3 ms·

The mathematical explanations on this page will teach you lots of stuff that will be useful when playing KSP, but the reverse is much less true. Yes, KSP will

The mathematical explanations on this page will teach you lots of stuff that will be useful when playing KSP, but the reverse is much less true. Yes, KSP will help you build an intuition for orbital mechanics, but you can play it for years and never learn how to calculate something as simple as the length of an orbital period at a given altitude.

hgsgm 3y ago
I don't work for NASA, so my calculations would be useless.
sdenton4 3y ago
I find the intuition extremely helpful - without the intuition, it's hard to build a gut feeling for the interrelation and relative importance of the bits in the jargon soup for any given question - apijove vs ascending node, and so on. What works best is therefore a combination of the two: I have often found myself digging into the math when I want to get something /really working/ in KSP. You start the game by trying to keep the burning end pointing down (and eventually sideways), but the Rocket Equation forces us learn about Hohmann Transfers if we want to get anywhere interesting. (And maybe even get back again.) Notably, it's the /constraints/ that create the need to optimize, which push us from playing back to the math. The sibling commenter who doesn't like dealing with fuel misses the point: Caring about fuel pushes us to find the mathematical tools to solve our problems. Compare to Outer Wilds, which has a really fun physics simulation - you can whip around planets like a madman - but there's no real constraints on fuel, and the solar system is small enough that speed isn't really a problem, either. No constraints means no one ever has to figure out a Hohmann transfer.
- baq 3y ago
  If delta V isn’t a concern, you can optimize for brachistochrone trajectories instead.
rdlw 3y ago
KSP drove me to learn those things. While attempting to reach further planets, I ended up researching specific impulse, calculating Δv, relating altitude to speed to orbital period, and so on. I even downloaded a program that calculated optimal launch windows. So yes, none of this was in the game per se, but I wouldn't have done any of it if it wasn't for the game. The median person has exactly zero use for orbital mechanics, and KSP is about as close as it gets to a practical application unless you work at a space agency.

hgsgm 3y ago

I don't work for NASA, so my calculations would be useless.

sdenton4 3y ago

I find the intuition extremely helpful - without the intuition, it's hard to build a gut feeling for the interrelation and relative importance of the bits in the jargon soup for any given question - apijove vs ascending node, and so on. What works best is therefore a combination of the two: I have often found myself digging into the math when I want to get something /really working/ in KSP. You start the game by trying to keep the burning end pointing down (and eventually sideways), but the Rocket Equation forces us learn about Hohmann Transfers if we want to get anywhere interesting. (And maybe even get back again.) Notably, it's the /constraints/ that create the need to optimize, which push us from playing back to the math. The sibling commenter who doesn't like dealing with fuel misses the point: Caring about fuel pushes us to find the mathematical tools to solve our problems. Compare to Outer Wilds, which has a really fun physics simulation - you can whip around planets like a madman - but there's no real constraints on fuel, and the solar system is small enough that speed isn't really a problem, either. No constraints means no one ever has to figure out a Hohmann transfer.

baq 3y ago
If delta V isn’t a concern, you can optimize for brachistochrone trajectories instead.

rdlw 3y ago

KSP drove me to learn those things. While attempting to reach further planets, I ended up researching specific impulse, calculating Δv, relating altitude to speed to orbital period, and so on. I even downloaded a program that calculated optimal launch windows. So yes, none of this was in the game per se, but I wouldn't have done any of it if it wasn't for the game. The median person has exactly zero use for orbital mechanics, and KSP is about as close as it gets to a practical application unless you work at a space agency.