KSP Orbital Calculator [V0.10.1] - Now with selectable Celestrial Bodies

[Warringer]

How to use with custom parts or am I missing something obvious? ???

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

Hmm...

Take a look at the new menu and point the program at the directory where your KSP resides.

Eventually I need to do a little bug fix through if it turns out to work less well under Windows. Different file systems and all that...

[Capt'n Skunky]

Nope, it's all bugged up. Now I get a blank space on the Stage Calculator tab where the UI bits were.

Also, if I go back to set my program directory, it defaults to the original My Docs location instead of the folder I had set it to, i.e. my program directory E:\KSP

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

[Warringer]

Strange...

Try editing the KSPconfig.cfg directly.

I'm trying to find out the problem...

[Capt'n Skunky]

Strange...

Try editing the KSPconfig.cfg directly.

I'm trying to find out the problem...

It's saving the path to the config correctly, it just doesn't seem to like reading the value.

I wonder if it has to do with slashes, maybe they need to be escaped or something. I've never used Java so I gots no ideas there. I'm on the IRC channel if you need to talk shop.

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

[Warringer]

Most likely. But I, hopefully found a way to fix that bug.

Bugfix release now out.

[Capt'n Skunky]

Ok, the UI elements don't disappear, but I still don't see custom parts and the settings dialog still defaults to My Docs and not the current setting.

The UI elements are missing from the Add Stage dialog in the Multi Stage Calculator though.

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

[Warringer]

Try it now?

Its the last bug fix for today, its late here in Germany.

I hope to get a few screenies from the program and/or the command line should there still be a problem through...

[Capt'n Skunky]

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Select Directory button is fubar now. It's also not showing the current path under that as it did before.

Also, double clicking the jar launches the program fine, but exiting it leaves the java process alive. Each time you restart, a new one is created. Had to use Task Manager to whack four instances before I could delete old version.

Grabbing screenie of command window. This is what I got when I clicking on the Select Directory button.

[Warringer]

Overlooked a little problem... >_<

Hopefully fixed now...

But on the up side I (hopefully) have rerouted the Console output into a sysout.log file.

Next time please use that log file for future errors. And set up a ticket on the Google Code page of the KSP Calculator.

Thank you.

[Shader]

Sigh... just as I finished uploading all the new versions to repository you go an release yet another one! <goes and updates post again>

Great work Warringer. Keep up the good work and the rapid turnaround.

Now if only all my programs had such a rapid response....

Shader

Assistant Editor of the Repository

[Warringer]

I HOPE that the issue with the custom parts is now resolved... After many tries to make it right... :'(

[Capt'n Skunky]

I HOPE that the issue with the custom parts is now resolved... After many tries to make it right... :'(

The latest version works for me as expected. It's just hella cumbersome if you have a shit-ton of mods.

Arrr!

Capt'n Skunky

[Warringer]

Next version is going to include an automatic size change for the windows.

Besides, I already have tried to make it easer to use...

[Spaceguy5]

Very useful program! I have a small suggestion for a future release though... What about calculating orbital plane changes?

Last semester, I made a program similar to this in MATLAB for a project (User selected a planet, typed in starting orbit parameters, and a 2nd orbit's parameters, and it calculated what would be required for a hohmann transfer and a plane change while also displaying velocity/period/delta V and graphing the orbits in 3D).

[Warringer]

Plane Change is planned, but, like the launch orbit calculator currently not very viable without readings to confirm that you have done a plane change.

There is a bi-elliptic transfer orbit calculator planned, as well as a calculator where you can calculate a series of orbital maneuvers.

3D is currently not planned as it would need a good amount of coding that I currently can't do.

[Warringer]

Minor GUI updates!

[foamyesque]

Some stress precision testing seems to indicate your (and cjames', too) calcs are out and read too slow for a given orbital altitude. The error isn't much, less than a half m/s at 150km, but it's there.

[Warringer]

I would guess that its either rounding errors or errors in the precision of the various constants that are needed for the actual calculating.

Like the radius of the planet, its gravity or its mass. All needed for correct calculations and if one is wrong, the calcs are incorrect.

So in the end we are working with what we have. Until the devs come out and correct the values we have that is.

[Warringer]

Version 0.9

Added a Bi-Ellipstic Transfer Orbit Calculator (may be buggy)

Fused Generic Parts and Custom Parts Staging Calculators

And again please do bug reports on the google code page for the KSP Calculator.

Thank you.

[rdfox]

As a suggestion, something I'd find really valuable... how about a reverse launch calculator, something where you can put in your desired apokee and perikee and your planned altitude at cutoff, and it gives you the required velocity and vertical velocity to directly inject into that orbit from launch? As it stands, the launch calculator is really only useful for working out what orbit I've put myself into after a launch, instead of telling me what trajectory I need to fly to get a useful orbit. (Hence why most of the flights of the Kerbal Katapult V end up replicating Apollo 4--I've yet to put that sucker into a *low* orbit; it always goes into about a 45x200 orbit...)

[Warringer]

As a suggestion, something I'd find really valuable... how about a reverse launch calculator, something where you can put in your desired apokee and perikee and your planned altitude at cutoff, and it gives you the required velocity and vertical velocity to directly inject into that orbit from launch? As it stands, the launch calculator is really only useful for working out what orbit I've put myself into after a launch, instead of telling me what trajectory I need to fly to get a useful orbit. (Hence why most of the flights of the Kerbal Katapult V end up replicating Apollo 4--I've yet to put that sucker into a *low* orbit; it always goes into about a 45x200 orbit...)

The thing is that the Launch Orbit Calculator is experimental. I don't really know if it actually works as intended. So reversing the thing is is kind of a problem.

But in the end you can always circularize your orbit and then get yourself into a Hohmann Orbit of sorts.

Through the idea of building a calculator to get yourself from one elliptic orbit into another is in the making, by the plan to make something of a chained orbit transfer calculator.

[FatalFlux]

This thing.... is amazing. Every time I look it gets better! The only bug I've noticed is very minor. The arrows you draw when displaying the near-planet burns for transfer orbit injection and target orbit injection on the bi-elliptical orbit appear to be reversed. Other than that, amazing!

[rdfox]

The thing is that the Launch Orbit Calculator is experimental. I don't really know if it actually works as intended. So reversing the thing is is kind of a problem.

But in the end you can always circularize your orbit and then get yourself into a Hohmann Orbit of sorts.

Through the idea of building a calculator to get yourself from one elliptic orbit into another is in the making, by the plan to make something of a chained orbit transfer calculator.

(I wish I knew what a bi-elliptical transfer orbit was!) Well, I figured that I could just adjust the orbit while circularizing (retrograde burn at perikee to lower apokee to desired value, then posigrade circularization burn at apokee). I was just thinking it might be nice to have something that would give me an estimated cutoff velocity to use to get a desired orbit, to make the flights more efficient overall. Maybe for a later version? (Never hurts to have these ideas sitting around!)

[Peewee]

I figured out the experimental launch orbit tool after decompiling your jar.

Velocity vector is (currently) pi/2 radians - velocity vector's angle over the horizon (the yellow circle) in radians.

Both periapsis and apoapsis are radii from the center of the planet, not altitude (altitude displayed in-game + 600,000m)

Other than that, the launch orbit tool does appear to spit out sensible data.

Also, LaunchOrbit.doVels() needs to be called after LaunchOrbit.doAlts(), which must be called before 'a' is calculated.

1. calculate c

2. doAlts()

3. calculate a

4. doVels()

Also also, you'll need a special case for escape trajectories, because it will probably output nonsensical answers.

---

Also also also, the bi-elliptic transfer orbit tool should probably show the total as (|dv1| + |dv2| + |dv3|) rather than the somewhat less useful (dv1 + dv2 + dv3).

Also x4, yes, the bi-elliptic transfer orbit tool is buggy... the first burn should be positive dv for sure.

[mixinghoney]

Maybe add some pictures? :hailprobe: