DevelopSpace - User contributions [en]

Open Source Engineering Tools

2009-05-19T23:48:11Z

Andrew: /* Space-specifc Software */ Added Propep to software list.

This is a DevelopSpace project to aid the space systems development by providing access to relevant, open source engineering software tools, using input provided by both DevelopSpace contributors and the wider space engineering community. We aim to both provide information on existing tools and identify areas in which new tools would be of use so as to encourage the development of such tools.

For tools that are available, our goal is to provide reviews regarding the usefulness of each tool for particular applications, guides on how to most effectively use the tools for various types of efforts related to space system development, and descriptions of how the tools can be used together. Where needs exist to either create new tools or enhance existing tools, we will aim to gather input regarding what functionality is desired and (when possible) point towards relevant commercial tools that could serve as models.

While the focus of this project is on tools that are relevant to space applications, space engineering has significant overlap with many other engineering disciplines, as such a significant number of the tools we describe will be relevant outside of the space arena.

Please help this project and the space engineering community as a whole by expanding the material available here.

=Software Licenses=
For the purposes of this project, we are interested in identifying software tools that are free and open source in the sense that the software's source code is provided and the software license allows you to use, modify, and freely redistribute the software without paying royalties or other fees. Software included here should meet the [http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd Open Source Definition] of the [http://www.opensource.org Open Source Iniative (OSI)] and the [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html Free Software Definition] of the [http://www.fsf.org/ Free Software Foundation (FSF)] (where free means freedom).

OSI maintains a list of software they have approved [http://www.opensource.org/licenses here]. FSF has a listing of software free and non-free software licenses [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html here]. The FSF listing also specifies whether the license is compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL), a leading open source license.

=Software Listing=

==Space-specifc Software==
*[http://jat.sourceforge.net Java Astrodynamics Toolkit (GPL)]
*[http://gmat.gsfc.nasa.gov/] General Mission Analysis Tool (NASA Open Source Agreement)]
*[http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html Satellite tracking and orbit prediction (GPL)]
*[http://orsa.sourceforge.net/ Orbit Reconstruction Simulation and Analysis (GPL)]
*[http://newton.dm.unipi.it/~neodys/astinfo/orbfit/ Asteroid Orbit Determination and Propagation (GPL)]
*[http://spacecraft.sourceforge.net Open-Source, Extensible Spacecraft Simulation And Modeling Environment (GPL)]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/dsacss/ Distributed Spacecraft Attitude Control System Simulator (GPL)]
*[http://sailaway.sourceforge.net/ Solar Sail structure and flight simulator (GPL)]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/savi SaVi satellite constellation visualizer (BSD License)]
*[http://rocketworkbench.sourceforge.net/ Rocket Workbench Project (GPL)]
*[http://users.cybercity.dk/~dko7904/cpropepshell/cpropepshell.htm CpropepShell. Compute propellant performance. (Open* License)]

==Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software==
*[http://brlcad.org/ BRL-CAD]
*[http://www.blender3d.org/ Blender]
** [http://projects.blender.org/projects/blendercad/ Blender CAD]
** [http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75139 Procad]
*[http://www.pythoncad.org/ Python CAD]
*[http://www.tech.oru.se/cad/varkon/whatis.htm VARKON]
*[http://www.opencascade.org/ OpenCASCADE]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/free-cad/ FreeCAD]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/arquimedes/ Archimedes]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_computer-aided_design_software Wikipedia Free CAD Software Listing]
*[http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Graphics/CAD/CAM.html Linux.org CAD/CAM Software Listing]

==Spreadsheets and Office Software==
Because sometimes all you need is a good spreadsheet...
*[http://www.openoffice.org OpenOffice.org (LGPL)] Includes the Calc spreadsheet as part of a complete office suite.
*[http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnumeric/ Gnumeric (GPL)] GNOME project spreadsheet.
*[http://www.wikicalc.org/products/wikicalc/ wikiCalc (GPL)] Online spreadsheet system that allows users to edit in a wiki-like fashion.
*[http://live.gnome.org/Dia Dia (GPL)] GNOME project diagramming software. Useful for system diagrams, schematics, etc.

