OOST: An Object Oriented Tool for Satellite Orbit Design

Abstract

In this study the problems of satellite orbit design and simulation are tackled and an object oriented satellite tool OOST is developed. The tool with its three main modules enables the user to plan and design different satellite missions. It performs all orbital calculations needed, simulates the target orbit and performs analysis on the current active satellite(s). The simulation module of OOST has been used to provide orbit design and satellite simulation for all geocentric orbits using an interactive world map that is synchronized with simulation time. OOST uses a predefined library of orbital mechanics functions to perform the required calculations. Also it allows users to call the library in their own external programs. A satellite database, containing data from more than 900 active satellites, has been linked to OOST in order to allow comparisons of different satellites. A Data Mining technique is applied to the satellite data. The technique as such relies upon the Decision Tree. It leads to discover valuable data related to classifying satellites and defining the trends of their owners. This classification is based on classifying satellite orbits into two trends, one representing the majority of owners and the other represents special cases. These orbits have been analyzed using different simulation capabilities of the Ground Track Module. The applications that have been studied in this study are communication, remote sensing and military missions.