Spacers

https://github.com/SPACERS-NASA-Space-Apps-Barcelona/web-app

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UCIWeyghib6K9WcwJUj56AVWfVHajUTnSveFVxFqE6o/edit?usp=sharing

The web application tracks the actual location of the ISS in space and displays it around the earth globe, according to the earth map, with 3D graphics. It also lets users immerse in the AR experience inside the ISS, so they can see the inside of the ISS with their own eyes.

The ISS Tracker works by obtaining data of the actual location of the ISS. The data is received in latitude and longitude values, so those values have to be transformed into coordinates that can be used to locate the ISS according to the earth globe.

The benefits of this development are that everyone, but especially young people, will be able to see the ISS in a way they haven’t seen before. They will be able to feel immersed in the experience and in a certain way, like if they were a part of the NASA.

What we hope to achieve with this project is that young people feel interested in the outer space, in what it contains and how it looks like, so in the future, they can also be a part of this big project and help with it. Young people are the future and we really hope to motivate them with our project.

We have planned to keep updating this application to implement all of the basic features, such as timeline (so you can go to the past and see the station at a given time), real scale models, better graphics, etc. We are also planning to add most of the other satellites and tech sent into space, including the other planets and celestial bodies with the ability to navigate between them.

We created the ISS tracker using Three js, a library using JavaScript to render and display 3D objects, that also has compatibility with AR, which was very useful for our VR experience development. As for the IDE, we used Visual Studio Code. For the VR experience the device being used is the Oculus Quest 1.

We are using the official 3D model of the ISS for our VR experience that can be found here: https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/

The hackathon journey was amazing, since we could meet a lot of interesting people, with great mindsets and full of energy, which is always great.

The day before the hackathon started we became a team and the next day we planned everything with a very clear objective, then we started developing our project.

We learned a lot from each other, since some of us had knowledge in some technologies and some in others, but none of us really had experience with Three js, so we learned a lot about this technology during the hackathon.

Our inspiration for this challenge was to create something new that could motivate people in the same way it motivates us. To think that maybe this application could inspire a young person in an aspect of their life, and give them an idea of what they would like to become when they are older, fills us with joy and excitement. We want to contribute to the future in the best way we know: creating web content.

We could successfully achieve the main goal: to track the ISS in real time and to create a good experience. In the future, we would like to continue with the development of this project and do even better, give more realistic graphics, more features and more information, because we think it’s important to give users more useful information.

As a team we helped each other with the problems we faced, we could communicate well and we were very synchronized in this aspect. We all enjoyed a lot the experience because we were a part of this project and felt like a part of it, contributing in everything and giving ideas.

We would like to thank the NASA, the amazing team of the NASA Space Apps, the MWC Barcelona and everyone who made it possible for us to be here and share such wonderful days. It has been an amazing experience and we hope this event can be done in the future again.

A repository that helped us with the creation of this project and the earth: https://github.com/EnayetHossain/Earth

The public API to obtain the current location of the ISS:

https://wheretheiss.at/

How to stablish a point on earth with coordinates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pUzJOfekVE&t=2254s

As inspiration of how it has been done until now:

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/tracking_map.cfm

To understand VR with Three js:

https://threejs.org/examples/?q=vr#webxr_vr_ballshooter

ISS 3D model displayed with the earth:

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/iss-813f5b296e584c26bf386ca39de6c3d4

A Project that helped us understand effects with gsap:

https://jsfiddle.net/8j4dfvx9/1/

#ISS, #software, #3D