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Orbtx – A physics-based ΔV engine with real-time 3D visualization

Orbtx – A physics-based ΔV engine with real-time 3D visualization

by marzhannurbakyt·Feb 27, 2026·1 point·0 comments
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AI Analysis

●●SolidWizardryEye Candy

Three.js orbital mechanics beats legacy suites, but core math (Hohmann) is 50 years old.

Strengths
  • •Real-time 3D visualization in browser for orbital trajectories, non-trivial rendering challenge
  • •Classical mechanics implementation (Hohmann, bi-elliptic) with floating-point precision handling at scale
  • •API-first architecture enables programmatic access for mission planning pipelines
Weaknesses
  • •Hohmann and bi-elliptic transfers are well-understood, century-old mathematics — no novel algorithms
  • •Roadmap (AI maneuver optimization, multi-body modeling) is vapor; core product is calculator, not infrastructure
Target Audience

Aerospace engineers, space startups, CubeSat teams, mission planners

Similar To

GMAT (NASA tool) · Kerbal Space Program's transfer calculator · Orbiter (space simulator)

Post Description

Hi HN, I’m the creator of ORBTX.

I built this because most tools in astrodynamics are either overly simplistic web calculators or heavyweight, expensive legacy suites that look like they were made in the 90s. I wanted to create a "middle ground": professional-grade orbital computation that is fast, visual, and API-first.

The Tech Stack:

Frontend: Next.js & React.

3D Engine: Three.js (React Three Fiber) for real-time trajectory rendering.

Physics: Custom engine handling classical two-body mechanics (Hohmann and Bi-elliptic transfers).

Key Challenges: One of the main hurdles was maintaining floating-point precision for astronomical distances within a browser environment while keeping the 3D visualization smooth at 60fps. I’m currently refining the propagator to handle more complex perturbations in future updates.

The Goal: To move orbital mechanics away from "Excel-engineering" into a modern, developer-ready infrastructure. Think of it as a step toward "Figma for orbital mechanics."

No sign-up required, it's open for testing. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the physics implementation, the API structure, or any edge cases you find!

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