GRANDTOUR can simulate space as
seen from the Voyager and Giotto spacecraft. In addition, GRANDTOUR can
generate scenes from arbitrary points in space or the Earth, with the
spacecraft visible to the observer. The planet, moons, and rings of
interest (or comet, nucleus, and tail), stars, the sun, and the
spacecraft are all accurately drawn with wireframe representations.
Hidden line removal is done for the body surfaces. The motions of the
bodies themselves are highly accurate, with errors no greater than 500
kilometers. The user has considerable control over the time step, field of
view, etc., and many frames per second are typically generated.
The program was originally developed at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory by John D. Callahan to assist in the analysis of science and optical navigation
data. In addition, the program was filmed by the BBC as part of a NOVA
documentary on the Voyager Uranus encounter, and by the Four Point
Entertainment Company for a commercially available video on Halley's
Comet. Program conveniently runs from any Windows/DOS.
Keywords: Voyager Giotto space mission simulator planet comet
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