News The Space Shuttle for Flightgear 3.6

Thorsten

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An early morning low-inclination launch, it's still dark on the ground, but the bright SRB flame lights up the clouds...

shuttle_ms13_tal01.jpg


Separation, and the Shuttle proceeds onward into the dawn light, everything nominal so far...

shuttle_ms13_tal02.jpg


... but we lose an engine. TAL abort is declared immediately, and the OMS propellant dump is started. The Shuttle starts to proceed towards Banjul, the standard TAL site for low inclination. Two engines are quite enough to keep us on the desired trajectory, so Africa, here we come!

shuttle_ms13_tal03.jpg


Leaving the US coast, there's already light on the clouds over the Atlantic ocean. If you look closely, you can distinguish the bright OMS and RCS flames of the propellant dump and the nearly invisible flame of the main engines.

shuttle_ms13_tal04.jpg


Darn - we've lost a second engine. Droop guidance engages automatically, pitching the Shuttle up steeply to avoid letting the trajectory fall below 275.000 ft (at this altitude, the ET might blow due to heating). To assist the maneuver, the last engine is throttled up to 109% performance. As the engine consumes propellant, the Shuttle gets lighter so eventually even a single engine can keep us from falling down. Likewise Single Engine Roll Control (SERC) has engaged - by gimbaling the last engine we can control pitch and yaw, but no longer roll, so the RCS jets now fire to do the job. The resulting roll is very very sluggish, so we do not roll to heads-up attitude with the ET attached.

shuttle_ms13_tal05.jpg


... and droop guidance has disengaged we're back on the trajectory. But the droop maneuver costs a lot of propellant, so we won't be able to make it even to Banjul. We're going to have an OPS 3 entry into the atmosphere, which is good, they're less wild than the OPS 6 version, but still - a bailout somewhere over open water is going to be a really rotten prospect, but there's Cape Verde a few hundred miles before Banjul - so we change the TAL site to there and keep our fingers crossed.

shuttle_ms13_tal06.jpg


MECO with little propellant to spare - the next minute is very hectic and shows why there's a commander and a pilot needed - the commander rolls the Shuttle to proper entry attitude, the pilot checks that the ET umbilical doors are properly closing, that the MPS propellant dump is initiated, and then the commander changes to OPS 3 before the atmosphere is felt too much.

shuttle_ms13_tal07.jpg


The heat shield is already glowing before we reach proper entry attitude.

shuttle_ms13_tal08.jpg


Turns out we're still a bit far off - the last resort is to activate low E flight rules. This means rough phugoids - the Shuttle bounces into the atmosphere, back out and falls back in - but this way we squeeze every mile we can possibly get out of the energy we have. The display flashes a high-g warning, entry is still on the rough side...

shuttle_ms13_tal09.jpg


ENTRY TRAJ display shows the rather strange signature of the phugoids...

shuttle_ms13_tal10.jpg


... but eventually we reach the nominal trajectory and can de-activate low E flight rules - back to a nominal entry then - we're going to make it to a solid runway after all, no bailout over open water.

shuttle_ms13_tal11.jpg


The Shuttle banks sharply using nominal entry guidance.

shuttle_ms13_tal12.jpg


Clouds over water seen from the Commander perspective... also note that on the SPI we can see trim is really off, we need lots of ailerons to keep in attitude. That's because we're flying an abort, there was no time to dump the FRCS propellant... About now is the time to activate the ammonia boilers to provide cooling of the systems at lower altitudes...

shuttle_ms13_tal13.jpg


TACAN of Cape Verde is acquired, air data probes are out, QNH at the landing site has been transmitted, a rather surprised controller at Amilcar Cabral International Airport has been told that he'll soon see a Shuttle coming in, all traffic around the airport has been diverted - and the Commander is seeing a nominal TAEM

shuttle_ms13_tal14.jpg


Turning into the HAC, morning light playing across the displays...

shuttle_ms13_tal15.jpg


It's a bit cloudy, broken cover, but we can't be picky now, can we?

shuttle_ms13_tal16.jpg


Descending into final approach...

shuttle_ms13_tal17.jpg



... and landing at Amilcar Cabral International Airport... Well, we were hoping to get into space today, but at least we didn't end up swimming in the Atlantic...

shuttle_ms13_tal18.jpg
 

Thorsten

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A very short flight in the Shuttle with a wet end - 2EO BLUE contingency abort:


Two main engines fail during stage 1, that's in the BLUE contingency region. Guidance immediately lofts the trajectory while the SRBs are still on to get some extra time.

