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Conference 7.286::space

Title:	Space Exploration
Notice:	Shuttle launch schedules, see Note 6
Moderator:	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN

Created:	Mon Feb 17 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	974
Total number of notes:	18843

404.0. "Satellite Tracking Software" by VIDEO::COHAN (Mort Cohan, PKO3-1/10C) Fri Feb 26 1988 12:18

The following has been said before, but perhaps newcomers are not
aware of it. 

You can get a satellite tracking program and current element
set data from	VIDEO::USER$5:[COHAN.RAD]
This originally was set up to serve the amateur radio community using
the ham communications satellites. Presently the element set database
includes about 100 satellites of all types. I maintain the software, and
John Biro is the element set data guru. Element set data is updated
as required to maintain accurate results, about every 5 to 10 days is
typical.

To use the program copy to your system
	VIDEO::USER$5:[COHAN.RAD]ORMAIN43.EXE,NASA*.DAT
and run ORMAIN43.  The 43 in the name is the version number, if you see that
change, pick up the new version.  The program is now quite stable,
so a new version is not likely. (If USER$5 vanishes, try TBU$1)
The output winds up in ORBIT.DAT

NASA*.DAT are the element set data files, with the satellites sorted from
the NASA element set data as follows: 
	NASAHAM.DAT	ham radio satellites	
  if not ham, then
	NASAVHF.DAT	known to transmit on VHF freqs
  if xmit on UHF/Microwaves or unknown freq, then
	NASALEO.DAT	low earth orbit
	NASAMEO.DAT	medium earth orbit
	NASAGEO.DAT	geosynchronous
A maximum of 42 satellites is put into each file, if there are more
then 42 of a given type, then you will see continuation files with names
in the form <basename>1.DAT, <basename>2.DAT etc.
MIR is in NASAVHF.DAT 

These files are not particularly user friendly, so we have all the
data plus some derived quantities in a file NASAREADER.DAT, which
is designed for reading by humans. NASAELEM.DAT is the raw data as
distributed by NASA.

When you run the program you will notice a question asking for your
longitude, latitude and height. The default is in eastern Mass.,
which is fine for any within some 100 miles of Boston.
If you need to change this enter your latidude (+North, -South)
and longitude (+West, -East) and height above sea level in meters.
The response to the question about ID can be any 6 characters, it's
just put into the page header on the output, and can be a place name,
ham radio call sign, etc.

If you intend to use the program a lot, then you can put the location
and ID into the element set data file you will use by editing in 4 lines
at the start of the file in the format following:
For example, if you are in Australia, might look like

LO-150.
LA-35.
HT100.
CA,Aussie

First 2 characters must be upper case, and comma in the CA command is
required. If this is done, you won't need to type in the data at each run.

