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║ █ ║
║ █ ║
║ Version 2.80 ║
╚═══╦═════════════════════════╦═══╝
║ ║
║ Paul E. Traufler ║
║ 111 Emerald Drive ║
║ Harvest, AL 35749 ║
║ (205) 726-5511 ║
║ ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
Satellite Tracking Program
1 June, 1992
TRAKSAT
(C)opyright 1990,91
By Paul E. Traufler
All Rights Reserved
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ ** THIS VERSION OF TRAKSAT IS FOR NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY. ** ║
║ ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ If you find TRAKSAT useful and would like to use it in a ║
║ commercial operation please call or write for more information. ║
║ ║
╚═══════════════════╗ ╔════════════════════╝
║ ║
║ Paul E. Traufler ║
║ 111 Emerald Drive ║
║ Harvest, AL. 35749 ║
║ 205-726-5511 (Work) ║
║ 205-830-8450 (Home) ║
║ ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
****************************************************************
ALL VERSIONS OF TRAKSAT, INCLUDING VERSION 2.80, ARE NOT PUBLIC
DOMAIN SOFTWARE, NOR ARE THEY FREE SOFTWARE.
Non-registered users are granted a limited license to use TRAKSAT
on a trial basis for the purpose of determining whether TRAKSAT
is suitable for their needs. The term of the trial basis shall
not exceed 30 days. Use of TRAKSAT, except for this limited
purpose, requires registration. Use of non-commercial copies of
TRAKSAT by any business, corporation, governmental agency, or
other entity institution is strictly forbidden.
TRAKSAT and its companion files are being distributed as
Shareware. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO SHARE THIS SOFTWARE WITH OTHERS
PROVIDED THAT IT IS DISTRIBUTED COMPLETE WITH DOCUMENTATION AND
IN UNMODIFIED FORM AND THAT NO FEE OR OTHER CONSIDERATION IS
CHARGED OR ACCEPTED. (DISTRIBUTORS OF PUBLIC DOMAIN OR USER
SUPPORTED SOFTWARE MAY DISTRIBUTE TRAKSAT FOR A COPY FEE, NOT TO
EXCEED $5.00 (US)).
****************************************************************
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
TRAKSAT makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied,
including but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with
respect to this software and accompanying documentation.
Paul E. Traufler, author of TRAKSAT, SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY
TO USE TRAKSAT, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 2
WHAT IS SHAREWARE ? (Why ask why!)
Shareware is copyrighted software that is distributed at minimal
cost. Because you can "try before you buy", it's easy to find
programs to fit your needs. Shareware authors release programs
with an element of trust, expecting payment if a program is used
regularly. You save when you buy Shareware since expensive
marketing costs are eliminated, however it should be remembered
that producing Shareware costs the author time, energy, and
money. Remember that registering Shareware will help keep high
quality low cost software available to all users.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
INTRODUCTION ........................................... 6
THEORY OF SATELLITE MOTION ............................. 7
HARDWARE REQUIRED TO RUN THE PROGRAM ................... 8
RUNNING THE PROGRAM .................................... 9
FORCED MONOCHROME MODE ................................. 9
CHANGING SATELLITE DATA FILES (MAIN MENU FILE OPTIONS).. 11
READ SATELLITE DATA (MAIN MENU FILE OPTION) ............ 12
USER DEFINED STAR DATA (MAIN MENU FILE OPTION) ......... 14
TRACKING STATIONS (MAIN MENU FILE OPTION) .............. 15
TRAKSAT.CTY CITY DATA FILE ............................. 15
SYSTEM DATE/TIME (MAIN MENU SYSTEM OPTION) ............. 17
REAL-TIME MODE (MAIN MENU TIME OPTION) ................. 18
DELTA-TIME MODE (MAIN MENU TIME OPTION) ................ 18
OUTPUT MODES ........................................... 20
GRAPHICS PRINT OUT ..................................... 22
ANALYTICAL SOLUTION (MAIN MENU OUTPUT OPTION) .......... 23
USER DEFINED/ALL SATELLITES ............................ 25
GROUND TRACKS (MAIN MENU OUTPUT OPTION) ................ 28
HP/GL FILE OUTPUT ...................................... 29
ANTENNA/SENSOR COVERAGE ................................ 30
SUN TERMINATOR ......................................... 30
SPECIAL HAM OUTPUT ..................................... 31
STAR BACKGROUND (MAIN MENU OUTPUT OPTION) .............. 34
ORTHOGRAPHIC VIEW (MAIN MENU OUTPUT OPTION) ............ 38
TABULAR MODES (MAIN MENU OUTPUT OPTION) ................ 39
BATCH MODE ............................................. 42
VISIBILITY (MAIN MENU VISIBILITY OPTION) ............... 44
MULTI-TRACK MODE (MAIN MENU OUTPUT/MULTI) .............. 45
MULTI-TRACK TABULAR OUTPUT MODE ........................ 49
USER DEFINED SATELLITE PLOTTING COLOR .................. 50
QUITTING THE PROGRAM .................................. 50
NORAD/NASA 2-LINE SATELLITE DATA ....................... 51
WHAT ARE THE MEAN CLASSICAL ELEMENTS ................... 53
MODELS FOR PROPAGATION OF NORAD ELEMENT SETS ........... 58
THE PROPAGATION MODELS ................................. 58
COMPATIBILITY WITH NORAD ELEMENT SETS .................. 59
PROGRAM LIMITATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS .................... 60
ACCURACY OF TRAKSAT .................................... 63
A BRIEF EDITORIAL ...................................... 65
SPECIAL THANKS ......................................... 66
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ................................. 67
FUTURE UPGRADES ........................................ 69
REGISTERED USERS ....................................... 71
COMMERCIAL LICENSE ..................................... 71
OBTAINING NORAD SATELLITE DATA SETS .................... 72
OBTAINING ELEMENTS FROM THE NASA BBS ................... 72
FILES REQUIRED FOR TRAKSAT ............................. 75
SATELLITE MAGNITUDES ................................... 76
PROBLEMS ............................................... 78
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... 79
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 4
Trademarks used in this document
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
IBM, PS/2, and PC DOS are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation.
Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, and QuickC are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
Epson MX, FX, LQ is a registered trademarks of Epson American Inc..
Hercules is a registered trademark of Hercules Computer Technology.
HP/GL is a registered trademark of Hewlett Packard.
HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett Packard.
PKLITE is a trademark of PKWARE INC.
PC-WRITE is a trademark of Bob Wallace, Quicksoft.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 5
INTRODUCTION
Ever since college I have been interested in satellites and
tracking methods. I have often looked up into the night sky and
thought, "I know satellites are up there but can I predict when
and where to look to see one".
I have several small programs to calculate different satellite
related quantities but there was not one program available to do
all the things I felt a satellite tracking program should do.
After several years of working in the aerospace field, I decided
that I could take on such a programing task.
I started it all with a program called STS, it was geared towards
tracking the space shuttle, but used the same basic orbital
calculations.
For a first attempt at such a satellite tracking program I was
some-what pleased with the results. But I felt there is room for
improvement and that is where TRAKSAT steps in.
TRAKSAT is a general purpose satellite tracking program, by that
I mean any satellite that has a NORAD, NASA 2-Line element set
can be used. There are some limitations in the program along with
some assumptions, the reader is directed to the section on limits
and assumptions for further study.
The solution to the satellite motion which is used by TRAKSAT is
completely analytic and therefore requires no numerical
integration. This makes the program fast, even faster when a
coprocessor is used, since the solutions can be evaluated at
arbitrarily large, or small, time intervals.
The purpose of this program is to provide the user with a means
of propagating NORAD element sets in time to obtain tracking
information of the space object.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The NORAD satellite data set included with TRAKSAT contains the
elements for over 600 satellites. HOWEVER this data will be
several weeks old by the time most people obtain this program.
The elements included can be used to run the program through its
paces but updated elements will be required in order to make
accurate predictions. For more information on satellite elements
see section; OBTAINING NORAD SATELLITE DATA SETS.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 6
THEORY OF SATELLITE MOTION
A complete development of the theory required to predict
the position of an artificial satellite about the earth is not
presented here because this is not proper place for it. Such a
development would require a volume in itself and would be more
of a distraction than an aid to the potential user. Only enough
of the concepts required for a general understanding plus the
final results are given. References to detailed works from which
these results are derived are provided for the more than
casually interested reader.
