Flight Question What are course corrections?

[Abloheet]

What are course corrections? How are they useful in orbital mechanics?
Even if I write my Orbiter Experience as Advanced, since I have used Orbiter for 3 years, I still don't use course corrections in Orbiter Interplanetary Flights:shrug:

 

[IronRain]

course corrections are corrections in your flight path. When you are flying to i.e. Mars, you need to do Mid Course Corrections (or MCC) to keep your flight path on track for Mars.

 

[Izack]

Over time, your course will deviate from what was planned because of the influence of the other planets, which aren't taken into account by TransX/IMFD/What have you, simply because it is too hard to do it many times a second as required by the instruments. So, somewhere along your travel you'll have to recalculate an optimum course, and perform a correction burn (usually quite small compared to your initial burn; for example during a trip to the Moon the translunar course-correction is usually less than 1m/s Dv) to get you back on track.

 

[statickid]

yes or if you pass by a moon and it alters your heading a little bit, you just "un-alter" it

 

[flytandem]

To me, not doing any MCCs on interplanetary flight means acceptance of a low precision of arrival position. This personal choice makes the transfer between planets quicker as far as time spent in the computer chair, but eliminates doing slings and eliminates minimization of fuel use if wishing to rendezvous with craft or bases at the target planet.

 

[Wishbone]

Just how much dV can one afford to spend in course corrections? With futuristic spacecraft and TransX I sometimes give up on organized and orchestrated MCC burns and simply use translational RCS to cook up the required orbit.

 

[statickid]

In my experience doing a few well placed MCC can save SCADS of delta V when you get to your destination. For example, if you choose your orbital plane when you are half way between the Earth and the moon, then you can do it with a burst or two from the engine, if you wait until you are right near the surface of the earth, it may take half or all your fuel or more than all your fuel to make the same adjustment to your orbital plane.

 

[Abloheet]

Thanks all of you, for your help. Now, I can get to Europa from Earth in one orbit.:thumbup: