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by elil17 1887 days ago
My biggest question: who the hell plays KSP without the orbit map interface?
7 comments

Getting to the Mun manually isn't too hard once you know what you're doing. Get to a low orbit, then thrust prograde when the Mun comes over the horizon. Keep an eye on your remaining delta-v (or do the math beforehand and watch your stopwatch) and you should come pretty close. Make sure your Munar orbit is counterclockwise and returning is just prograde thrust again.

For a more immersive experience, install the RasterPropMonitor mod to get interactable IVA displays. Add a compatible camera mod and Docking Port Alignment Indicator and you can even do a multi-craft Apollo style mission entirely from the cockpit.

Actually it can be a fun exercise flying purely in IVA with a slide rule and window- or periscope-based reticles, just like those on Apollo Lunar Module [1][2], or Russian space stations [3]. The Apollo descent and landing procedure included elaborate roll maneuvers to confirm everything visually with the landing point designator. You can measure the horizon curvature and use similar techniques to guess your altitude and attitude.

[1] https://apollo11space.com/apollo-11-windows/

[2] https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/coas.htm

[3] (yes, ISS has an optical viewfinder called VShTV - it's installed in Zarya module. It was meant for emergencies and never been used to reorient the module manually, AFAIK)

I've done this for fun to see if I could get to the Mun only looking out the window in the crew cabin. (I succeeded!)
That’s what I was imagining but I would have thought it impossible. Very impressive!
Thanks! It requires some planning.

It's been ~7-8 years, but I guess I probably figured out what trans-Munar injection velocity I needed and roughly what phase angle I wanted the Mun at (these are some basic astrodynamical calculations). You can determine velocity precisely from instruments and phase angle well enough from visuals that you pretty much guarantee a rendezvous.

Once you enter the Munar sphere of influence, just wait until periapsis and start killing velocity. You'll want a table prepared (somewhat conservatively, to give yourself room for fine-tuning) of what your velocity should be at a given altitude to make sure that you land at 0 m/s without using too much propellant, and remember to adjust the "sea level" altitudes for ground level before your radar altimeter kicks in. I guess the hard part is making sure you land on something flat, but you can impart some lateral impulse if necessary until you see a good landing spot below.

Getting back is similar, but the calculations are a bit simpler.

Here’s a recording of another guy doing it to “Ride of the Valkyries”: https://youtu.be/iXYGo9KO2nI
Apollo 8 proved it possible, actually. ;) The onboard sextant worked perfectly.
I watched a streamer play KSP for the first time, not have the patience to learn orbits (at least on stream), just point at the Mun and go for it.

I was yelling at the screen that it wouldn't work, but somehow he made it there, though with the same delta-v he could have gone to Eve.

You can get far in KSP by adding more struts or delta-v, lol.
Believe in the tutorial it teaches you that you can do that (or at least it did). I suspect the orbit of the Mun is not placed by accident.
Presumably the folks that make airplanes instead of rockets?
Or that one guy who only makes trains.
...trains? That's news to me lol.

Guess that in a game about space, the only limit is your imagination.

Some people start fires just to watch them burn.
With enough boosters you can get to the Mun in a straight line :D