A useful 3D Globe - s3.amazonaws.com · a pretty globe. Once you’ve modeled your system, you can evaluate Once you’ve modeled your system, you can evaluate it in the context of

A useful FREE 3D Globe

You havE two wishEs lEFt PAGE 6

In thIs IssuE

nEW PRODuCts, nEW CAPABILItIEs

PAGE 8

2D AnD 3D thAt WILL MAKE YOu sWOOn

PAGE 12

PARALLEL COMPutInG sPEEDs uP YOuR stK

CALCuLAtIOns PAGE 14

stK In AnY FORM PAGE 19

STK 10 SPECIAL EDITION

Fall 2012 nEwslEttER

10AT A G L A N C E

sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10

what’s nEw in stK 10? If you’ve never used it before, everything! If you’re a loyal STK fan or are fast on your way to becoming one, you’re going to notice some significant changes to our modeling and analysis framework. We’ve spent a lot of time focusing on our core capabilities, adding more features and improving performance.

saME PRoDuCt linE, nEw naME systems tool Kit

not just for satellites anymore

Land, sea, air and cyberspace modeling

aCCElERatED CovERaGE spread your coverage computation across multiple processors

Perform larger coverage computations, faster

Fall 2012 inviEw 32 inviEw Fall 2012

suPERChaRGED 2D MaP 4x improvement in rendering performance

true translucency for improved color overlays

Improved usability (zoom/pan)

Esri Map Document support

FREE 3D viEw now included in free stK product

Manage graphics through object properties

Animate with millisecond-precision

Create custom graphics through 3D primitive API

3D COLLADA models, featuring COLLADA FX

sub-meter terrain

Flashlight to illuminate objects in dark

FREE BinG™ MaPs iMaGERY stream aerial, road and hybrid maps

Available in both 2D and 3D displays

PRoMotE KMl Import for visualization

Convert to stK object for analysis

tiMElinE viEw Visualize object, analysis and reference times on a timeline

understand timing of events without animating

oBJECt BRowsER ContRols Manipulate object from browser

Change object color

show/no-show objects

sEaRCh Look up address or point of interest

Access online catalog of cities, facilities, satellites and aircraft

Insert objects from search menu

terrain masks for more than 1,000 facilities worldwide


wE CaME FRoM sPaCE, so the name Satellite Tool Kit made perfect sense in 1989. But as our user community’s needs have evolved over the years, so has STK. Not only have we not lost any of our rigorous science and time-dependency required for space operations, but we’ve managed to bring that same level of fidelity to the rest of our system modeling—including aircraft and UAV mission modeling, multi-INT ISR missions, missile defense and RF network modeling. STK models systems, analyzes the results and predicts mission effectiveness. As you will learn, we have made, and will continue to make, a concerted effort to enhance the broad applicability of STK across all systems, but in reality, STK has been a true “systems” tool kit for years. Now, we are making it official—Systems Tool Kit v10.


S YST E MS TOOL K ITI N T R O D U C I N G

sensor Modeling

Maneuver Modeling

Communications Link Analysis

terrain and Cityscape Modeling

Radar Analysis

Aircraft and uAV Modeling

Rendezvous and Proximity Operations

Ground-facility Modeling

Real-time Data Feeds

Conjunction Analysis

Antenna Modeling

spacecraft Design and Operations

Missile Modeling

Global navigation and satellite systems

system Performance Analysis

Orbit Determination

Object trajectory

sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10 sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10

6 inviEw Fall 2012 Fall 2012 inviEw 7

Get it now, it’s free agi.com/stk10

F R E E F O R A L L

10stK’s 3D GloBE has been our most popular feature since it was first released in 1994. When you use it, you quickly understand why. Unlike other virtual globes, STK was built by engineers, for engineers, to solve complex system modeling and analysis problems. Until now, the 3D globe was only available with our paid module. Starting with STK 10, it’s included in the free product. Welcome to the free-for-all.

user imageryLeverage JPEG 2000 natively and every other georectified format through a free converter

Mouse, Keyboard, animation and object Change Event notificationInteractive 3D editing, alerts, annotations, etc.

