Re: Orbit calculations

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Mar 08 2001 - 14:53:01 MST


Spike Jones <spike66@attglobal.net> writes:

> Get STK, satellite tool kit. Its an affordable piece of software
> and pretty straightforward to use. Better yet, the equations
> themselves are not that complicated if you want to set up a
> spreadsheet. Do it piecewise in excel, which you already have.

Thanks! I'm already trying out something in Matlab, but I am having
some trouble getting the root finder work with an ugly
function... most likely something that will go away with some work.

> Two comments regarding use of propellants: Robert makes
> a very strong case that we will not want to waste anything
> that is already out of a gravitational well. Secondly, anything
> other than a Hohman orbit is wasteful.

Time can be a rather precious resource too.

BTW, any opinions on whether it is useful to use a nuclear Nerva
rocket or whether plain oxygen-hydrogen fuel works well?

> Of course, if it is just for a roleplaying game... {8-] spike

Well, my gaming group is turning roleplaying into scenario planning
and engineering exercises. The game already involves a business plan
for the space corporation their characters are creating, they are
debating suitable vehicles and launch sites and I have been designing
a spacecraft for them. They are going to be subjected to a lot of
realism... especially of the boredom of staying months in space ;-)

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y


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