A web-based spacecraft Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) mission planning tool with interactive 3D visualization.
This application enables mission planning for spacecraft formation flying and proximity operations in Low Earth Orbit. It combines a rigorous orbital mechanics library with an intuitive 3D interface, allowing users to:
- Visualize spacecraft relative motion in the RIC (Radial-Intrack-Crosstrack) coordinate frame
- Plan multi-waypoint rendezvous missions with automatic trajectory computation
- Model realistic orbital perturbations including J2 (Earth oblateness) and atmospheric drag
- Play back computed trajectories with real-time telemetry display
The orbital mechanics engine implements the framework from:
"New State Transition Matrices for Spacecraft Relative Motion in Perturbed Orbits" Adam W. Koenig, Tommaso Guffanti, and Simone D'Amico Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2017
Relative Orbital Elements (ROE): The application uses quasi-nonsingular ROE to describe the deputy spacecraft's orbit relative to the chief. This 6-element state vector captures relative semi-major axis, mean longitude, eccentricity, and inclination — enabling efficient propagation and targeting.
State Transition Matrices (STM): Three propagation models are available:
- Keplerian: Unperturbed two-body motion
- J2-Perturbed: Includes secular effects from Earth's oblateness (nodal regression, apsidal precession)
- J2 + Drag: Adds density-model-free atmospheric drag effects
For detailed mathematical derivations and implementation notes, see J2_AND_DRAG_MODELS.md.
Two-Burn Rendezvous: The targeting algorithm computes optimal impulsive maneuvers using an iterative shooting method with the control influence matrix derived from the Gauss Variational Equations. For implementation details, see TARGETING.md.
- Chief spacecraft fixed at origin, deputy animated along trajectory
- Interactive waypoint placement with drag-to-edit
- Trajectory path rendering with dashed line visualization
- RIC coordinate axes gizmo for orientation reference
- Responsive zoom scaling for formations from meters to kilometers
- Click to place waypoints in 3D space
- Automatic multi-leg trajectory computation
- Incremental replanning when waypoints are modified
- Per-leg and total delta-v reporting
- Toggle J2 perturbation effects
- Toggle atmospheric drag modeling with configurable decay rates
- Multiple pre-configured scenarios:
- ISS Circular (~400 km altitude)
- High-Altitude Eccentric (e = 0.1)
- Low-Altitude Eccentric
- Long-Duration Hold
- Large Formation (10+ km separations)
- Play/pause with variable speed (1x to 500x)
- Timeline scrubbing to any mission point
- Real-time HUD displaying position, velocity, and metrics
- JSON Export: Complete mission data including chief orbit, waypoints with ROE, leg details, and burn timing
- CSV Export: Time-series trajectory with interleaved maneuver events (departure/arrival burns with delta-v vectors)
- Node.js 18+ and npm
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sakobu/koenig-guffanti-damico-roe-stm.git
cd koenig-damico-rpo
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Start development server
npm run devThe application will be available at http://localhost:5173
npm run build
npm run preview- React 19 + TypeScript — UI framework with type safety
- React Three Fiber + Three.js — 3D rendering
- Zustand — Lightweight state management
- Tailwind CSS — Styling
- Vite — Build tooling
src/
├── orbital/ # Astrodynamics library
│ ├── stm/ # State Transition Matrices (Keplerian, J2, drag)
│ ├── propagation/ # ROE propagation engine
│ ├── targeting/ # Rendezvous solver & mission planner
│ ├── transforms/ # ROE ↔ RIC coordinate conversions
│ └── math/ # Kepler utilities, orbital factors
│
├── components/
│ ├── canvas/ # 3D scene (spacecraft, trajectory, waypoints)
│ └── ui/ # Sidebar, HUD, panels
│
├── stores/ # Zustand stores (mission, simulation, UI)
├── hooks/ # Custom React hooks
├── config/ # Scenario definitions
└── utils/ # Coordinate transforms, formatting
-
Koenig, A. W., Guffanti, T., & D'Amico, S. (2017). New State Transition Matrices for Spacecraft Relative Motion in Perturbed Orbits. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 40(7), 1749-1768.
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D'Amico, S. (2010). Autonomous Formation Flying in Low Earth Orbit. PhD Thesis, TU Delft.
MIT