DV Tools MFD

DVToolsMFD User Manual 2012 Mark Herzig 1
Delta-V Tools MFD (DVToolsMFD) User Manual

Version 1.0 for Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010
Copyright 2012 Mark Herzig 31 March 2012
Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2
2 System Requirements ............................................................................................................ 2
3 Installation .............................................................................................................................. 2
4 Thrusters Program ................................................................................................................ 3
4.1 Recording Delta-V Usage ................................................................................................ 6
5 Calculators Program ............................................................................................................. 9
5.1 Delta-V Calculator ......................................................................................................... 13
5.2 Altitude Change Calculator ............................................................................................ 17
5.3 Vessel Docking Calculator ............................................................................................. 20
5.4 AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator ....................................................................................... 22
5.5 AeroBrake Landing Calculator ...................................................................................... 26
5.6 Powered Deorbit Calculator ........................................................................................... 30
5.7 Powered Landing Calculator .......................................................................................... 33
6 Tutorials ............................................................................................................................... 36
6.1 Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial .............................................................................. 36
6.2 ISS Synchronization Tutorial ......................................................................................... 43
6.3 Moon Landing Tutorial .................................................................................................. 49
6.4 Earth Landing Tutorial ................................................................................................... 59
6.5 Mars Landing Tutorial ................................................................................................... 76
Appendix A Recommended Plugins ...................................................................................... 94
Appendix B Thrusters ............................................................................................................ 95
Appendix C IMFD Course Delta-V Program ...................................................................... 96
Appendix D Terms of Use .................................................................................................... 102


1 Introduction
Delta-V Tools MFD consists of two programs:
Thrusters Program: A program to monitor Delta-V usage.
Calculators Program: A set of sub-programs to help calculate Delta-V parameters and time
to burn for typical orbital maneuvers.
2 System Requirements
This software is created for Martin Schweigers Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010. Earlier
versions of Orbiter are not supported.
DVToolsMFD is best viewed in generic (glass) cockpit view with a minimum resolution of
1600x1200.
3 Installation
To install DVToolsMFD, unpack the software package in the Orbiter installation folder.
Maintain directory structure.
To activate DVToolsMFD, go to the Modules tab on the Orbiter Launchpad. Select
DVToolsMFD to activate it.
To launch DVToolsMFD select Delta-V Tools from the Orbiter MFD menu.
To follow the tutorials in this manual or use the accompanying scenarios you will need to install
the plugins specified in Appendix A.


4 Thrusters Program
The thrusters program is the default program loaded when DVToolsMFD is launched. Realtime
mode is the default mode. NOTE: When this program is launched the main thrusters are fired
very quickly because certain vessels (such a DeltaGliderIV-2) report invalid thruster information
until the main thruster has been fired at least once. In testing no observable changes to vessel
position have been seen as a result of this.
Layout (shared by all modes):

Function Buttons (shared by all modes):
Shift-G PRG Toggle the program (Thrusters Program, Calculators Program).
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Realtime, Max, Max Vacuum, Hypothetical).
Shift-R REC Start/Stop recording Delta-V usage.
Shift-A ABT Displays software version information.

List of Thrusters:
The list of thrusters displayed is described in Appendix B. Descriptions of each of the columns
are below. Differences between the modes are noted in the descriptions.
Name: The name of the thruster which will be one of the thrusters listed in Appendix B.
List of thrusters
List of propellants
Vessel mass
Mode

Id: The Id of the propellant (fuel) source feeding this thruster (i.e. the fuel source this
thruster is attached to). This Id will correlate to an Id in the List of propellants.
Thrust (N): Thrust (force) in Newtons. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the
current thrust being produced. In Max mode this is the maximum thrust this thruster can
produce in the current environment (for example, atmospheric pressure affects thrust). In
Max Vacuum mode this is the maximum thrust this thruster can produce in a vacuum.
NOTE: In testing it appears some vessels (such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate
between Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust, so for these vessels these two modes will
display the exact same information.
Ve (m/s): Effective exhaust velocity (specific impulse as a speed) in meters/second. NOTE:
In testing it appears some vessels (such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate between
Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust, so for these vessels these two modes will display the
exact same information.
Mf (kg/s): Mass flow in kilograms/second. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the
current mass flow. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass flow for this
thruster.
Bt (s): Burn time in seconds. In Realtime mode this is how long you could burn this thruster
if you were to burn only this thruster right now. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime
mode except the hypothetical burn time calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted
from the burn time displayed in Realtime mode. If you have not performed any calculations
using the Calculators Program (i.e. hypothetical burn time is 0), then Realtime and
Hypothetical mode will display the same value. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is how
long you could burn this thruster if you were to burn just this thruster with a fully loaded
vessel. NOTE: When in Realtime or Hypothetical mode you will notice when you burn a
single thruster the burn time of all other thrusters using the same fuel source will decrease
even though they are not being used.
Dv (m/s): Delta-V in meters/second. In Realtime mode this is the Delta-V remaining if you
were to burn only this thruster right now. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode
except the hypothetical Delta-V calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the
current remaining Delta-V. This is useful if you want to see how much Delta-V would be
remaining if you were to hypothetically perform the maneuver as calculated by the
Calculators Program. In Max mode this is the maximum Delta-V available in the current
environment with a fully loaded vessel. In Max Vacuum mode this is the maximum Delta-V
available in a vacuum with a fully loaded vessel. NOTE: In testing it appears some vessels
(such as DeltaGliderIV-2) do not differentiate between Max thrust and Max Vacuum thrust,
so for these vessels these two modes will display exactly the same information.

T%: Percent of maximum thrust. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the current
percent of maximum thrust (100 means the thruster is being currently run at maximum and 0
means it is currently not running). In Max and Max Vacuum modes 100 will always be
displayed.
List of Propellants:
This is the list of propellant (fuel) sources that are available to the vessel. The number of fuel
sources will vary depending on the vessel. Descriptions of each of the columns are below.
Differences between the modes are noted in the descriptions.
Id: The Id of this propellant (fuel) source. This Id will correlate to the Id in the list of
thrusters. Multiple thrusters can share the same fuel source. The row with an Id of Total is a
sum of all of the fuel sources. NOTE: Some vessels have fuel sources that are not used by
any of the listed thrusters.
Mass (kg): Mass in kilograms. In Realtime mode this is the amount of fuel currently
remaining. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical fuel mass
used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the mass of the fuel
currently remaining. This is useful if you want to see how much fuel would remain if you
were to hypothetically perform the maneuver as calculated by the Calculators Program. In
Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum amount of fuel that can be stored in this
fuel source.
Efficiency: Fuel source efficiency. This number is used to calculate the effective exhaust
velocity of any thrusters using this fuel source. The higher the number, the more efficient the
fuel source is. For example, the same thruster attached to a fuel source with an efficiency of
1.0 will have a lower effective exhaust velocity then if it were attached to a fuel source with
an efficiency of 1.1. And it will burn fuel more quickly (have a higher mass flow) if attached
to a fuel with an efficiency of 1.0 versus being attached to a fuel source with an efficiency of
1.1.
Mf (kg/s): Mass flow in kilograms/second. In Realtime and Hypothetical modes this is the
current mass flow. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass flow for this
fuel source, which is the sum of all thrusters using this fuel source running simultaneously at
maximum thrust.
Rem%: Percentage of fuel remaining. In Realtime mode this is the percentage of fuel
currently remaining. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical
fuel used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the fuel currently
remaining. In Max and Max Vacuum modes 100.00 will always be displayed.
Vessel Mass:
Two rows are displayed.

Vessel Empty Mass: The mass of the vessel when empty (i.e. the dry mass where the total
mass of all fuel sources would be 0). The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the
vessel total mass that is not fuel. As fuel is used, this percentage will increase. If all fuel has
been used this percentage should be 100.00.
Vessel Total Mass: The total mass of the vessel. In Realtime mode this is the current mass
of the vessel. Hypothetical mode is similar to Realtime mode except the hypothetical fuel
mass used as calculated by the Calculators Program is subtracted from the current mass of
the vessel. In Max and Max Vacuum modes this is the maximum mass of the vessel (all fuel
sources are full). The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the maximum mass of
the vessel. For Max and Max Vacuum modes this will always be 100%.

4.1 Recording Delta-V Usage
Recording Delta-V usage is the only user action available from the Thrusters Program. To begin
recording press the REC function button (Shift-R). You can begin recording in any of the modes.
While recording is in process the display will have a red REC in the upper right hand corner as
shown here:

To stop recording press the REC function button (Shift-R) again. You will see the Thrusters
Recorded screen as shown here:
Recording in progress

DVToolsMFD calculates the mass difference from the start and stop of recording. Then the
rocket equation is used to generate the Thrusters Recorded display. So when you burn any
thruster attached to a specific fuel source, Delta-V will be displayed for all active thrusters
attached to the fuel source, including those not used.
Only the main thrusters where used in the recording test used to generate the screenshot above.
The retro thrusters and hover thrusters are attached to the same fuel source, so hypothetical
Delta-V will be recorded for them. Nothing was recorded for retro thrusters because the retro
thrusters were closed. The hover thrusters where open and hypothetically if the same amount of
fuel (302.61 kg) was used by the hover thrusters, then you would have had to burn the hover
thrusts for 30 seconds to burn the same amount of fuel. And the Delta-V would be the same (392
m/s).
RCS thrusters where not used in the recording test used to generate the screenshot above. The
RCS thrusters are attached to a different fuel source then the main thrusters. Therefore the mass
of the fuel source attached to the RCS thrusters remained the same (593.53 kg) while the total
mass of the vessel decreased (from 20,200.22 kg to 19,894.26 kg). Therefore once recoding has
ended there is 12 m/s additional Delta-V available to the RCS thrusters as calculated by the
rocket equation.
NOTE: Press the MOD function button (Shift-M) to exit the Thrusters Recorded display and
return to the last mode.
List of Thrusters:
Delta-V of 392 m/s by burning
main thrusters for 20 seconds
Hover thrusters where not used
during recording, but since
mass change is used for
calculations this is the
hypothetical Delta-V had the
hover thruster been burned
instead
RCS thrusters where not used
during recoding, but since total
mass decreased and the mass
of the RCS fuel source did not
change, RCS thrusters gained
12 m/s Delta-V

Only differences between the standard modes are listed here:
Thrust (N): The amount of thrust at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was not
being used, 0 will be displayed.
Mf (kg/s): The mass flow at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was not being
used, 0 will be displayed.
Bt (s): The amount of time the thruster was burned during recording. As mentioned above
this can be hypothetical.
Dv (m/s): The Delta-V lost or gained during recording. As mentioned above this can be
hypothetical.
T%: The percent of maximum thrust at the time recording was stopped. If the thruster was
not being used, 0 will be displayed.
List of Propellants:
Mass (kg): The mass of the fuel source at the time recoding was stopped.
Mf (kg/s): The mass flow of the fuel source at the time recoding was stopped.
Rem%: The percentage of fuel remaining at the time recording was stopped.
Dp (kg): Change in fuel mass in kilograms. This is the amount of fuel used during
recording.
Vessel Mass:
Vessel Empty Mass: The percentage in parenthesis is the percentage of the vessel total
mass that is not fuel at the time recording was stopped.
Vessel Total Mass: The total mass of the vessel at the time recording was stopped.


5 Calculators Program
The calculators program is a collection of sub-programs that perform Delta-V calculations for
various orbital maneuvers. Navigation between the Thrusters Program and the Calculators
Program as well as navigation between Calculators Program sub-programs is depicted below.

