Dv Tools Mfd

DVToolsMFD User Manual 2012 Mark Herzig 1

Delta-V Tools MFD (DVToolsMFD) User Manual

Version 1.0 for Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010

Copyright 2012 Mark Herzig 31 March 2012

Contents

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2

2 System Requirements ............................................................................................................ 2

3 Installation .............................................................................................................................. 2

4 Thrusters Program ................................................................................................................ 3

4.1 Recording Delta-V Usage ................................................................................................ 6

5 Calculators Program ............................................................................................................. 9

5.1 Delta-V Calculator ......................................................................................................... 13

5.2 Altitude Change Calculator ............................................................................................ 17

5.3 Vessel Docking Calculator ............................................................................................. 20

5.4 AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator ....................................................................................... 22

5.5 AeroBrake Landing Calculator ...................................................................................... 26

5.6 Powered Deorbit Calculator ........................................................................................... 30

5.7 Powered Landing Calculator .......................................................................................... 33

6 Tutorials ............................................................................................................................... 36

6.1 Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial .............................................................................. 36

6.2 ISS Synchronization Tutorial ......................................................................................... 43

6.3 Moon Landing Tutorial .................................................................................................. 49

6.4 Earth Landing Tutorial ................................................................................................... 59

6.5 Mars Landing Tutorial ................................................................................................... 76

Appendix A Recommended Plugins ...................................................................................... 94

Appendix B Thrusters ............................................................................................................ 95

Appendix C IMFD Course Delta-V Program ...................................................................... 96

Appendix D Terms of Use .................................................................................................... 102


1 Introduction

Delta-V Tools MFD consists of two programs:

Thrusters Program: A program to monitor Delta-V usage.

Calculators Program: A set of sub-programs to help calculate Delta-V parameters and time

to burn for typical orbital maneuvers.

2 System Requirements

This software is created for Martin Schweigers Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010. Earlier

versions of Orbiter are not supported.

DVToolsMFD is best viewed in generic (glass) cockpit view with a minimum resolution of

1600x1200.

3 Installation

To install DVToolsMFD, unpack the software package in the Orbiter installation folder.

Maintain directory structure.

To activate DVToolsMFD, go to the Modules tab on the Orbiter Launchpad. Select

DVToolsMFD to activate it.

To launch DVToolsMFD select Delta-V Tools from the Orbiter MFD menu.

To follow the tutorials in this manual or use the accompanying scenarios you will need to install

the plugins specified in Appendix A.


4 Thrusters Program

The thrusters program is the default program loaded when DVToolsMFD is launched. Realtime

mode is the default mode. NOTE: When this program is launched the main thrusters are fired

very quickly because certain vessels (such a DeltaGliderIV-2) report invalid thruster information

until the main thruster has been fired at least once. In testing no observable changes to vessel

position have been seen as a result of this.

Layout (shared by all modes):

Function Buttons (shared by all modes):

Shift-G PRG Toggle the program (Thrusters Program, Calculators Program).

Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Realtime, Max, Max Vacuum, Hypothetical).

Shift-R REC Start/Stop recording Delta-V usage.

Shift-A ABT Displays software version information.

List of Thrusters:

The list of thrusters displayed is described in Appendix B. Descriptions of each of the columns

are below. Differences between the modes are noted in the descriptions.

Name: The name of the thruster which will be one of the thrusters listed in Appendix B.

List of thrusters

List of propellants

Vessel mass

Mode


Id: The Id of the propellant (fuel) source feeding this thruster (i.e. the fuel source this

thruster is attached to). This Id will correlate to an Id in the List of propellants.

Thrust (N): Thrust (force) in Newtons. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the

current thrust being produced. In Max mode this is the maximum thrust this thruster can

produce in the current environment (for example, atmospheric pressure affects thrust). In

Max Vacuum mode this is the maximum thrust this thruster can produce in a vacuum.

NOTE: In testing it appears some vessels (such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate

between Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust, so for these vessels these two modes will

display the exact same information.

Ve (m/s): Effective exhaust velocity (specific impulse as a speed) in meters/second. NOTE:

In testing it appears some vessels (such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate between

Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust, so for these vessels these two modes will display the

exact same information.

Mf (kg/s): Mass flow in kilograms/second. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the

current mass flow. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass flow for this

thruster.

Bt (s): Burn time in seconds. In Realtime mode this is how long you could burn this thruster

if you were to burn only this thruster right now. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime

mode except the hypothetical burn time calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted

from the burn time displayed in Realtime mode. If you have not performed any calculations

using the Calculators Program (i.e. hypothetical burn time is 0), then Realtime and

Hypothetical mode will display the same value. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is how

long you could burn this thruster if you were to burn just this thruster with a fully loaded

vessel. NOTE: When in Realtime or Hypothetical mode you will notice when you burn a

single thruster the burn time of all other thrusters using the same fuel source will decrease

even though they are not being used.

Dv (m/s): Delta-V in meters/second. In Realtime mode this is the Delta-V remaining if you

were to burn only this thruster right now. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode

except the hypothetical Delta-V calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the

current remaining Delta-V. This is useful if you want to see how much Delta-V would be

remaining if you were to hypothetically perform the maneuver as calculated by the

Calculators Program. In Max mode this is the maximum Delta-V available in the current

environment with a fully loaded vessel. In Max Vacuum mode this is the maximum Delta-V

available in a vacuum with a fully loaded vessel. NOTE: In testing it appears some vessels

(such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate between Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust,

so for these vessels these two modes will display exactly the same information.


T%: Percent of maximum thrust. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the current

percent of maximum thrust (100 means the thruster is being currently run at maximum and 0

means it is currently not running). In Max and Max Vacuum modes 100 will always be

displayed.

List of Propellants:

This is the list of propellant (fuel) sources that are available to the vessel. The number of fuel

sources will vary depending on the vessel. Descriptions of each of the columns are below.

Differences between the modes are noted in the descriptions.

Id: The Id of this propellant (fuel) source. This Id will correlate to the Id in the list of

thrusters. Multiple thrusters can share the same fuel source. The row with an Id of Total is a

sum of all of the fuel sources. NOTE: Some vessels have fuel sources that are not used by

any of the listed thrusters.

Mass (kg): Mass in kilograms. In Realtime mode this is the amount of fuel currently

remaining. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical fuel mass

used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the mass of the fuel

currently remaining. This is useful if you want to see how much fuel would remain if you

were to hypothetically perform the maneuver as calculated by the Calculators Program. In

Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum amount of fuel that can be stored in this

fuel source.

Efficiency: Fuel source efficiency. This number is used to calculate the effective exhaust

velocity of any thrusters using this fuel source. The higher the number, the more efficient the

fuel source is. For example, the same thruster attached to a fuel source with an efficiency of

1.0 will have a lower effective exhaust velocity then if it were attached to a fuel source with

an efficiency of 1.1. And it will burn fuel more quickly (have a higher mass flow) if attached

to a fuel with an efficiency of 1.0 versus being attached to a fuel source with an efficiency of

1.1.