At the end of the TRAKSAT operating instructions is a brief
overview of the fundamentals used in this program and is included
to help the reader understand the motion of an artificial
satellite about the earth.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 7
HARDWARE REQUIRED TO RUN THE PROGRAM
In order to run the program the user will need the following
hardware;
IBM or 100% compatible PC,XT,AT,PS/2,386,486, 640K
Ram (458K FREE RAM IS REQUIRED), Floppy or Hard
Disk (approximately 750K free), Text mode display
(25x80), Hercules, CGA, EGA, or VGA graphics (used
for plotting only), Math coprocessor is NOT
required BUT RECOMMENDED, (IF A COPROCESSOR IS
PRESENT IT WILL BE USED *), Epson MX, FX, LQ or HP
Laser or compatible printer connected to LPT1 (for
graphic print out only), PC DOS or MS DOS VERSION
3.0 or above.
* It should be noted that a coprocessor will be 3 to 4 times
faster than the emulator version. If the user plans on using the
real-time tracking mode, a coprocessor will "smooth out" the time
steps to such a small delta as to appear instantaneously. At any
rate the real-time mode runs as fast as the host computer can
calculate the data and update the screen.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The user could run TRAKSAT on a 360K floppy drive IF the
TRAKSAT.EXE file is first run through a EXE compression program.
One such program is called PKLITE from PKWARE, it has been tested
with TRAKSAT and works very well. The compressed EXE file size is
about 150K so the EXE, EARTH.DAT, MODERN.FON, TRAKSAT.DEF, and
NASA***.txt files will fit on a 360K floppy disk. (If you require
TRAKSAT to run from a 360K floppy contact either PKWARE or the
author for more information about the EXE compression program
PKLITE.) PKWARE can be reached at;
PKWARE, INC.
7545 NORTH PORT WASHINGTON ROAD
GLENDALE, WI 53217 USA
Voice (414) 352-3670
BBS (414) 352-7176
FAX (414) 352-3815.
The best solution to the problem would be run TRAKSAT from a hard
disk! The prices of hard disks have come down to a point where
practically all computers have them. If the user needs a "good
reason" to buy a hard disk, perhaps TRAKSAT can convince them to
do so.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
To print out the document, TRAKSAT.DOC use the DOS copy command.
The syntax to use would be "COPY TRAKSAT.DOC PRN", without the
quotation marks.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 8
RUNNING THE PROGRAM
To start TRAKSAT you type "TRAKSAT", without the quotation marks,
at the DOS prompt. If the user requires monochrome menu screens,
such as on LCD laptops, type "TRAKSAT/mono". The opening screen
will appear and display the version number of the program. The
earth data file will be loaded into memory while displaying the
opening screen also. This may slow down the loading time on some
slower XT type machines.
After the opening screens are displayed the main menu will be
displayed next. From the main menu the user can control the
program. The main menu will display the current status of the
program, i.e., current satellite, output mode, tracking station,
etc.. The Status Box will always display the current information
that is loaded in memory. This will help the user to identify the
modes of operation available in TRAKSAT.
The main menu is the core of the program, i.e. from this menu the
user can setup satellite data, tracking station data, and output
selections.
Here is an main menu example;
┌───────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────┤ CURRENT STATUS BOX ├───────────────────┐│
│ │ Tracking Station = Huntsville, AL Twilight = -12° ││
│ │ Latitude (deg) = 34.7317 Longitude (deg) = -86.5967 ││
│ │ Altitude (m) = 228.60 UTC Offset (hrs) = -6 ││
│ │ Current Satellite = File: NASA811.TXT ││
│ │ Current Output Mode = Ground Track : Single ││
│ │ Current Time Mode = Real Visibility = Optical ││
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
From the Current Status Box the user can see that no satellite is
currently loaded but the tracking station is Huntsville, AL and
the default satellite data file is NASA811.TXT. The output mode
will be Ground Track using the Real time mode and Optical
visibility with a twilight setting of -12°.
If the user selects the Output option from the main menu the
other options available in TRAKSAT will be displayed. If the user
selects a different output mode the Current Status Box will
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 9
display that output mode.
A full explanation of the options is included in this document
but for the most part the user can figure out most of the
options with out additional help.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
Error messages are displayed until the user presses any key, then
depending on what the error was, program control will return to
the user to correct the problem. (If a user action is required
after a error message is displayed the program will instruct the
user to press a key.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
All of the menu selections can be changed by either the arrow
keys, mouse movement, or the first letter of the menu choice.
(The left mouse button will select the hi-lighted menu option,
while the right mouse button will simulate the escape (Esc) key.)
The mouse driver version used in the testing of TRAKSAT was
Microsoft 7.03. Several other versions and other mice have been
used with no problems also. (The mouse is disabled during any
graphics output.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 10
Main Menu FILE Options
The file options from the main menu will allow the user to change
tracking stations, satellites, and load user defined star data.
Below is an example of the File options.
┌───────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Change Satellite File │ │
│ │ Load Satellite Elements │ │
│ ┌──────────│ Read User Star Database │ ├───────────────────┐│
│ │ │ New Tracking Station │wilight = -12° ││
│ │ Latitude │ View Text File │ (deg) = -86.5967 ││
│ │ Altitude └─────────────────────────┘ (hrs) = -5. ││
│ │ Current Satellite = File: NASA811.TXT ││
│ │ Current Output Mode = Ground Track : Single ││
│ │ Current Time Mode = Real Visibility = Optical ││
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Change Satellite File
For example; if the user would like to change the name of the
satellite data file the hi-lighted bar would be placed on the
Change Satellite File option. (The user could have pressed the C
key and moved the hi-lighted choice directly to the choice.) To
select this option press the return (or Enter) key or the left
mouse button.
The program will display the old satellite data file and prompt
the user for the new file name. The displayed file name can be
edited using the arrow keys, or mouse to obtain the desired file.
After editing the file name the user will press return and the
program will look for the file. A message will be displayed if
the file is found and an error message will be displayed if the
file is not found.
The program will not allow the "-" character in a satellite file
name.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 11
The screen will appear similar to;
┌────────────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐────────────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│┌──< Satellite Filename >───┐──────────────┐ │
││ Currently: [NASA811.TXT ] │ellite File │ │
│└───────────────────────────┘lite Elements │ │
│ ┌──────────│ Read User Star Database │ ├───────────────────┐ │
│ │ Tracking │ New Tracking Station │wilight = -12° │ │
│ │ Latitude │ View Text File │ │ │
│ │ Altitude └─────────────────────────┘t (hrs) = -5. │ │
│ │ Current Satellite = File: NASA811.TXT │ │
│ │ Current Output Mode = Ground Tr┌────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Current Time Mode = Real │ Satellite data file was found. ││
│ └────────────────────────────────└─┤ Press any key to continue ├──┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Load Satellite Elements
To load a particular satellite into memory the user will select
the Load Satellite Elements option. The current satellite name
will be displayed for the user to change as required. If a blank
search string is entered the program will display all of the
satellites in the data file one at a time until one is accepted
or the end of file is reached. The Status Box will always display
the current satellite in memory. (If the satellite name display
is blank that means no satellite has been loaded.) A maximum
length of 12 characters is allowed in the search string
This program uses the NASA, or NORAD 2-line satellite element
data file format to read data into the program, (in this text the
use of NORAD refers to NASA 2-Line or NORAD satellite element
data sets). For a full explanation of the NASA 2-line satellite
element data sets see section; NASA 2-Line Satellite Data.
To help the new user a NORAD satellite date file is included with
TRAKSAT, see section; Satellite Data Sets.
The search method used by the program will locate the first
occurrence of what was typed in for a search string when compared
to the satellite names, i.e. typing in "mi" could locate the
satellite named "Mir". The search is NOT upper/lower case
sensitive. If a match is found the full name is displayed and the
user is asked to accept this data or read for the next occurrence.
If the user selects "Yes" from this menu the displayed satellite
is loaded into memory. Selecting "No" will continue the search
based on the current search string.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 12
If the user does not know ANY satellite names they can enter a
carriage return, (Return or Enter), and ALL of the satellite names
will be displayed one at a time.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
TRAKSAT is limited to the first 30000 satellites in any data file.
If the user has more than 30000 satellites in a data file they will
need to remove, using a text editor, satellite data sets as to
include the desired data set in the 30000 limit. This may not prove
to be a limitation for most users as most satellite data sets have
less than 600 satellite data sets.
