Looking for MFDs for launch heading, landing on planets/moons and a mission timer

[startrekmaniac]

Question are there any mfds that will tell me when I need to take off for the ISS the moon mars or any other planet? As well as what direction I need to go to? Is there an mfd that will help me land at a certain spot on the earth moon or other planet? Last is there an mfd that has a mission timer that could be used for any add on?

 

[Kaito]

MapMFD will do 1 of those three Things:
Select your target Orbit as ISS, The moon, or anything, and it will also show its orbit plane. Basically, wait for the plane to cross over your current position, then launch in the same heading (Just as a side note, when launching for ISS, use a heading of 42 degrees, WHEN IT CROSSES OVER YOUR POSITION).

BaseSyncMFD will help you deorbit to a base (i think), but I dont know how to use it (yet)

As for mission timer...I know the DGIV comes with one, along with the XR-5. I dont know if any MFD has it

 

[garyw]

LaunchMFD will do so as well, It's useful for giving a very accurate countdown of when the plane of the ISS crosses the launch site.

 

[startrekmaniac]

whats the plane?

 

[agentgonzo]

whats the plane?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plane_(mathematics)

 

[Dimkin]

Just as a side note, when launching for ISS, use a heading of 42 degrees, WHEN IT CROSSES OVER YOUR POSITION

Suppose I don't know it's 42d. How can I calculate it?
Also, as I understand I can take off from spaceport that never crosses with the ISS is it possible?

 

[TSPenguin]

To understand what a plane is and how to deal with it in orbiter I recommend Orbital Operations.

In order to get to a station that is not in your plane, you either meet with it when you on your plane crosses the station on it's plane or you perform two plane alignment burns.

 

[garyw]

Suppose I don't know it's 42d. How can I calculate it?

Enjo wrote this:
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2464"]Azimuth calculator v. 1.5 - GUI[/ame]

Also, as I understand I can take off from spaceport that never crosses with the ISS is it possible?

Yes, but you will need to do a maneuver to bring your launch into plane alignment with the ISS. That's quite wasteful in terms of prop for the shuttle and less so for DG type craft.

 

[agentgonzo]

Suppose I don't know it's 42d. How can I calculate it?
Also, as I understand I can take off from spaceport that never crosses with the ISS is it possible?

http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Launch_Azimuth

Also, 42° is only if the ISS's orbit is heading in a northerly direction as it passes overhead (towards Ireland). If it's passing southerly (towards Cuba and South America) then use (I think) 137°

 

[startrekmaniac]

English people I don't speak math!!!

 

[agentgonzo]

English people I don't speak math!!!

Yeah, you'll have a pretty hard time being able to calculate anything to do with orbital mechanics if you don't speak maths. I suggest that you read Go Play in Space. It's pretty good at explaining the concepts of space flight to the layman and tries not to be too hard on the maths. If you still can't understand the maths (and are having trouble understanding the concept of a plane), I suggest you play tetris.

LaunchMFD will tell you what heading to fly on to reach a desired orbit or craft.
AerobrakeMFD will help you enter the atmosphere and land at a desired base if you're flying in an atmosphere
LolaMFD will help you land at a base if you are flying without an atmosphere.

 

[startrekmaniac]

will the LaunchMFD tell me when to take off?

 

[agentgonzo]

Yes, There's a value telling you the time until the next intersection of the two orbital planes (yours and the ISSs). Launch when this is about half your flight time (about 300s in the stock DG or DG variants).

 

[garyw]

English people I don't speak math!!!

Nor do I. This isn't maths, this is tools that do the math for you!

 

[HiPotOk1978]

English people I don't speak math!!!

Thankfully for those of us that don't care to do the math, there are several MFD's that will assist you in doing the actual equations. A working knowledge of the terms is pretty much a need to know. Your need to know what an orbital plane is for example to know when and how you can get to ISS.

One of my ReFuel scn's has you launching from the corporate HQ's in Tucson, AZ. But the Moon never crosses directly over the city. What is required is patience to wait for a launch window that brings the plane close to the city, a parking orbit, plane alignment then actual burn to take you to the moon. Knowning the terms is again a must in my opinion, but crunching the numbers is not necessary.

Just my 2 Orbiter MMORPG creds there