Export high-Resolution images and videosshare what you see with others via images or videos

high-level object RenderingManipulate graphics through vehicle or facility properties

othER GREat FEatuREs

GIs and KML import and export

task-specific visualization tools

user terrain from DEM to DtED Level 5

native analytical vector rendering

Configurable, dynamic data displays

3D COLLADA models with COLLADA FX

Bing™ Maps streaming imagery

Obscuration masks



s t K G A I n sG A M E-C h A n G I n GC A P A B I L I t Y

n E W s t K P R OF E E D Y O u R n E E D F O R M O R EF I D E L I t Y1997 staRtED on a wEDnEsDaY. The Hubble was fixed. The Dow crossed 8,000.

The F-22 made its first flight. James Cameron’s Titanic killed at the box office. AGI removed the price on STK.

so, You’vE DownloaDED stK and started to use it. Maybe you went through a few tutorials or maybe you tossed the instructions as soon as you opened the box. Either way, you find yourself adding vehicles, sensors and a target or two. You get sucked in by the 3D window. You can’t help but move the mouse around to get a better view.

When we made the decision to offer stK for free, the logic was simple.

Get people to use it and they will want more. no tricks. no expiration—

just free distribution of a functional, useful tool for anyone to use.

It was a win-win for everyone.

today, stK remains a powerful tool for any systems engineer

or analyst. see the sidebar for a capability refresher.

With version 10, we are bringing game-changing capability to stK.

One of our most coveted features, 3D, is now in the free product.

It’s no secret that our 3D modeling capability has been a popular

upgrade since its inception in 1994. there is no better way to analyze

your system than through a dynamic, interactive 3D simulation

environment. stK is immediately much more useful.

In addition to the 3D window, we have added access to our standard

Object Database, a library of predefined satellite, aircraft and facilities

for building system models in stK. stK 10 users also get to use the new

timeline View and vastly improved 2D map (details on these awesome

enhancements on pages 10 and 12, respectively). the good just got

a lot better.

Once you’re an stK wiz and find you need and want more—more

fidelity, more customized models, more capability to build systems—

look to stK Pro, stK Analysis Workbench, stK satPro or any of our

specialized stK modules! see page 18 for a chart explaining our

reconfigured product line, then head to www.agi.com/stk10

to download stK!

You hit the play button and watch your mission run. You are officially

an stK user. Welcome to the club. Obviously our visualization is compelling

in and of itself. But there is more to stK than just a few objects and

a pretty globe. Once you’ve modeled your system, you can evaluate

it in the context of the mission and visualize all of the critical details.

For many of you, stK is all you need. But we know that some will want

and need more—more fidelity when modeling your system and more

realism when evaluating your mission against unique requirements.

starting with stK 10, we are introducing an entry product that turns

stK silver into stK gold: stK Pro. this new module gives our free

stK users even greater ability to model their system.

If you are not an stK user yet, what are you waiting for? If you’re

just trying it out for the first time, send us a note about your

experience. We will make it worth your while. If you’ve been using

stK for some time and feel you’re an old pro—have a look at stK Pro.

You can try it for free.

Model complex systems (platforms, payloads and mission environment)

Modify system parameters • Vehicle performance • Sensor geometry

Model system limitations • Geometric (azimuth, elevation, range) • Line of sight • Attitude field of view

Combine system models • Mission scenarios • Collaborative systems • Interactive design

leverage geometries, vectors, coordinate systems and reference frames • Vehicle positions, velocities and accelerations • Sensor pointing • Attitude modeling

analyze system models in the context of a mission • Collection feasibility • Geometric and temporal conflicts

Evaluate the impact of system parameters • Thousands of qualitative and quantitative metrics • Report, graph and vary any metric

visualize the system and its performance • Smooth, time-dynamic 3D visualization • Text and graphical annotations • Display of GIS map and vector data • Camera control and flythrough

