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It's taken 110 days to get to the moon because they're using a funny minimum-fuel TLI orbit with a bunch of Oberth boosts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:An
by sbierwagen 3y ago
It's taken 110 days to get to the moon because they're using a funny minimum-fuel TLI orbit with a bunch of Oberth boosts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Animation_of_SLIM_around_Earth.gif https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Animation_of_SLIM_around_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-lunar_injection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-lunar_injection
On the spacecraft photo, you might notice that the landing feet are on the side of the spacecraft, rather than under the engine. That's because it's designed to flop over on landing, with feet made of a 3d printed metal sponge intended on crush on impact! https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/slim/SLIM/assets/img/movie/SLIM_leg.mp4 https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/slim/SLIM/assets/img/movie/SLI...
- Loughla 3y agoI understand orbital mechanics are well understood. I understand that setting trajectories is a well established science at this point. But it still astounds me that we can do that. I mean, I can't, as I learned from KSP. But real scientists can. Astounding.
- pavel_lishin 3y agoI'd wager that if you can do it in KSP, you're understand this on a deeper basis than 99% of other folks in the world.
- accrual 3y agoI agree. KSP may not do all of the math (no n-body or gravitational abnormalities in the surface), but it does enough of it that you can get most of the way there fairly intuitively.