Thrusters Program
Calculators Program
Delta-V Calculator Altitude Change
Calculator
PRG
MOD
Vessel Docking
Calculator
AeroBrake Deorbit
Calculator
Powered Deorbit
Calculator
Target Dialog
AeroBrake Landing
Calculator
Powered Landing
Calculator
Surface Base
(atmosphere)
Surface Base
(no atmosphere)
TGT
TGT TGT
Vessel
MOD MOD
A/P
A/P
Blank (no
target)

Target Dialog
The target dialog is accessed by pressing the TGT function button (Shift-T). You can target the
following objects:
Vessel: Enter the name of the vessel you want to target. For example, ISS.
Surface Base: Enter the name of the surface base you want to target. For example, Brighton
Beach.
Surface Base Pad X: Enter the name of the surface base with a Pad X suffix to target a
specific launch pad on a surface base. For example, Brighton Beach Pad 6.
Surface Base Runway X: Enter the name of the surface base with a Runway X suffix to
target a specific runway on a surface base. For example, Cape Canaveral Runway 33.
Additional notes about the target dialog:
Leave the target blank to deselect a target and return to the Delta-V Calculator.
You cannot target a specific latitude/longitude.
You can only target surface bases on the surface closest to the current vessel position. For
example, if your vessel is closest to the Moon, then you would not be able to target Cape
Canaveral, but you would be able to target Brighton Beach.
DVToolsMFD reads the appropriate configuration files to determine if a targeted launch pad
or runway is valid. So if configuration files are not in the standard location, or the
configuration files for a surface base are not named using the recommended naming
conventions, then DVToolsMFD will not be able to find the specified launch pad or runway.
Thruster Selection
The currently selected thruster is displayed in yellow in the lower right hand corner of the
display. The selected thruster will be used to perform all calculations.
You can change the currently thruster using the TH- function button (Shift-R) or TH+ function
button (Shift-H). The list of available thrusters is described in Appendix B.
Setting Inputs
Most of the sub-programs have inputs that can be set. Use the PRV function button (Shift-P) or
NXT function button (Shift-N) to select an input. The value of the currently selected input will be
displayed in white.
Press the SET function button (Shift-S) to change the currently selected input. This will pop up a
dialog. In parenthesis next to the dialog name will be the expected input(s). Enter the desired
value in the dialog and press the Enter key on your keypad to apply your selection. If you want

to close the dialog without entering a value (you want to cancel), press the Esc key on your
keypad.
Function Buttons
All of the sub-programs have the same set of function buttons. Not all of the function buttons
are used by every sub-program. For example, the REL function button (Shift-B) is not use by the
Delta-V Calculator.
The Function Buttons section in each of the sub-program sections below will explicitly point out
which function buttons are not used by that specific sub-program.
Target Location Markers
Some fields in the AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing Calculator will contain
target location markers. The exact fields are pointed out in the respective sections below.
Target location markers provide a visual clue to the location of the selected target relative to the
current velocity of the vessel.
The definitions of the target location markers are:
^> The target is in front and to the right
v> The target is behind and to the right
<^ The target is in front and to the left
<v The target is behind and to the left
Relationship to the Thrusters Program
The Hypothetical mode of the Thrusters Program will show you the state of the vessel if the burn
calculated by any of the sub-programs were to be executed.
Position Information
Position information is displayed in longitude, latitude format. A west longitude will be
negative and an east longitude will be positive. A south latitude will be negative and a north
latitude will be positive. For example, 99.20W 26.12N would be displayed as -99.20, 26.12.

Distance Information
In general distance information is calculated from vessel to surface using the vessels current
radius. For surface to surface calculations, the planet radius is used. This is why you may see
some discrepancies between what is displayed in DVToolsMFD and other MFDs.

For example, it appears the Map MFD uses the planet radius in its calculation from the vessel to
the selected target (i.e. a vessel to surface calculation). As a result the distance to the target
calculated by the Map MFD will typically be less than the target distance calculated by
DVToolsMFD.

Limitations
All sub-programs share the same internal calculator, so switching modes will reset the inputs.
For example if you entered a Delta-V of 100 in the Delta-V Calculator and then pressed the
MOD function button (Shift-M) to use the Altitude Change Calculator and then pressed the MOD
function button (Shift-M) to go back to the Delta-V Calculator, the Delta-V will be reset to 0
(instead of the previously entered 100).


5.1 Delta-V Calculator
The Delta-V Calculator is a generic Delta-V Calculator. You only need to provide one input
parameter and the Delta-V Calculator will calculate all other parameters.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Delta-V Calculator, Altitude Change Calculator).
Shift-P PRV Select the previous input.
Shift-N NXT Select the next input.
Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the currently selected input.
Shift-T TGT
Launches the Target Dialog.
Shift-R TH- Select the previous thruster from the list in Appendix B.
Shift-H TH+ Select the next thruster from the list in Appendix B.
Shift-L H/V Function is not used.
Shift-D A/P Function is not used.
Shift-B REL Function is not used.
Only set one of
these inputs and the
rest of them are
calculated
Sub-program name
Selected thruster Surface reference
Thruster level to use
in calculations
Calculated outputs
Real-time state of
the vessel and
selected thruster

Hypothetical Delta-V:
This section is an input and output section. These are mutually exclusive in that setting an input
will cause all other inputs in this section to be re-calculated (exception being Start Speed and
End Speed which can be set independently). These are hypothetical values meaning they reflect
the state of the vessel if the burn were to be performed. Descriptions of each of the fields are
below.
Delta-V (m/s): Delta-V of the hypothetical burn.
Burn Time (s): The duration of the hypothetical burn.
Total Mass (s): The mass of the vessel at the end of the hypothetical burn.
Start Speed (m/s): The expected vessel speed in a vacuum at the start of the hypothetical
burn. If not explicitly set this will be calculated as 0.
End Speed (m/s): The desired vessel speed in a vacuum at the end of the hypothetical burn.
If not explicitly set this will be calculated as the Start Speed + Delta-V.
Hypothetical Thrust:
This section allows you to adjust the percent of maximum thrust for the selected thruster that will
be used in the calculations. These are mutually exclusive in that setting one will cause the other
to be re-calculated. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Thruster Level (%): The percentage of maximum thrust for the selected thruster. Setting
this will set the Acceleration that will be produced at the current vessel mass.
Acceleration (m/s): The desired acceleration from the selected thruster. Setting this will
adjust the Thruster Level to produce the desired acceleration at the current vessel mass.
Other than a number, you can enter g for acceleration of gravity currently being applied to
your vessel at your current location. You can enter s for acceleration due to gravity at the
surface (i.e. altitude of 0) of the reference surface closest to your vessel.
Current Vessel State:
This section displays real-time state of the vessel and the currently selected thruster.
Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Thruster Level (%): The current percentage of maximum thrust for the selected thruster.
Thrust (N): The current thrust being produced by the selected thruster.
Total Mass (kg): The current vessel mass.
Acceleration (m/s): The current acceleration being produced by the selected thruster.
Mass Flow (kg/s): The current mass flow being produced by the selected thruster.

Propellant Mass (kg): The current mass of the fuel source attached to the selected thruster.
Hypothetical Vessel State:
This section displays outputs as calculated. This is the hypothetical state of the vessel if the burn
where to be performed as specified by the inputs entered into the calculator (in the Hypothetical
Delta-V and Hypothetical Thrust sections). Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Thrust (N): The hypothetical thrust that would be produced if the hypothetical burn were to
be performed. This is a function of the inputted thruster level.
Acceleration (m/s): The acceleration at the end of the hypothetical burn. This would be the
maximum acceleration that occurs at the very end of the burn when the vessel mass is at its
lowest.
Mass Flow (kg/s): The mass flow during the hypothetical burn. This is a function of the
inputted thruster level.
Propellant Mass (kg): The mass of the fuel source attached to the selected thruster after the
hypothetical burn completes (i.e. the amount of fuel that would remain after the burn).
Delta-Propellant (kg): The amount of fuel required to perform the hypothetical burn.
Burn Distance (km): The distance the vessel would travel in a vacuum during the duration
of the hypothetical burn.
Example Calculations
How long will I need to burn the main thrusters at 100% to apply a Delta-V of 1000 m/s?
o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Main is the selected thruster.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Delta-V is selected.
o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 1000 in the dialog and press the Enter
key on your keypad.
o Burn Time in the Hypothetical Delta-V section will have the answer.
What is the Delta-V if I burn the retro thrusters at 90% until the vessels mass is 20,000 kg?
o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Retro is the selected thruster.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Total Mass is selected.
o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 20000 in the dialog and press the Enter
key on your keypad.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Thruster Level is selected.

o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type 90 in the dialog and press the Enter key
on your keypad.
o Delta-V in the Hypothetical Delta-V section will have the answer.
How much propellant will I use if I burn the Hover thrusters for 500 seconds at a level to
maintain current altitude?
o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Hover is the selected thruster.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Burn Time is selected.
on your keypad.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Acceleration is selected.
o Press the SET function button (Shift-S), type g in the dialog and press the Enter key
on your keypad. NOTE: g will set the desired acceleration to current gravity which
will be the amount of hover thrust required to offset gravity.
o Delta-Propellant in the Hypothetical Vessel State section will have the answer
(NOTE: This is an estimate since the amount of thrust needed to maintain current
altitude will change as your vessel mass decreases).
How far will my vessel travel in a vacuum if I were to burn RCS linear thrusters to decrease
my speed from 20 m/s to 10 m/s?
o Press the TH+ function button (Shift-H) until Tran-B is the selected thruster.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until Start Speed is selected.
on your keypad.
o Press the NXT function button (Shift-N) until End Speed is selected.
on your keypad.
o Burn Distance in the Hypothetical Vessel State section will have the answer.
Tutorials
See Mars Landing Tutorial.


5.2 Altitude Change Calculator
The Altitude Change Calculator calculates the amount of Delta-V and the exact time to perform
a burn to raise or lower your periapsis or apoapsis.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-T TGT
Sub-program name
in calculations
Set either the
desired Periapsis or
Apoapsis
Surface reference Selected thruster Current real-time
state of vessel
Delta-V required for
hypothetical altitude
change
Calculated burn
parameters that can
be entered into the
IMFD Course Delta-
V program

Hypothetical Altitude:
This section is an input section. These are mutually exclusive in that setting the Periapsis will
cause the Apoapsis to default to the current apoapsis. And setting the Apoapsis will cause the
Periapsis to default to the current periapsis. Also note that if you set the Periapsis to an
altitude greater than the current apopasis altitude and perform the burn, then the old periapsis
will become the new apoapsis. And if you set the Apoapsis to an altitude less than the altitude
of the current periapsis altitude and perform the burn, then the old apoapsis will become the new
periapsis. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Periapsis (km): The desired periapsis altitude.
Apoapsis (km): The desired apoapsis altitude.
See Delta-V Calculator Hypothetical Thrust section.
Current Vessel State:
This section displays real-time state of the vessel. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Periapsis (km): The vessels current periapsis altitude.
Time To Periapsis (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the current periapsis.
Apoapsis (km): The vessels current apoapsis altitude.
Time To Apoapsis (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the current apoapsis.
Eccentricity: Current orbit eccentricity.
Hypothetical Delta-V:
This section displays the hypothetical Delta-V as calculated from the inputs entered into the
calculator (in the Hypothetical Altitude and Hypothetical Thrust sections). Descriptions of each
of the fields are below.
Delta-V (m/s): Delta-V of the hypothetical burn.


Burn Parameters:
This section displays calculated burn parameters. These are calculated from the inputs entered
into the calculator (in the Hypothetical Altitude and Hypothetical Thrust sections). These are
intended to be entered into the IMFD Course Delta-Velocity program as described in Appendix
C.
Tutorials
See Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial.