Mf (kg/s): Mass flow in kilograms/second. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the

current mass flow. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass flow for this

fuel source, which is the sum of all thrusters using this fuel source running simultaneously at

maximum thrust.

Rem%: Percentage of fuel remaining. In Realtime mode this is the percentage of fuel

currently remaining. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical

fuel used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the fuel currently

remaining. In Max and Max Vacuum modes 100.00 will always be displayed.

Vessel Mass:

Two rows are displayed.


Vessel Empty Mass: The mass of the vessel when empty (i.e. the dry mass where the total

mass of all fuel sources would be 0). The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the

vessel total mass that is not fuel. As fuel is used, this percentage will increase. If all fuel has

been used this percentage should be 100.00.

Vessel Total Mass: The total mass of the vessel. In Realtime mode this is the current mass

of the vessel. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical fuel

mass used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the current mass of

the vessel. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass of the vessel (all fuel

sources are full). The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the maximum mass of

the vessel. For Max and Max Vacuum modes this will always be 100%.

4.1 Recording Delta-V Usage

Recording Delta-V usage is the only user action available from the Thrusters Program. To begin

recording press the REC function button (Shift-R). You can begin recording in any of the modes.

While recording is in process the display will have a red REC in the upper right hand corner as

shown here:

To stop recording press the REC function button (Shift-R) again. You will see the Thrusters

Recorded screen as shown here:

Recording in progress


DVToolsMFD calculates the mass difference from the start and stop of recording. Then the

rocket equation is used to generate the Thrusters Recorded display. So when you burn any

thruster attached to a specific fuel source, Delta-V will be displayed for all active thrusters

attached to the fuel source, including those not used.

Only the main thrusters where used in the recording test used to generate the screenshot above.

The retro thrusters and hover thrusters are attached to the same fuel source, so hypothetical

Delta-V will be recorded for them. Nothing was recorded for retro thrusters because the retro

thrusters were closed. The hover thrusters where open and hypothetically if the same amount of

fuel (302.61 kg) was used by the hover thrusters, then you would have had to burn the hover

thrusts for 30 seconds to burn the same amount of fuel. And the Delta-V would be the same (392

m/s).

RCS thrusters where not used in the recording test used to generate the screenshot above. The

RCS thrusters are attached to a different fuel source then the main thrusters. Therefore the mass

of the fuel source attached to the RCS thrusters remained the same (593.53 kg) while the total

mass of the vessel decreased (from 20,200.22 kg to 19,894.26 kg). Therefore once recoding has

ended there is 12 m/s additional Delta-V available to the RCS thrusters as calculated by the

rocket equation.

NOTE: Press the MOD function button (Shift-M) to exit the Thrusters Recorded display and

return to the last mode.

List of Thrusters:

Delta-V of 392 m/s by burning

main thrusters for 20 seconds

Hover thrusters where not used

during recording, but since

mass change is used for

calculations this is the

hypothetical Delta-V had the

hover thruster been burned

instead

RCS thrusters where not used

during recoding, but since total

mass decreased and the mass

of the RCS fuel source did not

change, RCS thrusters gained

12 m/s Delta-V


Only differences between the standard modes are listed here:

Thrust (N): The amount of thrust at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was not

being used, 0 will be displayed.

Mf (kg/s): The mass flow at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was not being

used, 0 will be displayed.

Bt (s): The amount of time the thruster was burned during recording. As mentioned above

this can be hypothetical.

Dv (m/s): The Delta-V lost or gained during recording. As mentioned above this can be

hypothetical.

T%: The percent of maximum thrust at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was

not being used, 0 will be displayed.

List of Propellants:


Mass (kg): The mass of the fuel source at the time recoding was stopped.

Mf (kg/s): The mass flow of the fuel source at the time recoding was stopped.

Rem%: The percentage of fuel remaining at the time recording was stopped.

Dp (kg): Change in fuel mass in kilograms. This is the amount of fuel used during

recording.

Vessel Mass:


Vessel Empty Mass: The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the vessel total

mass that is not fuel at the time recording was stopped.

Vessel Total Mass: The total mass of the vessel at the time recording was stopped.


5 Calculators Program

The calculators program is a collection of sub-programs that perform Delta-V calculations for

various orbital maneuvers. Navigation between the Thrusters Program and the Calculators

Program as well as navigation between Calculators Program sub-programs is depicted below.

Thrusters Program

Calculators Program

Delta-V Calculator Altitude Change

Calculator

PRG

MOD

Vessel Docking

Calculator

AeroBrake Deorbit

Calculator

Powered Deorbit

Calculator

Target Dialog

AeroBrake Landing

Calculator

Powered Landing

Calculator

Surface Base

(atmosphere)

Surface Base

(no atmosphere)

TGT

TGT TGT

Vessel

MOD MOD

A/P

A/P

Blank (no

target)


Target Dialog

The target dialog is accessed by pressing the TGT function button (Shift-T). You can target the

following objects:

Vessel: Enter the name of the vessel you want to target. For example, ISS.

Surface Base: Enter the name of the surface base you want to target. For example, Brighton

Beach.

Surface Base Pad X: Enter the name of the surface base with a Pad X suffix to target a

specific launch pad on a surface base. For example, Brighton Beach Pad 6.

Surface Base Runway X: Enter the name of the surface base with a Runway X suffix to

target a specific runway on a surface base. For example, Cape Canaveral Runway 33.

Additional notes about the target dialog:

Leave the target blank to deselect a target and return to the Delta-V Calculator.

You cannot target a specific latitude/longitude.

You can only target surface bases on the surface closest to the current vessel position. For

example, if your vessel is closest to the Moon, then you would not be able to target Cape

Canaveral, but you would be able to target Brighton Beach.

DVToolsMFD reads the appropriate configuration files to determine if a targeted launch pad

or runway is valid. So if configuration files are not in the standard location, or the

configuration files for a surface base are not named using the recommended naming

conventions, then DVToolsMFD will not be able to find the specified launch pad or runway.

Thruster Selection

The currently selected thruster is displayed in yellow in the lower right hand corner of the

display. The selected thruster will be used to perform all calculations.

You can change the currently thruster using the TH- function button (Shift-R) or TH+ function

button (Shift-H). The list of available thrusters is described in Appendix B.

Setting Inputs

Most of the sub-programs have inputs that can be set. Use the PRV function button (Shift-P) or

NXT function button (Shift-N) to select an input. The value of the currently selected input will be

displayed in white.

Press the SET function button (Shift-S) to change the currently selected input. This will pop up a

dialog. In parenthesis next to the dialog name will be the expected input(s). Enter the desired

value in the dialog and press the Enter key on your keypad to apply your selection. If you want


to close the dialog without entering a value (you want to cancel), press the Esc key on your

keypad.

