The Satellite Object

The Satellite object models the properties and behavior of a vehicle in orbit around a central body. Select one or more of the following to model a satellite, impose constraints, and define the satellite's subobjects:

Basic Properties

Property Description
Orbit

Define a satellite's orbit, including coordinate system, orbital elements, and time parameters for the following propagators:

Two Body J2 Perturbation J4 Perturbation HPOP
SGP4 GPS LOP StkExternal
SP3 11-Parameter SPICE STK's Astrogator capability
Real-time Astro Standards Propagators    
Attitude Define an attitude profile for the satellite.
Pass Break Specify the event that defines the boundary between passes (or revolutions) of an orbiting satellite.
Mass Specify the satellite's moment-of-inertia tensor and its mass.
Lighting Define the eclipse central body list used for lighting computations.
Reference Specify a vehicle to be used as a reference satellite in a formation flying situation.
Ground Ellipses Add a set of ellipses for the satellite.
EOIR Shape Specify EOIR image generation properties for the satellite. Works with STK's Electro-Optical Infrared (EOIR) capability.
SEET

Use SEET property pages to enter values that affect calculations involving the space environment as modeled by the STK Space Environment and Effects Tool (SEET):

  • Environment. Set parameters that affect the magnetic field model and the entrance and exit times and probable fluxes for a vehicle crossing the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region of space with an enhanced concentration of ionizing radiation.
  • Thermal. Set material properties and average Earth albedo that affect the determination of vehicle temperature exposed to direct solar and reflected Earth radiation.
  • Particle Flux. Set parameters that affect the determination of the level of (damaging) exposure due to meteroids and debris particles.
  • Radiation. Set parameters that affect the expected ionizing dose rate and energetic particle fluxes due to the trapped electron and proton populations, as well as integrated total dose and fluence (flux integrated over time).

SEET radiation computations are also affected by scenario-level settings.

Description Record useful information about the satellite.

2D Graphics Properties

Property Description
Attributes Define color, line style, and other graphics characteristics for the satellite, and opt whether to inherit or override global attributes defined at the Scenario level.
Time Events Display text, a marker, or a line to indicate an event that occurs at a particular time on the satellite's ground track
Pass Control the display of a satellite's ground track and orbit path in the 2D Graphics window.
Contours Define elevation angle contours in the 2D Graphics window.
Range Define range contours representing the various regions of the surface that can see an object at the specified level.
Lighting Define the graphical display of lighting conditions for the satellite during animation.
Swath Calculate and graphically display swath for the satellite.
Ground Ellipses Set the display graphics for a ellipse set defined on the Basic Ground Ellipse page for vehicles.
SEET Environment

Set parameters that affect the display of the magnetic field and the contours of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) in relation to the vehicle, as modeled by the STK Space Environment and Effects capability.
Radar Cross Section Define the 2D contour graphics for the desired frequency.

3D Graphics Properties

Property Description
Pass Control the display of the satellite's ground track and orbit path in the 3D Graphics window.
Orbit System Show the satellite’s orbit in a variety of coordinate systems.
Attitude Sphere The Attitude Sphere is a visualization aid that when combined with vector display constitutes a powerful tool for displaying the object's attitude and for tracking attitude changes over time.
Vector Control the display of vectors and other geometric elements related to the satellite.
Proximity Control the position of the satellite in the 3D Graphics window.
Drop Lines Define the display of lines between the satellite's orbit (the actual path that the satellite follows) and the central body.
Covariance Define the graphical display of a 3D ellipsoid.
B-Plane Control the display of b-planes for the satellite.
Model Specify a model to represent the satellite in the 3D Graphics window, and then scale the model and adjust the position of any model articulations.
Offsets Position a model and marker representing the satellite in the 3D Graphics window by offsetting the object from its reference frame.
Contours Define elevation angle contours in the 3D Graphics window.
Range Display range contours for the satellite. Range contours display in accordance with the values set for the 2D Graphics Range Contours for the satellite.
Model Pointing Point parts of the satellite model toward a target, such as the Sun or Earth.
Data Display Display dynamic data for the satellite in the 3D Graphics window.
Vapor Trail Add a vapor trail to the satellite.
Radar Cross Section Control the 3D display of RCS contour lines.

Constraints

Property Description
Active

Impose constraints on access from the following available constraint categories for a Satellite object:

  • Basic: The most commonly used constraints
  • Angle: Constraints that involve an angular measure
  • Geometry: Constraints that use a geometric measure (other than angle), such as range, altitude, and grazing altitude
  • Analysis Workbench (AWB): Constraints that involve an Analysis Workbench (AWB) component (Angle, Calculation Scalar, Condition, or Vector)
  • Central Body: Constraints involving the location of the Sun, planets, and moons
  • Multifunction Radar: Constraints pertaining to a multifunction radar
  • Multifunction Radar Jamming: Constraints pertaining to a multifunction radar in the presence of jamming transmissions
  • Plugins: Your own plugin constraints, which compute a plugin-defined metric that you define
  • Radar SAR: Constraints pertaining to a SAR radar
  • Radar SAR Jamming: Constraints pertaining to a SAR radar in the presence of jamming transmissions
  • Radar SearchTrack: Constraints pertaining to a search/track radar
  • Radar SearchTrack Jamming: Constraints pertaining to a search/track radar in the presence of jamming transmissions
  • SEET: Constraints that leverage the Space Environmental and Effects Tool (SEET)
  • Temporal: Constraints related to specified time-of-day or time intervals
  • Zones: Constraints using longitude or latitude as the measure
Settings Select access constraint conditions that apply generally to access computations involving a Satellite object.
Zones Use inclusion and exclusion zones to define areas where access is or is not allowed.

RF Properties

Property Description
Radar Cross Section Specify the radar cross section (RCS) parameters.

Satellite subobjects

You can attach the following subobjects to a satellite: