Difference between revisions of "Kerbin"

Revision as of 23:46, 15 October 2012

Kerbin is a planet which is home to the Space Center and the main focus of Kerbal Space Program. It has two moons, named Mun and Minmus. It is the third planet in orbit around the M class star Kerbol. It is the third largest planet after Jool and Eve, and the fourth largest celestial object around Kerbol (the moon Tylo being slightly larger).

Topography

Topographical image of Kerbin.

Kerbin has a roughly equal distribution of surface liquid water and solid land, with polar icecaps and scattered deserts. There are mountains exceeding 3km in height, with the tallest mountain at least 3750 m.^[1]

Atmosphere

Kerbin has an atmosphere of unknown composition, though because Kerbin has plants and animals, it can be assumed there is O₂, N₂, and CO₂. The atmosphere ends at 69,077.55 meters and, as on Earth, becomes exponentially less dense as altitude increases (with a scale height of 5 km).^[2] In general, the atmospheric pressure and density on Kerbin, at an altitude expressed in meters, are:

p_{k}=e^{-altitude/5000}

d_{k}=1.2223\ p_{k}

Orbits

Geosynchronous orbit is achieved at an altitude of 2868.4 km above sea level. A Semi Synchronous Orbit with an orbital period of 1/2 of Kerbal (3 hours or 10800 seconds) is achieved at an orbit of 1585.4 km above sea level. The orbital velocity is 1271.4 m/s.

Interplanetary Travel

From the lowest stable orbit around Kerbin (70km), the amount of Delta-V to reach the orbits of the other celestials is as follows:

Body	Delta-V
Mun	~860 m/s
Minmus	~930 m/s
Eve	~1033 m/s
Duna	~1060 m/s
Moho	~1676 m/s
Jool	~1915 m/s

Reference Frames

	Paid (0.17)	Demo (0.13.3)
Rotational/Inertial transition	100,000 m	70,000 m
Warp	Minimum Altitude
1x	Any
2x	n/a	0 m
5x	69,078 m (above the atmosphere)
10x	69,078 m (above the atmosphere)
50x	120,000 m	150,000 m
100x	240,000 m	300,000 m
1,000x	480,000 m	600,000 m
10,000x	480,000 m	1,200,000 m
100,000x	600,000 m	n/a

Gallery

NJ6qJ.jpg

A projection map of Kerbin, as of 0.14.1 and before (including the demo)
An accurate full-colour projection map of Kerbin as of 0.14.2 and above
The second launch site (currently unused)
Kerbin, Mun and Minmus.