Quote from frankuitaalst on 08/07/15 at 14:16:36:
In case you want to experiment with trajectory design you might consider to download the Gravity Simulator as executable from this forum .
This application allows to give thrust to your spacecraft at various points of your mission . Might be interesting .
I guess Tony can guide here here...
You can do this in the new version, but the procedure is much different. All autopilot features require you do a small amount of Javascript programming. The disadvantage is that the learning curve is steeper. The advantage is that you can "autopilot" almost anything, whether or not I thought to add it to the program, such as Yarkofsky Effect. And the Javascript is very easy. You use Power Basic. The four biggest differences are that you use square brackets for arrays, you use the word "var" instead of "dim", blocks of code are enclosed in curly braces, and every line ends with a semicolon.
I put together a YouTube video showing how to take one of the objects from the capture simulation, and cause it to brake into circular orbit around Europa after the ballistic capture. I wanted to add voice, but I'm having microphone trouble after my upgrade to Windows 10. So sorry, this is a silent movie
The strategy in the video is this:
1. Pick one object and delete the others. I chose Object 10.
2. Run the sim and after ballistic capture, determine the time of closest Europa approach, and the speed and distance relative to Europa at that time.
3. Calculate the speed it would need for circular orbit at that distance, and how much you need to change its existing velocity.
4. Set up Autopilot to perform the "burn" at that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eu0b3UvhPA