Directly after SRB separation, the Shuttle rolls using single-engine roll control (SERC) via the RCS. That is rather busy doing the OMS propellant dump at this point, because we need to get rid of the extra weight shifting the CoG in a hurry, so it works by extinguishing the jet opposite to the one you'd usually fire.

shuttle_ms13_2eoblue_01.jpg

The remaining engine is throttled to 109%, nevertheless the trajectory prediction looks bleak as we roll into entry attitude...

shuttle_ms13_2eoblue_02.jpg

All the remaining time with the good engine is used to blast towards the horizon and build up some speed to improve the entry phase:

shuttle_ms13_2eoblue_03.jpg

A quick ET separation, of course the propellant dump is not quite finished, so the separation looks a bit unusual...

shuttle_ms13_2eoblue_04.jpg

During Nz hold, we pull some 2.8 g, could be worse, initially elevons are fully deflected without reaching the desired AoA, but luckily that's still enough and as the atmosphere gets denser the control issues get better. Of course there's nowhere to go with the remaining energy, so after the Shuttle gets subsonic, bailout AP is activated to hold a constant descent, and after the call to coast guard, everyone abandons the Shuttle and jumps into the ocean.

shuttle_ms13_2eoblue_05.jpg
 

Gingin

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A quick overview of the last part of Entry preparations done before returning to Earth after our long polar trip.

MCC sent the Deorbit burn datas to the crew.

1wNgWk.jpg


Pre-Deorbit and Deorbit lines from the Deorbit Entry Landing Preliminary Advisory Datas (DELPAD) are filled.
APU start up sequence and decision altitudes in case of engine failure(s) or leakage are now known for a more efficient crew reaction in case of off-nominal Deorbit burn.


IMo7FJ.jpg



Burn in progress

XWKLPD.jpg


LRHXNV.jpg


Entry and TAEM/Landing data’s are summed up on another cue card.
Vs59Cj.jpg


Entry interface with a steep Reentry Angle of 2 ° and nominal range to Edwards.

RohVnP.jpg



Closed loop guidance flying through an Aurora.

d9nFDT.jpg


Alaska sightseeing Tour.

51k78l.jpg


4440 Nm later, while approaching Mach 2.5 , Software goes from Entry soft to TAEM guidance.

cmEhta.jpg



And after 5 mn of iron gliding and a flown Heading Alignment Cone as forecasted by the cue card, wheels are stopped and post landing procedures can begin

4UIl2p.jpg
 

Thorsten

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flight_manual_standard.png


The new version of the FG Space Shuttle Flight Manual corresponding to the milestone 13 is out - get your updated copy here!
 

Gingin

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Some news about some work being done on the dev branch, mainly about TAEM and Entry guidance algorithms.


TAEM and Autoland logic

TAEM and Autoland original logics are now well implemented based on NASA documentations.
More informations and full bibliography are available there: TAEM and Autoland original guidance

It is quite fun to test it with bad weather and low visibility operations.
State Vector needs to be well updated using all the available filters ( Tacan, MLS, GPS, air datas from Probes, …) in order to have a pinpoint landing.

Misty landing and X-wind Autolanding in KSC, wheel into the wind touching first
F9092F9B-AD20-4DBB-89BA-ECA807856E66.jpeg

652061AF-1943-488B-8668-AFEF1F8E08BB.jpeg
F6C79A2E-98BD-452D-BC73-FE28AD40DEBF.jpeg


Cavok and still air Autolanding
A91519FD-F0FA-4AE4-BD56-F964E58BFEC3.jpeg


Night Autolanding and sloped runway qualification in Easter Island
36DF2890-5A8D-4A6B-AD18-7FF6CD042C6C.jpeg

Back to Edwards concrete runway
C3F2D1ED-C0E3-4482-BECE-4A66A0D0A14E.jpeg



Entry logic

Same work was made for Entry logic, based on algorithms used in NASA documentations.
It can handled a wide range of energy conditions, and several abort modes with some additional logic (Trans Atlantic Abort and Abort Once Around)
All the informations there :Entry original guidance

85DD5EDA-0D61-4894-BBA5-4F6817EE930D.jpeg



Boundary between Entry and TAEM ( 80000 feet-ish / Mach 2.5 / 60 Nm-ish) is better handled Energy wise with those new logics.

