How Do I Improve the Visualization of GEO Satellite Orbits?

There are several ways of improving the visualization of a GEO satellite from its defaults. If you want to try to do it through the GUI, use the instructions below. If you want to use a MATLAB Script, then you can download the script here: Geostationary Satellite Visualizer Helper . If you want to create your own script, use the sample script or the associated Connect Commands in the instructions below.

Note: Use of the script requires STK's Integration and Analysis Workbench capabilities included in STK Pro. For more licensing information, see the licensing overview page.



Instructions:

1. Insert a Satellite using either the From External Ephemeris File method (you must have a geostationary satellite ephemeris ready) or the From Standard Object Database method.
2. Open the properties of the satellite and perform the following:
   1. On the 2D Graphics page, you can increase the Line Width of the satellite orbit path.
   2. Go to 2D Graphics > Pass page; under Orbit Track:
      1. Set the Lead Type to None.
      2. Set the Trail Type to All or Time (2 days).
   3. Also on the 2D Graphics > Pass page, click [Resolution...]:
      1. Under Time between Orbit Points, set Maximum to ~ 100 seconds (too small will drop the frame rate).
   4. Go to the 3D Graphics > Pass page; under Leading/Trailing:
      1. Select the Inherit from 2D Graphics check box.
   5. Go to the 3D Graphics > Orbit System page:
      1. For Fixed by Window, select the Show check box.
      2. For Inertial by Window, clear the Show check box.
   6. Go to the 3D Graphics > Covariance page:
      1. Select the Show check box.
      2. Change Translucency to 50%.
   You could perform all these property changes with the following Connect Commands:
   1. Graphics */Satellite/* Basic LineWidth 5
   2. Graphics */Satellite/* Pass2D OrbitLead None OrbitTrail All
   3. Graphics */Satellite/* Pass2D Resolution MaxOrbit 100
   4. VO */Satellite/* Pass3D Inherit On
   5. VO */Satellite/* OrbitSystem Modify System "InertialByWindow" Show Off
   6. VO */Satellite/* OrbitSystem Modify System "FixedByWindow" Show On
   7. VO */Satellite/* Covariance Basic Show On Translucency 50

3. Find a Geostationary satellite's Geostationary Box
   1. Right-click the satellite and select Report & Graph Manager.
      1. Generate the LLA Position Report.
      2. In the LLA Report, right-click the Lon(deg) and select Longitude > Properties.
      3. In the Properties of the Lon(deg), to find the E/W Box component, do the following:
         1. Change Number of Decimal Digits to 6.
         2. Under Summary Options, select the check boxes for: Max / Min / Mean / Summary Only.
      4. Repeat this last step for Lat(deg) to find the N/S Box component.
      5. In the Report (with more decimal digits and Summary turned on), find the Min/Max/Mean Longitude and Min/Max/Mean Latitude. This is the region that this satellite will orbit in (during that interval). Long-term trending will need to be completed to determine the overall operating Geobox, but with a well-maintained orbit, you can accurately determine this box with less than one month of data.
   2. You can create the report using the following Connect Command: 
      1. ReportCreate */Satellite/* Style "LLA Position" Type Display

4. Create a view in fixed space at the Geostationary box location:
   1. Create a dummy facility at the Geostationary location.
      1. Create a default Facility and name it "GoodView".
      2. Open the properties of GoodView and go to Basic > Position. In the Position section:
         1. Set Latitude to 0.
         2. For Longitude, use the longitude of the satellite.
         3. For Altitude, use the altitude of the satellite and clear the Use Terrain check box.
      3. Hide GoodView from view by clearing the check box next to it in the Object Browser.
      4. In GoodView's properties, on the Constraints > Basic page, clear the Line Of Sight check box.
   2. You can create the dummy facility using the following Connect Commands:
      1. New / */Facility GoodView
      2. SetPosition */Facility/GoodView Geodetic 0 **Lon** **Alt**
      3. Note: You must enter the **value** for Lon and Alt from the LLA report you generated.
5. Create a Geostationary Box (Square 100km):
   1. Go to Analysis Workbench and select Facility/GoodView. Then perform these steps:
      1. Click the Create New Plane icon.
      2. In the new GUI, change the name to "GeoBox".
      3. Leave all other properties the same.
   2. Go to GoodView's properties:
      1. On the 3D Graphics > Vector page:
         1. Select the Planes tab.
         2. Click [Add...], select the facility on the left, and select the new GeoBox Plane on the right.
         3. For the GeoBox Plane:
            1. Select the Show Axis Labels check box.
            2. Select the Translucent Plane check box and set the value to 80% or 90%.
            3. Set the Size to 10.
            4. Select the Show Rectangular Grid check box.
         4. In the Common Options section, under Component Size, set Scale to 4.
         5. When comparing Scale versus Size:
            1. With Scale of 4, it makes the plane of Size 1 = 10 km because the scale is logarithmic. The original size is 1 meter. Log Scale to 4 makes the size 10 km=(1 meter x 10^4). Then use the 'Size' to multiply this value. Normally, 100 km is large enough for GEO box.
            2. OverallSize = Size * 10^Scale (meters)
   Use the following Connect Commands to create a Geostationary box:
   1. VectorTool * Facility/GoodView Create Plane GeoBox "Normal"
   2. VO */Facility/GoodView SetVectorGeometry Add "Facility/GoodView GeoBox Plane" Show On Translucent On Translucency 0.8 PlaneSize 10.0 ShowAxisLabel On ShowRectGrid On
   3. VO */Facility/GoodView ScaleLog 3
   4. VO */Facility/GoodView ModelDetail Set ModelLabel .001
   Note: If you do not have access to Analysis Workbench, you do not need to create a new plane. Simply use the BodyXY Plane and then use the "go To GoodView's Properties" instructions to view.