Playing in Space

Transcription

Playing in Space

Playing in Space
Interactive Education
with the Orbiter
Space Flight
Simulator
Bruce Irving
ISDC 2007
Dallas
[email protected]
http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com
May 27, 2007
Contents

Can we agree with kids on a few things?
OK, what about Orbiter?
Getting more space-ific: Demonstrating ways to use Orbiter
Where does Orbiter fit?
Conclusions
Playing in Space (with Orbiter)
Bruce Irving, ISDC 2007
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Can we agree with kids on a few things?
Space is pretty cool even if it does have
something to do with science and math
Doing stuff is more fun than watching stuff
Field trips are cool
Video games are cool
Yes, but what can we do with this?
Is there anything…
That’s like a simulated trip to space?
With lots of things to do?
That students can control instead of just
watch?
That’s kind of like a video game, but
non-violent and based on real physics?
That’s completely free?
There is – it’s called Orbiter.
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OK, what about Orbiter?
Orbiter is a free space flight simulator for
Windows PC’s, a game-like program
with 3D graphics that makes you a
“virtual astronaut” in the cockpit of a
simulated spacecraft
Unlike most “space games” for PC’s or
game consoles, Orbiter is based on real
physics, so spacecraft behave the way
they really do in space and in the
atmosphere
It’s fun to learn to change your orbit,
launch into orbit from Earth, land on the
Moon, dock with a space station, and
much more
What does Orbiter offer?
(A Visual Tour)
Note: Some of the following pictures include optional add-on
features such as the Apollo program, crewed Mars spacecraft,
etc. that are not part of the basic Orbiter installation, but are
generally available as free downloads for installation in Orbiter.
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The beauty of the Home Planet…
and the vastness of space.
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The mystique of the Moon…
and the magic of Mars.
(Proposed “Mars Direct” habitation module approaching Mars)
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The “been there, done that…”
(Lunar Module in 1969, from
NASSP/Apollo add-on for Orbiter)
the old hat…
(Deploying the Hubble Space Telescope with the Shuttle “robot arm”)
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and the next big thing.
(2018? NASA’s Orion CEV examines just-separated lunar lander in Moon orbit)
New places to fly…
(in Mars orbit, 54 km from Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons)
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and new places to drive.
(Inside and outside views of rovers at Dao Valles, a valley on Mars, with Mars Direct HAB)
Things to learn…
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and things to burn (sorry).
The Serene…
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and the Serenity.
(Fictional Serenity spacecraft from the Firefly TV show and Serenity movie)
And a lot of other cool stuff!
(A hypothetical space elevator on a future terraformed “Green Mars”)
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Getting More Space-ific:
Demonstrating
Ways to Use Orbiter
Now It’s Playback Time
• Orbiter has an integrated “flight recorder” and comes with
various pre-recorded flights you can simply play back
• You can still control views and time acceleration
• This allows a lot of cool demos without really “learning to fly”
Orbiter (some playbacks have tutorial text as shown here)
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View the Force, Luke!
• Orbiter has visual aids including object labels and
dynamic force vector displays
• These can help students to explore and understand
forces and motion
Name That Planet
• Touring the solar system and its moons is easy to do in Orbiter
(jump to any object in the solar system from a dialog box)
• You can turn this into a “name that planet” game
• Speed up time to observe the motions of planets and moons
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Fast, High, and (Geo)stationary
• MFD (multi-function display) instruments can show you all
sorts of information about your spacecraft
• Where are we? Over East Africa, R=42,160 km, with orbital
speed (Vel) 3,075 km/sec, Ground speed (GS) 0.0 m/sec!
Thought Question
• These satellite dishes are in France
• Assuming they are aimed at the spacecraft shown on the last
slide, in approximately which direction are they pointing?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
East
West
North
South
Not enough information to determine this
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Keeping It Real: Using JPL Data
•
•
Current JPL Horizons state vectors for Cassini were obtained by
email and processed into Orbiter format using a free utility (see
references for details)
Scenario editor (state vector page shown above) lets you change
spacecraft data in real time and define and save nearly any situation
Thrusters – Rotation vs. Translation
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Orbit Terminology
Annotated graphics on this and previous
slide are from an early chapter of Go Play in
Space, a free Orbiter tutorial ebook.
Where Does Orbiter Fit?
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Some Advantages of Orbiter
Interactive “first person” astronaut’s perspective and 3D
graphics encourage student interest
– “You are there” sensation of being in the cockpit and
controlling the spacecraft
– Sense of accomplishment when you achieve orbit, land
on Moon, dock with ISS, or reach Mars
– Science learning is implicit and intuitive – experiment
with conditions, launch methods, trajectories, etc. and
quickly see the results
Dynamic visualization – accelerate time up to 100,000x to
visualize the rotation and orbital motion of planets, moons,
and spacecraft
Sound effects and even music (MP3 player included with
Orbiter Sound 3.0, free add-on)
No weapons or violence
Educational Uses of Orbiter
Interactive and dynamic space flight and astronomy demo
tool for teachers
Virtual physics and space flight lab for students of general
science and physics
Space exploration and flight technology “virtual laboratory”
for advanced students and space hobbyists (and
professionals)
– Create experiments and measure results
– Use it to generate (static or dynamic) graphics for
projects involving the Solar System
– Simulate actual space missions to explain and
understand them better
– Use it for science fair projects involving space and/or
atmospheric flight
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Orbiter Connects with…
Science
– Physics: Motion, relative motion, acceleration, forces
(visible force vectors), rotation, translation, gravitation,
orbits, orbital mechanics
– Astronomy: Planets, moons, planetary motion,
atmospheres and their effects, sunrise/sunset, eclipses
Technology
– Spacecraft, rockets, thrusters, orbital maneuvers,
atmospheric flight, space stations, launch/takeoff, reentry/landing, rendezvous/dock, deploy satellites
– Flight instruments, properties of orbits, airspeed vs.
ground speed vs. orbital speed, navigation, planning of
interplanetary flights
And also…
Geography and Earth Sciences (view the Earth and other
planets from space, identification of surface features of
Earth, Moon, Mars – surface and sky object labels can be
selectively turned on or off)
History of technology (rocketry from Robert Goddard to the
Space Shuttle, piloted and unmanned space probes)
Investigation of proposed future spacecraft and missions,
and future/alternate propulsion systems (aircraft-launched
spacecraft, ion engines, solar sails, electromagnetic mass
drivers, space planes, SSTO [single stage to orbit],
recoverable boosters, space elevators, etc.*)
Add-on development (Orbiter users can develop spacecraft,
space stations, surface bases, and planetary surfaces – this
involves 3D modeling, graphic arts, and programming for
those who want these challenges, though most will just make
use of the many available spacecraft, etc.).
* Add-ons for most of these examples already exist
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Slightly Finer Technical Fine Print on Orbiter

