KSPTOT v1.6.8
Hi everyone!
This morning I'm happy to announce the release of KSP Trajectory Optimization Tool v1.6.8! This is a major release that primarily focuses on adding additional functionality to Launch Vehicle Designer (LVD). A couple of the more interesting new items in LVD are:
The "**Halo Orbit Constructor**". This is a tool that allows users of Principia and other "N-body" gravity mods to generate approximations for halo orbit that can then be easily exported to the rest of LVD for mission design and planning purposes.
The "**geometry system**". This is a component of LVD which allows users to define and work with geometric elements in their LVD scenarios for graphical/view, optimization, vehicle steering, and Graphical Analysis. You can read more here.
Celestial bodies can now be numerically integrated. This is useful when using "N-body" gravity mods such as Principia as they don't use the two-body motion for celestial bodies that stock KSP does.
This release also showcases the migration of many of the KSPTOT user interface windows to MATLAB's new App Designer framework. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this release migrates KSPTOT to MATLAB R2021a!
Here's the full change log:
LVD: The function to export a kOS CSV file has been updated to allow users to select the event(s) they want to export.
LVD: Introduction of the geometry system. Points, vectors, planes, angles, coordinate systems, and reference frames are now all user definable and can be integrated with views, optimization, and Graphical Analysis.
LVD: The "launch vehicle" menu is now called "scenario," and the "edit launch vehicle" menu beneath it is now called "edit vehicle configuration."
LVD: Added three new constraints: ground object elevation, azimuth, and range.
MA: Mission Animator now properly rotates central celestial bodies.
LVD: Added a new vector, vector projected onto a plane, to the geometry system.
LVD: A few bug fixes and performance improvements.
LVD: T2W throttle model now checks minimum throttle T2W as well as maximum.
LVD: Sim Driver now warns if integrator output event index (ie) is empty.
LVD: When editing non-seq events, the event UI now greys out any non-relevant widgets.
LVD: Added a flight path angle event termination condition.
LVD: Added a new "vector magnitude" constraint type.
LVD: Added a new "angle magnitude" constraint type.
Upgrade MATLAB version to R2021a.
LVD: Incorporation of surrogate optimizer as an optimization method.
LVD: New optimizer output for NOMAD and PatternSearch optimizers.
LVD: Different steering models can be selected for each Euler angle now using the Selectable Model steering mode.
LVD: All constraints now support the ability to evaluate themselves relative to the value of the same quantity at the end of another event. This is in addition to evaluating them relative to fixed bounds as well.
Fixed an issue with importing the UT from KSPTOTConnect into the main KSPTOT user interface (the porkchop plot).
LVD: Bug fixes to the 3rd body gravity model.
LVD: Bug fixes to optimizing Cartesian elements.
LVD: Graphical Analysis is now using the App Designer framework and sports a new look.
LVD: All fluid types are now their own GA tasks.
Main KSPTOT user interface window is now ported over to App Designer framework.
LVD: Constraints and objective functions now are aware of and respect user selected reference frames when evaluating values.
LVD: Added halo orbit examples. The L2 halo orbit example is a full mission from low Kerbin orbit to the halo orbit around the Mun!
LVD: Added third body gravity validator that checks to see if third body gravity sources are active with no force model or if the 3rd body gravity force model is active with no bodies.
LVD: Extrema, Calculus Calculation objects, ground objects, and geometry objects now respect reference frames when computing their values.
LVD: View Settings dialog now moved over to App Designer framework and sports a new look!
LVD: Added Halo Orbit Constructor tool (Tools -> Halo Orbit Constructor menu)
LVD: Performance improvements to frame conversions.
LVD: GA task list area now has a search box.
LVD: Formal continuity constraints are replaced with state comparison constraints for position, velocity, and time.
LVD: Event termination conditions now have ref frame awareness.
LVD: Halo Orbit Constructor now shows arrival/departure transfer orbits too.
LVD: Event actions can now be executed before or after propagation on events.
LVD: Constraints can now be evaluated at either the initial state or final state of an event. Same goes for the state comparison constraints and the node of the comparison event.
Converted a whole bunch of the standalone analysis tools (MFMS, RMS, OTBOC, etc) over to the App Designer framework.
Celestial bodies can now be propagated using numerical integration in addition to two body propagation.
LVD: Added an Open Recent Mission item to File menu
LVD: Migrated main UI and numerous other UIs to App Designer framework. There are still a number of LVD UIs that still need to be migrated, but this is a start.
LVD: Plotting state logs should now be a bit faster due to updated frame rotation behavior.
Added UI progress bars when opening all tools from main KSPTOT UI.
LVD: Major change to the Set Kinematic State action and the associated GUI. You can now set the states of the individual vehicle components, including stages, engines, tanks (and their associated tank masses!), electrical powers sources, sinks, and storage (including battery state of charge).
Astrodynamics Tools UI migrated to App Designer framework
LVD: Edit Event UI migrated to App Designer framework.
LVD: Edit Event UI now has buttons to cycle back and forth through the events list.
LVD: Edit Event Termination Condition UI migrated to App Designer framework.
LVD: Non Sequential Event UI migrated to App Designer framework.
LVD: Plugins can now be used as objective functions, constraints, and graphical analysis output.
LVD: All UIs should now render centered on the screen.
LVD: Double clicking an available task in GA now adds it to the list of tasks.
LVD: Outputting the propagation time to console now includes a breakdown of time needed for propagation and actions.
LVD: Missing LVD cases don't show up in the recent cases list (File menu) anymore.
Numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements, especially in LVD.
NOTE: If you are upgrading from KSPTOT v1.6.7 or earlier, you MUST download the R2021a MATLAB Compiler Runtime (MCR)! KSPTOT v1.6.8 will not run without this! You can find the R201a MCR download for your platform here: https://www.mathworks.com/products/compiler/matlab-runtime.html
Finally, if you enjoy using KSPTOT and its many applications (the Porkchop Plotter, Multi-Flyby Maneuver Sequencer, Mission Architect, Launch Vehicle Designer, and all the rest), please consider buying me a coffee via my Ko-Fi account to support KSPTOT's development. As I note in the first post of this thread, KSPTOT is a labor of love that I have put many, many hundreds of hours into for the benefit of the KSP community. The best part of it for me, aside from knowing that KSPTOT is the premier mission design tool for KSP, is all the thank you notes I've received over the years. I offer this as another way to say "Thank you!", if you so desire.
Thanks, and happy orbiting!