Right picture: End of Entry guidance
Left picture: New batch of softwares / Start of TAEM guidance / Almost at the true velocity and on the path targeted 4000 Nm earlier.

D84FD5C4-6633-45A2-8E87-8A31D6196A3B.jpeg



Fun challenges ( Short runway / High elevation airfields)

Paro (item 91) Bhoutan
Runway 33 only due to terrain.
It requires some headwind and some short speedbrakes logic.
Manual flare to force a high angle of attack for a low ground speed at touchdown.
Challenging !


BED2959B-77D2-420C-9076-B4E9DFFE07DF.jpeg

635B0E95-D82E-41F1-9D2A-F1F63906224E.jpeg
 

Gingin

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Spring News on the dev branch: https://sourceforge.net/p/fgspaceshuttledev/code/ci/development/tree/

mluTgA.jpg



1)A new Orbital Insertion AP based on the real one used, a deeper version of the Powered Explicit Guidance scheme: https://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Powered_Explicit_Guidanc
A verstatile and powerful tool for nominal operations (Orbital insertion) and intact aborts(TAL and ATO for now).

Complete sum up of the FG Unified Powered Explicit Guidance there: https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=40190


2)RMS cam view:

fgfs-20220217223414.png





Latest screenshots

Nightshift
TCLegL.jpg


Morning Launch
oVrUYz.jpg



Orbital insertion
rbNl6B.jpg

9Fd9Tx.jpg

jYnl0I.jpg


Test phase
RrgLcM.jpg


TAL to ZAZ to test Ascent, Entry and TAEM algorithms resilience.
A true simulator script, with electrical failures and kind of ECAM actions while performing the intact abort.
mDJFRm.jpg


Roll to heads up
8bFebo.jpg

zlDB5a.jpg


Entry
eH17NH.jpg

ggJPwp.jpg



80000 pieds et Mach 2.5, TAEM
gFAhUg.jpg

l4sSpU.jpg


Final
wYYUlI.jpg


20° path, quite impressive view from the Mission Specialist seat
HQSdx6.jpg


Flare
2G2Odw.jpg

2Cpemu.jpg

Ei681l.jpg
 

thermocalc

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Dear FG Space Shutte enthusiasts,

I may kindly need your guidance for buying a new computer, only for simulation purposes, approximate budget 4’000-5’000 euro/dollars, expected life span 5 years minimum.

This is what I would like to run without any frame rates or visual issues in future, enjoying high resolutions sceneries or textures or whatever is there to improve the simulation visual experience.

SOFTWARE

  • The new Xplane 12 and Xplane 11 (=which I already have and run, but only at minimum (medium) default settings for airliners (General Aviations) planes respectively; otherwise, frame rate drops to unacceptable levels to get a smooth flying experience).
  • Orbiter 2016, Orbiter 2016 beta and the future Orbiter when it will be released. (While NASSP v8 still seems to run smoothly on the beta, Mercury by BigMac, SSV by GLS, Soyuz by Diogom are currently very difficult to fly, as the frame rate is too low, movements are not smooth, so I guess as they will be further developed, I will need definitely a new pc to run them, and I want to get ready)
  • Flightgear Space Shuttle – with real grate disappointment, currently I cannot fly it, as frame rates are too low; can only lift off, get into orbit and do orbits operations, tests systems, learn to use checklists, but cannot do any reentry, any abort, as movements are not smooths at all so cannot control smoothly the vehicle -> and this explain why i posted here, as the FG space shuttle MUST BE WORKING in my new pc
  • Re-entry: even if not free I would like to run it, but currently I didn’t dare to buy it as I am sure if it will work on my old pc
  • Latest, I would like to get also Digitial Combact Simulator (DSC) up and running (actually this is my son wish, but I guess I may also enjoy it, as far as the videos i have seen).

