AMSO TLI using IMFD 5 Launch AMSO Apollo 11 into earth orbit, then it is time to prepare for TLI.

Open IMFD in both left and right MFDs. Left MFD Select Menu Course Target Intercept - TGT Moon Use Prev and Next buttons to select the Realtime item and change this to Off-Axis using the + button. Press the MOD button until you reach the offset screen. Navigate to the offset disabled item and change it to velocity frame. Select the Rad item and set this to 8M (capital M). This has now configured a free return trajectory to the Moon and we will view this in the IMFD Map. Right MFD Select Menu PG Id = 0 to share information with the course program in the left MFD Then select Map TGT Moon Press MOD until you reach the configuration list. Navigate to the Time Limit and set this to 600k. Press Mod again to return to the map. Disable autozoom (azo), and activate DSP, INT, Plan. Select reference moon weak, and centre on the moon by entering r-moon after pushing the CNT button. You should now see your free return trajectory in blue on the map. Now we go back to the left MFD to adjust our course. This course will get us to the moon as it is currently set but there is a problem. Change page in the left MFD and check the burn vector (BV). This will probably give a main engine burn of about 350 secs. The problem is that the total available burn time of the Saturn V third stage is 337 secs, which obviously means that we will run out of fuel before establishing our trajectory. So now we need to reduce the required Dv to within our fuel parameters. This will, of course, change our trajectory, but with this method we do not need to worry about this as the MCC will adjust it later. To reduce our burn time we need to change the ejection time TeJ in fact we are going to reduce it using the + ,-, and ADJ buttons, with the latter allowing us to change the rate of adjustment I usually use the x10 option. So navigate to TeJ until it is highlighted in white and begin to reduce it. You will notice that the required Dv below it also reduces. But it is the burn time we are concerned with, and to check that you will have to change pages to BV and

back as trial and error seems to be the only way. Continue to reduce Tej until your BT drops below 337 secs. Try not to drop much below that total time as it will increase the burn needed for MCC later in other words, get as close to, but not equal or above, 337secs. Once you have done that simply hit the autoburn (AB) and let IMFD do its job. When the burn is complete dock and extract the LM. Presumably, as I do, you will change your MFDs to docking and attitude whilst doing this. Not a problem, as IMFD will retain your original settings when you eventually reopen them. So once you are en route to the moon with the CSM stack re-open the two IMFD screens and prepare for the MCC. You have plenty of time to do this, as the correction will not be likely to occur until you are almost leaving the earths SOI. First MCC In the Map MFD press MOD until you see the lunar PeA the page shows the base as tranquillity. In the left MFD (IMFD Course program), change the off-axis parameter back to real time. The select the RAD parameter and begin to adjust it (usually reduce it) until the PeA in the Map MFD shows around 75K. It does not need to be exact as the course will change as time goes by anyway, and the second MCC will put us more precisely on course. Now select the BV in the left MFD and simply wait until the burn time reduces to a minimum. Usually, as mentioned above, this will be around the time you leave earths SOI, and hopefully should only be a burn of 2 seconds or so. When the burn time reaches its minimum simply hit AB to complete the MCC. Second MCC Now we need to set the course program for the second MCC. Navigate back to the Menu in the left MFD and select Base Approach. Reference moon, and you should see the target already set as tranquillity. If not, set that manually. The next parameter to set is the lunar orbit altitude, which in Apollo was 110k. Now I have found that if you set that in the IMFD base approach screen it actually brings you in a bit on the low side. There is room for further experimentation here, but I currently set the altitude to 300k. To complete the MCC you follow the same procedure as before monitor the burn time and hit AB as soon as it reaches a minimum, by which time you are probably already inside the moons SOI.

Now, as mentioned above, IMFD tends to bring you in with a low PeA, so you could carry out an additional MCC to adjust it. I have also tried a manual burn to raise my PeA to about 124k, which I find is about optimum for lunar orbit insertion, but again there is room for further experimentation. LOI You can complete your LOI automatically using the IMFD orbit insert program, but I prefer to do the burn manually if the situation becomes wasteful on fuel it is then easy to bail out and circularise more accurately later. Manual LOI As you approach the insertion give yourself plenty of time to orient retrograde, as this takes a while with the CSM/LM stack. The burn time required for LOI is roughly 340 secs, so I start my burn 170 secs before PeT. You could use BTC to manage the burn if you like, but I find this method accurate enough. You will find that your PeA will reduce as the burn progresses, which is why I like to start with a PeA of about 124k. As with the real Apollo, you will not get a perfect LOI. I monitor PeA and stop my insertion burn when it is close to the required parking orbit of 110k. Once you have completed your LOI adjust the parking orbit either manually or using the AMSO parking orbit circularisation autopilot, which I find is very fuel friendly. Hopefully you will now be safely in a 110k lunar orbit with around 35-37% of fuel remaining. You will need 30% of this to get home, so you still have 5-7% of fuel to undertake any orbital operations if needed.