Collaborate and share models and analysis • Standard data import and export • Presentation graphics (movies, images, reports) • Import KML and promote to STK objects

Develop custom applications and workflows • Fully documented API

usE FREE stK to:

10import many standard terrain formats for both analysis and visualizationadd rate, acceleration and temporal restrictions to your systemCreate any complex sensor field of view or field of regard (While you are at it, point your sensor using advanced profiles such as targeted, spinning and grazing altitude)

Customize your own sensors and constraintsModel complex, networked systemsEvaluate one-to-many, many-to-many or any complex sequence of links

with stK PRo You Can:

BY shannon lYnChAGI PRODuCt MAnAGER

BY toM uRiEAGI DIRECtOR OF MARKEtInG OPERAtIOns

Generate system modelsvisualize in 2D and 3Dsystem performance and availability evaluationaPi for automating, customizing and embedding

stoRY hiGhliGhtsadvanced constraints using geometric, light and time-based conditionsComplex sensor modelingMulti-node analysisterrain

stoRY hiGhliGhts



tiME toolWith the time tool you can capture, modify or create time instants

and intervals. stK automatically generates a whole slew of time

components for each object and analysis; for example, an aircraft

flight will start and end at specific “Time Instants” with the time

between those instants defined as an “Interval,” and any Access

it computes will define an “Interval List” (one interval per available

access period). using those components in the time tool we can

quickly construct custom intervals such as the time between two

separate aircraft launches, or the coincident intervals of multiple

aircraft payloads acquiring sensor data. these intervals can then

be used to define other stK properties like constraints, display

characteristics (changing object colors, models, screen annotations,

etc.) and reporting/graphing intervals (only report data during

specific intervals or at specified time instants).

then, using timeline View—a new window for displaying time-related

information—you can add multiple time components from the time

tool (access intervals, lighting intervals, etc.). By organizing your

components on multiple lines, you can then zoom and scroll through

the timeline View to quickly see information about the component

without having to bring up the panel to look at it. the timeline View

is very useful whenever you need to evaluate the relative sizes of intervals

and relative alignment between various time components. It is not

a substitute for reports and graphs, but it is a great alternative view

that is especially helpful when you start creating more and more

complicated time components.

CalCulation toolthe Calculation tool, as it implies, provides an interface for creating

custom calculations and evaluating conditions based on stK scenario

properties without writing plugin scripts or exporting data to other

applications like Excel or MAtLAB. Want to setup a calculation to estimate

at any point in time how long it would take for a uAV to return to base

from its current location in the route and how much fuel that return trip

would require? You can do that. You could then establish a condition

to monitor the fuel state data provider on that aircraft object to determine

when the fuel level drops below an acceptable threshold. the calculations

you define can be used to generate custom report values, specify unique

object constraints and/or evaluate user defined Coverage Figures of Merit.

the conditions are used to define new time Instants and Intervals based

on the satisfaction criteria for a calculation.

vECtoR GEoMEtRY toolthe Vector Geometry tool lets you build custom geometric models from

any combination of out-of-the-box or user-created vectors, points, angles,

planes, axes and coordinate system components. For an example of how

these tools work in tandem, think about using the Vector Geometry tool

to construct custom-defined vectors between multiple objects. From

there, the Calculation tool can use those vectors to create a relationship

(add/multiply/divide) and specify a threshold for the result. And finally,

with the time tool we can find the time instants or intervals that satisfy

the defined condition and use those to define other stK display,

constraint or report characteristics.

using these basic time, Calculation and Vector Geometry building

blocks, you have significantly more flexibility to introduce custom

or proprietary algorithms to your stK analyses.

