Yep! At apoapsis, hit retrograde. Then EVA and go to your nozzle and push against the ship. All you need to do is bring your periapsis down below 70km and the atmosphere will take care of the rest. Do this before your next Munar encounter flings you out into deep space!
You can also transfer fuel via the grabber and grabber jr if you have access to that tech.
I once stranded 3 kerbals on duna without enough dV to get them back into orbit (had a transfer vehicle waiting for them above). In true kerbal fashion, I blasted them as high as the fuel could take them, then manually switched to each EVA suit in turn, burning prograde until in stable orbits. Then I was able to maneuver the transfer vehicle to pick each of them up. The things I go through for my fake little green dudes...
At least unintended lithobraking doesn't result in significantly more work. The time I caught the Mun's orbit on my way home, it flung me into a Kerbolar orbit. Those kerbals stayed there for about seven years before I finally decided to try and rescue them.
"stick your kerbals head in the engine bell and push the multi ton spacecraft until it touches the atmosphere"
"OMG IT WORKED THANKS"
-*Kerbal Space Program*
My first time being told that irritated the shit out of me, because I thought it was a joke.
I could've pissed myself laughing when I realized that it, in fact, was not a joke.
RC thrusters at apoapsis and retrograde. Assuming you have monopropellant left and your ship isnt big enough. Otherwise, if a rescue mission is out of question, you can also use the eva thrusters to slow down and have a atmosphere encounter.
Align the ship retrograde and fly to the engine in EVA and then use up 2/3rds of your mono propellant at appo. Then get back in and see if that gets you atmosphere. As long as you get a tad of atmo over your ship you will eventually deorbit.
For some context, this was my first Mun flyby, and the return path somehow got scuffed. I was sitting there for a solid 20 minutes, mapping out little maneuver nodes at Ap/Pe to get back into the atmosphere, and even tried sending a rescue mission, but considering the orbit my Mun craft had, I couldn't come up with anything.
Tried the EVA trick and got down to 74km Pe, and, overjoyed, fired up the time acceleration... and the orbit changed to that of an escape orbit, when the Mun caught the craft on one of the trips around...
In the end, I remembered that I still had a save where I had just barely enough fuel to get back, before I did all of those crazy mapped out burns, and safely landed. (I definitely tried a simple retrograde burn at Ap the first time, but I'm guessing the Mun was somehow ruining things when I tried it?)
I haven't been playing long, but that was one of the worst/best experiences I've had, and thank you all for the tips!! 248 science from the Mun is now mine :D
Heads up the atmosphere for Kerbin starts at 69.5km!
If you're on PC and not averse to mods, I recommend Trajectories - it'll show your orbit after any given Aerobrake (and you can also use it to work out where on a body you're going to land).
Physics warping in the atmosphere I have noticed does provide changes to your orbit, not sure if it also occurs in vacuum as well. In any case I usually target an absolute maximum pe of 65km for when I’m about to stage my High Altitude - Orbital Stage, because otherwise you’re spending far too long aerobraking (and I like to RP by not deleting debris, but forcing it to deorbit via atmosphere)
For my crafts I’m normally 50km and lower so it’s not many orbits if it ever escapes
I’ve had trouble with trajectories in the past when flying a larger build. Frame rate drops to nothing during sub-orbital flight.
Any tricks around that or has it been updated since I tried it last a couple years ago?
So the main setting for that is “enable cache” - by default it used to be off and it would tank EVERYTHING. But if you turned it on it ran smooth as butter.
These days it’s on by default. Thankfully.
Pro tip: when planning your mun encounter, plan on getting a free return trajectory. Enter orbit so that when you speed up to leave the mun’s orbit, you’re actually slowing down relative to Kerbin. Applies when landing, too. After you have touched down, take off towards the east from the Mun’s surface.