5.3 Vessel Docking Calculator
The Vessel Docking Calculator calculates the time to perform a burn and the length of the burn
to synchronize your vessel speed with the target vessel at the desired distance. This calculator is
only available if the target is another vessel.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-P PRV Function is not used.
Shift-N NXT Function is not used.
Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the End Speed.
Shift-T TGT
Sub-program name
The desired target
relative speed
The vessel state
relative to the target
at the end of the
burn if you were to
burn right now,
including burn
parameters
Selected thruster Surface reference Selected target
The current real-
time vessel state
relative to the target


Hypothetical State Inputs:
This section is an input section. This is a hypothetical value meaning it reflects the state of the
vessel if the burn were to be performed. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button
(Shift-P) and NXT function button (Shift-N) do nothing. Description of the only field is below.
End Speed (m/s): The desired target relative speed.
Current State:
This section displays real-time state of the vessel relative to the selected target. Descriptions of
each of the fields are below.
Target Distance (km): The current distance from the vessel to the selected target.
Relative Speed (m/s): The vessels current relative speed to the selected target.
Time To Target (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches the selected target.
Hypothetical State:
This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel and the required burn parameters. These
fields will turn yellow when you are nearing the burn. These fields will turn red if you have
passed the burn time, meaning you will overshoot the selected target. A couple ways to use this
is to time a burn to end at certain distance from the target by performing the burn when Target
Distance is the distance you want to be from the target. Or you can wait until Time To Burn is
0 and burn so that you will end up directly on the target. Descriptions of each of the fields are
below.
Target Distance (km): The distance from the vessel to the selected target if the burn were
to be performed right now. This updates in real-time and will decrease as you approach the
target.
Time To Burn (s): The amount of time before you must perform the hypothetical burn in
order to reach your desired end speed at a distance of 0 km to the selected target (i.e. you will
be at the same position as the target).
Tutorials
See ISS Synchronization Tutorial.


5.4 AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator
The AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator calculates the exact time to perform a deorbit burn to allow
aerobrake reentry to be performed to land at the desired target. The AeroBrake Deorbit
Calculator is intended to be used with the AeroBrakeMFD. The AeroBrakeMFD is used to
calculate the aerobrake reentry trajectory based on the desired Delta-V and angle of attack (AoA)
as provided as inputs to the AeroBrakeMFD.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator, AeroBrake Landing
Calculator).
Shift-T TGT
Selected target Surface reference Selected thruster
Calculated burn
parameters that can
be entered into the
IMFD Course Delta-
V program
Sub-program name
Landing position as
predicted by the
AeroBrakeMFD at
time MJD
Desired distance
from target
Vessel position after
the burn
Current vessel state
relative to target
and current MJD

Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and Powered Deorbit
Calculator.

AeroBrake Inputs:
This section is an input section. Even though there are two fields it is a single input. When you
press the Set function button (Shift-S), you must enter MJD longitude latitude in that order. West
longitude or south latitude must be entered as a negative number with no W or S suffix. East
longitude or north latitude must be entered as a positive number with no E or N suffix.
Position: The predicted position as manually copied from the Land Pos predicted by the
AeroBrakeMFD.
MJD: The exact time at which the predicted Land Pos was copied from the
AeroBrakeMFD. The Set dialog will default to the MJD at the time the Set function button
(Shift-S) was pressed. The default may need to be changed to ensure an accurate calculation.
vessel if the burn were to be performed. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button
Offset Distance (km): The desired distance from the target at the end of the burn.
Current State:
This section displays real-time state of the vessel and current state relative to the selected target.
Position: The current vessel position.
Target Distance (km): The distance from the vessel to the selected target using current
vessel radius for calculation.
Target Bearing (): The vessels current absolute bearing to the selected target.
Target Pos: The position of the selected target.
Closest Distance (km): The distance to the selected target at the closest point.
Closest Bearing (): The vessels bearing to the selected target at the closest point.

Closest Pos: The position at which the vessel we be at the closest distance to the selected
target during the current orbit as calculated using orbital math.
Time To Closest (s): The amount of time before the vessel reaches its closest point to the
target.
MJD: The current time with precision suitable for use in the AeroBrake Inputs section.
Eccentricity: The current orbit eccentricity which will turn red if the current orbit is not
circular to indicate that calculations are only accurate if the orbit is circular.
Hypothetical State:
This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel after performing the reentry (deorbit
burn and aerobraking). It also displays the position at which the burn must occur. Descriptions
of each of the fields are below.
Position: The hypothetical vessel position
Target Distance (km): The hypothetical distance from the vessel to the selected target.
Target Bearing (): The vessels hypothetical absolute bearing to the selected target.
Burn Pos: The position at which to perform the deorbit burn which is the position where
Time To Burn in the Burn Parameters section reaches zero.
Burn Parameters:
into the calculator (in the AeroBrake Inputs and Hypothetical State Inputs sections). These are
C.
Usage
Press the TGT function button (Shift-T) and enter a surface base runway or pad. For
example, Cape Canaveral Runway 33.
Make sure the closest distance to your target is close enough to perform a landing with the
amount of fuel remaining. For example, in order to perform an unpowered landing the
closest distance to your target will probably need to be less than 20 km. The BaseSyncMFD
can be used to help adjust the closest distance.
For accurate calculations make sure you are in a circular orbit (i.e. eccentricity is 0). The
IMFD Orbital program (Circularize mode) can be used to circularize your orbit. If your orbit
was really eccentric, you may need to use the BaseSyncMFD again after the circularization
burn, as your closest distance may have moved.

Launch the AeroBrakeMFD in the other MFD (the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator needs to
remain open).
Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter the hypothetical Delta-V.
On Earth typically 50-100 m/s will work.
Use RCS thrusters to put your ship at the desired angle of attack (AoA) you want to use
during aerobraking through the atmosphere. For example, with DeltaGliderIV-2 engage the
reentry autopilot P104S40 to set your AoA to 40.
Enter the MJD as displayed on the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and corresponding Land
Pos as displayed on the AeroBrakeMFD into the AeroBrake Inputs section of the AeroBrake
Landing Calculator. If AeroBrakeMFD does not calculate a Land Pos, then you will need to
increase the hypothetical Delta-V (via HDv function button) until a Land Pos is generated.
At this point the AeroBrake Landing Calculator will calculate the Time To Burn in the Burn
Parameters section. You can disengage the reentry autopilot as it will interfere with the
actual deorbit burn. You should also remove the hypothetical Delta-V from the
AeroBrakeMFD by pressing the HDv function button and leaving it blank.
Use the IMFD Course Delta-Velocity program to perform the burn. You need to set GET to
the Time To Burn MJD as calculated by the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator. And set dVf to
the negative hypothetical Delta-V as entered into the AeroBrakeMFD. For example, if
hypothetical Delta-V was set to 90, then enter -90 for dVf. Details about using the IMFD
Course Delta-Velocity program is described in detail in Appendix C.
Once the burn has finished you should reengage the reentry autopilot at the same AoA as
used to calculate the Land Pos.
Use the AeroBrakeMFD to monitor your reentry trajectory. If all was done correctly, you
should end up very near your target with minimal or no adjustments necessary (i.e. you will
probably be able to set the AoA autopilot and sit back and watch the reentry).
Once your reentry is complete you can disengage the AoA autopilot. For example, when
your speed reaches around 800 m/s on an Earth reentry disengage the AoA autopilot.
Bring up the Surface MFD and/or HSI MFD and/or AeroBrake Landing Calculator to help
perform the actual landing.
Tutorials
See Earth Landing Tutorial and Mars Landing Tutorial.


5.5 AeroBrake Landing Calculator
The AeroBrake Landing Calculator can be used to supplement or replace the standard Surface
MFD and HSI MFD to help you land your vessel at the desired target runway at the desired
speed. Unlike the other calculators, the selected thruster does not factor into the calculations.
Instead it assumes an unpowered landing and uses your current horizontal and vertical speed in
the calculations.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator, AeroBrake Landing
Calculator)
Shift-S SET Launches dialog to set the End Speed.
Shift-T TGT
Sub-program name
Desired landing
speed
Selected target Surface reference Selected thruster is not used
relative to target
Hypothetical vessel
position when you
reach the selected
End Speed if you
were to average
your current
Horizontal Speed
and Vertical Speed

Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing
Calculator.
Shift-B REL Toggle between displaying relative bearings and absolute bearings. If
relative bearings are selected an R will be displayed next to displayed
bearings.

vessel at the end of the calculations. Since there is only one input, the PRV function button
End Speed (m/s): The desired landing speed.
Current State:
Descriptions of each of the fields are below. Note that the interval for calculation speed is longer
than Powered Landing Calculator (5 refreshes vs. 2 refreshes), to provide more stability for
calculating Hypothetical State. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Runway Heading (): If the selected target is a runway then this will be the heading of the
selected runway.
target during the current orbit as calculated using great circle math.
target.
Horizontal Speed (m/s): The average horizontal speed of the vessel using the horizontal
distance traveled over the last five refreshes.

Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels horizontal speed is changing.
Vertical Speed (m/s): The average vertical speed of the vessel using the vertical distance
travelled over the last five refreshes.
Vert Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels vertical speed is changing.
Altitude (km): The vessels altitude above the nearest surface.
Course (): The vessels course.
Course Change (/s): The rate at which the vessels course is changing.
Pitch (): The vessels pitch.
Bank (): The vessels bank.
Hypothetical State:
This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel when you reach your desired landing
speed specified in the Hypothetical State Inputs section. Because current vessel state is used in
the calculations, constant acceleration/deceleration is assumed. Therefore the calculations here
are very rough and will typically be fluctuating. And so they should be used as a guideline for
unpowered landings, and should not be relied on solely. Do your best to adjust your vertical
speed and horizontal speed to keep these fields green, which will give you the best chance for a
successful landing. This is intended as a supplement and not a replacement to standard MFDs
such as the HSI MFD. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Position: The hypothetical vessel position. This is calculated by calculating the hypothetical
horizontal distance traveled to reach your desired landing speed. The hypothetical horizontal
distance traveled is calculated by multiplying the calculated Time To Land by the calculated
hypothetical average horizontal speed, which assumes constant deceleration.
This will be negative if you are going to overshoot the target (i.e. coming in long).
Conversely, his field will be positive if you are coming in short. This field will turn red if it
is greater than 2,500 meters long or short of the target.
Target Bearing (): The vessels hypothetical absolute bearing to the selected target. This
field will turn red if the hypothetical Target Distance is greater than 2,500 meters long or
short of the target.
Altitude (km): The hypothetical altitude of the vessel. This is calculated by calculating the
hypothetical vertical distance traveled by multiplying the calculated Time To Land by the
hypothetical calculated average vertical speed, which assumes constant vertical
acceleration/deceleration. This will be negative if the calculated value is below the surface

(i.e. coming in low). Conversely, this field will be positive if you are coming in high. This
field will turn red if it is 2,500 meters low or high of the target.
Time To Land (s): The amount of time before your desired landing speed is reached. This is
calculated using the current horizontal speed of the vessel and current deceleration of the
vessel. In other words, constant deceleration is assumed, which is almost certainly never the
case on an unpowered landing. So this will fluctuate as you land.
Tutorials
See Earth Landing Tutorial.

5.6 Powered Deorbit Calculator
The Powered Deorbit Calculator calculates the amount of Delta-V and the exact time to perform
a burn to approach the specified target at the desired end speed and distance from the target. The
formulas used by this calculator were derived using trendlines from data gathered from repeated
Moon landings under varying scenarios. This differs from all other calculators in which
calculations are from known physics formulas. As a result, its use on surfaces other than the
Moon may be inaccurate and is not recommended. Even on the Moon inaccuracies may occur.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Powered Deorbit Calculator, Powered Landing
CalculatorAeroBrake Landing Calculator).
Shift-T TGT
Desired distanced
and speed from
target at end of
deorbit burn
Sub-program name
in calculations
Vessel position at
burn and after burn
relative to target
Calculated burn
parameters that can
be entered into the
IMFD Course Delta-
V program

Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and Powered Deorbit
Calculator.

