Orbcomm View ver. 2.0 User`s Manual
Contents
1. Distance units kilometers Co miles C nautical miles Optical visibility limit o degrees NS for atmospheric Y UK x Cancel 7 Hel H How far below the 2 5 Distance units select between English metric or nautical units These units will be used throughout Orbcomm View Default is metric Maps 8 bit maps have 256 colors and most laptop users should select this option 24 bit maps have millions of colors and appear best on high quality monitors View style see p 6 Free floating Views may be placed anywhere on the Windows desktop A thin Main Menu bar for OV will remain providing access to control functions This option permits fast switching of focus between OV and other programs but it may result in a cluttered screen Contained within main OV form means that all Views are confined to the OV screen which may be minimized if desired This option generally results in the most pleasing screen display if OV is the only program being run This is the default for OV Show hints in setups controls whether small pop up hints appear when the mouse rests on a button or other control for more than two seconds These hints are This choice affects all distances displayed in Orbcomm View This choice affects all maps displayed in Orbcomm View Maps C 8 bit 256 colors f 24 bit millions Pre position the mouse cursor over OK button in most Pre position cursor setup scre2. Ll Horizon i 180 2004 0 Horizon 200 220 E The full circle 23 horizon is divided into 20 slices in the Horizon table configuration page For each slice enter the actual horizon elevation as seen from the satellite tracking antenna s point of view For example if mountains obstruct the horizon from 80 180 then their general profile can be entered in the 80 180 slices see example Where the horizon is flat enter O It is also possible to enter negative values if necessary such as Horizon table for Horizon table modeling is used in display of NASA style footprints and in the outer perimeter of the Radar map The horizon table is not included in AOS LOS calculations which are based on a horizon mask set in each Dulles YA Horizon 220 240 JE View Horizon ic 240 260 14 Horizon 260 280 o The Horizon table models obstructions to the observer s horizon Satellite Pass Summary x Wednesday October 22 1997 09 03 34 10 48 50 12 35 50 Au 09 14 40 11 01 29 12 46 09 16 32 11 02 09 12 49 14 Utilities Al 09 25 06 11 14 47 1 r 09 29 40 11 15 30 Satellite Pass AB Te eek Times 03 00 30 09 42 45 11 26 52 03 06 03 09 54 53 11 44 25 Orbcomm View 08 12 46 09 55 53 11 42 14 includes a Ad 05 20 09 10 08 13 11 54 44 powerful tool for ag 03 25 17 10 09 04 11 55 33 a 08 33 58 10 21 33 12 08 03 E managing 08 37 58 10 22 17 12 09 02 automated Ae 03 47 37 10 34 52 12 21 23 tracking of 08 50 46 10 3
3. Three horizontal lines are presented representing times of visibility of the two satellites The lower two lines show when the satellites are visible to the observer the top line shows when the satellites are mutually visible 1 e visible to each other The vertical dotted line shows the time period of overlap when the satellites re visible to each other and one of them is visible to the observer Utilities Eclipses Orbcomm View Eclipse Utility permits prediction of time periods during which a satellite will pass into the Earth s shadow Almost all Earth orbiting satellites are solar powered eclipse periods drain their batteries If a satellite remains in eclipse for too long its ability to function may be seriously impaired In some cases onboard battery failure has left a satellite totally dependent on exposure to direct sunlight The satellite cannot function while it is in eclipse Start End and Duration are self explanatory Interval between represents the time between successive eclipse periods Daily Summary combines all eclipses in each 24 hour period and presents a summary Duration is the total number of minutes of eclipse for the day Percent is the portion of the day that the satellite spends in the Earth s shadow Longest is the length of the longest Eclipse of the day Sun angle is the angle between the orbital plane of the satellite and the Sun The Eclipse Eclipse Utility El utility contains two
4. Covina CA Wheeling vs West Fargo ND Whidbey ls WA West Haven CT West filills CA White Plains My Whitehorse Yukon lGeneva Switrarlarnd ft Delete cu A Edit Location Edit the latitude amp longitude of locations by dragging them to the Edit Location box After Location Temporary Latitude deg 45 Latitude min U Latitude sec 0 00 North or South Marth Add to Observers List To add an unlisted Observer enter data in the Edit Location box then click on Add to Observers List to save the new location Add to GES List making changes click on Add to JON Observers List to save E Y OK Longitude den 75 fion Washington LISA Longitude min D Latitude 38 92 North X Cancel Longitude sec O00 E es Longitude Of West Help The Orbcomm GES list is a list of GES locations separate from the main location database Use Setup Observers to build your personalized short list of observer locations Each View s observers are set in the Individual View Configuration Screen by selecting from the short list 13 OV s ToolBar Views will follow the Master Changing the Master l View s time will automatically change the time on The ToolBar provides fast access to the most the other Views Clicking the Time Link button commonly used functions in Orbcomm View EP l again releases the Views Clicking on ToolBar buttons avoids several
5. computer clock time El Resume Help Add 30 minutes for this time zone Minute Click here to eae 54 49 the computer s Local time offset clock to the time fram UTC hrs Number of hours T m difference between x UTC and your local time NOTE Western 1772 hour Hemisphere values are negative Correct timekeeping is essential for accurate satellite predictions Make sure that Orbcomm View is correctly configured for your system Setup Time This selection provides access to your computer s date time clock Every computer has an internal clock that keeps track of the date and time This clock is the basis for all of OV s satellite predictions so it must be set accurately It is wise to check the clock at least on a regular basis to make sure that it remains accurate some computer clocks drift many seconds per day The Current Settings display shows the current date and time as reported by the computer to the Windows operating system To change the displayed values first click on the Stop button to prevent continued updates Then enter new values in the appropriate boxes If you want to reset the computer s clock to the new values press the Set Computer Clock button To reset the Current Settings display to the computer clock after making changes but before setting the computer clock click on the Reset button The Local vs UTC box tells OV how to interpret the time and date that it retrieves
6. duration of Text page of the Satellite Pass Times notebook shows all passes of all satellites in the list the pass The time interval between sequential passes is indicated Utilities Detailed Pass Information Orbcomm View includes comprehensive capabilities for producing tabular listings of satellite positions Listings may be directed to the screen to a printer or to a disk file Listings of detailed pass information are available in four main formats e One Observer presents information about one satellite as seen from one observer s location Position data are calculated at step intervals as set in the Setup screen see below e AOS LOS lists only AOS LOS times for one satellite and one observer this is convenient for assessing many upcoming passes of the satellite on one screen Two Observers lists one satellite s position from the points of view of two observers simultaneously This is similar to the One Observer page in that data are presented at a specified time interval chosen in Setup Two Obs Mutual Window is a summary of the mutual windows of the satellite with two observers these are the times when the satellite is above the horizon at both locations simul taneously To select a format for listing click on the notebook tabs across the bottom of the Listing screen Select a satellite and observer by using the Setup button Remember to click the ReCalc button to recalculate pass information after ma
7. steps of menus The ToolBar floats freely on the screen but To change which View iS the Master turn Link its functions are tied to whichever OV View has Time off Then click on the View that you want to focus Determine which View has focus by noting become the Master giving it focus Then activate the color of its title bar Change focus by simply the Link Time facility again by clicking on the clicking on the View button Radar Configure map View Rectangular Change Zip mode Quick visibility map View s size pause check aja eee 0 Text only display TED a Sky noise Zip mode ToolBar map on off Time Jump View from Configure Launch a Link times of Space map View s map new View several Views OV s floating ToolBar provides access to the most frequently used functions The function of each button is shown on the picture above The ToolBar may be dragged anywhere on the screen by using the hand shaped button Configure the ToolBar to suit your tastes in Setup ToolBar or by right clicking the mouse on the ToolBar itself Previous Next J Time step ro minutes v Tip If you drag the ToolBar against the side of the screen it re shapes itself into a vertical ye Go to orbit number 13069 orientation dragging it against the top or bottom of the screen arranges the buttons horizontally q Orbit er Time Jump is a means to quickly adjust the jj 405 D Reset internal t
