Description | Example | Return Message | Group

Lifetime

Compute the lifetime of a satellite

Syntax

Lifetime <SatObjectPath> [{Type}]

Related Commands

Description

The Lifetime command allows you to estimate the amount of time a satellite can be expected to remain in orbit before atmospheric drag and other perturbations cause it to decay. Lifetime calculations estimate the decay date of the satellite, the total lifetime from the satellite's epoch and the number of orbits completed by the time of decay.

{Type} can be Standard or SGP4. If {Type} isn't specified, Standard calculations are used to compute lifetime. SGP4 can only be specified as {Type} if the satellite is propagated using SGP4 propagator.

Use the SetLifetime command to set parameters for the Lifetime calculation.

Note: The Lifetime command is only available for Satellites on Earth.

Example

To calculate the lifetime of the ERS1 satellite using standard calculation methods:

Lifetime */Satellite/ERS1

ReturnMessage

Sample return message for a Lifetime command:
ACK
LIFETIME 104
Satellite1 decay is estimated to be on 29 Jan 2002 9:56:09.53 after 473 orbits. The lifetime is 29 days.

Group Membership

This command belongs to the following group(s):

Lifetime

Version

5.0

STK Programming Interface 11.0.1