If no match is found a error message is displayed and the user
will try another match.
Reading User Defined Stars
TRAKSAT has the data for 58 stars in memory at all times however
the user can read a properly formatted star data base into memory
also. To load a User Defined Star Data Base the user will select
the File option from the main menu and then move the hi-lighted
bar to the option; Read User Star Database. The program will
first ask the user for a file name of the star data base and then
look for the file. If the file is located the program will read
in the FIRST 1800 stars into memory. The program will then return
to the main menu.
The user will have the responsibility to check the user defined
star data for duplicates of the TRAKSAT internal star data. (See
the section on PROGRAM LIMITATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS for a list of
the internal stars used in TRAKSAT.)
See the section on USER DEFINED STAR DATA for the format of the
star files.
ONCE THE USER DEFINED STAR DATA IS LOADED THE PROGRAM WILL USE
THE STAR DATA FOR ALL STAR BACKGROUND PLOTS. (The data can not be
unloaded without first exiting the program and starting over).
*****************************************************************
** REMEMBER TO USE EPOCH J2000 FOR ANY USER DEFINED STAR DATA. **
*****************************************************************
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 13
The screen will be similar to;
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌─< Star Database Filename >──┐ │
│ │ Currently: [STARS.DAT ] │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────┘ │
│┌──────────│ Read User Star Database │ ├───────────────────┐│
││ Tracking │ New Tracking Station │wilight = -12° ││
││ Latitude │ View Text File │ ││
││ Altitude └─────────────────────────┘t (hrs) = -5. ││
││ Current Sat┌────────────────────────┐ile: NASA811.TXT ││
││ Current Out│ Reading User Star Data │ : Single ││
││ Current Tim└────────────────────────┘lity = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TRACKING STATIONS
The next file option, New Tracking Station, will only need to be
run once, unless a different tracking station is used, by the
user. The program defaults to using Huntsville, Al. as the
tracking station, if the user does not want to use the default
option they can select a city from the city data file. The city
data file has over 885 of the larger U.S. cities latitude,
longitudes, and altitudes in it. (Some world-wide cities also.)
** THE USER WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE ALTITUDES FOR ANY
TRACKING STATIONS. **
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The latitudes used in TRAKSAT are ALL considered to be GEODETIC
latitudes NOT GEOCENTRIC. It will be left up to the user to
determine the conversion from geocentric to geodetic latitude.
(For the most part this conversion should not be required as MOST
maps and atlas coordinates are listed as geodetic.)
The tracking station search works very much like the satellite
name search. The user is asked for a search string and the first
occurrence is displayed, then the next one and so on, until no
more matches are found.
If the user accepts a match some additional data is asked for by
the program. The altitude above mean sea level in meters and
hours from Greenwich are required for the tracking station. (Some
examples of the hours from Greenwich; EDT = -4, CDT = -5,
EST = -5, CST = -6). If the altitude of the tracking station is
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 14
not known the user can enter zero with out to much loss in
accuracy.
If the user can not find a match to the city data then they will
need to use a text editor to add the city data in the file
TRAKSAT.CTY or use the closest city in the file.
Below is an example of the TRAKSAT.CTY file. The format of the
tracking station file is;
City Name Long. Lat. Alt.
(deg) (deg) (m)
'Huntsville, AL ',-86.5867,34.7317,228.6
The city name can be up to 20 characters long while the
longitude, latitude, and altitude can be up to 10 characters
long. A comma or a space MUST separate the data and the city name
MUST be enclosed in single quote marks. The altitude measurement
is the altitude above mean sea-level and is in meters.
The TRAKSAT.CTY file can hold a maximum of 8000 tracking stations
in it. The user can enter city data into the TRAKSAT.CTY file in
any order but it would be wise to include the data in an
alphabetical order by states or country.
Below is an example screen for Huntsville, Al..
┌────────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐───────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│┌──< Tracking Station >──┐┌─< Tracking Station Found In File >─┐│
││ [Huntsville, AL ] ││ Name: [HUNTSVILLE, AL ] ││
│└────────────────────────┘└────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ ┌──────────│ Read User Star Database │ ├───────────────────┐ │
│ │ Tracking │ New Tracking Station │wilight = -12° │ │
│ │ Latitude │ View Text File │ │ │
│ │ Altitude └─────────────────────────┘t ┌────< Accept? >────┐ │
│ │ Current Satellite = MIR Fi│ Yes │ │
│ │ Current Output Mode = Ground Track │ No │ │
│ │ Current Time Mode = Real Visibil└───────────────────┘ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 15
If the user accepts this city the program will ask for some
additional information about the tracking station. The screen
will appear similar to;
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│┌──────────────────┤ CURRENT STATUS BOX ├───────────────────┐│
││ Tracking Station = Huntsville, AL Twilight = -12° ││
││ Latitude┌──< Tracking Station >──┐de (deg) = -86.5967 ││
││ Altitude│ Altitude (m) [228.6] │set (hrs) = -5. ││
││ Current │ Hours From UTC [ ] │ File: NASA811.TXT ││
││ Current │ ie, CDT = -5, CST = -6 │ : Single ││
││ Current └────────────────────────┘ibility = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
If the tracking station changes from the default values the file
TRAKSAT.DEF will hold the last saved tracking station data. While
running the program if a new tracking station is selected the
user will be asked if the old tracking station data should be
overwritten or not.
If the user saves the current data then the next time TRAKSAT is
run that new data will be the default else the old TRAKSAT.DEF
will be used.
A text editor can be used to change the TRAKSAT.DEF data also,
the user will need to use some caution with this method. The TWO
EXCEPTIONS are the multi-track options, see the section on its
recommended use (MAIN MENU OUTPUT/MULTI) and the user defined
area, see section; Analytical Solution.
After the tracking station has been chosen the main menu will
appear waiting for the next user choice.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The TRAKSAT.DEF file has been changed from past versions and
SHOULD REPLACE ANY OLDER VERSIONS. With the addition of different
printers to TRAKSAT a printer type code is now stored. The user
should not change the the printer type from outside the program.
(Use the main menu System option to change the printer type.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 16
Main Menu System Options
The System options can change the system date, time, or both,
change the printer type used for output, set the satellite
plotting color, and as of version 2.70 and above a shell to DOS.
Version 2.80 and above will allow the user to turn on/off the land
fill color for the ground tracks.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The user should use the Shell To DOS command with some caution,
as deleting some of the TRAKSAT program files may cause the
program to fail. (Machines with less than 640K may not use this
option). TRAKSAT is a big program and the Shell To DOS option
will not leave much free ram for other programs. (DOS version 5.0
can help this limitation on some machines.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
THE SYSTEM HARDWARE CLOCK MAY BE RESET ALSO WITH SOME VERSIONS OF
MS-DOS OR PC-DOS. Use some caution with this option. Refer to
your DOS manuals to use the time and date functions.
The System options screen will appear similar to;
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Set System Date │ │
│ │ Set System Time │ │
│┌───────────────│ Set Both Date/Time │ ├───────────────────┐│
││ Tracking Stati│ Printer Type │wilight = -12° ││
││ Latitude (deg)│ Satellite Color │ (deg) = -86.5867 ││
││ Altitude (m) │ Shell To DOS │ (hrs) = -5. ││
││ │ Land Fill Switch │File: NASA811.TXT ││
││ Current Satell└────────────────────┘ ││
││ Current Output Mode = Ground Track : Single ││
││ Current Time Mode = Real Visibility = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 17
Main Menu Time Mode Options
TRAKSAT can propagate satellites in real-time or "delta-time"
modes. (The delta-time mode is starting at some particular date
and time using a user defined time increment until a ending
time is reached.)
To change time modes in TRAKSAT the user can select Time from the
main menu. The two time mode options will be displayed. If the
real-time mode is chosen the Current Status Box will display
Real-Time.
The real-time mode will update the screen as fast as the hardware
will allow. For an XT class machine with no coprocessor, the
update time may be 1 to 2 seconds. An AT class computer with a
coprocessor can whip along at about 0.4 seconds per update. The
powerful and fast 386 coprocessor equipped machine can sing along
at 0.1 seconds per update. The average user will not require this
great of detail but it is included for the advanced user.
If the user would like to track a satellite from say todays date
to some future date, the delta time mode is the choice to use.
