Martin Schweiger Interviewed!!

[Enjo]

He doesn't have to do what he does you know, he doesn't get a cent for it. Its art for art's sake.

*Enjo points at donations page

 

[N_Molson]

I totally agree with OrbiterSound being the "best" addon. Honestly, I often forget that's an addon and consider it is part of the Orbiter Core. It's the first I download after a new install !

 

[IronRain]

very nice interview. I really enjoyed reading it (and I don't even like reading) :thumbup:

 

[dumbo2007]

...towards interstellar flight, there is not much support yet, but this may change in the future. This may also require the step from Newtonian to relativistic modeling, which would certainly be an interesting challenge

I wonder how easy or tough it would be to do relativistic modeling in Orbiter...reminds of the time-bubble idea that Face talked about in the Multiplayer thread.

Please don't shoot me down for talking multiplayer again !

 

[Izack]

Please don't shoot me down for talking multiplayer again !

Get him! :lol:

That was a great interview. It was nice to have an insight into the ambiguous 'martins' who occasionally comes down and answers a complex question or bombs us with a new surprise (to some of us at least) release. Also a potential sneak-peak into further implementations to Orbiter. Sorry, I forgot to post this earlier.

 

[ar81]

What amazes me is Martin's persistence on his dream.
Many people surrenders before even attempting to make a dream come true.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Great interview! :thumbup:

 

[dougkeenan]

Great interview! :thumbup:

:tiphat:

 

[ar81]

I still think I have questions.

Orbiter is about space navigation, which means being far away from anywhere.
But I came to think that most of what humans would do will be on a planet surface or atmosphere. Being on another planet is just as part of the space trip, even if it is not exactly navigation.

For example, it is not the same to plan an aerobraking trajectory on a flat planet than doing it on a planet with mountains and craters. It is not the same to plan for an Earth like flight or a flight inside the fast winds of Venus or Neptune. A good example is to land at the bottom of Valles Marineris.

When piloting in bad weather, skills of a pilot are put to the test. How about dealing with alien bad weather? How about being on Titan and having a rainy day... of methane.

And if we talk about surface and atmosphere we talk about resources. Resources are part of key planning anywhere. It may determine if you will be landing on a floating base on Venus or if you will be stopping by at Europe to replenish oxygen tanks.

Resources are vital for life support, which in the end will determine space travel possibilities beyond navigation and physics. Notice that still we are talking about science: Chemistry, technology, biology, biochemistry. Staying alive in space is hard enough to be a big problem for science. Life support and resources are a key element of space flight.

Has any of these factors been considered or imagined for Orbiter?
Orbiter is already about physics, but remaining there is to remain in the shore of space flight.

And if we talk about space flight and physics, we still may need to solve problems like how to collect garbage in orbit. Will we pick garbage piece by piece? Will we use giant gel balls to absorb impact of small pieces?

Low thrust engines where you fire continuously pose a new navigational problem that requires different solutions for "spiral navigation".

If you watch the japanese anime Planetes, many problems posed by space flight.

What ideas does Martin consider "interesting" (not necessarily for a new feature in an immediate future of orbiter) for long term implementation (very distant future)?

 

[Quick_Nick]

Orbiter has given me, or at least influenced and helped, all of my major interests. Space, math, science, computer science, rocketry. Orbiter has had a HUGE impact on my life. Thank you Martin (Freeman)!

 

[Raimondo]

Thanks people, I'l glad you all like it!
Martin's really a great man and I'm so happy to have had this chat with him!

 

[ddom2006]

Fascinating interview, A big thanks

 

[Quick_Nick]

I already a lot of this stuff about martin already. But the coolest new information I got from this was about his job and his thesis. No wonder rocket science is just a hobby.