00:01Missing the ground
00:03If you want to visit space for more than a couple of minutes, you'll need to get to orbit.
00:08An object is in orbit when it's moving sideways so quickly that even as gravity causes it to fall, it
00:14keeps missing the ground.
00:17As long as that object isn't slowed down by anything, it follows the same path every time it goes around
00:22the body it's orbiting.
00:24Forever!
00:25If that object is occurrable, it is recommended that they bring lots of snacks.
00:30So since your goal is to move horizontally at a high speed, why not launch sideways?
00:38On Kerbin, the atmosphere is like a thick soup.
00:41You waste a lot of fuel trying to fly through it horizontally.
00:47By launching vertically, you cut through the thickest part of the atmosphere as quick as possible.
00:53Most orbital rockets begin tilting toward the horizon soon after they leave the launch pad.
00:58This maneuver, called a gravity turn, uses the planet's gravity to turn the ship and reduces the amount of fuel
01:05needed to achieve a stable orbit.
01:07When launching near the equator, your gravity turns should point toward the east since your vehicle gets a free boost
01:13from the planet's rotation.
01:15Thanks, planet!
01:17Once a vehicle is moving quickly enough that its arc will take it above the atmosphere, it shuts down its
01:22engines and coasts to space.
01:24Once it nears the top of that arc, the vehicle needs to fire its engines a second time to keep
01:29itself from falling back down to the planet.
01:32Doing this turns that arc into a nice big circle.
01:36Congratulations!
01:37You've missed the ground.
01:40Thank you very much.
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