Calculate exact reentry landing location

[thevegimobil]

Hi guys, just a quick one. How do i calculate accurately the area in which i will come to after re-entry. I can barely get it close enough to glide my shuttle to the ksc area. are there any equations to use?

Thanks

[Robbii6]

Its just trial and error really

i have found that if you get you Pe over the sticky out bit of land to the right of the KSC at about 33km-37km that brings you down pretty close

Hope this helps

Rob

[Mr Shifty]

Hi guys, just a quick one. How do i calculate accurately the area in which i will come to after re-entry. I can barely get it close enough to glide my shuttle to the ksc area. are there any equations to use?

Thanks

This chart was posted a few weeks ago. I haven't tried it, but it may be useful.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/30786-Kerbin-Landing-Chart-Land-at-KSC-consistently-from-your-stations

[Vedexent]

You might look at MechJeb 2.0 - NOT to land for you (although, you can do that as well if you want) - but to use the landing prediction function.

If you want to do the landings yourself, use MechJeb for information, not control.

Even if you don't give it control, it will give you the predicted landing coordinates, and even put a blue marker on the map.

Playing around with this landing on Minmus is a good way of learning what maneuver burns (prograde, retrograde, normal, anti-normal, etc.) will do to the placement of the marker, and the landing coordinates.

Also - letting MechJeb land on a target position a few times, while you watch what it does and try and figure out why is quite educational.

Practice this way, and you'll have a much better understanding on how to drop your lander right where you want it.

[Sauron]

Here:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/37327-Atmospheric-Landing-Chart-Pinpoint-landings-on-Duna-Eve-Kerbin-Laythe!

[PakledHostage]

This chart was posted a few weeks ago. I haven't tried it, but it may be useful.

I just had a look at that chart. It looks promising but I think it would be better if angles were replaced with times. It assumes a circular equatorial starting orbit anyway, why not time the de-orbit burn off an overflight of KSC? That's how I do it when I use my own re-entry prediction program.

For example, assuming:

1. alterbaron's calculations take Kerbin's rotation into account

2. You are orbiting prograde (i.e. in the same direction as Kerbin's rotation)

3. you are in a circular equatorial starting orbit at 100 km altitude

É_surface is the rate (in degrees per second) that your spacecraft is moving across Kerbin’s surface.

The only limitation that I can foresee with using alterbaron's plot is that it doesn't account for differences in spacecraft drag. High drag spacecraft will obviously come down in less distance than low drag spacecraft, although the effect will be less significant for steeper re-entries.