(posted to HAMRADIO, SPACE, SWL notes)	73, MORT, KA1IU

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
404.1	Especially Topic 360	DICKNS::KLAES	Well, I could stay for a bit longer.	`Fri Feb 26 1988 12:57`	4
	See SPACE Topics 114, 316, 360, and 370. Larry
404.2	Where did it go?	DRIFT::WOOD	Laughter - the best medicine	`Mon Dec 04 1989 14:38`	11
	Does anyone know where this satellite tracking software can be found? The base note looks like exactly what I need, but the directories don't exist anymore and Mort isn't in ELF. I'm looking for something that can take the published elements for the shuttle (or other object such as MIR) and yield viewing predictions. Any other advice on what software to use is welcome. Thanks, John
404.3	QT-4 and IT-1	HYDRA::BIRO		`Tue Dec 05 1989 07:59`	20
	re:2 Mort no longer works at DEC, if you want the software for an IBM PC then you may want to try AMSAT . They have two programs of interest 1) QuickTrack ( present version QT4 ) 2) IT ( I think it is called Instant Track ) I have seen a demo of IT and it is much faster then QT4 and it has star maps display showing the satellite as it is view form the ground in the background of stars. This is very helpful in visual tracking. AMSAT is a non-profit organization for the development of Amateur Radio Satellites. I dont have their address but their telephone number is 301 5896062. All money from the sale of tracking software goes to AMSAT. john
404.4	Inquiry on satellite tracking software....	LEVERS::BATTERSBY		`Tue Mar 15 1994 13:38`	16
	I came across a catalog of mostly software for IBM compatible PC's from a company called Zepher Services. There is a satellite tracking software program called "SatellitePro" (tm) which they sell. It is quite robust, does not require MS Windows. It uses USAF SGP4 and SDP4 propagation models for very accurate ephemerides. It also has a built in utility for generating elesets from State Vectors or launch parameters. It will display ground tracks in either orthographic or equal area projections, and station zoomed formats. It displays alt- azimuth or equatorial sky maps. It will fly up to 200 satellites simultaneously, and can manage a database of over 20,000 satellites. It also has an on-screen NORAD 2-line elset editor with add-delete & modify capabilities. It sells for $149.95 I'd like to know if anyone has any experience with this software package, and what they think of it. Bob
404.5	STSORBIT PLUS	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN	Dave Griffin	`Tue Mar 15 1994 16:55`	17
	I don't know about the SatellitePro program, but... I use David Ransom's STSPLUS program, which has pretty much everything you've described except the hefty price tag. It's free for non-commercial use. David's program is used by a number of organizations for keeping tabs on satellites and shuttles (it even has bells go off between TDRS changes and local site visibility). Pass prediction, etc. are also in there. You can find in in the many PD archives under the name: SOPnnnnn.ZIP p.s. Make sure you've got a 486 or a 386 w/coprocessor ... unless you are very patient person. - dave
404.6		SKYLAB::FISHER	Carp Diem : Fish the Day	`Wed Mar 16 1994 12:35`	4
	Can stsplus do predictions? That is answer the question "when is there a pass of a given satellite that is visible from my location"? Burns
404.7	I think I've heard the name, David Ransom somewhere...	LEVERS::BATTERSBY		`Wed Mar 16 1994 12:49`	5
	Dave - Is David Ransom the guy who appears on a regular segment on NASA Select called something like "Night Sky", where he narrates about up-coming celstial events of the month? Bob
404.8		PRAGMA::GRIFFIN	Dave Griffin	`Wed Mar 16 1994 13:31`	7
	Re: .6 - Yes (as I stated in .5) Re: .7 - I don't know, but it seems unlikely. Mr. Ransom is a retired engineer who seems more interested in the space program than astronomy. But this is just a guess. - dave
404.9	Shareware	DRIFT::WOOD	Laughter is the best medicine	`Wed Mar 16 1994 14:38`	42
	I saw an announcement on the Intenet a month or so back for a package called PC-TRACK. It is shareware, with a $45 registration fee. You can copy it from vmsmkt::pd1:[msdos.satelite]pctrk30*.zip. I've appended part of the documentation below. I haven't tried the program, so I can't comment on how well it works. John PC-TRACK offers the following features. PROGRAM FEATURES - Runs in DOS protected mode, utilizing up to 16MB of memory. - Can track in 3D on spherical world projections. - Uses 640x480 VGA resolution. - Can track up to 200 satellites simultaneously. - Text screen tracking for users with no VGA capability. - Integrated Mutual Visibility Pass Scan capability. - Scan for visible passes - Scan all satellites to find illuminated sats. - Rapid graphics screen redraw. - Informative satellite position display. - All colors and parameters user definable. - Capable of having separate parameter files for different track/display scenarios. - Quick start-up. - Downlink frequency displays, showing doppler shift. - Display orbital phase, based on current mean anomaly. - Multiple maps of world and continents available. - Can be configured to track using UTC time or LOCAL time - Can be configured to display distances using metric or english system. - Full control of Date, Time, and Interval used to predict object data. - Site and Satellite data sorted by name. - Can store data for up to 200 objects and 200 observers. - Includes import capability for NASA 2 line Orbital Elements or AMSAT data files. - Select from over 100 printer drivers.
404.10		SKYLAB::FISHER	Carp Diem : Fish the Day	`Fri Mar 18 1994 15:56`	4
	re .7: Duuuuh. Sorry about that. I somehow filtered out "pass prediction" when I read your .5. Burns
404.11	WEB sites rich with info on visual satellite observing...enjoy	NETCAD::BATTERSBY		`Fri May 26 1995 12:18`	19
	I didn't find a more specific topic to place this information under, so I picked this one. These three web sites are loaded with information and links to other sites on visual satellite tracking. I'd thought I'd share this information that I've collected while surfing the web on my PC at home. Bob Web pages with info on visible satellite viewing etc. http://ssl.berkeley.edu.isi_www/satpasses.html Satpasses Home Page http://www.ipp-garching.mpg.de/~bdp/vsohp/satintro.html Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page http://jebyrd.larc.nasa.gov The Amateur Satellit Observers of Southeast Virginia