapsis The poi nt on an Orbit furthest from the obj ect you are orb it in g. Top view of Kerbin

Space iTravel / Orbital Definitions/ Eccentricity

What Is Eccentricity? Circular

Orbit eccentric ity describes how far from a circu lar orb it you are.

Parabolic and .Hyperbolic

Parabolic: Ecc = 7

Elliptical Ecc< J

Topvtewo/Kerbin

SJ)ace Travel/ Orbital Definitions/ Vessel Directions

Directions in Space There are six d irections w hen look in g at a spaceship. These directi o ns are relat ive to

the orbit of the ship, so they w ill "move" as you burn or when you change Sphe re of In f lu ence (SO I).

You ca n see th eir symbo ls and directi o ns ..., . in relati o n t o th is sate ll ite be low. '

Normal

A Prograde Radial In

Radial Out

Retrograde Anti-Normal ■ Return to Game

Space iTravel / Orbital Basics

So What Is the (ioal Here? We w ill start w ith the bas ics of getting to orbit and back.

Omml

(J;ffijijj,i?i&h,IJ

SRace Travel/ Orbital Basics/ Orbits Defined

What is an Orbit? An orbit is sometimes described as "falling and missing the ground." In the context of space trave l it 's the way one object goes around another in space, and here it is about getting your vesse l to travel around a body.

The most basic goa l of any Kerbin -based space program is to get into orbit and return back to Kerbin.

Hyperbolic

· The gravity of Kerbin attracts the spaceship in a curving path. Your vessel needs .t o be moving . at just the right velocity to stay in orb it (as opposed to escap ing, or . Worse, crashing) . •

Topvtewo/Kerbin

Space Travel / Orbital Basics/ Atmosphere

The Atmosphere and You Around Kerbin there is a thin layer of atmosphere. This layer is densest near the ground and t;hins out to nothing as you get to space. Kerbin isn't the only planet like this, but for this section it is what's important.

To stay in orbit you need to be in space or the drag from the atmosphere will slow you down. If you were to try orbiting in the _ a tmosphere, you would

...

·•

need to have .the engines running all the time -which isn't really orbiting.

.

"··,.

Around Kerb!n the atmosphere extends 70km from sea level, t6 where space begins.

Manual / Construction Interface/ Staging Stack and App Launcher

The Staging Stack and App Launcher

CURSOR

With the staging stack you can set up the activities that will happen at each stage of the vessel's flight. During flight you will see a version of this which shows some extra information. Alongside this is the app launcher for the construction scenes. Here we see the six stages of a vessel and the parts assigned to each stage.

---Moving Stages: You can select a stage pressing the A button and drag selected one to change its order in the stack.

When a stage is activated, the parts assigned to that stage are activated.

Moving Stages: You ca,n select a part pressing the A button and drag it between the stages by moving its icon.

Add Stage Below: This will add an empty stage that is ready to have parts dragged into it.

Empty Stage: Ready to have parts dragged into it.

Remove Empty Stage: Deletes the stage next to the icon. This only works for empty stages.

Reset Staging: This will reset the staging to what KSP "thinks" is the original state ... be warned, letting computers think has caused problems before!

App Launcher: From here you can access a range of information.

i\/ore.

The staging stack is visible during flight as well, with some slight variations.

B Return to Game

SJ)ace Travel/ Orbital Basics/ Getting UJ) Tliere

(g Straight Up - Your First Mistake So let's look at the simp lest met hod. Go iilg straig ht Up, the n turn in g East o nce yo u reac h your orb it altitude.

This plan has two big prob lems: . 1. To hit your des ired altitude you need to "stop" your asce nt at the right heig ht. 2. You then need to add all the horizon tal ve locity to be orb iti ng.

· Do n't forget that what goes up does come down

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Sf)ace iTravel / Orbital Basics/ Turning "with" Gravity

Turning ''With" c;rauity The shape you see be low is called a gravity turn. In this ascent you use gravity to trans late some of the thrust into horizontal ve locity.

This means you need far less fue l at apoaps is to ~cce lerate to the orb ita l veloc ity.

•

·.

~

A key here is to ensure you do not acce lerate too

• fast, wasting fue l f ighting the atmosphere .

