Update TransX development

[Interceptor]

Enjo,this problem seems to happen when I am on my way to the moon,and just out of the Earths SOI,when I go to start my first mid course correction,and switch the maneuver mode on,as soon as I switch to outward vel,or change plane,and then use the --,or the ++ to change the value that's when it all of a sudden switches to the target view.

BTW,after you correct it by turning off the target view,it doesn't seem to happen anymore.

 

[Ripley]

After like 6th release the total download count doesn't tell much anymore.

Ah! I see now.

 

[fred18]

Hi all!

I have a question for you. I'm not a big expert of transx so sorry if it's a stupid question :focus:

I understand very well how transx works, and I was excited to try the new features. Starting from the automin option.

So I started Maven addon by brianj... took off, everything was fine, reached parking orbit and started to plan the trip to mars.

Well the automin values goes weird, and the trajectory this option suggests is something like 40Gs away from mars, even if manually i could find easily closest solutions. With IMFD took 30 seconds to setup everything (arrival date 56922.5). Why I was not able to do it with the automin of transx?

I modified the scenario just after burnout of Maven and replaced the Centaur with the stock DG, in order to post it here and allow everyone to test it, could you please help me with that? I have the feeling that if I'm able to understand this, then everything will be much easier for my interplanetary flights!

Thanks a lot for the attention

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[dgatsoulis]

Having a look now. Will get back to you in a few mins. I have a question though:

took off, everything was fine, reached parking orbit and started to plan the trip to mars.

First you got into the parkig orbit and then you started to plan the trip to Mars? How did you select the parking orbit if the trip to Mars wasn't already set?

Would you mind walking me through the process you followed step by step?
Don't go into too much detail, (x prograde, y date etc), just the sequence of the setup.
This way we can avoid misunderstandings and double explanations.

 

[fred18]

Very simple:

I used the addon autopilot for parking orbit which replicates the trajectory of the original Maven launch, so my simple guess was that NASA guys did the right job with launch window and parking orbit inclination :lol:

I just wanted to see how quick and easy it became, so I used an historical addon based on historical datas, so i was sure that initial part of the flight was already good!

if you download Maven addon from here:

[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=6373"]http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=6373[/ame]

and do the launch you will get to the proper parking orbit.

In order to pass the scenario to you I just changed the Centaur stage to the stock DG

hope I was clear, sorry if I made confusion or anything!

And to be more clear:

I did the launch with the Atlas-centaur, and once the parking orbit was achieved I saved the scenario, and edited it putting the DG in place of the centaur stage ready to do the TMI

 

[dgatsoulis]

No prob, I just needed that clarification.
I can see what the problem is and why TransX doesn't come up with the same result as IMFD, when you use the Auto-min. The Outward velocity is 'maxed out' at 1000 m/s and can't go beyond that in order to get you to the trajectory needed for the arrival date of MAVEN's actual filght.

You see the Auto-Min feature needs to have some constraints in order to arrive at sensible optimal trajectories. Those are +/- 4.5 km/s for the Pl.Change and +/- 1 km/s for the Outward velocity. (and I think +/- 50% of the hohmann transfer at the time of the scenario start for the Prograde vel.)

I have already proposed to Enjo to give a little more "room" at the Outward velocity constraint, but it seems that this creates more problems than it solves.

IMFD doesn't have that problem because the user enters the Departure and Arrival dates and the Lambert solver finds the solution for those two variables, while TransX's Auto-Min doesn't have an arrival date variable.

Another thing to watch is that Maven's heliocentric transfer is not exactly optimal, with the heliocentric transfer Delta-V at ~3.48 km/s.

Enjo might be able to clarify a bit more on this, for now I can leave you with the TransX plan tweaked for an arrival ~ at the actual arrival date. It will need more tweaking to match the parking orbit.

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The parking orbit is ~12° off-plane with the hypothetical trajectory, but I have adjusted the Ej. Orientation, so that the node and the periapsis coincide. So it will take only one periapsis "kick" to raise the apoapsis, take care of the Rinc there, and finish the burn on the return back to periapsis.

Hope this helped.

 

[fred18]

Thank you very much for immediate help and for the clear explanation!

tomorrow I will give a careful look at your plan and at your suggestions!

Thanks again, it's very good to have helpful people like you! :tiphat:

 

[Enjo]

But if there's a way to make it so that when you turn Maneuver mode off, it checks Auto-Center, and if it's on, it turns it off, and then turns Maneuver mode off ... if that's an easy check to make, it might be worth adding in to the next version.

I think I've got it. Please test the attached dll. It did require some small but unconventional changes.
Since I've changed the compiler, you might need the VC++ 2013 redistributable.

[EDIT]
I've also dealt with controlling a focus vessel, which wasn't programmed by its TransX MFD to Auto-Center, i.e. imagine that you set Auto-Center in one vessel, and then switch to another one. the second one's RCS would then fire up and try to reach the orientation of the previous vessel. A silly mistake.

 

[blixel]

I think I've got it. Please test the attached dll. It did require some small but unconventional changes.

I tried out the new dll several times using a simple Earth to Moon flight I have which is already set up and ready to burn. (I will include the scenario at the bottom.)