8. 0 97 Satellite name F E Glonass 34 Catalog number 23545 Glonass 36 Glonass 39 Epoch time a7282 09916627 mc Element set 282 Glonass 41 Glonass 44 Inclination 639 971 00000 Glonass 45 RA Asc Mode f 36 5621 0000 Eccentricity 0 00152120 Arg of perigee 238 27470000 Mean anomaly f 21 69030000 Mean motion 14 45613813 Decay rate O 00000568 Epoch orbit 13286 Add Keplerian elements Click on a satellite name to select it Then you may view or edit its Keplerian elements manually Glonass 50 Glonass 51 Glonass 52 i Glonass 53 Glonass 54 Glonass 55 Derived y GrouNs 4 y X cancel N Help Glonass 56 Glonass 57 Glonass 58 Glonass 54 Glonass 60 Glonass 61 Glonass be Glonass 63 Glonass 64 Glonass 65 Glonass bb Glonass 6 Glonass ba Glonass 64 Glonass TO Glonass T Glonass 72 Glonass 73 Update Ed Clean w New fit Delete a Find Who s Up Derived shows information derived from the currently selected satellite s Keplerian elements Click Update to update Keplerian elements from a computer disk file Find locates a satellite in the database Clean updates Keplerian elements and removes all non matching satellites from the main database Setup Satellites is the place to update Keplerian Elements elevation and other values from that spot on the Earth s surface Keplerian elements may be acquired from a number of sources Current K
9. 23 under Satellite Pass Times 15 Advanced users may wish to store and recall certain configurations You may record View configurations by using the Configurations drop down box After establishing an acceptable configuration press the Mew button You will be queried for a name for the configuration that will later be presented in the drop down box Other buttons permit you to update an_ existing configuration delete a configuration or rename it All stored configurations are available for use in other Views The various combinations of satellites making up the Orbcomm constellation are pre configured Cs Some installations require use of an elevation mask This raises the user s effective horizon by a specified number of degrees For example setting the mask to 4 means that all footprints and AOS LOS calculations are adjusted upwards by 4 A satellite is not considered above the horizon until it has attained an elevation of 4 Separate elevation masks are maintained for each View as well as each Utility To remove an elevation mask set its value to 0 Configuring Views The appearance of Orbcomm View is determined by the Views that you have launched Views are configured separately from one another Changes made to one View do not affect others Initial configuration of Views may be challenging at first but it quickly becomes easy once you are familiar with the View pop up menu To bring up the Vi
10. 5 33 12 22 26 multiple satellites pa 09 01 11 10 48 11 12 54 44 Readout of the time The Satellite Pass Times utility is pointed calculates a time sorted list of passes for all the satellites in a View The Satellite Pass Times utility consists of two Time gt 7 Cursor time where the mouse cursor Text Display Graphics Displa fl Close ReCale rae Break setup Print Help The bottom axis is time Use slider to scan through time Mn WE q 10 11 10 40 24 rT la yl gt Day it Mask elevation 5 Orbcomm View graphics display of Satellite Pass Times presents a clear summary of multiple passes of several satellites 24 pages Text and Satellite Pass Summary Graphics The arse graphics page displays satellite 10 22 97 passes vs Time ooo Passes are 10 22 97 represented as 1022497 10 22 97 horizontal lines veer arranged 10 22 97 vertically by v7 ao if satellite a y The Text display lists every pass of every satellite in 10 22 97 la Wes Te 10 22 97 the Views list n 10 22 97 chronological 10 22 97 order Each pass td ae 10 22 97 listing includes the AOS and Passes in list 340 LOS times adjusted for Text Displa Graphics Display S Duration Interval Between elect satellites for analysis in Setup Mask elevation 5 elevation mask 1f fl Close ReCale tor Break Setup Print Help any as well as the
11. 50 54 lz2 13 47 00 14 52 C3 grag 27 13 39 05 14 12 04 00 32 56 13 52113 14 06 47 00 14 34 Al grag 97 16 52 37 Liiseisa 00732155 17 23 10 lvisgeise OO 09i 22 Al 4 24 97 18 39153 19 12 49 00 32 55 19 00 46 19 12 49 00 04 02 Al Arana o a 00 52 50 05 01 53 00 05 09 00 05 16 C3 granor 09 de 2 15 05 00 32 56 09 42 07 09 50 44 00 08 36 C3 hd ff Close El Retale o 1 Observer 42 Observers E Setup Graphics B Print Help mutual vis A 12 20 24 I I I I Time when all conditions are met I I ol 11 58 54 poe Time when the 2 satellite C3 is line of sight with the Observer 26 The 1 Observer page of the Mutual Visibility utility notebook displays data for two satellites and one observer whereas the 2 Observers page includes a second ground station The first step in generating data of 2 satellite mutual visibility is to enter the Setup screen and select the satellites and observer s of interest When this is finished click on the ReCalc button to perform the calculations The first column of the display shows the date followed by three columns that show when the two satellites can see each other The following three columns show the times when the satellites can see each other and at least one of them is visible from the observer s location The Graphics display shows a diagram of the situation for any pass First select a pass by clicking on it Then press the Graphics button
12. 7 GPS Bl4 26 B1 D4 Glonass 49 Glonass 66 GPS BIl 08 GPS BIA 27 Be DS Glonass 50 Glonass 69 GPS BI 09 Inmarsat F2 Ba Lik Glonass 51 Glonass 70 GPS BIA 10 Inmarsat F3 B4 D7 Glonass 52 Glonass 7 GPS BIA 11 Inmarsat2F4 BS DS Glonass 53 Glonass 72 GPS BIA 12 Inmarsata3F1 Eb A Glonass54 Glonass 7300 GPS BIA 13 Inmarsat3FP2 B7 F2 Glonass 55 Glonass 74 GPS Bll4 14 Inrnarsat3F3 Bg 51 Glonass 56 Glonass 75 GPS BIA 15 Mli Ci G2 Glonass 57 Glonass 76 GPS BIA 16 fie La Glonass 34 Glonass 58 Glonas Satellites that are currently above the horizon are highlighted in blue or blue text color Blue names represent satellites that are currently above the observer s horizon Visibility is recalculated every five seconds Currently selected satellite and its position Azimuth elevation data for one satellite are 4 displayed in the lower nan 2 right corner You may AL Else mask E deg F1 az dof El 14 2 select a different satellite by mouse clicking on it Utilities Quick Visibility Check provides a summary of all satellites that are visible above the user s horizon 28 Frequently Asked Questions Q How do I update Keplerian Elements Step 1 Acquire a computer file of new Keplerian elements There are many sources of these files including the Orbcomm web site http www orbcomm com as well as links through NLSA s web site http www nlsa com Step 2 In OV
13. ORBCOMM Orbcomm View ver 2 0 User s Manual by Michael R Owen Ph D Northern o Asso c iat es P O Box 321 Canton NY 13617 Tel amp FAX 315 379 0161 www nlsa com 11 Orbcomm View User s Manual Table of Contents AAA asi cheb Ad tdaitcetddaldul Sct eG NAA MM Ad MU dS Ad tk Maakeie 1 A PO o eer eee eo re er ere E l AA A l Install OrbcommM Vidal L Dead l Orbcomni View S VICWS oio 2 l EEE E EEE RR 2 A ee Cee eee CEM MEER EE SERERENE ENT AENEAEST SEAT RENE STE AE ELAN S202 PRUNE RE RETL EEE SARE NE EATS PETE NERS RENEE NSERC SETS CE 2 O T i EE ol E ENOR OE A E PEO Tn TET 2 Y NI da 3 RRE RO 4 E Crip et 4 Setup A A E S S 5 OIC SD A A A 6 PP o ncn ntr O PEE E terme tan ie eae E EE ter eee ee etter en eee ETE ate 6 ie ho LN von ae eee ae eran A nan ae ey ree ae ay ee Cea NS eee e ee net Seat ee eae a eee Steere ene een mee ntneheee ren ese ere eee 7 e OUD a A T T T E T R E E A R E E A A T A 10 A reer eet ere cere e 12 OV ToO o ii ia 13 Views Cont O UN aid 14 OM UTI VIEWS sn a aa ea ea ino 15 AA A A A 177 SVE ON U Oe a rio IA 18 ere E N Re ne O PI III II ee 18 VE AS D a 20 SSA 21 SL QUE OLE POR O PO A sone Serco tera asia ana asia ao alana aoa aoa eRRESS 22 IO y II II 23 Utilities AS do 23 AS o MMM NI AEA 24 e Twossatellite mutual VISTA cie 25 CT aac asa EA E ha mys ac ge ae gaia peta a peta ecg aera eats neue duce tau tace daca tau daca aan tan tancie 26 Quick visiDIlity Checkin a e a aa a e a a a ZY Fregue