==Finite Element Modeling / Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics Software==
* [http://impact.sourceforge.net/ Impact (GPL)] Dynamic finite element suite
* [http://code-aster.org Code_Aster] Finite element modeling software
* [http://www.salome-platform.org/ SALOME (LGPL)] Platform for Pre and Post-Processing for numerical simulation.
* [http://www.csc.fi/elmer/ Elmer] Finite Element Software for Multiphysical Problems
* [http://www.geuz.org/gmsh/ Gmsh] A three-dimensional finite element mesh generator with built-in pre- and post-processing facilities
* [http://openfvm.sourceforge.net/ OpenFVM] A general three-dimensional CFD solver that uses Gmsh for pre- and post-processing

==Numerical Programming Languages and Visualization Software==
*[http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/ Octave (GPL)]
*[http://octave.sourceforge.net/ Package of Additional Octave Libraries]
*[http://www.opendx.org/ OpenDX (IBM)] Visualization Software
*[http://freshmeat.net/browse/135/ Freshmeat.net Visualization Software Listing]

==Software Engineering==
*[http://www.tigris.org/ Tigris] Website dedicated to open source software engineering tools

==Electronic Design Automation (EDA)==
* http://www.opencollector.org/collector.php
*[http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/resources/opensourcelinks.html EETimes.com Open Source EDA Listing by EETimes.com]
*[http://freshmeat.net/browse/246/ Freshmeat.net Electronic Design Automation Listing]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_EDA_software Wikipedia Free EDA Software Listing]
*[http://www.geda.seul.org/ GEDA. Free, open sourced ensemble of EDA packages. Schamatic, PCB, FPGA, project organizer.]
*[http://www.freepcb.com/ FREE PCB. Free, open sourced PCB layout package with autorouter. Windows only.]
*[http://tinycad.sourceforge.net/ Tinycad. Free, open sourced schematic package. Windows only.]
*[http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/ KiCAD. Open sourced EDM package capture, PCB, DRC, Sim, Windows and Linux.]

==Communications and Ground Station Software==
*[http://groundstation.sourceforge.net/ Ground Station Software Suite] Aims to provide a set of open source tools for ham radio operators
*[http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html PREDICT (GPL)] Multi-user satellite tracking and orbital prediction program
*[http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/ Open Source Software Radio (GPL)] May have some relevance for software defined radios on spacecraft

==Systems Engineering Software==

*[http://protoforge.org Protoforge (GPL)] Web-based systems engineering platform for opnn, wiki-style, system development.

==Additional Listings==
*[http://www.icivilengineer.com/Open_Source/ iCivilEngineer.com Open Source Civil Engineering Tools Listing]
*[http://sal.linet.gr.jp/index.shtml Scientific Applications on Linux Listing] A collection of information and links to software of interest to scientists and engineers
*Freshmeat.net Scientific/Engineering Software Listings (beyond those included above)
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/1127/ Physics]
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/98/ Mathematics]
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/813/ Chemistry]
*Wikipedia Software Listings (beyond those included above)
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_science_software Science]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_mathematics_software Mathematics]
*[http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Office/CAE.html Linux.org Computer Aided Engineering software Listing]

=Scientific and Engineering Linux Distributions=
* [http://caelinux.com CAELinux] Linux distribution (LiveCD) with a series of open source CAE tools including SALOME and Code-Aster
* [http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com/quantian.html Quantian] Linux distribution (LiveCD) tailored to numerical and quantitative analysis

=Free Engineering Websites (Discipline Specific)=
*http://www.epower-propulsion.com/
*http://www.efluids.com/
*http://www.emicronano.com/
*http://imechanica.org
*http://www.cfd-online.com/

=Articles Related to Open Source Space Software=
*[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-sat/?t=gr,lnxw01=OSsat Open Source Satellite Control]
*[http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/03/30/software-of-space-exploration.html Software of Space Exploration by David Boswell]

Open Source Engineering Tools

2009-05-19T23:39:40Z

Andrew: /* Electronic Design Automation (EDA) */ Added KiCad to the list of Open Source Engineering Tools.

