Space Station Rendezvous Advice

[pattersoncr]

After downloading Greg Burch's LSTS2.0, I set about figuring a quick and fuel efficient way to transfer from LEO to a station in lunar orbit. I put a small station in a 100km circular orbit around the moon and set out from Earth. My plan was to use IMFD's Planet approach function to adjust my PeT such that I arrived at Periapsis just after the station had passed the point where my periapsis would occur. At Periapsis, I would break into an 85km "Catch-up" orbit and use transfer MFD to rendezvous with the station. Once I entered the moon's SOI, I tried using Synch Orbit MFD to determine when the station would pass my periapsis. I set up Synch Orbit MFD for Ship Periapsis. Since I was not on a closed orbit with respect to the moon, all the numbers in the Sh-ToR column showed up as garbage but I figured that the Tg-ToR column ought to be accurate. I adjusted my PeT to occur just after one of the Tg-ToR times listed. When I got to the moon, however, the station was nowhere near my periapsis point. Now a couple of questions:
1- While on a hyperbolic orbit, the numbers Synch Orbit MFD shows for time to pass ship's periapsis are not accurate. What are these numbers showing? Time to what?
2- Is there another way to determine when a target will pass a particular point that is not related to it's own orbit? (i.e. my periapsis rather than target periapsis.)
3- Does anyone else have a good technique for this? (rendezvousing with a station in orbit when approaching the body on a hyperbolic orbit)
I guess one way to accomplish this is to zoom way in on IMFD map and note the time or MJD when the station crosses the ship's periapsis point. You could then use the station's orbital period (from Orbit MFD) to figure out subsequent times it will cross the periapsis point but I was hoping it could be done with less manual number crunching.

 

[tblaxland]

Once you enter the moon's SOI, perhaps it would be possible to plan for a rendezvous with the station using IMFD Target Intercept. I don't have any suggestions for adjusting your orbit from further out though.

 

[Zatnikitelman]

I think TransX has the capability to intercept a non-natural target. Go to the target select screen, and use up/down until the station is the target I think. I know there was a discussion on this a while ago.

 

[pattersoncr]

Success! (Well, sort of)
Here's what I did:
I set up a 100km periapsis (thanks to IMFD Map). Once in the moon's SOI, I set the target on IMFD map to the station. Then I waited until the target passed my periapsis point. Then, I figured out where the target would be in it's orbit (relative to my periapsis) when I reached periapsis. It turned out that the target would be 850sec short of completing it's next orbit when I got there. I used the period of the target's orbit (from Orbit MFD) to figure this out. I set up my LOI burn using IMFD Orbit Inset by setting the desired orbital period equal to the target's orbital period plus the 850 sec I figured out earlier. I did a plane change burn during my first orbit and ended up about 30km from the station at rendezvous. It worked but I wish there was a way to do it with less number crunching.

 

[tblaxland]

Nice flying. Number crunching is the name of the game unfortunately unless someone already has the MFD for your purpose. As part of the ZTC Tether-sling project I am working on methods to rendezvous with the end of a 120km long spinning tether. I plan on automating it but there is some serious maths involved, especially given the accuracy demanded by the very narrow (in space, time and velocity) rendezvous window.