This section is an input section. This is a hypothetical value meaning it reflects the desired state
of the vessel after the calculated deorbit burn completes. Descriptions of each of the fields are
below.
Offset Distance (km): The desired distance from the target.
End Speed (m/s): The desired vessel speed when the deorbit burn completes (i.e. the
desired approach speed to the target).
See Delta-V Calculator Hypothetical Thrust section.
Current State:
target during the current orbit as calculated using orbital math.
target.
Eccentricity: The current orbit eccentricity which will turn red if the current orbit is not
circular to indicate that calculations are only accurate if the orbit is circular.

Hypothetical State:
This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel after performing the deorbit burn. In
addition some burn parameters are displayed. Descriptions of each of the fields are below.
Vertical Speed (m/s): The vessels estimated average vertical speed needed to reach the
target following the burn. This is useful to help predict the vertical speed that you will need
to program into a hover autopilot to reach the target. This is a function of the Hypothetical
State Inputs and the hypothetical Altitude (specifically Altitude/(End Speed/End
Distance)).
Altitude (km): The vessels estimated hypothetical altitude.
Time To Closest (s): The estimated time it will take you to reach the target once the burn
completes. This is a function of the Hypothetical State Inputs (specifically Offset
Distance/End Speed).
Burn Pos: The position at which to perform the deorbit burn which is the position where
Time To Burn in the Burn Parameters section reaches zero.
Burn Parameters:
into the calculator (in the Hypothetical State Inputs and Hypothetical Thrust sections). These are
C.
Tutorials
See Moon Landing Tutorial.


5.7 Powered Landing Calculator
The Powered Landing Calculator calculates the time to perform a burn to reduce your speed to
zero and end up precisely on your target.
Layout:

Function Buttons:
Shift-M MOD Toggle the mode (Powered Deorbit Calculator, Powered Landing
CalculatorAeroBrake Landing Calculator).
Shift-S SET Function is not used.
Shift-T TGT
Shift-L H/V Toggle between locking Horizontal Speed or Vertical Speed for
Required Speed calculation.
Shift-D A/P Toggle between AeroBrake Landing Calculator and Powered Landing
relative to target
Hypothetical vessel
position if you were
to burn the selected
thruster until your
Horizontal Speed is
0
Required Horizontal
Speed or Vertical
Speed to land at
target, depending
on which one is
locked
Sub-program name

Calculator.
Shift-B REL Toggle between displaying relative bearings and absolute bearing. If
relative bearings are selected an R will be displayed next to displayed
bearings.

Current State:
Descriptions of each of the fields are below. Note that the interval for calculation speed is
shorter than AeroBrake Landing Calculator (2 refreshes vs. 5 refreshes). Descriptions of each of
the fields are below.
target during the current orbit as calculated using great circle math.
target.
Horizontal Speed (m/s): The average horizontal speed of the vessel using the horizontal
distance traveled over the last two refreshes.
Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels horizontal speed is changing.
Vertical Speed (m/s): The average vertical speed of the vessel using the vertical distance
travelled over the last two refreshes.
Vert Acceleration (m/s): The rate at which the vessels vertical speed is changing.
Altitude (km): The vessels altitude above the nearest surface.
Course (): The vessels course.
Course Change (/s): The rate at which the vessels course is changing.

Hypothetical Burn:
This section displays the hypothetical state of the vessel if you were to burn the selected thruster
right now until your horizontal speed is 0. This will constantly change as your vessel position
changes. A couple ways to use this is to time a burn to end at certain distance from the target by
performing the burn when Target Distance is the distance you want to be from the target. Or
you can wait until Time To Burn is 0 and burn so that you will end up directly on the target.
Time To Burn (s): This is when you should burn to land directly on the selected target.
Altitude (km): The vessels estimated hypothetical altitude.
Required Speed:
This section calculates either required vertical speed or required horizontal speed to land at the
closest point to the target. Use the H/V function button (Shift-L) to lock either your vessels
current horizontal speed or current vertical speed. The locked speed will be highlighted in
yellow. For example, if you lock horizontal speed, then based on your vessels current horizontal
speed a hypothetical vertical speed will be calculated. This hypothetical vertical speed is the
vertical speed you must maintain given your current horizontal speed, to land at the closest point
to the target. This hypothetical vertical speed can be entered directly into a hover autopilot. The
reason the closest point is used instead of the target point is that the closest point is on your great
circle path. And, if you are going to make a successful landing, the closets point should
eventually be less than 100 meters from the target, or you wont have much success landing.
Horizontal Speed (m/s): Either the vessels current horizontal speed, of if Vertical Speed is
locked then the horizontal speed required to land at the closest point to the target.
Vertical Speed (m/s): Either the vessels current vertical speed, of if Horizontal Speed is
locked then the vertical speed required to land at the closest point to the target.
Time To Closest (s): If your horizontal speed and vertical speed are set to the values in this
section, this is the time it will take to reach the closest point to the target.
Tutorials
See Moon Landing Tutorial and Mars Landing Tutorial.


6 Tutorials
This section contains tutorials of the Calculators Program sub-programs. Before doing any of
the tutorials make sure you have installed the required plugins as specified in Appendix A.

6.1 Altitude Change Calculator Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate raising a 30x30 km circular orbit around the Moon to a 500x500
km circular orbit around the Moon. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Altitude Change
Calculator.
Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Moon Orbit scenario. This scenario starts with your vessel in
about a 30x30 km circular orbit (i.e. eccentricity is 0) around the Moon.
The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Altitude Change Calculator sub-
program running as shown here:

Press the NXT function button to select Apoapsis in the Hypothetical Altitude section of the
Altitude Change Calculator.
Our current orbit is
roughly a 30x30
km circular orbit

Press the SET function button on the Altitude Change Calculator and enter 500 in the
Apoapsis dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

Apoapsis is
selected
We would like to
raise our apoapsis
to 500 km
If we burn our main
thrusters for
5.7758 seconds at
any time we will
raise our apoapsis
to 500 km

Replace the Orbit MFD in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to perform
the deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. NOTE: Since you are currently in a circular
orbit you can burn anytime. As a result the Time To Burn MJD in the Burn Parameters
section will be fluctuating and can be ignored. In other words the dVf from the Burn
Parameters section must be copied to IMFD, but the Time To Burn (TEj) can be anything.
Before the deorbit burn your IMFD screen should look something like this:

Once the IMFD has finished the burn, your apoapsis should be around 500 km.
TEj can be
anything since we
are in a circular
orbit, in this case
we just kept the
default
We set dVf to
94.982 in IMFD as
calculated in the
Burn Parameters

Press the PRV function button to select Periapsis in the Hypothetical Altitude section of the
Altitude Change Calculator.

After the burn our
apoapsis is around
500 km
Periapsis is
selected

Press the SET function button on the Altitude Change Calculator and enter 500 in the
Periapsis dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

The right MFD should still be loaded with the IMFD in Burn Vector view. So press the <
function button next to BV followed by pressing the PG function button in the right MFD to
exit Burn Vector view. Then use the IMFD to perform the deorbit burn as described in
Appendix C. NOTE: Unlike the first burn to raise our apoapsis, you must burn at the Time
To Burn MJD specified in the Burn Parameters.
Before the deorbit burn your IMFD screen should look something like this:
We would like to
raise our periapsis
to 500 km
If we wait about
3870 seconds and
burn our main
thrusters for
5.4326 seconds we
will raise our
periapsis to 500
km

Once the burn has completed you should be in roughly a 500x500 km circular orbit.
Set dVf to 89.5383
in IMFD as
calculated in the
Burn Parameters
and TEj should be
within a second of
the Time To Burn

After the second
burn we are in
roughly a 500x500
km circular orbit

6.2 ISS Synchronization Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate how to synchronize your speed with the ISS at a distance of less
than 1 km. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Vessel Docking Calculator.
Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 ISS Synchronization scenario. This scenario starts with your
vessel about 70 km from the ISS. The orbit of your vessel has already been aligned and
synchronized with the ISS and we are our on our final approach orbit to the ISS.
The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Vessel Docking Calculator sub-
program running with a target of ISS as shown here:

Press the TH+ function button on the Vessel Docking Calculator to switch to retro thrusters
We are about 70
km from ISS with a
relative speed of
108 m/s which
means we will
reach the ISS in
about 640 seconds

Press the H key on your keyboard until you are in Docking HUD Mode as shown below.
Retro thrusters
have been
selected

Switch to rotational thrusters by pressing the ROT function button in the upper left hand
corner of glass cockpit view.

Use your rotational thrusters (1, 3 for left/right and 2, 8 for up/down) to line your vessels
direction indicator up with the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator
(indicated by the circle with a + in the middle). If this indicator is not visible, its location is
depicted by the arrow with V[ISS] on top of it, as shown in the screenshot above. Assuming
your vessel is in a similar position as the screenshot above, you would need to initially use
left rotation by pressing the 1 key on your keypad, to line up the indicators. Use the 5 key on
your keypad to kill your rotation as needed to fine-tune your alignment. Once they are lined
up, your screen should look something like the screenshot below. NOTE: Directly behind
the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator is the velocity of the ship relative
Your vessels
direction indicator
The velocity of the target relative to the ship is currently not
visible, but is directly left as depicted here by the left arrow
Rotational
thrusters selected

to the target depicted by a circle with a dot in the center of it. If you choose to use main
thrusters instead of retro thrusters to synchronize your speed, then you would line your
direction indicator up with the velocity of the ship relative to the target indictor instead.

Sit and wait until the Target Distance in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel
Docking Calculator is around 1 km. Based on the above screenshot we will have to wait over
600 seconds. Feel free to fast forward time using the T key on your keyboard. Just make
sure you continually make adjustments to keep your vessels direction indictor on top of the
velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator. If you do need to make adjustments it
is recommended you slow time back to normal time using the R key, make your adjustments
and then fast forward time once aligned.
When the Target Distance in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel Docking
Calculator is around 1 km press and hold the Minus key on your keypad to synchronize your
speed with the ISS. You will need to burn for the amount of time specified by the Burn
Time in the Hypothetical State section of the Vessel Docking Calculator. You will need to
simultaneously use rotational thrusters as needed to keep your vessels direction indictor on
The vessels direction indicator is lined up with
the velocity of the target relative to the ship

top of the velocity of the target relative to the ship indicator. This is a little tricky and
may take some practice.

When the burn if almost finished, you will see the velocity of the target relative to the
ship indicator move rapidly off the screen which means you have synchronized your speed
with the ISS. If all went well you should be within 1 km of the ISS with a relative speed of
less than 1 m/s.
If we burn our retro thrusters right now for 33.44 seconds we would
end up around 1 km from the ISS with a relative speed of 0

The actual docking is left as an exercise for the reader. The Orbiter documentation contains
a tutorial that describes this procedure in detail.

We have completed the burn and
are about 1 km from the ISS with a
relative speed of less than 1 m/s
Now that our speed is synchronized with
the ISS we can take our time to aim our
vessel to the approach path

6.3 Moon Landing Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate landing at Brighton Beach Pad 1 on the Moon from a 30x30 km
circular orbit around the Moon in a DeltaGliderIV-2. The BaseSyncMFD was used to get our
current orbit within 1 km of the target. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Powered
Deorbit Calculator and the Powered Landing Calculator.
Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Moon Deorbit scenario.
The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the Powered Deorbit Calculator
sub-program running with a target of Brighton Beach Pad 1 as shown here:

In the right MFD launch the COM/NAV MFD and use the <, <<, >, and >> function
buttons as appropriate to change NAV1 to 132.20 MHz which is the frequency for Brighton
Beach Pad 1.
Target is Brighton
Beach Pad 1
Our closest
distance to the
target on this
current orbit will be
less than 1 km at a
bearing of 1.52
(typically you want
your orbit to pass
as close as
possible to the
target for powered
landings on a
landing pad)

Our strategy will be to use the Powered Deorbit Calculator to calculate a deorbit burn using
main thrusters to get us around 10 km of our target at a speed of around 25 m/s.
Press the SET function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator and enter 10 in the Offset
Distance dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.
Press the NXT function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator to highlight End Speed in
the Hypothetical State Inputs section.
Set NAV1 to 132.2
MHz, which is the
frequency of
Brighton Beach
Pad 1

Press the SET function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator and enter 25 in the End
Speed dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

We have set the
Offset Distance to
10 km and have
highlighted the End
Speed
When the deorbit
burn completes we
want to be 10 km
from the target with
a horizontal speed
of 25 m/s
When the deorbit
burn completes our
altitude will be
around 28 km, and
we will be about
400 seconds from
the target,
requiring a vertical
speed of about -70
m/s to lower our
altitude to 0

Replace the COM/NAV MFD in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to
perform the deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. Before the deorbit burn your IMFD
screen should look something like this:

Once the deorbit burn has been completed by IMFD, immediately engage the H-Level
autopilot by pressing the L key on your keyboard.
Once your ship has leveled with the horizon, immediately press C on your keyboard to stop
the H-Level autopilot. NOTE: You may need to press C twice to disable the H-Level
autopilot. Just make sure that no autopilots are enabled at this point by looking at the
autopilot indicators at the bottom center of glass cockpit view.

Immediately enter p200s8 and press the Return key on your keyboard to load the auto hover
autopilot. Press the E key on your keyboard to enable the auto hover autopilot.
Press the MOD function button on the Powered Deorbit Calculator to switch to the Powered
Landing Calculator.
Press the REL function button on the Powered Landing Calculator to switch to relative
bearings, which will help us line our vessel up with the target later.
All autopilots are
disabled
Set dVf to -1644.7549
in IMFD as calculated
in the Burn
Parameters and TEj
should be within a
second of the Time To
Burn

Press the TH- function button in the Powered Landing Calculator until Tran-B appears in the
lower right hand corner. This means that translation back thrusters will be used in the
calculations.

Replace the IMFD in the right MFD with the VOR/VTOL MFD. The VOR/VTOL MFD
should already be tuned to NAV1 132.20MHz, which is Brighton Beach Pad 1. If all went
well, our course should be within a degree of the target, but our vessel will most likely be
pointing in the wrong direction.
Translation back
thrusters have been
selected

Use 1 and/or 3 on your keypad to use rotational thrusters to point your vessel toward the
target. Use the 5 key on your keypad to kill rotation as necessary to fine tune the alignment.

We are pretty much
on course to reach
the target as
depicted by the
yellow arrow on top
of the green line, but
we are pointing in
the opposite
direction
After using rotational
thrusters we are
now pointing directly
at the target but our
course is slightly to
the right, which is
easily adjusted with
translation thrusters

Press the 2 key on your keypad repeatedly until the Vertical Speed in the Current State
section is about the same as the Vertical Speed in the Required Speed section of the
Powered Landing Calculator. It is better to error on a value that is lower than the Required
Speed value as we will be lowering this value later as we get closer to the target to account
for the loss of horizontal speed to land.

Switch to linear thrusters by pressing the LIN function button in the upper left hand corner of
glass cockpit view. If your vessel is facing the target, then you should not need rotational
thrusters anymore.

Use left/right translation by using 1 and 3 on your keypad to keep your vessel in line with the
landing pad. If the target is to the left, then press the 1 key on your keypad to use linear
thrusters to perform a left translation. If the target is to the right, press the 3 key on your
keypad to use linear thrusters to perform a right translation. The idea with the left/right
translation is to get your relative bearing to the target as close to 0/360 degrees as possible.
The relative bearing is depicted by the Target Bearing in the Current State section of the
Powered Landing Calculator.
Linear thrusters
selected
We have adjusted
the hover autopilot
so our vertical speed
is holding at around
-66 m/s, which is the
required vertical
speed to land at the
target given our
current horizontal
speed of 25.789 m/s
Horizontal speed is
locked meaning
required vertical
speed will be
calculated

You will need to turn on the hydraulic power in order to lower the landing gear. Press the F8
key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode. Press CTRL-UP arrow on your
keyboard to go to the upper panel. Turn on the hydraulic power by pressing the HYD
PRESS button on the left hand of the upper panel as shown below.

Press F8 to switch back to glass cockpit mode.
Our landing strategy is to perform our final burn to reduce our horizontal speed to 0 using
our translation back thrusters by pressing the 9 key on your keypad. You will perform this
final burn when Time To Burn is around 1 second as shown in the Hypothetical Burn
section of the Powered Landing Calculator. As you approach the target keep an eye on the
Altitude in the Hypothetical Burn section of the Powered Landing Calculator. You want to
Press the HYD PRESS button to turn
on hydraulic power, once on the light
will turn on to signify it is running
Our vessels relative bearing to the target is about 0 which is also reflected in the
VOR/VTOL MFD by the yellow arrow directly on top of the green line

keep this between 1 and 2 km by using the 2 key on your keypad to lower your vertical speed
as required (this recommendation is to give you a buffer so you dont crash into the ground,
and advanced users can aim for an altitude between 0 and 1 km). You may also need to use
left/right translation by using 1 and 3 on your keypad to keep your vessel in line with the
target as described previously.

As you are performing your burn with the translation back thrusters the information
displayed within the Hypothetical Burn section should remain fairly constant. You should
also see your horizontal speed drop.
If all went well, you should be on top of the landing pad at an altitude between 1 and 2 km.
When this reaches
about 1 second
press and hold the 9
key on your keypad
for about 83
seconds and you
should end up over
the landing pad at
an altitude of about
1.8 km

At an altitude of about 500 km press 2 on your keypad to slow your vertical speed to around
5-10 m/s. If you are beginner, a slower vertical speed is recommended so you have more
time to make adjustments if you move off the pad. Make any adjustments as necessary with
your linear thrusters to keep the cross centered in the VOR/VTOL MFD.
At an altitude around 100-200 km press 2 on your keypad to slow your vertical speed to 1-2
m/s for landing.
When your altitude is less than 100 km press G on your keyboard to lower your landing gear.
Land your vessel, making any adjustments as necessary with your linear thrusters to keep the
cross centered in the VOR/VTOL MFD. If your vertical speed is too high when you touch
down, you will destroy your landing gear.

We have finished the burn with the translation back thrusters and we are 1 meter
from the center of the landing pad at an altitude of 1 km

6.4 Earth Landing Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate landing at Cape Canaveral Runway 33 on the Earth from a
311x311 km circular orbit around the Earth that originated from undocking from Mir in a
DeltaGliderIV-2. The BaseSyncMFD was used to get our current orbit within 10 km of the
target (if you will be landing on a runway like we do in this tutorial, you probably dont want to
get any closer than 5 km so you have room to position yourself to land). This tutorial will
demonstrate the use of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator and AeroBrake Landing Calculator.
Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Earth Deorbit scenario.
The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator
sub-program running with a target of Cape Canaveral Runway 33 as shown here:

In the right MFD launch the AeroBrakeMFD.
Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter 90 into the Hypothetical
DeltaV dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad. The value 90 was derived from
testing and typically a value between 50 and 100 will work for Earth deorbit burns in
DeltaGliderIV-2. Variations are usually due to differences in vessel altitude. More details
later in this tutorial.
Press the TGT function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter the Target Pos from the
Current State section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator into the Target Base dialog and
then press the Enter key on your keypad (just enter the two numbers separated by a space and
do not enter the degree symbols or comma).
Target is Cape
Canaveral Runway
33
Our closest
distance to the
target will be about
9 km at a bearing
of 356 which is
south of the target
(typically you will
want to be within
20 km of target on
your final orbit
before using this
calculator for Earth
runway landings)

Your AeroBrakeMFD should now look something like this:
Target Pos from
Current State is
entered into the
Target Base dialog
on AeroBrakeMFD

Fast forward time until the green current vessel position maker on the AeroBrakeMFD is
roughly opposite the yellow target position maker as shown here:

Target Position
which is the
position of Cape
Canaveral Runway
33
Hypothetical
DeltaV of 90 m/s =
dVf of -90 m/s
Current vessel
position is opposite
target position
Target position

Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode.
Type p104s40 on your keyboard and hit the Return key on your keyboard. The FC
BACKUP DISPLAY in the middle of the virtual cockpit should display Program
PRO104SPEC40. This program is the DeltaGliderIV-2 reentry autopilot which will hold
your vessel at an Angle of Attack (AoA) of 40 degrees during reentry. If another program
was loaded before entering p104s40 then you may have to press the C key on your keyboard
to clear out the running program first. And then you can reenter p104s40.

Press the E key on your keyboard to engage the reentry autopilot. We have not performed
our deorbit burn yet, but we need to engage the autopilot now as this serves as our
hypothetical AoA since there is no way to enter a hypothetical AoA directly into the
AeroBrakeMFD like we did for Delta-V.
Wait for the reentry autopilot to finish orienting your vessel to an AoA of 40 degrees.
Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch back to glass cockpit mode. The AeroBrake
calculation should now look similar to below. (You can experiment with different HDv and
AoA values if you want. Although on Earth reentry with DeltaGliderIV-2, AoA values other
than 40 are likely to cause your vessel to burn up on reentry. A lower HDv usually means it
will take you longer to land. And if your HDv is too low, then you would never land and the
Land Pos would not be displayed. If your HDv is too high the G-Max will turn red on the
AeroBrakeMFD signifying that your crew would die on reentry. Also, with a higher HDv
you risk burning up on reentry. Typically aim for a G-Max between 3 and 5. TIP: You can
use the BaseSyncMFD Deorbit program to enter a reentry angle and anticipation and it will
tell you the Delta-V required. The correct reentry angle and anticipation for a particular
vessel can be derived through experimentation, or if you are lucky it may be found in the
vessels documentation. The calculated Delta-V can be entered as the HDv in the
AeroBrakeMFD. Of course dont perform the deorbit burn with the BaseSyncMFD if you
plan on using the procedure described in this tutorial to perform your deorbit burn.)

Press CTRL-P on your keyboard to pause the simulator. Write down the MJD from the
Current State section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator. And write down the Land Pos
from the AeroBrakeMFD. If you paused your screen as shown below you would write down
51984.940334 for MJD and -112.04 22.691 for Land Pos. Your values will most likely
differ from these, which is fine.
Current AoA of
vessel is 40
If you were to burn
-90 m/s dVf right
now and were to
keep an AoA of 40
on reentry you
would land at
101.26W,
25.624E as
depicted by the
grey line

Press CTRL-P on your keyboard to resume the simulator.
Screenshots taken
while paused with
MJD of
51984.940334 and
Land Pos of
112.04W, 22.691N
(-112.04 22.691)

Make sure the Position and MJD values are highlighted in the AeroBrake Inputs section of
the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator. If they are not press the PRV function button until they
are.
Press the SET function button on the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator to bring up the Predicted
Position dialog. Enter the MJD and Land Pos as you wrote down in the format shown
below. TIP: When the Predicted Position dialog comes up it will default the MJD to the time
at which you pressed the SET function button. If you are following this tutorial you will have
to replace that value with the value you wrote down. Alternatively if you slow the simulator
down to Wrp 0.1x you will have about 10 seconds to copy the Land Pos from the
AeroBrakeMFD to the Predicted Position dialog as you will not need to adjust MJD since it
reflects the time of the reading from AeroBrakeMFD. You have to be fairly quick to do this,
but it will eliminate the need to physical write down the values to be copied back later.