HARDWARE

  • I would like to can use Virtual Reality (VR) devices / gadgets for those sims which allow them to be used.
  • connect and use at least 2 or 3 videos to split view while flying (of course monitor costs are not included in my budget mentioned above)
  • connect Radder pedals (=finally opening the doors to helicopters flying) + control stick or yoke + throttle quadrant and maybe others external gadgets for airplane simulators available.

Sorry to take your time to read me, but don’t want get cheated once again buying a medium performing pc, as my new PC should be designed ONLY to run these sort of “games” / simulators, without many compromise configurations to can do a little bit of this and a little of that … (as i was told initially when i got this pc).

of course i am going for a DESKTOP this time.

Looking forward to get the best suggestions from you.

Thank you in advance.
 

Max-Q

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Dear FG Space Shutte enthusiasts,

I may kindly need your guidance for buying a new computer, only for simulation purposes, approximate budget 4’000-5’000 euro/dollars, expected life span 5 years minimum.

This is what I would like to run without any frame rates or visual issues in future, enjoying high resolutions sceneries or textures or whatever is there to improve the simulation visual experience.

SOFTWARE

  • The new Xplane 12 and Xplane 11 (=which I already have and run, but only at minimum (medium) default settings for airliners (General Aviations) planes respectively; otherwise, frame rate drops to unacceptable levels to get a smooth flying experience).
  • Orbiter 2016, Orbiter 2016 beta and the future Orbiter when it will be released. (While NASSP v8 still seems to run smoothly on the beta, Mercury by BigMac, SSV by GLS, Soyuz by Diogom are currently very difficult to fly, as the frame rate is too low, movements are not smooth, so I guess as they will be further developed, I will need definitely a new pc to run them, and I want to get ready)
  • Flightgear Space Shuttle – with real grate disappointment, currently I cannot fly it, as frame rates are too low; can only lift off, get into orbit and do orbits operations, tests systems, learn to use checklists, but cannot do any reentry, any abort, as movements are not smooths at all so cannot control smoothly the vehicle -> and this explain why i posted here, as the FG space shuttle MUST BE WORKING in my new pc
  • Re-entry: even if not free I would like to run it, but currently I didn’t dare to buy it as I am sure if it will work on my old pc
  • Latest, I would like to get also Digitial Combact Simulator (DSC) up and running (actually this is my son wish, but I guess I may also enjoy it, as far as the videos i have seen).

HARDWARE

  • I would like to can use Virtual Reality (VR) devices / gadgets for those sims which allow them to be used.
  • connect and use at least 2 or 3 videos to split view while flying (of course monitor costs are not included in my budget mentioned above)
  • connect Radder pedals (=finally opening the doors to helicopters flying) + control stick or yoke + throttle quadrant and maybe others external gadgets for airplane simulators available.

Sorry to take your time to read me, but don’t want get cheated once again buying a medium performing pc, as my new PC should be designed ONLY to run these sort of “games” / simulators, without many compromise configurations to can do a little bit of this and a little of that … (as i was told initially when i got this pc).

of course i am going for a DESKTOP this time.

Looking forward to get the best suggestions from you.

Thank you in advance.
First, don't buy a PC for this performance this level, build one. It is really easy, and Google can help if you get stuck.
You will get a better deal over a factory built machine and a much higher quality (not junk components) end result.

X-Plane is the most demanding thing you want to run, so build the machine for that.

Now into my hardware suggestions: (Beware, I am in the US so hardware prices might be different here)
When in doubt, overbuild! More powerful hardware than you need right now is never a bad thing...
For the most software you want to run, it is GPU heavy. I wouldn't suggest anything lower than an NVIDIA RTX 2060 or equivalent graphics card with 6+ GB of graphics RAM. As far as VR support, make sure the graphics card you buy advertises that it is VR ready.
X-Plane 11 is CPU dependent, max clock speed is the name of the game here, rather than a bunch of cores. Aim for 4 GHz clock speed or higher. That said, more cores is always good!
You should have at least 32 GB of system RAM, more is always better.
If you want more detailed suggestions, please sent me a PM and I would be happy to help!
 

thermocalc

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dear MaxQ thank you, highly appreciated your words.
I guess i can find some friends who know how to assemble a computer, as far as i know what to buy, as they cannot guide me in doing that as not too much "gaming/simulations" oriented people around me .... so maybe thanks to you i could make a list of things to have and then looking around where to purchasing the components.
but how can i contact you to get your offered help? do i need to click on your profile and click on "start a conversation?
is that a private form of communications?
or can i just put my email here or is it against the forum rules to post emails?
sorry for these stupid questions but really i never contacted anybody before in any sort of forum...i would highly appreciate to get in contact with you.
thank you and sorry to clutter this tread with this hardware related questions....
 

