Browser SI pages next to KeepTrack (sidus.tools)

[massimodeluisa]

Hello,

I developed educational SI calculators in the browser. I'm a software engineer, not a space engineer, but I'm passionate about space engineering. The formulas and the exportable / executable code should be reviewed and tested.

KeepTrack already does the catalog and the sensors. Two pages for when someone just wants the number:

https://sidus.tools/tools/sgp4
https://sidus.tools/tools/pass-predict
https://github.com/massimodeluisa/sidus-tools

If you have time and willingness, I would kindly ask whether you might look at them, mention any error you notice, or join the project’s development team.

Thank you for your time.

Massimo De Luisa
https://sidus.tools
https://github.com/massimodeluisa/sidus-tools

[thkruz]

@massimodeluisa I actually already offer https://github.com/thkruz/ootk for when users just want the numbers. I don't regularly contribute to MIT licensed code anymore and stick to AGPL.

I'd recommend you spend more time on building tests to validate your math rather than rapidly adding more code. I think the way you are offering multiple languages is pretty neat. There is a clear UI error when you scroll down a small amount - the top bar flickers badly.

I see a dozen tools a week popup on reddit where users are starting from scratch in Claude or Codex and generating another clone of popular space tools. Start figuring out what you do uniquely and lean into it. Offering satellite.js and David Vallado's code in an AI designed UI does nothing to differentiate you from everyone else. Your current examples of SGP4 in various languages are clearly AI generated without any testing. The FORTRAN implementation claims to be pure SI implementation in only ~25 lines...just nonsense Codex inserted to meet your requirement to offer code in all those languages.

satellite.js has been popular for 13 years because it does basically 1 thing reliably. The previous long time maintainer was a software guy with no astro background so he stuck to what he knew well and modernized the tooling and build process without touching the SGP4. Few people will use what your offering if there is a 50/50 it actually works (I clearly see plenty that does work).

I am biased, but think that the current maintainer is able to move as fast as he is because I added an extensive testing suite to satellite.js that will flag regressions immediately. I leverage AI plenty on KeepTrack, but it is backed by 1000s of unit tests and hundreds of full e2e tests in the browser.

Hope that all helps give you a nudge in the right direction.