14. anywhere on a View nf OK Cancel Help A x Text Display determines whether the View s text is displayed one Note The Set Date and Time for View screen shown here is_not the column of text data for each place to set OV s time or typically the computer clock To set satellite placed to the right of the OV s overall time use Setup Time from the Main Menu map Script tracking automatically changing as each satellite in the Script becomes visible or no text at all Map Style set the kind of map that will be displayed in the View s map section The map may be Rectangular View from Space Radar Sky Temperature or no map Map Size Orbcomm View accommodates several screen resolutions Views may be sized to fit the screen that you have Small is appropriate for 640x480 pixel screens medium for the default 800x600 and large for 1024x768 Experimental mode is a tool for examining the orbits Using the Experimental Mode orbits can be adjusted in real time and the effect on an orbit can be seen immediately For example what would the orbit of the Russian Mir space station look like if its inclination was 10 higher and its eccentricity was 0 1 instead Experimental Mode is entered via the View pop up menu described on the previous page The satellite used in this mode is the first satellite on the View s satellite list Buttons at the bottom of the Experimental Mode screen allow you to retrieve differen
15. around it that represents its horizon for the Shuttle As the spacecraft crosses the fence it simultaneously rises above the horizon for the observer The radius Select the area that the map will display W etre Semaia world C Africa C Morth pole W Political boundaries C N America C W Asia C South pole C 5 America E Asia Show Views Observers Enter O zero to turn Normal footprint C Europe C Oceania ground tracks off Show GES Observers is centered on the satellite Ground display N E No footprint Don t erase Normal footprint footprints between time steps Fill first sat s footprint Show footprint with Pell all Tooter contours of equal elevation angle PR e smear footprints Elevation contours NASA footprint is centered on the observer NASA style footprint all ees atar Use Horizon table Horizon table shows obstructions in the NASA footprint Fill visible sat footprints show Lat lan grid Number of grouna tracks to plot M M m M Show day night m eiar side f ill ght sie ol Set the middle of the rectangular map ll Ground tracks of all sats r a UVES NOTA des are Medal e Configure elevation contours M AutoCenter map ff OK x Cancel Help Rectangular AView fram Space Radar oky noise Horizon table Orbcomm View s Map Configura
16. awn on the map and centered on the satellite s sub satellite point This footprint moves with the satellite and represents the area of the Earth that the satellite can see High altitude satellites have large footprints whereas low altitude satellites have small ones Orbit Display shows the satellite s orbit Map Configuration in space m Wap area gt Orbit display E e C Morth pole Show orbit display Europe C Oceania e 9 N America s We Asia Select the area of the NS America C E Asia world for map center r Number of orbits h foom out level Ground display if Show satellites c Ground tracks af W Label satellites Vi a No footprint all satellites k aso f Normal footprint i Sub satellite point y General the Earth T Fill visible sat footprints M Show View s observers M Fill first sat s footprint i Show GES Observers T Fill additional footprints iM Show political boundaries Elevation contours i Show Lat lon grid C NASA style footprint Number of Y Show day night E ground tracks ie j Mec fama bale C Fill day side i Pill eS footonnt A Fill night side C No filling ff OK X Cancel Help lew from space Rectangular Orbcomm View s View from Space map configuration page NASA footprint is centered on the first observer and represents the horizon for the first satellite on the list In other wor
17. cludes every satellite in OV s database and the Naturals group includes the Sun Moon planets celestial noise sources and cold sky regions The remaining groups may be modified by the user in the Setup Groups selection from the Main Menu or by right clicking here on the Groups Box The general appearance of the View 1s controlled by the Map Display and Text Display boxes Select what type of map you wish or no map for an all text display on the left and what sort of text display on the right Each View must contain a map text or both How does one configure maps Maps may be configured by right clicking within the Maps box Cs or by pressing the Configure Maps button on the ToolBar This will display a multi page screen that permits control of many aspects of appearance for all of OV s maps This screen is described in detail below p 38 The number of columns of text 1 12 columns is controlled by the Columns Visible entry large maps may not fit on the screen with several columns of text If more satellites are being tracked than can fit in the number of columns that have been entered a scroll bar is presented in the view to slide the display horizontally Satellite Script orders satellites displayed in the text display according to their AOS times Pressing the El Configure Script button opens a screen for generating displaying and editing the satellite script Its functions are described on page
18. d views Orbcomm View is available in two forms 16 and 32 bit The 16 bit version of OV runs under Microsoft Windows 3 1 and later including Windows 95 whereas OV32 requires Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT Features Visually stunning maps projections styles and SIZES Unlimited numbers of satellites observers and views simultaneously Tracks all artificial satellites Moon Sun planets and celestial noise sources e Fast accurate and clear satellite positions Floating docking toolbar for easy access to common functions e Context sensitive online help Multi level configuration setup screens Text listings to screen printer or disk file Priority tracking of groups of satellites Two satellite mutual visibility including 1 and 2 observer 2 satellite mutual windows e Satellite eclipse predictions e 2 000 city database included In this manual references to OV apply to both varieties of the program 16 and 32 bit OV32 refers to specific features found only in the 32 bit version System requirements 33 MHz 80386 or better processor Pentium preferred for OV32 Math coprocessor required Orbcomm View 16 16 bit Microsoft Windows 3 1x or Windows 95 Orbcomm View 32 Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT Video 256 colors or more 800x600 16 bit color preferred At least 10 MB hard disk drive storage Installing Orbcomm View From diskette Inse
19. ds when the sub satellite point the spot on the Earth immediately underneath the satellite in space of first satellite on the list crosses the NASA footprint perimeter the satellite has just risen above the observer s horizon This is the display used by NASA for each of its tracking stations If the observer s horizon is obstructed in some directions and the Horizon table see below has been filled out it will be useful to check the Use horizon table box so that the NASA footprint portrays the actual horizon of the observer Fill first sat s footprint and Fill additional footprints control whether the footprints are lightly colored to make them more easily visible Number of Ground Tracks tells OV how many orbits to plot as lines on the Earth s surface The lines represent the paths of the sub satellite point a ground track helps to show where a satellite will 21 Show sub satellite point controls whether the map shows the spot on the Earth where the satellite is directly overhead Usually this is OFF if the Orbit Display is ON because it is confusing to see both the satellite in space and its sub satellite point The Orbit Display box contains setting that control plots of satellite orbits in space as opposed to on the ground You can set the number of orbits of each satellite to show by entering a number in the spin box In order to show the orbits of some satellites it 1s necessary to step back from the earth
20. e NLSA s FAX number is the same as the voice number NLSA s Web page is http www nlsa com Step 3 Exit the Setup Observers screen by pressing OK Step 4 Click on the View that you wish to configure with your location Step 5 Right click the mouse within the View to reveal the pop up menu Select Configure View Step 6 In the Individual View Configuration screen find your town in the short Observers list on the far right side of the screen Drag the name to toward the middle and drop it in the Observers box under Current Configuration v Tip If you want all new Views to have your location automatically used when the View is created click the Default Default button before leaving Individual View Configuration Step 7 Click OK and you re finished Step 8 optional If other Views have already been launched repeat steps 4 6 as necessary O 1997 1998 Northern Lights Software Associates All Rights Reserved
21. ens Mo Show hints Check this box to show pop up hints for OV s controls r Include refraction correction Check this box to correct positions horizon must the Sun be for the sky to be considered dark default 0 Use Setup General for items that apply throughout Orbcomm View 6 useful when you are first learning to use OV but you may want to turn them off after you are familiar with the program On is the OV default Include refraction correction instructs OV whether to correct satellite elevation angles for the effects of atmospheric refraction This effect is always small becoming entirely insignificant above about 5 elevation There is a slight speed penalty for including refraction correction Update interval controls how often OV updates its on screen display A small value results in faster updates but may consume more computer CPU time that desired A value of 150 which results in 4 6 updates second on a Pentium 120 MHz is a reasonable compromise between speed and CPU loading and is the OV default Use a larger number if other programs appear to run sluggishly Views View Style Orbcomm View can operate in h one of two modes rh Mibeonna Sie IF ver d Free Floating Views right all Views are free to be located anywhere on the windows desktop They may overlap other Windows applications and other application can show through between OV s Views With free floating Views
22. eplerian elements are provided at many sources including Orbcomm s web site http www orbcomm com How often do you need to acquire Keplerian elements The answer depends on your requirements and your ground station characteristics For almost all applications updating Keplerian elements once a month is entirely sufficient Users of the Orbcomm Low Earth Orbiting LEO satellites who need very accurate positions might need to update every two weeks whereas higher altitude satellites elements are usable for several months The Setup Satellites Keplerian Elements page in OV provides the means to update Keplerian elements smoothly and easily The large list on the right of the screen contains all of the satellites in OV s database There is no practical limit to the size of this database but a large number of satellites requires longer time to load and process The Keplerian Elements page contains edit boxes on the left side of the Setup Satellites page These boxes provide the option of manually changing individual Keplerian Elements Select the satellite whose elements are to be edited by clicking on the satellite s name in the main database list Be cautions when manually editing these values because some values may cause the satellite to crash or its calculations to make OV unstable v Tip Each satellite s Catalog Number is unique and is used to identify the satellite internally within OV If the Catalog Number is cha
23. er you want Any value to be all right or if the value must fall Between More than or Less than the limits that you set in the edit boxes To effectively ignore the value of any quantity select ANY as the rule For example choosing ANY inclination means that ANY is ignored in selection when inclination is evaluated Finally in the Relations box tule to modify select whether you want all the rules to be met simultaneously AND or whether meeting any rule OR will be satisfactory For example saying Eccentricity Greater than 0 01 AND Inclination Greater than 50 means that a satellite must meet both criteria whereas OR means that if it meets either the Eccentricity OR the Inclination criterion the pass will be selected v Tip If OR is used as the Relations operator then setting any rule to ANY will mean that all satellites in the list will qualify for selection Rules Duration C Any ignore Between Eccentricity Inclination A pe 11 Satellite Selector 5 sats between 0 010000 and 0 040000 FO 23 AND MACSAT 2 a SEE AND selection rules Any AMD These satellites Any fit the rules AND Starlette between 5 0 and 15 0 min AND Choose between Any AND OR AND for relations Am y between limits Set selection Relations D AND minutes D C More than l5 U OR En Less than 115 0 i Select sats i Select sats sats Apogee A Perig
24. eral The General setup screen provides access to settings that concern all of the OV program These settings will affect the overall OV screen display as well as performance All selections are retained from session to session Tracking Algorithm Select between G3RUH s Plan 13 and SGP4 SDP4 tracking algorithms The G3RUH algorithm by James Miller at Cambridge University is a simplified version of SGP4 which is very fast and sufficiently accurate for most applications SGP4 SDP4 uses the two part near Earth and deep space model presented in SpaceTrack Report 3 and re coded by Lt Col T S Kelso Ph D of the U S Air Force SGP4 SDP4 employs general perturbation theory to provide highly accurate prediction of orbital positions SGP4 SDP4 is more time consuming and should be used if high accuracy is needed SGP4 SDP4 is also useful if Keplerian elements are old because it more accurately accounts for long term effects of small gravitational and drag forces SGP4 SDP4 is the default algorithm for OV Setup General Fast but less accurate Tracking algorithm f S3RUH Plan 13 we SGP4ISDP4 Most accurate OV s default algorithm View Style 4 C Free floating outside Ow Select whether you want separate independent Views or all OV s Views contained inside the main OV form Contained inside 0 form Update interval 150 milliseconds gt How often should OV update satellite positions
25. es Help Period j X Cancel Hest 405 A Duration male New Group Create a new Group Start the selection based on current rules amp limits from the satellites selected here OV s Satellite Selector is used to build groups based on their orbital characteristics It may require some experimentation to learn to use the Satellite Selection facility After you have become familiar with it you may want to use it to select satellites for a Group Pressing the New Group button will cause the selected satellites to become a new group as if you had dragged each satellite from the master database list manually 12 Setup Observers The Setup Observers screen presents OV s database of observer locations OV s observer database is maintained in two parts the Main Database which contains thousands of cities and a short Observers list of observers that are user selected The short list is shown on the left of the Setup Observers screen The shorter Observers List is used in configuring Views instead of presenting the entire Master Database For example in the Individual View Configuration screen only the contents of the Observers List and NOT the Main DataBase are presented Therefore it is necessary to set up the Observers List to contain all locations that you might want to use in Views Customize the Observers List to suit your needs Observers may be taken from the Main Database or you may manually e
26. ew pop up menu and configure a View position the mouse over the View and press the night mouse button For detailed configuration such as choosing satellites and observers select Configure View from the pop up Alternatively you may press the E Configure View button on the ToolBar This will display the Individual View Configuration screen Page 19 explains the Individual View Configuration screen 16 View s Clock below sets the time and date for the Zip mode is a fast forward time stepping that is View This time can be the same as for the overall useful for viewing satellite _________ Orbcomm View program or it can be entirely movement in the future Configure view different By default View time is the same as OV s Set the time step for Zip View s clock time To set the View s time to a different value mode in the appropriate Test display click the Stop button and enter the desired values in box To zip backwards in Map style d the spin boxes To set the View s time to OV s time set the time step to a Map size d time click Reset negative number Experimental Configure Script Set Date and Time for View E Create new view Current settings Time ip Save map to file d Stop T Reset Zip mode on Print View Year Morith Day Help i Step size minutes 1997 3 i 29 Hour Minute Second 23 g 42 2 gt i 9 Set computer clock Open this pop up menu by right clicking
27. from Windows Check the appropriate boxes to tell OV whether your computer clock is set to local time or UTC and whether you wish OV s display to be in local time or UTC If Local is selected for either the computer clock or OV s display a Local time offset from UTC value must be entered in the lower box This value represents the number of hours difference between your local time and UTC If your local time is behind UTC then the offset is negative NOTE The offset value is negative for Western Hemisphere stations For example U S Eastern Standard Time requires an offset of 5 Setup Satellites The Setup Satellites display consists of two pages Keplerian Elements and Groups These will be described separately although they share a common Main Database Keplerian Elements are numbers that describe the position and velocity of a satellite at a single instant in time Keps as they are sometimes called are generated by ground based radar ranging stations operated by governments and the military Keplerian elements are used in satellite tracking calculations to predict the position of a satellite at some time in the future OV combines Keplerian Elements and the current time date from the computer to determine the satellite s current position OV then uses the observer s location to compute the satellite s azimuth Setup 5 atellites Keplerian elements 163 available satellites Last update on 101
