Journal of Control Engineering and Technology

JCET

TIGRISAT Orbital MotionSimulation and Analysis

Mohammed Chessab Mahdi*1

*1

Faculty of Engineering University of Kufa Iraq

*1

mchessab@yahoo.com

Abstract- Satellite orbit simulation and analysis based on data collected from NASA/ North American Defense Command (NORAD)
as a Two Line Elements (TLE) files is presented. General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) is used to simulate the orbital motion of
TIGRISAT. The analysis includes orbit determination and prediction of satellites position and velocity, satellite tracking, and
command summary. Orbital path of the TIGRISAT projected onto a two-dimensional world map over some time for one and two
revolution of the satellite is plotted.
Keywords- Orbit Determination; Mission Planning; NORAD; TLE; SGP4; TIGRISAT; GMAT; KufaSat; Satellite Tracking

I.

INTRODUCTION

Most satellite missions planning required tracking and orbit determination. To track satellite through space it is needed to
determine the position and velocity of the satellite in the orbit now and later.Satellite orbit determination estimates the position
and velocity of an orbiting object from discrete observations which includes external and internal measurements, external
measurements from terrestrial radar and electro-optical sensors and internal measurements from sensors and devices which are
installed on the satellite itself. Finding the spacecraft position at any time is a requirement for a satellite mission planning.
There are two commonly proposed solutions for finding orbital position,the first is, position estimated from a Two-Line
Element (TLE) set using Simplified General Perturbations (SGP4) propagator. TLE are two lines of text data that are
frequently issued to the public free of charge, and contain the latest orbital parameters of a satellite. SGP4 model predicts the
effect of perturbations caused by the Earths shape, drag, radiation, and gravitation effects from other bodies such as the sun
and moon. It is mathematical model used to calculate orbital state vectors of satellites relative to the Earth-centered inertial
coordinate system. The SGP4 model takes TLE as the input for the orbit prediction. The second is, Global Positioning System
(GPS).In spite ofhigh power consumption of GPS receiver [1] the use of this receiver to obtain position, velocity, and time
solution should therefore likely satisfy the orbital knowledge requirements for virtually any Low Earth Orbit (LEO)satellite.
Accurate position determination is accomplished using a low-cost commercial GPS receiver that has been modified to work in
low Earth orbit [2]. The combination of both solutions leads to a rising accuracy and reliability because if one solution fails, it
can still use the information of the other system to complete the mission. The purposes of this work are, first,simulation and
analysis TIGRISATsorbitbased on data collected from NASA/ NORAD TLE files. TIGRISAT is an Iraqi 3U CubeSat built by
Iraqi students at the La Sapienza University of Rome with a mission to detect dust storms over Iraq. TIGRISATLaunched in
June 19, 2014. It transmits images to two ground stations, one located in Rome and another in Baghdad [3].
Secondusing the results of simulation and analysis TIGRISATs orbitin KufaSat mission planning. Kufasat is an Iraqi
student satellite project sponsored by the University of Kufa. The main tasks for Kufasat will be to imaging purposes. It is 1U
cubesat with 1.5 m long gravity gradient boom, which will be used for passive attitude stabilization and will be flying in Low
Earth Orbit(LEO)with 600 km altitude [4].
II.

BACKGROUND

Orbits are defined by a set of six elements which aremathematical parameters used to completely describe the motion of a
satellite within an orbit andenable us to accurately describe orbits shape, orbits size, orbits orientation, and spacecrafts
location. These elements are also called Keplerian Elements. Knowingthese elements allow satellite tracking programs to
calculate a satellite's position in space at a specific time.These elements are [5]:

Eccentricity (e): This element defines the shape of the orbit the value of eccentricity ranges from 0 when the orbit is a
perfect circle to 1 when the orbit is very flat.

Semi major axis (a): This defines the size of the orbit.It is the distance between apogee and perigee divided by two.

Inclination angle (i): This element defines the orientation of the orbit with respect to the Earths equator.This element
tells you what the angle is between the equator and the orbit when looking from the center of the Earth. If the orbit
went exactly around the equator from left to right, then the inclination would be 0. The inclination ranges from 0 to
180 degrees.

