I followed tutorial 3 on launching bodies at Mars. I get to the step where I’m supposed to target Mars (put the crosshairs on it, right?) and press the 2 key to launch Mimas at it. Pressing the key did nothing. I think this stalled the tutorial before it could end.
Playing around taught me two things:
- The number keys get bound to launching a body only if you select it in the Add palette and press a number key: Select Mimas, press 2, and from then on the 2 key (in Add/Launch mode) will launch Mimas.
- The launch speed (by the time I noticed the option) was set to 10 km/s. This is a radial velocity. +10 km/s sends the body away from the target (if it doesn’t escape, I guess that provides a nice sense of foreboding). Change the sign to minus to throw the rock toward the target.