The basic idea is track from some starting date to some stopping
date. If the user selects the Delta-Time mode some additional
information will be required. The starting date and time along
with the length of the simulation. The time step will also need
to be entered. The program will display "defaults" that can be
accepted by the user or edited to suit the users needs.
As of version 2.55 and above the user can enter starting dates
and times before, during, or after the epoch. (A positive time
step will still be required.) For example; satellite epoch 19 Oct
1990 at 0 UTC the user could enter 18 Oct 1990 2300 UTC as the
starting date/time.
It is noted that the maximum length, that is from the starting
date to some future time, of the simulation is 99 days 99 hours
99 minutes 99 seconds.
An approach most people use with the Delta-Time mode is to pick a
2-3 minute time step and check the output for any passes near the
tracking station for that day. Then return back to the Delta-Time
mode and use a smaller time step to obtain a better estimate of
the satellite visibility. Another method is to use the analytical
solution option, see the section on Analytical Solution for more
information.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The time is read from the system clock, and as such is only as
accurate as the setting of this clock. The software date and time
can be set before running TRAKSAT, OR the system date and time
can be set within TRAKSAT. The System option from the main menu
will allow the user to change the system date, time or both.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 18
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
THE SYSTEM HARDWARE CLOCK MAY BE RESET ALSO IF THE USER HAS MS-
DOS VERSION 3.3 AND ABOVE. Use some caution with this option.
Refer to your DOS manuals to use the time and date functions.
A brief note about tracking satellites.
The accuracy of the data is the most important part of the
prediction process. NORAD does track some 8000+ objects in orbit
around the earth, and maintains a data base of the objects. The
earth modeling and perturbations are the most important factors
in satellite tracking. This program uses the NORAD element sets
mainly because they are available and have reasonably good
accuracy.
If the user would like to "see" a satellite in the night sky the
precision of 1 or 2 seconds is not important, several minutes may
not even be that important. This is not to say that the average
person can not locate the satellite, it is going to pass over
some site sooner or later, its the time of the passing that is of
importance.
It could be said that if you tell me where to look for the
satellite and tell me about when I should be looking for it the
chances are it will be spotted. The sky is a big place and it
would be almost impossible to locate a satellite without any help
from programs such as TRAKSAT.
In order to observe satellites the user must do a certain amount
of pre-observing work. The best way to determine an evening's
viewing would be to run the Analytical Solution and use all of
the satellites in a data file. Then exit the program and search
the output for any satellites with minimum ranges about 1000 km
or less. Most nights several satellites will be visible and meet
the users requirements. (Some advanced users may use 2000 km as
the minimum range but remember the brightness of these satellites
can make them almost invisible.)
The next step would be plot out star background maps for the
selected satellites, or a tabular output. All the user needs now
is to wait until the appointed time and go "hunting" for the
satellites.
This process only takes a few minutes and can greatly reduce the
frustration levels new users may experience.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 19
Main Menu Output Options
The main menu Output options will control the output modes
available in TRAKSAT. The output modes available will be
Analytical Solution, Ground Track, Orthographic, Tabular, and
Star Background. (Assuming a single satellite tracking mode is
desired. The Multi-Track will only have a Ground Track or Tabular
output option.) If the user selects the Output from the main menu
the following screen will appear. The user will select either the
single track mode or the multi-track modes.
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│ │ Single Satellite │ │
│ │ Multi-Satellites │ │
│┌──────────────────┤ C└──────────────────┘──────────────────┐│
││ Tracking Station = HUNTSVILLE, AL Twilight = -12° ││
││ Latitude (deg) = 34.7317 Longitude (deg) = -86.5867 ││
││ Altitude (m) = 228.60 UTC Offset (hrs) = -5. ││
││ Current Satellite = MIR File: NASA811.TXT ││
││ Current Output Mode = Ground Track : Single ││
││ Current Time Mode = Delta Visibility = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
If the user selects the single satellite option the output will
be the next choice for the user.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 20
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Analytical Solution │ │
│ │ Ground Tracks │ │
│┌──────────────────┤ CUR│ Orthographic View │─────────────┐│
││ Tracking Station = HUN│ Tabular Output │ ││
││ Latitude (deg) = 34.│ Star Background │ -86.5867 ││
││ Altitude (m) = 228│ Batch Mode │ -5. ││
││ Current Satellite = └─────────────────────┘A748.TXT ││
││ Current Output Mode = Ground Track : Single ││
││ Current Time Mode = Delta Visibility = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 21
GRAPHICS PRINT OUT
The option to print out graphic screens is included in TRAKSAT,
as of version 1.80 and up. The user will require a Epson FX, LQ,
HP Laser or compatible printer to use this feature. To print out
a screen copy the user will only have to press a "P" or "p".
After the output is printed the program will continue with the
plot. The user can interrupt the printer process by pressing any
key, the printer output will stop and the program will continue.
******************
* WARNING *
******************
IF THE USER STOPS THE PRINT OUT THE PRINTER WILL NOT BE RESET,
THE USER WILL BE REQUIRED TO RESET THE PRINTER MANUALLY IF
ADDITIONAL PRINT OUT IS TO BE MADE.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The printer MUST be connected to parallel printer port number 1,
LPT1. An Epson FX, LQ or HP Laser or graphics compatible printer
must be used for any print out. The print out routines have been
tested on several different Epson compatible printers without any
problems. Some laser printers can emulate the HP Laser printers
and will produce good results also.
The printer type can be changed from the main menu System
options. The user can select from 9 pin, 24 pin, or HP laser
printers. (All dot matrix routines assume a Epson or compatible
printer.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
Using the HP laser at 300 dpi will require extra printer memory
and the print out may take SEVERAL MINUTES to complete. It is
recommended that the user select 150 dpi for laser printer
output, this resolution produces acceptable results in the
shortest time. An HP IIIP and III laser printer with 3 Meg ram
was used for testing graphic print out.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The TRAKSAT.DEF file has been changed from past versions and
should replace any older versions. With the addition of different
printers to TRAKSAT a printer type code is now stored. The user
should not change the the printer type from outside the program.
(Use the main menu System option to change the printer type.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 22
MAIN MENU OUTPUT ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OPTIONS
TRAKSAT version 2.00 and above has included a very powerful
option, Analytical Rise & Set. Many people have asked "why use
this analytical approach ?". Three reasons come to mind speed,
speed, and speed! The analytical approach used is a closed form
solution to the problem of determining when a satellite can be
seen (either LOS or Optical) by a ground tracking station. In
effect, this problem usually involves the calculation of the
rise-and-set time (UTC) of a given satellite from a specific
ground tracking station.
In the past, it has been the custom to solve the problem by
letting the satellite run through its ephemeris, and checking at
each instant to see whether the elevation angle of the satellite
was greater than some minimum value. However, by attacking the
problem from a different point of view, that is, with the
eccentric anomaly taken to be the independent variable, it is
possible to obtain a closed-form solution to the satellite
visibility problem. Specifically, the closed-form solution is a
single transcendental equation in the eccentric anomalies
corresponding to a rise-and-set time for a given orbital pass of
a satellite. It is more difficult to solve the controlling
equation than the standard Keplerian equation. However, the
method offers the advantage that the controlling equation is
solved only ONCE PER ORBIT PERIOD as contrasted with the hundreds
of times the Keplerian equation must be solved with the standard
step-by-step technique.
"How much faster is the analytical solution ?" Several
"benchmarks" were run using the same satellite data sets and
starting times to determine the speed of each method. If the user
selects the Delta Time Mode and then the Analytical Solution the
speed difference will be obvious.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
TRAKSAT version 2.65 and up has changed the minimum elevation
angle for the Analytical Solution options. The analytical
solution will use 10 DEGREES AS THE MINIMUM ELEVATION ANGLE FOR
OPTICAL AND 0 DEGREES FOR THE LINE-OF-SIGHT (LOS) VISIBILITY. In
practice that "assumption" is very well founded. The minimum is
NOT user selectable in this case.
On the machine used for testing (coprocessor installed) the
analytical solution runs about 4 seconds per satellite per 24
hours of simulation time vs. the 120 seconds per 24 hours in the
delta time mode. (This was on a 386/16 with a 287/8 coprocessor
and still produced a 3000% DECREASE in the time required.)
(A 486/33 computer can crank out 20 satellites per second!) This
mode can really be boosted by a coprocessor, 3-6 times faster!