BY DR. sERGEi tanYGinsEnIOR AstRODYnAMICs sPECIALIst

s t K A n A LY s I sW O R K B E n C hA t R I O O F t O O L s F O R Y O u R C O M P L E X C O M P u tAt I O n s

time tool for capturing, modifying or creating time instants and intervalstimeline view for displaying time-related information Calculation tool interface for creating custom calculationsvector Geometry tool for defining unique system constraints, building custom platform and payload orientations and importing/exporting data in any reference frame

stoRY hiGhliGhts

stK analYsis woRKBEnCh is going to completely revolutionize your STK analysis. Comprised of three individual tools: Vector Geometry (which you may already be familiar with), Time and Calculation, each tool operates within its own unique domain but can also be combined to generate more complex analyses and displays.

s t K s At P R OI n - D E P t h s PA C E t O O L s F O R s At E L L I t E s Y s t E M s

You’vE CREatED YouR sPaCECRaFt and defined its orbit in STK, but your mission requires a high-precision propagator and dynamic attitude modeling and simulation. STK SatPro provides system engineering tools to assess realistic attitude profiles in conjunction with STK’s validated ephemeris-generation capabilities. Additional propagators available in SatPro include HPOP, LOP, SP3 and 11-parameter.

With satPro, you aren’t limited to using stK’s standard attitude profiles.

Countless advanced attitude profiles can be flown and analyzed against

mission design requirements. For example, if your mission calls for

multiple maneuver sequences or mission modes, you can build multiple

attitude segments and thread them together over the vehicle ephemeris.

You can also set slew rate and acceleration constraints and evaluate

their impact on system performance. the 3D attitude view and attitude

sphere, combined with vector displays, empower you to display the

object’s attitude and track attitude changes over time.

try it out for free at agi.com/eval

leverage advanced attitude Profiles including targeted, pre-computed, multi-segment, satellite attitude slewmodes and constrained attitudesimulate perturbing forces such as gravity, sRP and drag to analyze effects on spacecraft orbitinclude plugin attitude simulators (MATLAB, VBScript, Perl)

apply advanced space-related constraints to a satelliteanalyze solar power generation based on solarillumination area over timeDefine solar array sizing, placement and orientationGenerate a tlE (two-line element set) from any ephemeris source inside of stKEstimate satellite lifetimeCreate and display B-planesRapidly configure walker ConstellationsGain Deck access visibility to a large set of objectsusing constraints

usE stK satPRo to:

satellite-specific tools for advanced modeling and analysisvalidated ephemeris generation capabilitiesRealistic attitude profiles

stoRY hiGhliGhts

BY KEllY aMaRosoAGI PRODuCt MAnAGER



BY JiMMY tuCholsKiAGI DIRECtOR OF stK sOFtWARE DEVELOPMEnt

D I s PL AYE n h A n C EME ntst R A n s L u C E n C Y, L AY E R s, B I n G™ M A P s s t R E A M I n G I M A G E R Y, P E R-P I X E L L I G h t I n G A n D C O L L A DA F X

4x improvement in 2D map rendering frame rate3D CollaDa models, featuring CollaDa FX Create custom graphics through 3D primitive aPi

stoRY hiGhliGhts

suPERioR 2Dthe underlying architecture of the 2D map has been completely

replaced with the same rendering engine we use for 3D graphics

(Insight3D, based on OpenGL). The new engine is flexible enough

to support true translucency, layered map textures and Bing Maps

streaming imagery. A quick example of these features can be seen

in the image to the right with day and night shading (example

of translucency) and the nightlight globe imagery displayed over Bing

Maps on the dark side of the Earth (example of layered map textures).

