ISS to Brighton in Shuttle-A?

[TMac3000]

But that takes a 15-minute inclination burn, which uses more than three quarters of my fuel!

I don't like waiting for launch windows, so is there a way to do this within the fuel constraints of the Shuttle-A? An off-plane intercept, perhaps?

 

[Tommy]

Either IMFD or TransX can plot an off-plane intercept, but that won't necessarily save you huge amounts of fuel since you're still making the plane change - you're just combinig it with the ejection burn. You could set your Ap very high, at one of the nodes, and do the plane change there, but for that to be effective the new Pe should be at the ejection point. Also, an orbit with the very high eccentricity needed to make this fuel efficient enough to be worth while you'll have an orbital period of several days.

Unless you have tons of Delta-V available, there's really no effective shortcut to avoid waiting for a good window. That's spaceflight - if it was easy everyone would be doing it!

 

[TMac3000]

Unless you have tons of Delta-V available, there's really no effective shortcut to avoid waiting for a good window. That's spaceflight - if it was easy everyone would be doing it!

You're right of course. I don't mean to be immature, but the thing about the Delta Glider that appeals to me is being able to go anywhere I want, anytime I want. I like the Shuttle-A because it's more realistic, but the launch-window thing goes with the realism. Can't have it both ways, I suppose.

 

[Donamy]

You could do time accelleration, when the launch window comes up, save the scenario. Then you don't have to wait anymore.

 

[Andy44]

I am currently running my Lunar Transfer System with a station in a near-polar orbit around the moon (to serve a surface station near the north pole), and a station in LEO close to the Moon's orbit plane.

Using TransX, getting home to LEO from the Moon is pretty easy and can be done about once every two hours (1 lunar rev). Getting from LEO to a lunar polar orbit, on the other hand, means waiting for transfer windows to open up about every two weeks. Depending on how much spare delta-V you have, the transfer window stays open for about 2 days or so. My add-ons are semi-realistic and do not have Delta Glider-style magic engines, so paying attention to transfer window timing is pretty important for planning, really adds a challenge and makes you feel like an ace when you slip your ship into lunar orbit right in the plane of the lunar orbit station with lots of fuel left over.

 

[TMac3000]

So far, the only way I have found to get around the launch window is to dump my cargo before leaving the station. Good thing I wasn't making a delivery from Earth!

 

[andysim]

You could add a fuel tank to a scenario thats almost equatorial and dock with that. Theres quite a few on the orbit hanger and you can practice docking from station to station (Fuel tank) -)

 

[T.Neo]

You could add a fuel tank to a scenario thats almost equatorial and dock with that. Theres quite a few on the orbit hanger and you can practice docking from station to station (Fuel tank) -)

Yes, I think that would be the most realistic way to do it if you don't want to have to wait for an off-plane oppurtunity.