OrbitalPursuit

Autonomous Orbital Satellite Servicing Simulator

A real-time simulation of autonomous spacecraft operations for servicing a constellation of space-based AI compute satellites. The C++ engine runs on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, demonstrating resource-constrained autonomous decision-making, while a Three.js web frontend provides an interactive 3D visualization.

The Problem

As space-based AI data centers become reality, maintaining constellations of compute satellites presents unprecedented challenges:

• Thermal management — Balancing solar heating, GPU waste heat, and radiative cooling in a vacuum
• Hardware lifecycle — GPU modules degrade and become obsolete (~4 year lifespan)
• Fuel depletion — Station-keeping propellant runs low, satellites drift out of formation
• Autonomous servicing — A servicer spacecraft must triage, navigate to, and repair satellites with minimal ground intervention

Building

Prerequisites

• CMake 3.16+
• C++17 compiler (GCC 8+ or Clang 7+)

Build & Run

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)
./orbital_pursuit

On Windows:

mkdir build; cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --config Release
.\Release\orbital_pursuit.exe

Frontend

Open frontend/index.html in a browser, or serve it:

cd frontend
python3 -m http.server 8080

Then navigate to http://localhost:8080.

Project Structure

OrbitalPursuit/
├── engine/
│   ├── include/                  # Header files
│   │   ├── vec3.h                # 3D vector math
│   │   ├── quaternion.h          # Rotation math
│   │   ├── config.h              # Mission parameters & constants
│   │   ├── satellite.h           # Compute satellite model
│   │   ├── constellation.h       # Constellation manager + servicer
│   │   ├── thermal_model.h       # Stefan-Boltzmann thermal simulation
│   │   ├── orbital_mechanics.h   # Clohessy-Wiltshire relative motion
│   │   ├── mission_manager.h     # Mission state machine
│   │   └── telemetry.h           # JSON telemetry output
│   └── src/                      # Implementation files
│       ├── main.cpp              # Entry point & simulation loop
│       ├── satellite.cpp
│       ├── constellation.cpp
│       ├── thermal_model.cpp
│       ├── orbital_mechanics.cpp
│       ├── mission_manager.cpp
│       └── telemetry.cpp
├── frontend/
│   └── index.html                # Three.js 3D visualization (self-contained)
├── CMakeLists.txt
└── README.md

Mission Phases

1. MONITORING — Constellation health monitoring, watching for anomalies
2. TRIAGE — Evaluating service requests, selecting highest priority target
3. TRANSIT — Orbital transfer to target satellite
4. RENDEZVOUS — Proximity operations and approach
5. DOCKING — Final approach and docking
6. SERVICING — Performing repairs (thermal panel swap, GPU replacement, refuel)
7. COMPLETE — Service complete, returning to parking orbit

Key Algorithms

• Clohessy-Wiltshire Equations — Relative orbital motion between spacecraft
• Quaternion Attitude Control — Gimbal-lock-free rotation math
• PID Controllers — Attitude and trajectory tracking
• Stefan-Boltzmann Thermal Model — Radiative heat dissipation in vacuum
• Priority-based Triage — Multi-factor urgency scoring for service scheduling
• Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation — Fuel consumption modeling

License

MIT