I have definitely had this experience in KSP and never really thought about until this comment. Neat!
However, there is a practical reason the Apollo mission orbited on its side like this. The side of the spacecraft facing the sun would get very hot while the side facing away would get very cold. So the spacecraft would roll slowly as it travelled for passive thermal control. They literally callrd it the barbecue roll.
Orbiting a planet along it’s equator means orienting north/south (normal/antinormal) for a natural roll axis. Neat stuff!
I have definitely had this experience in KSP and never really thought about until this comment. Neat!
However, there is a practical reason the Apollo mission orbited on its side like this. The side of the spacecraft facing the sun would get very hot while the side facing away would get very cold. So the spacecraft would roll slowly as it travelled for passive thermal control. They literally callrd it the barbecue roll.
Orbiting a planet along it’s equator means orienting north/south (normal/antinormal) for a natural roll axis. Neat stuff!