We will not adjust the Offset Distance in the Hypothetical State Inputs section as we want
to end up at the closest distance to the target, which is about 9 km in this scenario.
Furthermore there will be some error here of up to one second since we are taking inputs
from two different MFDs. And a one second error at 7,700 m/s orbital speed means you
would miss your mark by 7.7 km. This is ok as the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator is accurate
enough even with the margin of error to get us close enough where in a worst case scenario
we should only need to make a couple minor AoA adjustments late on reentry to get us close
enough to our target to do an unpowered landing.
The Hypothetical State section will now display a calculated estimate (it is an estimate
because of the margin of error talked about in previous paragraph and this is actually
calculated as a landing position which of course we dont want to land until we hit the
runway) of where your vessel position would be if you were to burn dVf -90 m/s at the
specified Time To Burn MJD in the Burn Parameters section and then reenter with an AoA
of 40 degrees. WARNING: This will only be accurate if you are in a circular orbit. The
reason is that the reentry trajectory predicted by the AeroBrakeMFD will vary depending on
your altitude.

Press the Space bar on your keyboard to disable the reentry autopilot. You can press the F8
key on your keyboard to go to virtual cockpit mode if you want to verify the autopilot has
stopped. It is very important that the autopilot is not running before continuing as it will
collide with the IMFD autopilot used to perform the actual deorbit burn.
Replace the AeroBrakeMFD in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to
perform the deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. Before the deorbit burn your IMFD
screen should look something like this:
MJD and Land Pos
as entered
Estimated landing
position, which is
close enough so we
can make minor
AoA adjustments on
reentry to position
us for landing
This is when the -90
m/s dVf burn needs
to be performed
using IMFD as
described in
Appendix C

Once the deorbit burn has been completed by IMFD press the MOD function button on the
AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator to switch to the AeroBrake Landing Calculator.
Replace the IMFD in the right MFD with the AeroBrakeMFD. Press the HDv function
button on the AeroBrakeMFD to launch the Hypothetical DeltaV dialog. Leave blank and
press the Enter key on your keypad to clear out the HDV. Since we have completed our
deorbit burn we are no longer using AeroBrakeMFD as a hypothetical calculator. Instead we
are using it as a real-time tool to help us precisely land at our target.
Press the PG function button on the AeroBrakeMFD until you are in the Graph/Map
program. Press the PRJ function button on the AeroBrakeMFD until the map is displayed.
Your AeroBrakeMFD should look something like this.
TEj from IMFD
should be within 1
second of Time To
Burn from
DVToolsMFD
dVf is set to -90,
which is -1*HDv
entered into
AeroBrakeMFD

Fast forward time until your Altitude is about 120 km as shown in the Current State section
of the AeroBrake Landing Calculator. TIP: For the most consistent landings you should
engage the reentry autopilot before you start hitting the planets atmosphere. If either the
dynamic pressure (DNP) or static pressure (STP) as displayed in the Surface MFD is greater
than zero, then you are in the atmosphere. You will notice that at 120 km you are in the
Earths atmosphere, but the atmosphere is so thin that you will see little deviation in your
final landing position by waiting until 120 km to engage the reentry autopilot.
Press the E key on your keyboard to reengage the reentry autopilot. NOTE: If you loaded
another program since you disengaged the reentry autopilot, you may have to press the C key
on your keyboard to clear out that program and then enter p104s40 followed by E.
If everything has went well, once the reentry autopilot is fully engaged the AeroBrakeMFD
should predict your landing point within one degree of the target as shown here:
Graph/Map
program

Sit back and relax as your vessel begins reentry. If you are within a half degree of the target
you can wait until your horizontal speed is around 3,500 m/s before making any adjustments.
When making adjustments, if you are long press the 2 key on your keypad to raise your AoA
(as is our case). If you are short, press the 8 key on your keypad to lower your AoA. Keep
in mind that the predicted position is the predicted landing position where the landing
velocity (Land Vel) is predicted to be around 93 m/s as shown on the AeroBrakeMFD. This
tutorial recommends disengaging the reentry autopilot when your horizontal speed is around
800 m/s so we have enough speed to turn and line our vessel up with the runway. So keep
this in mind since the AeroBrakeMFD predicts your landing point and not the point you
disengage the reentry autopilot. It is recommended you practice a little to determine what
works best for you.
Since reentry takes a while we will prepare our vessel for landing. Press the SET function
button on the AeroBrake Landing Calculator. Enter 150 and press the Enter key on your
keypad to set your End Speed to 150 m/s in the Hypothetical State Inputs section of the
AeroBrake Landing Calculator. This is the desired speed we want to land at.
Predicted landing
point as depicted
by dotted green
line is within one
degree of the
target which is
shown as the
yellow dot at the
center of the graph
Current AoA is 40
degrees as kept by
the P104S40
reentry autopilot

Replace the right MFD with the COM/NAV MFD and use the <, <<, >, and >> function
buttons as appropriate to change NAV1 to 134.20 MHz which is the frequency for Cape
Canaveral Runway 33.
End Speed has
been set to 150
m/s which is the
speed we want to
land at, and will be
used in the
calculations in the
Hypothetical State
section

Switch to ELEVON & GEAR by pressing the left mouse button once on the knob above the
left MFD.

Press the F8 key to switch back to glass cockpit mode. Alternatively you can stay in virtual
cockpit mode and press the D key followed by the 3 key on your keyboard so you can
monitor your vessels temperature to make sure any adjustments you make will not cause your
vessel to burn up.

Set NAV1 to 134.2
MHz, which is the
frequency of Cape
Canaveral Runway
33
Make sure knob is set to
ELEVON & GEAR
If you choose to monitor
temperature then make
sure temperature
readings remain blue

Switch the right MFD back to the AeroBrakeMFD before your horizontal speed reaches
4,000 m/s so you can monitor your reentry trajectory and see the effects of any adjustments
you make (such as an AoA change).
Based on the AeroBrakeMFD predicted landing position, we raised the AoA to 45 degrees at
around a horizontal speed of 3,500 m/s by pressing the 2 key on the keypad. And then raised
the AoA to 50 degrees at a horizontal speed of 2,000 m/s by pressing the 2 key on the keypad
again. After these adjustments where made the AeroBrakeMFD looked like this. NOTE: As
mentioned earlier you need to determine based on your situation, what adjustments need to
be made in order to be able to line yourself up with the runway and land. This is often a trial
and error process that you will get better at with experience. You may even find some better
adjustments for use with this tutorial scenario. Also, based on the adjustments that were
needed during reentry we could have probably set the Offset Distance in the Hypothetical
State Inputs section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator to 40 and then we probably would
not have to make any adjustments on reentry.

When your horizontal speed is around 800 m/s press the SPACE bar on your keyboard to
disengage the reentry autopilot. The nose of your vessel will drop quickly to around -20
degrees. Your Altitude should be about 22-23 km. And you should be about 35 km at an
absolute bearing of about 65 degrees to the target. You should not have to maneuver your
vessel until you make your turn to the runway as described later.
At this point it is recommended that you do a Quicksave just in case you botch the landing
and want to retry until you get it right. Especially if you are an Orbiter beginner.
After making a
couple minor
adjustments on
reentry we are on
track to land
slightly before our
target - and if you
are following this
tutorial, try and
make adjustments
so your predicted
position is very
close to what is
shown here

You will need to turn on the hydraulic power in order to lower the landing gear. Press the F8
key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode. Press CTRL-UP arrow on your
keyboard to go to the upper panel. Turn on the hydraulic power by pressing the HYD
PRESS button on the left hand of the upper panel as shown below.

Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch back to glass cockpit view.
Replace the right MFD with the HSI MFD. Tune this to NAV1, which was previously set to
a frequency of 134.20MHz which is the frequency for Cape Canaveral Runway 33. Most
likely you will be out of range. But be patient and stay on your current heading and the
runway will be in range shortly.
When the BRG in the HSI MFD reads about 5 degrees, bank to left about 90 degrees using
the 4 key on your keypad. Your horizontal speed should be around 500 m/s. Tap the 2 key
on your keypad several times to bring your vessel around to line it up with the runway. Use
the HSI display to help in the alignment. Be careful that you do not hold the 2 key down too
long at the start of the bank because you will cause excessive G-forces to your crew, possibly
knocking them unconscious or even killing them. You will probably need to hold the 2 key
down a little longer at the end of the turn as the yellow line approaches the yellow arrow in
the center of the HSI MFD. NOTE: Feel free to come up with your own maneuver to line
yourself up with the runway and dont feel obligated to perform the exact 90 degree turn
performed here. Even if you perform the maneuver described here it will most likely take
some practice to master. And of course a different maneuver would be required if you were
to deorbit from a different orbit.
Press the HYD PRESS button to turn
on hydraulic power, once on the light
will turn on to signify it is running

If everything went well, you should be on a decent approach to the runway at about 1 km
away as shown below. Although a little high in the screenshot below, it is close enough and
inline to make a decent unpowered landing. Use the 2 and 8 keys on your keypad to try and
keep the values displayed in the Hypothetical State section of the AeroBrake Landing
Calculator green. When these values are red you are at higher risk of under shooting or over
shooting the runway. This is typically pretty touchy so do your best and dont worry if you
cant keep it green all the time. It is simply another tool you can use along with the HSI
MFD, Surface MFD, PAPI and VASI to help you land.
Bank left 90 to
turn to the target
when the bearing
reads 005
After banking left,
tap the 2 key until
this line starts
lining up with the
arrow, and then
hold the 2 key
down to line it up
as your speed
should be low
enough to avoid
excessive G-forces

Press the G key on your keyboard to deploy the landing gear.
Land the vessel. Feel free to monitor your Pitch and Bank in the Current State section of the
AeroBrake Landing Calculator to try and land as level as possible. And more importantly
make sure the Vertical Speed displayed in the Current State section of the AeroBrake
Landing Calculator is less than -5 m/s on touchdown to avoid damaging your landing gear.
Once you touchdown press the comma and period keys on your keyboard simultaneously to
brake your vessel and bring it to a stop.

