Flight Question Is it possible to have Prograde/Retrograde work w/ horizontal attitude?

[Gothmog]

The Retro- and Prograde cockpit controls are extremely useful, no doubt about it. But after executing a prograde or retrograde maneuver you wind up with the planet outside the left or right hand cockpit window, instead of more or less below your seat which would be more intuitive. At least, I think it would be so for suborbital and other near-surface flight operations.

There's no way on Earth I'm up to coding such an adaptation, which is why I haven't put this in the SDK forum. What I'm asking here is whether, without resorting to programming, if it's possible to configure a scenario so that, when I press "prograde", the spacecraft is brought to a prograde attitude, but rolled 90 degrees so that the planet is more or less below my seat, as far as the requirements of being prograde or retrograde allows. So let's say I'm flying the DG in a perfectly circular orbit, then by pressing "Prograde" I'd end up with the spacecraft horizontal and the surface directly under my seat. If in the ascending or descending leg of an eccentric orbit, then the nose would be angled up or down, much like an airplane taking off or landing.

 

[Jarvitä]

No, that has nothing to do with scenarios. While orientation on the axis you're referring to is irrelevant to the prograde/retrograde direction, hence you can still be oriented "prograde" while parallel to the horizon, in Orbiter those two terms are taken to mean your orientation in relation to your current orbital plane, which is orthogonal to the horizon.

 

[emarkay]

Again, not a necropost, but instead of asking the same question in a different way...

Why is it CONSISTENTLY placing prograde/retrograde orientations, in various vessels "wings pointing to the Earth center"? It's too coincidental to meet the answer above.

I know that orientation is not relevant in orbit, but why not wings level or even reversed orientation (other wing to center).

Also to confirm, that "orientation in relation to your current orbital plane, which is orthogonal to the horizon." also means, velocity vector parallel to motion vector, and more specifically, velocity vector opposite to motion vector in retrograde?

Then, again, what does orientation (rotational) have anything to do with velocity vector?

Thanks!

 

[Izack]

Then, again, what does orientation (rotational) have anything to do with velocity vector?

Nothing. That's just how the Dr. decided to write the autopilot. If you don't want to do it that way, orient yourself manually or use AttitudeMFD.

 

[clickypens]

I've always wondered what attitude the Space Shuttle made its OMS burns in, whether belly-down or horizontal to the orbital plane like the Orbiter autopilot

 

[garyw]

the attitude varies depending on what the burn will achieve. The state vectors for the burns should be included in the burn PAD which can be found online.

 

[HarvesteR]

Attitude MFD can put you into a prograde 'wings level' attitude if you want...
The RCS attitude MFD can do it too, but it's attitude hold autopilot is slightly bugged as of now...

I always thought the prograde/retro autopilots were like that to help with keeping you oriented... it's far easier to visualize your orbital plane as being to your sides, stretching out as a horizon, than it being above and beneath you..

The 'wings to center' attitude helps in that the OrbitMFD works as if it were a top-down map of your orbit... which is really more intuitive than a side-view, which would be the case if your wings were level.

IRL, the shutle will orient itself in whatever roll angle works best for it's radio antennas... the wings-to-center attitude is just a suggestion, really... given that Orbiter doesn't simulate radio dispersion... (not that it should... I don't think it's worth the hassle)

Cheers