Overview
Quick guide to faster, easier docking.
Easy docking.
3 Steps to dock.
Docking, the real pain for noobs like me, not anymore, theres a way to do 99% from the map using the navball and approach node, the preencounter distance is very important, needless to say closer means less fuel expenses at the next stage.
Step 1, target craft and find encounter.
This guide will jump this step and start after the encounter is created. Theres a rendezvous, docking tutorial in KSP.
Link to Rendezvous Intercept Guide:
[link]
After the closest encounter creation, the next step is to change the navball to target mode, from here, manouver nodes arent required anymore.
Step 2, aim target and zero encounter distance.
In this attempt we got a nice rendezvous within 6 meters distance, a important key for painless docking.
Navball toggle craft to SAS lock target mode, aim target symbol, start burning aiming zero at your encounter node distance, fine tune before intercept, miss or mess, realign orbits, find another encounter and try again, use intercept window at botton left for precision.
At low orbits manouver will be restrained by altitude, the zero encounter mode has to be done carefully.
Step 3, matching orbit and speed.
Final approach is the easiest part, will be close enough for docking, but stiil on a different orbit and speed, if you do too soon will be not close enough, too late and you gonna crash or spend more fuel, to match those above 30ms relative speed use SAS Target mode and aim at anti-target or retrograde right under the encounter indicator at a safe distance from the target, the navbal will display your speed relative to the target, zero it for safety or leave just enough for contact, below 3ms, if the rendezvous speed is below 20ms, depending on TWR, use reverse RCS to match speed, this will minimize craft spin.
Thats it….
Switch ships, lock docking ports right click “control from here” to target other, raise docking force, switch back to the initial ship, target the docking port on the other and from this point you will have time enough to approach and dock.
After nailing this type of navigation approach your docking awareness in the navball will increase and the next docks will be done in one try, and as fast as the craft permits.
Resume:
– Use Map and navball.
– Encouter indicator manouver node creation.
– Aim target and burn until zero distance encounter.
– Under encounter node aim retrograde or anti-target and zero relative speed to target.
– Dock.
Orbital node wont go below 0.0 km intercept distance, use intercept manouver window and visual flight RCS navball for precision.