Auto Pilot for a Full Trust Intercept

[zc23]

Hi All,

I am new to Orbiter an loving it,
and have had a look but i can't seem to find an auto pilot that does a
Full Trust Intercept. If it has been done and i don't know, please tell me, otherwise i'd like to work with someone to get it done.


What is a full thrust intercept?
basically, i want to be able to specify a target ( ship, space station etc ) and have an autopilot calculate the best vector for an intercept which will have relative velocity as zero to targer at distance x, the actualy flight profile will be to have a full burn/specific accel for half the trip, and full burn/specific decel in retrograde for the second half ( taking gravity factors in accell / decel times as a modifier ) to put your ship as balistically efficently as possible to the intercept, esentially sacrificing fuel for time.

What I "want":
so essentially, there are 2 sepearate programs i could live with:
one being a full intercept as destribed ( select a space station around another planet and go there ),
two being a "basic" version of one, that esentially allows you to specify a destination, eg 500km from mars, and autopilot will plot time to destination, calc new location of destination, calc the the inversion point, and then go full truster or at a set accleration rate, eg 1g. to the destination.


Why?
I believe the next generation of space craft will be powered by and electric style drive, with a fusion style reactor powering it, and i would like an auto-pilot to be able to similate this benifit of constant acceleration.


Let me know of any questions you may have or If it has been done and i don't know let me know, otherwise i'd like to work with someone to get it done as i have no real programing experience with orbiter and c.

Regards
Ash
zc23

 

[tl8]

I have seen one, but its been a long time. Go for a look though Orbit Hangar Mods

 

[zc23]

Re Orbit Hangar

I have seen one, but its been a long time. Go for a look though Orbit Hangar Mods

Thanks tl8,

i have been searching through there and didnt find any even close, i might have missed this one as i was mainly looking for ones for the current version.

But from memory any idea what it was called and if it could do functionally?

ash

 

[mjessick]

Hopefully helpful terminology note: (Spaceflight engineering practice in the U.S.)

"Intercept" doesn't constrain the velocity, just the position. It is used, by, well, interceptors. Solve an intercept problem when you want to hit something: fly through its position with non-zero relative velocity.

"Rendezvous" zeros relative position and relative velocity. This sounds more like what you described (for a trajectory around a single planet part of it, at least.)

 

[tl8]

Found It: http://www.eharm.net/shop/freeware/orbiter/tutorials/orbiter_instrument/direct_method.html
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3034"]Bullet MK1[/ame]
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3165"]Attitude MFD V3.2[/ame]

 

[zc23]

ta

mjessick: noted, thanks

tl8:I have been making the flights manually in the same way as the article for long distance, earth-moon, moon-mars etc, and was playing around trying to do a manual intercept with the iss in the same method.
Which is why i was after an auto tool, so that it becomes more effective pretty much a 1 click for high speed system and orbital Rendezvous.

if something like that doesnt already exist, i will try and make one, but it might take a while since i dont know anything about orbiter programming and orbital mechanics.

ash