Title: Designing and Visualizing Deep Space Manned Missions
Speakers: Diane Davis & Sean Phillips

For more blog posts, see the DevNexus 2018 live blogging table of contents

The keynote speakers started with a nice disclaimer about not working for NASA

Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway

• Next outpost in space
• ”only” 5 days away
• Need to find an orbit that is not too hard to get into and out of
• Big data problem  – can’t look at all the orbits.

Tools/Tech

• ”We are builders we are creators; it is all about the tools”
• ”You are more than the lines of code that you write. It’s not about the tools; its about the ideas”
• ”Disturbing trend where measure based on lines of code. We need code; but we also need ideas Ideas that lift people up. Don’t leave here with the latest API/framework. Leave here with an idea”
• Look at data points vs orbits to reduce dataspace
• NetBeans – version 9 in beta
• Cloud – so can plot more trajectories

JavaFX

• Tried JavaScript canvas – not fast enough to render *lots* of data points. Redraw anvas every milliseconds based on current data
• FXyz library – 3D library

Parallel

• Using parallel stream API
• Hard to make parallel
• Lots of math
• Works great in cloud; lots of cores
• Generates states/points or spacecraft

”As we all kow, the enemy’s gate is down; space is three dimensional” – nice to have an Ender’s Game reference in there!

My take

This was a fun start to the morning> A current event and very relevant.  The pictures were awesome. Showing code was awkward. Aside from being too small, dark colors on a black background does not look good in the distinace. (And I’m in the fifth row).  They both speak really well and the images of orbits are cool