By 1964, the second-generation of orbiting spacecraft were appearing with up to 50 diverse experiments and employing sophisticated attitude-control systems.
Illustrating orbital position and attitude of such satellites was an ideal use for computer animation.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, for example used its Univac 1108 computer and SC4020 microfilm recorder to produce computer animations illustrating the three dimensional position and orientation of spacecraft in orbit, relative to other celestial bodies.
Some relevant papers are:
- Visual Presentation of the Motion and Orientation of an Orbiting Space Craft (OGO) (1964)
- A Two-Gyro, Gravity-Gradient Satellite Attitude Control System (1964)
- Computer-Made Perspective Movies as a Scientific and Communication Tool (1964)
- Computer Generated Three-Dimenional Movies (1965)
- VISTA - Computed motion pictures for space research (1967)
- Graphic Applications to Aerospace Structural Design Problems (1967)