Use the analytical solution for "rough" estimates and the delta
time mode for the detailed analysis. The term "rough" implies
that the analytical solution is not as accurate as the Delta Time
mode, and in fact that is true. The error (Delta Time mode vs.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 23
Analytical Solution) is usually LESS then 1 minute for predicted
rise or set times. The error is the price to pay for the speed
advantage.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The analytical solution DOES INCLUDE THE DRAG EFFECTS in the
calculations, (as of TRAKSAT version 2.30). By including the
drag effects in the solution a long term prediction can be done
without a great loss of accuracy.
It has proved helpful for several TRAKSAT users to predict
several weeks into the future any visible passes and make a note
of the dates. As the date approaches and newer elements become
available the user can "improve" the viewing times to finally
obtain an accurate prediction of the satellites. Using this
approach the user can mark "special" days when a particular
satellite should be seen.
The analytical solution will save the user from "looking" for
satellites that will not be seen, or unfavorable passes.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
If the user selects the analytical solution AND the OPTICAL
visibility test then only satellites with a mean motion of
greater than 2.5 revs per day will be calculated. That is any
satellite that is "near geosync." will not be calculated. This
should NOT be of to great importance to most users as seeing ANY
near geosync. satellites is VERY DIFFICULT. The line of sight
(LOS) method will still work for the near geosync. satellites. If
the user needs to "see" a near geosync. satellite then the
single satellite delta time mode OR Batch Mode will be required.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The analytical solution works by revs NOT so much time, by that I
mean that the program calculates at rev to rev time steps and
does NOT use the time step. This will also mean that if the user
were to set a one hour simulation length the program will find
some satellites outside this time interval because there are not
any satellites that can have a period of 60 minutes. (Don't be
alarmed by the longer than requested times in the output it is
normal operation.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 24
ALL/USER DEFINED SATELLITES
The user has the choice with the analytical solution options to
select all of the satellites in the data file or some user
defined satellites. The default will be to read ALL of the
satellites for these options. The user can define his or her
"favorite" satellites, up to 25 satellites can be included. The
user will need to use a word processor to edit the TRAKSAT.DEF
file and add the satellites names to it. The word processor used
will need to save the file in PLAIN ASCII format, i.e., NO
SPECIAL CONTROL CHARACTERS EXCEPT THE END OF FILE MARKER. The
EDLIN or PC-Write word processors will do the job nicely for the
user.
As of TRAKSAT version 2.70 and above the user can include a
satellite name after the default satellite file name, this
satellite data will be loaded when the program is first started.
If the current status box displays a blank for the current
satellite name the satellite data was not found in the file.
An example of the TRAKSAT.DEF file with user defined
satellites is included below; (note the satellite name Mir after
the file name)
column number
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
Color = 14 Printer Type = 1 Visibility = 1
HUNTSVILLE, AL 34.7317000 273.4033000 228.60 -5
NASA811.TXT Mir
Multi-Track Satellite Names
Satellite # 1: MIR
Satellite # 2: NOAA 10
Satellite # 3: IRAS
Satellite # 4: SEASAT 1
Satellite # 5: EGP
Satellite # 6: NOAA 9
User Defined Satellite Names
IRAS
NOAA 10
COSMOS 1686
COSMOS 1766
MIR
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The default satellite file name starts in column 2 and the
default satellite name starts in column 14. Remember to start the
user defined satellite name in column 2. The next 12 characters
make up the satellite name, upper or lower case makes no
difference. If a user defined satellite is NOT located in the
satellite data file a warning message will be displayed. The user
defined satellites can be ANY of the satellites included in the
data file, however, 25 satellites is the maximum number allowed.
If the user has more than 25 satellites then select the All
Satellite Data Sets option.
That is enough "horn blowing" let us look at an example.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 25
Below is and example output from the analytical solution using
the screen output option. The visibility method in this example
was LOS (line of sight) while the starting date was 4-20-1990 @ 0
UTC hours. The end time was 24 hours. The "header" at the top of
the display will show some vital information to the user. The
tracking station name and satellite data file name along with the
visibility method will be displayed to remind the user of the
current settings.
(SCREEN OUTPUT OPTION)
TRAKSAT Version 2.80 Analytical Solution
Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE, AL File: NASA811.TXT Visibility: LOS
Satellite UTC TIME LOCAL TIME AZIMUTH MAX MIN DURATION
DATE HR:MN:SC DATE HR:MN:SC ELE RANGE HR:MN:SC
Alouette 1 20Apr90 01:08:32 19Apr90 20:08:32 N TO SE 25 1905 00:10:32
20Apr90 02:54:12 19Apr90 21:54:12 NW TO S 43 1387 00:12:12
Cosmos 398 20Apr90 01:19:02 19Apr90 20:19:02 NW TO E 33 1970 00:16:02
20Apr90 03:34:48 19Apr90 22:34:48 NW TO SE 74 2069 00:26:48
20Apr90 05:54:02 20Apr90 00:54:02 W TO S 21 4272 00:23:02
20Apr90 20:54:16 20Apr90 15:54:16 NW TO N 10 1100 00:01:16
21Apr90 01:27:19 20Apr90 20:27:19 NW TO E 39 1879 00:18:19
Starlette 20Apr90 02:27:41 19Apr90 21:27:41 NW TO E 35 1582 00:13:41
Working ...
Press Esc to Quit
If the Optical method was selected the header message will
display so.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The user can NOT stop/start the screen as in the other modes,
i.e., pressing Esc will STOP the display and terminate the
analytical solution. This method was chosen to avoid
inadvertently waiting for the screen to update while in a pause
mode. The screen update can be slow on an Optical visibility test
and a NON-coprocessor equipped machine. (There may not be any
satellites optically visible at all!)
If a file output was selected the header placed in the file has
the same information as the screen header. Below is an example of
the analytical solution file output. (The same times as above
were used but this example used the optical visibility test.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The default is to write output to the file TRAKSAT.000. If this
file name exists the program will try TRAKSAT.001, TRAKSAT.002...
and so on until a new file name is found. If the limit of 999 is
reached then the program will use 000 as the extension AND OVER
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 26
WRITE THE FILE. (The only options that will use this file method
are the Analytical Solution and the Batch Mode file output.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 27
(FILE OUTPUT OPTION)
TRAKSAT Version 2.80
Analytical Solution
Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE, AL
[ Optical Visibility ]
Input File: NASA806.TXT
Satellite UTC TIME LOCAL TIME AZIMUTH MAX MIN DURATION
DATE HR:MN:SC DATE HR:MN:SC ELE RANGE HR:MN:SC
Alouette 1 20Apr90 02:54:12 19Apr90 21:54:12 NW TO S 43 1387 00:12:12
Cosmos 398 20Apr90 01:19:02 19Apr90 20:19:02 NW TO E 33 1970 00:16:02
20Apr90 03:34:48 19Apr90 22:34:48 NW TO SE 74 2069 00:26:48
21Apr90 01:27:19 20Apr90 20:27:19 NW TO E 39 1879 00:18:19
Starlette 20Apr90 02:27:41 19Apr90 21:27:41 NW TO E 35 1582 00:13:41
20Apr90 02:30:13 19Apr90 21:30:13 NW TO E 55 1241 00:13:13
LAGEOS 20Apr90 04:57:34 19Apr90 23:57:34 NE TO W 47 6830 00:51:34
20Apr90 08:22:09 20Apr90 03:22:09 NE TO NW 27 8006 00:40:09
21Apr90 03:34:44 20Apr90 22:34:44 NE TO SW 70 6108 00:56:44
GPS-0001 20Apr90 02:33:52 19Apr90 21:33:52 W TO SE 65 20491 06:47:52
GPS-0002 20Apr90 05:05:15 20Apr90 00:05:15 NW TO NW 13 24419 01:15:15
GPS-0005 21Apr90 02:37:23 20Apr90 21:37:23 W TO SE 65 20533 06:47:23
GPS-0006 20Apr90 00:16:22 19Apr90 19:16:22 NW TO SW 57 20854 04:27:22
SME 21Apr90 02:15:21 20Apr90 21:15:21 S TO NW 29 812 00:05:21
Salyut 7 20Apr90 09:56:11 20Apr90 04:56:11 SW TO NE 71 413 00:06:11
Cosmos 1383 20Apr90 02:53:40 19Apr90 21:53:40 N TO S 50 1293 00:12:40
IRAS 20Apr90 01:52:33 19Apr90 20:52:33 S TO SW 23 1793 00:08:33
If the user selects the file as the output the screen will
display the total number of satellites it will calculate along
with the current satellite in memory.