28. ime of an OV View Time may be advanced forward or backward by a particular number of minutes In addition time may be changed to the same mean anomaly position in any orbit number or simply to the next or previous orbit from the present one Finally time can be changed to the next or previous AOS or LOS of the satellite lt Los bl fh Close Help Orbcomm View s Time Jump facility permits rapid excursions to future or past times orbits etc Changes in Orbit or AOS LOS refer to the first satellite in the View s satellite list amp Link Time links the time of two or more Views Go to Orbit Previous or Next Orbit AOS or To activate Link Time click on the Link Time button The View with focus a darker title bar at the top will become the Master time and all other LOS refer to the first satellite in the View s satellite list 14 Views Configure Current View One of Orbcomm View s main strengths is its ability to independently configure each View A View is a single window which may include a map tabular text tracking data or both Every View is entirely independent from the others no matter how many Views are open simultaneously Views may have different satellites observers maps and even timekeeping v Tip Enter the Individual View Configuration screen by e Right clicking the mouse on the View that you wish to configure causing the pop up menu to appear eor selecting Views Config
29. king changes in the Setup 25 Utilities Two Satellite Mutual Visibility In addition to simple satellite to satellite visibility OV also calculates the times when one of the The Two Satellite Mutual Visibility utility calc satellites will also be visible to an Orbcomm ulates times when two satellites will be in line of Gateway Earth Station GES sight of each other oatellite Mutual Visibility Time when both satellites l can see each other Ad se os EU GES Fucina Italy Visibility satellites Observer Access Date Start End Duration Start End Duration Satellite 9 22 97 14 59 46 15 24 59 00 25 13 15 06 14 00 14 51 Al N E 9 22 97 16 32 20 17 05 15 00 32 54 16 05 15 00 13 23 Al 9 22 97 18 12 36 18 45 31 00 031 00 07 51 Al Satellite with best 0 22 97 19 52 48 20 25 45 of Time when both satellites Mac 00 02 32 Al visibility during the pass 9 23 97 09 14 50 09 47 46 0 m 57 00 04 46 C3 9 23 97 10 55 06 11 28 01 0 L5 00 10 08 C3 one satellite can see the 0 23 97 12 35 22 13 08 17 0 pen Hl 00 14 52 C3 0 23 97 14 15 34 14 48 32 00 Pol 00 14 44 al 0 23 97 15 55 50 16 28 48 00 32 58 16 14 36 16 28 48 00 14 12 Al graa g7 17 36 05 18 09 03 00 32 56 16 00 25 18 09 03 00 08 37 Al graa 27 19 16 21 19 49 16 00 32 55 19 46 00 19 49 16 00 03 16 Al grag 27 08 38 20 09 11 18 00 32 56 O8 56 20 00 42 27 00 04 07 C3 gragr97 10 18 37 10 51 35 00 32 56 10 18 37 10 28 01 00 09 lt 4 CS grag 27 11 58 51 12 51 42 00 32 56 11
30. le this permits visualization of the direction that the pass will travel across the sky The Sky Temperature Map portrays the sky s equivalent noise OV s Radar map shows a full view of the Observer s sky temperature Thermal noise Overhead is in the center of the Radar map generated by billions of stars in the universe 1s more concentrated in some parts of the sky than others Contour lines on the Sky Temperature map are similar to contour lines on a topographic map they show areas of higher or lower amounts of sky noise 12 26 96 4 07 18 AM UTC I a fade J Fi D f an Y MET Poe P r j I f EF d s s r 1 Orbcomm View includes Sky Temperature maps derived from IEEE measurements at three frequencies 50 137 and 400 MHz This information is useful in situations where desired signals from space are extremely weak If the source of the signals for example a failing artificial satellite is in front of noisy areas then the signals are much more difficult to detect The axes of the Sky Temperature map are familiar to astronomers but perhaps not to satellite users The vertical axis 1s Declination which is the angle between the item of interest and the celestial equator the imaginary extension of the Earth s equator into space The horizontal axis is in Right Ascension This represents the angle measured in hours 15 between the item of interest and O longitude at Greenwich England Setup Gen
31. n screen permits control of several map parameters 22 The number of passes to plot affects how many paths to display across the Radar map It is often useful to plot the next pass or two to visualize where in your sky the satellite will be how high it will ultimately rise etc Set this spin box to O zero to turn off pass plotting By selecting Show passes of all satellites you can control whether OV only plots passes of the first satellite on the View s satellite list or all of the satellites in the list If the observer s horizon is obstructed in some directions and the Horizon table see below has been filled out you should check the Use horizon table box so that the radar map perimeter portrays the actual horizon of the observer Sky Noise Map Configuration Map Configuration Ea The sky is not entirely quiet at VHF and UHF frequencies Some regions Map frequency generate noise that can mask weak radio signals The Sky Noise map is useful FSU Mhz Select frequency of for determining when the satellite will 136 MHz Sky Temperature map be located in front of noisy areas of sky o Boga The Sky Noise maps are drawn in a format that may not be familiar to some users The vertical axis 1s Declination Show horizon which is measured above north and below south of the equatorial plane Ww Show satellite path Additional options The equatorial plane is a projection of A a Sy the Earth s equator
32. na qa 11 55 aradr 37 18 10 24 00 35 13 23 97 0 0 E 00 35 09 00 35 05 Duration of the longest eclipse 7 Eclipses ee Percentage of the y a a i summarized for the day that the the day i satellite is in the E eir 0 0 is the our of all Earth s shadow 34 7 0 0 eclipses during the Eaj 35 4 0 04 32 0 00 32 54 36 0 a 03 102 97 OF 46 24 31 0 00 32 11 36 1 0 03 10 3 97 OF S15 25 30 2 00 31 29 36 1 0 03 10 4 97 07 32 10 31 4 00 30 37 35 7 0 03 10 5 97 06 46 15 20 25 00 29 31 35 1 0 03 IA rae Break setup Print Help Every Orbit Daily Summary j l entire day Duration Eclipse Daily summary combines eclipse data for each 24 hour period facilitating a longer term perspective useful for predicting spacecraft power budgets Utilities Quick Visibility Check The Quick Visibility Check provides an overview of all the satellites in the main OV database When t appears satellite names are listed in either black Glonass 36 Glonass 59 Glonass 70 GPS BIA 18 C4 Glonass 39 Glonass 60 Glonass 79 GPS BIA 19 Glonass 40 Glonass 61 GPS Bll 01 GPS Bl4 20 Glonass 41 Glonass B2 GPS Bll 0 2 GPS BIA 21 Glonass 44 Glonass 63 GPS BI 03 GPS BAll4 22 Glonass 45 Glonass b4 GPS BIl 04 GPS BIA 23 Glonass 46 Glonass 65 GPS BIl 05 GPS BIA 24 Glonass 47 Glonass 66 GPS Bll 06 GPS BIA 25 AMSE 1 Lis Glonass 45 Glonass bf GPS Bll 0
33. nce The rectangular map can be set to display any longitude at the center Individual continents can be zoomed in for greater detail On the standard 800 600 display the single continent rectangular map displays a resolution of about 12 km per pixel Land and water are accurately shaded to illustrate elevation and depth respectively 99 21 97 16 01 07 UTC mlx 1 Sat F1 Azimuth 116 8 Elevation 1 2 Range 3 115 2 Height 45 9 ALS time 16 01 16 LOS time 16 04 30 Until 00 01 10 Change the continent at the Duration 00 03 20 center of the map by mouse AOS Az 109 clicking on a new continent WERE qe LOS AZ rg Orbit Murn 13034 Ad Osher Real time text data concerning the satellite You can show as many columns of data as there are satellites in the View see Individual View Configuration Text columns Satellite s footprint the area of the Earth visible to the satellite at this moment The View from Space presents the Earth in a 3 dimensional perspective You may configure the map to show ground tracks orbits and satellite footprints The View from Space map shows a realistic perspective of the Earth from a position out in space The land surface is rendered to show topography and the oceans are shaded to indicate water depth The position is centered over one of the continents You may change the center continent in one of two ways el eft mouse click directly on
34. nfiguration notebook by several routes e Right mouse click on a View and select Map Style then Configure Maps e Click on the Configure Maps button on the ToolBar e Open the Individual View Configuration screen and right click on the Maps box remember that right clicking on things lets you configure them 20 View From Space Map Configuration The View from Space map presents the Earth as seen from outer space in a three dimensional perspective It is based on the Orthographic map projection Options for the View from Space are displayed in Footprint elevation contours x Contours every fo degrees Contours fram o to 30 degrees Show contours for f First satellite only All satellites in list wf OK x Cancel P Help Footprint elevation contours are easily configured in this screen v Tip You can change the View from Space map s center continent by left clicking on desired continent the Map Configuration screen next page The map may be centered over any of the major continents by selecting them in the Map Area box The Dynamic selection causes OV to change the center of the map automatically in accordance with the movement of the first satellite in the View s satellite list As the satellite moves around the Earth the viewer s perspective changes automatically The Ground Display box controls information on the surface of the map Normal footprint is a circular area dr
