MESSENGER MOI 2011-03-14

Mercury Orbit Insertion: March 18, 2011 0045 UTC.VERSION 1.0 (March 2011)
 Required Software
 
1. Orbiter Space Flight Simulator, version 20100830.  It may work on earlier versions...but I haven't tested it on them as yet.
 
Link: http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/orbit.html
 
2. Vinka’s Spacecraft3
 
Link: http://users.swing.be/vinka/
 Recommended Add-ons:
 
IMFD, by Jarmonik.  Found here: http://koti.mbnet.fi/jarmonik/Orbiter.html
 
See below section, Accuracy.
 Installation
 
Extract the zip file into the root of your Orbiter directory. 
 Special notes on changes
 
1.  I deleted files from the MESSENGER add-on that weren't required here.
 
2. The MESSENGER config file has been changed in order for this to work with Spacecraft3.
 
3. Texture file names from the original were changed because I had problems with the Cyrillic (?) characters originally used.  Accordingly, the references to the same were changed in the mesh file.
 
4. I changed the EMPTY_MASS value in the ini file from 500 kg to 438 kg in order to obtain a more accurate MOI dV.
 Credits and Acknowledgements
 Dr. Martin Schweiger: for Orbiter Space Flight Simulator
 Vinka: for Spacecraft3
 ËåäíåFF: for MESSENGER add-on (found here: http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2474)  Author's name is as it appears on Orbit-Hangar.
 Jarmonik:for IMFD
 Accuracy
 
I used IMFD for the orbit insertion burn.  I changed that from "Eccentricity" to "Apoapsis", and used the value of 15193 km.  The dV came out spot on when I changed the EMPTY_MASS value in the ini file.  Most of the "numbers" come out really close to what is being predicted, with the exception of insertion burn start and cut off.  For ignition, I'm seeing 0h 40m 5s UTC (5m 15s early) and cutoff at 0h 53m 4s (6m 54s early).  Duration of burn: 12m 59s (14m 38s predicted, or, 1m 39s short).