
Interplanetary Trajectory Visualisation Tool.


Copyright (C) 2006 Stephen Kemble


Preliminary

This software is a visualisation tool and is provided as a free 'add-on' to the book, 
'Interplanetary Mission Analysis and Design'. As a free add on no warranty can be 
provided for the software or the data associated with it. The following basic licence 
applies to the software.


Software License Agreement

The following software licence agreement ("License") for one licensed copy of the 
Interplanetary Orbit Visualisation Tool (the "Software") applies to you.  The Software 
includes the executable program and the data-files supplied for use with the executable. 
This is a legal agreement between you ("You") and Stephen Kemble.  Use of the software 
is subject to the terms and conditions of this license.

1.	License.  The Software is licensed pursuant to the terms of this License 
and not sold.  Stephen Kemble grants to you a personal, nonexclusive license to Use the 
Software.  "Use" means storing, loading, installing, executing or displaying the Software.   
You are obtaining no rights in the Software except those given in this limited license.

2.	Ownership.  The Software, together with all intellectual property rights embodied 
therein, is owned by Stephen Kemble and the Software is protected by United Kingdom copyright 
laws and international treaties.  Your license confers no title or ownership in the Software.  


3. 	Transfer.  Your license will automatically terminate upon any transfer of the Software.  
Upon transfer, you must cease all use and deliver the Software, including any copies and 
related documentation, to the transferee.  The transferee must accept and be bound by this 
License as a condition of the transfer. 

4.	The Software is provided to you "AS IS," without warranty. There is no warranty for 
the Software, either expressed or implied. The entire risk as to the quality and performance 
of the program is with You . In no event unless required by applicable law will the Licensor 
be liable to you for damages, including any general, special, incidental, direct, indirect 
or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Software.


5.	General.  This License will be governed by the laws of the United Kingdom.  This 
License shall be interpreted exclusively in accordance with the English language meaning of 
its terms.  Should any provisions of this License be declared invalid by any court of competent 
jurisdiction, the balance of the License will remain in full force and effect.  This is the 
entire agreement between You and Stephen Kemble, and supersedes any prior agreement, whether 
written or oral, relating to the subject matter of this License.


User guide

A user guide is provided in the document UserGuide.pdf. This describes the program operation and 
the datafile structures.

A summary is provided below:

Requirements:

Use a P4 or equivalent, 1+ GHZ, preferably 256MB+ RAM.
Recommended operating systems: Windows NT or XP

Description

Double click in the executable file: 'Visualisation.exe' The program starts by loading data and opening a small window named ‘Interplanetary Transfer 
Visualisation Tool’. After a few seconds data is loaded and a second, larger Window loads

This form is used to load trajectory data and to start and control the simulation.

First, select the file containing trajectory data from the file view windows. These are from 
a list of pre-generated transfers from Earth to Various planets

Then check the viewpoint required. This is either inertial or spacecraft related.

An inertially fixed 3 Degree Of Freedom perspective viewpoint is selected by checking 
‘Inertial Viewpoint’. This is inertially fixed, but can be modified by

Ø	Left, Right Up, Down keys for rotation
Ø	Zoom in/out by using F1 and F2

A spacecraft fixed 3 Degree Of Freedom perspective viewpoint is selected by checking 
‘GLSpacecraft related viewpoint’. This viewpoint is constantly modified to point at the spacecraft

Ø	Left, Right Up, Down keys for rotation
Ø	Zoom in/out by using F1 and F2


Simulation control

Having selected the appropriate formatted data file and the viewpoint, then use 
‘Begin Solar System Simulation’ to start simulation

The simulation window loads and the spacecraft is initially stationary. Motion is started and then 
speeded up by pressing the space bar once (to start) or repeatedly to speed up. Slow down is 
achieved by pressing backspace. Backward propagation is not supported.

The simulation will stop on reaching the end of the data, or can be halted by pressing Esc 
on the keyboard. 

On reaching the end of the data, the control keys may still be used to examine the trajectory. 

The Esc (Escape) key must be pressed before the viewing form can then be closed.

On closing the window the remaining windows may be closed, or further simulations performed. 
These can be re-runs of the currently selected case or alternative transfer data files can be loaded.

Datafiles provided

A range of interplanetary transfer files are provided. These are for missions using impulsive 
propulsive manoeuvres (spacecraft Delta-Vs are generally small). These illustrate a variety of 
efficient interplanetary transfer options.

The datafiles to be loaded by the simulation tool are contained in the ‘SimulationFiles’ folder. 
The files are labelled as follows:

Description+SimulationAnimation.dat

This folder also contains a series of sub-folders, containing details of the trajectories. These are 
as follows:

MercuryMissions
JupiterMissions
SaturnMissions
OuterPlanetMissions
JupiterToSaturnViaGravitationalEscapeandCapture


The datafiles in these folders are of two types:

Description+trajectorydata.dat
Description+planetdata.dat

The first file type contains a time history of the transfer trajectory (X,Y,Z heliocentric position 
components) with a fixed time step size. The second file type contains a history of the planet  
heliocentric positions (1 to 9, ie Mercury to Pluto) at the same time intervals as the trajectorydata 
file. The folders also contain copies of the respective ‘SimulationAnimation’ files plus a 
descriptive note.

