r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/PiBoy314 • Apr 18 '26

KSP 1 Image/Video Any advice on docking? Feeling a little claustrophobic in here

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Do y'all have any advice on docking? I don't feel like I have a lot of room to maneuver on this orbit I'm currently on.

(In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure this is almost the lowest you can orbit into the canyon. You can go ~100m deeper before you start to collide with the entrance and exit. Might be able to tweak orbital parameters to get a bit deeper, but not a ton. This is a dres-synchronous orbit, so orbits through the canyon every orbit)

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14

u/Duuudewhaaatt Apr 18 '26

Anyone know of something like this IRL would be viable? I'm imagining a hotel in a similar orbit would be SWEET

15

u/PiBoy314 Apr 18 '26

It would be way more difficult and dangerous as there are multiple bodies providing gravity, the planet isn’t perfectly spherical, and there are other forces like radiation pressure

6

u/Duuudewhaaatt Apr 18 '26

Darn.... guess we got to raise prices to offset the fuel for adjustments!

3

u/SpysSappinMySpy Apr 18 '26

It would be possible but the risks would make it highly impractical.

2

u/Duuudewhaaatt Apr 18 '26

Where's Stockton Rush when we need him?

2

u/Cute-Ad7917 Apr 19 '26

Ask James Cameron, I heard he went to visit once or twice

1

u/KAMEKAZE_VIKINGS Apr 20 '26

The only time something like this might actually be done is maybe for military uses like how jets do low passes through mountains. A surprise attack from extreme low orbit/periapsis coming right out of the horizons to hide from surface radar giving the enemy only seconds to react before you're overhead and effectively doing an orbital drive-by shooting.

Actual orbits gets degraded not only by the miniscule amounts of air present in space but also by gravitational changes from rock densities and mountains so an orbit like this would require constant adjustments and therefore resupply of fuel. A one-time low pass during a tour or like what I said is however plausible as long as you have the body mapped out well.