35. nged the satellite will be treated as a new satellite and added to the OV database The button displays a pop up box containing values calculated from the selected satellite s Keplerian Elements Period is the time required for one complete orbit Apogee height is the maximum altitude that the satellites achieves and perigee height is the minimum altitude The 5 Add button provides instructions about adding a satellite It doesn t actually do anything To update the satellite database click on the eS Update button A pop up dialog box will prompt you for the name of the computer file containing new elements This file must be in the NASA 2 line format Header text which often accompanies files downloaded from the Internet is ignored OV reads the new file and updates the Keplerian elements for all satellites in its database that match entries in the new file For example if OV contains entries for fictitious satellite A B and C but the new file only contains elements for A and B then C s elements will remain unchanged On the other hand if the new file contains elements for additional satellites then they are automatically added to OV s database In the preceding example if the new Keplerian element data file contained entries for A B and D then OV s database would add D automatically This may be useful if you have access to a variety of elements in small files but it may lead 9 to an accumula
36. nter latitude longitude data in the edit space in the lower left of the screen Add or delete Observers to from the Observers list by drag and drop Search for locations in the Main database by using the Find First and Find Next speed buttons with the flashlight icons To enter new locations that are not already contained in the Master Database mouse click on individual lines in the editing region lower left and enter the appropriate values When the entry is complete press the Add to Observer List button to place the new location in the Observers Box or Add to GES List to enter it in the GES list Entries in the Main Database cannot be edited Setup Observers X Observers list Main Database Anchorage AK a arsaw Poland ALGES ot Johns AZ arvick Hl Beiling China Belfast N Ireland Bremen Germany Buenos Aires Argent Caracas Venezuela Casablanca Morocco aterloo 14 Chicago IL aterloo ON Dallas TA atertowen NY Delhi India atertown SO Dulles WYA ateralle WA PamharmiEDOS aukegan IL Fucino Italy aukesha yl GA GES Cilla GA Build your personalized short list of Observers by dragging locations from the Main Database of 2 000 cities to the Observers List Wausau Wl Wrauwatasa Wil West Memphis AR West Palm Beach FL Westbrook ME Westerly Hl Westland hil Westminster CA Westminster CO Wells MY Westminster MO Wendover UT Weymouth M4 West Allis Wl Wheaton MO West
37. ntly Asked Questions dei 28 Geltine Hello tata EEE EEEO EOE OE EEE 28 iii Orbcomm View Copyright Entire contents copyright 1997 1998 by Northern Lights Software Associates Orbcomm View and its accompanying programs and files are protected by copyright 1997 1998 Northern Lights Software Associates No portion of these programs or files may be sold given away reproduced or otherwise distributed without written permission from Northern Lights Software Associates Licensees have the non exclusive right to use these programs and files but you do not own them title to the programs and files is retained by Northern Lights Software Associates Northern Lights Software Associates License Agreement Orbcomm View the SOFTWARE including images and data included into or with the program is owned by Northern Lights Software Associates NLSA and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions Therefore you must treat the SOFTWARE like any other copyrighted material e g a book or musical recording except that you may either a make one copy of the SOFTWARE for backup or archival purposes or b transfer the SOFTWARE to a single hard disk provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes Any other reproduction or distribution of this program without written permission from Northern Lights Software Associates is prohibited Limited Warranty Northern Lights Software Associates warrants that
38. or accessing similar satellites together For example ar New each plane of Orbcomm satellites might be placed ee A x in a Group You may have as many Groups as E Orbcomen D Rename desired and each group may contain an unlimited E if Dile number of satellites For the sake of practicality Ml orbcomm G however we recommend that groups contain fewer lridiurn iL Color than 25 or 30 satellites 7 Gro Orbcomm A members Set the colors that The Groups page of l if ps pag Groups are collections of a bce Ria sigan Setup Satellites ee AT Boxes show the color illustrate satellites creates and edits satellites that nave AG currently associated with and their footprints Groups Groups something in common 45 the Group A check mark 1 r You create and edit your 43 shows that color is are collections o l i groups in Setup Groups ad actually being used satellites that are 49 defined by the user 43 These are the satellite members of the selected group They have no direct connection with any View but 4 are merely a convenient way to grab similar ae E l certain criteria based satellites at one time Clicking on a name in the eee are eee Groups box will display the members of the Group for advanced users in the box below Select satellites by Groups are created with the Add button The group is named and at first it contains no satellites Select the satellites of interest with the mouse and d
39. osing Views Create new View from the main menu or by clicking on the w New View button on the toolbar 1 Sat Azimuth Elevation Range Height F1 55 4 16 3 5 313 4 755 0 ADS 02 5 LOS 5 Until Duration ADS Az Max El LOS Az Orbit Mum keps age 17 30 07 17 49 16 03 10 01 00 11 09 155 Ah 33 13033 6d 01 hr Orbcomm View s Views may contain text map or both This View shows a Rectangular style map Text The text portion of Views displays each satellite s current position as well as a summary of the next pass The layout of the text display is dependent on the number of observers currently active in the View The text displays the greatest amount of information if one observer is specified Two observers data are summarized in a format similar to that of one observer but with fewer lines of data for each observer If more than two observers are included in the View s list then each satellite s current position is listed for each observer Maps Orbcomm View contains four major map types with many user modifiable attributes in each map e Rectangular modified Miller projection e View from Space Orthographic projection e Radar upper hemisphere projection e Sky Noise rectilinear RA Dec projection The Rectangular map above covers most of the Earth only the poles are omitted It is convenient for showing the positions of several satellites and their footprints at o
40. out into space The horizontal axis of the Sky Temperature Mo Show temperature labels map is presented in Right Ascension R A is measured in hours 1 hour 15 with O hours being along a north south line at Greenwich England Lines on the Sky Temperature map are contours generally similar to contours on a topographic map Each contour connects points of equal noise The Sky Noise page of the Map Configuration notebook sets options for the Sky Noise map temperature Map Frequency sets which map is drawn on the screen Maps have been prepared by the IEEE for 50 MHz 136 MHz and 400 MHz mee Satellite below ea the horizon here Show Horizon plots a curve on the map that represents the current horizon at the observer s location Show satellite path displays a curve showing the path of the satellite against the sky Show Sun plots the sun s position on the map and Show temperature labels displays numbers representing equivalent noise temperature of the map s contours Orbcomm View s Sky Noise map shows a contour map of equivalent noise temperature Horizon Table Configuration Horizon Table is a means of modeling the observer s horizon to account for obstructions mountains buildings or trees Map Confiquration El Horizon 3 0 20 lo Horizon 20 40 Jo Horizon 40 602 fo Horizon 9 60 80 le Horizon 9 80 100 ka Horizon 100 1202 fa Horizon 120 140 0 Horizon 140 160 Ll Horizon ic 160 150
41. pages one F1 that displays TT Eclipse oo Interval Sun Date RARE End Duration Between Angle Illum Eclipse periods on an orbit by 14 06 D0 35411 p 232 0 0 orbit basis and ELE 0 0 0 another that LE a 1 a Summarizes Saas ae Time between the Y sal ena l ar 07 5 d2 Of dof li 5 entire days at a EOE een e ee ee ee 7 Angle between the time l Period of eclipse for and Deen Or a satellite s orbital i each orbit the next 1 plane and the Sun z mE The Every Orbit 01 08 14 36 20 00 35 11 01 04 26 23 1 0 0 ds pase 9 22 97 15 40 47 16 15 59 00 35 11 01 04 26 23 2 0 0 shows the 9 22 97 17 20 26 17 55 38 00 35 11 01 04 26 23 4 0 0 starting and 9 22 97 19 00 05 19 35 17 00 35 11 01 04 26 23 5 0 0 ending times of 0 22 97 20 39 45 21 14 55 00 35 09 01 04 27 23 7 0 0 each period of 0 22 07 22 19 24 22 54 34 00 35 09 01 04 28 23 8 0 0 PAZ 2 97 272 808 N3 AA 23 9 on xl eclipse for the selected satellite As with the other utilities you may select the satellite by using the Setup button ff Close Every Orbit 34213 00 35 09 1 04 28 srar Break Setup The Every Orbit page of the Eclipse Utility summarizes periods of time when the satellite is in the Earth s shadow This is useful for predicting daily electrical performance B Print Help 27 a F1 Date Duration Fercent Longest Sun Angle Illumination gradar 06 13 44 Ara
42. rag them to the Group members box Entries in the Group members box may be deleted or rearranged with the mouse as well OV includes existing and planned Orbcomm constellation weather satellites and other groups To delete satellites from a Group select the satellite name with the mouse and then click the Delete button You may rearrange the members of a Group by dragging their names with the mouse Color Setup for Orbcomm A Colors opens a dialog box where you may set the colors associated with groups If a particular i Use colors for Group Footprint pattern satellite is included in more than one Group the satellite s color will be set by the Group most M Footprint recently edited E ooa eke Normal lf Orbits in space C Dense C Sparse Mote Footprint tilling is also affected by Current settings in the Wap color Configuration screen Wf OK x Cancel Heip the Satellite Selector shown above This feature permits advanced users to sort through OV s entire Gi Select Sats opens Summary Eccentricity Inclination satellites database and extract satellites meeting certain criteria Sarvs For example a particular application may require selection Next ADE of all satellites with say certain eccentricity or mean motion Use Duration the tabs across the bottom of the page to choose which rule to Apogee modify Eccentricity Inclination Perigee Period For each rule select wheth
43. rt the Orbcomm View Disk 1 into the floppy disk drive of your computer If you are using Windows 3 1x click on File top left in Program Manager If you are using Windows 95 click on the Start button lower left corner of the Windows desktop Click on Run In the file name box type A Setup EXE Follow the directions in the Orbcomm View Setup From the Orbcomm Network Click on Network Neighborhood Click on OCC then Volume 2 Click on OV Double click OV_ 6 EXE or OV_32 EXE This begins installation process on your computer 2 Orbcomm View s Views Orbcomm View displays satellite tracking information in Views A View consists of a map columnar text data or both together One or more Views may be visible simultaneously Each View is completely independent of the others different Views may contain different satellites observers and time date A View may include a map text data or both at once OV may have as many Views active as you desire 19 21 97 14 28 05 UTC Elevation mask 5 Satellite footprint In normal use two or three Views is usually sufficient but there is no inherent limit to the number of Views that may be open simultaneously Each View can track an unlimited number of satellites and observers Satellite positions are displayed on maps and numerical data are displayed in columnar format as shown below Views are created by double clicking anywhere on the OV desktop by cho
44. s Main Menu go to Setup then Satellites Step 3 In the Setup Satellites screen click on the 25 Update Update button Step 4 In the pop up box that appears tell OV the name of the file that you downloaded in step 1 Step 5 Click OK and OV reads the file and updates all Keplerian elements in a few seconds O How do I tell the program about my location Step 1 Go to the Main Menu Setup then Observers Step 2 In Setup Observers see 1f your location 1s listed in the Main Database the one on the right side of the page If it is there then drag it to the short list on the left If it is not in the Main Database do the following e Fill in the blanks in Edit Location in the lower left corner of Setup Observers Enter your town s name its latitude and its longitude e When all entries Add to Observers List are completed press the button to add this new location to the short list Getting Help Orbcomm View includes context sensitive Help on almost every Setup or configuration page In addition small pop up hints appear near buttons 1f they have been enabled in Setup General Orbcomm s Customer Service group supports OV users Send e mail to customer service o orbcomm com Northern Lights Software Associates welcomes your e mail comments suggestions and criticisms at nlsa nlsa com or nlsa northnet org If necessary you may telephone NLSA at 315 379 0161 Please have your serial number avallabl
45. t satellites or to save the results of changes made in this screen The Derived button enables examination of several values such as apogee and perigee altitude period etc A more visual approach is to configure the parent View to display the View from Space with an orbit displayed Then as changes are made in Keplerian elements the orbit s shape changes immediately The key to a satellite s identity is its catalog number Changes made to the satellite s catalog number will permanently change its identity and prevent OV from updating its Keplerian elements from an external file Entries in the Element set and epoch orbit fields have no effect on a satellite s orbit calculations Experimental elements x Satellite name Feng Yunt 2 B Catalog number 20788 OO Epoch time 97079 1886816C E Element set 284 Inclination 98 8200 E Ra Asc Node 81 2144 A Eccentricity 0 0015085 B Arg of perigee 85 3638 BE bean anomaly 274 9477 E Mean motion 14 01410822 BE Decay rate 0 000001 04 B Epoch orbit 33475 El i El E Save fC Detived E Restore ff Close 7 Help Experimental Mode permits what if analysis of individual satellite orbits 17 18 Map Configuration Orbcomm View includes over 100 maps of various projections sizes and areas of coverage Further more you have almost complete control of the information displayed in the maps so that they always display the data that you need witho
46. the OV Main menu is unobtrusive but it can also be hidden under MBA Ek Geo eas Us FIF Helo other programs windows ee DFi Wetton Yo I wer 11 Be bog Yee Lilies FIF Hch ca ME 11 18 Local tar E rendete L ft Shoancul ha for Wines hora PA are earth rn e menos PL Pang i EEA a Sorte Fi deith 3 37 Cire miiy Tr Fin j 1143453 Se el il aoe ama DSA 4 Ce Tire CRS JS Li ial caer EL Dion TEH JE E AOSA 143 Fierce El LE az ra Dra Mom ETF epre aLa ok Sobek al El Shedd In Ohop PA onthe TM ee mt EA LEB 227 re Contained Views left All OV Views are contained inside the main OV screen If a View is moved beyond the edge of the main OV screen it is trimmed Space between Views is solid desktop color With contained Views the Main Menu is always at the top and easy to find ERA BiMetscops FIFE parz ATA TEA A RTP Setup Time x rent settings Bar es E Click here to stop Computer time updating the time shown in the boxes rar stop e Reset elos a This it the time to which the computer s Click here to reset the Month Day Display time clock is set time in the boxes to the m 7 a C Local UTC Lee current computer time This it the time that you Second iY 24 hour format want OV to display shown This change cannot be undone Y Set computer clock Current
47. the SOFTWARE will perform substantially in accordance with authorized written claims for a period of thirty 30 days from the date of receipt NLSA s entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be at NLSA s option a return of the price paid or b repair or replacement of the SOFTWARE No Other Warranties To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law Northern Lights Software Associates disclaims all other warranties either expressed or implied but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with regard to the SOFTWARE U S Government Restricted Rights The SOFTWARE and documentation are provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS Use duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph c 11 of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252 227 7013 or subparagraphs c 1 and 2 of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52 227 19 as applicable Manufacturer is Northern Lights Software Associates P O Box 321 Canton NY 13617 If you acquired this product in the United States this Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New York 1997 1998 Northern Lights Software Associates All Rights Reserved Introduction Orbcomm View OV is an innovative map based satellite tracking program It features realistic 256 color maps and an unlimited numbers of satellites observers an
