Tutorial:Refueling in space

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Refueling in space

Specifications

  • Length: 1-3 hours
  • Difficulty: Advanced
  • For Version: 1.0.X

Approaches

You have 2 approaches: fly up a fuel tanker or use ISRU.

Fly Up A Fuel Tanker

Step 1 - Design your fuel tanker

I recommend this design:

Step 2 - Launch your fuel tanker

Use a normal ascent profile to get into a circular orbit with a periapsis greater than 75 km and deploy your Gigantor XL Solar Arrays. Now you should be on the upper stage (the one right before the transfer stage). Fire your engines to get a transfer to whatever planet/moon your target is orbiting.

Step 3 - Rendezvous and Docking

Using the transfer stage, rendezvous with the target spacecraft. Once you are within 250 meters, cancel your relative velocity and jettison the transfer stage. From there, dock with your target.

Step 4 - Transfer Fuel

Right-click on the Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tank of your fuel tanker. If you've followed the tutorial, it should be full. Then, hold Alt (Option on a Mac) and right-click on the fuel tank of your target spacecraft that you want to refuel. The right-click menu should have a section labeled "Transfer." Under that section, press the buttons labeled "In" on both the Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer subsections. After it's refueled, close the right-click menu and undock the fuel tanker.