Lowest periapsis?

[Meyerm]

I've been messing around the past few days trying to see how low to the surface of non-atmospheric bodies I can get the periapsis (lowest point of orbit). The best I've done is 20 m. high in sustained orbit over the moon. Anyone else gotten closer than this? I love watching my own shadow as my ship comes close to skidding the surface at orbital velocity.

 

[statickid]

Yes I can orbit @ 1 meteron the moon, but it takes constant RCS adjustment. I've even veeery carefully touched my landing gear down. They just disappeared. :lol:

 

[Kyle]

I've done a few inches above ground with a DeltaGliderIV with the gear up around the Moon!

 

[mvronsky]

My best is 2 meters above moon (with constant RCS adjustments)

 

[Artlav]

10 meters, at several times escape velocity, burning the hovers to keep it there:

Of course, that was before Orulex and collision detection...

 

[SolarLiner]

I've done 2 Meters ! Eccentricity of 0.00000 with the periapsis at 2m ... Got an UMmu out, and enjoyed the view ! But I put him down too much ... And he is still bouncing ... :lol:

 

[fullarmor2]

I've done 2 Meters ! Eccentricity of 0.00000 with the periapsis at 2m ... Got an UMmu out, and enjoyed the view ! But I put him down too much ... And he is still bouncing ... :lol:

How is the Commander doing? Is he/she coping with his/her guilt ok? I mean for putting the crew in an unnecessary and extremely dangerous situation AND for losing a crewmember.

 

[vinny5000]

It is a very dangerous stunt you are trying out there! On one of the Apollo missions back in the late 1960s or early 1970s, the CSM/LM was in lunar orbit about 50,000 feet about the surface of the moon.

 

[Meyerm]

I especially love Triton. It's atmo is thin enough to allow a sustained orbit that gets you low enough for the atmo to flip you around, but not enough to slow and de-orbit (at least not in a few orbits). I am trying to beat my record for lowest periapsis though. I don't know about getting it so low I need to stay level with horizon to avoid impact, but close.

 

[Bloodworth]

if you search the screenshots thread, there is a guy here that got a physics grade by doing a 2m high orbit around the moon for 3 orbits...till he made the mistake of trying to change his orbit

 

[Izack]

I used to do this all the time with various vessels. Taking this behemoth down to 50m was interesting:

Even more interesting with terrain to silently scream past:

BGM:

I can't seem to find any pictures of my low-altitude Brighton Beach flybys. You don't realise how fast you're going until you watch an entire bace go by beneath you. It gives that same vague sense of velocity that watching the ISS pass over does.

 

[Grover]

i managed -1m... fine, ok i admit it, i buried myself

 

[dgatsoulis]

I managed -1738 km. Ok, I admit it, I was landed.

 

[sitha241]

I did some low flights on 2-3 m and doing tourist EVA with DGIV..
I did not try it with terrain but I will some day