Contents
To view the project navigate to this link.
To view the standalone navigate to this link.
This Github Repository contains the source code that is used for the Mission Visualization Toolkit (MVT), a program that simplifies visualization for the Space Communications and Navigations (SCaN) network in 3D space. This project was developed as a part of a NASA internship opportunity.
Hello! We are a team of five high schoolers who were brought together by NASA and spent our summer working on this visualization. Throughout our time at NASA, sharing this project (and extensive amounts of time on Stack Overflow) caused us to become closer as teammates and friends. Get to know more about each of us and our roles here.
Aman, Arya, and Leo participated in an Experiential Learning Opportunity (ELO) this summer due to not meeting the age requirements to be official NASA interns. They did so after placing highly in NASA's App Development Challenge (ADC) for their school.
Aman Garg
Also known as: AMOON
Gilman Upper School, Class of 2024
Future Biologist
Front End Developer
3D Modeling Expert
Valuable Experience in Starting Microsoft Teams Meetings
Vegetarian
Arya Kazemnia
Also known as: Array
Gilman Upper School, Class of 2024
Future Biomedical Engineer
Data Manager
Specialist in Everything
Still Developing Spelling Skills
Story Telling Master
Leo Wang
Also known as: Lei
Gilman Upper School, Class of 2024
Future Computer Scientist
Back End Developer
Programming Wizard
Public Speaking "Genius"
Remarkable Skills in Working Until 8 AM.
Vicki and Zoe were official interns and both participated in their first NASA internships this summer.
Vicki Carrica
Also known as: Vick
Old Saybrook High School, Class of 2023
Future Computational Biologist
Algorithm Engineer
Web Developer
Bagel Fanatic
Perfect Meeting Attendence Record
Zoe Schoeneman-Frye
Also known as: Zo
Montgomery Blair High School, Class of 2022
Future Computer Scientist
Test Engineer
Graphic Design
Anime Connoisseur
Fashionista
If you have any questions regarding this project, feel free to connect with us! We are more than happy to chat with you.
- Vicki Carrica at vickicarrica@yahoo.com.
- Zoe Schoeneman-Frye at zoesfrye@gmail.com.
- Aman Garg at agarg24@students.gilman.edu.
- Arya Kazemnia at akazemnia24@students.gilman.edu.
- Leo Wang at lwang@students.gilman.edu.
- Unity should be installed on your device before opening the project.
- This project currently works under version 2020.3.8f1 of Unity.
- WebGL Build Support should be installed as a platform.
- To do this, go to Installs in Unity Hub.
- Under the 2020.3.8f1 version, click Add Modules.
- Find WebGL and install.
- Github Desktop should be installed on your device
This project was built on Unity. To be able to see it on that platform, perform the following steps:
- Begin by downloading all the project files to your computer.
- Open the Unity Hub app.
- Select the "ADD" button under the projects tab.
- Select the corresponding project file on your computer.
- Make sure that the current Target Platform is WebGL and that the Unity Version is 2020.3.8f1.
- Open the project once added.
MVT is built to extend the capabilities of STK and replace it in some capacity. It will allow SCaN systems to be visualized in an interactive space, one in which the perspective of the viewer could explore the 3D visualization with time manipulation as opposed to the video-like experience generated from STK. The operational cost of MVT is quite low, almost negligible, and it operates in real-time. To display STK in a browser is a time intensive and difficult task where MVT is less convoluted to make it more accessible to not only NASA employees but also NASA customers.
Upon opening MVT, you will see a screen with a start button. Click it to begin and be directed to the main view. Once the main view loads, you will be prompted to either build with the preset or build with a new scenario, for those with custom files. We recommend beginner users to start with the preset.
On the left toolbar, the fifth icon from the top, shaped as an "i", is the information button. For more specific and detailed information regarding MVT usage, please refer to that.
All of the left tool bar buttons and their basic function, starting at the top and going down.
- Planet Creator: Used to create satellites.
- Navigation: Used to choose a reference frame, follow a specific object, as well as providing data about that object.
- JSON Save: Used to save your current scenario.
- JSON Load: Used to load in another scenario.
- Info: More information on how to use the visualization.
All of the botton toolbar buttons and their basic function.
- Time Increment Textbox/Scroll: Used to set the amount of simulated time in seconds that pass during one real second.
- Play/Pause: Used to start and pause the simulation.
- Fast forward/backwards: Used to skip a certain amount of time into the future or past of the current time in the simulation.
Here is a list of all working previous versions of our website. All versions can be found in the Builds folder of the Github repository.
We welcome contributions and additions! To make a change you must:
- Fork the repository.
- Make the change on Unity
- Build the project using WebGL. Select the folder ProjectName > Builds and add a new build number.
- Open Github Desktop and open the repository.
- Commit and push your changes onto Github
- To open a website of the changed project:
- Go to settings in your repository
- Go to Pages within Settings
- Select branch as master under Source
- Open the website at username.github.io/project-name/Builds/buildNumber/pageName.html (example url, replace fields with corresponding information)
Please be conscious of crediting our work when changes are made.
We'd like to begin by thanking NASA as a whole for the opportunity to intern this summer. The Goddard Space Flight center did a particularly good job of making our internships meaningful and exciting experiences. The Space Communications and Navigations (SCaN) team were incredibly welcoming and kind to us and aided us immensely during our project.
We cannot thank our mentor, George D. Bussey, enough for all of his help during this summer. He went above and beyond to provide an educational and worthwhile project. We would also like to thank our co-mentor, Elana Resnick, for helping those who attend Gilman school be a part of this project.
Finally, we would like to thank Jimmy Acevedo and Korine Powers for their role in making this summer so enjoyable.