Right Ascension of Ascending Node () : This is probably one of the most difficult of the elements to describe .It
defines the location of the ascending and descending orbit locations with respect to the Earth's equatorial plane. The
ascending node is the place where the satellite crosses the equator while going from the Southern Hemisphere to the
Northern Hemisphere.
JCET Vol. 5 Iss. 1 Jan 2015 PP. 1-8 DOI: 10.14511/jcet.issue.050101 American V-King Scientific Publish
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JCET

Argument of Perigee (): Since an orbit usually has an elliptical shape, the satellite will be closer to the Earth at one
point than at another. The point where the satellite is the closest to the Earth is called the perigee and the furthest from
the Earth is called the apogee. Argument of perigee defines where the low point, perigee, of the orbit is with respect to
the Earth's surface.

True mean anomaly (v):The mean anomaly tells you where the satellite is in its orbital path. The mean anomaly
ranges from 0 to 360 degrees. The mean anomaly is referenced to the perigee. If the satellite were at the perigee, the
mean anomaly would be 0.

The Keplerian orbitis ideal since it assumes that the earth is a uniform spherical mass. Actually the Earth is not a sphere but
rather an oblate spheroid in which the radius at the equator is about 21km greater than at the poles. Earths asymmetrical mass
causes a non-central gravitational pull. Satellites orbiting in near-Earth are subject to a lot of disturbing forces. These forces
can be divided into three categories: the gravitational forces, the non-gravitational forces, and empirical forces.The equation of
motion of a near-Earth satellite can be described in an inertial reference frame as follows [6]:
r

(1)

Where:
ris the position vector of the center of mass of the satellite,a is the sum of the gravitational forces acting on the satellite
including Earths geopotential, solid earth tides, ocean tides, planetary third-body perturbations, and relativistic
accelerations,a is the sum of the non-gravitational forces acting on the surfaces of the satellite including drag, solar radiation
is the unmodeled forces which act on the
pressure, earth radiation pressure, and thermal radiation acceleration, anda
satellite due to either a functionally incorrect orincomplete description of the various forces acting on the spacecraft or
inaccurate values for the constant parameters which appear in the force model.Another way to determine the orbit is the orbital
state vectors which are Cartesian vectors of position (r) and velocity (v) that together with their epoch time (t) uniquely
determine the trajectory of the orbiting body in space. The position vector describes the position of the body in the specific
frame of reference, while the velocity vector describes its velocity in the same frame at the same time.
III.

TWO-LINE ELEMENT

A two-line element (TLE) is a special form of mean classical orbital elements that describe the orbit of an earth satellite.
TLEs are generated with an orbit determination process based on observations by the United States Space Surveillance
Network (SSN), which comprises a number of radar and electro-optical sensors [7]. These elements are periodically updated
so as to maintain a reasonable prediction capability on all space objects. The TLE is in a format specified by North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and used by NORAD and NASA. The TLE can be used directly by all Simplified
perturbations models (SGP, SGP4, SDP4, SGP8 and SDP8) which used to calculate orbital state vectors of satellites and space
debris relative to the Earth-centered inertial coordinate system. Orbital elements are determined for many thousands of space
objects by NORAD and are freely distributed on the Internet in the form of TLEs.Data for each satellite consists of three lines
in the format shown in Figure (1)

Fig. 1TIGRISAT Two Line Element

Line 0 is a twenty-four character name (to be consistent with the name length in the NORAD Satellite Catalog SATCAT).
Lines 1 and 2 are the standard Two-Line Orbital Element Set Format identical to that used by NORAD and NASA. The format
description is as shown in Figure (2).

Fig. 2TLE Parameters Explanation

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IV.

JCET

SIMPLIFIED GE
ENERAL PERTU
URBATIONS4 ALGORITHM
A

Simplifieed General Peerturbations Saatellite Orbit Model 4(SGP

P4) is a NASA
A/NORAD allgorithm of caalculating neaar earth
satellites. Anny satellite witth an orbital period
p
of less than 225 minnutes should use this algoritthm. Satellitess with orbital periods
p
greater than 225
2 minutes should
s
use theeSimplified Deeep Space Perrturbations (SD
DP4) or (SDP
P8) algorithmss [8].
The required input for SGP4 is a tw
wo line elemen
nts which are ppublished by NORAD at reegular time inntervals. SGP44 uses a
o
than 30 days is
closed form series of equaations in ordeer to calculatee the satellitess position at a future epochh .TLE data older
mputes satellitte coordinatess in the mean equinox true equator
e
considerablyy inaccurate duue to perturbaations in the orrbit.SGP4 com
coordinate syystem based on the epochh of the specified TLE whhich was usedd as input too the SGP4 propagator.
p
Thhe TLE
information is a set of mean orbital elements that are suitable to the SG
GP4 propagator only. In this
t
work TL
LEs of
which availablee through a weeb link (http:///www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=40043) havve been used for
f input to thee SGP4
TIGRISATw
propagator.
V.

