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Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

nagylukas.github.io

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Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#14

Post by lukas9 »

kordlessagain wrote: post #9
root-parent wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They dont ...Vibe coded...

Human slop comment. If the app does what it advertises, there is ZERO reason to care about how it was created. We aren't talking about a one shot prompt here. I'm sure they spent a lot of time working on it, regardless of how the code got generated. I figure most people that comment this way actually have difficulty getting a coding agent actually on track and building something useful. Just because you lack that ski…

The other guy is not wrong... kinda. I used AI for the code because I have no experience with Swift and SwiftUI, but I do understand how the calculations work, because I designed them. CelesTrack gives me TLE data, precisely describing each satellite's orbit and movement, as well as its current position on the orbit. What my app does is simply simulate the satellite's position (in 30-second intervals) up until 2 or 7 days into the future, and checks whether the satellite is overhead on each interval. Satellites are considered overhead based on just one criterion, and that is that they are above your horizon (so an elevation > 0 degrees). Hope that answers your question.

Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#15

Post by lukas9 »

Aachen wrote: post #8

How does it differ from the existing apps that do this?

The reason why I even made this app is that all the similar apps I tried didn't have enough data about the satellites, or just didn't present them in a clean and interesting way. So what I tried to do with my app is to give users multiple options of displaying the satellite positions (AR, 2D, 3D) and have as much data as I could gather for each satellite.

Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#16

Post by lukas9 »

nefarious_ends wrote: post #13

The App Store says this app is 4+ years old. Sad that I can’t try the 3D view without paying but I think it’s interesting the Pro plan includes “20x the AI chat”. Oh my iPhone is VERY hot now, I better uninstall this app… good luck!

Did you possibly misread the App Store page? The app's age rating is 4+, not its age. I published it on the App Store less than a month ago. Also, is there a specific functionality you were using when your device started overheating, and have you tried changing the performance settings in the app?

Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#17

Post by lumrn »

Very nice project! I have played around with it for a while and noticed that the top right satellite/debris selector doesn't seem to be working correctly as the "Satellites Only" and the "Debris Only" options don't seem to change anything on the ground track view.

I'm wondering if you have any information on Celestrak data licenses and usage terms? Their data comes from Space-Track (plus some directly from operators) which isn't very permissive with its usage and I never found anything more specific on Celestrak's website.

Reminds me of a space version of Flighty, best of luck with it!

Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#18

Post by lukas9 »

lumrn wrote: post #17

Very nice project! I have played around with it for a while and noticed that the top right satellite/debris selector doesn't seem to be working correctly as the "Satellites Only" and the "Debris Only" options don't seem to change anything on the ground track view. I'm wondering if you have any information on Celestrak data licenses and usage terms? Their data comes from Space-Track (plus some directly from operators)…

Hey, thanks for trying it out and noting the bug, I'll look into it! As for the CelesTrack terms and usage, I also couldn't find much info on their website, but I only need one request every two hours so usage limits have never been an issue. For the license, I would assume that the SpaceTrack one would apply since CelesTrack doesn't list one.

Re: Show HN: Orbit – AR satellite tracker, watch 15k+ objects

#20

Post by idiotsecant »

lukas9 wrote: post #14
kordlessagain wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human slop comment. If the app does what it advertises, there is ZERO reason to care about how it was created. We aren't talking about a one shot prompt here. I'm sure they spent a lot of time working on it, regardless of how the code got generated. I figure most people that comment this way actually have difficulty getting a coding agent actually on track and building something useful. Just because you lack that ski…

The other guy is not wrong... kinda. I used AI for the code because I have no experience with Swift and SwiftUI, but I do understand how the calculations work, because I designed them. CelesTrack gives me TLE data, precisely describing each satellite's orbit and movement, as well as its current position on the orbit. What my app does is simply simulate the satellite's position (in 30-second intervals) up until 2 or 7…

There is a huge ecosystem of software not written because someone doesn't know a library or a particular software tech or maybe even a language, but they have an idea for something useful. I would venture to say that in the very near future a huge quantity of useful software will be 'good enough' boilerplate code with the human providing the central purpose.

Comments like great grandparent post will be somewhat like tailors tearing their hair out over everyone using factory manufactured clothing.

It might not be the same quality, it might not be a beautiful bespoke perfect structure, but it's good enough and it does the job.

Well done, op.

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