Function Buttons

All of the sub-programs have the same set of function buttons. Not all of the function buttons

are used by every sub-program. For example, the REL function button (Shift-B) is not use by the

Delta-V Calculator.

The Function Buttons section in each of the sub-program sections below will explicitly point out

which function buttons are not used by that specific sub-program.

Target Location Markers

Some fields in the AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing Calculator will contain

target location markers. The exact fields are pointed out in the respective sections below.

Target location markers provide a visual clue to the location of the selected target relative to the

current velocity of the vessel.

The definitions of the target location markers are:

^> The target is in front and to the right

v> The target is behind and to the right


Limitations

All sub-programs share the same internal calculator, so switching modes will reset the inputs.

For example if you entered a Delta-V of 100 in the Delta-V Calculator and then pressed the

MOD function button (Shift-M) to use the Altitude Change Calculator and then pressed the MOD

function button (Shift-M) to go back to the Delta-V Calculator, the Delta-V will be reset to 0

(instead of the previously entered 100).


5.1 Delta-V Calculator

The Delta-V Calculator is a generic Delta-V Calculator. You only need to provide one input

parameter and the Delta-V Calculator will calculate all other parameters.

Layout:

Function Buttons:


Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Delta-V Calculator, Altitude Change Calculator).

Shift-P PRV Select the previous input.

Shift-N NXT Select the next input.

Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the currently selected input.

Shift-T TGT Launches the Target Dialog.

Shift-R TH- Select the previous thruster from the list in Appendix B.

Shift-H TH+ Select the next thruster from the list in Appendix B.

Shift-L H/V Function is not used.

Shift-D A/P Function is not used.

Shift-B REL Function is not used.


Only set one of

these inputs and the

rest of them are

calculated

Sub-program name

Selected thruster Surface reference

Thruster level to use

in calculations

Calculated outputs

Real-time state of

the vessel and

selected thruster


Hypothetical Delta-V:

This section is an input and output section. These are mutually exclusive in that setting an input

will cause all other inputs in this section to be re-calculated (exception being Start Speed and

End Speed which can be set independently). These are hypothetical values meaning they reflect

the state of the vessel if the burn were to be performed. Descriptions of each of the fields are

below.

Delta-V (m/s): Delta-V of the hypothetical burn.

Burn Time (s): The duration of the hypothetical burn.

Total Mass (s): The mass of the vessel at the end of the hypothetical burn.

Start Speed (m/s): The expected vessel speed in a vacuum at the start of the hypothetical

burn. If not explicitly set this will be calculated as 0.

End Speed (m/s): The desired vessel speed in a vacuum at the end of the hypothetical burn.

If not explicitly set this will be calculated as the Start Speed + Delta-V.

Hypothetical Thrust:

This section allows you to adjust the percent of maximum thrust for the selected thruster that will

be used in the calculations. These are mutually exclusive in that setting one will cause the other

to be re-calculated. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Thruster Level (%): The percentage of maximum thrust for the selected thruster. Setting

this will set the Acceleration that will be produced at the current vessel mass.

Acceleration (m/s): The desired acceleration from the selected thruster. Setting this will

adjust the Thruster Level to produce the desired acceleration at the current vessel mass.

Other than a number, you can enter g for acceleration of gravity currently being applied to

your vessel at your current location. You can enter s for acceleration due to gravity at the

surface (i.e. altitude of 0) of the reference surface closest to your vessel.

Current Vessel State:

This section displays real-time state of the vessel and the currently selected thruster.

Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Thruster Level (%): The current percentage of maximum thrust for the selected thruster.

Thrust (N): The current thrust being produced by the selected thruster.

Total Mass (kg): The current vessel mass.

Acceleration (m/s): The current acceleration being produced by the selected thruster.

Mass Flow (kg/s): The current mass flow being produced by the selected thruster.


Propellant Mass (kg): The current mass of the fuel source attached to the selected thruster.

Hypothetical Vessel State:

This section displays outputs as calculated. This is the hypothetical state of the vessel if the burn

where to be performed as specified by the inputs entered into the calculator (in the Hypothetical

Delta-V and Hypothetical Thrust sections). Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Thrust (N): The hypothetical thrust that would be produced if the hypothetical burn were to

be performed. This is a function of the inputted thruster level.

Acceleration (m/s): The acceleration at the end of the hypothetical burn. This would be the

maximum acceleration that occurs at the very end of the burn when the vessel mass is at its

lowest.

Mass Flow (kg/s): The mass flow during the hypothetical burn. This is a function of the

inputted thruster level.

Propellant Mass (kg): The mass of the fuel source attached to the selected thruster after the

hypothetical burn completes (i.e. the amount of fuel that would remain after the burn).

Delta-Propellant (kg): The amount of fuel required to perform the hypothetical burn.

Burn Distance (km): The distance the vessel would travel in a vacuum during the duration

of the hypothetical burn.

Example Calculations

How long will I need to burn the main thrusters at 100% to apply a Delta-V of 1000 m/s?

o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Main is the selected thruster.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Delta-V is selected.

o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 1000 in the dialog and press the Enter

key on your keypad.

o Burn Time in the Hypothetical Delta-V section will have the answer.

What is the Delta-V if I burn the retro thrusters at 90% until the vessels mass is 20,000 kg?

o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Retro is the selected thruster.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Total Mass is selected.

o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 20000 in the dialog and press the Enter

key on your keypad.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Thruster Level is selected.


o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 90 in the dialog and press the Enter key

on your keypad.

o Delta-V in the Hypothetical Delta-V section will have the answer.

How much propellant will I use if I burn the Hover thrusters for 500 seconds at a level to

maintain current altitude?

o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Hover is the selected thruster.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Burn Time is selected.


on your keypad.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Acceleration is selected.

o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type g in the dialog and press the Enter key

on your keypad. NOTE: g will set the desired acceleration to current gravity which

will be the amount of hover thrust required to offset gravity.

o Delta-Propellant in the Hypothetical Vessel State section will have the answer

(NOTE: This is an estimate since the amount of thrust needed to maintain current

altitude will change as your vessel mass decreases).

How far will my vessel travel in a vacuum if I were to burn RCS linear thrusters to decrease

my speed from 20 m/s to 10 m/s?

o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Tran-B is the selected thruster.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Start Speed is selected.


on your keypad.

o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until End Speed is selected.


on your keypad.

o Burn Distance in the Hypothetical Vessel State section will have the answer.

Tutorials

See Mars Landing Tutorial.


5.2 Altitude Change Calculator

The Altitude Change Calculator calculates the amount of Delta-V and the exact time to perform

a burn to raise or lower your periapsis or apoapsis.