SATELLITE
E TRACKING FR
ROM GROUND STATION

Figure(3))andFigure (4)) show two grraphical view

ws of satellite ground track from Generall Mission Anaalysis Tool (G
GMAT).
General Misssion Analysiis Tool is an open-source space missioon design toool which is designed
d
to model
m
and opptimize
spacecraft trrajectories. It is developedd by a team of
o NASA, annd is used forr real-world eengineering sttudies, as a tool
t
for
education and public engaagement [9].

Fig. 3TIGR
RISAT ground traack for one revoluution

Fig. 4 TIGR
RISAT ground tracck for two revoluutions

AT projected onto a two-ddimensional w

world map oveer some time for one
Figure (33) shows the oorbital path off the TIGRISA
revolution off the satellite. As a result off the Earths ro
otation the LE
EO satellite, caan be observeed by a groundd stations for three
t
to
four consecu
utive passes, after
a
whichthee satellite willl be out of reach
r
of thegrround station for many houurs. In Figuree (4), a
ground trackk of two futuree revolutions of
o the satellitee is shown, w
where the westtward ground track movement in time is clearly
noticeable.
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ET Vol. 5 Iss. 1 Jan 2015 PP
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VI.

JCET

ORBIIT SIMULATION
N AND ANALYS
SIS

Satellite orbit simulattion and analyysis based onn data collectted from NA
ASA/ NORAD
D TLE files.T
The analysis will
w be
General
includes orbiit determinatioon and predicttion of satellitte position andd velocity, sattellite trackingg, and commannd summary.G
Mission Anaalysis Tool (G
GMAT) is used
d to simulate the orbital motion
m
of TIGR
RISAT.The sppacecraft epocch and six Keeplerian
orbital elemeents required tto inputto GM
MAT. 26 Aug 2014 11:59:228.000 is usedd as TIGRISAT
AT epoch and the
t Kepleriann orbital
elements areeused as show
wn in Table (11). The TLE set contains ssome of thesee elements (E
ECC, INC, AO
OP, RAAN), and
a the
remainder caan be determinned using the TLE
T providedd elements.
TABLE (1)KEPLERIAN ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF TIG
GRISAT

Field

Value

Unit

Seemi-Major Axis (SMA)

(

6945.068657722795

km

Eccentricity (EC
CC)

0.062770600000000004

Inclination (IN
NC)

97.971

deg

Arggument of Perigeee (AOP)

350.44590000000009

deg

Right Ascension of the Ascendding Node (RAAN

N)

131.00170000000001

deg

True Anomaly (T
TA)

8.9999999999999861

deg

m
with RSSStep
R
UTC Greegorian Epochh format and EarthMJ20000Eq coordinatte system are used in simulation.Force model
error controll, Earth as a ccentral body, JachiaRoberts
J
s atmosphere model and JG
GM-2 gravityy model were used to evaluuate the
drag on the TIGRISAT.
T
Thhe Gravitationnal bodies include the Sun and
a Moon. Many
M
of other bbodies have su
uch a small efffect on
the orbit of TIGRISAT
T
so they can be neglected.
n
Othher non-gravitaational forces included in thhe propagation, these are drrag and
solar radiatioon pressure (SRP).RungeKuutta89 with 600 sec initial steep size, 0.001 sec mini stepp size, 2700 seec max step siize, and
9.99e-12 accuracy are usedd as integratorr in simulationn.
Figure 5: shows Kepleerian elementss as calculatedd by GMAT pllotted with NO
ORAD trackinng data. The plotted
p
NORA
AD data
S
A
Axis
changes with the eccentricitychangge,Figure(5a, 5b), it changges about 0.3% of its valuue. The
shows that Semi-Major
plotted NOR
RAD data alsoo shows sinusoidal variationns in the orbiital inclinationn that are preddicted by GM
MAT Fig(5c). Fig(5d)
F
shows that Ascension
A
of the Ascendinng Node channges from zeroodeg to 131ddeg in 0.126 E
Elapsed Days.Fig (5e) show
ws that
Argument off Perigee erroor 2deg abouut its value 350 deg. Figurre (5f) shows true anomalyy which represents the posiition of
TIGRISAT inn the orbit plaane, measured from the periigee position tto the satellitee.

