---
title: "Orbit Visualization | Truman DeWalch"
description: "Interactive desktop application for orbital mechanics visualization"
url: "https://trumandewalch.dev/projects/orbit-visualization"
route: "/projects/orbit-visualization"
---

Desktop Application

# Orbit Visualization

Interactive mission exploration and batch analysis with Lightyear Viz

**Type:** Research Tool

**Framework:** PySide6 / Qt

**Status:** Active

Lightyear Viz plays the same research stack: orbits, trails, and a scrubbable playback timeline.

## Summary

- Interactive 3D orbital visualization for research and communication.
- Supports playback control, perturbation toggles, and batch exports.
- Built with PySide6/Qt, PyQtGraph, and OpenGL.

## Overview

**Lightyear Viz** is a desktop application that pairs an interactive 3D visualization environment with my orbital mechanics research stack. It enables real-time exploration of satellite orbits, conjunction events, and dust deployment scenarios—making it easier to understand complex orbital dynamics and communicate results.

The application supports both interactive exploration (selecting satellites, toggling perturbations, adjusting playback) and batch analysis workflows (generating figures, exporting animations for presentations and papers).

## Features

- ### Playback Controls

  Play/pause, step frame-by-frame, adjustable speed, timeline scrubbing
- ### Satellite Presets

  Quick-load common orbital configurations; Walker, Flower, and custom constellations
- ### Perturbation Toggles

  Enable/disable gravity harmonics, drag, SRP, third-body effects in real-time
- ### Dust Visualization

  Render dust deployments, particle dispersions, and momentum transfer events
- ### Capture & Export

  Still images and MP4 video export for papers, presentations, and documentation
- ### Visual Layers

  Marker scales, orbit trails, overlays, ground tracks, and camera presets

## Keyboard Shortcuts

`Space` Toggle play/pause

`←` / `→` Step one frame backward/forward

`,` / `.` Step one frame (alternate)

`+` / `-` Adjust playback speed

`R` Reset scene (camera, speed, toggles)

## Architecture

Lightyear Viz is built on PySide6 (Qt for Python) with PyQtGraph for high-performance plotting and OpenGL for 3D rendering. It integrates directly with the NASA Dust research stack—the same propagators and constellation builders used for optimization can drive the visualization.

- **UI Layer:** PySide6 widgets, modern Qt styling, responsive layout
- **Rendering:** PyQtGraph + OpenGL for smooth 3D orbital visualization
- **Simulation:** Satpy Tools propagators (shared with nasa\_dust research)
- **Export:** Still images (PNG) and video (MP4 via ffmpeg)

## Tools & Technologies

Python · PySide6 · Qt · PyQtGraph · OpenGL · NumPy · ffmpeg

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