Looking out of the cockpit window, you realize that you are floating along in the peaceful three dimensional ocean of space.  Traveling at 125 miles away from the earth at 19,000 miles an hour, a trip around our planet takes you about 90 minutes.  You don't see much happening around you, but there is more than meets the eye.  Small particles that make up the solar wind are ëblowingí by at about 900,000 miles an hour.

 

Up here, there are no road maps, and if there were, they would have to be quite large as well as being three dimensional.  So, where are you going?  Your friends down on earth have a hard time picturing where you going, as well.  Physically, there is no way of really seeing and having a good feel for the orbit of a distant satellite or spacecraft.  This brings us to the goal of this project: to form a mental image of the path along which a celestial body moves about its center of attraction.

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Introduction

Background

Basics

2D Viz

3D Viz

Tracking

Conclusions