Engineers at Software Technologies, Inc. (STI) in Melbourne, Fla., needed software that enabled them to determine accurately whether they successfully entered commands and maneuvers into STI`s OS/COMET ground systems software. They found their solution in the Satellite Tool Kit from Analytical Graphics Inc. in King of Prussia, Pa.
The orbit determination and visualization capabilities of the Software Tool Kit enabled STI officials to achieve the accuracy they need in the OS/COMET software, says Greg Saunders, vice president of commercial products for STI.
"The partnership will allow STI to offer a more comprehensive solution to satellite control centers," adds Saunders.
The Satellite Tool Kit provides analytical and graphical power to analysts, systems operators, project leaders, and others in the aerospace industry on UNIX and Windows platforms. Within the software`s graphical interface, users manipulate eight classes of objects: scenarios, vehicles, facilities, targets, area targets, planets, stars, and sensors.
When determining orbits, the system uses six orbit propagators plus an externally defined ephemeris option to define vehicle paths that meet mission requirements. Users can represent the vehicle attitude by applying 16 predefined profiles or by importing user-defined profiles. Users can input and display ephemeris data in six coordinate types and eight coordinate systems. - J.M.
For more information, contact STK by phone at 800-220-4STK, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.stk.com.