3D winDow REalisMWe’ve also taken steps to enhance the realism of scenes in the

3D window. stK 10 introduces support for per-pixel lighting which,

compared to previous versions of stK that used per-vertex lighting,

will have a much smoother shading effect leading to better looking

globes, terrain and models. We’ve also added support for COLLADA FX

for creating more lifelike shading, lighting and material effects on any

model. In fact, we’re including several new COLLADA FX models (including

the default objects’ models) to the stK installation so you’ll have some

more detailed models to use right out of the box.

nEw usER intERFaCEs anD MousE ContRolsseveral user interfaces have been added to make it easier to build

and interact with your scenario. the Object Browser now provides

controls for changing object colors and turning on/off object displays

without needing to launch properties pages. Also, more intuitive mouse

controls have been added for the 2D map. now you can pan the map

with a simple click-and-drag or zoom with scrolling the wheel.

intEGRatED aPiFor those of you who use the stK API (whether through integration

with the desktop application or with a custom stK Engine application),

we’ve now exposed graphics-primitive interfaces through the stK

Object Model. this means you can now draw graphical points, lines,

polygons and more through the object-oriented API with your custom

stK plugins and scripts, or in your stK Engine applications.

oKaY, EnouGh aBout all ouR GREat analysis tools. Let’s talk graphics. STK 10 has some great enhancements. Most notably, the 2D window has been completely rebuilt to now use the same graphics engine that drives STK’s 3D window. This enables more flexibility in the 2D display for things like translucency and layers. The new architecture has allowed us to add Bing Maps streaming imagery to the 2D map as well. Beyond 2D, we’ve also added enhancements to the 3D display. New features like per-pixel lighting and COLLADA FX support will bring a more realistic effect to all 3D scenes.

Redefined workflows and interfaces

make it easier to build and interact

with your scenario.

Visit inview.agi.com for interactive content and bonus features

14 inviEw Fall 2012

DisPlaY EnhanCEMEntsWe wanted our color-coded stK Coverage graphics, to be more accurate

so we added an option to display Figure of Merit (FOM) results at the

grid altitude. this is available whether the grid is defined on terrain

or at a specified height above ground for both smooth and block-filled

contours. user interface updates allow you to easily turn objects

on and off, and change their colors in the Object Browser.

We’ve also introduced a more efficient method for displaying dynamic

contours which has drastically improved the animation frame rate.

For simple FOM definitions, expect improvements of 5 to >1000x.

Persistence of computed static FOM results enables painless

graphical display changes and report generation for complex FOMs.

nEw FiGuREs oF MERit• System Response Time — Measures the elapsed time from a request

for coverage until collection assets are commanded, the collection

occurs and the downlink of collected data is complete.

• Age of Data — Measures the time since the end of the last

coverage interval.

• Cumulative NAsset — Determines the number of unique assets

providing coverage to grid points.

• Scalar Calculation — Creates a FOM using the Calculation tool.

the persistence of static values of FOMs also enables the rapid restore

of saved FOM values on scenario load. Like access information, static

FOM values are now computed only once unless an update is required

by a change to your configuration. You can also override altitude

information in custom point files—modifying the analysis altitude

with ease, without updating the file.

BEttER PERFoRManCECoverage analysis is perfect for parallel processing since it tends

to be comprised of many independent calculations. stK Coverage

leverages the stK Parallel Computing Extension in stK 10 to group

calculations into sets, simultaneously executing the sets on separate CPu

cores and reassembling the results for presentation and analysis. this

is all done transparently so you just experience faster results. the best

part is that you can leverage up to four cores with stK Coverage for free.

BY DR. JiM wooDBuRnAGI ChIEF ORBItAL sCIEntIst

s t K C O V E R A G ED I s P L AY E n h A n C E M E n t s A n D PARALLEL C OM PutI nG C APAB ILI tY

Faster generation of reports and graphicsnew Figures of Merit provide expanded analysis optionsspread your coverage computation across multiple processors Perform larger coverage computations, faster

stoRY hiGhliGhts

stK CovERaGE is ouR Most PoPulaR analysis module, so packing it with crowd-pleasing enhancements topped our “to-do” list for STK 10. Coverage analyzes when and how well regions on or above the Earth’s surface are “covered” by mission assets.

thE FutuRE oF PaRallEl PRoCEssinG in stKthE stK PaRallEl CoMPutinG EXtEnsion uses task-based

parallelism to speed up computations; essentially splitting the

computation into independent tasks. these tasks are then distributed

across processes running on the same machine, on a cluster or even

possibly in the cloud. hence many cores are mobilized behind the

scenes to collaboratively accomplish the computations requested

by the stK user. For the first release, the stK Parallel Computing

Extension will only apply to stK Coverage.