This is a DevelopSpace project to aid the space systems development by providing access to relevant, open source engineering software tools, using input provided by both DevelopSpace contributors and the wider space engineering community. We aim to both provide information on existing tools and identify areas in which new tools would be of use so as to encourage the development of such tools.

For tools that are available, our goal is to provide reviews regarding the usefulness of each tool for particular applications, guides on how to most effectively use the tools for various types of efforts related to space system development, and descriptions of how the tools can be used together. Where needs exist to either create new tools or enhance existing tools, we will aim to gather input regarding what functionality is desired and (when possible) point towards relevant commercial tools that could serve as models.

While the focus of this project is on tools that are relevant to space applications, space engineering has significant overlap with many other engineering disciplines, as such a significant number of the tools we describe will be relevant outside of the space arena.

Please help this project and the space engineering community as a whole by expanding the material available here.

=Software Licenses=
For the purposes of this project, we are interested in identifying software tools that are free and open source in the sense that the software's source code is provided and the software license allows you to use, modify, and freely redistribute the software without paying royalties or other fees. Software included here should meet the [http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd Open Source Definition] of the [http://www.opensource.org Open Source Iniative (OSI)] and the [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html Free Software Definition] of the [http://www.fsf.org/ Free Software Foundation (FSF)] (where free means freedom).

OSI maintains a list of software they have approved [http://www.opensource.org/licenses here]. FSF has a listing of software free and non-free software licenses [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html here]. The FSF listing also specifies whether the license is compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL), a leading open source license.

=Software Listing=

==Space-specifc Software==
*[http://jat.sourceforge.net Java Astrodynamics Toolkit (GPL)]
*[http://gmat.gsfc.nasa.gov/] General Mission Analysis Tool (NASA Open Source Agreement)]
*[http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html Satellite tracking and orbit prediction (GPL)]
*[http://orsa.sourceforge.net/ Orbit Reconstruction Simulation and Analysis (GPL)]
*[http://newton.dm.unipi.it/~neodys/astinfo/orbfit/ Asteroid Orbit Determination and Propagation (GPL)]
*[http://spacecraft.sourceforge.net Open-Source, Extensible Spacecraft Simulation And Modeling Environment (GPL)]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/dsacss/ Distributed Spacecraft Attitude Control System Simulator (GPL)]
*[http://sailaway.sourceforge.net/ Solar Sail structure and flight simulator (GPL)]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/savi SaVi satellite constellation visualizer (BSD License)]
*[http://rocketworkbench.sourceforge.net/ Rocket Workbench Project (GPL)]

==Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software==
*[http://brlcad.org/ BRL-CAD]
*[http://www.blender3d.org/ Blender]
** [http://projects.blender.org/projects/blendercad/ Blender CAD]
** [http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75139 Procad]
*[http://www.pythoncad.org/ Python CAD]
*[http://www.tech.oru.se/cad/varkon/whatis.htm VARKON]
*[http://www.opencascade.org/ OpenCASCADE]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/free-cad/ FreeCAD]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/arquimedes/ Archimedes]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_computer-aided_design_software Wikipedia Free CAD Software Listing]
*[http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Graphics/CAD/CAM.html Linux.org CAD/CAM Software Listing]

==Spreadsheets and Office Software==
Because sometimes all you need is a good spreadsheet...
*[http://www.openoffice.org OpenOffice.org (LGPL)] Includes the Calc spreadsheet as part of a complete office suite.
*[http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnumeric/ Gnumeric (GPL)] GNOME project spreadsheet.
*[http://www.wikicalc.org/products/wikicalc/ wikiCalc (GPL)] Online spreadsheet system that allows users to edit in a wiki-like fashion.
*[http://live.gnome.org/Dia Dia (GPL)] GNOME project diagramming software. Useful for system diagrams, schematics, etc.

