Scan sat ideal orbit altitudes

[MoarBoostersRUS]

I've been using scansat for a while now but keep forgetting to write down the ideal altitudes for the various instruments. Was wondering if anyone out there has done this and is willing to share 

[Kryxal]

All I really remember is, most stuff does well around 400-500 km, but there's one that likes to be up around 750-800 km.  It's the one with the instrument on an arm or something...

[DrLicor]

You can easily look those up by rightclicking on the part in the VAB/SPH. 

The SCAN Multispectral Sensor has a min. Altitude of 5km, best of 250km and max of 500km, 

The SCAN SAR Altimetry Sensor has a min. Altitude of 5km, best of 750km and max of 800km,

The SCAN RADAR Altimetry Sensor has a min. Altitude of 5km and a max of 500.

Edited October 9, 2017 by DrLicor

[Kryxal]

You have the second and third pictures reversed ... and I always figure there's no reason not to be higher if you can afford to.

[DrLicor]

4 minutes ago, Kryxal said:

You have the second and third pictures reversed ... and I always figure there's no reason not to be higher if you can afford to.

whoops sorry, my fault, I'll change them. Well, not the quality, but there some other factors. 
Inclitnation costs also some delta-v. So sometimes, it's better to have a higher orbit, rather than having that lower orbit with a higher inclination. Higher orbit results in more km2 that can be scanned in an amount of time. 

Also, the 'perfect'  orbit would be that the the orbits FOV  just overlaps the past one. This way, you have your planet scanned in one sideral day of the planet. That perfect orbit can be reached by matching the surface speed of the planet with the surface speed of the orbit. For instance, when a certain planet surface moves with 150m/s, you want your surface speed at the equator in orbit to be <150m/s. This way, your current orbit will overlap the past one, without leaving gaps. You have to keep in mind that your inclination need to be high enough to scan the poles too.

[Geschosskopf]

On 10/8/2017 at 7:04 PM, MoarBoostersRUS said:

I've been using scansat for a while now but keep forgetting to write down the ideal altitudes for the various instruments. Was wondering if anyone out there has done this and is willing to share 

Here are what I use in the stock system....

Most bodies have an L and an H value depending on sensors.  Once you get in position, open the Big Map to see if your little orbit hash marks along the equator are staggered above and below, either individually or in groups.  If instead the blue and orange hash marks line up with each other, turn prograde or retrograde and burn just a little (using RSC for this is best) until the hash marks are staggered.

L = Low level

• Ore scanner (if you have disabled insta-scan)
• Multi-spectral/biome
• Lo-res radar

H = High Level

• hi-res radar

Moho, Eve, Kerbin, Mun, Minmus, Ike, Dres, Laythe, Vall, Tylo, and Eeloo.  All these are within experimental error of the same altitudes.  Just get within these ranges and then adjust the hash marks with RCS as noted above.

• L:  250-265km @ 86^
• H:  760-780km @ 88^  

Gilly, Bop, and Pol:  SOI is so small and orbital velocity so low that it has only 1 altitude.

• L/H:  100km @ 85^

Duna:  Slightly different than the main bunch of terrestrial worlds

• L:  380km @ 85^
• H:  765km @ 88^

 

 

[MoarBoostersRUS]

@Geschosskopf  Perfet this is what I was was looking for thank you!

[jayvaughan08]

On 10/9/2017 at 9:01 AM, DrLicor said:

whoops sorry, my fault, I'll change them. Well, not the quality, but there some other factors. 
Inclitnation costs also some delta-v. So sometimes, it's better to have a higher orbit, rather than having that lower orbit with a higher inclination. Higher orbit results in more km2 that can be scanned in an amount of time. 

Also, the 'perfect'  orbit would be that the the orbits FOV  just overlaps the past one. This way, you have your planet scanned in one sideral day of the planet. That perfect orbit can be reached by matching the surface speed of the planet with the surface speed of the orbit. For instance, when a certain planet surface moves with 150m/s, you want your surface speed at the equator in orbit to be <150m/s. This way, your current orbit will overlap the past one, without leaving gaps. You have to keep in mind that your inclination need to be high enough to scan the poles too.

Sorry to revive this thread. Could someone explain the whole surface velocity at the equator vs rotational velocity? I could see maybe minmus or the mun making sense with this, but surely not kerbin? At 450km I'm still at ~1800m/s