Layout:

Function Buttons:













Sub-program name


in calculations

Set either the

desired Periapsis or

Apoapsis

Surface reference Selected thruster Current real-time

state of vessel

Delta-V required for

hypothetical altitude

change

Calculated burn

parameters that can

be entered into the

IMFD Course Delta-

V program


Hypothetical Altitude:

This section is an input section. These are mutually exclusive in that setting the Periapsis will

cause the Apoapsis to default to the current apoapsis. And setting the Apoapsis will cause the

Periapsis to default to the current periapsis. Also note that if you set the Periapsis to an

altitude greater than the current apopasis altitude and perform the burn, then the old periapsis

will become the new apoapsis. And if you set the Apoapsis to an altitude less than the altitude

of the current periapsis altitude and perform the burn, then the old apoapsis will become the new

periapsis. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Periapsis (km): The desired periapsis altitude.

Apoapsis (km): The desired apoapsis altitude.


See Delta-V Calculator Hypothetical Thrust section.

Current Vessel State:

This section displays real-time state of the vessel. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Periapsis (km): The vessels current periapsis altitude.

Time To Periapsis (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the current periapsis.

Apoapsis (km): The vessels current apoapsis altitude.

Time To Apoapsis (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the current apoapsis.

Eccentricity: Current orbit eccentricity.

Hypothetical Delta-V:

This section displays the hypothetical Delta-V as calculated from the inputs entered into the

calculator (in the Hypothetical Altitude and Hypothetical Thrust sections). Descriptions of each

of the fields are below.

Delta-V (m/s): Delta-V of the hypothetical burn.



Burn Parameters:

This section displays calculated burn parameters. These are calculated from the inputs entered

into the calculator (in the Hypothetical Altitude and Hypothetical Thrust sections). These are

intended to be entered into the IMFD Course Delta-Velocity program as described in Appendix

C.

Tutorials

See Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial.


5.3 Vessel Docking Calculator

The Vessel Docking Calculator calculates the time to perform a burn and the length of the burn

to synchronize your vessel speed with the target vessel at the desired distance. This calculator is

only available if the target is another vessel.

Layout:

Function Buttons:



Shift-P PRV Function is not used.

Shift-N NXT Function is not used.

Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the End Speed.







Sub-program name

The desired target

relative speed

The vessel state

relative to the target

at the end of the

burn if you were to

burn right now,

including burn

parameters

Selected thruster Surface reference Selected target

The current real-

time vessel state

relative to the target



Hypothetical State Inputs:

This section is an input section. This is a hypothetical value meaning it reflects the state of the

vessel if the burn were to be performed. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button

(Shift-P) and NXT function button (Shift-N) do nothing. Description of the only field is below.

End Speed (m/s): The desired target relative speed.

Current State:

This section displays real-time state of the vessel relative to the selected target. Descriptions of

each of the fields are below.

Target Distance (km): The current distance from the vessel to the selected target.

Relative Speed (m/s): The vessels current relative speed to the selected target.

Time To Target (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the selected target.

Hypothetical State:

This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel and the required burn parameters. These

fields will turn yellow when you are nearing the burn. These fields will turn red if you have

passed the burn time, meaning you will overshoot the selected target. A couple ways to use this

is to time a burn to end at certain distance from the target by performing the burn when Target

Distance is the distance you want to be from the target. Or you can wait until Time To Burn is

0 and burn so that you will end up directly on the target. Descriptions of each of the fields are

below.

Target Distance (km): The distance from the vessel to the selected target if the burn were

to be performed right now. This updates in real-time and will decrease as you approach the

target.

Time To Burn (s): The amount of time before you must perform the hypothetical burn in

order to reach your desired end speed at a distance of 0 km to the selected target (i.e. you will

be at the same position as the target).


Tutorials

See ISS Synchronization Tutorial.


5.4 AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator

The AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator calculates the exact time to perform a deorbit burn to allow

aerobrake reentry to be performed to land at the desired target. The AeroBrake Deorbit

Calculator is intended to be used with the AeroBrakeMFD. The AeroBrakeMFD is used to

calculate the aerobrake reentry trajectory based on the desired Delta-V and angle of attack (AoA)

as provided as inputs to the AeroBrakeMFD.

Layout:

Function Buttons:


Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator, AeroBrake Landing Calculator).






Selected target Surface reference Selected thruster

Calculated burn

parameters that can

be entered into the

IMFD Course Delta-

V program

Sub-program name

Landing position as

predicted by the

AeroBrakeMFD at

time MJD

Desired distance

from target

Vessel position after

the burn

Current vessel state

relative to target

and current MJD




Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and Powered Deorbit Calculator.



AeroBrake Inputs:

This section is an input section. Even though there are two fields it is a single input. When you

press the Set function button (Shift-S), you must enter MJD longitude latitude in that order. West

longitude or south latitude must be entered as a negative number with no W or S suffix. East

longitude or north latitude must be entered as a positive number with no E or N suffix.


Position: The predicted position as manually copied from the Land Pos predicted by the

AeroBrakeMFD.

MJD: The exact time at which the predicted Land Pos was copied from the

AeroBrakeMFD. The Set dialog will default to the MJD at the time the Set function button

(Shift-S) was pressed. The default may need to be changed to ensure an accurate calculation.



vessel if the burn were to be performed. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button


Offset Distance (km): The desired distance from the target at the end of the burn.

Current State:

This section displays real-time state of the vessel and current state relative to the selected target.


Position: The current vessel position.

Target Distance (km): The distance from the vessel to the selected target using current

vessel radius for calculation.

Target Bearing (): The vessels current absolute bearing to the selected target.

Target Pos: The position of the selected target.

Closest Distance (km): The distance to the selected target at the closest point.

Closest Bearing (): The vessels bearing to the selected target at the closest point.


Closest Pos: The position at which the vessel we be at the closest distance to the selected

target during the current orbit as calculated using orbital math.

Time To Closest (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches its closest point to the

target.

MJD: The current time with precision suitable for use in the AeroBrake Inputs section.

Eccentricity: The current orbit eccentricity which will turn red if the current orbit is not

circular to indicate that calculations are only accurate if the orbit is circular.

Hypothetical State:

This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel after performing the reentry (deorbit

burn and aerobraking). It also displays the position at which the burn must occur. Descriptions

of each of the fields are below.

Position: The hypothetical vessel position

Target Distance (km): The hypothetical distance from the vessel to the selected target.

Target Bearing (): The vessels hypothetical absolute bearing to the selected target.

Burn Pos: The position at which to perform the deorbit burn which is the position where

Time To Burn in the Burn Parameters section reaches zero.

Burn Parameters:


into the calculator (in the AeroBrake Inputs and Hypothetical State Inputs sections). These are


C.

Usage

Press the TGT function button (Shift-T) and enter a surface base runway or pad. For

example, Cape Canaveral Runway 33.