.,,

•

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Space irravel /, Orbital Basics/ Staying Up There

Staying Up There The gravity turn ascent w ill get you to orb ita l he ight, but it's not enough to keep you up there.

Once you reach the target altitude, you need to burn prograde to increase your veloc ity. You burn until you are fast eno~gh to stay in orbit.

AtopoapsisburnPrograde

-(r

_,' Ap

This is th e path if you don't add more ve locity ·

■ Return to Game

StJace iTravel / Orbital Basics/ Getting Back Down

Let's See How •

c;et Back Down

Getting back down is re latively simp le. You burn in the retrograde direction which w ill slow the vessel

enough to return to the surface .

Yo.u on ly need to slow t he vessel enough to get inside the atmosphere, aerodynam ic • d rag w ill slow yo u a lot as we ll.

Oh, and hope yo u packed .

t he chute ..

Landing

-------;~$-----------.,:,o:e~sc~e~n~t:::C:::C=::::::::____~-- CurrentOrbit Burn retrograde here

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Space Travel / Orbital Maneuvers

Orbital Maneuuers How to make maneuvers that adjust your vesse l's orbit. Bringing all these together you can end up planning - and executing- a f light like be low to visit other worlds .

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E/ect1dn Maneuver

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SJ)ate iTravel / Orbital Maneuvers/ DeltaV

Delta-v Everything about moving in space is about changing your vessel's ve locity. Each maneuver is an equation where you trade fuel for velocity, and this is measured in de lta -v.

De lta-v (or tw for short) is a measure of the imp ulse needed by a vessel to perform a maneuver.

Doing the Maths Thinking in simp le straight li nes, a vesse l that is at Om/s requires a change in ve locity of 200m/s, a tw of

200m/s. To slow t he vessel (because there are no brakes in space) we need t9 add more veloc ity, but in the ot her d irection. So to reach 1OOm(s we requ ire another tw of 1 OOm/s.

Accelemtlon

Ma_neiNer

200mls .

Bmking Manewer

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...,__ 100mls

100mls

"ng Three Dimensional The simp le straig ht li ne example makes it seem easy, but space has more dime nsions. Over time you wi ll see the correlatir::m of t his basic princ iple in every facet of orbital maneuver ing.

SJ)ace Travel/ Orbital Maneuvers/~ ShaJ)ing - -UJ)

Adjusting Ecc

"city

You thrust in the prograde and retrograde directions to adjust the eccentricity of an orbit.

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Burning prograde w ill increase your · orb ita l ve locity and raise the altitude on the opposite side to your burn.

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/ Orbit

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Retrograde Burning retrograde will decrease your o_rbital ve locity and /owerthe altitude

on the opposite side to your burn.

Topvtewo/Kerbin

Current Orbit

SJ)ate iTravel / Orbital Maneuvers/~ Adjusting - - Inclination

Adjusting Inclination Norma l / Anti -Norma l are the directions at 90 degrees to the current path of trave l, perpendicu lar to the orb it 's plane.

Normal Burning in the normal d irection pus hes your future orbit to the "North."

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Result of Normal Burn

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Result of Anti-Normal Bum

Anti-Normal Burning in the anti-normal direction pushes your f uture orbit to the "South ." Side view ofKerbin - Orbit direction (progmde) con be seen from gradient.

SJ)ace Travel/ Orbital Maneuvers/ Radial and Anti-Radial

Adjusting Your Orbit Radially Radia l-In/ Radial -Out are the directions at 90 degrees to the current path of travel, pointing in and out. Burn in g these direct ions "ro ll s" the orbit as you can see be low.

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Radial~ln Burning in towards the planet wil l lower the orbit ahead of your vessel.

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Radial-Out Burning out along t he plane will raise your orb it ahead of your vesse l.

Topvtewo/Kerbin

Current Orbit

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SJ)ace Travel/ Orbital Maneuvers/ Hohmann Transfer

The Hohmann Transfer - Raising Your Orbit An orbita l maneuver that transfers the vesse l from one circu lar orbit to another. Here is how to use Hohman n 's design to move our orbit away from the p lanet (rais ing the orbit).

Target Orbit

Hohmann Transfer

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: Start Here

To raise your orb it yo u fo ll ow steps like:

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1. Burn prograde; :.._ 2. Watch for t he apops is po in t to reac h your desired altitude; 3. Wa it till you reach the new Ap; 4. Now burn prograde to circu larize your orbit; . · · ·· I;"'\,

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Transfer Orbit

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• For an elli ptica l orbit the best place for Step 1. is the_Pe of the current orbit.

Manual/ Construction Interface /.!!1gineers ReJ)ort

The Engineer's Report This app can save you from disaster - if you're paying attention. The engineer's report lists things of note about the vesse l under construction .

Basic Information : Here you wil l fin d things li ke part cou nt, size and mass. In career mode you will see when you the hit the li mits of your fac ili ties.

_ Enslneer's._Report

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CtaftStats Parts Ma ss Siz e He ight

Wi dth . Le n ~ h

Checklist Severities: There are three severity levels for checks: o

Informationa l Warn ing 4 z, Critical

70m/200m 39m/150m 40m/150m

Dolls• checldl!l Show severity:

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• t-1 This command pod has crew assiined but no pa rachut e attached O (+)Emptycrewcab1ns

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In the bottom ha lf of the app wi ll be the list

of checks that may need your attention. You don't have to fix t hese, but it is always a good id ea to give them a once over.

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Design Checklist:

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S1>ace Travel/ Orbital Maneuvers/, Hohmann Transfer (cont.)

The Hohmann Transfer - Lowering Your Orbit This is the opposite of the last maneuver. Using Hohman n's design to move our orbit closer to the planet (lowering the orb it).

Current Orbit

Hohmann Transfer

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To lower your orb it you fo ll ow steps li ke: 1. Burn retrograde; • 2. Watch for the periapsis point to reach your desired alt itude; • 3. Wait ti ll yo u reach the new Pe; 4. Now burn retrograde to circu larize your orbit;

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.. . Transfer Orbit

For an elli ptica l orbit the best place for Step 1. is the_Ap of the current orb it.

Space iTravel / Orbital Maneuvers/ Maneuver Efficiency

How to Maneuuer EfflCiently Every maneuver you make uses prope ll ant and rockets have a finite supp ly. Choosing the best time (or

place) to make mane uvers determ ines whether you comp lete your mission, or have to get out and push. Maneuver nodes are rea lly usefu l in t hi s "s ituation, they he lp you see t he "cost" of ma neuvers before executing t hem.

Adjusting Apoapsis/Periapsis Adjust in g the Ap/Pe is most effic ient at the oppos ite node. This means burning at t he Ap to change the Pe and vice-versa.

Us ing a maneuver node we can "see" this in an examp le. The delta -v (llv) required to lower this

orbit's Pe to 50km at th ree points is shown be low. Orbit Point /Jelta-v

1

2

3

260 mis

128 mis

62 mis

Adjusting Inclination Changing inclinat ion is most efficient where your orbit crosses the equator of the p lanet.

Matching Orbital Planes Matc hi ng planes is a key maneuver invo lved in dock ing. The best place to do this is at the orb it nodes labe ll ed Ascending/Descend ing Node (AN/DN). When you se lect a target object these ind icate where your vesse l and the tcirget 's orb ita l planes cross.

SJ)ace Travel / Orbital Maneuvers/ Orbit TyJ)es

Name That Orbit - Common Types There are an infinite number of orbits around a body. Here you 'll see the names of some of the more

commo n types.

Low Kerbln Orbit (U
· Polar Orbit Orbit with inclination of 90°, tak ing the vesse l

over the poles . ..

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· EquCltorlal Orbit Orbit with inclination of 0°, keeping the vesse l

over the equator.

(ieostotionClrg Orbit · . Eq uatorial orb it'with a period eq ual to t he planet's rotat io n. This means t he vesse l stays above t he same po int on the surface .

KerbiSynchn>nous EquCltoriCll Orbit (KEO) Geostationary orb it around Kerbin._ (Period: 6hrs, Altitude: 2863km)

KerbiSynchronous

Rocketry

All things rocketry related, and maybe a little more as well.

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Rocketry / Basics

The Basics of Rocketry ·----t'---i--The kerba l race has always wa nted to get into space. Here is some informa ti on on how to m_ake this a _rea lity.

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This informat ion shou ld he lp you to go from a pile of parts, li ke below, to a control lab le rocket.

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Rocketry/ Basics/ Forces

Forces That Apply to Roell * Excludes ground impact force

When your vert ical thr ust is g~ea~e ~ t~a-~ your weight+ drag yo u are on your way

to the stars.

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If it's the other way around you're headed • • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ for less "stellar''. destinations .

Drag _,_, This aerodynamic force is caused by air res istance as the rocket moves through the air.

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Thi s force comes from gravity --

_: pu lli ng dow n on the rocket.

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center of Lift center of Thrust

By building so the center of lift (Col) is behind the center of mass (CoM), the aerodynamic forces on the rocket will elp to keep it stable.

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This method is using some of the principles of static stability to help keep you going in the

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Rocketry/ Basics / Centered

Keeping to the Center_ ;

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Keeping your thrust centered will also help to keep things going '

where ou want.

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center of Lift

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H-t To do this, build your rocket keeping the center of thrust (Col) pushing through the center of mass (CoM).

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This means that the engine will not apply rotation to the rocket under thrust. Misa ligning this is like using

afire extinguisher in an office~--+~---+-chair. Aligned

"'Alo# Mission Control does not endorse the use ofjlre extinguishers as office chair propellant. ,

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Rocketry/ Basics/~ ymmetry

Symmetrical Sensibility

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Using radia l symmetry and snap you can quickly add 2, 3, 4, etc parts around the center of the rocket. to mainta in good ba lance. I

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~ -Trying to add these manually . is possible, but it wi ll never be exactly balanced. If you do it manually you will like ly requ ire

constant inputs to stay on course.• _ _ _ __

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Rocketry /, Basics/ Aerodynamics

Why Do You Need to Care About A

yna~ics7 .

Deg your rocket with ae~odynamics and drag forces in mind can help you with ~fficency and stability.

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The design here is streamlined with nosecones and parachutes on the

flat end plates. These help reduce the drag force as it heads for space.

The des ign here is (I hope you can te ll ) very bad aerodynamica lly-

however in of fun it 's going to be a laugh.

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Manual/ Construction Interface/ Centers and Costs

Information on Centers and Costs

CURSOR

Near the snap and symmetry controls you will find buttons to toggle the "center" indicators.

Vessel Cost and Funds Th is info shows the cost of launching the curre nt vesse l, inc luding the resources on board.

The second va lue is your avai lable Funds (if you 're in

27,280

career mode)

Center of Mass (CoM)

Center of Thrust (CoT)

Center of Lift (Col)

The center of mass is the place

This marker shows the sum of all

Thi s m arker shows the su m of all

where the sum of al l the ind iv idual

the sources of thrust to generate th is marker. It displays the CoT of a ll the engines in the vesse l.

the lift forces on th e vesse l. Much more on this in the section about a ircraft.

components mass is balanced. Th in k of it as the ba lance point.

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Rocketry/ Basics/, Control

Let's c;et Some Control .--t-t~ When bui lding a vesse l you w ill use a number of contro l parts, and there are two typ~s of parts to consider. Having one type and not the other w ill leave yo u f loundering for contro l.·

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Thruster

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I lSources These parts apply force to the vesse l - via airflow over j +-art \ s urfaces, torq ue from gyroscopes, gimballed engine -+-~.c-,e-+~-+-J-- moveme nt and d irect thrust from thrusters.

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Rocketry/ Basics/ Engines ~

Types of Rocket Engines-· =- · · · · ___,·---t-' 1 11 111 . Uqlid Fu~l lEngine ~ P~Wi ) +-i!!_t-+-tii-++~ I , I I I . I l .i..'!:..0-L.~!!~ = · The primary engines for rockets . These have

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var iab le thrust and require tanks of liq ui d fue l (LF) and ox idizer (OX) attac hed.

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As the name suggests t hese engines are

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typica lly used as boosters to get th ings ...I moving. They carry the ir own fue l and( :=,~ once lit ca nnot be t hrott led or shut off. '-+-+--l

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probes . They ru n on Xenon Gas and Electric Charge (EC) and .