With this new dll, I'm seeing the same behavior that I demonstrated in the video I made. The new dll seems to work without the VC++ 2013 redistributable (unless I already had it installed and didn't realize it.) But just to be sure, I installed VC++ 2013 redistributable and tried again, but still have the same result. If I turn Maneuver Mode off before turning off Auto-Center, then the vessel is "locked" into a mode that you can't get out of. You can't use prograde/retrograde, and if you try to manually rotate the vessel to a certain position, the vessel will fight you and eventually rotate itself back to where it wants.

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[Enjo]

Thanks for testing. I see it. All I can say is that it works only if you disable the Man mode in the target view. Not much of a change then, isn't it?

The long story is, that it could work differently: the Auto-Center could work only if the Target View was enabled, but this would have an another side effect - if you only had an another TransX window open (like Encounter MFD for verification), then the Auto-Center wouldn't work, because the other window would overwrite the first one's variables, including the Auto-Center settings. The same goes for disabling Man mode in other modes (like you did) - you're trying to disable it from a different view. If I let you do this, you couldn't verify the burn in other windows.

We have a decision to make then
- either we leave it as it is and provide support for people who don't disable the Auto-Center properly - I'm in for it
- I change it, we get a robust operation, but miss the verification in other windows - What's life without art?

Now we see why Agentgonzo said that TransX was meant to work only as a display-only MFD :lol:

 

[blixel]

We have a decision to make then
- either we leave it as it is and provide support for people who don't disable the Auto-Center properly - I'm in for it

It's fine the way it is. People just have to remember to shut off Auto-Center after the burn is complete. No big deal. I just wish it didn't completely destroy the flight if you forget.

EDIT: Also, I didn't know it would work if you turn Maneuver mode off from inside of Target view. I haven't tested that. When you're in Target view, there are *so many variables* that I find it faster to switch to Maneuver view and turn Maneuver mode off from there. Perhaps someday you can make it so that only relevant variables show up in Target view instead of showing the entire list.

 

[Enjo]

Perhaps someday you can make it so that only relevant variables show up in Target view instead of showing the entire list.

Maybe, but people generally have to understand that it's no fun to fix somebody else's bugs, or trying to understand what author had on his mind when he wrote this or that portion of code. Normally this pain costs money. It's much more fun to work on your own project, with use of 3rd party encapsulated libraries. So the fun I had with TransX was implementing my own ideas, without touching the internals too much. I succeeded and I think that this is where my interest starts waning.

 

[Ripley]

...People just have to remember to shut off Auto-Center after the burn is complete. No big deal. I just wish it didn't completely destroy the flight if you forget...

Couldn't we have an on-screen flashing reminder then?
Something triggered by "if dV less than x AND throttles at idle then...".

 

[Enjo]

Something triggered by "if dV less than x AND throttles at idle then...".

I've tried it, and it didn't work in practice.

Couldn't we have an on-screen flashing reminder then?

Maybe, yeah. I'll have a look.

 

[sorindafabico]

Maybe it's already implemented and I don't know, but I have an idea: what do you think about implement deep space maneuvers between gravity assists (like those of MESSENGER) when user is planning the mission? Is it feasible?

 

[Enjo]

Couldn't we have an on-screen flashing reminder then?

Finally I've found a compromising solution. As always, it took only a few lines of code, but a significant increase in activity of my demotivated grey mass :lol:
Please check the attached dll.

Maybe it's already implemented and I don't know, but I have an idea: what do you think about implement deep space maneuvers between gravity assists (like those of MESSENGER) when user is planning the mission? Is it feasible?

I have a family now, and slight financial problems - mostly living on the edge. I spend most of my free time trying to bring additional income. In this situation I consider my days of happy programming being gone... or simply not quite arrived yet until I sort out my things here. But anyway, if I'm supposed to code something now, it has to bring me fun, like the Auto-Min / Auto-Center features. Otherwise, it falls into the category of trying to read previous author's mind, and like I've already written two posts ago - it's a pain.

 

[Furet]

...I consider my days of happy programming being gone... or simply not quite arrived yet until I sort out my things here.

Thank you so much for what you've done so far. I sincereley wish you the best for the real life...
:tiphat:

 

[Ripley]

I don't know if I've found a real bug in TransX (the latest version released on OH), but it looks strange at least.

I'm in LEO after setting up a flight to Venus, and I'm switching back and forth between Stage 1 and 2.
If Stage1 is on "Setup" or "Escape Plan" views, when I switch forward to Stage2 I have the correct views (2 of them actually).
If Stage1 is on "Manoeuvre" view and I switch forward to Stage2, I am still in "Manoeuvre" view.

 

[Castor]

If Stage1 is on "Manoeuvre" view and I switch forward to Stage2, I am still in "Manoeuvre" view.

I can't reproduce this bug.

 

[Ripley]

This is what I mean:

I've just switched the left TransX from Stage1 to Stage2 (while being on Stage1's Manoeuvre mode).
If I click on VW (on the left TransX) I get "Setup" and "Eject Plane".


It does the same starting from scratch, too:

---------- Post added at 17:15 ---------- Previous post was at 17:06 ----------

...the latest version released on OH...

Wait!
I saw only 1 minute ago that Enjo just updated it...