Visual
SAT-Flare Tracker 3D
MENU SATELLITES
This menu allows the user to manage the satellites and to control their draw options. The menu consists in the following items:
Plot Orbit
By
checking this item, all the enabled satellites will be plotted around
the globe. Also their orbits will be plotted if the "Show Orbit"
flag is active and the Hide All Orbit Traces item is not checked. (Please see the Manage Satellite List Item to learn how to set the "Show Orbit" flags).
ECEF Plotting
By
checking this item, the satellite orbits will be plotted with respect
to an Earth Centered Earth Fixed coordinate system (ECEF) instead of an
Earth Centered Inertial system.
The ECEF Plotting will show the satellite orbit as it is seen by an
observed fixed on the Earth. This means that the orbit won't appear
as ellipses since the satellite motion is combined with the Earth
rotation.This representation is useful to clearly see above which
locations the satellite will pass during one or more orbits. As an
example, the following picture represents two orbit cycles of the
International Space Station plotted with respect the ECEF system.

Fig 1.
While for LEO satellites the ECEF plotting results only into a small
orbit rotation around the globe, for more distant satellites, the orbit
may appear quite complex. As an example, the Fig. 2 depicts two orbit
cycles of a GPS satellite as it would be seen by a GPS receiver fixed
on the Earth surface. In the About window of the Help bar menu, another
example of complex ECEF plotting can be found.

Fig. 2.
Project Orbit On The Earth
By
checking this item, all the plotted orbits will be perpendicularly projected on
the globe surface. This function is useful to see above which locations
distant-Earth satellites will pass or to read the visibility circles
without using a 2D representation.
ECEF Projection
By
checking this item, all the plotted orbits will be perpendicularly projected with respect to an Earth Centered Earth Fixed coordinate system. This option works exactly as in the ECEF Plotting
but acts on the orbit Projection. As an example, the following picture
shows the projection on the Earth surface of the GPS orbit visible in
the Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.
Hide All Orbit Traces
By
checking this item, all the orbits and their projections will be hidden.
When many orbit cycles are processed, this function is useful to reduce
the rendering time when the orbit traces are not necessary.
Satellite Info
By
clicking on this item a new window will be open that reports detailed
information about the satellite position. The window is visible in the
following picture.

(X,Y,Z)
represent the satellite position in the ECI coordinate system. (vX, vY,
vZ) represent the satellite velocity components while vW the overall
velocity. DEC, RA, EL, and AZ, represent respectively declination,
right ascension, elevation and azimuth of the satellite with respect to
the observer (topocentric coordinates).
Download TLE from Internet
By
clicking on this item, a new window will appear that allows the user to download TLE from the Internet. Click here for more details.
Manage Satellite List
By
clicking on this item, a new window will appear that allows the user to manage the satellite list. Click here for more details.
BACK
By
Simone Corbellini
