Tranquility base May 1984 documentation
file by the Disk Jockey. 

NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME TRANQUILITY
BASE WRITTEN IN 1979 BY BILL BUDGE.


LEM controled by I-J-K-M controls.
0, 2, P, N controls engine thrust.
P - postive increase thrust
N - negative decrease thrust
O - lets thrust be increased or
    decreased in increments of 10%.
2 - lets thrust be increased or
    decreased in increments of 2%

R - refuels the LEM if it is within
    500M of the center of the TB base
    and engine not running
E - starts engine at 10% thrust. If 
    engine running, stops engine.
Q - returns you, at any time to the
    LEM cockpit.

G - begins with the LEM on the
    launching pad.
A - begins with the LEM approaching
    TB.
O - starts the LEM in lunar orbit.


A joystick can be used to control PTCH
and ROLL:


              pitch down

                   ^
      roll left <- ! -> roll right
                   v

               pitch up


ALT=altitute in meter or kilometers
DIST=distance to target in
     meters/kilometers. 
XRNG=cross track distance in meters or
     kilometers. + to the right, - to
     the left.
VELZ=vertical speed in meters/sec.
VELY=forward or (-) backward speed in
     meters/sec.
PTCH=controls the angle of the ship
     along the forward/bac axis.
ROLL=controls the attitude of the ship
     along the left/right axis.
ENG=engine thrust in % from 0 to 100.
FUEL=the percentage amount of remaining
     fuel.
TIME=the elapsed time the engine has
     been running in minutes.



TB portrays space flight and lunar
landings with true-to-life accuracy.
The laws of motion and gravitation
affect the LEM spacecraft much like
they influence an actual spacecraft in
outer space. Using the Joystick or
Keyboard, you can increase or decrease
engine thrust, change the pitch -90 to
+90 degrees, and roll from -10 to +10
degrees, refuel your spacecraft and
start the engines.


Established on July 4, 2026, TB remains
the only US permanent colony on the
moon. It is inhabited year-round by an
average population of 56. TB remains a
research oriented facility with the
majority of the residents involved in
pure-science studies.

The base itself consists of 4
interconnected geodesic domes called
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit
(yeh!) and covers a total area of
almost one acre (note cities are
labeled A, B, C, D). The launch pad is
located 3000 meters to the west. A
rover connect the base with the launch
pad.

Boston houses one of the basic 2
computer center as well as the
hydroponic farm and assorted labs. The
infirmary is also located in this Dome.

Chicago is the center for top secret
research authorized by the defense
department.

Detroit is the center for advanced
manufacturing. Scientists from a number
of major computer chip makers have
joined forces to develop a new
substance for UMSI (ultra micro scale
integrated) chips.


MISSION PROFILE:

As a recent grad of the US Space
Academy, you have been sent to TB for
further flight training in the advanced
LEM (lunar excurision module). The
training involves seven different
exercises:

1. Soft landing: take the LEM to 6000
meters above lunar surface and bring it
back to a soft landing an TB.

2. Hovering: practice the technique of
stopping the ascent or descent of the
LEM and hover.

3. maneuvering during Hover: use the
pitch and roll controls to practice
moving the spacecraft forward, back and
lateral while hovering.

4. Landing from Approach: take control
of the LEM between 10 and 20 kilometers
from the base. Using only the pitch and
thrust controls, you must reduce the
speed of the spacecraft and land it
safely anywhere on the lunar surface. A
gentle landing is most important.

5. Landing at base from approach: take
control of the spacecraft on approach
and must land it safely within 500
meters of the center of the TB landing
pad.

6. Descent to base from orbit: pilot
LEM as it orbits the moon at an
altitude greater than 50 kilometers and
bring it to a safe landing within the
perimeter of the TB landing pad.

7. Liftoff: start at TB landing pad and
pilot the LEM into lunar orbit.



SOFT LANDING:

Control the thrust as you take the LEM
to an altitude of 6000 meters and then
descend for a safe landing at the base.
Press G to start. Use R to refuel for
your training flight. To set coarse
thrust adjustments press 0. Press E to
start the engines. Press P and increase
the trust to 60%. Then press 2 to set
fine adjustments. VELZ and ALT increase
as you gain speed and altitude.

Reduce the thrust until VELZ stops
increasing. The LEM should be climbing
at a constant rate. Try to keep VELZ at
20 M/S.

When ALT reads 6000M, press E to stop
the engines. Press it again to restart
engines at 10% thrust.


HOVERING:

Pilot LEM to 6000M and then slowly
return to the lunar surface, hovering
at 30M above the landing site.

Press G to start, and press R to
refuel. Now press E to start engines
and increase thrust to 60%. Reduce
thrust to maintain VELZ of 20 M/S. At
an ALT of 6000M, press E to stop the
engines. Now press E to restart the
engines and quickly increase the thrust
to a rate of 6 to 8% below the balance
thrust level. Let VELZ decrease to
-30M/S and use your fine thrust
adjustment to maintain this rate of
descent.

As the LEM falls back towards the
surface of the moon, slowly increase
your thrust so that when you reach an
ALT of 100M, your VELZ will show -1
M/S. As you approach an ALT of 30M,
increase thrust slightly, an then
reduce it back to the balance thrust
level.

The LEM should now be hovering a few
meters above the base. To maintain
this, use the fine thrust adjustment.

Bring LEM in for a soft landing, reduce
thrust slightly and wait until VELZ is
-2M/S. Return the thrust to its
previous balance thrust. Remember, a
VELZ of -4M/S or greater will result in
a crash, so keep the VELZ at -3 M/S.


LIFTOFF:

First refuel the LEM, then start the
engines and increase the thrust to
100%. quickly move PTCH to -60 degrees.
To achieve escape velocity, VELY must
be over 1600 M/S and VELZ should be 0
M/S. Use PTCH controls to stop any
increase in VELZ. 

As you approach escape velocity,
gradually increase PTCH to -90 DEG.
When VELY exceeds 1600 M/S, stop the
engine. If the LEM begins to descend,
restart the engine and increase thrust
until the orbital speed increases
enough to stop the decent.


Hope this helps with the game!

-THE DISK JOCKEY-
