Forms of Visuals

ModelSpace offers libraries to visualize simulation in two forms: First, in the form of a 3D graphics engine that can render pre-built or custom 3D models of spacecraft and the Earth for a realistic simulation visualization. Second, in the form of our custom LivePlot tool, which generates live renderings of plots and wireframe models for easy debugging and analysis. This tutorial walks users through how to see visuals when the simulation is running. Separate tutorials detail how to use each form of visuals.

Visuals on Native Systems

Visuals will naturally pop up in windows when running on systems with native Ubuntu/Linux.

Visuals in ModelSpace Container

If you’re using the devcontainer setup provided by ATTX, visuals are provided via ports running inside the container (you can view these in the VSCode window under "Ports.") There are two main ways to access visuals from a container:

  • Using noVNC: In a browser window, type http://localhost:6080/ into the address bar. A window should come up that has a large button in the center that says "connect." Click the button, and type password "attx" into the prompt. A black screen will pop up — that’s good. When a script with visuals is running, the visuals will appear there.

  • Using VNC: In a VNC client of your choice, connect to address 127.0.0.1:5901. Once again you will need password "attx". You can now view visuals through VNC.