Project Apollo (Part 4)
Posted: 11.12.2022, 11:08
WHAT'S NEW?
- Added the entire flight of Apollo 13! It is still rough on some segments but overall good enough for release
- Added the EASEP package and retroreflectors (provided by Endeavor35)
- Revised sizes for all components of the Apollo program since Part 3's were miniature in scale it turns out
- Thanks to John van Vliet, the models for the actual 3D terrain of the six Apollo landing sites were complete! They are available over the Apollo Landing Sites thread
- Modified Apollo 5 in order to simulate its "fire-in-the-hole" test sometime in 1968-Jan-23
- Models of the CSM and LEM-Ascent were modified to make them more metallic
- A new LEM-Descent model based on ElChristou's original LEM model, which also replaces the old 3DS model by Jack Higgins
- Removed the reflections from the Apollo astronauts (except for the visors)
- Fixed the visual bugs on the ALSEP instruments and the Lunar Rovers
- The flags were oriented to closely match the actual photographs.
- The class of derelict objects were changed from "component" to "diffuse", as Celestia 1.7.0 had trouble rendering objects in that class
- Flat terrain simulation for Apollo 11 to 14, while mountainous terrain for Apollo 15 to 17. Take note that these will be replaced in the future (courtesy of John van Vliet)
- Uses the FixedPosition and Timeline functions for placements of the spacecraft and the astronauts. This method has eliminated any duplicate entries and you can actually watch the astronauts and the LEMs "teleport" from one location to another
- Added the ascent stage from Apollo 11 that is left in a surprisingly stable lunar orbit to the Present Day
HOW TO NAVIGATE:
Due to Apollo's very short duration missions, not lasting longer than 12 days (except for Skylab missions), navigating to each one of them is quite complicated:
- For Version 1.6.2, install Jan Stegehuis's Spacecraft Goto script to easily jump in time on each single mission
- For Version 1.7.0, since the above script doesn't work here, refer to this Wiki page to manually jump in time on your preferred Apollo mission
- In the Present Day, you can visit the remains of the LEM descent stages by entering "LEM-" followed by a number or simply typing " Apollo". In the case of Apollo 11, you can visit the ascent stage in orbit by entering "Eagle AS"
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- This addon replaces Part 3 entirely. Delete that version first if you have installed it on your Celestia before downloading this addon since there are many outdated files there that are no longer used
- In addition, it also remotely overwrites the Apollo missions included by default on version 1.7.0
- Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean require the newest version of Skylab in order for them to be viewed
- Apollo 18 requires the newest version of the ASTP addon in order to be viewed as well (also to become available in a few days)
- This version is specifically made to be mobile-compatible! An official download link on mobi is now available since 2022-Dec-28
OPTIONAL ADDONS:
Additional content that uses hardware related to the Apollo program. The addons below can work independently even if Project Apollo isn't installed
- Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
- Apollo Landing Sites
- Lunar Orbiter 1 to 5
- S-IVB Apollo stages
- Skylab
- Surveyor 1 to 7
CREDITS:
The following components of this addon were made by other addon developers below. Only the LEM descent stage and lunar rover were made by me
- ElChristou = Original creator of the Apollo CSM and the ascent stage of the Apollo LEM
- Endeavor35 = ALSEP instruments
- Linuxman = Generic crater terrain
- Max Grueter = Apollo astronaut models
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:
- The three Pegasus micrometeoroid satellites
- Translunar trajectories for Apollo 8 to 17
- XYZV trajectories for the S-IVB stages that were deliberately crashed onto the Moon (Apollo 13 to 17)
- Just for fun, the cancelled Manned Venus Flyby concept
- Probably won't happen in the short term, but I guess the experience that will be gained from making the translunar orbits would be used to simulate the entire landing sequences of the Apollo LEMs!