Progade vs. Posigrade

[Cadet_BNSF]

Recently, I heard the term posigrade for the first time. I personally use prograde, but what do you guys think? Is there a difference beyond spelling?

Edited April 20, 2017 by Cadet_BNSF
Added poll

[Bill Phil]

Prograde is shorter. That's enough for me.

[Cadet_BNSF]

Very true.

[cubinator]

Prograde, because it's standard among KSP players.

[softweir]

I prefer prograde, though apparently we are using it wrong - a satellite is moving prograde if it orbits a body in the same direction as the parent body is rotating. Retrograde means it is orbiting in the opposite direction. Usually, "thrusting prograde" means the same as "thrusting posigrade" because we usually launch rockets prograde, but in theory we could launch a satellite retrograde (east to west), in which case "thrusting prograde" would be ambiguous - do we mean in the direction the satellite is orbiting, or do we mean thrusting to take it from west to east?

Regardless, I voted "prograde" because I am used to it.

[Cadet_BNSF]

4 minutes ago, softweir said:

 

I prefer prograde, though apparently we are using it wrong - a satellite is moving prograde if it orbits a body in the same direction as the parent body is rotating. Retrograde means it is orbiting in the opposite direction. Usually, "thrusting prograde" means the same as "thrusting posigrade" because we usually launch rockets prograde, but in theory we could launch a satellite retrograde (east to west), in which case "thrusting prograde" would be ambiguous - do we mean in the direction the satellite is orbiting, or do we mean thrusting to take it from west to east?

 

I thought prograde just meant with the direction of movement

[0111narwhalz]

How about tangential? It would work well with normal and radial (antitangential, antinormal, antiradial), as well as relating graphically to the orbit. Or parallel/antiparallel, which is an actual descriptor of vector relationships (parallel to the velocity) and would work well with that conception of the orbit.

As it is,  is called "prograde" in my mind. But CoaDE has begun to change that, favoring "tangential."

[justidutch]

One sounds more positive while the other more professional.  Darn, now I'm flummoxed...

[p1t1o]

Strongly against "posigrade"

Prefer "Nosewardgrade"

[ElWanderer]

I prefer "turnwards" (plus other directions noted by "widdershins", "hubwards" and "rimwards").

[Dafni]

14 minutes ago, ElWanderer said:

I prefer "turnwards" (plus other directions noted by "widdershins", "hubwards" and "rimwards").

Been hangin out on the Disk, have you? 

[ElWanderer]

25 minutes ago, Dafni said:

Been hangin out on the Disk, have you? 

The Turtle moves, though I'm not sure in which direction!

[sevenperforce]

I get the idea of why you'd want to use "posigrade", since "prograde" and "retrograde" do double duty in identifying orbits which match or oppose the angular momentum of basically everything else in the system. Ideally, we would use "posigrade" and "antigrade" for thrust vectors while leaving "prograde" and "retrograde" to identify orbital directions. But "retrothrusters" would then make no sense, so it's probably better to just use context and be done with it.

[p1t1o]

Rather than inventing or repurposing portmanteaus, we need a set of fresh new words to represent these directions.

I'll get the ball rolling with:

Gorp - "prograde"

Dorp - "retrograde"

Lorp - Normal

Zorp - Anti-Normal

Porp - Radial

Worp - Anti-Radial

 

"Burn 25m/s Gorp"

[sevenperforce]

41 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

Rather than inventing or repurposing portmanteaus, we need a set of fresh new words to represent these directions.

I'll get the ball rolling with:

Gorp - "prograde"

Dorp - "retrograde"

Lorp - Normal

Zorp - Anti-Normal

Porp - Radial

Worp - Anti-Radial

"Prepare for worp speed!"

"Warp speed?"

"No, not warp; worp. We need to change the argument of our periapse."

[Noobton]

3 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

"Prepare for worp speed!"

Now I'm all for calling it worp

[p1t1o]

13 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

"Prepare for worp speed!"

"Warp speed?"

"No, not warp; worp. We need to change the argument of our periapse."

Funnily enough, I almost went with "Worf" to start with but I didnt want to confuse my Klingon tactical officer.

 

 

ENGAGE GORPDRIVE

Edited April 21, 2017 by p1t1o

[Green Baron]

Normal - Upgrade

Antinormal - Downgrade

Radial/Antiradial - Sidegrade (nevermind which one, the first try always goes in the wrong direction)

"Oops, there goes the maneuver-node ..." - Tardigrade (from spanish tarde = late)

:-)

 

Edited April 21, 2017 by Green Baron

[Steel]

36 minutes ago, Green Baron said:

 

"Oops, there goes the maneuver-node ..." - Tardigrade (from spanish tarde = late)

 

Tardigrades are already a thing I'm afraid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

[sevenperforce]

9 minutes ago, Steel said:

Tardigrades are already a thing I'm afraid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

Methinks that was the joke.

[Green Baron]

Yeah, a joke on their expense. Not that long ago we talked about the little animals in another thread :-)

 

Edited April 21, 2017 by Green Baron

[monophonic]

3 hours ago, Green Baron said:

Normal - Upgrade

Antinormal - Downgrade

Radial/Antiradial - Sidegrade (nevermind which one, the first try always goes in the wrong direction)

"Oops, there goes the maneuver-node ..." - Tardigrade (from spanish tarde = late)

:-)

 

I first read that as "tardisgrade..." which is usually synonymous with late anyway. 

But then antinormal should be "delete" instead. 

[Shpaget]

We need a pirate version!

[Ultimate Steve]

10 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

I get the idea of why you'd want to use "posigrade", since "prograde" and "retrograde" do double duty in identifying orbits which match or oppose the angular momentum of basically everything else in the system. Ideally, we would use "posigrade" and "antigrade" for thrust vectors while leaving "prograde" and "retrograde" to identify orbital directions. But "retrothrusters" would then make no sense, so it's probably better to just use context and be done with it.

Well, then they'd be antithrusters, which the media would confuse with antimatter thrusters.

I can imagine the headlines now:

NASA tests Antimatter propulsion! Andromeda flight coming soon, one man says...