Output Ground Track Options
If the ground track option is entered the program proceeds to
draw a Mercator projection map of the world. The upper left
corner is at latitude 90 degrees and longitude -180 degrees,
while the lower right corner is latitude -90 degrees and
longitude 180 degrees. The grid spacing is 30 degrees for both
the latitude and the longitude. A "+" will be plotted for the
tracking station coordinates, the coordinates from TRAKSAT.DEF or
the currently loaded data.
The plotting process may take a minute or two on a slow XT type
computer, something under 1 second on the particular computer I
use. (486-33 MHz.)
The user has the option of redrawing the ground track after "X"
number of revs have been completed. The default is NONE, however
the user can chose between 0 and 9 revs for the screen refresh
rate. If the user picks 2 rev refresh rate then after two revs
are completed the screen will be redrawn. This option will prove
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 28
useful for those users who like to leave the ground track running
for long periods of time and do not like all the screen clutter.
The user will be asked about displaying the sun terminator. The
sun terminator is not dependent on the satellite but rather the
tracking station. The terminator is plotted based on a zero sun
elevation angle. (That is to say the terminator is the line where
the top edge of the sun is "just" below the local horizon.) The
terminator is accurate to about 10-15 minutes of actual. The
effects of the local horizon and atmospheric refraction can
"shift" the terminator a few minutes anyway so great accuracy may
not be achieved. The sun is plotted as an "+" in the center of
the terminator. This will tell the user on what side of the
terminator the tracking station is on. (Daylight or darkness.)
The sun terminator will be "REFRESHED" EVERY 4 MINUTES IN EITHER
THE REAL OR DELTA TIME MODES. The refresh may take several
seconds on the slower machines. (About 15 seconds.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
THE SUN TERMINATOR PLOTTING PROCESS MAY TAKE A MINUTE OR SO ON A
SLOW XT TYPE COMPUTER, something under 1/3 second on the
particular computer I use.
The ground track plot is the only option that will display the
sun terminator or the antenna/sensor plot.
As of TRAKSAT version 2.70 and above an antenna/sensor coverage
plot option is included with the ground track. The user can
include the antenna/sensor coverage if desired along with a
minimum elevation angle to be used in determining the coverage
area. (The range of minimum elevation angle is from 0 to 50
degrees in 5 degree steps.) It is assumed that the antenna/sensor
is always looking straight down at the earth, i.e., towards the
center of the earth.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The satellite attitude is a measure of how the satellite is
oriented in space, for most satellites it is oriented so that its
sensor/antennas point toward earth. TRAKSAT assumes that the
satellite maintains a constant orientation with respect to the
earth, i.e., that it's sensor/antennas point towards the center
of the earth, (true of some, BUT NOT ALL satellites).
If the user selects 10 degrees as the minimum elevation angle for
the antenna/sensor a circle will be placed around the satellite
surface point indicating when the elevation will be above 10
degrees as seen from the ground site.
The file EARTH.DAT contains the world map data, some 8200 vectors
in all. This file is compressed to save space and reduce the
reading time. (TRAKSAT version 2.10 and up has improved the
compression ratio (45%), older versions of the program can NOT be
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 29
used with this new data file, nor can TRAKSAT use the older data
file.)
If the user has an COMMERCIAL VERSION of TRAKSAT an option to
produce a HP/GL file can be used. The program will ask if HP/GL
output is desired and will produce a file with the satellite
ground track data in it. The file will be called HPGL.xxx were
the xxx is a number from 000 to 999. The next available number
will be the output file name extension. (The antenna/sensor
output will not be included in the file output).
The output HP/GL file can be combined with the earth map data and
plotted or imported into a document.
After the world map is displayed the simulation begins. The
starting position for the satellite is marked as a yellow filled
(if that is the user defined color) circle, this was added to
help locate the starting position. The screen will plot the
orbital ground trace of the chosen satellite along with other
valuable data. The top line will have the UTC date and time,
while the second line will have the local date and time
displayed. The lower lines will have the tracking data displayed.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 30
An example of the output screen would be;
-----------------------▌ TRAKSAT Version 2.80 ▐--------------------
| |
| UTC 21:37:26.1 Date 12/26/1989 Satellite Name: MIR |
| Local 15:37:26.1 Date 12/26/1989 Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE,AL |
| |
| (The version number may be different in this display.) |
| (No world map drawn in this example.) |
| |
| Lat 45.1635° Azimuth 309.1281° Range 7115.4 Km |
| Long -175.3926° Elevation -30.1331° Rev # 22120 NOT Visible |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lat and Long are the satellite latitude and longitude. The
Azimuth and Elevation are as seen from the tracking station,
while the Range is the distance from the satellite to the
tracking station.
The azimuth is always between 0 and 360 degrees with north being
0, east 90 south 180 and so on. The elevation will be always be
between -90 and +90 degrees. If the elevation is less than zero
the satellite is below the horizon as seen from the tracking
station.
The Rev # is based on the input data starting revolution number
plus the number of revs per day times the days past the epoch
date, i.e. the formula;
rev = rev_epoch + (mean motion(rev/day) * (epoch date - date).
The epoch refers to the NORAD satellite data set, see section;
NORAD/NASA 2-Line Satellite Data, for a full explanation of the
input data.
The last item displayed is based on if the satellite is visible
from the tracking station. See main menu Visibility options for a
complete description of the methods used by TRAKSAT to test for
visibility.
If the user has selected the Amateur Radio visibility option some
addition information will be displayed in both the ground track
and 3D view windows (NOT THE STAR VIEW OPTION). The user will be
asked for a frequency to base the doppler shift calculations on.
The program will allow for a frequency range from 0 to 1000000000
Hz. The doppler shift comes about from the simple fact that both
the satellite and the ground station are in motion. The relative
motion between the station and the satellite causes either a
compression or expansion of a radio signal, this is called the
doppler shift. The frequency is not saved after quitting the
program, therefore the user will be required to re-enter the
frequency. (The program default is 145MHz.)
The phase angle is used for the amateur radio satellites. The
phase angle is based on the mean-anomaly, (the position in the
orbital plane from the perigee). The mean-anomaly is normally
measured from 0 to 360 degrees, however the phase angle is from 0
to 256ths of a circle. The conversion of degrees mean-anomaly to
phase angle is;
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 31
Phase = (mean anomaly (deg))/(360/256).
(256ths of circle)
It has become common practice with radio amateur satellites to
use Mean Anomaly to schedule satellite operations. Satellites
commonly change modes or turn on or off at specific places in
their orbits, specified by Mean Anomaly. Unfortunately, when
used this way, it is common to specify the mean anomaly in units
of 256ths of a circle instead of degrees. The phase angle is
therefore displayed in units of 256ths of a circle.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
To stop the display the user can press any key and the screen
will "freeze". The user will need to press any key again to
continue the simulation. If the user presses Esc, escape key, the
simulation will stop and the user will be returned to the main
menu.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The ground track will continue until the user stops the
simulation by pressing Escape (Esc). After 8-9 ground tracks have
been plotted the screen will be "very busy", the user can re-draw
the screen by pressing Esc, than pressing Main Menu Run option
again. The world map will be drawn again along with the new
orbital ground tracks. This will cut down on the screen
"clutter".
The user can print out the screen output with the ground track
option. To print the output of the screen press "P" or "p",
without the quotation marks. The print out may take a minute or
so depending on the type of printer being used. The print out
will start with the upper right side of the screen.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
If the user selects any graphic output the program will test for
a graphics adapter and based on the type of graphics hardware
will select the "highest" graphics mode supported. An example
would be;
VGA mode 640x480 pixels,
EGA mode 640x350 pixels,
CGA mode 640x200 pixels,
HGC mode 720x348 pixels (Monochrome).
******************
* SPECIAL NOTE *
******************
The Hercules graphics mode requires running the driver
MSHERC.COM, this is the driver supplied with several Microsoft
programing languages, before using the TRAKSAT program. Type
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 32
"MSHERC" and then "TRAKSAT" to start the program. (A TRUE
Hercules card works with TRAKSAT, some clone cards may NOT.)