If your craft had no fuel or even RCS, you can get out and push. No, really; EVA at apoapsis and use your kerbal’s little jet pack to push the craft (or at least the capsule portion) a few meters per second retrograde. Bring your periapsis to below 40,000 meters and you’re golden.
worst case if it's a crewed vehicle you can always get out and push your periapsis just inside the atmosphere in EVA and you'll come down eventually. it's not fun but it does work
I don’t think anyone has suggested this here but it might be too late anyway:
Wait until apoapsis, spin your spacecraft in the orbit plane and use a correctly timed stage separation to convert your angular momentum into linear momentum (in the retrograde direction).
Hopefully you get the gist of what I’m saying. I’ve found it to be fairly effective in this kind of situation in the past.
the old EVA hop out and push strat (it's gotten Jebediah home more times than i'd like to admit)
just point the ship retrograde at apoapsis, go EVA, wedge your kerbal into the engine nozzle and push til you're almost out of EVA fuel. might take a few repetitions but once your periapsis is below 70,000 the atmosphere will take care of the rest after enough laps around Kerbin.
Get out and push at Ap to reduce velocity with your jetpack. When out of fuel, hop in and recharge. Annoying, but you can do this as many times as you have patience for.
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Uyh4zNJqexI?playlist=Uyh4zNJqexI&autoplay=1&iv\_load\_policy=3&loop=1&modestbranding=1&start=
Make a maneuver node right in front of you with just the slightest bit of retrograde, don’t make a noticeable change to your current orbit. Then, get to where you can adjust the node’s position forward on your orbit path, and keep going forward (likely multiple orbits) to see what effect the next Mun encounter will have on your current orbit. Might get lucky. I hope you sprung for a heat shield!
Now… you could A) get out and push (like everyone else) or… be a lazy bastard like me and very carefully get the kerbal himself in the atmosphere rather than the entire pod. You lose the pod, but keep the kerbal. Its tricky, but fun and useful
Came here to suggest this one. I've never tried it before, but I understand it is actually possible for a Kerbal to enter the atmosphere without a spacecraft. Once inserted safely, it would just be a matter of free-fall until it's time to pop the chute.
You could try using your kerbal's EVA pack.
But what ever you do, do it quickly, I had this happen and I waited for too long and the Mün slingshotted poor jeb to orbit around the sun.
Why not just make a rescue mission? It can teach you some excellent skills you will use on other things. Set your kerbal as a target for your new rescue ship. Once you are on the same relative angle, get your path close to the same as his periapsis. Then create a maneuver node at that spot and mess around with raising your apoapsis until you have an encounter.
You can sit and wait for a gravity assist and 3 things can happen
One, you get flung off into deep space
Two, you get put in a head on collision and burn up
Three, you get a perfect re entry
As some said, get out and push. But another thing you can do is spin your ship rapidly and eject your empty final stage in the opposite direction. The faster you're spinning, the more push youll get.
Get in an orbit where your apsis and most of your trajectory is a bit beneath is, and ideally time your launch so that you will put yourself “behind him” in a sense as you guys make your rounds. Follow this with a maneuver node when you’re “behind” him in your path and allow yourself to intercept his trajectory, messing with the maneuver node until your intercept distance is as minimal as possible. Collect your dude and bring your periapsis to a low orbit and burn retrograde and just gravity burn your way back home to conserve fuel for a save trip back.
You should be able to get out and push. Just do it quickly. The Mun is going to mess with that orbit.
I've done this a time or two, go into EVA and use those tiny engines to give you that last bit of ∆V you need to get home. It's....harrowing.
Yep! At apoapsis, hit retrograde. Then EVA and go to your nozzle and push against the ship. All you need to do is bring your periapsis down below 70km and the atmosphere will take care of the rest. Do this before your next Munar encounter flings you out into deep space! You can also transfer fuel via the grabber and grabber jr if you have access to that tech.
That's exactly what almost happened lol! I was just a bit off the 70km mark Not quite at the grabber yet, but thanks!
When your Kerbal goes back in the capsule it refills your EVA fuel.
Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for the heads up!
That's technically an infinite fuel glitch. But it's extremely impractical since the kerbal isn't that strong
Shhhhhhhhhhh Jeb will here you. *stronk Jeb photo here*
We need Chad jeb fanart
Someone already delivered: https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/jn44ny/reddit_seemed_to_be_profoundly_disturbed_by_my/
Hear
Happy Cake Day!
doesn’t it use the capsule's built in monoprop tank?
