Question BaseSync v2.3: E/D Switch

[blane]

I tried reading the manual, various tutorials and forum posts but I am not that much smarter: What actually is the difference between a direct and an equatorial approach?

In the BaseSyncMFD it switched the nodes by 90° and the base by 180° -- I am really unsure what that actually means. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Cras]

The short response would be use "E" before you perform your de-orbit burn, and "D" after, when you will no longer pass the equator at an altitude that will do you any good for changing the inclination.

 

[boogabooga]

I could be wrong but these are my assumptions and they tend to work...

If you are in equatorial mode and RInc is not zero, then the latitude of the base is outside of your orbital inclination and you will never pass directly over the base. It's a check to see if you can reach the base at all.

If RInc is zero, and the planet/moon you are orbiting rotates at a reasonable rate, then over the course of a day you should pass fairly close over your base as the surface is rotating under you. (The rotation of the planet "brings the base to you".) You can use the direct approach to fine tune so that you would pass directly over the base. Then deorbit.

The equatorial approach is worthless if you orbit bodies that don't rotate very fast such a Venus or the moon. You have to set up a direct approach right away, and that may take extra fuel.