Talk:Tutorial:How to get to Duna
Launch to Kerbin Orbit
I'm a little confused by the following in step 3, launching into Kerbin orbit:
…heading east instead of the usual west.
The normal ascent to orbit from KSC is going east, taking advantage of the small amount of rotational velocity you start out with from Kerbin's own rotation, into a counter-clockwise orbit (this is also mentioned just after the above quote). So, either step 3 is incorrect in some way, or it needs more explanation to clarify the intention.
I'm not claiming expertise here, but I'm struggling to see why you'd do anything other than a standard east / 090° ascent from KSC, at least as your initial launch to orbit when keeping it simple. An advanced departure might try to do something like matching the solar orbital plane, I guess, but that's easy enough to do either as part of the later Hohmann transfer, or fine tuning the intercept once in solar orbit. Matching Duna's plane wouldn't account for an opposite launch.
So, should this just be a standard launch to orbit heading 090°, or what am I failing to see here?
--Murph (talk) 02:30, 23 November 2013 (CST)
I had the exact same question and came to discussion to see if there was a discussion/explanation. I'm going to edit it; if we're missing something, please do add a clarification while reverting.
