Platform Capabilities

End-to-End Space Mission Engineering

Space Mission Designer provides aerospace engineers, researchers, and satellite operators with a complete, scientific-grade mission analysis environment right in the browser.

Orbit Propagation Access Computation Attitude Modes Constellation Import Satellite 3D Model Design Power Budget Data Budget RF Link Budget
Astrodynamics Docs →

Orbit Propagation & High-Fidelity Physics

Propagate orbits around Earth and the Moon using analytical or numerical methods with scientific-grade precision powered by Orekit and DP853 adaptive integration.

Key Capabilities

  • Earth & Moon central body support with coordinate frames and gravity models.
  • Propagators: Two-Body (Keplerian), J2 Analytical (Brouwer-Lyddane secular drift), SGP4 (TLE/OMM), and High-Fidelity Numerical.
  • Spherical harmonics gravity fields: EGM2008 for Earth (up to 150×150) and GL0660B GRAIL/LOLA for the Moon (up to 120×120).
  • Environmental force models: NRLMSISE-00 atmospheric drag with bundled CSSI space weather (1947–2096 F10.7 & Ap indices), Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP), Sun/Moon third-body gravity, and general relativity corrections.
  • Flexible orbit definition: Keplerian, Circular, Cartesian (r, v), Sun-Synchronous (SSO by LTDN), Geosynchronous (GSO by longitude), TLE search/paste, and CCSDS OMM.
Read Orbit Propagation & High-Fidelity Physics documentation →
Visibility & Geometry Docs →

Access Computation & Sensor Visibility

Determine precise line-of-sight visibility windows, pass durations, and contact geometry across complex ground station networks, inter-satellite links, and target areas.

Key Capabilities

  • Multi-object access pairs: Satellite to Ground Station, Satellite to Satellite (ISL), and Constellation to Ground Station.
  • Payload sensor visibility: Mount Conical or Rectangular field-of-view sensors to analyze ground station access, coverage footprints, or celestial body occultation (Sun, Moon, Earth).
  • Area of Interest (AOI) passes: Compute satellite and sensor access over continents, individual countries, or custom drawn and uploaded GeoJSON polygons.
  • Ground illumination constraints: Filter AOI visibility passes by daylight or nighttime solar elevation thresholds for optical imaging planning.
  • Cross-body visibility: Support for Earth satellites to Earth stations, Moon satellites to Moon stations, and Moon satellites to Earth ground networks.
Read Access Computation & Sensor Visibility documentation →
Attitude Control Docs →

Attitude Modes & Target Pointing

Override nominal nadir/ram flight attitude during access passes to model target fixation, imaging slews, and payload pointing schedules.

Key Capabilities

  • Nominal attitude: Standard Local-Vertical Local-Horizontal (LVLH) nadir/ram alignment with configurable body faces.
  • Spotlight pointing mode: Fixate satellite body boresight on specific ground stations throughout contact passes.
  • StripScan pointing mode: Continuous attitude slew aligned with the ground track for push-broom and swath observations.
  • Priority scheduling & deconfliction: Priority-based resolution of overlapping contact intervals with configurable slew buffer times and Nadir lock support.
  • Subsystem synchronization: Pointing changes automatically update solar panel sun angles, sensor footprints, and antenna boresight alignments.
Read Attitude Modes & Target Pointing documentation →
Fleet Analytics Docs →

Constellation Import & Catalog Analytics

Import entire operational mega-constellations or build custom satellite fleets to evaluate multi-spacecraft coverage, contact density, and orbital statistics.

Key Capabilities

  • One-click predefined catalog import: Load active constellations (Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium, Planet, and more) from live public catalogs.
  • Custom fleet builder: Search and filter catalog satellites by NORAD ID, satellite name, operator, and country of origin.
  • Statistical distribution insights: Interactive histogram filtering by TLE epoch age, satellite launch age, orbital altitude, and inclination.
  • Parallel fleet propagation: Propagate dozens of constellation satellites simultaneously to analyze aggregate ground network contact time.
Read Constellation Import & Catalog Analytics documentation →
Spacecraft Design Docs →

Satellite 3D Model Design

Build modular CubeSat configurations using geometric approximations to drive power computations, thermal estimates, drag area, and solar radiation pressure.

Key Capabilities

  • CubeSat bus sizing: Parametric sizing in standard CubeSat units (1U to 100U) for rapid conceptual mission architecture.
  • Face material assignment: Configure each bus face with solar cells (custom efficiency and packing factor) or structural aluminum.
  • Deployable solar panels: Add articulated solar wings with custom hinge faces, deployment angles, trackable sun-pointing mechanisms, and flip orientations.
  • Geometric conflict verification: Automated 3D collision checks between deployed solar panels and the satellite bus structure.
  • Payload mounting: Attach sensors and communication antennas directly to body faces with precise extrinsic Yaw, Pitch, and Roll offset angles.
Read Satellite 3D Model Design documentation →
EPS Subsystem Docs →

Power Budget & Solar Generation

Simulate solar power generation, payload duty cycles, and battery state of charge across the orbit to verify subsystem closure and detect undersizing.

Key Capabilities

  • High-fidelity solar generation: Incident flux calculation (1361 W/m²), sun aspect angles, and 3D geometric self-shadowing between panels and bus.
  • Dynamic power loads: Model constant bus avionics draw plus dynamic payload loads (TT&C radios, cameras, heaters, SDRs, and payload computers).
  • Conditional activation schedules: Trigger payload consumption profiles conditionally based on illumination (sunlight/eclipse) or ground access windows.
  • Battery storage simulation: Model battery capacity (Wh), initial SoC, charge/discharge efficiencies, and Depth of Discharge (DoD) limits.
  • Diagnostic outputs: Generation curves, consumption profiles, net power balance (surplus/deficit), battery discharge curves, DoD breach alerts, and CSV exports.
Read Power Budget & Solar Generation documentation →
Data Handling Docs →

Data Budget & Onboard Storage

Model payload data acquisition, downlink transmission rates, and onboard solid-state mass memory buffer fill states to verify data budget closure.

Key Capabilities

  • Data generation instruments: Configure onboard computers, imaging sensors, and SDR payloads with specific collection rates (Mbps) and compression ratios.
  • Conditional acquisition profiles: Trigger data acquisition based on illumination conditions (e.g. daylight observation) or ground access windows.
  • Access-linked downlinks: Map downlink channels directly to ground station contact passes with specified mean transmission data rates (Mbps).
  • Onboard memory buffer modeling: Track cumulative storage fill and drain curves over time (GB) to prevent buffer overflows and ensure budget closure.
Read Data Budget & Onboard Storage documentation →

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