This is more of an FYI for the Cesium & Space loving crowd, with a fairly unique use-case being demonstrated. It appeals to me directly because in my day job I occasionally work with the launch vehicle community, usually in the context of Range Safety.
A couple of months ago, Declan Murphy, who goes by “TheVehicleDestroyer” in a few places on the web, and “murphd37” on his github page, posted on the /r/SpaceX subreddit to announce his creation: FlightClub.io.
FlightClub is a launch & landing trajectory simulator that is entirely web-based. It uses a custom coded java back-end to integrate the thrust/drag/gravity forces involved, and a JavaScript-based client that leverages Cesium for the 3D viz, Plot.ly for the interactive performance graphs and charts, and a sprinkling of bootstrap, Angular, and JQuery to round out the mix.
It got some rave reviews by the SpaceX enthusiasts there, but I think most of them glazed over the web bits to focus on the rocketry stuff like thrust profiles, pitch maneuvers, separation events, and re-entry deceleration burns. In other words, the web app was so successful at getting out of the way of the user that almost everybody forgot it was a web app and focused on the actual “rocket science” modeling and simulation.
So, “link farm” to follow:
https://flightclub.io/ for the main event.
The interface is a bit tricky to learn if you’re not already familiar with the sequence of events that happen during a launch to orbit, so you may want to first check out his YouTube channel with recorded playbacks of the end-results for recent SpaceX missions here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheG0Getter
I think he might record a tutorial at some point, but that too could be something a community fan could walk through and contribute. If you’ve ever played Kerbal Space Program some of the concepts will be familiar
All his code is here: https://github.com/murphd37 and split between server and client.
He recently got interviewed by the Orbital Mechanics Podcast hosts (http://www.theorbitalmechanics.com/) in Episode 55. (worth a listen if you’re into this trade-space)
In that interview he indicated that he’s working on getting 3D models for the Cesium visualization, and maybe down the line some “solver” solutions for flight trajectory optimization.
I mention all this because I think he’d appreciate folks who are excited about this kind of stuff, visualization of Space and Launch Vehicles, to join in contributions for his pet project. If nothing else, its a wicked-cool application of Cesium and other JavaScript libraries to what’s traditionally been a (very) thick desktop application.
I’d love to see this site join the Demo list, but it’s up to the folks maintaining that site to reach out to him, and up to him of course to decide if he wants the free advertisement.
So check out his project, look at his LinkedIn bio: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/declan-murphy-b9245787 where he’s described some of the inner-workings for how the server and client connect, how the whole thing is hosted, etc…
All in all, as a professional in this particular part of the aerospace industry, I applaud his efforts, particularly since this was more of an exercise in learning how to code stuff than doing it for a paycheck. I also like his singular focus on some of the SpaceX vehicles and mission profiles, 'cause if you’ve been watching the news lately, those guys are doing some really amazing stuff in recovering their launch stages. Nothing like having a web application that’s pertinent to the current news and exciting for younger aspiring rocket scientists to play around with.
So, Declan, if you’re trolling these forums, Great Job on this project !! I’ve shared your link with a few folks who work down at the Cape & PAFB and they were all quite impressed, not to mention a little amazed at what all you can do via a web application these days. 'course that doesn’t say much about the state of the rocket launch industry these days, but it certainly shows them what they could aspire to if they ever pull their heads away from their launch consoles to update their IT infrastructure…
Cheers,
Frank