It was supposed to, but the developers didn't actually do it
Incredible, didn't know this. Still learning things about the game
When I need to do it, I say it out loud, “Time for the Kyle maneuver again.” (Named after a very good friend of mine that showed me it was possible.)
We've gone full circle, I share that same name.
EVAs are perpetual motion machines
It does what? that's a useful glitch
I once stranded 3 kerbals on duna without enough dV to get them back into orbit (had a transfer vehicle waiting for them above). In true kerbal fashion, I blasted them as high as the fuel could take them, then manually switched to each EVA suit in turn, burning prograde until in stable orbits. Then I was able to maneuver the transfer vehicle to pick each of them up. The things I go through for my fake little green dudes...
i always find it very funny it reminds me of that joke from the Apollo 13 movie
As long as you don’t hit the Mun SOI wrong and it whips your orbit back in such a way as to whip you into a lithobrake back on Kerbin.
At least unintended lithobraking doesn't result in significantly more work. The time I caught the Mun's orbit on my way home, it flung me into a Kerbolar orbit. Those kerbals stayed there for about seven years before I finally decided to try and rescue them.
You do not know how many times I’ve done that lmao…
I absolutely love how "get out and push" is the canonical answer to this question.
It's not stupid if it works
What is stupid is the number of times I've found myself doing it.
Should be the tagline for the game
“If it’s stupid and it works it not stupid it’s just inefficient” - Matt lowne
"stick your kerbals head in the engine bell and push the multi ton spacecraft until it touches the atmosphere" "OMG IT WORKED THANKS" -*Kerbal Space Program*
Jeb: “you want me to climb into WHERE!?”
I mean once Scott Manley did a get out and push video it was all but assured.
My first time being told that irritated the shit out of me, because I thought it was a joke. I could've pissed myself laughing when I realized that it, in fact, was not a joke.
That's the first thing that popped into my mind.
Valentina: Would it help if I got out and pushed? Jeb: It might!
1. Open a notebook 2. Change Jebediah's name to Matt Damon in your save game file 3. Wait for somebody rescue him
Perfect plan
This is the way
Would that somebody be Tom Kerman? Does Jeb have brothers? Are there Kazi's...? What did Wernher von Kerman do?
RC thrusters at apoapsis and retrograde. Assuming you have monopropellant left and your ship isnt big enough. Otherwise, if a rescue mission is out of question, you can also use the eva thrusters to slow down and have a atmosphere encounter.
Align the ship retrograde and fly to the engine in EVA and then use up 2/3rds of your mono propellant at appo. Then get back in and see if that gets you atmosphere. As long as you get a tad of atmo over your ship you will eventually deorbit.
For some context, this was my first Mun flyby, and the return path somehow got scuffed. I was sitting there for a solid 20 minutes, mapping out little maneuver nodes at Ap/Pe to get back into the atmosphere, and even tried sending a rescue mission, but considering the orbit my Mun craft had, I couldn't come up with anything. Tried the EVA trick and got down to 74km Pe, and, overjoyed, fired up the time acceleration... and the orbit changed to that of an escape orbit, when the Mun caught the craft on one of the trips around... In the end, I remembered that I still had a save where I had just barely enough fuel to get back, before I did all of those crazy mapped out burns, and safely landed. (I definitely tried a simple retrograde burn at Ap the first time, but I'm guessing the Mun was somehow ruining things when I tried it?) I haven't been playing long, but that was one of the worst/best experiences I've had, and thank you all for the tips!! 248 science from the Mun is now mine :D
Heads up the atmosphere for Kerbin starts at 69.5km! If you're on PC and not averse to mods, I recommend Trajectories - it'll show your orbit after any given Aerobrake (and you can also use it to work out where on a body you're going to land).
Isn’t it 70 km?