In the future, stK will be able to leverage the same architecture and

infrastructure for other computations. For instance, the Deck Access

tool and the Conjunction Analysis tool are good candidates for this

parallelism approach. In both cases, the algorithms are based on

evaluating pairs of objects within large sets of objects, and each pair

can be evaluated independently from the other objects. trade studies

and parametric analysis using stK Analyzer will also greatly benefit

from this paradigm. Another application will be to scale web services

authored from the stK user interface, and powered by stK Engine

under the hood. In this case, multiple web service requests will be

executed in parallel.

the task-based multi-processing approach shines for long-running

algorithms, where the latency required to activate worker processes

has a minimal impact on the overall performance. Depending on the

exact computation being performed, however, a different approach

might be more appropriate. therefore, stK uses different parallelization

techniques depending on the task:

Benefiting from the use of complementary parallelization methods,

stK will adapt to your specific workload, and can scale in many

different computing environments.

BY sYlvain DuPontAGI LEAD sOFtWARE ARChItECt

how much faster? Well for coverage problems with many grid points,

lots of mission assets and/or long analysis periods, parallel processing

can reduce computation time by a factor approaching n, where n is equal

to the number of CPu cores tasked. the bigger the problem, the larger

the acceleration factor.

The STK Parallel Computing Extension has two options:

1 / woRKstation

take advantage of any networked server or group of workstations

to execute stK Coverage computations. the Cluster Computing option

is great for single or multiple stK users who would like to:

• Use separate server machine(s) with a large number of cores• Submit and compute multiple jobs simultaneously

Parallel processing for additional modules is in the works (see sidebar).

Leverage local cores on a single workstation to execute stK Coverage

computations. the Parallel Computing Extension is on a single

machine (with multiple cores), submitting only one job at a time.

use the Workstation option to:

• Reduce calculation time of large Coverage problems• Improve computation resolution

2 / ClustER

CORES (2.4 GHZ) GRID POINTS/MIN IMPROVEMENT

16

32

48

780

1,505

1,944

—

2x

2.5x

ClustER EXaMPlE PERFoRManCE

CORES (3.3 GHZ) GRID POINTS/MIN IMPROVEMENT

1

4

8

12

87

302

590

882

—

3.5x

7x

10x

woRKstation EXaMPlE PERFoRManCE

sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10

Fall 2012 inviEw 15

a manual multithreading approach • For instance, the 3D graphics engine currently uses a thread to download textures and another thread to download terrain tiles.

a loop-level multithreading approach implemented using openMP and its thread pool • Used for computing Figure of Merit contours and for computing the position of Multi-track Objects during animation.

sYsTeMs Tool KIT 10

10

High-resolution coverage (10 km) of Age of Data over China computed on four cores in two hours displayed as a translucent layer on top of Bing

Maps streaming imagery on a 2D map.



3D aPiYes, stK’s 3D window is now free. Yes, you can model objects, control

the camera and animate through the GuI. If you are a developer, you

also want to know if you can manipulate it through code. the answer

is yes. As part of the stK 10 visualization enhancements, we have

included the Insight3D API. so if you just want to draw a point or write

text randomly on the globe, you can. If you want to project video

on terrain or manipulate mouse behaviors and events: have at it.

We understand you have your own requirements and workflows.