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are palrticu lar ly usm efu l for ~ong !ow m thcm ust_bm ~rnj's. ; .

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Rocketry /, Basics/ Supplies

Surely the most common of resour.ces. Liquid Fuel (LF) And Oxidizer (OX) are 1

used together to power the _f!lajority of

rocket eng ines.

~t=liil1:~J:tj~=t:::J:+tt---_. ._ 11 Electric Charge,(E~

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EC is used by all electronic parts and is critical

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for unmanned craft'.

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The fue l that is used by high ly efficient ion engines. Ion engines also need EC to run.

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Use.~ mostly by the R ( for contro l" th . ~S, th is is the fu I 1

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Rocketry/ Basics/ Service and Science

cting Delicate S • ce Equipm_ent ~ -~·t-twhen considering that we are li tera lly hur li ng stuff into space here, somet imes there is a need for protection from the elements - both during liftoff and re-enr'ry_' -

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' There are a range of experiments you ca n pe rform'w ith equ ipment ---+--ra ng in g from fu ll b low n labs dow to de licate gravio li detectors.

Service Containers These uti lity parts can ho ld a number mber ber of sma ll compo nents to protect them from drag, eat and m inor co lli sion.

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Rocketry/ Basics/ Rechargi!}g SUP.tJlies

Recharging Electrk Charge

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Lightweight and re li able, these come in a number of sizes and shapes.I - L I · • I ·-,

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A constant and re liable source of EC. but s ig nificantly heavier tha n oth er options.

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Many engines have built in alternators that w ill generate varying amounts of EC, dependi ng o n the t hrott le setti ng. I

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Rocketry/ Basics/ Parachutes

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What goes up does come back down. It is much eas ier, and more efficient, to use parachutes when landing on bodie_s t _ h at have an

+--1-t- atmosphere . Compared

to an eng ine

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m ind that not all the places you visit have atmosphere . II •

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The staging stack icon displays the state of each parachute . The color of the backgro und shows how safe it is to stage. The icon's - - • color shows the state of the staged chute.

Pocked Chlltes

Sto ed Ch11tes

Safe to Dep loy Risky to Deploy Unsafe to Dep loy

Cut/ Shredded

Rocketry/ Basics/ Hatches and Ladders

(ietting In and Out Kerba ls leave and enter vesse ls through t he hatches on their vesse ls. The hatches are not always in the same spot, but they are clearly marked . ' '

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Be sure not to land on or obstruct a hate h if you want to use it. ·-

Climbing Aboard

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There is a range of ladders to h elp you get aboard for t hat return leg. Sometimes the hatch is j u st out of reach without some helpfu l

steps.

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Rocketry i Basics/ Multiple Stages

What's Up With Staging? Carrying unneeded equipment with you uses much more fuel. Most rockets use stag~s to get rid of used SRBs, e_ngines, fuel tanks] or other parts that are no longer re~ uired : -

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Staging starts at the highest stage number. Each time you "stage" it activates t he next one.

~ 1· Another benefit is that you are_n?t go ing to try and land the who le launch vessel. Just the important

partS~

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_~ St~glf!g':hi/e '!ngin~s a~ ~till ru~ning am have explosive consequences. 1 ■ Return to Game

Rocketry/ Basics/ Stability Assist

nee to Stay Stable Kerbal pilots and many probes can use the Stability Assist System (S.A.5.J. This can · help to keep your vessel pointed. in the desired direction. The S.A.S. modes can be ·

seen to the left of the NavBall here. -+-++± -

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At its most basic, S.A.S. wi ll hold the head ing of yo ur vesse l, th is is ca ll ed ' ' stab ili ty mode, -~-+-+-+-

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More advanced modes all ow you to target other directions, as shown w ith the match ing NavBa ll markers.

= What's IPushing &

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S.A.S. uses control sources to app ly force to get you back on target. If there's not enough force you may need more contro l parts, or a different design. :..i-+-I I

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Rocketry/ Advanced

Aduanced Roell With enough practice and a lit!le luck you'll be doing things like this i~

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