Just discovered 'propagate along elements' - Orbiter-Forum

**george7378** · 06-22-2012, 04:12 PM

OK, so I haven't been orbiting in a while and I'm having to re-learn a few things, and I'm already picking up new stuff.

One thing which annoyed me before was how I would be unable to simulate the passage of time when the sim wasn't running - i.e. if I wanted to simulate a mission to the ISS, I would spend maybe a session launching and docking, then I'd save, and when I returned a day later, I would be exactly where I was when I last played, even though a day of me being docked at the station had passed.

I just found the 'date' options in the scenario editor which let me propagate my position along simpler orbital elements to a date in the future, so that when I re-load the scenario, I can just change a few numbers and press 'update' to put the ISS where it would be after a day of flight - this is awesome!

There's not much point to this thread, but yeah, I'm happy I've found that option because it makes missions a lot more realistic now that I can properly simulate the passage of time in orbit! I can now do real time missions without needing to have the computer on all the time

**astrosammy** · 06-22-2012, 04:53 PM

AFAIK it doesn't take propagations by non-spherical gravity into account, so the station is in another position than it would be when using time acceleration.

**blixel** · 06-22-2012, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by george7378

I just found the 'date' options in the scenario editor which let me propagate my position along simpler orbital elements to a date in the future, so that when I re-load the scenario, I can just change a few numbers and press 'update' to put the ISS where it would be after a day of flight - this is awesome!

I've been Orbiting for almost 2 years now (will be 2 years next Friday since I joined OF), and I haven't noticed that before, so thanks. That will probably be useful some day (if I remember to look for it for when the time comes.)

On this topic, I always thought it would be cool if Orbiter could run in a client/server fashion. Run orbiter_ng on a server, and then connect to it with my every day computer.

So ... I could log in, launch at the appropriate time, and once I had established a stable orbit, I could log out, but the server would keep running. So, then I could log in every few hours/days and take care of my various maneuvers and vessel maintenance.

I suppose the "propagate position" accomplishes the same thing, but I like the idea of actually having the mission run in real time without interruption. Perhaps you could even have a Desktop app that would allow you to monitor various mission aspects without actually launching your Orbiter client.

There's not much point to this reply.

TMac3000 · 06-22-2012, 05:25 PM

You can even do interplanetary missions this way

We're using it in the Iron Hill Project

Rtyh-12 · 06-22-2012, 05:47 PM

Take a look at

this

if you'd like to simulate real time missions. I think it actually does it by time acceleration, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's pretty neat.

**george7378** · 06-22-2012, 07:50 PM

Oh right - that's a pretty good addon, but there's no manual or anything in there - does it only work for the current state scenario, or does it work for all? What are the instructions for using it?

It would be great if you could let me know

Thanks!

---------- Post added at 19:50 ---------- Previous post was at 18:04 ----------

Well after trying out the different options, I think the way I prefer to do my casual missions is to use the in-built time propagation tool to advance to crucial points in the mission plan whenever I decide to have an Orbiter session.

It's a sort of pseudo-realtime where timesteps in the sim don't reflect real life time passage, but the simulation still happens over my decided time interval. i.e. a week long mission might only take me 4 days worth of playing sessions in real life, but still happens over a week in Orbiter.

That seems to be the best way of balancing my casual playing times with proper time passage in the sim.

I tried the realtime update addon, but I don't like how it will continue to advance even if I don't want to play Orbiter on a certain day, and hence makes my actual mission last a day longer too. For my casual missions I'd like the option of controlling their simulated duration.

Cool, I've learned a lot today

06-22-2012, 04:12 PM	#1
george7378 DON'T PANIC	Just discovered 'propagate along elements' OK, so I haven't been orbiting in a while and I'm having to re-learn a few things, and I'm already picking up new stuff. One thing which annoyed me before was how I would be unable to simulate the passage of time when the sim wasn't running - i.e. if I wanted to simulate a mission to the ISS, I would spend maybe a session launching and docking, then I'd save, and when I returned a day later, I would be exactly where I was when I last played, even though a day of me being docked at the station had passed. I just found the 'date' options in the scenario editor which let me propagate my position along simpler orbital elements to a date in the future, so that when I re-load the scenario, I can just change a few numbers and press 'update' to put the ISS where it would be after a day of flight - this is awesome! There's not much point to this thread, but yeah, I'm happy I've found that option because it makes missions a lot more realistic now that I can properly simulate the passage of time in orbit! I can now do real time missions without needing to have the computer on all the time

06-22-2012, 05:47 PM	#5
Rtyh-12 Orbinaut	Take a look at this this if you'd like to simulate real time missions. I think it actually does it by time acceleration, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's pretty neat. Last edited by Rtyh-12; 06-22-2012 at 05:55 PM. Reason: Argh, the url tags-spaces between words problem again.

Quick Links	Need Help?
About Us Register to Participate Orbiter Website Orbiter Download Projects Recommended Addons Orbit Hangar Mods Photo Gallery Social Groups External Links	Did you forget your password? Rules & Guidelines Frequently Asked Questions Orbiter F.A.Q. Orbiter Tutorials Orbiter IRC Chat Search Forum Site Map Contact Us Mark Forums Read

06-22-2012, 04:53 PM	#2
astrosammy Dash!	AFAIK it doesn't take propagations by non-spherical gravity into account, so the station is in another position than it would be when using time acceleration.

06-22-2012, 05:01 PM	#3
blixel Donator	Quote: Originally Posted by george7378 I just found the 'date' options in the scenario editor which let me propagate my position along simpler orbital elements to a date in the future, so that when I re-load the scenario, I can just change a few numbers and press 'update' to put the ISS where it would be after a day of flight - this is awesome! I've been Orbiting for almost 2 years now (will be 2 years next Friday since I joined OF), and I haven't noticed that before, so thanks. That will probably be useful some day (if I remember to look for it for when the time comes.) On this topic, I always thought it would be cool if Orbiter could run in a client/server fashion. Run orbiter_ng on a server, and then connect to it with my every day computer. So ... I could log in, launch at the appropriate time, and once I had established a stable orbit, I could log out, but the server would keep running. So, then I could log in every few hours/days and take care of my various maneuvers and vessel maintenance. I suppose the "propagate position" accomplishes the same thing, but I like the idea of actually having the mission run in real time without interruption. Perhaps you could even have a Desktop app that would allow you to monitor various mission aspects without actually launching your Orbiter client. There's not much point to this reply.

06-22-2012, 05:25 PM	#4
TMac3000 CEO and Founder: Real Time Inc	You can even do interplanetary missions this way We're using it in the Iron Hill Project

06-22-2012, 07:50 PM	#6
george7378 DON'T PANIC	Oh right - that's a pretty good addon, but there's no manual or anything in there - does it only work for the current state scenario, or does it work for all? What are the instructions for using it? It would be great if you could let me know Thanks! ---------- Post added at 19:50 ---------- Previous post was at 18:04 ---------- Well after trying out the different options, I think the way I prefer to do my casual missions is to use the in-built time propagation tool to advance to crucial points in the mission plan whenever I decide to have an Orbiter session. It's a sort of pseudo-realtime where timesteps in the sim don't reflect real life time passage, but the simulation still happens over my decided time interval. i.e. a week long mission might only take me 4 days worth of playing sessions in real life, but still happens over a week in Orbiter. That seems to be the best way of balancing my casual playing times with proper time passage in the sim. I tried the realtime update addon, but I don't like how it will continue to advance even if I don't want to play Orbiter on a certain day, and hence makes my actual mission last a day longer too. For my casual missions I'd like the option of controlling their simulated duration. Cool, I've learned a lot today