Question Search for Tutorial Deorbit, Reentry, Landing

[Piranha]

Hey everybody,

I'm an Orbiter beginner and happily finished a mission from KSC to ISS with a DG.
Now I want to fly back home. I searched for tutorials to do this, but I couldn't find some really helpfull. Is there a good tutorial about deorbit, reentry and landing at a predefined location (KSC) on earth using a "standard" DG, without third-party MFD or add-on, just with Orbiter 2010 out-of-the-box?

Greets!
Marcus

 

[blixel]

Hey everybody,

I'm an Orbiter beginner and happily finished a mission from KSC to ISS with a DG.
Now I want to fly back home. I searched for tutorials to do this, but I couldn't find some really helpfull. Is there a good tutorial about deorbit, reentry and landing at a predefined location (KSC) on earth using a "standard" DG, without third-party MFD or add-on, just with Orbiter 2010 out-of-the-box?

I've been working on a video series that is along the same lines as what you're talking about. Standard Orbiter, no add-on vessels or "third-party" MFD's. The videos range from not very good, to possibly acceptable. (I think this one is more along the lines of not very good.)

Having said that, here's my take on Deorbit, Reentry, and Landing without the aid of add-ons.

 

[N_Molson]

The key lies in the S-turns.

 

[Shifty]

There is a checklist mission in the scenarios list for DG re-entry and landing at KSC starting docked at Mir. The Orbiter manual has step-by-step instructions for accomplishing the landing. I had similar issues when I was trying this a month ago. Check out the great community responses on this thread:

http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=432144#post432144

 

[Piranha]

Thank's a lot for the information I'm gonna try that challenge!
@blixel you used in your video the AF CTRL. What's the purpose of that tool?

 

[blixel]

@blixel you used in your video the AF CTRL. What's the purpose of that tool?

AF CTRL enables air surface control. (Elevator, rudder, ailerons). That permits you to steer the vessel through the atmosphere. Even though the atmosphere at 70-80km is extremely thin, there is still enough of an atmosphere for you to work with since you're traveling at such high velocity.

Check pages 117-118 of the Orbiter.pdf in your Orbiter/Doc directory for some info about de-orbit and landing.

 

[Piranha]

Yeah, I've managed a successful trip from MIR to KSC. Not really pretty but good enough. In the end I just needed a short burn to land. Now I have to work on a perfect glide, a landing without the need of fuel and a healthy touch down.
Thank you guys! :thumbup:

 

[vpsj]

Touchdown help?

Hi everyone, I'm new to Orbiter. Just started playing with it. It's highly obsessive!
I've learned how to take off, and how to put the DG into a stable Orbit. I even learned how to de-orbit successfully but one problem I am having is the touchdown. Whenever I try it, instead of landing on the base runway (or on any solid land) it just bounces off the surface and goes back in the air, and then fall back on the surface to complete the touchdown. I've tried the Atlantis touchdown tutorial mission as well but I get the same result(The pre-recorded touchdown is so smooth and perfect though). Is there something I'm missing here? Please do help. Thank you.

 

[asbjos]

Hello and welcome!

Watch that your velocity is not too high. A winged landing on Earth should be at approximately 100 m/s. If it's too high, your wings can generate too much lift and easily bring your vehicle up in the air again. Use the air-brake to slow down before touchdown.

 

[Ripley]

Welcome to OF vpsj!

You have to learn your specific vessel's atmospheric properties (a.k.a. flight envelope) to better manage your energy.
Come in at the runway threshold flying just above the stall limit and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_flare"]flare[/ame] just before touchdown.

Fly some patterns at low altitude, trying to fly as slow as you can without losing altitude.

Remember, when flying very slow (as in landing approaches) you control your aircraft in an inverted way, which might seem a bit counter-intuitive for starters, but it does make sense in the end:
you control your speed with your pitch (pitch up = slow down / pitch down = accelerate), and you control your altitude with your throttle (more power = climb / less power = descend).

Put your Flight Path Marker exactly where you want your wheel to touch down, and keep it there with the above technique.

When you fly high and fast, the normal way of piloting an airplane is:
"If I want to slow down, I reduce the throttle" (and the other way 'round);
"If I want to increase my altitude, I pull on the stick and raise my nose" (and the other way 'round, too).

In landing configurations, it's just the opposite.

Have a read at this mythical tutorial from the old Falcon days:
http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=220432&postcount=12
It's originally meant for F-16s, but it is exactly what I mean.


Disclaimer: I don't know how this tutorial can be tailored to a Shuttle, but I think it gives extremely good basics nonetheless.