An interactive astrodynamics learning platform that transformed complex orbital physics into an intuitive, real-time simulation experience, improving student comprehension and enabling universities to adopt a modern, subscription-based curriculum.
Business Problem:
Slingshot aimed to launch an interactive educational platform for teaching astrodynamics, offering universities a unique, hands-on learning tool while establishing a scalable subscription-based model to generate recurring revenue.
User Problem:
Students found existing tools overly complex and lacking real-time feedback. Instructors lacked effective ways to visually demonstrate orbital concepts in a collaborative classroom setting.
Technical Problem:
Existing simulations were either too simplistic or too rigid to scale across various educational contexts. Building a real-time orbital simulation required aligning UI clarity with accurate physics modeling, while keeping computational load manageable.
Why this matters:
Solving these three layers required translating complex physics into a simple, engaging, and reliable interface that aligned business goals with educational outcomes.
Experience Principles:
Hypotheses:
Future-State Vision:
A lean, interactive learning laboratory where instructors can visually demonstrate orbital mechanics and students can experiment and track outcomes in real-time.
Why it mattered:
Aligning the product with both educational and business goals ensured adoption by professors and engagement from students, supporting Slingshot’s “teach them to retain them” strategy.
Key takeaway:
Empathetic, science-driven design can make complex concepts accessible. Cross-functional collaboration between SMEs, designers, and engineers unlocks both educational and business value.
