Astrogator has a Connect relationship that is quite different from most STK objects. The general structure and syntax of Astrogator Connect commands is discussed on this page, while the specific commands and attributes can be reviewed separately by navigating to the table of contents of this help section.
In addition to command syntax, this page also discusses how to run the MCS and view Astrogator reports using Connect.
An Astrogator Connect command has three building blocks: the command block, the attribute path, and the attribute block. Commands are built in this order:
<Command><Attribute Path><Attribute>
Together, these blocks tell Connect the operation you want to perform, where you want to perform it, and what you want to perform it upon. Each of these blocks is comprised of smaller elements, as explained in detail in the sections below.
The command block of an Astrogator Connect command determines the operation that will be performed when it is executed, and the location - within the STK scenario - of the targeted object. There are three elements that make up the command block:
<Prefix> {Object or Scenario Path} <Operator>
Prefix
There are two command prefixes used in Astrogator Connect: "Astrogator" and "Astrogator_RM". Astrogator is the prefix for commands that pass data, and Astrogator_RM is the prefix for commands that retrieve data.
{Object or Scenario Path}
If the attribute you want to interact with is a property of an Astrogator satellite, then the path element should be the satellite object path; if the attribute is a property of an Astrogator Component, then the path element should be the scenario path.
Operator
The operator is the syntax element that determines the specific action that the command will execute. Each operator is discussed in detail on the individual command help pages in the Commands section of this help system.
The attribute path of an Astrogator Connect command identifies the location - within Astrogator - of the targeted attribute. The exact syntax and length of the attribute path depends upon the individual attribute. Each part of the attribute path must be separated by a period (.), including the attribute itself.
The different attribute path types are described in this section.
MCS Options
MCS Options are located at the Astrogator satellite object level and do not have a path; you simply name the attribute after the command name. No period is required, since the attribute name is not on a path. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue <Attribute> <Value> [{Unit}]
Mission Control Sequence
The MCS is identified in the Astrogator Connect syntax as "MainSequence". To target attributes of segments within the MCS, you must include the "SegmentList" identifier immediately after MainSequence. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue MainSequence.SegmentList.Propagate.<Attribute> <Value> [{Unit}]
Automatic Sequence List
The Automatic Sequence List is identified in the Astrogator Connect syntax as "AutoSequenceList". To create sequences in the list, you do not have to include a period between the identifier and the sequences. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue AutoSequenceList Sequence Sequence Sequence
To interact with segments in an automatic sequence, you must include the "SegmentList" identifier immediately after the sequence name. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue AutoSequenceList.<Sequence>.SegmentList.<Segment>.<Attribute> <Value>[{Unit}]
Sequence Segments
Sequence, Backward Sequences, and Target Sequences are identified in the Astrogator Connect syntax by their names as if they are any other MCS segment. To interact with segments within one of these sequences, you must include the "SegmentList" identifier immediately after the sequence name. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue MainSequence.SegmentList.Sequence.SegmentList.<Segment>.<Attribute> <Value> [{Unit}]
Target Sequences
Target Sequences share the attribute path characteristics of other sequence segments, but have an additional path identifier - Profiles - for accessing the properties of profiles. The Profiles identifier is used in the same manner as the SegmentList identifier to point the command to the profiles assigned to a target sequence. For example (underlining for emphasis):
Astrogator */Satellite/Satellite1 SetValue MainSequence.SegmentList.Target_Sequence.Profiles.<Profile Name>.<Attribute> <Value> [{Unit}]
For GetValue and SetValue commands you can add an index in the Attribute Path to access the particular row of interest. For example, to get the second profile's mode in a target sequence, you would use the Attribute Path in this command:
Astrogator_RM */Satellite/Satellite1 GetValue MainSequence.SegmentList.Target_Sequence.Profiles[1].Mode
The indexing is zero-based. Therefore, to access the second profile, you use an index of "1" in the Attribute Path; [0] is the default.
The attribute block of an Astrogator Connect command identifies the attribute that the command will interact with. The attribute block is comprised of three elements:
<Attribute> <Value> [{Unit}]
The attribute element is at the end of the attribute path and is the target of the command. The value element must be a valid setting for the attribute. The unit element is optional, and unlike the standard Connect units convention, the units in Astrogator Connect direcly correlate to the user interface.
There are three properties common to all attributes that can be used to retrieve information about them - Properties, Choices, and Size. These properties should be placed at the end of the attribute path, separated from the attribute by a colon (e.g., :Choices). The Properties property retrieves the currently defined values of all of the properties of the attribute. The Choices property returns a list of all possible choices for non-Boolean attributes with specific arrays of values. The Size property returns the number of rows in the attribute's list, for attributes that can have rows of values. For example, the following command retrieves the values for the diameter of the Bessel Aperture Circular antenna component:
Astrogator_RM */Satellite/Satellite1 GetValue MainSequence.SegmentList.Target_Sequence.Action:Properties
STK Programming Interface 11.0.1