Try to keep these values green by
using the 2 and 8 keys on your keypad
HSI shows us pretty much on line, but
our coming in a little high

6.5 Mars Landing Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate landing at Olympus Pad 1 on Mars from a 200x200 km circular
orbit around Mars in a DeltaGliderIV-2. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the AeroBrake
Deorbit Calculator, Powered Landing Calculator and Delta-V Calculator. Since parts of this
tutorial are very similar to the Earth Landing Tutorial, the Earth Landing Tutorial will be
referenced where appropriate. WARNING: It is recommended you change your MFD refresh
rate to 0.25 seconds or less for this tutorial to ensure maximum accuracy when copying the
landing position from the AeroBrakeMFD to the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator. This is because
position accuracy is critical when aerobraking on Mars compared to Earth, which is why this
configuration change was not recommended for the Earth Landing Tutorial. You can change the
MFD refresh rate under the Parameters tab of the Orbiter Launchpad.
Launch the DVToolsMFD->DG4 Mars Deorbit scenario.
The left MFD should be loaded with DVToolsMFD with the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator
sub-program running with a target of Olympus Pad 1 as shown here:

In the right MFD launch the AeroBrakeMFD.
Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter 50 into the Hypothetical
DeltaV dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad. See Earth Landing Tutorial for
more information on how this is derived.
Target is Olympus
Pad 1
Our closest
distance to the
target will be about
43 km at a bearing
of 145 which is
north of the target
(typically you will
want to be within
50 km of target on
your final orbit
before using this
calculator for Mars
landing)

Press the TGT function button on the AeroBrakeMFD and enter the Target Pos from the
Current State section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator into the Target Base dialog and
then press the Enter key on your keypad just as done in the Earth Landing Tutorial.
Your AeroBrakeMFD should now look something like this:

Fast forward time until the green current vessel position maker on the AeroBrakeMFD is
roughly opposite the yellow target position just as done in the Earth Landing Tutorial.
Type p104s30 on your keyboard and hit the Return key on your keyboard. The FC
BACKUP DISPLAY in the middle of the virtual cockpit should display Program
PRO104SPEC30. This is similar to what was done in the Earth Landing Tutorial except we
are using a different AoA. Unlike an Earth reentry where varying much from an AoA of 40
degrees on reentry will cause your vessel to burn up, during a Mars reentry your vessel will
survive any AoA. Feel free to experiment with different AoA values as different values
affect the distance travelled on reentry.
Press the E key on your keyboard to engage the reentry autopilot. We have not performed
our deorbit burn yet, but we need to engage the autopilot now as this serves as our
hypothetical AoA since there is no way to enter a hypothetical AoA directly into the
AeroBrakeMFD like we did for Delta-V.
Wait for the reentry autopilot to finish orienting your vessel to an AoA of 30 degrees.
Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch back to glass cockpit mode.
Target Position
which is the
position of
Olympus Pad 1
Hypothetical
DeltaV of 50 m/s =
dVf of -50 m/s

Using the same procedure described in the Earth Landing Tutorial, enter the Position and
MJD into the AeroBrake Inputs section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator from the Land
Pos from the AeroBrakeMFD and MJD from the Current State section of the AeroBrake
Inputs section respectively. During writing the screen was paused with 42912.884620 for
MJD and -149.83 2.750 for Land Pos, so our AeroBrake Landing Calculator looks like
below. As mentioned in the Earth Landing Tutorial, it is unlikely your numbers will match
these numbers and that is ok. Also, as mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial this is very
sensitive so the closer you can be to the target when recording these numbers, the more
accurate you will be. Just make sure you give yourself sufficient time to enter your Time To
Burn MFD into the IMFD.

Unlike the Earth Landing Tutorial, we are going to set an Offset Distance. The reason is
that unlike an Earth reentry where aerobraking alone can slow your vessel down to around
100 m/s, on Mars aerobraking will only slow your vessel down to around 550 m/s. This is
shown in the AeroBrakeMFD as depicted below.
MJD and Land Pos
as entered

Our strategy is to use aerobraking to slow our vessel down to a velocity that is greater than
the Land Vel. displayed on the AeroBrakeMFD. This will ensure that when we reach our
target velocity, we will have time to turn on our hover thrusters and then use our retro
thrusters to eliminate the remaining velocity. From experience, it seems that a target velocity
of around 800 m/s is sufficient. So to calculate our offset distance we need to calculate the
distance our vessel would travel in the Martian atmosphere while burning our retro thrusters
full throttle until our vessel speed reaches zero. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will just
estimate this by using the Delta-V Calculator. The reason this is an estimate is that the Delta-
V Calculator calculates the distance travelled in a vacuum. And since we are on Mars, which
has an atmosphere, this calculation will be long. The exact steps are described next. These
steps will need to be performed fairly rapidly as you dont want to let your Time To Burn in
the Burn Parameters section of the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator to fall much below 100
seconds. And once you have done a few landings, you can probably bypass these steps and
just set an Offset Distance that works for you.
In the right MFD replace the AeroBrakeMFD with another DVToolsMFD (keep the existing
DVToolsMFD open in the left MFD).
Press the PRG function button in the right MFD to switch to the Delta-V Calculator.
Press the NXT function button repeatedly in the right MFD to highlight the Start Speed in
the Hypothetical Delta-V section as shown below.
If we were to
aerobrake all the
way to the ground
our landing velocity
would be around
555 m/s and of
course we dont
want to crash into
the ground at 555
m/s so we will
need to calculate
our Offset Distance
using a higher
velocity, say 800
m/s

Press the SET function button in the right MFD to launch the Start Speed dialog.
Type 800 and press Enter on your keypad.
Press the TH+ function button in the right MFD until Retro appears in the lower right hand
corner.
If your retro door is closed, then Burn Distance in the Hypothetical Vessel State section will
display 0.000. In this case you must open the retro door in order for the Delta-V Calculator
to calculate the Burn Distance.
To open the retro door, Press the F8 key on your keyboard to switch to virtual cockpit mode.
Press CTRL-DOWN arrow on your keyboard to go to the lower panel.
Right click on the RETRO DOOR knob in the lower left hand corner of the lower panel
until it is switched to OPEN.

OPEN
We have selected
Start Speed

The Delta-V Calculator should now be able to calculate the distance your vessel would travel
in a vacuum if you were to change your speed from 800 m/s to 0 m/s as shown below.

The screenshot above shows that we would travel 98.980 km. We will round this down to 90
km and use this for our Offset Distance. We round down because the distance calculated by
AeroBrakeMFD is for traveling all the way to the Land Pos. And we will stop aerobraking
at about 800 m/s and begin using retro thrusters. Also, as mentioned the estimate in the
Delta-V Calculator is long because it does not factor in the Martian atmosphere. TIP: Feel
free to experiment with lower Offset Distance values as 90 km is conservative and will put
you out a little farther than is required to land.
Close the retro door. To close the retro door, follow the procedure for opening the door
above except use a left mouse click on the knob to move it to the CLOSED position. It is
very important that the retro door is closed before the deorbit burn, because earlier we used
AeroBrakeMFD to predict our landing position with the retro door closed. So if we reenter
with the retro door open, we will miss our target because the lift efficiency (L/D) of the
vessel will have changed. NOTE: There is probably no reason on a Mars reentry that you
cant leave your hover door and retro door open as you will not burn up. You would just
need to leave them open when using AeroBrakeMFD to predict your landing position to enter
into the Vessel Docking Calculator. And this will eliminate the need to open them at 1,000
m/s as described later.
We have set the
Start Speed to 800
m/s
Given our current
vessel state, if we
were to change our
vessel speed from
800 m/s to 0 m/s in a
vacuum using retro
thrusters at full
throttle, we would
travel 98.98 km
Retro thrusters have
been selected

Press the NXT function button on the AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator until Offset Distance is
highlighted in the Hypothetical Inputs section.
Press the SET function button and enter 90 into the Offset Distance dialog and press the
Enter key on your keypad. This will enter the Offset Distance we just calculated into the
AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator.

Press the Space bar on your keyboard to disable the reentry autopilot. You can press the F8
key on your keyboard to go to virtual cockpit mode if you want to verify the autopilot has
stopped. It is very important that the autopilot is not running before continuing as it will
collide with the IMFD autopilot used to perform the actual deorbit burn.
Replace the Delta-V Calculator (or AeroBrakeMFD if you bypassed the calculation of the
Offset Distance) in the right MFD with the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) to perform the
CLOSED
Offset Distance has
been set to 90 km as
we estimated with
the Delta-V
Calculator
This is when the -50
m/s dVf burn needs
to be performed
using IMFD as
described in
Appendix C

deorbit burn as described in Appendix C. Before the deorbit burn your IMFD screen should
look something like this:

Once the deorbit burn has been completed by IMFD press the MOD function button on the
AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator to switch to the AeroBrake Landing Calculator.
Press the A/P function button on the AeroBrake Landing Calculator to switch to the Powered
Landing Calculator. This is different than the Earth Landing Tutorial because we will be
using our retro thrusters to do a powered landing.
Press the REL function button on the Powered Landing Calculator to switch to relative
bearings, which will help us line our vessel up with the target later on after aerobraking.
Replace the IMFD in the right MFD with the AeroBrakeMFD.
Press the HDv function button on the AeroBrakeMFD to launch the Hypothetical DeltaV
dialog. Leave blank and press the Enter key on your keypad to clear out the HDV. Since we
have completed our deorbit burn we are no longer using AeroBrakeMFD as a hypothetical
calculator. Instead we are using it as a real-time tool to help us precisely land at our target.
Press the PG function button on the AeroBrakeMFD until you are in the Graph/Map
program. Press the PRJ function button on the AeroBrakeMFD until the map is displayed.
TEj from IMFD
should be within 1
second of Time To
Burn from
DVToolsMFD
dVf is set to -50,
which is -1*HDv
entered into
AeroBrakeMFD

Fast forward time until your Altitude is about 120 km as shown in the Current State section
of the Powered Landing Calculator. See TIP in Earth Landing Tutorial for why 120 km was
chosen.
Press the E key on your keyboard to reengage the reentry autopilot. NOTE: If you loaded
another program since you disengaged the reentry autopilot, you may have to press the C key
on your keyboard to clear out that program and then p104s30 followed by E.
If everything has went well, once the reentry autopilot is fully engaged the AeroBrakeMFD
should predict your landing point about 1.5 degrees south-west of the target as shown here:

Ideally we would like to line our vessel up with the target. This is different from the Earth
Landing Tutorial where we wanted to be away from the target slightly so we could make a
turn to line our vessel up with the runway. Since the Martian atmosphere is so thin there is
little chance of burning up, so we can adjust the bank hold to line us up very early on reentry.
In this case since we are coming in left of the target, press the 6 key on your keypad to utilize
the bank hold feature of the reentry autopilot to hold us at a 5 degree bank right during
reentry. Your vessel should be pretty close to being in line with the target as shown in the
AeroBrakeMFD screenshot below. Dont worry if it does not line up perfectly as you can
make adjustments later. Although if you are way out of alignment it will be difficult to make
the adjustments later on.
Predicted landing
point as depicted
by dotted green
line is within 1.5
degrees of the
target which is
shown as the
yellow dot at the
center of the
graph, but we are
not lined up with
the target
Current AoA is 30
degrees as kept by
P104S30 reentry
autopilot

Sit back and relax as your vessel begins reentry.
Replace the right MFD with the COM/NAV MFD and use the <, <<, >, and >> function
buttons as appropriate to change NAV1 to 129.70 MHz which is the frequency for Olympus
Pad 1.
Switch the right MFD back to the AeroBrakeMFD before your horizontal speed reaches
2,000 m/s so you can monitor your reentry trajectory and see the effects of any adjustments
you make (such as an AoA change or bank change). If your vessel is online as shown in the
above AeroBrakeMFD screenshot, then you should not need to make any adjustments.
At around 1,000 m/s open the retro door and the hover door. The hover door knob is on the
same panel as the retro door knob that we have opened and closed already in previous steps.

Press the TH+ function key on the Powered Landing Calculator to select Retro.
Make sure both knobs are
set to OPEN
We are now lined
up with the target
after pressing 6 on
the keypad to hold
a bank right of 5
degrees

At around 800 m/s press the C key on your keyboard to cancel the reentry autopilot. At this
point it is recommended that you do a Quicksave just in case you botch the landing and want
to retry until you get it right. Especially if you are an Orbiter beginner.
Quickly enter p200s7 and press the Return key on your keyboard to load the manual hover
autopilot. Press the E key on your keyboard to enable the hover autopilot. TIP: This needs
to be done very quickly so feel free to slow down simulator speed to Wrp 0.1x by pressing
the R key on your keyboard. Once you have made the transition from the reentry autopilot to
the manual hover autopilot press the T key on your keyboard to return the simulator back to
normal speed.
If you successfully transitioned from the reentry autopilot to the hover autopilot you should
be around 115 km from the target at an altitude of around 6 km with a horizontal speed of
around 750 m/s. Dont worry if you are off a bit as we will be using Powered Landing
Calculator to help us adjust our vertical speed, and to time our retro thruster burn based on
our current position (unless you are so close that you dont have enough distance to slow
down with your retro thrusters).
Retro thrusters have
been selected

Press the 2 key on your keypad until the Altitude in the Hypothetical Burn section of the
Powered Landing Calculator is positive. Typically and altitude between 1 and 2 km should
be sufficient as a buffer.

