Darksun for In‑Space Autonomy Teams

Space robotics and autonomy companies need rapid mission rehearsal, high-fidelity physics, and collaborative tooling that keeps engineers, operators, and AI agents aligned. Darksun delivers that workspace in the browser so teams can iterate on autonomy stacks without waiting for custom scenario builds.

Why Autonomy Builders Choose Darksun

• Orbit dynamics you can trust – Numerical integrators (RK45, DP87, IAS15, Verlet) running in dedicated workers capture perturbations, drag, SRP, and multi-body gravity so autonomy policies are trained against realistic states.
• Mission scripting built for iteration – The line-based mission planner lets you express manoeuvres, staging, directives, and jettison events in seconds, with propulsion validation before you commit.
• Continuous telemetry fabric – Propagated snapshots, ground tracks, and orbit caches stream into React windows so operators and autonomy developers see the same truth model in real time.
• Shareable scenarios – One click captures spacecraft configs, mission scripts, and camera context into a URL, ready for design reviews or handoff to an AI copilot.
• Extensible by design – Type-safe interfaces for spacecraft, integrators, accelerations, and mission nodes make it straightforward to plug in custom vehicles or force models.

Autonomy Workflows Darksun Accelerates

Scenario	How Darksun Helps
Guidance & Control Prototyping	Script burns, adjust planner directives (like :circular), and replay propagation with physics tolerances tuned per test.
Constellation Ops	Model multi-spacecraft timelines, ground-track coverage, and communication windows to evaluate autonomous scheduling.
Onboard AI Validation	Use the Copilot window and worker bridge to simulate agent-driven commands against live mission data.
Fault Management Exercises	Combine orbit streaming, collision extractors, and SOI detection to stress-test contingency logic in complex environments.
Rendezvous & Proximity Ops	Visualise relative motion, enforce keep-out zones with collision extractors, and iterate docking burns before deploying autonomy on hardware.
Surface Operations & Entry/Descent	Use groundtrack overlays, altitude extremes, and terrain markers to rehearse autonomous descent profiles or surface hop campaigns.
Training Simulations	Spin up shareable scenarios so autonomy engineers, operators, and AI copilots can rehearse combined procedures under consistent physics assumptions.

Platform Highlights

• Worker-based Physics Engine – Dedicated workers for orbit propagation, analytics, LOS computation, and mission execution keep the UI responsive while autonomy algorithms push the system.
• Composable Services – Orbit extraction, coverage analysis, burn planning, and ephemeris adapters live as discrete services that can be invoked or replaced as your autonomy stack evolves.
• Mission Planner API Surface – The same store adapters that power the UI are exposed for integration testing, making it easy to script missions programmatically or ingest telemetry from external planners.
• Visualization Layer – Three.js renders spacecraft meshes, SOI volumes, eclipse cones, and mission markers so operators can validate what autonomy is doing at a glance.
• Data Fidelity Controls – Toggle drag, SRP, J2/J3 harmonics, and integrator tolerances per scenario to match your GNC assumptions.

Integration Path

1. Model Your Vehicle – Define spacecraft mass properties, stages, and propulsion in the Spacecraft Manager or import via adapters.
2. Author Mission Scripts – Use the mission planner to capture baseline burns, directives, and stage events.
3. Connect Autonomy Agents – Tie your autonomy engine into the Copilot bridge or worker messaging APIs to submit nodes, request orbit data, or trigger regenerations.
4. Validate and Iterate – Run the simulation, inspect orbit and propulsion analysis, and export logs for ML or hardware-in-the-loop replay.
5. Share with Stakeholders – Send a Darksun share URL to collaborators so everyone reviews the same scenario state.

Differentiators for Autonomy Developers

• Realtime Collaboration – Mission plans, UI windows, and physics state update live across the workspace, eliminating context drift between autonomy teams and operators.
• Human + AI Copilot – Built-in Copilot hooks let you pair autonomy agents with explainable summaries, scripting assistance, or telemetry queries during reviews.
• High-Touch Tooling – Draggable mission windows, groundtrack analyzers, and propulsion panels turn complex orbital mechanics into actionable UI for mixed-discipline teams.
• Enterprise Ready – Modular architecture and strong typing simplify integration with secure build pipelines or internal autonomy services.

Next Steps

• Start with the Mission Planner Quickstart to see how burns and directives flow through the system.
• Explore the physics configuration options in the simulation settings window to align Darksun with your dynamics stack.
• Contact us to discuss bespoke integrations or enterprise support for your autonomy program.
• Partner with operations stakeholders by sharing the Mission Operations Brief or collaborate with academic partners through the Education & Research Brief.