[HN Gopher] Lox - Oxidized Astrodynamics - A safe, ergonomic ast...
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Lox - Oxidized Astrodynamics - A safe, ergonomic astrodynamics
library
Author : ElFitz
Score : 82 points
Date : 2025-02-20 15:20 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| BWStearns wrote:
| https://github.com/lox-space/lox/blob/main/crates/lox-space/...
|
| The example code is helpful for seeing how it'd be used (might be
| cool to link to it from the README while the docs are still todo)
| aero-glide2 wrote:
| I work on simulations in a satellite company and have been
| looking for a way to move out of c++. Thank you very much, will
| explore this.
| binarycoffee wrote:
| Just curious, what kind of simulations do you work on (mission
| design?) and what libraries would you use in C++?
| y33t wrote:
| With a name like 'lox' you'd think the banner image would be
| Pisces.
|
| Cool project though, I will definitely be playing around with
| this.
| goku12 wrote:
| Pardon my ignorance, but how does lox relate to Pisces? I don't
| get the connection with cancer either, but the first thing that
| comes to mind on hearing Lox is liquid oxygen as it is used in
| rockets. So it's a connection between Rust language and
| astrodynamics. Is there something that makes Pisces more
| appropriate for this?
| porcoda wrote:
| I assume they're making a reference to Lox the food (brined
| Salmon), so a fish is appropriate.
| goku12 wrote:
| Oh! This is the first time I'm hearing about it. That
| definitely looks like a missed opportunity.
| jimswhims wrote:
| Think it comes from the german word for salmon, "Lachs", or
| at least an earlier version of the word.
| miramba wrote:
| I learned about ,,lox" in NYC, a native told me it comes
| from jiddish, which is kind of a german dialect.
| unwind wrote:
| Swedish is even closer, there it's "lax" [1].
|
| [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravlax
| Jorge1o1 wrote:
| Sibling comment mentioned the connection between lox and
| Pisces, but the connection to Cancer is that the mascot for
| Rust is a crab.
| goku12 wrote:
| True! That's an embarrassing thing to forget, given that
| Rust is my primary programming language.
| MisterTea wrote:
| > With a name like 'lox' you'd think the banner image would be
| Pisces.
|
| It's written in Rust so it's all about the language instead of
| the mission.
| helgee wrote:
| Nah, not really. I sometimes wish that this was all about
| Rust but as of now the library is mostly being used through
| the Python wrapper.
| goku12 wrote:
| There is another crate in Rust named Nyx [1] that sounds very
| similar - an astrodynamics library with a Python wrapper. Anyone
| knows how they compare?
|
| [1] https://github.com/nyx-space/nyx
| binarycoffee wrote:
| LOX is apparently MPL, so a bit easier to work with than Nyx'
| AGPL, but still at odd with the MIT/Apache2 combo that has
| become the norm in the Rust world.
| oakwhiz wrote:
| There is an older version of Nyx which is Apache licensed
|
| https://github.com/oakwhiz/nyx-space-apache
| DarmokJalad1701 wrote:
| There is also ANISE made by the same author:
| https://github.com/nyx-space/anise
| helgee wrote:
| Nyx is the OG Rust-based astrodynamics library and much more
| mature.
|
| Lox started as a vehicle for myself to learn Rust and at that
| point I did not feel comfortable contributing to an established
| code base.
| aero-glide2 wrote:
| The only downside I see is agpl. Im not anti agpl, but truth is
| this would slow commercial adoption.
| ge96 wrote:
| It is kind of sad to be living where it's too early to have your
| own space craft. It is sci-fi at this point anyway to consider
| life like that, but that would be cool to write software for like
| car CAN bus. But I also get it's not a toy/matter of life and
| death. I guess a video game or simulator is the closest thing.
| Standardized APIs for thrusters or something that would be cool.
|
| Tie into visual star navigation
| treyd wrote:
| It will probably never be feasible to have "your own"
| spacecraft like we have cars. The time and distance scales are
| just way too huge. Something more resembling the scale of a
| superyacht might become possible in the far future.
| ge96 wrote:
| I understand too until there is FTL/warping space is too big
| adamhartenz wrote:
| People can't even afford the cars they finance. Having your own
| plane is extremely rare. Even if you COULD have your own space
| craft, they would be more rare than owning a plane.
| ge96 wrote:
| Funny I don't even consider hacking on my own car like
| switching the infotainment system (11 yr old car)
| JasonSage wrote:
| The spacecraft mechanics in sci-fi who are born today are
| auto gearheads. It is funny to think about something so
| romanticized where the modern day equivalent is
| comparatively mundane. At least, it is to me, I'm sure a
| lot of people spending their life on it do not find it
| mundane at all.
| ge96 wrote:
| I pay Firestone to do my oil change lol, it's pretty sad,
| I like driving fast cars but don't work on em
|
| I think the anime Cowboy Bebop has influenced my mind on
| what it could be like again fantasy but yeah. Mix of
| older looking hardware seems more tangible like this
| interface
|
| https://i.imgur.com/LdWW1sc.jpeg
| helgee wrote:
| Oh, hi! Project creator here.
|
| I am very happy that you folks are showing interest but I am also
| terrified because this thing is definitely not ready for
| primetime, yet. The discerning astrodynamicist and/or rustacean
| will surely find things which are less than optimal or plain
| wrong.
|
| I am also preparing for a trip so I won't be able to monitor this
| thread closely but I'll try to answer question wherever I can.
| miramba wrote:
| Can I build a solar system simulator with this? Looking for
| calculating the absolute positions of planets and moons with
| the sun at 0,0,0 given a datetime. Kepler calculations for
| planets, moons etc would be fine, as long as I can insert
| arbitrary objects and calculate their trajectory using gravity.
| Can this project do that?
| helgee wrote:
| We already have the possibility to get positions of celestial
| bodies with very high precision via JPL ephemerides but you
| would have to write and integrate your force model yourself.
| bbor wrote:
| Hey, this is really impressive stuff, talk about a dream job!
| Two quick questions if you find the time+interest:
|
| 1. What does "safe" imply? Type safety, maybe? Or just a
| general synonym for "few bugs/well tested"?
|
| 2. What kind of industry is this primarily envisioned for use
| in...? I have experience in the satellite industry (GRE and
| TT&C) but I was surprised to not see the usual buzzwords on
| this page, namely "TLEs". I get that it clearly does way more
| than terrestrial orbital work, but AFAIK that's, say, 99.9% of
| the current space industry.
|
| In other words: is this library for ESA missions??? That would
| be rad as hell, if so.
|
| also P.S. I _love_ AI art compared to most, but I would def
| recommend carving out that cool crab and putting on a
| background of real stars. As you may or not be aware, many
| scientists have been a tad radicalized about AI, and AI art in
| particular -- would be a shame if that slowed adoption of a
| cool project!
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