The Sierpinski triangle was the first "complex" system I had managed to draw, using the Logo programming language in the 90s. I recently tried to do a vtk 3D extension (Sierpinski cube)[1] using the same process as in the OP, but it was surprisingly computationally expensive!
I'm actually very interested in the Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking protocol that is under development at Goddard. I've found a lot of resources on why it is needed and how it is helpful, but not much on the actual implementation.