48. the continent that you Elevation want to turn to Jaf Lat e In the Map Configuration screen accessed from oe pe Ti the E Configure Maps button on the ToolBar or 759 4 kn the View s pop up activated by clicking the right 02 20 42 UTC mouse button Uerserde UTC o l 06 30 44 In addition you can easily change the apparent Duration 00 12 00 distance from which the Earth is viewed by clicking Mode GlobalGram the left mouse button out in space away from the Earth s image Pop up information about a satellite is available by clicking Clicking on the View from Space map near a satellite on its name in any map will display a pop up information window about that satellite 4 The Radar Map a Northern Lights Software innovation displays a view of the sky with the observer at the center similar to a radar station North is at the top of the map east to the right etc like a compass The outer perimeter of the Radar Map represents the observer s horizon and the center of the Radar Map is directly overhead As a satellite becomes visible it appears on the map s perimeter and passes inside the circle The higher the satellite gets in the sky the closer to the center of the map it appears Like all maps the Radar Map is configured in the Map Configuration screen Upcoming passes can be displayed as arcs across the map The rise point of a pass is shown as a larger circle and the set point is a smaller circ
49. tion notebook contains separate pages for each type of map This is the page for the Rectangular map of the NASA style footprint changes with the height of a satellite above the ground Filling footprints refers to the light shading that OV can add to the footprint to make it more easily visible OV provides the option of displaying filled footprints for only the first satellite on the View s satellite list for all satellites in the list or none of them Elevation contours may optionally be drawn within a footprint Elevation contours are concentric lines that show elevation angles of the satellite above the horizon Pressing the elevation contours but ton displays a set up screen for selecting parameters for the contours to be drawn Ground tracks are lines that trace the movement of the satellite over the Earth s surface Ground tracks are useful ways to visualize future positions of the satellite OV permits you to display ground tracks for only the first satellite in the View s satellite list for all satellites or none enter O zero in the spin box In addition the spin box allows setting the number of orbits worth of ground track to be drawn OV permits setting the central longitude of the Rectangular world map by entering the value in the spin box Alternatively OV can automatically center the map over the first observer in the View s Observers list by checking Auto Center map 19 v Tip You may access the Map Co
50. tion of unneeded satellites after some time Use the E Clean button to make OV s database exactly match the contents of a particular Keplerian element file In this operation all non matching satellites are removed from OV s database After a Clean operation OV s database will contain only those satellites in the new file and no others Note The Sun Moon planets and celestial noise sources do not require Keplerian elements They are included in the Naturals group and cannot be edited or removed from OV s database If you wish to add one or two new satellites from a NASA 2 line format file you may use the New name read the file and add the satellites to OV s database The TI Delete button removes selected satellites from the database If the database is later Updated from a file that contains the removed satellites they will be added back to the database button It will prompt you for the file button helps to locate a satellite in the database Enter its name and the database list will move to it displaying its Keplerian elements in the edit region to the left of the list Who s Ip scans through the satellites in the main database and highlights all satellites that are currently above the observer s horizon 10 Setup Groups You may have as many groups SA as you wish OV s Groups are user defined associations of EEES satellites They are provided as a convenience f
51. to get a useful perspective The Zoom level spin box controls the viewer s apparent distance from the Earth Large zoom levels make the Earth appear smaller and permit plotting of high altitude satellite orbits Finally you may select whether to show the satellite s position in its orbit as well as whether to label it be traveling in the future Set this Map Configuration A value to O zero to turn ground tracks off entirely Ce Radar Map Configuration OV s Radar map is an innovative means to display satellite positions relative to an observer The Radar Number of passes to plot B Number of satellite passes to plot on the Radar Map Enter 0 zero for no pass display a Check here to show passes of all satellites rather than only the first satellite in the list Map is centered on the first M Show passes of all satellites observer in the View s observer list North is at the top of the map and i Use horizon table Use the Horizon Table to concentric circles indicate elevation o outline areas of horizon above the horizon The outer edge Show location label ono Observer s location of the map is the observer s FT Enable Sat ll Satellite s path 30 elevation e a M Cancel ee 7 Help a OK If enabled clicking on the Radar map will pop up a Satellite status screen horizon The center of the Radar map is overhead The Radar map page of the map configuratio
52. ups may be moved at once dragging the Group name from the Groups list Observers Norman OK AZ GES St Jo hd n nitraal G E 1 Observe Dulles YA Choose the Observers that will be used in the View by dragging locations re men ANenos Aires Are Caracas Venezu Casablanca Mor iif Delete an Select the View s map and text display here ry Set lp Observers 4 Number of columns of text data to display P H Enter value for elevation mask a aj deg mask Save different configurations and recall them for quick access The Individual View Configuration screen is the main focus for making each View appear the way you want it to This screen is the place to select the satellites and observers that the View will track as well as the basic maps and text that will be displayed The Current Configuration Observers list displays the observer s for which satellite position information will be calculated A short list of observers is provided for quick access You may select observers from this list and drag them to the Current Configuration region What controls which satellites appear in the Satellite List The satellites included in the selected Group are displayed in the Satellites list Clicking on different groups changes the list of satellites displayed Two groups have special status the Complete group in
53. ure Current View from the Main Menu e or pressing the Ej Configure View button on the ToolBar Individual View Configuration satellites Current Confiauration F 2 satellites F2 O comin Ayl 12 G comm FRING O com OC Orr O com OC Orn Gcm Choose the satellites that will be tracked in the View by dragging their names iif Delete all YT LILY Oecomim Fi M5 Map display C Mone Rectangular C Space view C Radar Sky noise Orbcornea G Y Message mode Iridium Map size i C Small Inmarsat Configurations Set Up Setup Groups or by right clicking here Test display C None amp Normal C Sat Script Columns visible 11 Elevation vim Large Y ars TA Groups are customized in The Individual View Configuration screen is shown below It is divided into three main regions Satellite selection on the left Observer selection on the right and the View s current configuration in the middle You may select satellites from the Satellites list Drag satellite names from this list to the Current Configuration Satellites list box gt Satellites may be added removed or rearranged within the Current Configuration Satellites list their order in the list determines their order of appearance in the tabular text display in the View The first satellite in the list will be the left most satellites in the tabular text display Entire Gro
54. ut clutter Map Configuration 1s available in five pages in the same notebook click on the bottom tabs to change pages The Rectangular and View from Space maps share several options and their setup screens appear similar Rectangular Map Configuration The Rectangular map is familiar to most people It shows the entire Earth unrolled so that it 1s visible at a glance OV s Rectangular map is based on a modified Miller projection that shows the major continents with relatively little distortion the north and south poles cannot be shown adequately on any rectangular map Map Configuration The Map area box permits selection of the map that will be displayed World means that the map will display the entire world whereas the various continent names allow zoom in views of each continent The individual continent maps provide resolution of approximately 10 km pixel at maximum size Ground display controls dynamic features added to the base map The normal footprint of a satellite represents the area of visibility of a satellite that is the area of the Earth that is visible from the satellite at any particular moment The normal footprint is drawn around the satellite s sub satellite point the point on the Earth directly underneath the satellite NASA style footprint on the other hand is drawn around the observer This is the format used by NASA when showing the Shuttle in orbit Each ground station has a fence drawn
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