TransX V3.14 for orbiter 2010

BETA
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This is a beta version of TransX that has been compiled with the new orbiter SDK for Orbiter 2010 (RC0). It is a fork from the original TransX code at version 3.13.2 and contains no new features. It is considered beta, so please report any bugs experienced during use.


Description & License
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This is a complex Orbiter Navigation tool. It is also Beta software - it may yet have a few undiscovered bugs, and probably a new version without them will come along in a few weeks.


Disclaimer
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This software is for use as an Orbiter addon only. It is free software, and is provided as is, without any warranty. It is for recreational use only, and its operation is not guaranteed to be continuous or accurate. You may redistribute it, but may not charge anything for it, other than a fee to cover your distribution costs only. It may crash your computer, or cause other errors to occur.

YOUR USE OF THIS SOFTWARE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. RUNNING OR COPYING THIS SOFTWARE IMPLIES ACCEPTANCE OF THE CONDITIONS OF USE ABOVE.

For further details and the licence, please see licence.txt included with this zip.


Installing
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Copy the enclosed dll file into the modules/plugin directory of your Orbiter installation. Select the module on the Modules tab of the Orbiter Launchpad, and activate it.


To start the module, either select the MFD from the onscreen menu, or use Shift-J to select it.



Use
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A manual for this beta software does not yet exist. But hopefully most of you will be aware of the previous version of TransX. Here are the major changes.


MAJ and MIN are now fully automated, and not user selectable. You won't miss 'em.

A trip is now divided into multiple STAGES. You start off with just one stage.

To create more stages, first select a Target. The Target is always the first variable in the variable set. Then press the FWD button to create a new stage, and move into it.

FWD and BCK move your viewpoint between the stages you've created, and create a new stage if that's possible.

SW locks/unlocks the graph, whilst allowing you to move the variable selection as before.



Some functionality from the old MFD's Encounter view (surface bases) is presently lost. Use the Encounter MFD for now as a workaround.




Each stage has a PLAN associated with it. The MFD will normally auto-select the best plan for you, (although it is possible to change it if you have to). The plan is designed to help you plan your course through the stage.


Each Stage has three views. The first one isn't used often.
The second view contains an overall view of the stage, and has some generic variables to adjust.

The third view contains the variables associated with the currently selected plan. These change depending on which plan you select. It may sometimes also contain a different graph from view 2.



The graphs will largely be familiar to you if you've used TransX before. There are two differences.

The green orbit in a graph is now not always your ship, but can also be ANY type of trajectory that's been passed on from the previous stage.


There is one new graph type in the Slingshot plan in view 3. The yellow line represents your planned point of closest approach, and the green line your current one. Match the two together to get a perfect slingshot.

The easiest way to align them is to use prograde autopilot and linear manoevreing thrusters, whilst at a considerable distance from the planet.



Slingshots
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To create a slingshot,
1. Select your slingshot planet as a target, and move Forward to create a new stage.
2. Select 'Escape' as a target, and move forward again to create a new stage.

Move to view 3, and you will find TransX has created a plan for you to point the slingshot wherever you like. It's quite possible that the initial parameters require you to go below the planet's surface. Change the parameters until you're not going below the surface (Pe / Pl. Rad  is greater than 1), and you're going the way you want to.

If you then go back to the slingshot planet, you'll see your slingshot plan in yellow. Select view 3 for a graph to target it precisely.



Any questions - post in the addons section of the Orbiter forum.

Happy Orbiting!

Duncan Sharpe & Steve Arch
http://orbiter.quorg.org