Make sure the closest distance to your target is close enough to perform a landing with the

amount of fuel remaining. For example, in order to perform an unpowered landing the

closest distance to your target will probably need to be less than 20 km. The BaseSyncMFD

can be used to help adjust the closest distance.

For accurate calculations make sure you are in a circular orbit (i.e. eccentricity is 0). The

IMFD Orbital program (Circularize mode) can be used to circularize your orbit. If your orbit

was really eccentric, you may need to use the BaseSyncMFD again after the circularization

burn, as your closest distance may have moved.


Launch the AeroBrakeMFD in the other MFD (the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator needs to

remain open).

Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter the hypothetical Delta-V.

On Earth typically 50-100 m/s will work.

Use RCS thrusters to put your ship at the desired angle of attack (AoA) you want to use

during aerobraking through the atmosphere. For example, with DeltaGliderIV-2 engage the

reentry autopilot P104S40 to set your AoA to 40.

Enter the MJD as displayed on the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and corresponding Land

Pos as displayed on the AeroBrakeMFD into the AeroBrake Inputs section of the AeroBrake

Landing Calculator. If AeroBrakeMFD does not calculate a Land Pos, then you will need to

increase the hypothetical Delta-V (via HDv function button) until a Land Pos is generated.

At this point the AeroBrake Landing Calculator will calculate the Time To Burn in the Burn

Parameters section. You can disengage the reentry autopilot as it will interfere with the

actual deorbit burn. You should also remove the hypothetical Delta-V from the

AeroBrakeMFD by pressing the HDv function button and leaving it blank.

Use the IMFD Course Delta-Velocity program to perform the burn. You need to set GET to

the Time To Burn MJD as calculated by the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator. And set dVf to

the negative hypothetical Delta-V as entered into the AeroBrakeMFD. For example, if

hypothetical Delta-V was set to 90, then enter -90 for dVf. Details about using the IMFD

Course Delta-Velocity program is described in detail in Appendix C.

Once the burn has finished you should reengage the reentry autopilot at the same AoA as

used to calculate the Land Pos.

Use the AeroBrakeMFD to monitor your reentry trajectory. If all was done correctly, you

should end up very near your target with minimal or no adjustments necessary (i.e. you will

probably be able to set the AoA autopilot and sit back and watch the reentry).

Once your reentry is complete you can disengage the AoA autopilot. For example, when

your speed reaches around 800 m/s on an Earth reentry disengage the AoA autopilot.

Bring up the Surface MFD and/or HSI MFD and/or AeroBrake Landing Calculator to help

perform the actual landing.

Tutorials

See Earth Landing Tutorial and Mars Landing Tutorial.


5.5 AeroBrake Landing Calculator

The AeroBrake Landing Calculator can be used to supplement or replace the standard Surface

MFD and HSI MFD to help you land your vessel at the desired target runway at the desired

speed. Unlike the other calculators, the selected thruster does not factor into the calculations.

Instead it assumes an unpowered landing and uses your current horizontal and vertical speed in

the calculations.

Layout:

Function Buttons:


Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator, AeroBrake Landing Calculator)



Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the End Speed.




Sub-program name

Desired landing

speed

Selected target Surface reference Selected thruster is not used


relative to target

Hypothetical vessel

position when you

reach the selected

End Speed if you

were to average

your current

Horizontal Speed

and Vertical Speed



Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing Calculator.

Shift-B REL Toggle between displaying relative bearings and absolute bearings. If relative bearings are selected an R will be displayed next to displayed bearings.




vessel at the end of the calculations. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button


End Speed (m/s): The desired landing speed.

Current State:


Descriptions of each of the fields are below. Note that the interval for calculation speed is longer

than Powered Landing Calculator (5 refreshes vs. 2 refreshes), to provide more stability for

calculating Hypothetical State. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.





Runway Heading (): If the selected target is a runway then this will be the heading of the

selected runway.





target during the current orbit as calculated using great circle math.


target.

Horizontal Speed (m/s): The average horizontal speed of the vessel using the horizontal

distance traveled over the last five refreshes.


Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels horizontal speed is changing.

Vertical Speed (m/s): The average vertical speed of the vessel using the vertical distance

travelled over the last five refreshes.

Vert Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels vertical speed is changing.

Altitude (km): The vessels altitude above the nearest surface.

Course (): The vessels course.

Course Change (/s): The rate at which the vessels course is changing.

Pitch (): The vessels pitch.

Bank (): The vessels bank.

Hypothetical State:

This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel when you reach your desired landing

speed specified in the Hypothetical State Inputs section. Because current vessel state is used in

the calculations, constant acceleration/deceleration is assumed. Therefore the calculations here

are very rough and will typically be fluctuating. And so they should be used as a guideline for

unpowered landings, and should not be relied on solely. Do your best to adjust your vertical

speed and horizontal speed to keep these fields green, which will give you the best chance for a

successful landing. This is intended as a supplement and not a replacement to standard MFDs

such as the HSI MFD. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.

Position: The hypothetical vessel position. This is calculated by calculating the hypothetical

horizontal distance traveled to reach your desired landing speed. The hypothetical horizontal

distance traveled is calculated by multiplying the calculated Time To Land by the calculated

hypothetical average horizontal speed, which assumes constant deceleration.


This will be negative if you are going to overshoot the target (i.e. coming in long).

Conversely, his field will be positive if you are coming in short. This field will turn red if it

is greater than 2,500 meters long or short of the target.

Target Bearing (): The vessels hypothetical absolute bearing to the selected target. This

field will turn red if the hypothetical Target Distance is greater than 2,500 meters long or

short of the target.

Altitude (km): The hypothetical altitude of the vessel. This is calculated by calculating the

hypothetical vertical distance traveled by multiplying the calculated Time To Land by the

hypothetical calculated average vertical speed, which assumes constant vertical

acceleration/deceleration. This will be negative if the calculated value is below the surface


(i.e. coming in low). Conversely, this field will be positive if you are coming in high. This

field will turn red if it is 2,500 meters low or high of the target.

Time To Land (s): The amount of time before your desired landing speed is reached. This is

calculated using the current horizontal speed of the vessel and current deceleration of the

vessel. In other words, constant deceleration is assumed, which is almost certainly never the

case on an unpowered landing. So this will fluctuate as you land.

Tutorials

See Earth Landing Tutorial.


5.6 Powered Deorbit Calculator

The Powered Deorbit Calculator calculates the amount of Delta-V and the exact time to perform

a burn to approach the specified target at the desired end speed and distance from the target. The

formulas used by this calculator were derived using trendlines from data gathered from repeated

Moon landings under varying scenarios. This differs from all other calculators in which

calculations are from known physics formulas. As a result, its use on surfaces other than the

Moon may be inaccurate and is not recommended. Even on the Moon inaccuracies may occur.

Layout:

Function Buttons:


Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Powered Deorbit Calculator, Powered Landing CalculatorAeroBrake Landing Calculator).






