Using STK to Verify the Results in AIAA 2006-6753 Revisiting Spacetrack Report #3 (RSTR3)

Revisiting Spacetrack Report #3 (RSTR3) focuses on the motivation of the original Spacetrack Report Number 3, noting the importance of using the specific equations and data input that will ensure proper operation. As it says: “Not just any prediction model will suffice… The NORAD element sets must be used with one of the models described in this report in order to retain maximum prediction accuracy.”  The following are steps in STK you can use to propagate the TLE found in Appendix D of RSTR3 to return the same position results as in Appendix E.
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Create a scenario that has the correct epoch date.

1. Launch STK and select “New Scenario”.
2. In the Scenario > Properties > Units page, click the DateFormat field and select YYDD.ddd (YYDDD).
3. In STK, open the Scenario > Properties > Time page.
4. Enter the value 00179.78495062 (from the first entry on page 35 of RSTR3) in the Analysis Period Start field.
5. Enter a Stop time of 00181.00000000 and click OK to close scenario properties.

Create an SGP4 satellite that uses the TLE from RSTR3 (Appendix D page 33).

1. Copy the TLE file attached to this article and place it in a convenient folder.
2. Insert a Satellite and open its Properties to the Basic > Orbit page.
3. Change Propagator to SGP4; under TLE source, select File and click Setup…
4. Browse to the TLE file from step 1 and click OK.
5. Click OK again to close Satellite Properties.
6. Reset Animation to see the orbit in the 2D and 3D Graphics windows.

Create a TEME report that matches the one from RSTR3 (Appendix E page 37).

1. Open the Report & Graph Manager for the Satellite.
2. Click “Create New Report Style” and name it "TEMEOfDate"; then press Enter.
3. In the Data Providers list, expand Cartesian Position, select "TEMEOfDate", and move it to Report Contents.
4. On the right, for X, Y, Z, highlight each, click Options, and change Number Decimal Digits to 8.
5. Click OK to close the Report Style Properties and generate the "TEMEOfDate" report.
6. In the generated "TEMEOfDate" report, change the value to be 360 minutes and click the Refresh (F5) button.
7. When comparing the data in the "TEMEOfDate" report with the data provided in Appendix E of the "Revisiting Spacetrack Report #3", note that the text at the top of the Appendix E page states “There is also a 'true' time reference at the end of each line to facilitate the conversion with minutes from epoch and UTC.”  You can see the times in your report align with those at the far right of each line of the Appendix E data.
8. Optional:  In the TEMOfDate report, click the Report Units button and change the Date Format to Epoch Seconds.

You can use this method to verify the position for additional TLEs in the report. You should create TLEs in a text editor that have proper TLE formatting. See the CelesTrak FAQs website for specific column reference information when making TLEs.