How I Built a 21-Module Space Exploration Platform Using APIs and AI-Assisted Development

I started this project with a simple question:

What would happen if I put different space-data experiences into one place?

That question eventually became Cosmic Edge, a free interactive space exploration platform.

The idea

Space information is spread across many different websites and datasets.

If someone wants to explore asteroids, look at astronomy data, learn about the Solar System, understand black holes, or experiment with simulations, they often have to visit different resources.

I wanted to experiment with bringing those experiences together.

The result currently contains 21 modules.

What is inside?

The platform includes experiences around:

• The Solar System
• Asteroids
• Comets
• Astronomy data
• Black holes
• Interactive simulations
• Beginner learning
• Other space-related information and visualizations

The intention isn't to replace scientific databases.

Instead, it's an interface layer that makes different types of information easier to explore.

The role of APIs

A major part of the project is working with external data sources.

Instead of manually entering information into the website, relevant data can be retrieved through APIs and updated automatically.

This creates a much more interesting development problem than simply building static pages.

You have to think about:

• API availability
• response formats
• missing data
• loading states
• error handling
• caching
• rate limits
• user experience

Using AI during development

I also used AI-assisted development extensively.

For me, AI wasn't the product.

It was a development tool.

I used it to help prototype interfaces, investigate implementation approaches, debug problems, restructure code, and move from an idea to a working implementation much faster.

But one lesson became obvious very quickly:

AI can help you build something faster. It doesn't automatically tell you whether you should build it.

That distinction became increasingly important as Cosmic Edge grew.

The biggest lesson

At first, I thought adding more modules would automatically make the platform better.

It didn't.

Some features look impressive but don't necessarily give users a reason to return.

Other seemingly simple features can be much more useful.

So now I'm trying to focus less on:

“How many things can I add?”

and more on:

“What can someone actually learn or explore here?”

Try it

The current version of Cosmic Edge is available here:

https://cosmic-edge-official.vercel.app/

I'd especially like feedback from developers and astronomy enthusiasts.

What would you add?

What would you remove?

And if you've built a data-driven project yourself, what did you learn about getting people to actually use it?