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Recovery Map

Experimental

Follow the Line to Your Rocket

AltosUI's Recovery Map gives you a dedicated walking map focused on one thing: getting you from where you are to where your rocket landed. It shows your position, the rocket's position, and a straight line between you — updating live as you walk. No clutter, no extra annotations, just you and your rocket on a map.

What You See

Your Position — The standard blue dot shows where you are, with a heading cone indicating the direction you're facing. The map follows your movement automatically, rotating to match your heading so "forward" on screen matches "forward" in real life.

Rocket Annotation — A red-orange diamond marks the rocket's last reported GPS position. This updates whenever new telemetry arrives — during descent the marker tracks the rocket down, and after landing it settles at the final reported coordinates.

Route Line — A colored line connects your position to the rocket, giving you a visual path to follow. As you walk, the line shortens. It's a satisfying confirmation that you're making progress, especially in terrain where the rocket isn't visible yet.

Distance Badge — A readout in the lower corner shows the current distance and bearing direction to the rocket, displayed in your preferred units. You can glance at it without stopping to check — how much farther, and which way.

GPS Uncertainty Circle — A dashed circle around the rocket annotation shows the estimated GPS accuracy area. See the GPS Uncertainty Circle feature page for details on how the circle size is determined.

How to Use It

  1. Navigate to the Recover tab
  2. Tap Map in the mode selector at the bottom
  3. Walk toward the rocket — the map follows you

The map defaults to your preferred map type (hybrid, satellite, or road) from the app settings. If you've configured offline maps for your launch site, those tiles are used automatically — no cell signal needed.

Tip: The map auto-zooms on the first update to fit both you and the rocket on screen. After that, you can pinch to zoom and pan freely. The map continues to track your heading as you move.

When It Works Best

The Recovery Map is your primary navigation tool for the bulk of the walk. When the rocket is 200 meters to a kilometer away, the map view gives you the best situational awareness — you can see terrain, roads, fences, tree lines, and plan a sensible route rather than walking in a straight line through obstacles.

It pairs naturally with the AR HUD. Use the map to navigate the middle distance, then switch to AR mode for the final approach when you're close and scanning the ground. The mode selector makes switching instant.

What You Need

  • GPS location services enabled
  • An active telemetry connection to a flight computer with GPS (TeleMega, TeleMetrum, or TeleGPS)

The map works with Apple Maps tiles when online, or with pre-downloaded offline tiles when you're out of cell range. Configure offline maps in the app settings before heading to the field.

This is an experimental feature. We're refining the recovery map experience and would love to hear what works well and what could be better during your recovery walks.