Satellite Removal Simulation

A physics-based orbital mechanics simulation featuring satellite collision detection, debris generation, and user-controlled spacecraft.

Overview

This simulation models various satellites and spacecraft in Earth orbit, including GPS constellations, the Hubble Space Telescope, Dragon spacecraft, Starlink satellites, and the historic Sputnik. Players control a Dreamchaser spacecraft to interact with these objects in a realistic orbital environment with gravitational physics.

Features

Satellite Types

• GPS Constellation: 6-satellite constellation with realistic orbital parameters
• Hubble Space Telescope: Space telescope with specialized destruction mechanics
• Dragon Spacecraft: SpaceX crew vehicle with modular design
• Starlink Satellites: Modern satellite constellation
• Sputnik: Historic satellite with simple destruction pattern
• Dreamchaser: User-controlled spacecraft with thrust and rotation capabilities

Physics System

• Realistic gravitational simulation using Earth's gravity model
• 2-step numerical integration for accurate orbital mechanics
• Collision detection with pixel-to-meter conversion (128,000 meters per pixel)
• Debris fragment generation with realistic velocity kicks

Destruction Mechanics

Each satellite type has unique destruction patterns:

• GPS: Creates 5 components (center, left, right, 2 fragments)
• Hubble: Breaks into 4 specialized parts (telescope, computer, left, right)
• Dragon: 3-part breakdown (center, left, right) plus fragments
• Starlink: 2-part breakdown (body, array)
• Sputnik: Simple 4-fragment destruction

Controls

• Down Arrow: Apply thrust in current direction
• Left Arrow: Rotate counterclockwise
• Right Arrow: Rotate clockwise
• Spacebar: Fire projectiles

Technical Architecture

Core Classes

• Satellite: Abstract base class for all space objects
• Fragment: Debris pieces created from destroyed satellites
• Projectile: High-velocity objects with limited lifetime (70 frames)

Physics Constants

• Earth radius: 6,378,000 meters
• Earth gravity: 9.80665 m/s²
• Time step: 48.0 time units

Testing

The project includes comprehensive unit tests for all components:

Test Categories

• Satellite Tests: Individual satellite behavior and destruction
• Physics Tests: Movement, gravity, and collision detection
• Component Tests: Position, velocity, angle, and acceleration classes

Run tests using the included test framework that inherits from UnitTest base class.

Building and Running

This is a Visual Studio C++ project configured with OpenGL dependencies.

Requirements

• Visual Studio with C++ support
• OpenGL libraries (included via NuGet packages)
• Windows environment

Build Instructions

1. Open Lab07.vcxproj in Visual Studio
2. Restore NuGet packages
3. Build and run the project

Authors

Roger Galan & Jessen Forbush

Notes

This simulation demonstrates realistic orbital mechanics with educational value for understanding satellite behavior, collision dynamics, and space debris generation. The physics engine uses accurate gravitational calculations and provides a foundation for studying orbital mechanics concepts. The comprehensive test suite ensures reliability of all physics calculations and entity behaviors.

Executable Instructions

Build > Configuration Manager > Release

Build > Build Solution

Open Inno Setup program.

Create new setup script with wizard

point to the exe file in x64/Release

include Release folder just in case

Run setup script.

Add setup compiler.exe to Github Release