3 ms·
But why would you dump extra fuel in KSP? couldn't you use it to reduce your surface velocity before atmospheric heating begins? or even use it as thermal mass
by zeusk 5y ago
But why would you dump extra fuel in KSP? couldn't you use it to reduce your surface velocity before atmospheric heating begins? or even use it as thermal mass and do a retrograde burn during landing like Falcon9?
- ashtonkem 5y agoFuel costs money to lift, so by dumping it in the orbital fuel station I can delay an expensive and tedious refueling mission. Deceleration in KSP is easy because the aerodynamic and thermal models are exceptionally forgiving. Assuming you have literally any heat shield, you have to come in at interplanetary transfer speeds with a periapsis below airplane traffic before blowing up due to overheating is a concern. Most players will depend on drag to do the bulk of their deceleration because it’s cheap and easy, and even Falcon 9 style approaches can use parachutes and air brakes to do the heavy lifting. My falcon 9 equivalent rocket just uses a touch of throttle to prevent the landing legs from compressing so much that the rocket bell hits the ground. If I had a bit more clearance I probably wouldn’t need any fuel other than the deceleration burn.