Satellite Scenario Basics

You can build a complete satellite scenario simulation by using the Satellite Communications Toolbox functions and objects. The workflow for satellite scenario simulation consists of these five main components:

• The satelliteScenario object represents a 3-D arena consisting of satellites, ground stations, and the interactions between them. Use this object to model satellite constellations, model ground station networks, perform access analysis between the satellites and ground stations, and visualize the results.

• The satellite function adds satellites to the scenario using two line element (TLE) files or orbital elements. For more details on orbital elements and TLE files, see Two Line Element (TLE) Files.

• The platform function adds platforms to the scenario using trajectory data or position or velocity data.

• The groundStation function adds ground stations to the scenario using default parameters or the specified latitude and longitude.

• The satelliteScenarioViewer function creates a 3D viewer for the scenario.

• The play function simulates the satellite scenario and plays the results in the visualization window specified by satelliteScenarioViewer.

This diagram shows the architecture of satellite scenario simulation. Some of the object in the simulation share object functions.

• The Satellite, GroundStation, and ConicalSensor objects share the access object function.

• The Satellite, GroundStation, GroundTrack, and Access objects share the show and hide object functions.

• The Satellite, GroundStation, and Gimbal objects share the conicalSensor object function.

• The Satellite and GroundStation objects share the transmitter and receiver object functions.

• The Transmitter and Receiver objects share the link object function.

In the above architecture, you can replace the Satellite object with Platform object. In this case, the path object function replaces the orbit object function.