![]() Think “replay value.” For example, can you keep the two DG’s in chapter 2 docked together and boost them together into a higher orbit? Flight test the thrusters and hover engines in chapter 3 – how good is auto-hover at saving you from a fall? How accurately can you stop over a pad on a high speed run into Brighton Beach? Can you orient yourself pro grade or retro grade without using the autopilot buttons (just using the Orbit HUD and manual thrusters)? Can you launch into a polar orbit of the Moon by launching on a different azimuth (heading, like maybe 0°)? Can you still get back to the Beach from that orbit? Same thing in chapter 4 – fly to Earth orbit on the runway heading (330° or northwest) and see what orbit you get? Can you still align with the Moon from that orbit (big delta-V for that)? Can you still achieve Moon orbit if you add more delta-V (DV+ button) in the Transfer MFD, so the transfer orbit goes even farther beyond the Moon’s orbit? How much time can you save on a Moon trip this way? Variations on a Theme – By this I mean modifying the exercises in this manual in some way. Orbiter comes with an amazing amount of stuff, so once you have learned the basic operations covered in chapters 2-7, you may just want to explore for a bit. Definitely NOT for reentry or landing – it has no heat protection, no hover engines, not even any legs or other landing gear! It does have an excellent control panel with just a single MFD (though it does have a dedicated radar display for keeping track of its position when near space stations, ships, and construction components and debris). It would really need a “mother ship” since it has only thrusters, no main engines, making it difficult to make any large orbital changes. Rather boxy and utilitarian in design, it is an orbital “space tug” for use in construction and for short-haul trips around space stations. Once you have an interest in Orbiter, you’d be amazed at the useful stuff you’ll find in that PDF file.ĭragonfly is another one of the spacecraft supplied with Orbiter. It’s called (logically enough) “Basics of Space Flight.” You could also go really unconventional and read the Orbiter manual. JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, affiliated with NASA and with the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, in Pasadena) has some of the best material on the basics of space flight. NASA has some really good general web sites as well as some great sites for kids (of all ages). It will also point out a few web sites and books that you can use to add to your knowledge of how this space stuff works. This chapter has some tips on other “goodies” that come with Orbiter, as well as information on additional tutorials (there are some really good ones out there). But there are also many other things you can learn, and many ways to learn them. You can also look around for cool add-ons to download and try (see next chapter), or maybe practice and get really efficient with takeoffs, orbits, and landings on the Moon, on Earth, or both. When you have finished the “test flights” in this manual, maybe you will just want to play and experiment on your own. Refer to the page's View History tab to see subsequent changes. It was slightly updated for the 3rd edition. This material was originally contributed by Bruce Irving from the 2nd edition of Go Play In Space. 4.10 Transfer to Moon and Planets from LEO (Precision).4.9 Runway Approach & Landing (DG and/or Space Shuttle).4.7 Synchronize Orbit (Rendezvous)/Dock (LEO to LEO).4.2 Basic orbital operations (orientation, orbit changes).
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