Argonautex

https://github.com/Argonautex/goat-iss-tracker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3vs3Fqwsq0

What is Goat ISS tracker?

Goat ISS tracker is a web application built using the Unity Engine which uses C# in order to make its script. In order to be accessible as a web application, we exported the project to JavaScript using a WebGL which Unity provides. The web application is hosted in a server our teacher granted access to. However, source code is available on GitHub.

Moreover, to know the ISS current location the app sends an http request to an api which returns back useful information apart from the ISS location such as its speed, timestamp or even the sun position which we also use. Afterwards we transform this data which is given in latitude, longitude and altitude into xyz position. This transformation is made supposing Earth is flat, however, it is possible to change the radius of the major and minor axis in the code. Once the ISS is placed, we follow a similar process to position the Sun. Is important to note that in our model earth is standing still and not rotating.

The textures and materials used in the project come from different sources. The sun is made out of a free asset in the Unity store, the detailed Earth mode uses textures from the visible Earth web, the background is made using Spacescape and finally the ISS is an original creation inspired by a NASA 3D model. Even though we had the images to make Earth, we had to make a better sphere than one Unity provides and that’s why we used Blender. On the other hand, the ISS model was made out of scratch using Fusion 360.

How does it work?

The way the app works is by a click and drag system either around the Earth or around the ISS depending on the selected mode. When the ISS is selected, some parameters such as latitude, longitude or speed are displayed on the screen. Finally we included some settings to enable or disable some visualization elements.

With our project we hope to make a beautiful representation of the ISS and Earth while at the same time get rid of the distortion the most 2D tracker offers. This will allow people to observe ISS orbit around in a completely new way.

In order to make our project we needed some resources from NASA. Even though the ISS location is extracted from a external API (see ref.), some parts of the project wouldn’t have been possible without NASA's resources. For instance, the Earth’s texture was made completely out of visible Earth’s high-detailed images(see ref.). Furthermore, we designed our own ISS model inspired by a ISS 3d model available at NASA website (see ref). 

Our experience in this project has been outstanding. Although we have had many problems, we have learnt many new skills that certainly will be useful at a later point of our lives. In addition, we had a great time being a team, and we had lots of fun together. We chose this project because, among all of the options, this one fitted our current skills and interests the best. A week prior to the start of the Hackaton, we began thinking about how we were going to make the web. We decided it was best to assign specific tasks in the project according to our stronger skills. Even though we were prepared, we still encountered many problems. In order to solve them, we researched the issue(s) we had and found a solution to them. We would like to thank our teacher Leonardo for providing us a place to make this app and solving our doubts whenever we had them.

Tools used in the project:

• Unity Engine
• Blender
• Fusion360
• Plastic SCM
• Github
• Spacescape

Resources and assets:

• ISS Api | Where The ISS At?
• Sun | Unity Asset Store
• Earth Textures | NASA visible Earth
• ISS Photo | NASA Galery

Inspiration:

• ISS Model | Solar system exploration NASA

#iss #nasa #earth #destiny #tranquility #zvezda #zarya #nauka #columbus #tracking #unity #software