We give you the flexibility to use our tools any way you want.

stanDaRD oBJECt DataBasEBy now you’ve probably heard about quickly setting up your mission

analysis with AGI’s standard Object Database—a catalog of satellites,

facilities and now, aircraft data. But that capability means nothing

if you can’t find what you are looking for. We feel your pain and have

added an improved search and data discovery interface, making

it easier to get the object you need.

stK astRoGatoR uPDatEsthanks to your feedback, solving maneuver planning and trajectory

design problems with stK Astrogator 10 is a snap. First, we’ve added

targeter graphs. next, it’s easier to set up a Mission Control sequence

with Copy/Paste functionality for components such as stopping conditions

and calculation objects. We even overhauled the user interface so it is

easier to read. By adding the secant method algorithm to the differential

corrector, target sequences converge faster. the scripting tool was also

updated for easy creation of generic “black box” sequences that can

be reused across missions; we’ve included some example sequences

to help you get started.

tERRainunlike most virtual globes, you can add your own terrain for visualization

and analysis in stK. With stK 10, it gets even better. You can now

visualize sub-meter elevations when using DtED Level 5 and hRtI

data sets. As part of this upgrade, stK now handles larger terrain

files, improving usability by keeping larger data sets intact.

BY Josh REiChERAGI APPLICAtIOn suPPORt EnGInEER

A L L t h E O t h E RG R E At s t u F FW E h AV E n’t tA L K E D A B O u t Y E t

insight3D aPi includedimproved search and data discovery interface for standard object Database visualize sub-meter elevations when using DtED level 5 and hRti data sets

stoRY hiGhliGhts

try stK 10 today at agi.com/stk10

sMaRtER KMlKML is everywhere. If you want to visualize your point, line or polygon-

georegistered data—get it into the KML format. Just about every

virtual globe or mapping application accepts this OGC™ standard.

With stK 10 you can turn simple points, lines and polygons into

facility, vehicle and area target objects in stK. this puts the power

of stK behind your simple geometry so that you can do more with

your data … fly, constrain, compute coverage, etc.

stK ConJunCtion analYsis toolsWe’ve broken out the launch window capability in stK Conjunction

Analysis tools (stK CAt) into its own Launch Window tool. It can now

use ephemeris files as secondaries and compute launch window

analysis for objects where the launch area is known, but not the

launch point. Additional graphics have also been added.

Advanced CAt has been improved to work directly with more types

of input files (*.pg, *.11param, *.sp3, *.alm, *.al3, *.yuma, *.sem,

and all external ephemeris files like *.e and *.be) and with satellites

in the scenario. several conjunction types can be computed (e.g. global

only, local only, local and global); the analysis can be run even when

an object does not have ephemeris for the entire analysis period; there

is better identification of related objects to avoid reporting conjunctions

that are of no concern; and several tolerances have been tightened.

nEw PRoPaGatoRsWe added two new satellite propagators for you space junkies,

11-Parameter and sP3. the 11-Parameter propagator uses an

element set (defined by IEss 412 Rev 2) appropriate for predicting

GEO satellite motion: it’s available for certain Intelsat, sEs newskies

and telenorsBC-maintained satellites. the sP3 propagator reads

external ephemeris in the sp3(a) and sp3(c) formats. Precision

ephemerides for GPs satellites in this format are available from nGs.

If you followed all of that then you know just how awesome they are.

We hope all of this information has intrigued you enough to upgrade

to stK 10, or try it out for the very first time. As always, we’d love

to hear what you think.

3D aPi stanDaRD oBJECt DataBasE stK astRoGatoR uPDatEs tERRain sMaRtER KMl stK ConJunCtion analYsis tools nEw PRoPaGatoRs


whilE stK MEEts a lot of our user community’s needs, we’ve recognized that not everyone needs it in the desktop format. Here are some examples of how our customers are using STK as a desktop application, a development tool and as a web service. You can learn more about these products and read the full case studies at inview.agi.com!

18 inviEw Fall 2012

a DEsKtoP CasE stuDYAssessing Radar System Effectiveness for Marine Combat Operations

CHALLENGE: the u.s. Marine Corps target Acquisition Platoon needed

to upgrade its Firefinder radar systems with one with improved probability

of detection and range.

SOLUTION: stK desktop software modeled radar coverage to determine

how many of the proposed new radar systems would be needed for

Marine combat operations.