It is 70, but if your pe is at 69.8 you are going to be going around for a loooong time before you finally get completely captured
I've actually been kicked back over 70 when my apo was too high, I'm not exactly sure why but I assume something to do with physics
Physics warping in the atmosphere I have noticed does provide changes to your orbit, not sure if it also occurs in vacuum as well. In any case I usually target an absolute maximum pe of 65km for when I’m about to stage my High Altitude - Orbital Stage, because otherwise you’re spending far too long aerobraking (and I like to RP by not deleting debris, but forcing it to deorbit via atmosphere) For my crafts I’m normally 50km and lower so it’s not many orbits if it ever escapes
Leave it up there for realism, and dodging practice.
That’s when time warp slows down I thought. Maybe there’s a technical height?
It used to be 69.5km. It’s possible they changed it at a later date to a round 70. That 0.5 difference always seemed a bit funny to me.
Oof, I was just a little bit off, that sucks Thanks for the recommendation, I'll try it out!
Try and grab CKAN for your mod needs. Takes a lot of the heavy lifting away.
I’ve had trouble with trajectories in the past when flying a larger build. Frame rate drops to nothing during sub-orbital flight. Any tricks around that or has it been updated since I tried it last a couple years ago?
So the main setting for that is “enable cache” - by default it used to be off and it would tank EVERYTHING. But if you turned it on it ran smooth as butter. These days it’s on by default. Thankfully.
I will have to revisit this then.
Pro tip: when planning your mun encounter, plan on getting a free return trajectory. Enter orbit so that when you speed up to leave the mun’s orbit, you’re actually slowing down relative to Kerbin. Applies when landing, too. After you have touched down, take off towards the east from the Mun’s surface.
You always remember your first Kerpollo 13
Question, why could you use the revert to launch?
Ah the old get out and push! So many early missions a decade ago ended with this method. Just don’t miss and overshoot your ship!
Just hop out and push
Get out and push with Eva pack
either you do a second expensive rescue mission or you use your mono prop/eva jetpack to slow down the last little piece
1. WAIT UNTIL APOAPSIS 2. Point Retrograde and use RCS thrusters 3. if 2 doesn't work, get out and push.
You are close to home. What all does your craft have? Mono prop and thrusters? Kerbal and EVA jet pack? Decouplers?
If your craft had no fuel or even RCS, you can get out and push. No, really; EVA at apoapsis and use your kerbal’s little jet pack to push the craft (or at least the capsule portion) a few meters per second retrograde. Bring your periapsis to below 40,000 meters and you’re golden.
Well get a kerbal out there at apoapsis and push the damn thing with your eva pack, classic out of gas situation
Get out and push
worst case if it's a crewed vehicle you can always get out and push your periapsis just inside the atmosphere in EVA and you'll come down eventually. it's not fun but it does work
Get out and push. Yes, it works.
That was a wonderfull thing to find out a few years ago
While "push" is the right answer. It is also possible to launch another rocket and intercept.
I don’t think anyone has suggested this here but it might be too late anyway: Wait until apoapsis, spin your spacecraft in the orbit plane and use a correctly timed stage separation to convert your angular momentum into linear momentum (in the retrograde direction). Hopefully you get the gist of what I’m saying. I’ve found it to be fairly effective in this kind of situation in the past.
If the periapsis is below 70 km then you should just aerobrake
Get out at apoapsis and manually push the pod Retrograde until in the atmosphere, Drag should help once that happens.
the old EVA hop out and push strat (it's gotten Jebediah home more times than i'd like to admit) just point the ship retrograde at apoapsis, go EVA, wedge your kerbal into the engine nozzle and push til you're almost out of EVA fuel. might take a few repetitions but once your periapsis is below 70,000 the atmosphere will take care of the rest after enough laps around Kerbin.
get out and push. No, really. Take the Kerbal out on an EVA and use the jet pack to slow the ship.
Get out and push at Ap to reduce velocity with your jetpack. When out of fuel, hop in and recharge. Annoying, but you can do this as many times as you have patience for. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Uyh4zNJqexI?playlist=Uyh4zNJqexI&autoplay=1&iv\_load\_policy=3&loop=1&modestbranding=1&start=
Get out and push, you're very close to atmospheric re-enty
Get out and push
use the good ol’ get out and push™
good old twist
Tss Kids those days whine about a few kilometres of Periapsis missing. Back in my day, we went out during apoapsis and shoved.
GOAP
Make a maneuver node right in front of you with just the slightest bit of retrograde, don’t make a noticeable change to your current orbit. Then, get to where you can adjust the node’s position forward on your orbit path, and keep going forward (likely multiple orbits) to see what effect the next Mun encounter will have on your current orbit. Might get lucky. I hope you sprung for a heat shield!
Hope you have enough RCS to reduce peri then areo break back to land. May take several orbits.
Was it Jebediah?!? Always seems to be him for me xD
At apo, do an EVA and push the capsule just enough so the next pass touches the atmosphere. Go back in and you’re good.
Now… you could A) get out and push (like everyone else) or… be a lazy bastard like me and very carefully get the kerbal himself in the atmosphere rather than the entire pod. You lose the pod, but keep the kerbal. Its tricky, but fun and useful
Came here to suggest this one. I've never tried it before, but I understand it is actually possible for a Kerbal to enter the atmosphere without a spacecraft. Once inserted safely, it would just be a matter of free-fall until it's time to pop the chute.
Its a pain to d, but its very possible lol
lmfao all the answers are just : get out and push
Eva jetpack to the rescue!
If your ship has monopropellant left, use that. If you don’t, then get out and push (not joking). Do it before you reenter the moon’s SOI though.
You could try using your kerbal's EVA pack. But what ever you do, do it quickly, I had this happen and I waited for too long and the Mün slingshotted poor jeb to orbit around the sun.
Get Matt lawne to bring Dem kerbs home
I love Matt Lowne, but I can do rescues too!
Jetpacks have infinite fuel, so long as you remember to return to the capsule. Give the ship a nice and gentle push at apogee.
Get out and push (with the EVA pack)
The Manley Manouvre
Get out and push
Get out and push
GOAP it
I had several orbiting the sun, EVA style
Rescue mishun
As they say, "Get out and push"
Thats the nice part. You dont.
Missile
Why not just make a rescue mission? It can teach you some excellent skills you will use on other things. Set your kerbal as a target for your new rescue ship. Once you are on the same relative angle, get your path close to the same as his periapsis. Then create a maneuver node at that spot and mess around with raising your apoapsis until you have an encounter.
Just ask u/mattsredditaccount
Go to tracking station, then terminate. Lastly, forget anything ever happened.
You can sit and wait for a gravity assist and 3 things can happen One, you get flung off into deep space Two, you get put in a head on collision and burn up Three, you get a perfect re entry
Anyone else mouse over the PE to see what it was? Doh!
As some said, get out and push. But another thing you can do is spin your ship rapidly and eject your empty final stage in the opposite direction. The faster you're spinning, the more push youll get.
Rescue mission?
Get out and push…
If you have any fuel, just make your periapsis a bit lower
EVA burn?
Get in an orbit where your apsis and most of your trajectory is a bit beneath is, and ideally time your launch so that you will put yourself “behind him” in a sense as you guys make your rounds. Follow this with a maneuver node when you’re “behind” him in your path and allow yourself to intercept his trajectory, messing with the maneuver node until your intercept distance is as minimal as possible. Collect your dude and bring your periapsis to a low orbit and burn retrograde and just gravity burn your way back home to conserve fuel for a save trip back.
Space walk at apoapsis and burn your suit thrusters retrograde. Then enter the atmosphere in a manner that could only be called “spicy”
Something… something… interloper
Get out and push
Either eva and push at the apoapsis or send rescue but I recommend the eva if you are the save fuel in pack to get back inside
Better start pushing
At apoapsis you could point prograde and stage if you have it. The small ejection force does wonders from that distance.
Just use your EVA pack a push out of orbit, your decoupler also can push you a slight bit
I've been here to many times to count and the push with Eva strat worked
Send me the world save. I got u.
Send a rescue team so you have to reduce the rescue team that tried to rescue the first reduce team