Our deorbit burn has
completed and we
have transitioned to
the hover autopilot
at around 115 km
from the target at a
horizontal speed of
around 750 m/s at
an altitude of around
6 km
We have adjusted
the hover autopilot
to -13 m/s so that
our altitude at the
end of our burn will
be around 1.8 km
(your vertical speed
will probably be
different then -13
m/s, which is ok, just
worry about the
Hypothetical Burn
Altitude)

Replace the AeroBrakeMFD in the right MFD with the VOR/VTOL MFD. Make sure it is
tuned to NAV1 129.70MHz. At this point you will be too far out to receive a signal, but we
want the VOR/VTOL MFD up so when we are in range we immediately use it to help
navigate our vessel to the target.
Switch to linear thrusters by pressing the LIN function button in the upper left hand corner of
glass cockpit view.

Hopefully the Target Bearing in the Current State section of the Powered Landing
Calculator is within 1 or 2 degrees of the target. If the target is to the left, then press the 1
key on your keypad to use linear thrusters to perform a left translation. If the target is to the
right, press the 3 key on your keypad to use linear thrusters to perform a right translation.
This does not need to be done immediately and can be done while firing your retro thrusters
(described next). The idea with the left/right translation is to get the relative bearing to the
target as close to 0/360 degrees as possible. Doing so will minimize adjustments you will
need to make when the VOR/VTOL MFD is in range.

Our strategy is to use our retro thrusters to reduce our horizontal speed to about 20 m/s.
Then switch to linear thrusters. You can use the Delta-V Calculator to estimate the distance
traveled to reduce your speed from 20 m/s to 0 m/s using the translation back thruster. This
Linear thrusters
selected
We have made
adjustments so our
relative bearing to
the target is about
360 degrees, which
means we are on
course to land at our
target

is similar to how we did earlier to estimate our Offset Distance, so the details will not be
duplicated here.

Based on the calculation above it takes about 700 meters to reduce our vessel speed from 20
m/s to 0 m/s using translation back thrusters. Again, this is only an estimate because it does
not factor in the Martian atmosphere and the fact that our starting vessel mass will be
different when we perform this burn. For our purpose, we will round this up to 1,000 meters
and use that as our target ending distance for our burn using retro thruster described next.
Based on our previous calculation, when the Target Distance in the Hypothetical Burn
section of the Powered Landing Calculator reaches around 1,000 meters, press and hold
down the minus key on your keypad to fire the retro thrusters.
We have set the
Start Speed to 20
m/s
Given our current
vessel state, if we
were to change our
vessel speed from
20 m/s to 0 m/s in a
vacuum using
translation back
thrusters at full
throttle, we would
travel 705 meters
Translation back
thrusters have been
selected

Because you will be getting some help from the Martian atmosphere slowing down, the
Target Distance will actually start increasing as you burn. You can release the minus key
as it rises and then press the minus key when it reaches 1,000 meters again. Repeat this as
necessary until the burn has completed.
At around 25 km from the Olympus Pad 1, the VOR/VTOL should start receiving a signal.
Use your rotational and linear thrusters as needed to line your vessel with Olympus Pad 1. If
you did a good job with your reentry autopilot Bank Hold adjustment and left/right
translation based on the relative bearing displayed in the Powered Landing Calculator, you
should be pretty much on line and hopefully need very minor adjustments.
When this reaches
about 1000 meters
we will fire the retro
thrusters

You will need to turn on the hydraulic power in order to be able to lower the landing gear.
This is described in the Earth Landing Tutorial.
When your horizontal speed reaches around 20 m/s you should be around 1,000 meters from
Olympus Pad 1 and you should be done using your retro thrusters. It is better to overshoot
then undershoot your horizontal speed (i.e. ending your retro thrusters burn at 18 m/s is better
than ending at 22 m/s as it gives you more time to switch to using linear thrusters).
Our vessels relative bearing to the target is about 0 which is also reflected in the
VOR/VTOL MFD by the yellow arrow directly on top of the green line

Use the TH- function button to switch to Tran-B. From now until you land you should only
be using your linear thrusters.
Use left/right translation by using 1 and 3 on your keypad, to keep your vessel in line with
the landing pad. Use back translation by pressing 9 on your keypad when Time To Burn in
the Hypothetical Burn section of the Powered Landing Calculator reaches about 1 second.
We have finished
our retro burn about
1,000 meters from
the target with a
horizontal speed of
about 20 m/s

When your altitude reaches around 500 m/s you should start slowing down your vertical
speed by pressing the 2 key on your keypad. Use a vertical speed this is comfortable so you
can simultaneously line yourself up with the landing pad. Typically a vertical speed of 5-10
m/s will probably work.
Once your altitude reaches around 100 meters hopefully you are on top of the landing pad.
At this point press the G key on your keyboard to lower your landing gear. Also, slow your
vertical speed down to 1-2 m/s by pressing the 2 key on your keypad.
Land the vessel. You may need to use your rotational and/or translational thrusters to make
some minor adjustments to keep your vessel centered in the landing pad. If your vertical
speed is too high you will destroy your landing gear.

Translation back
thrusters have been
selected
When this reaches
about 1 second
press and hold the 9
key on your keypad
for about 68
seconds and you
should end up over
the landing pad at
an altitude of 850
meters

Appendix A Recommended Plugins
You must install the following plugins if you want to do the tutorials:
Orbiter Sound 3.5: Available from Dans Orbiter Page
(http://orbiter.dansteph.com/index.php?disp=d)
DeltaGliderIV-2: Available from Dans Orbiter Page
(http://orbiter.dansteph.com/index.php?disp=d)
InterplanetaryMFD (IMFD) 5.5: Available from Jarmo Nikkanens Orbiter Page
(http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html)
AeroBrakeMFD 0.96.2: Available from the Orbiter Hanger
(http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2139)
The following plugin is referred to in the tutorials, but is not required to complete the tutorials:
BaseSyncMFD 2.3: Available from Jarmo Nikkanens Orbiter Page
(http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html)
The following plugin was used during testing of this software but is not referenced anywhere in
this document and is not required to complete the tutorials:
XR Fleet (XR5 Vanguard, DeltaGlider-XR1 and XR2 Ravenstar): Available from Altea
Aerospace (http://www.alteaaerospace.com/)


Appendix B Thrusters
This is the list of thrusters that are displayed in the Thrusters Program. This is also the list of
thrusters available to the Calculators Program.
DVToolsMFD Description IMFD
Main Main thrusters Main Engine
Retro Retro thrusters Retro Engine
Hover Hover thrusters Hover Engine
Pitch-U RCS rotational thrusters (pitch up)
Pitch-D RCS rotational thrusters (pitch down)
Yaw-L RCS rotational thrusters (yaw left)
Yaw-R RCS rotational thrusters (yaw right)
Bank-L RCS rotational thrusters (bank left)
Bank-R RCS rotational thrusters (bank right)
Tran-L RCS linear thrusters (left translation)
Tran-R RCS linear thrusters (right translation)
Tran-U RCS linear thrusters (up translation) RCS Up
Tran-D RCS linear thrusters (down translation)
Tran-F RCS linear thrusters (forward translation) RCS Fore
Tran-B RCS linear thrusters (back translation) RCS Back


Appendix C IMFD Course Delta-V Program
Several tutorials use the Interplanetary MFD (IMFD) Course Delta-V Program to perform the
actual burns calculated by DVToolsMFD. This section demonstrates how to use the IMFD
Course Delta-V Program to perform an auto-burn based on the calculated Delta-V and Time To
Burn MJD.
Launch IMFD by selecting Interplanetary from the Orbiter MFD menu.
Press the MNU function button to bring up a list of IMFD sub-programs.
Make sure IMFD is configured to use the same thrusters as used by the Calculators Program.
Use the REF function button to cycle through the list of thrusters supported by IMFD. Use
the table in Appendix B to map the selected thruster from the DVToolsMFD Calculators
Program to the IMFD thruster name. The configured thruster is displayed under
DefaultEngine in IMFD as shown below.

Select the Course sub-program by pressing < function button next to Course as shown
below.
IMFD is currently
configured to use
main thrusters
The REF function
button is used to
change the
currently configured
thruster

Use the < function button next to Nxt to highlight Delta Velocity and then press the <
function button next to Set as shown below.

Use the < function button next to Nxt to highlight GET as shown below and then press the <
function button next to Set to launch the Set Value dialog.
Course sub-
program
Course Delta
Velocity program
is selected
Once selected
press this
function button
to launch
Use to select a
Course sub-
program

Enter the Time To Burn MJD exactly as it appears in the Calculators Program into the Set
Value dialog and then press the Enter key on your keypad.

Select GET
Once selected
press this
function button
to bring up the
Set Value
dialog
Time To Burn MJD from the
Calculators Program (Altitude
Change Calculator Burn
Parameters are shown here as an
example) is manually typed into
the IMFD Set Value dialog

Use the < function button next to Nxt to highlight dVf as shown below and then press the <
function button next to Set to launch the Set Value dialog.

Once Time To
Burn MJD has
been entered, then
TEj should be in
sync with the Time
to Burn from the
Calculators
Program if not
then a typo
occurred when
setting the GET
(they should be
within a second
with difference due
to refresh rates)
Select dVf
Once selected
press this
function button
to bring up the
Set Value
dialog

Enter the dVf exactly as it appears in the Calculators Program into the Set Value dialog and
then press the Enter key on your keypad. NOTE: The exception is when using the
AeroBrake Deorbit Calculator where dVf is the hypothetical Delta-V entered into the
AeroBrakeMFD multiplied by -1. For example, if the hypothetical Delta-V entered into
AeroBrakeMFD (via the HDv function button) was 90 then enter -90 in the Set Value dialog.

Press the PG function button to display BV next to the top right function button as shown
below.

Press the < function button next to BV to open Burn Vector view.
Press the < function button next to AB to enable the IMFD auto-burn autopilot. From this
point forward, do not manually operate any of the vessels thrusters until IMFD has
dVf from the Calculators
Program (Altitude Change
Calculator Burn Parameters are
shown here as an example) is
manually typed into the IMFD
Set Value dialog
This has
changed to BV
(from PRV) after
pressing the PG
function button
(pressing PG
again will toggle
back to PRV)

successfully completed the burn. Feel free to fast forward time by pressing the T key on your
keyboard. When the time to burn (TtB) approaches 0, you will see IMFD engage RCS
thrusters to line up the vessel properly to perform the burn. Once the burn begins, TtB will
count down until the burn has completed. IMFD will typically engage RCS thrusters at the
end of the burn to accurately apply the specified Delta-V.

Press this function
button to engage
the IMFD auto-burn
autopilot
Once the auto-burn
autopilot is engaged
the amount of time
until the burn will be
displayed here

Appendix D Terms of Use
This software is freeware. You may not sell or redistribute this software. This software is
created for recreational use only and must not be used anywhere where a software failure could
cause real damage. Creator of this software does not take any responsibility of any damage this
software may cause. Using this software is at your own risk.

DV Tools MFD

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

DV Tools MFD

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

DVToolsMFD User Manual 2012 Mark Herzig 1

Delta-V Tools MFD (DVToolsMFD) User Manual

S-ar putea să vă placă și