RESULTS: Initial documents had proposed that 10 replacement systems

per tAP would be required. study results revealed that six systems would

be adequate, with eight systems preferred—reducing the overall system

acquisition costs by nearly $300M.

Create and manage high-level objectsPropagate and orient vehiclesvisualize objects in 2D and 3Danimate in real or simulated time

stK DEsKtoP hiGhliGhts

an sDK CasE stuDYEnhanced 3D Situational Awareness for the Tactical Data Analysis and Connectivity System

CHALLENGE: Märzen needed a real-time 3D visualization and enhanced

geospatial analysis capability for tDACs, a routing engine that supports

connectivity, interoperability and real-time analysis of tactical data networks.

SOLUTION: stK Components was selected because it is easy to use, based

on the .nEt framework and brings object mobility handling, associated

object analysis and airspace volume depiction to tDACs.

RESULTS: A low-cost, fast time-to-market enhancement to tDACs

that includes theatre-wide real-time 3D depiction and analysis

of tactical data feeds.

application and class-level aPisBuild mission-specific workflowsCreate new applications or enhance existing onesDevelop and deploy solutions

stK soFtwaRE DEvEloPMEnt Kit hiGhliGhts

an stK sERvER usE CasEEsri uses STK Server in Imagery Data Management Solution Pattern

CHALLENGE: Esri wanted to integrate stK into its new imagery data

management solution to rapidly deploy COts ArcGIs imagery capabilities.

SOLUTION: Implemented stK server.

RESULTS: AGI products extend Esri IDM capabilities with mission and

acquisition planning, enhanced imagery discovery and collection tasking.

ArcGIS SERVER

SOURCES DATA WEB APPS &SERVICES

EXPLOITATIONTOOLS

Create, manage and distribute mission modelsPublish analytic services over a networkDynamically generate web services

stK sERvER hiGhliGhts

stK 9 satellite tool Kit

stK 10 systems tool Kit

stK Basic (free)

stK (free)

Core systems M

odules

stK Professional stK Pro

stK analysis workbench

stK satPro

2D map

standard and external propagators

Basic and external attitudes

simple conic sensors

Fixed sensor pointing

Az, el, range, line of sight constraints

Cloud-based standard Object Database

2D and 3D with Bing Maps streaming imagery

Custom reports and graphs

standard and external propagators

Basic and external attitudes

simple conic and rectangular sensor definitions

Fixed and external sensor pointing

Az, el, range, line of sight constraints

Pre-defined vectors and coordinate frames

Default calc and time components

Cloud-based standard Object Database

Attitude sphere

timeline view

Complex conic, sAR and custom sensor definitions

targeted, aligned and spinning sensor pointing

Geometric, temporal and lighting constraints

terrain visualization and analysis

Chains and constellations

Body mask, area and sensor obscuration tools

Custom vector geometry components

hPOP, LOP satellite propagators

solar panel and lifetime tools

Complex conic, sAR and custom sensor definitions

targeted, aligned and spinning sensor pointing

Geometric, temporal and lighting constraints

terrain visualization and analysis

Chains and constellations

Body mask, area and sensor obscuration tools

Custom points, vectors, axes and coordinate frames

Custom calc components and mathematical operations

Custom time instants, intervals, collections and arrays

hPOP, LOP, 11Parameter, sP3 satellite propagators

solar panel and lifetime tools

targeted, aligned and spinning attitudes

s Y s t E M s tOOL KItA n Y WAY Y O u WA n t I t

s t K 9 t O s t K 1 0P R O D u C t M A P P I n G

STK Professional v9 customers will be upgraded to STK Pro, STK Analysis Workbench and STK SatPro.

Fall 2012 inviEw 19

Analytical Graphics, Inc.220 Valley Creek BoulevardExton, PA 19341

Documents

A useful 3D Globe - s3.amazonaws.com · a pretty globe. Once you’ve modeled your system, you can evaluate Once you’ve modeled your system, you can evaluate it in the context of