TEI If you wish to use a ready made scenario to try out this tutorial, select the Apollo 11 Step 22 scenario in the AMSO pack. Dont forgot to separate the LM Ascent Module before you start, otherwise you are going to be very short of fuel for getting home! Open IMFD in both left and right MFDs. Left MFD Select Menu - Base Approach - PG SRC Moon. This should give you default settings of REF Earth, Approach for Reentry, and Prograde. If not, then change to those settings manually. Switch pages, then use the PPrev and Next buttons to navigate to the corordinates of your target, which is, of course, the Apollo 11 splashdown zone. Historically these were: Lon = -169.15 Lat = 13.3 Alt = 120k (re-entry interface altitude) ReA = 6.48 (re-entry angle in degrees) Ant = 20 (angle between re-entry interface and splashdown zone) Notes: Negative signs do not show up in the MFD when you have entered them, but you MUST include them when you type in the co-ordinates. Alt should always be 120k for all flights as far as I can tell. Similarly, I believe that Ant equals 20 for all flights for the purposes of this method. Feel free to experiment! Longitude, Latitude, and re-entry angle changed for every Apollo flight. Information for each can be obtained here:
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_18-40_Entry_Splashdown_and_Recovery.htm

Now navigate to the hint line of the program. Increase it using the + button. I usually use an adjustment rate of 10x initially. After some time a TEI solution will appear on screen escape vector shows in the bottom left of the MFD. This first solution will be way too high you have nowhere near enough fuel to generate this oV. Continue to increase the hint, and a more practical oV will soon appear, typically around 1.284. A value somewhere around this magnitude is fine. Right MFD Select - Menu PG Id = 0 to share information with the base approach program in the left MFD. Select - Menu Orbit Eject. Navigate to the Higher Orbit line and change it to Base Approach. The green dashed radius line in the display shows the ejection point when we will start the TEI burn. You will also see a blue line, which is aligned over the green dashed one. Check the TEj to see what your time of ejection is. Usually you will have plenty of time to the burn, so just leave it as it stands. If for any reason you wanted more time, then increase the TEj value using the + button to add as many extra orbits as you like until the blue line aligns with the green dashed line again. Make a note of the Tej in the left corner of the MFD. Left MFD Navigate to the Tej line in the left MFD, and copy the value from the right MFD there. It does not matter if you are a few seconds out. By doing this you have now told the left MFD when to make the TEI burn. However we are not quite ready yet. Right MFD Check the EIn line on the right MFD. Almost certainly you will be well out of plane it is probably showing 10 degrees or so, which is not going to get us home. To adjust this plane error we need to alter the splashdown target latitude in the Base Approach program. Left MFD Navigate to the lat line in the MFD. Adjust it (usually reduce it) until the Ein in the right MFD is as close to zero as possible. A small negative value is also ok. If you go too far the right MFD will give you an error message. No

problem, simply increase the value for latitude again until the message disappears. We finally have our solution for TEI. Simply hit the autoburn in the left MFD and wait. You can move to the BV page to monitor the burn time if you wish. Obviously you can use time compression, but remember that IMFD starts ship orientation at 180 seconds from the burn itself, so drop to real time before then. Now we should be safely on our way home but our work is not yet complete. To gain a picture of our situation lets open the map program. Right MFD Navigate back to Menu Map. Set Ref Earth. Cnt - Earth if the map is not already showing that. Disable autozoom, enable SOI, and DSP. Press the MOD button a couple of times until the screen changes to re-entry display. Zoom in to the Earth, and you will see that the burn has been far from perfect re-entry angle is probably about 33 degrees - looks like a pretty hard landing just right of centre smack into the home planet! Mid-course corrections will definitely be required. Mid-Course Corrections On the return journey you are going to require at least two MCCs, probably more. The principles and techniques are the same for each. However the available fuel is strictly limited typically you will only have about 8% left after the TEI burn, so be careful, or you may have to get out and push. Left MFD Select the Src button and enter x in the dialogue box. This sets the flight computer to the Apollo vessel. Monitor the dV in the MFD it will be reducing. When it reaches a minimum, typically around 100, Engage autoburn to make the correction. At this stage the burn time will probably be 10-15 seconds or so, leaving you with about 6% of fuel. Right MFD Examine the results of the MCC burn in the Map MFD zoom in to the Earth if necessary. Things should have improved considerably, but are not perfect yet. Typically your flight path will have now become a free-return trajectory, and the re-entry information will have disappeared off the MFD screen.

Clearly a further MCC will be required, as a near-earth fly-by is the last thing we need. Left MFD Essentially follow the same procedure as above for the next MCC, and any others you opt to make. Personally, I usually wait until the Apollo is well inside earths SOI (Monitor this on the Map MFD). The second MCC might be around a four-second burn. It is probably better to monitor your actual burn time rather than dV itself fuel is tight! Right MFD Again, observe the results in Map MFD. Hopefully, you will now have a reentry solution again, but the ReA will still not be where you want often around 3 degrees. Simply repeat the above procedures, i.e. further MCCs, until your re-entry angle is close to the historical Apollo, around 6.5 degrees. If fuel permits, you can carry out as many MCCs as you like, but any burn time of less than a half a second or so is probably not worth doing. The most important thing is your ReA as long as you are around 6.5 degrees you will see your wife and children again if the chutes open Re-entry As you approach the Earth open Orbit MFD and monitor the PeT. It does not really matter in AMSO, but the real Apollo separated the SM at about 1.000k out. Engage retrograde autopilot so that the heatshield protects you, and you are ready for re-entry. In the actual Apollo the CM did not stay in retrograde. So if you wish to replicate their manoeuvres, disengage retrograde autopilot at about 150km altitude, roll heads down, then try to keep your pitch at 0 degrees through reentry. Things start to get very warm around 80Km altitude. Once the flames stop, around 30km, pitch to 90 degrees ready for chute deployment. Welcome home! Note: AMSO does allow for aerodynamic lift, as with the historical Apollo, so that you can attempt to change your landing point if you wish. Instructions can be found in the AMSO manual on Page 17. Files for all the splashdown zones have been included in this tutorial pack, adding these zones as bases in the AMSO earth.cfg, which means that you can try to hit the drop area on the nose.