Do not use a Microsoft mouse AND the Hercules graphics cards
together, according to Microsoft, as this may cause some
"problems". Any mouse drivers that are installed should be
removed before running TRAKSAT with a Hercules card also.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 33
****************************************************************
If the user has a computer that is not 100% compatible or the
graphic card is not 100% VGA compatible the program can be forced
to use the EGA mode. To use this method invoke the program with
"TRAKSAT/EGA", without the quotes. This will set the display to
EGA modes only and MAY eliminate any graphic problems
encountered. NO OTHER GRAPHIC MODES CAN BE SET THIS WAY.
The user can set the menu screens to monochrome, such as required
on most LCD laptops, by typing "TRAKSAT/mono". This may improve
the contrast on the LCD screen.
****************************************************************
If the hardware does NOT support graphics an error message will
be displayed and the program will return to the main menu. All of
the text modes will still be available to the user however.
Output Star Background Options
The star background is a view looking from the tracking site
towards the stars. This plot will be useful for producing a "star
map" to take outside with you to compare the night sky with the
satellite path.
If the Star Background option has been chosen the program will
ask the user for some additional data. The user can display the
visible star names if so desired. (Only the internal star data
names will be displayed, not the user defined star data.) The
user will choose what direction to look, i.e., North, East,
South, or West. The field of view of the star background is 180
degrees in azimuth and 0 through 90 degrees in elevation. If the
user selects North the visible range of the azimuth will be 270
degrees (west) to 90 degrees (east). If the user selects East the
visible range of the azimuth will be 0 degrees (north) to 180
degrees (south) with 90 degrees being the center of the screen
(due east). The option South will display from 90 degrees (east)
to 270 degrees (west). The option for West will display from 180
degrees to 360 degrees with 270 degrees (west) being the center
of the screen (due west).
As of version 2.65 and above the user can select the star
background screen refresh rate. The range of the update is from 5
minutes to 33 minutes. (The recommended setting is 15 minutes.)
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 34
An example could be to see a satellite rise out of the west the
user would select W, that will display from due south through
west to the north.
┌──────────────┌───────────────────────────────┐──────────────┐
│ │ ▀▀█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀▀▀ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▀█ █▀█ ▀▀█ █▀█ █ │ │
│ │ █ █ █▄█ █ █ █▄█ █▄█ █ │ │
│ │ █ Version 2.80 │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┤ M A I N M E N U ├─────────────────┐ │
│ │ File System Time Output Visibility Run Quit │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─< Direction To Look >─┐ │
│ │ North │ │
│┌─────────────│ East │ ├───────────────────┐│
││ Tracking Sta│ South │ilight = -12° ││
││ Latitude (de│ West │ (deg) = -86.5867 ││
││ Altitude (m)└───────────────────────┘ (hrs) = -5. ││
││ Current Satellite = MIR File: NASA811.TXT ││
││ Current Output Mode = Tabular Output Screen : Single ││
││ Current Time Mode = Delta Visibility = Optical ││
│└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The star background option will display visible stars from a
database of 58 navigational stars, the Sun, the planets, and the
moon. (Not including any user defined star data.)
The term "star background" will be used in this document to mean
the 58 navigational stars, the Sun, the planets (not including
the earth), and the moon.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The star data is internal to TRAKSAT, i.e., there are no
provisions for the user to MODIFY THE INTERNAL STAR DATA at this
time. Star positions are for Epoch J2000.0, from USNO Floppy
Almanac 1988, Version 2.11.88, file STAR1.CAT. HOWEVER THE USER
CAN SUPPLY ADDITIONAL STAR DATA TO THE PROGRAM, see the section
on USER DEFINED STAR DATA.
The option to print out this "star map" (or any other graphic
output) is included in TRAKSAT, as of version 1.80 and up. The
user will require a Epson FX, LQ, HP Laser or compatible printer
to use this feature. Again this will prove valuable to the user
in determining where and when to look to "see" the satellite,
this option will work for LOS or Optical visibility modes. To
print out a screen copy the user will only have to press a "P" or
"p". After the output is printed the program will continue with
the plot. The user can interrupt the printer process by pressing
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 35
any key, the printer output will stop and the program will
continue.
******************
* WARNING *
******************
IF THE USER STOPS THE PRINT OUT THE PRINTER WILL NOT BE RESET,
THE USER WILL BE REQUIRED TO RESET THE PRINTER MANUALLY IF
ADDITIONAL PRINT OUT IS TO BE MADE.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The printer MUST be connected to parallel printer port number 1,
LPT1. A Epson FX,LQ or HP Laser or graphics compatible printer
must be used for any output. The print out routines have been
tested on several different Epson compatible printers without any
problems. Some laser printers can emulate the HP Laser printers
and will produce good results also.
The printer type can be changed from the main menu System
options. The user can select from 9 pin, 24 pin, or HP laser
printers. (All dot matrix routines assume a Epson or compatible
printer.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
Using the HP laser at 300 dpi will require extra printer memory
and the print out may take several minutes to complete. It is
recommended that the user select 150 dpi for laser printer
output, this resolution produces acceptable results in the
shortest time.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
If the user has loaded a User Defined Star file the program will
plot the internal stars first and then plot the user defined
stars next. The user can interrupt the star plotting process by
pressing any key during the star plotting process. (Some of the
slow XT type computers may take a minute or so when using a large
user define star data base.)
The user will have the responsibility to check the user defined
star data for duplicates of the TRAKSAT internal star data. (See
the section on PROGRAM LIMITATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS for a list of
the internal stars used in TRAKSAT.)
By default TRAKSAT will display the star names, including the
planets and the moon and look west. The user will only need to
change these options by typing in the correct response.
*****************************************************************
** REMEMBER TO USE EPOCH J2000 FOR ANY USER DEFINED STAR DATA. **
*****************************************************************
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 36
An example of a star background would be;
UTC 14: 2:12.2 Date 3/26/1990 Az 211.3715° Rev# 23519
Local 8: 2:12.2 Date 3/26/1990 El -43.8641° Vis NOT Visible
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Satellite: Mir TRAKSAT 2.80 |
| |
75- |
| |
| O Moon |
60- |
| |
| EXAMPLE |
45- (NO PLOT SHOWN) |
| (This is only an example, the |
| DATA displayed is NOT correct) |
30- |
| o Venus |
| |
15- . Alpharatz |
| |
| West |
----------------------------------------------------------------
210 240 270 300 330
The side axis is the elevation while the bottom axis is the
azimuth. (Observer coordinates are the only output type at this
time). In this example star names were displayed and the option
to look west was selected. The "sky track" of the satellite will
also be plotted on the screen. The top two lines will display the
local and UTC time and dates, azimuth, elevation, rev, and if the
satellite is visible (based on the Visibility option setting LOS
or Optical). The star map background will remain black even if
the sun has risen. (The version number may be different in this
display.)
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
If the delta time mode is selected time steps are marked on the
screen and labeled for the user. It is recommended that the delta
time mode be used for star backgrounds so a "time tag" can be
placed on the screen. The real time mode will not place "time
tags" on the screen. This approach was used to help reduce screen
clutter, i.e., to many time tags. This method was chosen because
few people have laptop computers "out in the field" to use for
viewing aids. A printed "sky map" generated before the nights
viewing will be of much greater use to most people.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
It is noted that the star background will be refreshed (USER
DEFINED) MINUTES, in either delta or real time modes. It is
therefore wise to select a starting time about 1 minute PRIOR to
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 37
the time of interest and run the program in the delta mode until
PAST the time of interest. An example of this would be;
Time of interest 11:30:00 UTC,
Starting time 11:29:00 UTC,
Time span 00:14:00.
This will provide the user with the "sky map" from 11:29 to 11:43
UTC and avoid the screen refresh.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
To stop the display the user can press any key and the screen
will "freeze". The user will need to press any key again to
continue the simulation. If the user presses ESC, escape key, the
simulation will stop and the user will be returned to the main
menu.
Output Orthographic View
If the user selects the Orthographic View main menu a 3-D
orthographic projection of the earth and the satellite will be
drawn. The perspective will be centered on the tracking station
coordinates with the altitude above the earth being set by the
semi-major axis of the satellite to view. A small "X" will mark
the tracking station coordinates. The grid lines are drawn 10
degrees apart with the orthographic projections.
The 3-D graphic will plot the "orbital trace" above the planet,
i.e., not the ground trace, WHILE HOLDING THE EARTH STILL. The
earth will be non-rotating with the satellite going around it.
