Flight Question Daylight Reentry

[tesla77]

Is there a formula for timing reentry to occur during the daytime? Somehow I always manage to land at night at the Cape or Wideawake International

 

[insanity]

Are you coming back from somewhere and going direct reentry, or are you reentering from LEO? Either way it is simple a matter of doing some timezone math against the scenario time to figure out when you perform the burns

 

[Urwumpe]

Is there a formula for timing reentry to occur during the daytime? Somehow I always manage to land at night at the Cape or Wideawake International

Yes - if base is in sunlight, it is day.

 

[tesla77]

Any scenario, really. LEO, Undocking from ISS, Coming back from Lunar surface.

How "simple" is the math?

And do you have the equation by chance?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[TerraMimic]

I don't really use any math to figure it out. I just sit in LEO waiting until Map MFD shows the daylight portion just after it starts over the landing site. Then I start reentry procedures and come down during the day.

 

[insanity]

Well, figure out what timezone your base is in. Then add or subtract the offset based on the scenario time. As pointed out above, MapMFD will visually display this info.

 

[tesla77]

I use BaseSync MFD, so maybe I shound't rely on it 100%
I suppose I coud get close with BaseSync and then wait for daylight with use of map, then align planes. Right?

 

[Spacethingy]

I use a combination of BaseSync- (right at the bottom of here) and [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2800"]Clock-[/ame] MFDs.

ClockMFD has a timezone page so I can see what time it is at my base. Then Basesync tells me all the times (countdown) at which I'll be passing over/near my base. I then simply add Basesync's times to the current time from ClockMFD and pick a pass that's in the day-time.

EDIT: Oh, by the way, !

 

[Cras]

Do what insanity says. If that is too much work, do what TerraMimic says. If that is still too much work, press Ctrl+Q.

 

[TMac3000]

I observe the same coincidence when practicing reentries for the Iron Hill Project. With the Orbit that Odyssey is in, I won't get a daylight landing until May

 

[asbjos]

On earth, you travel over the same area two times a day, one time flying north and one time flying south. So technicaly, you should pass over where you launched from twice a day,one time in daylight and one time at night...

 

[Tommy]

On earth, you travel over the same area two times a day, one time flying north and one time flying south. So technicaly, you should pass over where you launched from twice a day,one time in daylight and one time at night...

Not always true. First, you only pass over a base twice per day if you don't have non-spherical gravity enabled AND have an inclination higher than the target's latitude.

Second, the passes aren't always evenly spread through the day (at 12 hour intervals) so it's quite possible that BOTH passes can occur within a couple hours of each other - and both in darkness.