(
(a)Semi-Major
Axxis (SMA)

(b)Eccentricityy (ECC)

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(c)Inclinationn (INC)

(d)Right Asccension of the Asccending Node (RA

AAN)

(e))Argument of Perrigee (AOP)

(f)True Anomaaly (TA)

Fig. 5Six Kepleerian Elements (aa) Semi-Major Axxis(b) Eccentricitty(c) Inclination(dd) Right Ascensioon of the Ascendiing Node(e) Arguument of Perigee (f) True
Anomaly

Figure (66)shows Planeetodetic properrties, Altitudee, Latitude, annd Longitude. Fig 7 shows T
TIGRISAT prroperties which is the
coefficient of drag (Cd) used
u
to compuute the accelerration due to drag,
d
the coeffficient of refllectivity (Cr) used to comp
pute the
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ET Vol. 5 Iss. 1 Jan 2015 PP
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Journal of Coontrol Engineeering and Tecchnology

JCET

acceleration due to solar rradiation pressure (SRP), and

a SRP area.Figure (8) and Figure (9) sshow the three componentss of the
p
and veelocity with reespect to the coordinate
c
sysstem.
TIGRISAT position

Fig. 6A
Altitude, Latitudee, and Longitude

Fig. 7Co
oefficient of drag (Cd), Coefficientt of reflectivity (C
Cr), and SRP Areea

Fig. 8 X, Y, Z components
c
of thee TIGRISAT position with respectt to the coordinatte system

Fig. 9X, Y, Z components of thee TIGRISAT veloocity with respectt to the coordinatee system

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JCET

The Com
mmand Summaary is a summ
mary of orbit and
a spacecraftt state informaation after exeecution of a commandFigurre (10).
Propagate coommand summ
mary containss spacecraft state informatioon, time inforrmation, planeetodetic propeerties, and otheer orbit
data after proopagation is performed.

F 10Command
Fig.
d Summary

V
VII.

CONCLU
USION

In order to
t achieve anyy mission it is essential to determine
d
and predict an acccurate orbit off the satellite. To effective satellite
s
mission plannning, it is reqquired to undeerstand how satellite lifetim
me is related to
t orbital paraameters and how disturbing
g forces
effect on sattellites orbits. In this studyy orbital motiion simulationn and analysis for TIGRIS
SAT is presennted. This sim
mulation
provides support for modeel developmennt and integrattion and givess a visual insigght into satelliite orbits, by producing
p
thee orbital
T
proojected onto a two-dimensiional world m
map over somee time. As a sstarting point for
f the simulaation of
path of the TIGRISAT

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future, using the parameters of KufaSat instead of TIGRISAT gives ability to observe the effects on shape and position of the
orbit which lets a better understanding of the KufaSat orbit.
REFERENCES

[1] Mechael .R .Greene, Robert E. Zee Increasing Accuracy of Orbital Position Information from NORAD SGP4 Using Intermittent GPS Readings, 23rd
Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellite.
[2] Mohammed Chessab Mahdi et al,Attitude Determination and Control System design of KufaSat International Journal of Current Engineering and
Technology, Vol.4, No.4 (Aug 2014)
[3] REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=40043
[4] Mohammed Chessab Mahdi et al, Direct Fuzzy Logic Controller for Nano-Satellite Journal of Control Engineering and Technology, Vol.4, No.3 (July,
2014)
[5] Wikipedia Orbital elements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_elements
[6] H. J. Rim, B. E. Schutz, PRECISION ORBIT DETERMINATION (POD), Center for Space Research The University of Texas at Austin, October
2002.
[7] James MASON, Development of a MATLAB/STK TLE Accuracy Assessment Tool, in Support of the NASA Ames Space Traffic Management
Project, Master Thesis, International Space University, August, 2009.
[8] Hujsak, R.S. and Hoots, F.R. (1982), Deep Space Perturbations Ephemeris Generation, Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson AFB, CO.
[9] GMAT, General Mission Analysis Tool. http://gmat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
BIOGRAPHY

Mohammed Chessab Mahdireceived his B.Sc. degree in control & systems engineering from University of
Technology Baghdad in 1984 and received his M.Sc. Degree in space technology from University of Kufa
in 2013. He is full time lecture in Technical Institute of Kufa Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University Iraq
and member of KufaSat team - Space Researchs Unit-Faculty of Engineering University of Kufa. He has
good skills in the design and modeling of attitude determination and control systems using Matlab program.
He has been published more than 9 researches.

JCET Vol. 5 Iss. 1 Jan 2015 PP. 1-8 DOI: 10.14511/jcet.issue.050101 American V-King Scientific Publish
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