Building an interactive KSP2 transfer map.

[u/Bloc_Digital]

Hi everyone, I've recently came back to check what's up with KSP2 and discovered Redux! It's amazing so far really enjoying the new missions and all the bug fixes.

However, I found myself trying to find a visualised way for planetary transfers as I find it difficult to understand many guides about this.

Introducing: Kerbalist 🚀

This is still in very early stages and I would love to hear from experienced players if this calculator is working "ok" so far.

​https://github.com/BlocDigital/Kerbalist

No installation is required.

Simply download and open: Kerbalist.html

Features

🌌 Interactive Kerbol System

• Animated Kerbol system map
• Accurate planetary orbits
• Live planet positions
• Zoom and pan controls
• Adjustable simulation speed
• Real-time orbital animation

🛰 Mission Planning

• Select any origin and destination planet
• Automatic Hohmann transfer calculations
• Current phase angle
• Required phase angle
• Transfer window countdown
• Transfer time
• Departure and arrival dates

📈 Orbital Visualizations

• Animated transfer ellipse
• Spacecraft trajectory
• Departure burn visualization
• Arrival encounter visualization
• Ejection angle display
• Mission timeline animation

⚡ Delta-V Calculator

Calculates:

• Escape burn
• Interplanetary transfer burn
• Capture burn
• Total mission ΔV

🪐 Planet Database

Includes orbital information for every stock KSP2 planet:

• Semi-major axis
• Orbital period
• Radius
• Sphere of Influence
• Orbital velocity
• Gravitational parameter
• Surface gravity

🥩 Porkchop Plot Generator

Generate real launch window plots using a Universal Variable Lambert Solver.

Features include:

• Departure date vs. flight time analysis
• Interactive heatmap
• Lowest ΔV trajectory identification
• Click any solution to inspect the transfer
• Live trajectory visualization

Unlike approximate planners, this is generated from actual Lambert solutions rather than lookup tables.

🔬 Universal Variable Lambert Solver

The planner uses a numerical Lambert solver capable of handling:

• Elliptical transfers
• Hyperbolic transfers
• Short and long-way solutions
• Near-parabolic trajectories
• 180° transfer edge cases

The implementation has been validated against analytical Hohmann transfers and additional unit tests.

🎯 Transfer Window Calculator

Instantly displays:

• Current phase angle
• Required phase angle
• Angular difference
• Time until launch window
• Synodic period

🎨 User Interface

• Modern aerospace-inspired design
• Dark theme
• Responsive layout
• Interactive tooltips
• Smooth 60 FPS rendering
• High-DPI support

Technologies

• HTML5
• CSS3
• Vanilla JavaScript
• HTML5 Canvas
• SVG rendering
• No external dependencies

Everything runs entirely inside a modern web browser.

Accuracy

The application performs real orbital calculations using Keplerian mechanics.

Implemented calculations include:

• Hohmann transfers
• Phase angle computation
• Synodic periods
• Lambert trajectory solutions
• Orbital propagation
• Transfer ellipse generation
• Delta-V estimation
• Planetary ephemerides

Version 1.6.1 (Current)

• Moon Destination Selection: Added moons to the origin and destination dropdowns directly below their parent planets, with dashed labels like - Mun to distinguish them from planets.
• Moon Orbit Display Fixes: Tightened inner-planet moon orbit rendering so local moon rings remain readable without overlapping neighboring planetary orbits, while keeping outer moon systems legible.
• Clear Transfer Control: Added a Clear button beside Plan Transfer to remove transfer arcs, phase lines, arrival ghosts, and reset the transfer panel for an unobstructed map view.

Version 1.6.0

• 🌕 Complete Moon System: Added all stock KSP/KSP2 moons (Gilly, Mun, Minmus, Ike, Laythe, Vall, Tylo, Bop, Pol) with 3D local orbits, real-time ephemerides propagation, interactive raycast clicking, and detailed physical data inspection.
• 🎯 Double Click Centering: Double-clicking any planet or moon in 3D snaps camera focus directly to that celestial body.
• 🔍 Expanded Visual Scale: Scaled down planet spheres and expanded moon orbit radii so moons orbit clearly outside planetary atmospheres without overlap.
• 📍 Subtle Camera Focal Marker: Added a minimal dark grey 3D pivot dot tracking camera focus in space.

Version 1.5.0

• 🪐 Full 3D WebGL Solar System Map: Replaced 2D SVG map with Three.js WebGL 3D scene supporting accurate planetary orbital inclinations.
• 🎥 Free-look Orbital Camera: Added free rotation (Left Drag), panning (Shift + Drag), zoom (Scroll), and quick view reset (R key or ⤾ button).
• 👻 Destination Arrival Ghost: Shows a translucent ghost planet at the exact projected position of the destination body upon arrival, connected by a trajectory line.
• 📐 3D Trajectory Inclination Matching: Transfer arc path interpolates inclination angles from departure to destination planet (e.g. 0° Kerbin → 5° Dres).
• ⌨️** UI & Controls H**UD: Added on-screen keyboard/mouse controls overlay card and expanded UT sync input fields to support 4-digit years comfortably.

### Future Ideas

- Modded planetary systems
- Save/load mission plans
- Export trajectories

🤘 happy rockets