A question for space enthusiasts

[Zidane]

Hey there

So i've been trying to create a realistic as possible playthrough and after about 48 hours installing mods and resolving issues i was trying to solve one last puzzle in my head. So in the movie gravity (i don't know if you've seen it, but in most videos about space maneuvers) they use 2 joysticks for orbital maneuvers with RCS. Now i have a gamepad and it has 2 joysticks. In case anyone's wondering, i'm using motioninjoy to help ksp recognize all the buttons and it works pretty damn good. I wanted to mimic the orbital rotations and translations with those joysticks as in real life. However, here's what boggles me. For full rotation controls one needs 3 axis. For full translation controls one needs another 3 axis. That's a total of 6 axis. Yet 2 joysticks only allow for 4 axis, so how do they do it in actual spacecraft? Do they have pedals? Do the joysticks move up and down too?

It's not really about the buttons, i have free buttons to spare if i count in the keyboard and the gamepad. I just wanted to get a realistic experience.

Thanks for any input.

[sal_vager]

A lot of joysticks twist around their vertical axis, giving 3 axis per stick

[Zidane]

That was fast. A shame too, i can press the joysticks down, but i can't really twist them. I guess i'll have to use the Dpad on the controller to get the 2 remaining axis.

I'm assuming they use one as rotation and one as translation then, right?

Thanks ^^

[DisarmingBaton5]

A lot of joysticks twist around their vertical axis, giving 3 axis per stick

I believe this one a third axis as mentioned.

Edited April 13, 2014 by DisarmingBaton5
fixed stuff

[NecroBones]

A lot of joysticks twist around their vertical axis, giving 3 axis per stick

Yes, this is how the controls work for things like RCS, and the MMS, in the real world. 3-axis sticks, where the third axis is twisting the control.

[TechnicalK3rbal]

Most twist, but I've seen some that actually move vertically.

[vger]

What about pedals (like rudder pedals on an aircraft)? Do any orbiters have them?

[Zidane]

http://cgterminal.com/2011/12/02/3dconnection-announced-spacemouse-pro/ Ultimate KSP orbital maneuvers joystick

[KASASpace]

Well, it has been pretty much mentioned already.

Three axes per stick.

Yep.

Although, the Up/Down translation would be done in a weird way.