Desired distanced

and speed from

target at end of

deorbit burn

Sub-program name


in calculations

Vessel position at

burn and after burn


relative to target

Calculated burn

parameters that can

be entered into the

IMFD Course Delta-

V program





Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and Powered Deorbit Calculator.




This section is an input section. This is a hypothetical value meaning it reflects the desired state

of the vessel after the calculated deorbit burn completes. Descriptions of each of the fields are

below.

Offset Distance (km): The desired distance from the target.

End Speed (m/s): The desired vessel speed when the deorbit burn completes (i.e. the

desired approach speed to the target).


See Delta-V Calculator Hypothetical Thrust section.

Current State:











target during the current orbit as calculated using orbital math.


target.

Eccentricity: The current orbit eccentricity which will turn red if the current orbit is not

circular to indicate that calculations are only accurate if the orbit is circular.


Hypothetical State:

This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel after performing the deorbit burn. In

addition some burn parameters are displayed. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.




Vertical Speed (m/s): The vessels estimated average vertical speed needed to reach the

target following the burn. This is useful to help predict the vertical speed that you will need

to program into a hover autopilot to reach the target. This is a function of the Hypothetical

State Inputs and the hypothetical Altitude (specifically Altitude/(End Speed/End

Distance)).

Altitude (km): The vessels estimated hypothetical altitude.

Time To Closest (s): The estimated time it will take you to reach the target once the burn

completes. This is a function of the Hypothetical State Inputs (specifically Offset

Distance/End Speed).

Burn Pos: The position at which to perform the deorbit burn which is the position where

Time To Burn in the Burn Parameters section reaches zero.


Burn Parameters:


into the calculator (in the Hypothetical State Inputs and Hypothetical Thrust sections). These are


C.

Tutorials

See Moon Landing Tutorial.


5.7 Powered Landing Calculator

The Powered Landing Calculator calculates the time to perform a burn to reduce your speed to

zero and end up precisely on your target.

Layout:

Function Buttons:


Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Powered Deorbit Calculator, Powered Landing CalculatorAeroBrake Landing Calculator).



Shift-S SET Function is not used.




Shift-L H/V Toggle between locking Horizontal Speed or Vertical Speed for Required Speed calculation.

Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing



relative to target

Hypothetical vessel

position if you were

to burn the selected

thruster until your

Horizontal Speed is

0

Required Horizontal

Speed or Vertical

Speed to land at

target, depending

on which one is

locked

Sub-program name


Calculator.

Shift-B REL Toggle between displaying relative bearings and absolute bearing. If relative bearings are selected an R will be displayed next to displayed bearings.


Current State:


Descriptions of each of the fields are below. Note that the interval for calculation speed is

shorter than AeroBrake Landing Calculator (2 refreshes vs. 5 refreshes). Descriptions of each of

the fields are below.









target during the current orbit as calculated using great circle math.


target.

Horizontal Speed (m/s): The average horizontal speed of the vessel using the horizontal

distance traveled over the last two refreshes.

Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels horizontal speed is changing.

Vertical Speed (m/s): The average vertical speed of the vessel using the vertical distance

travelled over the last two refreshes.

Vert Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels vertical speed is changing.

Altitude (km): The vessels altitude above the nearest surface.

Course (): The vessels course.

Course Change (/s): The rate at which the vessels course is changing.


Hypothetical Burn:

This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel if you were to burn the selected thruster

right now until your horizontal speed is 0. This will constantly change as your vessel position

changes. A couple ways to use this is to time a burn to end at certain distance from the target by

performing the burn when Target Distance is the distance you want to be from the target. Or

you can wait until Time To Burn is 0 and burn so that you will end up directly on the target.





Time To Burn (s): This is when you should burn to land directly on the selected target.

Altitude (km): The vessels estimated hypothetical altitude.


Required Speed:

This section calculates either required vertical speed or required horizontal speed to land at the

closest point to the target. Use the H/V function button (Shift-L) to lock either your vessels

current horizontal speed or current vertical speed. The locked speed will be highlighted in

yellow. For example, if you lock horizontal speed, then based on your vessels current horizontal

speed a hypothetical vertical speed will be calculated. This hypothetical vertical speed is the

vertical speed you must maintain given your current horizontal speed, to land at the closest point

to the target. This hypothetical vertical speed can be entered directly into a hover autopilot. The

reason the closest point is used instead of the target point is that the closest point is on your great

circle path. And, if you are going to make a successful landing, the closets point should

eventually be less than 100 meters from the target, or you wont have much success landing.

Horizontal Speed (m/s): Either the vessels current horizontal speed, of if Vertical Speed is

locked then the horizontal speed required to land at the closest point to the target.

Vertical Speed (m/s): Either the vessels current vertical speed, of if Horizontal Speed is

locked then the vertical speed required to land at the closest point to the target.

Time To Closest (s): If your horizontal speed and vertical speed are set to the values in this

section, this is the time it will take to reach the closest point to the target.

Tutorials

See Moon Landing Tutorial and Mars Landing Tutorial.


6 Tutorials

This section contains tutorials of the Calculators Program sub-programs. Before doing any of

the tutorials make sure you have installed the required plugins as specified in Appendix A.

6.1 Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial

This tutorial will demonstrate raising a 30x30 km circular orbit around the Moon to a 500x500

km circular orbit around the Moon. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Altitude Change

Calculator.

Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Moon Orbit scenario. This scenario starts with your vessel in

about a 30x30 km circular orbit (i.e. eccentricity is 0) around the Moon.

The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Altitude Change Calculator sub-

program running as shown here:

Press the NXT function button to select Apoapsis in the Hypothetical Altitude section of the

Altitude Change Calculator.

Our current orbit is

roughly a 30x30

km circular orbit


Press the SET function button on the Altitude Change Calculator and enter 500 in the

Apoapsis dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

Apoapsis is

selected

We would like to

raise our apoapsis

to 500 km

If we burn our main

thrusters for

5.7758 seconds at

any time we will

raise our apoapsis

to 500 km


Replace the Orbit MFD in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to perform

the deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. NOTE: Since you are currently in a circular

orbit you can burn anytime. As a result the Time To Burn MJD in the Burn Parameters

section will be fluctuating and can be ignored. In other words the dVf from the Burn

Parameters section must be copied to IMFD, but the Time To Burn (TEj) can be anything.

Before the deorbit burn your IMFD screen should look something like this:

Once the IMFD has finished the burn, your apoapsis should be around 500 km.

TEj can be

anything since we

are in a circular

orbit, in this case

we just kept the

default

We set dVf to

94.982 in IMFD as

calculated in the

Burn Parameters


Press the PRV function button to select Periapsis in the Hypothetical Altitude section of the

Altitude Change Calculator.

After the burn our

apoapsis is around

500 km

Periapsis is

selected


Press the SET function button on the Altitude Change Calculator and enter 500 in the

Periapsis dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

The right MFD should still be loaded with the IMFD in Burn Vector view. So press the <

function button next to BV followed by pressing the PG function button in the right MFD to

exit Burn Vector view. Then use the IMFD to perform the deorbit burn as described in

Appendix C. NOTE: Unlike the first burn to raise our apoapsis, you must burn at the Time

To Burn MJD specified in the Burn Parameters.

Before the deorbit burn your IMFD screen should look something like this:

We would like to

raise our periapsis

to 500 km

If we wait about

3870 seconds and

burn our main

thrusters for

5.4326 seconds we

will raise our

periapsis to 500

km


Once the burn has completed you should be in roughly a 500x500 km circular orbit.

Set dVf to 89.5383

in IMFD as

calculated in the

Burn Parameters

and TEj should be

within a second of

the Time To Burn


After the second

burn we are in

roughly a 500x500

km circular orbit


6.2 ISS Synchronization Tutorial

This tutorial will demonstrate how to synchronize your speed with the ISS at a distance of less

than 1 km. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Vessel Docking Calculator.

Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 ISS Synchronization scenario. This scenario starts with your

vessel about 70 km from the ISS. The orbit of your vessel has already been aligned and

synchronized with the ISS and we are our on our final approach orbit to the ISS.

The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Vessel Docking Calculator sub-

program running with a target of ISS as shown here:

Press the TH+ function button on the Vessel Docking Calculator to switch to retro thrusters

We are about 70

km from ISS with a

relative speed of

108 m/s which

means we will

reach the ISS in

about 640 seconds


Press the H key on your keyboard until you are in Docking HUD Mode as shown below.

Retro thrusters

have been

selected


Switch to rotational thrusters by pressing the ROT function button in the upper left hand

corner of glass cockpit view.

Use your rotational thrusters (1, 3 for left/right and 2, 8 for up/down) to line your vessels

direction indicator up with the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator

(indicated by the circle with a + in the middle). If this indicator is not visible, its location is

depicted by the arrow with V[ISS] on top of it, as shown in the screenshot above. Assuming

your vessel is in a similar position as the screenshot above, you would need to initially use

left rotation by pressing the 1 key on your keypad, to line up the indicators. Use the 5 key on

your keypad to kill your rotation as needed to fine-tune your alignment. Once they are lined

up, your screen should look something like the screenshot below. NOTE: Directly behind

the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator is the velocity of the ship relative

Your vessels

direction indicator

The velocity of the target relative to the ship is currently not

visible, but is directly left as depicted here by the left arrow

Rotational

thrusters selected


to the target depicted by a circle with a dot in the center of it. If you choose to use main

thrusters instead of retro thrusters to synchronize your speed, then you would line your

direction indicator up with the velocity of the ship relative to the target indictor instead.

Sit and wait until the Target Distance in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel

Docking Calculator is around 1 km. Based on the above screenshot we will have to wait over

600 seconds. Feel free to fast forward time using the T key on your keyboard. Just make

sure you continually make adjustments to keep your vessels direction indictor on top of the

velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator. If you do need to make adjustments it

is recommended you slow time back to normal time using the R key, make your adjustments

and then fast forward time once aligned.

When the Target Distance in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel Docking

Calculator is around 1 km press and hold the Minus key on your keypad to synchronize your

speed with the ISS. You will need to burn for the amount of time specified by the Burn

Time in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel Docking Calculator. You will need to

simultaneously use rotational thrusters as needed to keep your vessels direction indictor on

The vessels direction indicator is lined up with

the velocity of the target relative to the ship


top of the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator. This is a little tricky and

may take some practice.

When the burn if almost finished, you will see the velocity of the target relative to the

ship indicator move rapidly off the screen which means you have synchronized your speed

with the ISS. If all went well you should be within 1 km of the ISS with a relative speed of

less than 1 m/s.

If we burn our retro thrusters right now for 33.44 seconds we would

end up around 1 km from the ISS with a relative speed of 0


The actual docking is left as an exercise for the reader. The Orbiter documentation contains

a tutorial that describes this procedure in detail.

We have completed the burn and

are about 1 km from the ISS with a

relative speed of less than 1 m/s

Now that our speed is synchronized with

the ISS we can take our time to aim our

vessel to the approach path


6.3 Moon Landing Tutorial

This tutorial will demonstrate landing at Brighton Beach Pad 1 on the Moon from a 30x30 km

circular orbit around the Moon in a DeltaGliderIV-2. The BaseSyncMFD was used to get our

current orbit within 1 km of the target. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Powered

Deorbit Calculator and the Powered Landing Calculator.

Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Moon Deorbit scenario.

The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Powered Deorbit Calculator

sub-program running with a target of Brighton Beach Pad 1 as shown here:

In the right MFD launch the COM/NAV MFD and use the function

buttons as appropriate to change NAV1 to 132.20 MHz which is the frequency for Brighton

Beach Pad 1.

Target is Brighton

Beach Pad 1

Our closest

distance to the

target on this

current orbit will be

less than 1 km at a

bearing of 1.52

(typically you want

your orbit to pass

as close as

possible to the

target for powered

landings on a

landing pad)


Our strategy will be to use the Powered Deorbit Calculator to calculate a deorbit burn using

main thrusters to get us around 10 km of our target at a speed of around 25 m/s.

Press the SET function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator and enter 10 in the Offset

Distance dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

Press the NXT function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator to highlight End Speed in

the Hypothetical State Inputs section.

Set NAV1 to 132.2

MHz, which is the

frequency of

Brighton Beach

Pad 1


Press the SET function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator and enter 25 in the End

Speed dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

We have set the

Offset Distance to

10 km and have

highlighted the End

Speed

When the deorbit

burn completes we

want to be 10 km

from the target with

a horizontal speed

of 25 m/s

When the deorbit

burn completes our

altitude will be

around 28 km, and

we will be about

400 seconds from

the target,

requiring a vertical

speed of about -70

m/s to lower our

altitude to 0


Replace the COM/NAV MFD in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to

perform the deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. Before the deorbit burn your IMFD

screen should look something like this:

Once the deorbit burn has been completed by IMFD, immediately engage the H-Level

autopilot by pressing the L key on your keyboard.

Once your ship has leveled with the horizon, immediately press C on your keyboard to stop

the H-Level autopilot. NOTE: You may need to press C twice to disable the H-Level

autopilot. Just make sure that no autopilots are enabled at this point by looking at the

autopilot indicators at the bottom center of glass cockpit view.

Immediately enter p200s8 and press the Return key on your keyboard to load the auto hover

autopilot. Press the E key on your keyboard to enable the auto hover autopilot.

Press the MOD function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator to switch to the Powered

Landing Calculator.

Press the REL function button on the Powered Landing Calculator to switch to relative

bearings, which will help us line our vessel up with the target later.

All autopilots are

disabled

Set dVf to -1644.7549

in IMFD as calculated

in the Burn

Parameters and TEj

should be within a

second of the Time To

Burn


Press the TH- function button in the Powered Landing Calculator until Tran-B appears in the

lower right hand corner. This means that translation back thrusters will be used in the

calculations.

Replace the IMFD in the right MFD with the VOR/VTOL MFD. The VOR/VTOL MFD

should already be tuned to NAV1 132.20MHz, which is Brighton Beach Pad 1. If all went

well, our course should be within a degree of the target, but our vessel will most likely be

pointing in the wrong direction.

Translation back

thrusters have been

selected


Use 1 and/or 3 on your keypad to use rotational thrusters to point your vessel toward the

target. Use the 5 key on your keypad to kill rotation as necessary to fine tune the alignment.

We are pretty much

on course to reach

the target as

depicted by the

yellow arrow on top

of the green line, but

we are pointing in

the opposite

direction

After using rotational

thrusters we are

now pointing directly

at the target but our

course is slightly to

the right, which is

easily adjusted with

translation thrusters


Press the 2 key on your keypad repeatedly until the Vertical Speed in the Current State

section is about the same as the Vertical Speed in the Required Speed section of the

Powered Landing Calculator. It is better to error on a value that is lower than the Required

Speed value as we will be lowering this value later as we get closer to the target to account

for the loss of horizontal speed to land.

Switch to linear thrusters by pressing the LIN function button in the upper left hand corner of

glass cockpit view. If your vessel is facing the target, then you should not need rotational

thrusters anymore.

Use left/right translation by using 1 and 3 on your keypad to keep your vessel in line with the

landing pad. If the target is to the left, then press the 1 key on your keypad to use linear

thrusters to perform a left translation. If the target is to the right, press the 3 key on your

keypad to use linear thrusters to perform a right translation. The idea with the left/right

translation is to get your relative bearing to the target as close to 0/360 degrees as possible.

The relative bearing is depicted by the Target Bearing in the Current State section of the

Powered Landing Calculator.

Linear thrusters

selected

We have adjusted

the hover autopilot

so our vertical speed

is holding at around

-66 m/s, which is the

required vertical

speed to land at the

target given our

current horizontal

speed of 25.789 m/s

Horizontal speed is

locked meaning

required vertical

speed will be

calculated


You will need to turn on the hydraulic power in order to lower the landing gear. Press the F8

key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode. Press CTRL-UP arrow on your

keyboard to go to the upper panel. Turn on the hydraulic power by pressing the HYD

PRESS button on the left hand of the upper panel as shown below.

Press F8 to switch back to glass cockpit mode.

Our landing strategy is to perform our final burn to reduce our horizontal speed to 0 using

our translation back thrusters by pressing the 9 key on your keypad. You will perform this

final burn when Time To Burn is around 1 second as shown in the Hypothetical Burn

section of the Powered Landing Calculator. As you approach the target keep an eye on the

Altitude in the Hypothetical Burn section of the Powered Landing Calculator. You want to

Press the HYD PRESS button to turn

on hydraulic power, once on the light

will turn on to signify it is running

Our vessels relative bearing to the target is about 0 which is also reflected in the

VOR/VTOL MFD by the yellow arrow directly on top of the green line


keep this between 1 and 2 km by using the 2 key on your keypad to lower your vertical speed

as required (this recommendation is to give you a buffer so you dont crash into the ground,

and advanced users can aim for an altitude between 0 and 1 km). You may also need to use

left/right translation by using 1 and 3 on your keypad to keep your vessel in line with the

target as described previously.

As you are performing your burn with the translation back thrusters the information

displayed within the Hypothetical Burn section should remain fairly constant. You should

also see your horizontal speed drop.

If all went well, you should be on top of the landing pad at an altitude between 1 and 2 km.

When this reaches

about 1 second

press and hold the 9

key on your keypad

for about 83

seconds and you

should end up over

the landing pad at

an altitude of about

1.8 km


At an altitude of about 500 km press 2 on your keypad to slow your vertical speed to around

5-10 m/s. If you are beginner, a slower vertical speed is recommended so you have more

time to make adjustments if you move off the pad. Make any adjustments as necessary with

your linear thrusters to keep the cross centered in the VOR/VTOL MFD.

At an altitude around 100-200 km press 2 on your keypad to slow your vertical speed to 1-2

m/s for landing.

When your altitude is less than 100 km press G on your keyboard to lower your landing gear.

Land your vessel, making any adjustments as necessary with your linear thrusters to keep the

cross centered in the VOR/VTOL MFD. If your vertical speed is too high when you touch

down, you will destroy your landing gear.

We have finished the burn with the translation back thrusters and we are 1 meter

from the center of the landing pad at an altitude of 1 km


6.4 Earth Landing Tutorial

This tutorial will demonstrate landing at Cape Canaveral Runway 33 on the Earth from a

311x311 km circular orbit around the Earth that originated from undocking from Mir in a

DeltaGliderIV-2. The BaseSyncMFD was used to get our current orbit within 10 km of the

target (if you will be landing on a runway like we do in this tutorial, you probably dont want to

get any closer than 5 km so you have room to position yourself to land). This tutorial will

demonstrate the use of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and AeroBrake Landing Calculator.

Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Earth Deorbit scenario.

The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator

sub-program running with a target of Cape Canaveral Runway 33 as shown here:

In the right MFD launch the AeroBrakeMFD.

Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter 90 into the Hypothetical

DeltaV dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad. The value 90 was derived from

testing and typically a value between 50 and 100 will work for Earth deorbit burns in

DeltaGliderIV-2. Variations are usually due to differences in vessel altitude. More details

later in this tutorial.

Press the TGT function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter the Target Pos from the

Current State section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator into the Target Base dialog and

then press the Enter key on your keypad (just enter the two numbers separated by a space and

do not enter the degree symbols or comma).

Target is Cape

Canaveral Runway

33

Our closest

distance to the

target will be about

9 km at a bearing

of 356 which is

south of the target

(typically you will

want to be within

20 km of target on

your final orbit

before using this

calculator for Earth

runway landings)


Your AeroBrakeMFD should now look something like this:

Target Pos from

Current State is

entered into the

Target Base dialog

on AeroBrakeMFD


Fast forward time until the green current vessel position maker on the AeroBrakeMFD is

roughly opposite the yellow target position maker as shown here:

Target Position

which is the

position of Cape

Canaveral Runway

33

Hypothetical

DeltaV of 90 m/s =

dVf of -90 m/s

Current vessel

position is opposite

target position

Target position


Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode.

Type p104s40 on your keyboard and hit the Return key on your keyboard. The FC

BACKUP DISPLAY in the mi

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Dv Tools Mfd