• ORBITER-FORUM will be temporarily closed at 2026-07-23 18:00 UTC while we complete some OF maintenance tasks. The amount of downtime is expected to take up to one hour, but probably less.

Orbiter Screenshot Thread

Martin, would it be possible to add Mojave spaceport to your update? It's just a few miles to the northwest.

Presenting: Mojave Spaceport (coming soon)

picture.php
 
Makes me feel right at home. Almost (I'm from Palmdale... AF Plant 42, where the shuttle used to land for repairs, is there; it used to fly right over my house. But still, part of the same valley; I used to hear the sonic booms all day long when I was a kid and the test flying was really in high gear.)
 
Makes me feel right at home. Almost (I'm from Palmdale... AF Plant 42, where the shuttle used to land for repairs, is there;
Only extensive mods took place there. Repairs and other routine maintenance were done in the OPFs at KSC. At least they did up to 2001 when all the work was moved to KSC. Columbia was the last orbiter to undergo an Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) down time at Palmdale (1999-2001). Starting with Discovery's post-STS-105 OMM (2002-2004), all that work was done in one of the OPFs.
 
Only extensive mods took place there. Repairs and other routine maintenance were done in the OPFs at KSC. At least they did up to 2001 when all the work was moved to KSC. Columbia was the last orbiter to undergo an Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) down time at Palmdale (1999-2001). Starting with Discovery's post-STS-105 OMM (2002-2004), all that work was done in one of the OPFs.

It was still impressive when it flew over. And of course the SCA would make touch and go landings there, as well as a host of military craft: C-130s, C-5As, B1s, B2's, TR-1's, F-117A's... Lockheed's Skunkworks is there as well... so a lot of inspiration for me as a kid. (My dad worked at the Regional Air Traffic Control Center just south of the plant. Memories.)
 
That 29/30 runway quality looks real bad ;)

The problem is that the whole spaceport is sitting on a slope, and the 30 runway is more or less following the steepest descent direction. I can't really flatten it without either excavating one end or raising the other end on a platform, both of which look bad. Allowing the slope to persist means that there will be discontinuities in the surface gradient, because of the current 1 meter elevation granularity. This isn't a trivial problem to solve, so for now the runway will remain a bit bumpy.
 
The problem is that the whole spaceport is sitting on a slope, and the 30 runway is more or less following the steepest descent direction. I can't really flatten it without either excavating one end or raising the other end on a platform, both of which look bad. Allowing the slope to persist means that there will be discontinuities in the surface gradient, because of the current 1 meter elevation granularity. This isn't a trivial problem to solve, so for now the runway will remain a bit bumpy.

Welcome to the Antelope Valley. :P

If you happen to throw in AF Plant 42, at least it's on level ground...
 
The problem is that the whole spaceport is sitting on a slope, and the 30 runway is more or less following the steepest descent direction. I can't really flatten it without either excavating one end or raising the other end on a platform, both of which look bad. Allowing the slope to persist means that there will be discontinuities in the surface gradient, because of the current 1 meter elevation granularity. This isn't a trivial problem to solve, so for now the runway will remain a bit bumpy.

Just wondering...
Is there a way to bump the resolution of runways/launch areas up when close,
something similar to the current effects, but obviously with more accuracy. ?

Which probably means having two sets of meshes for a small area!
 
The problem is that the whole spaceport is sitting on a slope, and the 30 runway is more or less following the steepest descent direction. I can't really flatten it without either excavating one end or raising the other end on a platform, both of which look bad. Allowing the slope to persist means that there will be discontinuities in the surface gradient, because of the current 1 meter elevation granularity. This isn't a trivial problem to solve, so for now the runway will remain a bit bumpy.

Would it maybe be a possible solution to define a runway mask for tiles? Like a "Flatten rectangle" operator that is performed on terrain tiles below a runway, so that in result fraction terrain heights are interpolated.
 
LC39A and LC39B for Shuttle Fleet

Hi there, almost ready to release my new Launch Pad for Shuttle Fleet nearly Ready

LC39B.jpg

LC39B-2.jpg
 
Would it maybe be a possible solution to define a runway mask for tiles? Like a "Flatten rectangle" operator that is performed on terrain tiles below a runway, so that in result fraction terrain heights are interpolated.

Too bad he can't factor in the 40mph gusting crosswinds that are a regular feature of the Antelope Valley. ;)
 
I can't really flatten it without either excavating one end or raising the other end on a platform...

You need to flatten the terrain for the entire built up area. Usually you will stop at a wall or fence that's there in reality.
For reference take the level of the main entrance and flatten from there.
Just imagine that you are driving along the road and will enter the base.
In reality there are gentle slopes, yes, but you don't notice them and they will only cause us trouble.

Did that for dozens of building models for Google Earth back in the day and it works well.
 
Last edited:
Too bad he can't factor in the 40mph gusting crosswinds that are a regular feature of the Antelope Valley. ;)

Well, gusts might maybe be a feature for Orbiter 2022 :lol:
 
Back
Top