Tutorial:Traveling to Eeloo

Traveling to Eeloo

Beginners see this planet and think "I want"

Requirements

• Length: 2-4 hours
• Difficulty: Hard/Advanced
• For Version: 0.23+

Additionally, you will need a good understanding of orbital mechanics (see Tutorials section), angles, docking, and a lot of patience.

Steps

Step 1 - Building

For an Eeloo mission you might want an Apollo style lander. Long story short, you're building the mission in orbit.

• Transfer and Return

1: You'll need quite a bit of fuel. Use a few Rockomax X200-32 Fuel Tank or just throw one of these on Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tank

2: The engine needs to be efficient and/or powerful. Try a LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor; this should do the trick.

3: Don't forget a docking port!

4: RCS! You need this for docking!

• Lander

1: If you're going manned, put a reasonable amount of fuel on. You might want to consider the Rockomax X200-16 Fuel Tank. You can do just about anything with a probe, so try some stuff.

2: You're going to need some landing struts/legs. Manned = LT-2 Landing Strut; Probed = LT-5 Micro Landing Strut

3: Decent engines are a must-have on your lander.

4: RCS! You need this for docking!

5: If you want to return, add a parachute AND a heat shield, if you don't want to burn up during reentry.

If you're not returning, skip the lander build and just slap whatever you're taking on the transfer and return vehicle.

Step 2 - Planetary Alignment

One method is to use Olex's Transfer calculator to determine when the planets are correctly aligned. Check to see if Eeloo is In Front of Kerbin. (101° ahead in orbit). Then perform a plane change manoeuvre to get the plane of you orbit to cross Eeloo's orbit at the point of intercept.

A more efficient method is to use Alex Moon's transfer to determine the parameters for the transfer. The advantage of this method is that it does not assume that the destination and origin are in the same plane (they aren't) or that the destination is in a circular orbit (it isn't) and thus it is normally more efficient as you do not have to correct for this.

The best method would be to use TheAstrogoth's Kerbal Transfer Illustrator as it shows in full detail the transfer and it takes inclination and eccentricity into account.

Step 3 - Orbit

Launch a normal Kerbin orbit. The Oberth Effect can save you more fuel the closer you are to a planet. Thus a 70km orbit is preferrable although getting a bit higher (~75 km) is better just to be on the safe side (get too close and you might not go to eeloo anytime soon...)

Step 4 - Fly from Kerbin to Eeloo

You now want to start your high velocity burn. This is where your LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor comes in. I like to set a maneuver node so I can get the best encounter.

The best way to do this is to keep your eye on the map screen. If you have set up your burn correctly, your Kerbolar orbit for a brief moment will be captured by Eeloo's gravity. Be very meticulous when you're burning.

If you overshoot, just do a retro burn to get your trajectory back.

Step 5 - Arriving at Eeloo

When you finally get to Eeloo, retro burn at periapsis so you can get a simple orbit.

Once you've done that, you can change your orbit in any way. If you want to return, change your orbit efficiently so you don't lose fuel.

Step 6 - Landing at Eeloo (Optional)

If you've landed on the Mun, then you're all set! Just see Mun Landing Tutorial for some tips.

Step 7 - Returning

Returning from Eeloo is just like coming to Eeloo. Just get into orbit, do a high velocity burn, arrive at kerbin, re-enter at kerbin, and finally safely land.

Congrats! If you did these steps correctly, you should be on a snowball.