Best Way To Find and Create a node for interplanatery Travel?

[tepid pagoda]

I'm Having problems making a good node to go from Kerbin to Duna to land a probe carrying a unmanned rover. Im in Kerbin orbit but idk what to do. Ive spent a little less than 6 hours fiddling with nodes at different spots trying to get a encounter but I dont know how to tell where the planet will encounter with me or where I should move my node too to get said encounter any tips?

[simple lodge]

I'd first get out of Kerbin SOI due to trajectory bug. Use Mun gravity assist for bonus points ⭐

then you can use the hohmann transfer. don't bother with normal-antinormal changes, Duna is basically on the same orbital plane as Kerbin

I thiiiiink you want Duna to be about 45 degrees in front of Kerbin when you do your intercept burn, this SHOULD get you within the SOI about 180 degrees later, on the other side of Kerbol from where you were

[stray onyx]

I made great success with this chart, do account for bug tho, hope it would help you well.

[tepid pagoda]

Ahhhh these are hurtuing my small brain i dont understandddd

[simple lodge]

uhm hang on

this is the important part

this shows where all the planets should be when viewed from the top in Map view

so just timewarp until duna is where it is on the picture and then do your transfer burn

or make a transfer maneuver node that is

pls let me know if this made sense at all

[tepid pagoda]

It did so just time warp till the earth I MEAN KERBIN- is where it is on the map and compare where the planet would be with the spot Kerbin is in?

[tepid pagoda]

Arent i supposed to be seeing a encounter for its sphere of orbit.?

I might be thinking about it wrong, or doing it wrong please forgive me while I suffer figuring it out

[simple lodge]

I always forgive. But Duna is 90 degrees in advance of Kerbin think of a circle that is 360 degrees, or a clock: it is 3 AM/PM with Kerbin as the hour and Duna as the minute

In my chart it is about 20 degrees in advance, or TEN PAST THREE, or 15:10 AM PM

Did this make sense at all

[tepid pagoda]

Yeah i get it but my goofy ahh cant figure what i should do with that info(im so sorry)

[simple lodge]

what is ahh?
well, practising this in the Kerbin System is generally cheaper on your DeltaV!

if you experiment with Mun - Minmus transfers and back again, you should get a grasp of it in your own tempo!!

I have always been a learn by doing type when trying to grasp new aspects. KSP tought me everything I know about orbital mechanics

(the self-teaching process needs to provice me with instant dopamine though, or I will give it up very quickly)

[tepid pagoda]

I understand that, ive already landed and put my self into muns orbit many times. Its just no matter where i try putting a node somewhere i can NEVER get a encounter, ill literally do it in every spot of my orbit out side of kerbins sphere of influence and i never get signs of a encounter to enter dunas sphere of influence. I make sure my orbit is at the same tilt everything.

[simple lodge]

how far are the 1A and 1B nodes apart? you could get them as close as possible, do your burn, and then adjust on the way or burn for Duna to "catch up to it" when you have mathced your inclination and Periapsis and Apoapsis to Duna's orbit

[simple lodge]

and have you tried a transfer from Mun orbit to Minmus orbit?

[tepid pagoda]

Yea

[tepid pagoda]

I get it but what "SHOULD" i do not could like whats the easiest way.?

[simple lodge]

I haven't really done so many transfers to duna myself. maybe I should launch a save and try! a good test to see if I grasp the concepts I have provided to you

[tepid pagoda]

I have a save of being in kerbins orbit so i can change and do any strategy

I literally losing my mind ive been trying to get a encounter with duna for 3 days now..

@simple lodge bruh

Im losing my mind rn

I GOT IT but i need a impact, bc this is a unmanned rover mission. And once ive got a crash trajectory i detach my rover and use parachutes into the atmosphere.

Andddd i lost it...

[simple lodge]

YES

I started designing a space shuttle instead

[tepid pagoda]

I lost it and cant get it

I got it just from moving the node around randomly

[simple lodge]

look at your 1A and 1B again. or 2A and 2B, which ever is closest to one another. right clicking them will pin them

then just play around with prograde/retrograde and radial in / radial out until you get so close that your trajectory is within the SOI

make sure that you have marked Duna as target and checked that your AN and DN nodes are 0.0 degrees!

to correct this, burn normal at -node (-0.7 degrees for instance) , think this is Descending Node (DN), and +node (0.7 degrees) is 30 - 10 seconds before the AN / DN node

[tepid pagoda]

Mhm

Well

[simple lodge]

30 seconds = low TRW
10 seconds for high TRW vehicles
I find adjusting the throttle with my mouse does wonders

you'll see the DN / AN getting ahead (just like apoapsis / periapsis when circularizing)
try to keep it within 10 seconds before for gradual adjustments (30 seconds for low TWR vehicles)

you'll see the numbers for apoapsis / periapsis below your navball. practising this with circularization until you are able to get a sub 1000m difference between apoapsis and periapsis should help you nail those inclinations too

[tepid pagoda]

If i get one(1A 1B or 2A 2B) then what does that mean and what do i do?

[simple lodge]

please let me know if my long and complex answes needs a TL;DR or arises more questions rather than answering them

[simple lodge]

1A and 1B is intercept nodes in current orbit. for a good intercept these should be as close as possible

2A and 2B are for second orbit

[tepid pagoda]

OH like the second orbit around will result in a close encounter over time?!

Also

If thats the case i might be starting to get it.

[simple lodge]

eventually yes! even if it takes 100 in game lol, eventually it will

[tepid pagoda]

Welp ima do it bc im tired of this rn

Also

Ill literally have to restart...

Docking ports dont work...

And i used that to connect the rover to the rocket

[simple lodge]

where are they not working? VAB or in orbit?

[tepid pagoda]

Orbit

And planet

I got bored went for a entry back to Kerbin

Didn’t work on the way down

[simple lodge]

they are the same size right?

[tepid pagoda]

Then did it in orbit

Didn’t work

[tepid pagoda]

Yep

Same model

[simple lodge]

welp

quicksave and loading said quicksave slays many Krakens

[tepid pagoda]

Huh

Well I don’t think it’s a kraken

Others are having the same problem on Reddit

There’s supposed to be more controls right?

[simple lodge]

the Kraken attacks everyone, including the others lol

uhm so press f5, this creates a quicksave.
then press esc to open meny and choose "load game" and load the newest quicksave

fixes most bugs

like docking ports misbehaving and so on

[tepid pagoda]

Ah alright, im currently so stressed bc i feel like i should know what im doing node wise. But i dont and im still confused and unsuccessful its like i need a checklist so i can do the steps in order to do it right, and i dont need a specifically duna catered one bc i need info on ALL interplanetary transfers.

[simple lodge]

do you have KSP1? doing the tutorials there gave me a lot of basics to bring in to KSP2 and get sorta good

[tepid pagoda]

I do, on my console 💀

Which console ksp :

[simple lodge]

oh my dear

[tepid pagoda]

But all the tut's on the subject suck, they are like "fling ourselves out of kerbin soi and create a node for duna and were done" like what

[simple lodge]

hahahah they are inconprehensible yes

[simple lodge]

nodes are tricky sometimes. those sometimes you have to switch between pulling on prograde and radial to get a close intercept

maneuver node that is

[tepid pagoda]

Yeahhhhh

[tepid pagoda]

I think its mainly my problem of slinging the node in random spots not actuallly knowing where duna will be by the time i reach it which from what i know there is no way of finding out.