Orbiter is a free real-time space flight simulation for Windows PCs,
developed by Dr. Martin Schweiger* as an educational and
recreational application for orbital mechanics simulation.

Includes modelling of atmospheric flight (launch and re-entry),
sub-orbital, orbital and interplanetary missions (rendezvous,
docking, transfer, slingshot, etc.)

Based on Newtonian mechanics, rigid body model of rotation,
basic (static) atmospheric flight model.

Planet positions from public perturbation solutions. Time
integration of state vectors or osculating elements.

Written in C++, using DirectX for 3-D rendering. Public
programming interface for development of external module plugins (includes COM interface and Software Development Kit).

With a versatile API (open architecture), development focus has
shifted from the Orbiter core to 3rd party add-ons.

And oh yes…
* University College London - thanks to Dr. Schweiger for this slide (and for Orbiter!)
You’ve Seen the Movie…
Now read the book!
Go Play In Space,
a free tutorial
ebook (by me)
Step by step
instructions on
everything from
fixing up a bad orbit
to flying to Mars
Educational and
add-on ideas too
Download the free 9 MB PDF from
http://www.virtualspaceflight.com
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Conclusions
Orbiter is a space flight simulator with accurate
physics, beautiful 3D graphics, and a firstperson, astronaut’s perspective
Basic capabilities and a wide-range of
community supported add-ons make Orbiter a
versatile tool for accurately simulating many
aspects of space flight
Educational applications of Orbiter include
demos and student “lab” activities to enrich
classes in physics, astronomy, technology,
geography, and more.
Orbiter is completely free!
Resources (All Free)
Orbiter main web site (many links):
www.orbitersim.com
Introductory tutorial (Go Play In Space, 2006 Edition):
www.orbiter.migman.com or
www.aovi93.dsl.pipex.com/play_in_space.htm
Main Orbiter add-on site:
www.orbithangar.com
Orbiter Discussion Forum:
http://orbit.m6.net/v2/boardtalk.asp
Great general space flight introduction (JPL’s Basics of
Space Flight, interactive web site):
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/
Music of the Spheres (my blog, frequently discusses space
topics, often including Orbiter)
http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com
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From the Orbiter Education Forum
Orbiter in School (tutorials, links, etc.)
http://www.orbiterschool.com/
Orbiter U (astro course at UHH, Hilo, HI):
http://orbit.m6.net/Forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=8367
AstroDay in Hilo (educational outreach):
http://orbit.m6.net/Forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=13817
Rocket Science for Dummies has been
updated and is now here in four parts:
http://orbiterschool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=
view&id=36&Itemid=2
Credits

Thanks most of all to Dr. Martin Schweiger for creating and
maintaining Orbiter, and to the Orbiter community for their
support and many contributions
Credits for add-ons used and pictured
Mars Direct for Orbiter by Cyrus Phillips and Team
(http://barnstormer.home.mindspring.com/marsdirectproject/marsdirectproject.htm )
Mars rover by Andy McSorley www.virtualspaceflight.com
Mars for Less for Orbiter add-on project by Mark Paton and Andy
McSorley (mission design by Grant Bonin)
Orbiter Sound 3.0 by Daniel Polli
Cassini spacecraft add-on by John Graves et al
Project Apollo add-on by the NASSP Team
Firefly spacecraft add-on by Jon Marcure and Shawn Beard
Space elevator add-on by Yuri “Kulch” Kulchitsky
Vallis Dao 3D Mars terrain by “jtiberius”
NASA CEV (Orion) and Moon lander by Franz “francisdrake” Berner
3D models of Mars astronauts and base objects by Greg Burch
Gravity Simulator 2.0 and JPL Horizons Utility for Orbiter by Tony
Dunn (http://www.orbitsimulator.com, the conversion utility is
http://www.orbitsimulator.com/orbiter/cfgData.exe )
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