==Finite Element Modeling / Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics Software==
* [http://impact.sourceforge.net/ Impact (GPL)] Dynamic finite element suite
* [http://code-aster.org Code_Aster] Finite element modeling software
* [http://www.salome-platform.org/ SALOME (LGPL)] Platform for Pre and Post-Processing for numerical simulation.
* [http://www.csc.fi/elmer/ Elmer] Finite Element Software for Multiphysical Problems
* [http://www.geuz.org/gmsh/ Gmsh] A three-dimensional finite element mesh generator with built-in pre- and post-processing facilities
* [http://openfvm.sourceforge.net/ OpenFVM] A general three-dimensional CFD solver that uses Gmsh for pre- and post-processing

==Numerical Programming Languages and Visualization Software==
*[http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/ Octave (GPL)]
*[http://octave.sourceforge.net/ Package of Additional Octave Libraries]
*[http://www.opendx.org/ OpenDX (IBM)] Visualization Software
*[http://freshmeat.net/browse/135/ Freshmeat.net Visualization Software Listing]

==Software Engineering==
*[http://www.tigris.org/ Tigris] Website dedicated to open source software engineering tools

==Electronic Design Automation (EDA)==
* http://www.opencollector.org/collector.php
*[http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/resources/opensourcelinks.html EETimes.com Open Source EDA Listing by EETimes.com]
*[http://freshmeat.net/browse/246/ Freshmeat.net Electronic Design Automation Listing]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_EDA_software Wikipedia Free EDA Software Listing]
*[http://www.geda.seul.org/ GEDA. Free, open sourced ensemble of EDA packages. Schamatic, PCB, FPGA, project organizer.]
*[http://www.freepcb.com/ FREE PCB. Free, open sourced PCB layout package with autorouter. Windows only.]
*[http://tinycad.sourceforge.net/ Tinycad. Free, open sourced schematic package. Windows only.]
*[http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/ KiCAD. Open sourced EDM package capture, PCB, DRC, Sim, Windows and Linux.]

==Communications and Ground Station Software==
*[http://groundstation.sourceforge.net/ Ground Station Software Suite] Aims to provide a set of open source tools for ham radio operators
*[http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html PREDICT (GPL)] Multi-user satellite tracking and orbital prediction program
*[http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/ Open Source Software Radio (GPL)] May have some relevance for software defined radios on spacecraft

==Systems Engineering Software==

*[http://protoforge.org Protoforge (GPL)] Web-based systems engineering platform for opnn, wiki-style, system development.

==Additional Listings==
*[http://www.icivilengineer.com/Open_Source/ iCivilEngineer.com Open Source Civil Engineering Tools Listing]
*[http://sal.linet.gr.jp/index.shtml Scientific Applications on Linux Listing] A collection of information and links to software of interest to scientists and engineers
*Freshmeat.net Scientific/Engineering Software Listings (beyond those included above)
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/1127/ Physics]
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/98/ Mathematics]
**[http://freshmeat.net/browse/813/ Chemistry]
*Wikipedia Software Listings (beyond those included above)
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_science_software Science]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_mathematics_software Mathematics]
*[http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Office/CAE.html Linux.org Computer Aided Engineering software Listing]

=Scientific and Engineering Linux Distributions=
* [http://caelinux.com CAELinux] Linux distribution (LiveCD) with a series of open source CAE tools including SALOME and Code-Aster
* [http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com/quantian.html Quantian] Linux distribution (LiveCD) tailored to numerical and quantitative analysis

=Free Engineering Websites (Discipline Specific)=
*http://www.epower-propulsion.com/
*http://www.efluids.com/
*http://www.emicronano.com/
*http://imechanica.org
*http://www.cfd-online.com/

=Articles Related to Open Source Space Software=
*[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-sat/?t=gr,lnxw01=OSsat Open Source Satellite Control]
*[http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/03/30/software-of-space-exploration.html Software of Space Exploration by David Boswell]