O'Neil, Daniel A.

NASA Technical Reports Server

Web-based Space 
Mission Visualization
AlaSim International 2016
Daniel A. O’Neil
May 5, 2016
Tutorial
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160007351 2019-08-31T02:44:59+00:00Z
What is Web-based Space Mission Visualization?
• A capability to communicate space mission concepts
• Interactive simulations that include 3D models of celestial bodies, spacecraft, and 
orbital trajectories
• Simulations run natively within a web-browser, i.e., no plug-ins required
• System components:
• Tutorials that explain how to create web-based mission visualizations
• Demonstrations that provide reusable code for new mission simulations
• Free mission design application and code libraries
• A repository for managing reusable models and simulation code
• Notional workflow:
Design Misison
with NASA’s
General Mission
Analysis Tool
(GMAT) Export Trajectory Data
Convert to JavaScript 
Object Notation (JSON)
Integrate with reusable
JavaScript & WebGL code
Deploy mission 
simulation web-page
Web-based Mission Visualization System 
Value Propositions
• Improves communication between mission designers and decision makers 
through interactive mission simulations
• No downloading of a large desktop application
• No plug-in required to run the simulation visualizations in a web browser 
• Enables cultural transformation from static chart-deck presentations to 
interactive model-based demonstrations
• Models embedded in web-pages can be linked to other web-based models and 
supporting web-based documentation
• Visualizations can play data-files generated from sophisticated orbital dynamics 
analysis applications, e.g., General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) and Systems Tool 
Kit (STK) 11
• Provides opportunities to build agency-wide multi-disciplinary teams
• Orbital dynamists can generate trajectory files with GMAT, STK11, or custom codes
• Web-app developers use the files to produce interactive mission visualizations
• Engages and educates the public
• People gain a better understanding of future space missions through the simulations
• Citizen scientists can publish their web-based mission models 
• A public website provides mission galleries, discussion forums, tutorials, and code 
repositories
A Tool Kit for Web-based Space Mission Visualization
• X3dom – a JavaScript code library that provides the 
capability to embed X3D scene-graphs in an HTML 
document
• glTF – a 3D file format, developed by Khronos Group, for 
transmission of models and scenes
• Cesium – a free open source digital globe and JavaScript 
Application Programming Interface provided by Analytical 
Graphics Inc. (AGI)
• satellite-js – a JavaScript code library that implements the 
Simple General Perturbations (SGP) model for propagating 
orbits expressed as Two-Line Elements
• three.js – a 3D graphics JavaScript library with support for 
scene-graphs, shapes, shaders, and animation
• Physics engines – JavaScript code libraries exist, which 
enable physics based simulations
• Game engines – provide code for the user interface, 
resource management, icons, models, etc.
satellite.js v1.2.0
three.js
Modern web-browsers execute JavaScript and WebGL natively, which enables 
development of embedded simulations.
https://github.com/shashwatak/satellite-js
https://www.khronos.org/gltf
http://www.x3dom.org/
http://cesiumjs.org/
http://threejs.org/
Tutorials and Demonstrations for X3Dom
• A Three Part tutorial that explains how to create a web-based mission visualization from 
trajectory data exported from the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT)
• Links lead to the tutorials, buttons activate the demonstrations
• Includes a link to a vision document for a Web-based Space Mission Visualization system
http://daoneil.github.io/spacemission/X3Dom/WebMissionVisualizationTutorialSeries.html
Interactive Earth to Moon Mission 
Visualization in Cesium 
• A lunar probe trajectory 
and Moon’s orbit 
depicted in Cesium
• Buttons provide different 
viewpoints for the probe, 
Moon, Earth, and the big 
picture
http://daoneil.github.io/spacemission/Apps/EarthToMoon_Demo.html
• Trajectory data 
generated from a 
GMAT tutorial
• Converted to a 
JavaScript string 
variable with Excel
Orbital Debris Propagation with Satellite-js and 
Visualized in Cesium
• Two Line Element (TLE) data 
provided by Celestrak
• Data converted to a JavaScript 
string variable with Excel
• Positions propagated via 
Satellite-js
• Two Line Element set
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-line_element_set
• Celestrak
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/
• Satellite-js
https://github.com/shashwatak/satellite-js
• Simple General Perturbations (SGP) Model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_perturbations_models
http://daoneil.github.io/spacemission/Apps/Cesium_with_SGP.html
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Visualization 
with an embedded orbital propagator
• Data provided by the JPL 
Near Earth Objects 
Program Office
• Orbital propagator 
based on a flow-chart 
provided in Tom 
Logsdon’s book “Orbital 
Mechanics: Theory and 
Applications
• Developed with the 
X3Dom code library
http://daoneil.github.io/spacemission/X3Dom/InnerSolarSystem.html
Future Work and Conclusions
• Established a Public Repository to Share Mission Files
• Publish the tutorials and demonstration code to potential development partners 
around the agency and the general public
• Provide a repository for agency mission planners and citizen scientists to share 
General Mission Analysis Tool scripts and Web-based Mission Visualization code
• Establish discussion forums so people can share ideas about converting 
trajectory files into interactive web-based simulations
• Continue development of demonstrations and tutorials
• Create five or six web-based mission visualizations to demonstrate various types 
of missions, e.g., LEO, GEO, Moon, Asteroids, Mars, etc.
• Write tutorials related to system models and visualization control widgets
• Facilitate an open-source development project to implement the Web-
based Space Mission Visualization System
• Seek sponsorship for open-source development project, e.g., TopCoder
• Demonstrate capabilities to space system development projects
• Invitation to contribute code: If you are interested, please contact 
Daniel A. O’Neil, daniel.a.oneil@nasa.gov


Web-Based Space Mission Visualization Tutorial

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