Playing in Space Interactive Education with the Orbiter Space Flight Simulator Bruce Irving ISDC 2007 Dallas bruce@opticalres.com 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 1
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. 2
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. 3
The beauty of the Home Planet and the vastness of space. 4
The mystique of the Moon and the magic of Mars. (Proposed Mars Direct habitation module approaching Mars) 5
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 ) 6
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) 7
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 8
and things to burn (sorry). The Serene 9
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 ) 10
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) 11
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 12
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. East 2. West 3. North 4. South 5. Not enough information to determine this 13
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 14
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? 15
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 16
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 17
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 3 rd 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 18
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 19
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 ) 20