The close earth satellites (1000 Km altitude and less) will
produce a good quality plot while near geosync. satellites will
display the earth as a small hard to see "ball". The highly
eccentric orbits (ecc. > .3) will not display the complete
orbital trace due to some limitations of the methods used in
TRAKSAT. This should not pose much of a concern to most users.
****************************************************************
THE 3-D PROJECTION WILL BE SLOW ON XT TYPE COMPUTERS WITHOUT A
COPROCESSOR SO IF THE USER DOES NOT WANT TO WAIT FOR THE COMPLETE
EARTH TO PLOT OUT PRESS ANY KEY AND THE EARTH LAND MASS PLOT WILL
STOP AND THE SATELLITE VIEW WILL START. (Only the grid lines will
be displayed.)
****************************************************************
The screen can be stopped and started the same way as any other
graphic modes, i.e., any key to freeze and Esc to stop.
At this time the altitude above the earth is not a user changed
option. If the user would like a polar (either north or south)
projection select a new Tracking station from the Main Menu File
options and select either the north, south or even the equator
tracking station coordinates.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 38
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
It is recommended that the user edit the TRAKSAT.CTY file and
change the first three tracking station coordinates to his or her
LOCAL LONGITUDE. The user will answer the questions about
tracking station altitude and UTC offset information based on the
local conditions.
Below is an example of the TRAKSAT.CTY file with the first three
"extra" tracking stations included. The format of the tracking
station file is;
City Name Long. (deg) Lat. (deg) Alt (m).
'North Pole ',-86.5867,90.0,228.6
'Equator ',-86.5867,.0,228.6
'South Pole ',-86.5867,-90.0,228.6
'Rancho Palos Verdes CA ',-118.403334,33.767501,0
'Calaveras County, CA ',-120.566667,38.15,0
'Washington (USNO), DC ',-77.06575,38.920556,0
'Huntsville, AL ',-86.5867,34.7317,228.6
The city name can be up to 20 characters long while the
longitude, latitude, and altitude can be up to 10 characters
long. A comma or a space MUST separate the data and the city name
MUST be enclosed in single quote marks.
The TRAKSAT.CTY file can hold a MAXIMUM of 8000 tracking stations
in it. (The file included with TRAKSAT has about 885 "cities" in
it.) The user can enter city data into the TRAKSAT.CTY file in
any order but it would be wise to include the data in a
alphabetical order by states or country.
Output Tabular Options
TRAKSAT can also produce a tabular output of the satellite
tracking data, the output is in a text mode not graphics. If the
user picks Tabular option, the program will display another menu
asking to include the right ascension & declination (Ra & Dec) or
the Latitude and Longitude in the output. The output can go to a
file or the screen also.
The file option output can be edited and printed out by the user
if so desired.
Below is an example of the screen output without the Ra & Dec;
Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE, AL Satellite: Mir
Date Time (UTC) Azim Elev Range Lat Long Alt V
HR:MN:Sec Deg Deg Km Deg Deg Km
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:5.550 268.7678 -43.87 9384.23883 -1.65793 -176.815 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:5.600 268.7689 -43.87 9384.00198 -1.65535 -176.813 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:5.660 268.7702 -43.87 9383.72069 -1.65229 -176.811 388
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 39
this example was run using the real-time mode and the default
tracking station, Huntsville, Al..
In this case the LONG is the satellites longitude, positive (+)
means EAST longitude while negative (-) means WEST longitude.
The column "V" is the visibility flag, i.e., if the satellite is
visible the flag is set to "Y" else it is blank.
If the user had chosen to include the Ra & Dec the output would be
like;
Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE, AL Satellite: Mir
Date Time (UTC) Azim Elev Range Ra Dec Alt V
HR:MN:Sec Deg Deg Km HH:MM:SS DD:MM:SS Km
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:15.38 268.9799 -43.57 9337.76175 21:58:19 -01:05:53 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:15.44 268.9811 -43.56 9337.47902 21:58:20 -01:05:42 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:27:15.55 268.9835 -43.56 9336.95618 21:58:21 -01:05:22 388
the user will notice that the latitude and longitude have been
replaced by the Ra & Dec.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The Ra & Dec are based on the J2000 epoch, 1,1.5,2000 UTC date,
and are NOT user selectable, perhaps in the next version of
TRAKSAT. The J2000 epoch is the "current" epoch on most star
charts.
The user will notice that the header is stationary just the data
is scrolling. This option is useful for a quick view of tracking
data, since no graphics are used.
If the user was in delta-time mode the step between outputs would
be the delta time step value set.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
To stop the display the user can press any key and the screen
will "freeze". The user will need to press any key again to
continue the simulation. Pressing ESC will return the user to the
main menu.
If the tabulated output was directed to a file the tracking data
output file name will be "SAT.xxx", the xxx is the next available
number (000 to 999). The name of the output file will be
displayed for the user.
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
The program will produce the file SAT.xxx, the xxx being the next
available file number. If the program reaches the limit of SAT.999
the program will use SAT.000 AND OVER WRITE THAT FILE.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 40
The output in the file is very similar to the screen output
option. Below is an example of the file output mode;
TRAKSAT Version 2.80
Tracking Station: HUNTSVILLE, AL
[ Line Of Sight (LOS) Visibility ]
Satellite: Mir
Satellite Data Set:
1 16609U 86 17 A 90 91.75081924 .00058269 00000-0 66933-3 0 5052
2 16609 51.6174 355.6250 0013230 341.6181 18.4560 15.61365027236165
Date Time (UTC) Azim Elev Range Lat Long Alt V
HR:MN:SEC Deg Deg Km Deg Deg Km
Thr 25Jan90 01:26:42.04 268.26 -44.61 9494.42 -2.86 -177.67 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:26:42.21 268.26 -44.60 9493.63 -2.86 -177.66 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:26:42.32 268.27 -44.60 9493.12 -2.85 -177.66 388
Thr 25Jan90 01:26:42.43 268.27 -44.60 9492.60 -2.84 -177.65 388
again this example used the real-time mode. This output is a
standard 80 columns, for printers or the 25x80 text screen. In
this example a line of sight (LOS) mode was chosen. If the
visibility mode was optical the header, the line under the
tracking station name, would display; [ Optical visibility ].
If the file mode and the real-time mode are chosen the screen
will display the number of records that have been written to
file. The program DOES check the remaining disk space and stops
the program if the record space exceeds available disk space. The
data prior to exceeding the disk space is written and an error
message is displayed, no data will be lost.
It is recommended that the real-time mode NOT be used for file
output, mainly because of the large files that could be produced.
If the file mode and delta-time mode are chosen the screen will
display the same record count as above, but also the total number
of records to calculate. This method produces the smallest file
size the user requires.
The total number of records to calculate would be;
total_records = (stop_time - start_time)/delta_time.
The size of the file is approximately 81 bytes per record,
therefore 1440 records, one day at one minute intervals, will
produce a file size of about 116K. (ALL TIME STEPS DISPLAYED).
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 41
******************
* IMPORTANT NOTE *
******************
To stop the display the user can press any key and the screen
will "freeze". The user will need to press any key again to
continue the simulation. Pressing ESC will return the user to the
main menu.
The option has been added to TRAKSAT version 1.5, and up, to
display only the visible passes, based on the setting of the
visibility options. The program will default to ALL passes.
The output, in the tabular modes, can display Ra & Dec of the
satellite also. The coordinate used is based on J2000 epoch, this
was chosen to be used with "current" star charts. The default is
to include Ra & Dec in the output.
Output Batch Mode Options
TRAKSAT version 2.55 and above has included a new option, called
Batch Mode. This option is similar to the Tabular Output mode but
can be used on all or a user defined list of satellites. The
method used in this option is; enter into the delta time mode and
select the starting date/time and length of the simulation. The
next step is to select Batch Mode from the Output options. The
program will prompt the user for some additional information and
then run each satellite through the delta tabular mode one at a
time.
The output from this option can go to the screen or a file, the
file name is called TRAKSAT.000 (or TRAKSAT.001, TRAKSAT.002...
until a new extension is found). Below is an example of the file
output created with this option. The starting date/time was 10-
24-90 00:00:00 UTC to 00:05:00 UTC by one minute steps.
TRAKSAT Satellite Tracking Program Page 42
The output parameters are similar to the tabular output but
without the rev, altitude, and earth position quantities.
(Batch Mode File Output)
TRAKSAT Version 2.80
Tracking Station: Huntsville, AL