Max-Q

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but how can i contact you to get your offered help? do i need to click on your profile and click on "start a conversation?
is that a private form of communications?
Exactly. Yes, it is private.

sorry for these stupid questions but really i never contacted anybody before in any sort of forum...
There are no stupid questions! :)
 

Gingin

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Some news.

A new display that was available in the latest Shuttle software update (OI-33) which debuted with STS-126: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2008/10/126-debut-oi-33-rco-ability/

It helps with situational awareness for Ascent, Entry and ECAL aborts.
Only the Entry part of the Spec 54 is supported for now.
Not too much datas about it.
Here are the informations about the display coming from the OI-33 update at the end of the latest SCOM.

mZkHd8.jpg



*Three items are available for crew inputs in Spec 54 display (item 41, 1 and 2).
Item 41 will choose the targeted site (and it will update the Entry guidance accordingly).
Item 1 and 2 will allow to select the alternate sites to assess the range / delta azimuth / energy condition.
To use those latest items, the alternate site mode must be activated in OPS 304 display (item 4) (Red arrow).
Two rings with some range indications in Nautical Miles are displayed (4000 / 2000 / 1000 / 500 / 250 / 125).
A white azimuth line links the Shuttle symbol to the targeted landing site.

Pink arrows show the relative position of alt sites on spec 54 and the Shuttle energy status alt sites wise in OPS 304.

VK0xD3.jpg




*Roll reversal lines are displayed to indicate when the Shuttle should roll in the opposite direction for crossrange consideration.
Dashed lines are for 10 degrees roll reversal and plain lines are for actual roll reversal logic (10° or 17°).
First roll reversal will be done at 10° of delta azimuth (left picture).
Then up to mach 4, roll reversal will happen at 17° of delta azimuth (plain lines "open" in the middle picture).
Below mach 4, roll reversal will happen at 10° of delta azimuth again (right picture).

4Dlp4p.jpg



*Shuttle symbol will bank according to real bank experienced.

qpOtzm.jpg



*An overbright blank “+” is also displayed off the nose of the orbiter representing the instantaneous impact point (iip). It represents where the Shuttle would end if nothing was changed to the L/D profile (ie. Shuttle bank roughly).

JL5xr4.jpg



Some screens from a mission to Hubble

On the pad
1677170230098.png

Orbital Insertion
1677170244616.png

Orbital Ops
1677170259118.png
1677170272151.png
1677170281014.png
1677170289816.png


Entry
1677170310346.png
1677170318393.png
 

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Gingin

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A slightly fictionnal video about a foggy autoland using genuine guidance:



A new TAL landing site to Hao in French Polynesia, which would have been a TAL / Emergency Landing Site (ELS) for Vandenberg Launch

TAL test to French Polynesia from Vandenberg.
A quick journey over the Pacific.



Interior vibe
OxKJsZ.jpg

34neeg.jpg


Into the bucket
9XBssE.jpg


SRB sep
3WtcLl.jpg

M2RIzZ.jpg


TAL abort
dSQUSU.jpg


Roll to Heads Up
jCc0Ah.jpg

HWDDbn.jpg


MECO
7cTzc7.jpg


Entry part 1
VMGX0V.jpg

loIDq8.jpg


Thermal stress maximal
1EyQ1F.jpg

iBoByr.jpg


Almost there, Entry part 4
PvYD5E.jpg


TAEM, Hao in sight
cjd7fy.jpg

ref8Gw.jpg


HAC time
dTWG2Z.jpg


MLS active
RnTTMU.jpg


Sunrise at the far side of the world
hLAR65.jpg

DWAjgx.jpg
 
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