Orbiter 2010 - A more efficient trip to the moon - Part 1 [TransX]

Channel:

David Courtney

Subscribers:

3,460

Published on December 31, 2012 9:00:15 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IvO9SfA8N0

Game:

Orbiter (2000)

Duration: 22:44

873 views

15

This video was recorded Tuesday, December 18, 2012.

In this video I wanted to show an idea for getting to the moon while saving quite a bit of dV. This is not perfect efficiency, but it is a SIMPLE idea that anyone who is familiar with TransX should be able to duplicate.

Instead of using Burn Time Calculator to figure out the dV cost, you can use this equation:
http://www.braeunig.us/space/problem.htm#4.21

Thanks to Dimitris (dgatsoulis) for giving me the information about that equation.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dgatsoulis

In my flight, I can work out the dV cost like this:
1.) 5.57 (the amount of misalignment according to Align plane MFD) / 2 = 2.785
2.) sin(2.785) = 0.048588
(on a calculator, you just type in 2.785 and then press the sin button. Windows calculator can do this if you switch it to Scientific mode.)

3.) 0.048588 * 2 = 0.09717
4.) 0.09717 * 7765 (my velocity in meters per second according to Orbit MFD) = 754.5

So the amount of dV required for the plane change is 754.5 m/s.

It is worth mentioning that in terms of realistic human space flight, this type of journey would never be considered due to the fact that it eliminates the possibility of a free return trajectory. All manned missions to the moon were set up so that a free return was part of the plan. (We all know the story of Apollo 13.)

If you want to play with these scenario files, you can download them here:

http://db.tt/anctChWD


Add-on MFD's that I tend to use the most:

AeroBrakeMFD: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2139
BaseSyncMFD: http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Burn Time Calculator: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4530
Launch MFD: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2802
Glideslope MFD: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2763

Other Add-on MFD's that I don't use often, but I like them for their specific purpose:

Attitude MFD: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3165
Interplanetary MFD 5.5: http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html
Rendezvous MFD: http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1199
LunarTransferMFD: http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html

Note, the version of TransX that comes bundled with Orbiter 2010 has a known bug that causes it to draw the graphics improperly. (The graphic appears as a solid white circle.) You can read about the problem here:

http://www.orbiter-forum.com/project.php?issueid=564

To work around this bug, I am using TransX 3.13.1.2, which I downloaded from here:

http://orbiter.quorg.org/releases

Orbiter is a free space simulator by Martin Schweiger. Visit the main Orbiter website here:

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk

Download Orbiter here:

http://orbitersimulator.com/orbiter-2010-downloads/

XR2 Ravenstar / XR5 Vanguard by Doug Beachy

http://www.alteaaerospace.com

D3D9Client is a Graphics Client addon for Orbiter space flight simulator It provides basically the same features as the build-in engine of the Orbiter using DirectX 9 interface. That will improve a performance and a framerate especially on Windows 7.

D3D9Client for Orbiter:

http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/D3D9Client/

Be sure to visit the Orbiter online community:

http://www.Orbiter-Forum.com

The program I use to record my videos is called XSplit. (See the link below.) About a year after I bought XSplit, there was a copycat program called ffsplit that was released. ffsplit is free, so you may want to check that out first.

http://www.ffsplit.com

http://www.xsplit.com

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